Temple of the Zodiac

Chapter 10: The Crystal Pyramid

Author's Note: Regrem Erutaerc had asked me why doesn't the hamans change into their human forms and carry the Ham-Hams to their destinations rather than taking the time to walk there in their hamster form. This is a question that I've been wondering about myself and I've been thinking up some reasons for why they would stay in their hamster forms. For one, they are not horses. Humans can't hike for hours at a time without rest and sustenance and humans use up a lot food and water compared to hamsters. The hamans can't just change into a hamster and back again every time they need food or water. It would be exhausting, not to mention redundant. They would need to stay in one form throughout the trip and have enough food to sustain their bodies. To carry their food, it would have to be inside a human sized back pack but in order to carry it, the hamans must remain in a human form the whole time until they reach their destinations since large equipment can't change with them when they change forma. Even if the hamans do manage to carry enough food to support their human bodies the whole trip, they would have to change into their hamster forms when they reach any kind of hamster settlement, leaving the large back packs behind since they could no longer carry them in a hamster form. Their back packs would have to be left unattended in the open where who-knows-what could happen to them. They could remain their human forms so they could carry their back packs into the city but that would have the same affect as Godzilla going through Tokyo. Not to mention they would never be able to buy enough food from the local ham-ham grocery stores to support a human on the return trip home.

Also, hamsters are more inconspicuous than a human in public. A hamster is small and indistinct while a human is more noticeable and more likely to be delayed by another who wants to harm them or know where they were going. In the forests, hamsters are not as bounded by natural obstacles as humans. Humans can be delayed by rivers, plant-life, and steep hills but hamsters can more easily avoid those obstacles. They can squeeze through crowed plants, climb over branches and fallen logs to get across rivers, and since they are not as tall or as heavy, hamsters are not as affected by steep terrain as humans. Not to mention ham-ham dominated cities are often located in places that are geologically impossible for a human to get to on foot. I hope this information was clear and now that is out of the way, lets begin chapter 10.

Team Four walked endlessly through the forest for over a day until they finally reached the docks where they could get a ship to Halastia. Like teams two and five, Team Four got the chance to relax in a ship and rest their tired feet. While on the ship, the bitterness that developed between Sandy and Stan was brought up again between the two of them and by the time they had reached Zolphville, they began arguing again. While on the bus that was going to the Gobi Forest, Stan once again brought up how he would find the next Caidoz piece and Sandy interjected to that remark. They argued until they reached a neighboring town called Sojo.

Sojo is a small town located in the wild forests of Halastia. Because of Halastia's small size, the island doesn't have too many forests or trees. Since the trees were too large for the ham-hams to cut down, they simply left the trees where they were and built towns inside and around the trees and Sojo is one of those towns. The sight of all the small houses and roads located around tall trees was rather strange to the hamans but fortunately, they were used to the idea of being so short.

To find the Crystal Pyramid, they checked at a local outdoor supply shop, asking for how to find the pyramid and information about it. According to a cashier at the shop, he told them that the pyramid was built long before ham-hams started building cities on Halastia. No one knows for sure how or who but it is known that Halastia was inhabited by ham-hams before Halastia was created. Apparently there were some ham-ham priests and priestesses who lived on the island before Neanna and Bocka were banished to the Astral Plane. It isn't clear who they were or why they did it but they constructed a large pyramid. The pyramid wasn't build with a name from its creators but the archeologists who discovered the pyramid called it the Crystal Pyramid because the pyramid looked like it was made out of crystals. Boss thanked the cashier for his help and he and his companions went out to begin their journey to the Crystal Pyramid.

Boss led the team through the forest in search of the Crystal Pyramid. Luckily, the forest was not as large as the ones they had been walking through so it didn't take more than an hour to find the pyramid. Also, there was no wild animal-life that could harm them. The Ham-Hams repeated "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they walked through the forest until they came across what they were searching for: the Crystal Pyramid. As the cashier had told them, the pyramid did look like the exterior was made out of quartz crystals that shined in the sun light. The pyramid looked transparent but underneath all those clear stones was a solid stone-gray pyramid which was hard to see clearly through the quartz crystals. The pyramid was larger than the Ham-Hams, towering over them almost as large as the trees themselves. On the front of the pyramid was what appeared to be a stone door that was made out of some kind of a sand stone. Boss walked over to the door and began to pull on what appeared to be a door handle. Boss said "Grooba" as he pulled on the handle but the door did budge an inch.

