With a flash and a BOOM, Trigger Happy and Boomer found themselves within the confines of a large, metallic room filled with all sorts of machinery. Crates overflowing with unlit bombs, barrels of fireworks and guns, hanging lamps with barely-lit light bulbs… But other than that, the only thing to inhabit the room were Boomer and Trigger Happy themselves!

"Helloooooooooo?" Boomer shouted, but he was greeted with nothing but the echoes of his own voice as it reverberated around the room.

"Anybody here?" Trigger Happy yelled as he hopped around the room. "It's the Skylanders!"

"Skylanders?" repeated a tiny, quivering voice just loud enough to be heard, well, by another other than Trigger Happy and Boomer, that is.

"Are you Mabu Defense Force guys still here?" Trigger Happy frowned as he received no response, then sat down and toyed with his pistols. "I think they might not be here, Boomy."

"Hello!" the tiny voice called at a slightly heightened level of volume. "I'm over here!"

Boomer's ears twitched as he delved his hands into his backpack and grasped firmly onto a round bomb, just in case. "Who's there?" Boomer called as he looked around the room, ears still twitchy with concern.

He looked right, and left, and right again, and when he looked in front, a mabu dressed in some kind of mock military getup stood right in front of him!

"Hello!" the mabu said as they waved to Boomer and Trigger Happy.

Boomer yelped and jumped back, but caught a breath and beamed. "Hah! You caught me by surprise there, kiddo!" Boomer adjusted the straps on his backpack with a hup, "Are you one of those, uh—" Boomer frowned and scratched his chin, his beard hairs tickled against his hands. "—Mabu something or other force?"

"Mabu Defense Force." The mabu sighed and made a weak smile, but quickly composed himself and made that smile more genuine. "The name's Snuckles!"

Snuckles yanked Boomer's hand away and shook it as fast as he could. "And I'm glad to work with you!" Snuckles released Boomer and immediately shook Trigger Happy's hand, completely oblivious to how he shook the rest of Trigger Happy with it. "You're the entire reason I joined the force!"

Snuckles giggled and stomped with glee as he released a very dizzy Trigger Happy.

"You see, a few months ago, Kaos tried to take over my home village and released a ton of nasty tornadoes, but then, the Skylanders came and sent him packing!" Snuckles clasped his hands. "Ever since I saw them in action, I've always wanted to be a hero just like them!"

Snuckles pounded a fist against his paw.

"And that's when I decided to join the Mabu Defense Force and become a secret agent! This is my very first mission, and it's a solo one, too! The captain said I could do it alone because 'It's something even you couldn't mess up!'"

Snuckles grabbed Boomer's hands once more and stared him straight in the face!

"Can you believe it?"

Boomer and Trigger Happy, however, seemed less than ecstatic as they cast each other apprehensive, knowing looks.

"Oh, but, enough about me!" Snuckles released Boomer's hands and nodded as he placed a hand on his heart. "It's an honor and a privilege to be working with you today, Skylanders!"

Boomer stood silent for a few moments, his own eyes sparkling as he watched Snuckles, and he beamed as he patted Snuckles' back.

"Don't worry a fur on your head then, Snuckly boy!" Boomer proclaimed as he patted Snuckles a few more times and spun towards Trigger Happy. "With us on your side, getting this gear back will be a piece of pie!"

"Don't you mean cake?" Snuckles scrunched his eyebrows and frowned.

"Eh, I don't really like cake!" Boomer shook his hand as he faced Trigger Happy. "It's not explosive enough!"

"Well, whatever! I'll lead the way, so just follow me!"

As Snuckles walked into the distance, Boomer turned his attention to Trigger Happy and made the most serious look he could muster.

"We cannot let anything happen to this kid," Boomer whispered as he looked back at Snuckles while Snuckles turned around a map and looked hopelessly confused while doing so. "Look at him, he's precious! He's got that first day saving the world look and everything!"

