Temple of the Zodiac

Chapter 13: The Baroque Association Part Two

The rebels were quickly assembled in the main room of the underground headquarters, all prepared to fight with whatever weapons they had available such as swords, clubs, mallets, and hammers. As they were preparing for a fight, Kaiu was begging his dad to let him come along.

"Daddy, why can't I come along?" whined Kaiu.

"Because you're too young to be in a fight like this," said Neteru.

"But I want to fight alongside you," pleaded Kaiu.

"It can get very dangerous for you," said Neteru kindly. "Do you want to end up kidnapped like last time?"

"No," said Kaiu softly.

"Then promise me that you will stay here," said Neteru. Kaiu looked up at Neteru pleadingly as he thought about what his dad said. He didn't want to be a burden, nor did he want to worry his dad by getting himself in trouble again.

"Okay Daddy, I'll stay here," said Kaiu. Neteru gave Kaiu a hug and then kissed him gently on the forehead.

"I knew I could count on you, son," said Kaiu. Kaiu wrapped his arms around his father to return the hug.

"Promise you'll come back," said Kaiu.

"I promise," said Neteru.

Once everyone was ready for battle, Amy stood in front of the door to the secret entrance, about to open it so the invasion could begin. Neteru stood next to Amy and behind him was the Ham-Hams and the rebels who stood single file behind him, ready to enter the cave.

"Doc, is everyone accounted for?" asked Amy.

"Everyone is here and ready for action," said an old gray ham-ham from within the line of rebels. Satisfied with the report, Amy carefully turned the dial on the safe with a stethoscope in her ears, listening for the tumbler inside the safe. Eventually, Amy heard a loud click through the stethoscope and the door was unlocked. She pulled on the handle but the door would not budge since it was rusted shut after years of disuse.

"What's wrong?" asked Neteru.

"It's stuck," said Amy.

"We better help her," said Hamtaro. The Ham-Hams gathered around the door and grabbed a hold on the handle. While saying "Grooba," they pulled the door open, revealing the dark tunnel behind the door. Inside, the tunnel walls were made out of nothing but bare dirt. The tunnel was curved downwards, allowing a small pound of water to build up inside. Neteru raised his staff and said, "Aquno gondena asha." The jewel on Neteru's staff glowed brightly as its magic surrounded the puddle. Right before his eyes, the water in the tunnel began to part, creating a clear path for the rebels to walk through.

With a clear path to the castle, the rebels prepared themselves for the journey into the tunnel.

"Illumas," said Neteru and the jewel on his staff glowed a bright light which illuminated the tunnel as he walked into it. Amy went into the tunnel first, followed by Neteru, the Ham-Hams, and then the rest of the rebels, all repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they walked down the tunnel. Guided by the light of Neteru's staff and a few held torches, the rebels walked single file through the small tunnel.

Inside the tunnel, it was dark and gloomy and the years of decay and flooding had caused the air to smell like a polluted sea. The water that had flooded the tunnel now lay along the side of the walls, held by Neteru's spell. A few curious ham-hams stuck their fingers into the water and was amazed at how it still had the same consistency as ordinary water. They traveled deep into the dark tunnel until they finally reached what appeared to be a brick wall. Amy placed both paws on the wall and began pushing on it, saying "Grooba" as she did. Slowly the wall began to swing open like a door, revealing the wall to be a hidden doorway into the castle. The Ham-Hams stepped out through the opening one by one. Once they were out in the open, they realized that the exit to the tunnel was located behind an old fire place and the door Amy had pushed open revealed to be in the back of the fire place. A quick glance of the surrounding environment told the Ham-Hams that they were in some kind of a fancy living room with large fancy carpets, expensive furniture, and paintings.

"Where do we go from here?" asked Tick.

"We need to sneak outside where the slaves are located," said Amy. "Since they wont expect us to come out through the castle, we should have the element of surprise on our side." Amy explained this as the rebels began to crowed into the room as they came in through the secret door one by one.