"Hey guys, don't just stand there, help me get this pyramid open," said Boss. The Ham-Hams immediately gathered around the handle and began pulling on it, repeating "Grooba" as they did. The heavy door slowly swung open and once it had been opened wide enough, the Ham-Hams let go of the handle and rested there arms from all the strain.

"Wow, that was a lot of work," said Roberto panting. As soon as the throbbing stopped in their arms, the Ham-Hams then proceeded into the pyramid, awaiting whatever was inside....

The tunnels inside the pyramid were cramped and dark, allowing very little light inside the tunnel. Boss was in the first to enter the pyramid, followed by Roberto and Travis and behind those two were Stan and Sandy. The only light source was coming from the open door that they had come in through and what little light that flowed through that door revealed that the stone walls on both sides of the Ham-Hams were covered in mysterious symbols and hieroglyphs.

"I can't see anything in here," complained Roberto. "It's too dark."

"Everyone, pull out your flashlights," said Boss. Everyone reached into their back packs and pulled out a flashlight. The dark of the tunnel was illuminated by the light of small flashlights that lit up the area.

"Okay, everyone follow me and stay close," said Boss. As they traveled deeper and deeper into the tunnel, the light began to fade from the door, leaving only the light of their flashlights to guide the way.

As they walked, Stan stepped on Sandy's foot.

"Ow, you did that on purpose," said Sandy angrily.

"I did not," interjected Stan.

"Were you trying to break my foot so you could get to the Caidoz piece before me?" said Sandy.

"I didn't step on your foot on purpose," interjected Stan, his anger rising. The two stopped in the middle of the hall, arguing with each other. The other Ham-Hams ignored those two as they continued walking but in the dark, they didn't notice that there was a crease on the floor. If they did, they would have known they were walking on a trap door. Without warning, the trap door opened and both Boss, Roberto, and Travis fell into the trap door, screaming all the way down. Sandy and Stan broke away from their argument in time to see their comrades fall through the trap door. Sandy and Stan ran over to help them but the trap door immediately closed automatically. Sandy ran to the trap door and began jumping on top of it in an attempt to get it open but it wouldn't budge. Stan joined in but even their combined weight could not open it.

"I don't understand, why isn't it opening," said Stan as he stopped jumping.

"I don't know," admitted Sandy. "I guess it only opens when a certain amount of weight is put on it. I think we may need a third person."

"But we don't have a third person," pointed out Stan. "We're all alone."

"Now don't panic, bro," said Sandy. "Lets just stick together and try and find the Caidoz piece. From there, we maybe able to find out what happened to Boss and the others."

"Aw man, I'm so not going to like this," said Stan.

The two siblings aimed their flashlights towards the end of the tunnel and saw what appeared to be a wooden double door at the end. Curious, the twins walked over to the door, repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as they did. The door was painted a dark purple color and it had the same strange markings as the ones on the wall. Sandy placed a paw on the door and pushed on it but it didn't budge. Sandy placed her flashlight in her mouth so she could push on the door with both paws but the door still wouldn't move.

"San, hulf we," said Sandy through the flashlight in her mouth.

"What?" asked Stan. Sandy took the flashlight out of her mouth and said, "I said help me push this door open."

"That's not going to work," said Stan. "Look, it's as heavy as a rock." To demonstrate his point, Stan placed one paw on the door and then leaned on it with one paw, showing that the door was too strong, even against Stan's weight.

"We have to save the others and if we're going to do that we have to work together," said Sandy.

"I don't need your help," said Stan. "I can get into this pyramid all by myself."

"Why you selfish little ham," said Sandy angrily. "Well if you're not going to help me push this door open, then I will do it myself!" Sandy pushed on the door again but what happened next, she didn't expect. With the combined weight of Sandy pushing on the door and with Stan still leaning on it at the same time, the door suddenly swung open and the two tumbled out into the next room.