"Are you sure he'll be alright, though?" Trigger Happy said as he pointed towards Snuckles. "He seems kinda…"

Boomer hastily shushed Trigger Happy, who in turned shushed back.

"Lost?" Trigger Happy whispered as he leaned past Boomer and watched Snuckles fumble with the map some more. "Confused? Ten seconds away from crying and saying he wants to go home?"

"Yeah, but—" Boomer beamed and clasped his hands "—that's just how all rookies are! Give him a little bit and he'll be great, I can feel it in my toes!"

Trigger Happy beamed and made a small chuckle. "Well, if you say so Boomy!" Trigger Happy whipped out his pistols and spun them around. "If any troll, imp, robot, or rabid gigantic hamster tries to touch him—" Trigger Happy held out a pistol and wrapped his finger around the trigger "—I'll give 'em one of these!"

With a release on the trigger, a gigantic golden coin shot out of the gun, banged against the wall and ricocheted all around the area! Trigger Happy and Boomer both yelped and ducked down as the coin continued to bounce, and watched in land in front of them with a giggle.

"So he'll totally be fine!" Trigger Happy shook his pistol while smoke emitted from the barrel. "As long as he has us!"

"Skylanders!" Snuckles called from across the halls. "Are you coming?"

"Coming!" Boomer and Trigger Happy shouted as they followed Snuckles down the dimly-lit mechanical hallways.

Once the three of them crowded together, Snuckles straightened out his map and cleared his throat.

"Now, the troll warehouse where the gear is stored is a ways off from where we are now," Snuckles explained as he presented his map to Trigger Happy and Boomer, "but thankfully, I have a map!" Snuckles lowered the map and scratched the side of his head. "Well, I would be thankful for it if I could actually figure out where we are on it."

Boomer rubbed his chin and placed a metal finger on the map. "In my professional observation," Boomer said as he grabbed the map out of Snuckles' hands and turned it around. "I think you have the map upside-down!"

"I do?" Snuckles examined the map again and smiled. "Oh, looks like I did!" Snuckles retrieved the map from Boomer and presented it once again. "Now, see this X here?"

Snuckles tapped a part of the map marked with a bright red X.

"This is where the Golden Gear's hiding spot is! Marked it myself and everything~" Snuckles rolled up the map and tucked it into his pocket. "Now, if we go straight through these tunnels, they should lead us on the way to the Golden Gear…"
Boomer nodded intently as Snuckles rambled on and on and on, turned his head a ways towards the right, and gasped!

"DUCK!" Boomer exclaimed as he pointed ahead.

"Duck?" Snuckles turned back to Boomer. "But, why would there be ducks here? This is a factory—OOF!"

Snuckles grunted as both him and Trigger Happy were pushed to the ground by Boomer, then he poked his head up and watched as a round bomb soared over their heads! The bomb crashed a couple feet away from where they laid and exploded with a loud KA-BOOM!

"Oh, that kind of duck!" Snuckles chuckled to himself. "Heh, my bad!"

"This isn't the time to laugh!" Boomer got back to his feet and withdrew his bombs. "We've got company!"

"Wait, we do?" Snuckles looked up and winced.

Right in front of them, several trolls dressed in armor and armed with lit bombs and dynamite blocked the way ahead, and judging by the scowls on their faces, they didn't exactly look happy to see Skylanders in their outpost.

"SKYLANDERS?" Exclaimed the first troll as they held their bombs tight. "How'd you get here?"

Boomer, however, seemed hardly intimidated as he smiled and walked up to the trolls. "Portal of course!" Boomer proclaimed as he stroked his beard and looked over the enemy trolls. "Is there any better way to travel when you're a Skylander? I mean, balloon rides are fun and all, but—"

Boomer stopped and gasped as he looked over the highly-decorated troll general leading the charge.

"I KNOW YOU!"

Boomer grinned, sauntered over to the troll general and laid an arm around the general's shoulders.