Outside of the castle, on the far shores of the island, many hapless ham-hams were toiling in the dry dirt, working hard to dig up something for their tyrannical masters. All the ham-hams were chained together or had chains around their own legs and arms. Each of these poor hamsters were put to work under the hot sun, digging up the earth and dragging heavy equipment. All the while, Belacqua's police force monitored the slaves, repeatedly shouting at them and whacking them with their whips. The Baroque Association watched the slaves work, smiling to themselves because they knew they have become so close to finally obtaining the Staff of Alabasta. Behind them, a shallow tunnel was burrowed into the side of a hill, leading all the way to an old stone door. The dirt that covered the door was hard and dry, making it difficult for the slaves to pick the door clean of dirt.

Meanwhile, the rebels began their assault by taking down every guard that was in their way. Mostly they used blowguns with darts tipped with a sedative that rendered the victims unconscious. After the guards were unconscious, their suits were be removed and they would be tied up so they couldn't escape when they wake up. The rebels sneaked through the hallways of the castle until they reached a hallway that led to the back entrance to the castle. The hallway had several windows that was pointing out behind the castle, enabling the rebels to see the slaves toweling in the fields. To prevent being seen through the window by the guards, they all crawled along the floor right under the window and out of sight.

Amy and the Ham-Hams reached the door leading out of the castle, waiting for further instructions from Amy.

"So what's the plan?" asked Howdy.

"You guys are going to use those guard uniforms we stole to sneak out there," explained Amy. "While outside, you must find the Baroque Association and once you find them, signal us with this mirror." Amy pulled from her pocket a small round mirror and gave it to Neteru. "Once we receive the signal, we will attack the guards while you guys keep the Baroque Association distracted. We will then come to your aid as soon as we have the guards vanquished."

"But how will you be able to defeat the guards?" asked Neteru.

"We out number Belacqua's forces by at least three to one," said Amy. "It's The Baroque Association itself we have to worry about since we have no way of combating all of them at once. You have to keep them away from us until we can attack The Baroque Association at full force."

"A bold plan, Amy," said Tick.

"I know," said Amy, "but it's the only one I got."

Tick and the Ham-Hams all slipped into the chainmail armor which was more tight fitting than they anticipated. They strapped on the guards' belts as well as the swords that were in the sheaths attached to the belt. They also attached the guards' oval shaped shields onto their arms. Once they were fully disguised, the Ham-Hams quietly and discretely walked through the back exit of the castle and walked through the barren fields where the slaves worked. The Ham-Hams repeated "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked through the field, trying not pay too much attention to the slaves since it tugged at their heartstrings to see their fellow ham-hams suffer like this. Instead, they kept their focus on the primary target: Belacqua.

Belacqua and the Baroque Association watched in anticipation as the last of the rock covering the door was removed. Right there before them was an old stone door with ancient symbols written all over it. I was clearly one of the buried storage rooms left behind by the ancient inhabitants of the island. Eager to search inside for the Staff of Alabasta, Belacqua walked over to the door and gently pride it open with all the strength he could manage. The door was opened to as far as it could swing and then Belacqua stepped inside to claim his prize. The Baroque Association watched in anticipation for any word from Belacqua. After only two minutes, he stepped out of the storage room and said, "It's not in there."

"Heke?" chorused the Baroque Association in surprise.

"Are you sure?" asked Brigid.

"Positive, there is hardly anything in there," said Belacqua as he angrily kicked a nearby bucket.

"Perhaps this was the wrong spot," said Blade.

"This has to have been the spot," insisted Belacqua. "I was so sure of it." Belacqua angrily took his temper out on the dry dirt ground by striking it with a discarded pick ax.

As Belacqua continued to strike the ground in anger, the Ham-Hams came up from the side and hid behind some tall grass. Neteru used the mirror Amy had given him and by moving it at an angle where the sun light would strike the mirror, he signaled the others in the castle. At the castle, Neteru saw another flash of light, a signal from Amy that she got the message.