The two got back onto their feet, a little bruised and scrapped after hitting the floor so hard.

"What happened?" asked Stan.

"I guess our combined weight caused the door to swing open," said Sandy. Realizing that the room they were in was lit, they put away their flashlights and examined the room. The room was lit by torches that hung along the walls. What kept them lit or who put them there was a mystery. The room was made out of stone and was rectangle in shape. In the dim light, Stan and Sandy could tell that they were standing on some kind of a stone platform or pillar that was overlooking what appeared to be a pool of acid. The green substance down below gave off a soft eerie green glow and it bubbled and fizzed with life. In front of the pillar Stan and Sandy was standing on were rows of stone pillars that led all the way to the other end of the room where the exit out of the room awaited.

Curious, Stan pulled out a sun flower seed shell from his back pack and tossed it into the green substance. Upon hitting the acid, the seed shell immediately burned away from the acid, dissolving it into nothing.

"I guess that rules swimming out of the question," said Stan.

"Hey bro, look at this," said Sandy who pointed back a the door where they came in. Next to the door was a sign that read:

A duo who steps up to a pillar will avoid a lunge. A single who steps up to a pillar shall take the plunge.

"I think it's a riddle," said Sandy.

"Who cares about some riddle?" said Stan.

"But the riddle may have something to do with getting across the acid," said Sandy.

"How hard can it be, we can just hop across the pillars," said Stan. "Look, I can show you it's easy." Stan began to run towards the pillar.

"Stan, don't," said Sandy as she ran after him. Stan shouted "Oopaa" as he leaped into the air and landed right on top of the pillar easily but the second his feet touched the pillar, the pillar immediately began to sink under Stan's weight, sinking into the acid. The pillar sank, carrying a surprised Stan with it. In an attempt to save her brother, Sandy grabbed onto Stan's paw but when she did so, she immediately fell over the side of the ledge she was standing on, falling towards the acid as well. Sandy landed on top of the pillar just before the pillar submerged itself entirely in the acid and when Sandy hit the top of the pillar, the pillar immediately stopped sinking and began to rise out of the acid. It didn't move as fast as it had fallen but it quickly rose out of the acid until it was back to its original height.

Shaken by the near-death experience, Stan said, "What just happened?"

"It looks like the pillar started rising when I got on top of it," said Sandy.

"Heke?" said Stan. "You mean it just rises when it gets more weight and falls when it gets less. That doesn't make sense."

"That's true, unless..." said Sandy. She stopped her sentence when she realized something. She replayed the poem in her head and it was then that she realized how the poem related to the pillars.

"Wait a minute, the poem said that if a single person were to stand on the pillar, they would take a plunge but if two people were to stand on the pillar, they would avoid that fate," said Sandy. "That means that if we just stand on the pillar tops together, the pillars wont fall to the acid."

"But if one of us steps off the pillar, we would fall," interjected Stan.

"Then we'll step on the next one together," said Sandy.

"And what if this doesn't work?" asked Stan.

"Just trust me," said Sandy as she grabbed Stan's paw. Nervous, Stan got himself into position to jump.

"Okay, on the count of three," said Sandy. "One, two, three!" The two shouted "Oopaa" as they leaped into the air, paw in paw. The two landed on top of the pillar and, with great relief to the twins, the pillar did not fall into the acid. Feeling more confident, the twins leaped from pillar to pillar until they finally reached the other end of the room.

"Yes, we made it," said Stan as he reached the door to the next room.

"I told you those riddles were important," said Sandy. "Now I think someone owes someone an apology." Defeated, Stan said, "Alright, I'm sorry, sis."

"That's better," said Sandy. Without another word and with a triumphant smile on her face, Sandy went into the next room, followed by Stan.

The next room was also lit by torches and made out of the same stones as the ones that made up the other rooms. The ceiling was high over their heads and on the other side of the room was the exit. On opposite sides of the room, there were these green triangle shapes which looked like separate bricks in the wall.

"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything dangerous in here," said Stan.

"Neither did the other room," pointed out Sandy.

"The room looks solid, though," said Stan as he walked over to the middle of the room. He began jumping on the ground as if to test it for trap doors. When he found none, he spread out his arms as if to show to his sister that there is nothing to worry about. Rolling her eyes, Sandy walked to her brother and when she reached the center of the room, the door they came in through instantly closed shut.