"GOOD OL' BOOMINGTON!" Boomer squeeze-hugged the general that was presumably Boomington and grinned even wider. "How've you been, buddy? Last time I saw you, you could barely light a bomb!"

The other trolls snickered, but quickly fell back into silence as Boomington glared them down.

"Don't act all buddy-buddy with me, Boomer!" Boomington exclaimed as he pushed Boomer away, his voice grizzled like a wartorn soldier. "You were the one who abandoned our army to go play hero with the Skylanders!"

Boomer scratched his chin and smirked. "Oh, right! I did do that!"

In a flash, Boomer dove his hands into his backpack and whipped out a fine assortment of shiny bombs!

"Guess this is the part where we start fighting!" Boomer paused for a moment to clear his throat, then pushed a fist to the heavens. "CHARGE!"

Boomer's cry of war was all the signal the enemy trolls needed to charge, but Boomer and Trigger Happy were just a quick to fight! The trolls launched their bombs, but Trigger Happy shot them all away in one fell swoop with a gigantic pot of gold! The pot not only knocked the bombs out of range, but conked one of the trolls right in the head and knocked them unconscious!

"Pretty, birdies," the conked troll sputtered as they stumbled around the battlefield and nearly knocked another troll off their feet!

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the other troll shouted as they shook a fist at their dizzy comrade. "You could've distracted me!"

"I don't know," Boomer remarked as he wound up his arm, "you seem pretty distracted to me!"

The troll grunted and turned around, but Boomer just punched them right in the face and shot them right into the factory walls! The impact was so harsh that they only groaned as they slid down.

While Trigger Happy and Boomer fought, Snuckles watched them with shining eyes, but only for a moment. With a fire of determination in his eyes, Snuckles smiled and charged into the fray! He screamed as he ran towards Boomington with arms flailed like he was trying to punch something, but, Boomington managed to stop Snuckles simply by holding up his hand and pushing Snuckles back and forth. As Snuckles charged in place while he tried and failed to overpower Boomington's grip, Boomington only sighed and shook his head.

"Hey kid, can you hold this for me?" Boomington asked as he handed off a lit bomb to Snuckles.

"Oh sure, no problem!" Snuckles replied as he popped out of his ambush and grabbed the bomb from Boomington.

Boomington smiled and ran off, but Snuckles hardly noticed what had happened— he just frowned and twitched his ear.

"Is it just me, or does something sound like it's burning?"

Snuckles looked down at his hands and screamed as he realized just what he was holding!

"A BOMB! A BOMB! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" Snuckles squealed as he ran back and forth in a panic then finally tossed the bomb away!

However, the bomb's trajectory was set right for Boomer and Trigger Happy's fight, and it's fuse was nearly done for—it would explode at any second! Snuckles gasped as the bomb drew closer, but then, a gigantic golden coin knocked it away and it exploded in midair, far away from the battle instead!

"Boom! Boom boom!" Trigger Happy chattered as he bounced from one foot to the other, his guns' barrel decorated with faint smoke.

"Thanks for that, Skylander!" Snuckles beamed before he screamed and ducked under a round of dynamite. "ACK!"

The trolls shouted in anger as they chased after Snuckles, but while they made chase, they hadn't taken noticed to Trigger Happy! He only made a low, ominous chuckle as he whipped out a gigantic, golden machine gun! Trigger Happy grinned so wide his mouth practically took up half his face as he held his hands tight around the trigger. While he did, the gun's barrel sparkled with a golden shimmer.

"Charging, charging," Trigger Happy whispered as the trolls chased Snuckles around the Skylanders and right into Trigger Happy's line of sight, all oblivious to the machine gun or its bright golden light. "FULL CHARGE!"

Trigger Happy let go of the machine gun's trigger, fell back into Boomer's arms, and watched with glee as a gigantic gold laser beam rocketed out of the gun and slammed straight into the troll soldiers! It happened so fast that the trolls could only watch in horror as they were caught in the blast!