"Now, when Amy and her rebels come out, we strike on a full frontal assault on Belacqua," said Neteru. "Remember, our goal is to keep the Baroque Association away from the rebels until they've managed to contain the guards." The Ham-Hams pulled out their swords, ready for battle at a moments notice.

They didn't have to wait long because at that moment, there were some loud noises heard from the castle. Hamtaro stuck his head out of the tall grass and saw the rebels charging towards the guards. Shouts and noises could be heard as the rebels began attacking the guards with their swords and explosives. The noise obviously caught the attention of the Baroque Association.

"What's going on over there?" asked Belacqua.

"It appears we're under attack," said Squeaker.

"What?!" shouted Belacqua. "How did they breach our security?"

"I don't know but I say we knock them to the ground," said Helm.

Before they could charge for battle, Neteru pulled out his staff and shouted, "Grolth ek gaw tez zeno eggath." Suddenly, the short grass that was underneath the feet of the Baroque Association was beginning to grow out of control.

"What the...?" said Belacqua in surprise. The grass began wrapping themselves around the Baroque Association, binding them like living vines and holding their arms and legs. Blade's arms began to transform into long sharp blades which he viciously uses to cut his way free from the plants. Brigid was freezing the plants in ice while Flara burned her way through. Belacqua changed into a cloud of sand and easily escaped the grasp of the plants.

Belacqua changed from sand to his ham-ham form and stood there in front of the living grass, confronting the Ham-Hams who had their swords drawn ready for a fight.

"So, you are the interlopers that were seen invading my island," said Belacqua.

"This is not your island, not anymore," said Neteru.

"Oh, it's not?" asked Belacqua sarcastically. "And what makes you think that you can stop us?"

"Our determination to stop you is all we need," said Tick.

"If that's all you have, then you'll be dead before you know it," said Belacqua. At that point, the Baroque Association had managed to free themselves from the plants and gathered around their leader, ready to fight back. The Ham-Hams got themselves into a fighting stance as they prepared for a battle.

The Ham-Hams gave off a loud war cry as they charged towards the Baroque Association with their swords held high. Hamtaro's war cry was cut short when Ballun began to stretch his arms like a rubber band. His stretched arms grabbed Hamtaro by his chainmail armor and lifted him high into the air and dangled him helplessly over the heads of the Ham-Hams.

"Hey, let go," said Hamtaro. He swung his sword at the arm that held him but the arm bent in odd positions as it avoided the blade of the sword. Meanwhile, the rest of the Ham-Hams were having troubles of their own.

Squeaker had unleashed a loud sonic blast from his mouth that had knocked Howdy and Dexter off their feet. The two immediately covered their ears as they were met with the ear piercing screech but the force of the noise knocked them to the ground. The two laid on the ground, stunned by the sudden sonic blast. Before they could get up, Brigid began bombarding the two Ham-Hams with snow spewing from her mouth. With their metal suits, Howdy and Dexter began to freeze quickly.

"So cold," said Howdy.

"Oh, are you cold?" said Flara in fake concern. "Here, let me warm you up." From her finger tips, fire spewed towards Howdy and Dexter.

"Ouchichi," cried Howdy and Dexter as they leaped to their feet and ran off to avoid the hot flames. Flara laughed at them all the while.

Tick took on Blade and Helm but they were hard to defeat. Blade used the blades on his arms like an expert and his blades were sharp, causing cuts and scratches to appear on Tick's armor and shield. As for Helm, he had changed himself into a large metal figure, making him pervious to Tick's attacks and not only that, it made his metallic fists lethal weapons. Tick desperately fought back but Blade was easily overpowering him and Helm's metal body was bruising him under his chainmail suit. The fight became more desperate when Blade took a good swing at Tick's shield, cutting a long cash into it. Tick tried to take the opportunity to drive his own sword through Blade but he easily blocked Tick's sword and as he did, he also made another attack to Tick's shield. When Tick tried to run his sword through Blade, he had turned his shield away from Blade, enabling Blade to hit the back side of the shield with so much force, it actually knocked the shield out of Tick's grasp. The shield fell to the ground, bent and damaged. Now without his only protection, Tick continued to defend himself.