"Hey, what the..." said Sandy in surprise. The twins repeated "Badda-Badda" as they ran over to the door. They tried to open it but the door had no handle and it wouldn't budge when force was applied.

"Oh this is just great," said Stan. "We're locked in."

"Now don't panic, Stan," said Sandy. "We still haven't tried the other door." The twins went to the other door which also had no handle and it couldn't be pushed open.

"Great, now we're going to run out of air in here," said Stan.

"Wait Stan, there's a riddle by the door," said Sandy, pointing to a stone sign next to the door.

"Great, another riddle," said Stan. Sandy observed the sign which said:

To open the door, put both paws on the triangles.

"Strange, it says we have to put both paws on some triangles," said Sandy.

"It must mean those two," said Stan as he pointed towards the two triangles located on both sides of the room.

"Worth a shot," said Sandy. Stan ran over to one of the triangles and placed a paw on it. When nothing happened, he quickly noticed that the triangle stone was not cemented into the rock like all the other bricks. Curious, Stan began to push on the triangle and sure enough, the triangle was pushed into the wall like a button. When the button was pushed all the way, he said, "Problem solved."

However, their problems were not solved for at that minute, the twins began to hear a strange rumble coming from the ground.

"What's happening?" asked Stan.

"I don't know," said Sandy. Suddenly, they began to hear a strange scraping sound which sounded like rock rubbing against rock. The twins craned their heads towards the ceiling and to their horror, the ceiling was coming down on top of them in an attempt to smash them like bugs.

"Well this is just great," said Stan sarcastically.

"Well, push it again," shouted Sandy. Stan hit the triangle shaped button again but the ceiling kept coming down.

"What are we doing wrong?" asked Stan. Sandy tried to run the riddle through her mind again.

"'To open the door, put both paws on the triangles,'" said Sandy, quoting the riddle. "That's it, we have to push both triangles to open the door."

"But where's the other triangle?" asked Stan.

"It's on the other side of the room," said Sandy pointing at the other side of the room.

"But I can't reach it from here," said Stan as he reached uselessly towards the other triangle to demonstrate his point.

"Then the two of us has to push the triangles at the same time," said Sandy as she ran over to the triangle on the other side of the room, repeating Badda-Badda" as she ran. The ceiling was so close to them now that they could touch it with their paws. With only seconds left to save themselves, Sandy push her paw on the triangle and said, "Hit the button, now," Stan pressed against the triangle the same time as Sandy and instantly, the exit out of the room swung open but the ceiling was still coming down. Stan and Sandy immediately got on all fours and ran towards the door as fast as their little legs could carry them. It was a close call but they managed to squeeze under the ceiling just before it struck the floor with a loud bang.

Both Stan and Sandy laid on the floor, gasping for air from the strenuous workout they had to perform.

"That was a close one," said Stan.

"I agree," said Sandy. For a while, the twins laid on the stone cold floor, looking up at the ceiling. As they laid their, the twins heard what sounded like water nearby.

"Hey bro, did you hear that?" asked Sandy who sat up.

"Yeah, it sounded like water," said Stan as he sat up. Curious, the two Ham-Hams walked towards the sound, repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they walked. The room they were in was connected by a stone hallway made out of the same stones as the previous rooms. Following the sound, the twins walked through the hallway.

Upon reaching the hallway's end, they found the source of the noise which was coming from an indoor river of some kind which slowly and gently flowed along a current. Floating on top of the river was a strange wooden boat. The boat was long enough for the two of them plus at least three more. On the front seat of the boat was what appeared to be peddles of some kind located near a seat where a ham-ham could push the peddles with their feet. Located on the other end of the boat was what appeared to be a wooden steering wheel located on top of a long pole. On the back of the boat was what appeared to be a crude metal propeller used to move the boat through the water. The boat was painted with the same decorations and symbols as the ones seen along the walls of the tunnels. Sandy examined the boat curiously before sitting in the front seat. She placed her feet on the peddles and when she started pushing the peddles, the propellers started moving, pushing the boat forwards. Stan quickly grabbed the boat and held it still.

