Temple of the Zodiac
Chapter 12: The Baroque Association Part One
After spending the night in a motel, the five adventurers took a train on their way to another city in Halastia called Orat. Orat is a city located on the rim of Halastia, making it a perfect place to set up shipyards. The reason why they needed to go Orat was because they needed to reach a neighboring island called Drumstone. Drumstone is another ham-ham inhabited island only it's much more smaller than Halastia. According to the clue they obtained, it read:
One piece has been buried for years in an underground storage chamber on an island called Drumstone, located five miles north of Halastia.
After doing some research through travel agencies, Neteru learned that the only ships that travel to and from Drumstone are found in Orat. Neteru couldn't figure out why but he did learn that Drumstone is heavily isolated from the rest of the world. Upon learning this fact, Neteru couldn't help but be concerned considering the fact that there could be a dangerous reason for why the island is so isolated.
Neteru sat in his seat on the train, thinking about how odd it is that an entire city on a small island would want to be isolated like that.
"Is something wrong, Daddy?" asked Kaiu who sat in the window seat next to Neteru. Neteru was snapped out of his thoughts once he heard his son's voice. He turned his gaze towards Kaiu and said, "I'm fine, I was just staring out into space."
"Oh," said Kaiu who didn't fully understand what that meant. "By the way, you may want to look at this, Daddy, there's a carnival outside. Come see." Curious, Neteru leaned over Kaiu so he could look out of the window. Sure enough, he could see what looked to be a carnival in the distance with large rides and tents that probably held games. Hamtaro and the others were looking out the window as well.
"Wow, looks like fun," said Hamtaro.
"It reminds me of the Ham-Ham Fun Park," said Kaiu.
"I think I've heard of this carnival," said Neteru. "It's called the Bungi Day Carnival which is set up every year on Bungi Day which is today."
"Do you think any of the Ham-Hams are there now?" asked Kaiu.
"Maybe," said Neteru with a smile. "They might be there."
Orat didn't seem any different than Zolphville when Neteru and the Ham-Hams first saw it after getting out of the train. At first glance, Orat almost looked identical to Zolphville with the same building design and modern conveniences. It wasn't until they actually left the train station and saw the city close up did they notice that the city had a more suburban quality to it, making it feel more like a quite neighborhood as oppose to a large city. Since their boat going to Drumstone was not expected to leave for about another two hours, the Ham-Hams decide to find a place where they could have some lunch.
They walked through the streets of Orat until they found a small restaurant located next to the docks. The restaurant was a simple one with just a single building where the food was prepared and the orders were taken and the customers had to sit in tables located outside of the restaurant. Cashiers sat behind windows where they took the customers' orders. There was no line so the Ham-Hams crowded in front of a window to order some food. The cashier was a female ham-ham with light yellow fur and on her head was a hat that was indicative of someone working at a fast food restaurant.
"May I help you?" asked the cashier politely. Looking up at the menu hanging overhead, the Ham-Hams began reading off what they wanted.
"Yes, I'll have the sun flower salad," said Neteru.
"I'll have a seed burger," said Hamtaro.
"Make mine a melon hot dog with extra relish," said Howdy.
"I'll have the corn pudding," said Dexter. Kaiu looked up at the menu, not sure as to what to pick.
"Do you see anything you like?" asked Neteru to Kaiu.
"I can't decide between the sliced acorn bits or the straw berry pudding," said Kaiu.
As Kaiu stood their and thought, a ham-ham walked up to the restaurant to order some food in the next window. The ham-ham was entirely pumpkin orange and he large oval shaped ears. He had overheard Kaiu's dilemma as he was walking towards the window and said, "I personally recommend the sliced acorn bits because I heard the straw berry pudding here tastes awful." Taking the stranger's advice, Kaiu ordered the acorn bits. Meanwhile, the ham-ham was ordering a seed burger in the neighboring window. As they waited for their orders, the ham-ham turned his attention back to Kaiu and smiled.
"That's a cute little boy you have there," said the ham-ham. Neteru faced the ham-ham to answer back and when the two saw each other's faces, they gasped when they recognized each other.
"Neteru?" said the ham-ham.
"Tick, is that you?" asked Neteru.
"I don't believe, it's actually you," said the ham-ham with joy. The ham-ham and Neteru hugged each other in a friendly embrace which surprised the other Ham-Hams.
"Daddy, who is this?" asked Kaiu.