Tick held up his sword, futilely blocking Blade's repeated strikes upon it with his own undamaged blades. Tick could actually see the blade beginning to bend and dent by the repeated blows and Tick knew it wont be long before Blade would destroy his only weapon. Before he could formulate a plan, Helm struck Tick in the side, knocking him off balance. That single strike gave Blade the chance to strike at Tick's blade at full force, cutting the blade in half. Half of Tick's blade fell to the ground with a loud "clang." Now that Tick had no weapon, Helm striked Tick hard in the face. Tick fell to the ground, dazed and with a large red lump between his eyes.

Meanwhile, Neteru was fighting Belacqua.

"Zaw zaw gligack," said Neteru and from his staff, a sphere of electrical energy shot at Belacqua but Belacqua turned into a cloud of sand and the electricity pasted harmlessly through him. Belacqua, while in the form of a sand cloud, began to surround Neteru. To Neteru, the sensation of having sand particles fly around him was like standing in a sand storm with sand painfully striking his body in all directions. The sand was getting into Neteru's eyes and mouth, making it hard to see or breath. Fighting the urge to spit out the sand flying into his mouth, Neteru shouted, "Gegorrak auch." A strong wind was conjured which blew the small dust storm off of him but Belacqua effortlessly changed back into his hamster form before being carried far by the wind. Neteru was about to make another strike but Squeaker immediately opened his mouth and once again, he produced a loud high pitch screech that struck Neteru head on. The force of the loud noise painfully passed through Neteru as if he was being ripped apart one cell at a time. Neteru hit the ground hard, his ears ringing. As he laid there, he heard the sound of footsteps walking towards him. Neteru slowly opened his eyes and saw Jasmine looking down upon him.

"Look into my eyes," said Jasmine in a somewhat mystical voice and Neteru felt compelled to obey. Little did he know that Jasmine had activated her hypnotic powers, causing her eyes to swirl like black and white paint being stirred together. By looking into Jasmine's eyes, Neteru was put under hypnosis and he laid still as he stared out into space like a zombie.

Belacqua grinned evilly as he watched Neteru lying there helplessly. He turned his attention back to the rest of the Ham-Hams who were also getting their butts kicked. Helm and Blade held Tick pinned to the ground, Brigid and Flara had Howdy and Dexter covered in ice, their fur singed and frozen all at once. The ice bounded their arms and legs, hindering their movement. As for Hamtaro, Ballun still held him with one arm that was stretched high off the ground. With a sinister idea growing in his mind, Neteru told Jasmine, "Order Neteru to use a 'Rope Bind' spell upon Howdy and Dexter." At first she hesitated but a wide smile crossed Jasmine's face as she realized what Belacqua was planning. She immediately ordered Neteru onto his feet and, like a puppet, he stood up without question.

"Helm, Blade, toss your captive towards the two frozen in ice," ordered Belacqua. Helm easily picked up the struggling Tick with one paw and he immediately tossed him at Howdy and Dexter. Tick fought and struggled desperately but it was no good as he was tossed. Upon impact, some of the ice shattered as Tick smashed into them, scattering ice shards everywhere. Howdy and Dexter sat on the ground, shivering violently.

"Neteru, use your 'Rope Bind' spell on your three companions," ordered Jasmine. Neteru obeyed.

"Repodoarock," said Neteru. From his staff, a blue rope shot out and began to bind itself around Howdy, Dexter, and Tick, tying them together.

"N-N-Neteru, w-what ar-re you-u doo in-n?" asked Howdy as he shivered with the cold.

"Sorry but he's under my control," said Jasmine. "Neteru, go over to your friends." Neteru repeated "Ticky-Ticky" as he walked over to the Ham-Hams and stood next to them like a stiff statue.

"Oh no, Neteru is hypnotized," thought Hamtaro to himself as he lay dangling at the end of Ballun's stretched arm.

"Hey, let go of me you creep," demanded Hamtaro.