"So I guess someone has to propel the boat using these propellers," said Sandy. "But what's the steering wheel for?"

"Obviously for steering," said Stan.

"But I can't reach it from here," said Sandy as she reached for the steering wheel that was on the other end of the boat. Sandy tried leaning as far as she could without taking her feet off the peddles but the boat was so long, she just couldn't reach it. Curious, Stan sat down on the seat near the steering wheel and he effortlessly turned the wheel.

"This is so weird," said Stan. "Who would build a boat that requires you to sit in one seat to work the propellers while sitting in another seat to work the steering?"

"Perhaps it's intended for two ham-hams," suggested Sandy. "One should do the steering while the other dose the peddling."

"What?! That's ridiculous," said Stan.

"Well, lets give it a try," said Sandy. Reluctantly, Stan decided to play along with Sandy's plan.

The twins took off their back packs and placed them in the middle of the boat. With Stan on the steering wheel and Sandy working the peddles, they slowly began to work their way through the small river. The river flowed through a narrow tunnel which made it difficult for Stan to maneuver through. Twice, he had accidentally rammed the boat on the sides of the wall.

"Careful, Stan," said Sandy. "I don't want to have to swim in this water."

"Give me a break, I'm still trying to get used to this thing," said Stan. After awhile, Stan began to get the hang of working the steering wheel, easily moving the boat through the gentle stream.

"Hey, this isn't so hard," said Stan.

"Yeah, I can keep this up for hours," agreed Sandy as she worked the peddles. However, Sandy spoke too soon because at that moment, the water began to move faster. The further down the tunnel they went, the more sharp twists and turns they encountered and the calm and gentle river was beginning to turn into rapids.

Stan frantically worked the steering wheel in an attempt to maintain control but the twisting tunnels and the flowing river was making it hard to maintain control. The boat repeatedly hit the walls over and over again, scraping the sides and causing the boat to splinter.

"Whoa, how do you stop this thing?" cried Stan. Sandy was vigorously working the peddles backwards in a desperate attempt to slow down the boat. Although the boat was slowing down, it was not enough to enable Stan to better control through the moving water.

"Can't you slow this boat, sis?" asked Stan.

"I'm trying," said Sandy who was getting quite a workout from pumping those peddles. The tunnel made a sharp turn and from around the corner, Stan and Sandy were terrified to see that they were heading towards a downward moving slope. It wasn't going strait down like a waterfall but was a steep slope none the less.

Sandy began to panic as she saw themselves approaching the slope.

"Hang on to something, bro," shouted Sandy. The twins held onto their seats for dear life as the boat went down the slope. The twins screamed as the boat slid down the slope like a large water slide. Stan kept one paw on his seat and another on the steering wheel in a futile attempt to direct the boat which continuously rammed the sides of the tunnel. Sandy didn't even bother to peddle, she just kept her feet still and firm while her paws gripped the sides of the boat. The boat hit the foot of the slope in a large splash which drenched the two Ham-Hams. Stan and Sandy hoped that the worst was over but hope was not on their side because they had entered an even larger tunnel with even worse rapids.

It was almost like they were canoeing only this time they had little to hold onto. Sandy tried to slow down the boat by peddling backwards but even she couldn't fight the strength of the current. There were large rocks in the way of the river, causing the waves to toss the boat about, nearly throwing the twins out of their boat. They held onto their seats as best as they could but their bodies were being drenched and their wet paws could barely hold onto their seats. One big wave knocked the boat clear out of the water and it landed with a big splash. The boat did not capsize but it did toss Sandy into the air.

"Help me, Stan," cried Sandy as she flew through the air and hit the water.

"Sandy," cried Stan in horror. Completely forgetting that hamsters can't swim, Stan jumped into the water to save his sister.

Upon submerging himself in the water, Stan was immediately picked up by the strong current which mercilessly tossed him about. Stan managed to reach the surface of the water so he could breath but the current kept forcing him down. He took in a large breath and frantically searched for Sandy. He saw Sandy who was bobbing on the surface nearby, unconscious.