"This is a friend of mine which I haven't seen in over five years," said Neteru. "His name is Tick."
"Tick?" said Hamtaro. "Isn't he the guy who saved your life and left you in the Clubhouse?"
"The one and the same," said Neteru.
"I don't understand," said Kaiu.
"You see, son, before you were born, I had been put under a sleeping spell by the evil spirit named Ulzogga," said Neteru. "But it was Tick who had found me under the curse and had taken me to the Ham-Hams."
"Oh yeah," said Kaiu. "Now I remember." Kaiu sweetly smiled up at Tick. "Thank you for saving my daddy."
"You mean this is really your son?" asked Tick.
"Sure is," said Neteru. Before more could be said, their orders had arrived in several cardboard trays. The Ham-Hams took their orders and offered Tick to sit down with them which he accepted.
They all sat around a large plastic table where they ate and traded stories. Kaiu ate his acorn slices very quickly as if it was his last meal.
"Wow, you have quite the appetite," said Tick.
"He does have a tendency to eat fast," said Neteru as he patted Kaiu on the head.
"Who's the boy's mother?" asked Tick.
"Mara," said Neteru.
"Mara? You mean she's free?" asked Tick.
"Oh yes," said Neteru. "My new friends managed to free Mara and destroyed Ulzogga. After that, Mara and I fell in love with each other and eventually, we had Kaiu together."
"Well, I'm happy for you and Mara," said Tick with a smile. "To be honest, I didn't think you and Mara would actually become a couple, let alone actually be parents together. I mean, I knew you two were close but I didn't think you two would actually go as far as to have se..." Tick's sentence was interrupted when Neteru kicked him under the table. Before Tick could ask what was wrong, Neteru began pointing at Kaiu, indicating that he didn't want Tick to say anything incriminating in front of Kaiu. Figuring out the hint, Tick didn't finish his sentence.
"So enough about me, why don't you tell us what you've been up to lately," said Neteru. "Why aren't you living with your original owner, the pet store owner."
"About a month after I left you at the Clubhouse, my owner died," said Tick.
"He did?" asked Neteru in shock.
"Yep, he died shortly after he sold Moonbeam," said Tick. "After that, I had no home to go to and I couldn't go looking for you because if I did, I'd run the risk of exposing your location to Ulzogga. Not to mention I feared for my safety because Ulzogga might have been after me at the time. So I ran away and managed to catch a boat to Halastia to start a new life."
"Life on my own turned out to be harder than I thought. I was so used to living with humans that I didn't know how to manage a job. For over a week, I lived like a vagrant with no food or a place to live. I eventually collapsed from hunger and was found by a ham-ham named Jozan. He took me home and I had dinner with his wife and three kids. They let me temporarily stay with them but I had grown so attached to the couple that they let me work for them as a housekeeper. I knew how to clean and hamy-sit their kids but it took me some practice to figure out how to cook my own meals. I worked there for about two years before I began to feel guilty about depending on Jozan and his family so I decided to take on my own career."
"As luck would have it, Jozan worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Halastia's government. You see, I didn't realize it at first but I somehow found my way into Halastia's capital, close to where Halastia's government is run. Since Jozan worked there, had connections within the government. On one fateful night, Jozan was talking over dinner that he heard that the government needed a new ambassador. Upon hearing this, I jumped at the chance to take the job. I turned out to be a very good ambassador since I knew five languages, was a good traveler, and was familiar with how to interact in other countries. With these qualities, I was surely going to get the job but before I did, I was given a test. I was sent to some city in America where I was to resolve some kind of a dispute between the trade commissions and to my surprise, I was a good debater. After that, I got the job so now I work as an ambassador in the Department of Foreign Affairs along side Jozan."
The Ham-Hams had almost finished their lunch, listening to Tick's story with interest.
"So what are you doing here?" asked Kaiu.
"I'm going to an island called Drumstone," said Tick.
"Really? So are we," said Neteru. Tick seemed surprised by the news.
"Well that's an interesting coincidence," said Tick. "Why are you guys going to Drumstone?" The Ham-Hams explained the whole story to Tick about the Caidoz pieces, Glabrezu, Neanna, and the Sidereal Palace. Now it was Tick's turn to listen to their story.
"And now we have to get our Caidoz piece which is in Drumstone," said Neteru.
"Perhaps we could go together," suggested Tick.
"Certainly," said Neteru. "But why are you going to Drumstone?"