"Quite, you," said Ballun and with that, his right arm stretched forwards and began to wrap themselves around Hamtaro's body, binding his arms like an anaconda. As the arm enclosed itself around Hamtaro, it caused him to drop his sword and shield which fell to the ground. Now, instead of Hamtaro being held by a single paw, he was now wrapped in a single arm with no weapon at his disposal. Ballun began to tighten his grip on Hamtaro, crushing him like a snake. Hamtaro frantically kicked his legs as they dangled off the ground.

"I'll have the pleasure of killing you myself," said Ballun with an evil grin.

As Hamtaro was slowly getting crushed to death, the members of the Baroque Association were backing away from the Ham-Hams, except for Bonga who stood beside the bound Ham-Hams and the hypnotized Neteru. Hamtaro was carried with Ballun as he kept his distance from the Ham-Hams.

"What are you going to do to us?" asked Tick, trying not to show any fear in his voice.

"I possess the Explosion Stone," explained Bonga, "granting me the power blow up like a bomb but not cause any harm to myself. It's a good way of destroying your enemies." Upon hearing what Bonga was going to do, Hamtaro frantically fought to break free but Ballun was beginning to tighten his grip, further hindering Hamtaro's ability to breath and move. Hamtaro watched in horror as Bonga's body began to glow red as he charged up to explode. Hamtaro frantically searched for some way of escaping but the only part of his body that wasn't restricted was his legs and mouth. It was then that he had an idea. It was a dangerous one but it was the only one he had: He was going to bite his way out.

Hamtaro bit down hard upon Ballun's arm.

"Ouchichi," cried Ballun in surprise. Out of reflexes, Ballun flung Hamtaro, releasing his grip on Hamtaro and causing him to fly through the air. Hamtaro flew through the air and struck Bonga before he could explode, breaking his concentration and canceling the attempted attack.

"Ouchichi," said Hamtaro and Bonga as they got up onto their feet.

"Why you little brat," shouted Ballun in anger. "I'll throttle you," Ballun's arms began to stretch like a band as he reached for Hamtaro. Thinking fast, Hamtaro grabbed Howdy's shield and sword and held them both up defensively. Ballun's paw was stretching so fast that it struck Hamtaro's shield hard.

"Ow," cried Ballun as he shook his throbbing paw in pain.

"Why you..." said Flara threateningly before she fired a fire ball from her mouth. Hamtaro gave off a cry of surprise as he held up the shield to blocked the oncoming attack. The fire ball struck the shield, dispersing the fire harmlessly in all directions. Angered, Belacqua shouted, "That's it, I'm going to take you down myself." Belacqua turned into a cloud of sand and then he charged towards Hamtaro who futilely held up his shield to protect himself.

Meanwhile, the fight between the rebels and the guards was going along smoothly. Despite their armor and their swords, the police force of Belacqua were dropping like flies. As the slaves were being released from the guards' control, the slaves began fighting along side the rebels. It was Amy's clever idea to have her troops carry extra swords so that they could be given to the slaves as they were freed. The battle had gone on for only fifteen minutes and already it looked like they were going to overpower the guards in no time. Amy had managed to work her way through the battle until she reached the Baroque Association. They stood about a yard away, all of them gathered together as they watched Belacqua attacking Hamtaro. The sand cloud form of Belacqua was surrounding Hamtaro in its dust and Hamtaro was futilely swinging at the sand particles with his sword. The Baroque Association was cheering Belacqua on as they watched.

Amy grinned to herself as she realized this was the opportunity she had been waiting for. She took off her necklace and held up the green stone attached to it in her paw. She ran towards the Baroque Association and as she ran, she recited a poem.

"From fire to earth, from sea to air. Bind the foes who stand there. With the power of the stones, I bind to me. Imprison these traitors for all eternity." Naturally, the Baroque Association turned their attention to Amy as she ran down the hill shouting but as she recited the poem, the stone began to glow brightly. Amy stopped in her tracks in front of the Baroque Association and held the glowing stone into the air. At first, the Baroque Association didn't know what was happening until they realized that their stones were glowing. Suddenly, without warning, the Baroque Association found their arms and legs beginning to grow stiff.