"CURSE YOU BOOMER!" Boomington cried as he and his soldiers shot into the distance...

Boomer hummed, looked up and scratched his chin. "Y'know, he said that after I beat him at a game of BOOM during the New Year's party too," Boomer remarked.

Boomer turned a gaze to Snuckles, who fell on the floor and watched Boomer with wide eyes, yet smiled and pulled Snuckles back to his feet.

"Something tells me we won't see those guys again for a while." Boomer lead Snuckles down the pathway. "So, Snucks, where does that map of yours say we need to go?"

Snuckles made a wary smile, retrieved his map and glazed it over.

"Well," Snuckles whimpered as he squinted his eyes. "First we need to go ten paces north, then take a right at this squiggly line here and dance our way south of the storage plants, or maybe we need to turn around at the squiggly line and then go west?" Snuckles sighed and held a paw against his head. "Why do they make these maps so complicated?"

"Can I take a crack at it, then?" Trigger Happy asked as he took a look at the map and smiled.

"You can try."

Snuckles sighed and handed the map back over to Trigger Happy, who spun it around and hummed. Trigger Happy laid the map on the ground, flattened out all its creases with surprise detail, and… Folded the map into a hat and popped it on his head?

"Follow me!" Trigger Happy proclaimed as he pointed a finger ahead, only for his map hat to fall right off! With an inconspicuous cough, he grabbed the map hat off the floor and positioned it back onto his head. "Okay, now follow me!"

Snuckles cast a wary look at Boomer, who only shrugged and smiled. So, Snuckles just shrugged and trailed behind Trigger Happy and Boomer while they sung along to jaunty war songs, though he wasn't nearly as carefree about this as they were.

Snuckles' teeth chattered as he looked around the halls, which morphed from generic dimly-lit metal hallways to open areas that reeked of gunpowder and oil, likely from the troll workers who absorbed themselves in making all sorts of strange weapons and contraptions, and then back again. Snuckles stopped for a moment to gaze over the working trolls, and shuddered as one troll tested a laser gun on itself. Snuckles' fur stood on end as a shrill scream echoed through the glass that bordered off the halls from the testing room, and he ran back down the halls.

"So, Trig," Boomer's voice just faintly echoed down the metal halls, "how did you say you solved this thing again?"

"Well, last time I just bribed that…" Trigger Happy said, but his voice trailed off as Snuckles finally ran into their current residence. "Snuckles, there you are!"

Snuckles paused and placed a paw over his heart as he arrived within a room comprised of rust red-colored walls, and more steam and pipe-based technology compared to the more industrial sights of before. The room was surprisingly clean with only a few tables and chairs set up for decoration. Nobody was there save for Boomer, Trigger Happy, and a tiny lockmaster imp that resided within the keyhole of…

"A lock puzzle!" Snuckles exclaimed as he clasped his paws. "Finally, an area where I can show off my secret agent expertise!"

Snuckles hummed to himself as he grabbed some kind of keychain full of lock-picking tools from his pocket, and his hum grew silent as he ran each and every one through the lock puzzle—but none of them worked! It didn't matter if he jiggled the lock, or toyed with the inner mechanisms, or even poked the lockmaster imp! The lock puzzle just stood firm as ever.

"If none of those worked then what in Skylands opens this thing?" Snuckles sighed as he slumped against the door.

"I know the trick!" Boomer said in a very scholarly tone.

"You do? What is it?" Snuckles jumped to his feet and watched Boomer pass him by. "A secret lock-picker? A lockmaster imp pest control device? Shaking it really hard? A…"

Snuckles tilted his head and frowned as Boomer placed a stick of dynamite in the lock.

"Stick of dynamite?"

"I'd suggest you stand back!" Boomer said as he pulled a lighter out of his backpack.