"Drumstone is ruled by a monarchy which has been crumbling almost for as long as the island has been inhabited," said Tick. "For years, Halastia has been trying to convince Drumstone to join our government and be a part of Halastia but we haven't been able to affectively communicate with them so I'm being sent to visit the king of Drumstone to talk him into joining Halastia."
"Hamsterrific, I bet Drumstone would love the idea," said Hamtaro. As they talked, Neteru cast a glance towards a large clock on top of a long pole and gasped. It was already one o'clock.
"Uh oh, the boat is going to leave for Drumstone in one hour," said Neteru. Tick chanced a glance at the clock and gasped when he realized that Neteru was right.
"Hamgoof, we're late," cried Tick. The Ham-Hams and Tick hastily tossed the cardboard trays away and immediately ran down the road, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran.
In no time at all, the six adventurers were on their way to Drumstone. To their surprise, the boat they took was one of those small boats more commonly used for fishing. The Ham-Hams wore large orange life vests as they road the speeding boat towards Drumstone. After hours of travel, the island of Drumstone was beginning to become more visible in the distance but unlike Halastia, which was covered in luscious forests and cities, Drumstone looked barren and dry. The island didn't have any visible plant life and it didn't have any toll buildings either. Upon reaching the island, the boat docked into a small dock which looked barely large enough to fit a large cargo ship and unlike the docks in Halastia, this one was completely devoid of life. The Ham-Hams and Tick climbed out of the boat and then ventured off into the town.
Once they entered the town, the Ham-Hams quickly realized that there was something missing; there was no one in the town. It was like the entire town was deserted and not a single soul could be seen. The buildings were made out of straw and small sticks of wood. Unlike Halastia, Drumstone was much more simpler than Halastia in comparison its design and technology. Instead of concrete roads, the roads were made of bare dirt and they were dry and dusty. It was these dirty roads the Ham-Hams walked along, repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked.
Drumstone was like a ghost town and with the addition of the unearthly silence that surrounded the Ham-Hams, they couldn't help but get the feeling that they were being watched.
"Where is everybody, Daddy?" asked Kaiu.
"I don't know," said Neteru.
"Strange, I thought there would be more ham-hams than this," said Tick.
"This place is more bare than an egg with a shave, heh heh," said Howdy with a laugh.
"It's as bare as your collection of good jokes, Howdy," said Dexter.
"Hey, I take offense to that," said Howdy angrily.
"Will you two keep quiet," ordered Neteru. "We don't want to attract unwanted attention here."
"But why wouldn't we want to draw attention to ourselves?" asked Hamtaro. "Who do we have to fear?" Suddenly, Hamtaro got his answer.
A small electric car was seen driving on the dirt roads. The car was silver in color and it looked like a minivan without a roof and sticking out of the roof was three heads that belonged to three ham-hams. The Ham-Hams stood there in the middle of the road, wondering what they should do but then all of a sudden, the vehicle stopped right in front of the Ham-Hams, allowing the three passengers to exit the vehicle. Through the wind shield, Neteru could make out another ham-ham who was the driver vehicle. The three ham-hams were dressed in chainmail and they each carried swords and large oval shaped shields. They drew out their swords and aimed their weapons at the six Ham-Hams. Kaiu frightfully got behind his father for protection. Neteru held out his staff, ready to fight.
One of the three chainmail clad ham-hams approached Neteru and said, "By order of Lord Belacqua, I hereby place you all under arrest for trespassing on the island of Drumstone."
"We all come in peace," said Tick. "I'm an ambassador of Halastia and I've come..."
"You're from Halastia?" asked the guard, interrupting Tick.
"Yes," said Tick.
"Then you've obviously come here with the intend of overthrowing our king," said the ham-ham. "For that, you shall be executed."
"What?!" said Tick in shock. "But I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want..."
"Silence!" ordered the ham-ham.
"Hey, just who are you?" demanded Neteru.
"We are Belacqua's personal police force and you will all accompany us to the prisons until we can determine why you are here," said the ham-ham.
"We're not going anywhere," said Neteru as he raised his staff.
"Then we shall take you down by force," said the ham-ham. "Charge." The three ham-hams charged towards Neteru but then Neteru cast his spell.
"Tempall dogino," said Neteru and from his staff, three bolts of light struck the ham-hams, freezing them in temporal stasis. Neteru smiled in triumph but his smile faded when he noticed that the ham-ham in the van was already calling for back up from a radio in the van.