"I can't move," said Blade.

"What's happening to us?" asked Jasmine. As their bodies began to grow more stiff, they watched themselves in horror as they saw themselves being whisked off the ground as if they were made of dust. The Baroque Association changed from solid hamsters into a cloud of colors and like a vacuum, Amy's stone was sucking up the cloud until it was completely absorbed, imprisoned inside. Once the cloud was sucked up, there was now nothing left of the Baroque Association except for their stones which lay on the ground abandoned.

Belacqua changed into his hamster form as he realized what had happened. Hamtaro stopped swinging his sword, exhausted by the repeated attacks of all that sand. Now with Jasmine gone, Neteru was freed from her control and began shaking his head as if trying to clear his thoughts.

"Where am I?" asked Neteru. "Last thing I knew, I had my butt kicked by Belacqua."

"Hey Neteru, you mind letting us out of here?" asked Tick who was still tied up with the others. Realizing that his friends needed his help, he said the counterspell that dispelled the rope. Once the rope evaporated, the Ham-Hams were freed and Belacqua found himself surrounded.

It's over Belacqua," said Amy as she threateningly held up her rock. "You are defeated and now you will join your Baroque Association."

"But what have you done to the Association?" asked Belacqua.

"Do you remember this, Belacqua?" asked Amy who pointed at the stone. "This is the Prison Stone, the only stone you did not take from the dead king. This stone was specially designed just in case the other stones was used against the crown. With this stone, I can imprison anyone in possession of the stones inside this one where they will remain until released. Since there is no escape, surrender quietly."

"Never," said Belacqua. With that, he changed into a sand cloud and began flying into the air but Neteru shouted, "Gribus totala." The spelled telekinetically forced Belacqua to the ground. He changed back into his ham-ham form, fighting the Binding Spell Neteru had put on him. As he struggled, Amy held up her stone and said, "From fire to earth, from sea and air. Bind the foes who stand there. With the power of the stones, I bind to me. Imprison these traitors for all eternity." As before, Belacqua's stone glowed as he was put under the power of Amy's Prison Stone. Belacqua turned into a dust-like cloud, just like what happened to the Baroque Association, and he was being sucked into the stone.

"I'll be back," was Belacqua's last words as the last of him was sucked into the stone.

The remainder of Belacqua's troops had quickly been defeated and chained using the same chains that bounded the slaves they were controlling just earlier before. The Ham-Hams were all tended for by the other rebels. Dexter and Howdy were given a warm blanket and hot cocoa, warming their frozen bodies. Hamtaro, Neteru, and Tick's injuries were treated by the medics. Kaiu had been brought to his father from the headquarters where he anxiously sat next to him and begged Neteru to tell him what happened. Neteru didn't have much to tell since half the time, he was hypnotized and couldn't remember a thing about what happened in that time.

As Neteru told his son everything he could remember about today's mission, Hamtaro chanced a glance at the old storage room. The door to the old room was still wide open, left by the Baroque Association when they were searching for the Staff of Alabasta. Hamtaro stared down into the dark storage room and inside, something gold colored caught his eye. It shined a little as the sun's rays passed through the open door and struck the gold object. Curious, Hamtaro got onto his feet and walked towards the open door. Howdy was finishing his hot cocoa when he noticed Hamtaro walking away.

"Hey Hamtaro, where are you going?" asked Howdy but Hamtaro didn't respond to him.

"Where's he going, Daddy?" asked Kaiu.

"I don't know, son," said Neteru. "Lets find out." The Ham-Hams all got back onto their feet and followed Hamtaro.

Hamtaro walked into the dark storage room and searched amongst a pile of rags where he saw the gold. He tossed the rags aside one by one as he searched through them. The Ham-Hams stood at the entrance, blocking out what little light came through the opening.