"Hang on, sis, I'm..." said Stan but before he could finish his sentence, a wave pushed him back down under. Fighting desperately against the water, Stan attempted to swim to Sandy but he could fight the strength of the water as it kept holding him down. By out of pure luck, the boat floated over to Stan who grabbed the side of the boat and quickly climbed into it. Quickly, Stan climbed into the seat where the peddles were. He knew he couldn't swim to her so he had to use the boat's propellers to catch her.

He sat down on the seat and using the peddles, he began working the propeller. Since he was attempting to move with the current instead of against, the effort of working the peddles became easier. Stan's plan worked. As intended, the boat actually accelerated thanks to the speed of the current and the power of the propellers. However, since there was no one to work the controls, Stan had to allow the boat to sway in random directions and collide with the walls. Sandy's body still floated on top of the water but Stan feared she may get pulled down at any minute. Once he was close enough to her, he immediately ran to the seat where the steering wheel was and steered the boat to Sandy. A wave pushed Sandy under the water but Stan was close enough to reach out and grab Sandy's paw. With all his strength, Stan pulled Sandy into the boat.

Sandy laid on the bottom of the boat, dripping wet and still not moving.

"Come on, sis, wake up," said Stan desperately. Before he could attempt to revive her, the boat hit another wave. Stan immediately laid on top of Sandy and held onto the sides of the boat in an attempt to prevent Sandy and himself from falling out of the boat. Stan held onto his sister with all his might as the boat tossed about haphazardly through the rapids. Stan soon got the fright of his life when he lifted his head up to see where he was going and saw that he was heading towards a waterfall. Stan held on for his dear life as the boat plummeted off the waterfall and then strait down.

Stan screamed as he and Sandy fell towards the lake underneath the waterfall. The boat smashed into pieces as it hit the water while Stan and Sandy managed a hard landing on top of the water. Dazed by the splash, Stan swam up to his sister and then attempted carry her to shore. Luckily, the water wasn't that deep so he didn't need to swim that far. He dragged Sandy's limp body onto the shore and when he did, he knelt down to Sandy and began shaking her shoulders.

"Come on, sis, don't leave me like this," said Stan in desperation. Sandy groaned in pain as she opened her eyes and through her dazed vision, she saw Stan looking over here.

"Sandy, are you all right?" asked Stan.

"Yeah, but I got a splitting headache, though," said Sandy as she sat up. "What happened?"

"You fell out of the boat and I saved you," said Stan.

"You saved me?" said Sandy in surprise. "Thank you so much, bro. I guess I owe you one."

"No, know we're even," said Stan with a smile. Sandy giggled as she realized that he was talking about how she saved him from that volcano. Stan and Sandy fished their back packs out of the water and the two began walking down a nearby hallway leading out of the room.

They walked through the stone halls, talking to each other as they did.

"I'm sorry that I acted like such a jerk before," said Stan. "I guess I just went too far."

"Apology accepted," said Sandy.

"I have to admit though, I couldn't have made it this far without you," said Stan. Sandy couldn't help but feel glad that her brother was being so mature and humble but when she thought about what Stan had said, Sandy stopped suddenly as she realized something.

"What's wrong, sis?" asked Stan.

"You're right, you couldn't have gotten through this pyramid alone," said Sandy. "No one can."

"What are you talking about?" asked Stan.

"All the obstacles we'd been through required at least two people in order to complete it," said Sandy. "The pillars, the crushing room, and the boat, all of it required at least two individuals working together to complete the challenge. That's why no one has survived entering this pyramid, it takes team work to get through all those challenges." Stan's mouth dropped open as he realized that Sandy was right.

"Atata!" exclaimed Stan. "So if we didn't have each other, we wouldn't have made it this far."

"Exactly," said Sandy.

"Good thing we had each other," said Stan.

"Yeah, tell me about it," said Sandy. The twins laughed together, the first time they had done so in days. Now with their sibling rivalry gone, the two continued on their way through the tunnel.

The twins repeated "Ticky-Ticky" to themselves as they walked. The tunnel finally ended in a large stone room. Upon seeing the interior of the room, the twins gasped as their eyes met a room full of treasure. The room was oval in shape and decorating the wall of the room were loads of valuable trinkets made out of all kinds of valuable materials. Torches hung around the walls of the room and the light from the flames caused all the gold, silver, and diamonds to sparkle in the light.