Trigger Happy and Snuckles both jumped out of the way as Boomer lit the dynamite stick with an excited smile on Trigger Happy's face and a wary frown on Snuckles'.

"That's it!" the lockmaster imp cried as it hopped out of the lock puzzle and waddled away. "I'm taking a vacation!"

"You have fun with that, little guy!" Boomer chirped as he jumped back himself.

Just then… BOOM! The puzzle and its door exploded into a million tiny bits, and in the process the way ahead opened!

"And there you have it, folks!" Boomer proclaimed as he adjusted his backpack. "How to open a lock puzzle, the troll way!"

Trigger Happy grinned and applauded Boomer as they all walked along, but Snuckles only grimaced and warily followed.

"Just what did I get myself into?" Snuckles asked as he scratched his head.

§

Chihiro rubbed her thumb against the list's crisp, carefully-printed paper as she trekked deeper into the woods. Though she tried to keep her heart steady, it was of no use. No matter what she did or what she told herself, her mind always trailed back to the failure that was surely to be at hand. Of all the rotten luck, why did she have to be tested on the one thing she didn't study? What if she failed?

"Calm down, Chihiro," Chihiro told herself for what was probably the thirtieth time since the exam began, "even if you didn't study, as long as you try your best, you should at least barely pass!"

Chihiro clenched the list a little tighter in her cold, sweaty grasp. "And if you don't, what's the worst that could happen? You fail miserably and get exiled for good?" Chihiro shuddered and squeezed the list even tighter. "Yeah, better not think about that right now!"

Chihiro heaved a sigh as the shudders went away, straightened out her now quite wrinkled list and glazed over its writing. Maybe if she was lucky, she'd recognize a few names! Chihiro squinted and drew the list closer in an attempt to make something out of Hugo's fancy handwriting.

"Wait, hold on a second! A mini-mechanizer?" Chihiro smiled and drew the list back. "I know that one!" Chihiro stuffed the list back into the bag and marched onward. "This might not be so bad after all~"

Chihiro went further into the forest, and pushed through the leaves of a big bush. Unlike Eon's gardens, which were perfectly maintained by Camo (if not for the ever-growing collection of rock statues), these forest were as wily and vaguely haunting as every other forest there was. Thanks to this place, Chihiro began to understand why all those fairy tale writers were so fascinated with forests!

After all, the leaves filtered the sunbeams just so that they gave the impression of sparkling, glittering magic, and still stuck to their branches even though most of the islands' other trees began to lose their foliage. The sounds of birds chirping, whistling winds, and skittering animals added a bit of wonder to the area, too! It felt peaceful and magical all at once, and if not for her impending exam, Chihiro probably would've taken the time to stop and smell the magical roses!

But she did have an exam to take, so she pushed through the branches of a nearby bush and took the beaten path it lead down. The map had said the first artifact should be somewhere around here, but where? Time felt like it slowed down and nearly stopped altogether as Chihiro walked down the way; her eyes glazed over the scenery for any signs of her targets. At first she was quite attentive, but as the journey grew longer, the sights started to blend in her tired mind! Who could blame her? No matter where she walked, she only passed near-identical trees, roses so similar they were practically copy-pasted, weird sparkles that came from tree branches…

"Wait, hold up!" Chihiro exclaimed as she whipped around and peeked up at a nearby branch. "What's that thing?"

Chihiro closed the flap of her bag and tightened it enough that nothing would spill out, rushed up to the tree trunk and leaped onto its first branch. Her balance secured as she scrambled up each branch until she found her target! It was bright and a reddish orange in color, though most of its body was obscured by the leaves it nested in… Could this be what she was looking for?

Chihiro shimmied down the branch, gingerly withdrew the object from the branches, and turned it around in her hands. It didn't seem very out of the ordinary, just an orange box with a round button on its front.

"I wonder what this button does?" Chihiro remarked as she pressed the button.