"We better get out of here," said Neteru. The Ham-Hams immediately turned and ran off, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran.
They didn't run far because in no time at all, more of those chainmail wearing police officers were beginning to appear. The Ham-Hams were about to reach the docks when two of the same silver colored vehicles was riding down the road and heading towards the Ham-Hams. The Ham-Hams made a sudden stop before turning around and running in the other direction but before they could run far, three more of those vehicles were heading towards them. The Ham-Hams just stood there, trapped between five cars that were heading towards them in both directions.
"What are we going to do?" asked Hamtaro. Even Neteru wasn't sure how he could take all of them. Before he had time to come up with a plan, he heard someone say, "Quick, in here." A quick glance revealed to Neteru that the speaker was a shadowy figure who stood in the doorway of a nearby house.
"Get in here, hurry," said the ham-ham. Normally Neteru would have been suspicious, but since he had no other choice, he led the Ham-Hams into the home.
Upon entering the home, they quickly realized how dark the house was since the lights were off and all the windows were covered by curtains.
"Follow me," said the ham-ham. The Ham-Hams followed their newfound rescuer to the basement which turned out to be even darker than the rest of the house, making it hard for them to see where they were going. The unknown ham-ham opened a trap door in the floor.
"Quick, climb in," said the ham-ham. The Ham-Hams climbed into the small crawl space under the trap door. Above them, they could hear the front door being kicked down to the floor above them as the police broke into the house. The unknown ham-ham was the last one to climb down the trap door and she closed the door behind her.
The Ham-Hams all crowed into the trap door, listening for the sounds of footsteps upstairs. The Ham-Hams huddles together, hoping not to make a sound. In the dark, Neteru felt Kaiu grasp his paw.
"Daddy, I'm scared," said Kaiu. Neteru gently squeezed Kaiu's paw and kept his arm around Kaiu to comfort him. From above their heads, the Ham-Hams saw the overhead light to the basement turn on as the police came into the basement looking for them. The Ham-Hams held their breaths as they heard the police walking above them. The light flooded through the cracks in the floor board, illuminating the dark hiding place they were in. Now that Neteru had a little more light, he could now make out the ham-ham who had lured them down there in the first place. The ham-ham was female and she had blood red fur. She also had red pig tails which resembles Pepper's, and she wore a green vest. Around her neck was a necklace that was attached to a green colored stone with a gold colored symbol engraved on it. The symbol looked like a vertical line with a diagonal line through the middle.
After what felt like hours, the police eventually left the house and once the coast was clear, the Ham-Hams snuck out of their hiding place in the basement and into the living room.
"Wow, that was close," said Howdy.
"Yeah, thanks for saving us," said Hamtaro.
"No problem," said the ham-ham. "I saw you take on Belacqua's police force. By the way, who are you strangers, anyway?"
"I'm Neteru and this is my son, Kaiu."
"Hamha, I'm Hamtaro."
"Dexter's my name."
"I'm Howdy, the funny one."
"I'm Tick, ambassador of Halastia."
"Well you guys certainly have some interesting names," said the ham-ham. "My name is Amy."
"Well Amy, you mind telling us what is going on here," said Neteru.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you here, it's too dangerous," said Amy. "I must first take you to some place safe. Follow me." Amy turned around and headed towards the front door and the Ham-Hams followed.
Amy quickly sneaked the Ham-Hams through the empty streets of Drumstone. Except for a few police patrol cars, they didn't see anyone outside. This fact concerned Tick and Neteru since they couldn't help but wonder where everyone had gone too. This concern remained on their minds until Amy led them to a door located on the back of a house. Amy opened the door and then led the Ham-Hams inside. Amy led the Ham-Hams to the basement of the house which was even more run down than the previous one they were in. Even in the dim light, they could make out lots of old boxes and furniture lining the walls. As before, Amy found a trap door located hidden on the floor of the basement but unlike before, this door led to a tunnel. Amy led the Ham-Hams into the tunnel and then directed them through it. The tunnel was at least three yards long and it was perfectly strait. The earthen walls of the tunnel reminded the Ham-Hams of the Clubhouse tunnels.