"Wow, we found the treasure," said Stan.

"And to think, we're the first two to have been here in centuries," said Sandy. Sandy and Stan couldn't believe their eyes. From just a quick glance, the twins could see golden cups, gold tiaras, silver swords and shields, stone necklaces, barrels full of gold coins, golden captors, and...a Caidoz piece. The piece was hard to see amongst the gold but the distinctive shape of the piece was telling. Stan and Sandy ran up to the Caidoz piece, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran. They reached for the piece at the same time and as a result, the two ended up grabbing it at the same time.

"I'll try and activate the piece," said Sandy.

"No, I will," said Stan.

"Or why don't we do it together, we both have the same Zodiac sign," said Sandy.

"Sounds good to me," said Stan. The twins placed their paws upon the piece and the two began saying the poem at the same time, "I am the sun, I am the moon. I am the clear blue sea. A gift from the stars, a gift to all. May this piece show it's sign to me." Once the poem was complete, the piece glowed a yellow light that filled the room as its magic was stirred from its sleep. As the piece glowed, a symbol engraved itself upon the piece. The glowing yellow symbol resembled the Roman Numeral for "two" only the two horizontal lines were curved outwards away from each other while the vertical lines remained strait and attached to the horizontal lines. This was the symbol of Gemini, Stan and Sandy's Zodiac sign.

The piece stopped glow, leaving the symbol glowing on top. Stan placed the piece into his back pack.

"Well, looks like we've got our piece," said Stan. "The only problem now is to figure out how to bring all this with us." Stan spread out his arms, showing that he was talking about the treasure.

"Let's leave it all here," said Sandy. "Besides, what can we do with treasure anyway?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Stan. "But how do we get out of here?"

"There's an exit right there," said Sandy as she pointed towards a second door to the room. With the Caidoz piece now in their possession, the twins repeated "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked through the door in search of a way out.

The tunnel they took turned and spiraled as they climbed upward. The river Stan and Sandy had ridden in must had taken them deep underground which would explain why it was taking so long for them for each the surface After almost an hour of walking, Stan and Sandy began to hear something in the distance.

"What was that?" asked Stan. The two put a paw to their ears and listened for the source of the sound. As they listens, they began to make out voices, voices that were crying for help.

"It's the Ham-Hams," said Sandy with joy. Stan and Sandy got on all fours and ran towards the source of the sound, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they did.

They came to a room at the end of the hall and in the room, they saw what appeared to be a stone cell in the corner. The cell had a large steel door with a single bared window on it. Stan and Sandy ran up to the window to look inside and sure enough, they saw Boss, Roberto, and Travis inside.

"Hamha, you guys," greeted Sandy.

"Sandy, Stan, you're all right," said Boss. The others ran to the window, amazed to be seeing them.

"No way, how did you guys get here?" asked Roberto.

"We took the long way," said Sandy.

"What about the Caidoz piece?" asked Boss.

"We have it right here," said Stan.

"How do we get this door open?" asked Sandy.

"There's keys right over there," said Travis who pointed over to the wall on the other side of the room. Sure enough, there was a ring of keys hanging on a hook on the wall. Stan grabbed the keys and used them to unlock the door to the cell.

Once he opened the door, Stan asked, "So do any of you guys know how to get out of here?"

"There's a ladder near the trap door but we need a key to open it." said Boss. Curious, Stan and Sandy looked into the cell and noticed a steal ladder that led up to the trap door where the others had fallen through. Next to the ladder was a key hole. Stan pulled out the keys and then placed them into the key hole. He gave the key a good turn and instantly, the trap door swung open. Stan could not get the keys out so he left them there.

"Yes, we're out of here," said Roberto. The Ham-Hams climbed up the ladder one by one. Once everyone had climbed out from the cell, the trap door instantly closed and sealed itself shut. The Ham-Hams didn't know how that happened but they didn't bother to try to figure out how or tried to open the door again. They instead decided to go on home, listening to Stan and Sandy's story about how the power of teamwork got Stan and Sandy to the Caidoz piece.