"Hamtaro, what are you doing?" asked Neteru. Hamtaro didn't answer until he found what he was looking for and picked it up.

"You wont believe what I had found," said Hamtaro as he stood up. Hamtaro turned around and revealed a large gold object in his paw and even in the dim light, they could make out the object's unusual pie slice shape and instantly, they new that this was a Caidoz piece.

"No way!" said Kaiu in surprise.

"Well I'll be a monkey's cousin, that's the Caidoz piece we've been looking for," said Howdy.

"But how did it get here?" asked Tick.

"Who cares, we got it," said Dexter.

"Yeah, and now we can take it home and save Neanna," said Hamtaro excitedly.

"Come on, Hamtaro, activate it," said Kaiu.

"Okay," said Hamtaro. Without hesitating, he placed his paw on the piece and recited the poem. "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." Instantly, the Caidoz piece glowed a golden color that lit up the otherwise dark storage room. Right before their eyes, a symbol began to engrave itself upon the piece in a golden light. The symbol resembled an upside down "U" but the left tip was curled almost completely into a circle while the right tip was only curled slightly. This symbol was the zodiacal sign of Leo, Hamtaro's zodiac sign. As soon as the piece stopped glowing, Amy showed up to the entrance to the storage room.

"Hey guys, the castle is now open and we can go inside," said Amy.

"Certainly," said Neteru and the Ham-Hams walked out of the strange room and followed Amy. As he walked, Hamtaro placed the piece into his back pack, hiding away safe and sound.

The Ham-Hams followed Amy into the castle, walking through its long halls and into the same room where the Baroque Association were talking about the Ham-Hams' unexpected arrival. In the room was Hugo the butler. He saw Amy enter the room and immediately, he ran to her side and said, "Princess Amionna, I'm so glad you're safe."

"Hugo, I've missed you so much," said Amy as she gave him a hug. There was a silence from the Ham-Hams as they watched this display in confusion.

"Heke?" said Howdy in confusion. "You mean you're Princess Amionna? The same Princess who disappeared after the king and queen was killed?"

"I prefer to be called 'Amy' for short," said Amy with a smile.

"Atata," chorussed the Ham-Hams.

"I apologize for my dissipation but it was necessary that I hide my identity for my protection and the protection of my stone," explained Amy. "You see, my parents gave me one of the Prison Stone for safe keeping." Amy held up the stone she was wearing to show the Ham-Hams. "The stone was meant as a back up and only a royal family member of the king and queen can use this stone. I've had this stone for a long time and my parents entrusted me to protect it. When they were killed, I fled the castle and disguised myself as a commoner for my protection. I slowly began to form a rebellion against Belacqua and the Baroque Association and I've been its leader."

"Since you were the princess, you must have known about that secret tunnel into the castle all along?" asked Neteru.

"Sure did," said Amy.

"But if you had the stone all this time, how come you never used it before?" asked Hamtaro.

"It only works at a short distance and I've never been able to get close to the Baroque Association until now," said Amy.

"Well, you've done a hamsterrific job of defeating Belacqua," said Hamtaro kindly.

"Thanks but today wouldn't have been a victory without you guys," said Amy.

"What will become of your kingdom?" asked Neteru.

"Now that my parents are dead, I remain as the only heiress to the throne," said Amy. "I'm going to rebuild this island back to its former glory."

"Well, maybe Halastia can help," suggested Tick. "Halastia has been wanting to add your kingdom as part of the Halastian government and they had sent me as an ambassador to negotiate a deal. If you agree to allow your country to be a part of ours, we will grant your island protection and all the rights Halastia has to offer. Not to mention you will become the first governor of Drumstone. What do you say?" Amy put a finger to her lip in thought.

"Intriguing proposition," said Amy. "How about we discuss the matter over dinner."

"Can we all join because I'm starving?" asked Hamtaro.

"Certainly," said Amy. The Ham-Hams cheered with joy and with more reasons to cheer than just a free dinner. They have saved an island from enslavement and best of all, they have the final Caidoz piece. Their journey is over.