Eventually, the tunnel led them to an underground room that was bigger than the Clubhouse and was filled with Ham-Hams everywhere. The Ham-Hams were surprised by the size of the place. It was large and several tunnels lined along the walls, indicating extra rooms or exits. There were also some weapons as if they had entered a battle camp. Amy spoke up to the hamsters and said, "My fellow rebels, I have found a group of foreigners to our land. One of them is a sorcerer who may be able to help us defeat Belacqua and The Baroque Association." Instantly, there were some excited whispers from everyone as they all began to gather around the Ham-Hams. Like fans crowding around their favorite rock star, the hamsters got up from their chairs and couches and began crowding around the Ham-Hams. The Ham-Hams were bombarded with questions all at once by the hamsters. Feeling overwhelmed, Neteru said, "Hold on, we didn't come all the way here to save you all."
"I know but you look like someone with talent, talent we need to save ourselves from enslavement," said Amy.
"Can you at least explain to use what we need to save you from?" asked Neteru.
"Certainly," said Amy. "Just take a seat and I'll explain everything."
Six chairs were brought for the Ham-Hams to sit in as they listened to Amy tell her story.
"Long ago, this kingdom was ruled by a good king and queen," said Amy as she got into a seat of her own. "Although the kingdom was having financial difficulties, the king and queen ruled fairly over their subjects and with their kind and sweet daughter, Princess Amionna, they worked for a better future for the crumbling kingdom. Drumstone has been inhabited by ham-hams even longer than Halastia has and the island used to be filled with priests who worshiped Neanna before she disappeared. At that time, the ham-ham priests made ten magical stones, each granted its wearer with magical abilities unique to the stone and it was these stones that the king and queen used to protect Drumstone against all those who seek to do Drumstone harm. But, unfortunately, the same stones that were used to help the kingdom had betrayed it when they fell into the wrong paws."
"The king's most trusted advisor, Belacqua, had taken the stones for himself. He gave the stones to his trusted companions and using the power of the stones, they murdered the king and queen. Now, with the king and queen gone, Belacqua had appointed himself as the king of Drumstone. As for the rest of his servants, he allowed them to keep the stones so they could form the Baroque Association. For months, the Baroque Association has conquered all of Drumstone. It's inhabitants are now slaves to the Association. The reason why you haven't been seeing other ham-hams in this town is because they've all been moved to isolation camps. However, a few of us has managed to escape Belacqua's control and we've been holding an underground resistance to the Baroque Association and I'm their leader."
"What is Belacqua doing with the ham-hams?" asked Neteru.
"Belacqua has led our people to the shores of the island behind the castle in order to search for an ancient artifact called the Staff of Alabasta," explained Amy. "No one knows where the staff came from or who made it but it is said that the Staff of Alabasta is a staff of great power and Belacqua wants to use the staff to make him even more stronger."
"What about Princess Amionna?" asked Kaiu. "What happened to her?"
"We don't know," said Amy. "She disappeared shortly after her parents were murdered. we don't know if she was killed, kidnapped, or escaped."
"Oh, how awful," said Hamtaro.
"Do you have any plans on how to defeat Belacqua?" asked Neteru.
"We have a plan but we've not been able to put it into motion," said Amy. "However, if you're as powerful as I think you are, you may be able to change that."
"How?" asked Neteru.
"Well, follow me and I'll show you," said Amy. Amy got up from her seat and led the Ham-Hams to the other end of the underground burrow.
Meanwhile, in a castle not too far away, a ham-ham was facing out the window, gazing upon the empty town below. The ham-ham was dark brown and had some red around the ears and mouth. he had sinister looking eye brows and around his neck was a gold colored stone. He stared transfixed upon the buildings below, his thoughts focused on the unknown visitors to his island. This ham-ham was none other than Belacqua, the leader of The Baroque Association. The members of the Baroque Association stood right behind him, waiting for any news of the visitors. The stones Belacqua and the other Baroque Association members wore around their necks were the magical stones that they stole from the king and queen of Drumstone. The stone Belacqua wore around his neck was The Sand Stone which gives him the power to turn into a whirlwind of sand which he could use for escape or for smothering people.
The rest of the Baroque Association each had their own stones which gives them unique powers while they wear the stones around their neck, just like Belacqua's Sand Stone. The first member of the Baroque Association was a female ham-ham with light pink fur. Her name is Jasmine and she wears the Hypnosis Stone which grants her the power to hypnotize anyone she wants (except the other members). The next member was another female ham-ham with flame orange fur and the name Flara. Flara wears the Fire Stone which grants her the power to turn herself into a living torch. Ballun is the next ham-ham in the group and the stone he possesses is the Rubber Stone which gives him the power to bounce and stretch like rubber. Standing next to Ballun was Helm, a bronze colored ham-ham who has the Armor Stone which grants him the power to turn his entire body into an indestructible metal. The next member on the list is a short ham-ham with white fur and the name Squeaker. Squeaker has the Noise Stone which gives him the power to create a powerful hypersonic sound which could topple buildings. The tallest ham-ham in the Association is Blade who has gray and black fur and wears the Blade Stone which transforms his arms into powerful sharp blades whenever he wants. Next to Blade is Bonga, a short and sturdy ham-ham who has the Explosion Stone which can enable him to blow himself up like a bomb over and over again without hurting himself. And the last member is a female ham-ham named Brigid who is a white colored ham-ham with the Ice Stone which givers her the power to create snow and imprison foes inside huge chunks of ice.
As the Baroque Association waited, a butler came running into the room, repeating "Badda-Badda" as he ran. The butler's name was Hugo and he was a short hamster with gray fur and a white front. He nervously walked up to Belacqua and the Baroque Association and said, "The police had lost the sorcerer and his companions. They suspect that the rebels have them." Flames began to surround Flara's paws as she growled in frustration.
"Those rebels darn, we should have destroyed them by now," said Flara.
"Don't lose your temper, Flara," said Squeaker. "It wont be long before we will be able to defeat those rebels. Even that sorcerer wont be able to best us once we find The Staff of Alabasta."
"I will gladly tare that sorcerer to shreds if he dares to try and stop us," said Blade.
"Yes, lets get 'em," said Ballun enthusiastically.
"We don't know anything about these new advisories or if they have sided with the rebels," said Bonga. "We must obtain more information before we strike."
"Who cares who or what they are?" asked Helm. "I say we get rid of them now before they can act."
"If we do, then we would be wasting our time fighting an unknown enemy when we could instead be searching for the Staff of Alabasta," said Jasmine.
"And I agree with Jasmine," said Belacqua. "We don't know who they are or if they had been sent by the rebels. Either way, it doesn't matter. For months now, we have been searching into every underground storage room left by the ancient inhabitants of this island and so far, none of the storage rooms we searched have the Staff of Alabasta inside them."
"What makes you so sure that the staff is even in one of those storage rooms?" asked Flara.
"We looked everywhere else the ancients could have hidden the staff except in those buried storage rooms," explained Belacqua. "This next one has to contain the staff, I can feel it.
"And what if it doesn't?" asked Brigid.
"Then we will hunt down those new arrivals," said Belacqua. "For now, we will go to the dig sight and watch the workers dig up the storage room."
"And what if they attack us?" asked Squeaker.
"With our defenses, there's no way they can stop us," said Belacqua with an evil grin. "Oh yes, when they get here, we'll be ready."
As the Baroque Association exited the castle to see the progress of the dig, the Ham-Hams were with the rebels as they explained their plan. The Ham-Hams were led to a small room and inside the room was what appeared to be a door to a safe. The door was round with a combination lock located in the center.
"What is this?" asked Neteru.
"Centuries ago, when the castle was first built, the ancient king and queen of the time built this secret tunnel which can be used to escape the castle when it's being invaded or break into the castle when it has been captured by the enemy," explained Amy. "This is that very same tunnel and through it, we can break into the castle and past Belacqua's defenses."
"But if you've had this method of breaking into the castle this whole time, how come you haven't used it before?" asked Neteru.
"Well, the tunnel that leads to the castle has never been used once in the entire two-hundred years it's been here and since no one has been using this tunnel, it has eroded and began to crumble," explained Amy. "After years of heavy rain and flooding, the water has seeped into the ground and has flooded the tunnel with water. We have no method of removing the water until now. I bet with your magic, we can remove the water in the tunnel so we can break into the castle and stop The Baroque Association."
"Could you manage that, Neteru?" asked Hamtaro.
"A simple 'Part Water' spell would moved the water so that it wont drown the ham-hams," said Neteru. "So technically, I could help you get through the water."
"Great, we will begin the invasion now," said Amy.
"Now?" said Tick. "Why so soon?"
"We suspect that Belacqua is close to uncovering The Staff of Alabasta and if he gets to the staff, all will be lost," said Amy.
"Then we will help fight," said Hamtaro.
"Yeah, we're not going to let Belacqua conquer this island," said Tick. Amy smiled.
"Thank you for helping our kingdom," said Amy. "Lets get to work."
Author's Note: For more information about Tick and how he fits into the series, see chapter 6 of "The Mystery of Snoozer."