With a friendly click, the top of the box flew open and revealed a miniature, complex mechanical tree of a machine! Its arms flailed about as an insect rendered on its back did, its gears whirred and twirled in perfect synchronization, and the tiny bulb at the top of its tree was a bright star that shone for all to see!

Wait, this seems familiar, Chihiro remarked as she watched the box's lid flip back over and lock again with a click. Didn't they say something about that in the books?

Chihiro hummed and kicked her legs against thin air as she tried to jog her brain. It was only an inkling, but she was certain that she saw this in one of the books she read for her studies, but which one? Her mind was completely blank to a title!

"Heh, this thing seems like something Dro would like." Chihiro brushed some stray bark off of the box's top. "But it's prolly nothing compared to the stuff he makes!"

Just then, a memory flashed into Chihiro's mind! It was one of a warm afternoon spent working away in the dustier, unoccupied rooms of the portal building, and more importantly…

"That's it! This was in one of those books I borrowed from Drobot!" Chihiro jostled so fast that the branches beneath her shuddered under her movements, and took a deep breath. "Mini-mechanizers!" Chihiro's voice was clear and slow as if she was reading from a textbook. "Boxes that contain fully-assembled machines shrunk to travel size with the power of minimizer rays!" Chihiro opened the flap of her bag and dropped the mini-mechanizer inside. "Trolls invented them to store their wares and other things for long journeys!"

As the mini-mechanizer dropped into the bag, a bright minty glow emitted from the bag's open hole! Chihiro gasped, dug out her map, and looked it over to find that one of the markers went from red to bright green before it vanished entirely!

"Well, that certainly makes things a lot easier," Chihiro remarked as she closed her bag up and leaned sideways. "Now, time to get out of this—"

Chihiro's hand slipped off of the branch and took her balance with it!

"TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Chihiro slipped off of the branch and screamed as she crashed face-first back onto the ground!

"Owch." Chihiro popped off of the floor, brushed dirt off of her face with a groan, and pulled herself back to her feet. "I'd better watch those landings next time."

Chihiro hummed a tune to herself as she retrieved her map, then ran a finger across the map. There was another marker not all that far away from where she stood at the present time. Looks like that was gonna be her next target!

Y'know, Chihiro thought as she put the map away and walked on. It's really nice how quiet the forest is here. It's a lot different that being around the 'landers.

"Well, well, if is isn't the Portal Master Imposter, all lost and alone without any of those stupid Skyblunderers to protect her!"

Chihiro’s heart stopped as she whipped her head around. Was that Kaos's voice just now?

"STOP HIDING AND SHOW YOURSELF, KAOS! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!" Chihiro demanded as she summoned a magic sphere on impulse, but released it as the wind blew some stray leaves to a place far beyond now. "Oh, right, that was just—" Chihiro bit her lip and held her arm, which started to sting with a more recognizable pain "—a memory."

Chihiro's legs shook as she clenched her fist. Hot tears seared her eyes as memories of that day, that battle, all flooded back into her mind! She knew she couldn't linger here for long, and yet, it seemed as if every time she tried to press forward, her feet stuck themselves back to the ground. It was like her mind and body both stuck in those memories, almost! The memories of her own loss, her careless actions, the fact that might not even be standing here had Spyro and Stealth Elf not intervened at the time they did… It was almost too much to bear!

Chihiro clenched her teeth and hand as she shook her head. "I can't do this right now, brain," Chihiro mumbled as she finally pressed herself to walk a few steps forward. "You can make me sulk another time."

Chihiro's movements were almost forced, mechanical even, as she made a beeline for a nearby bush that she was sure emitted some conspicuous sparkles. She let out a soft, hesitant whine and dove her hands into the bush! Chihiro winced and screwed her eyes shut as she felt a sting of pain against her hands—a prick from a thorn, perhaps—but froze entirely as a surging numbness race within her. It wasn't the kind from sickness, but more like a deer in the headlights feeling, like her whole body was completely frozen. In the distance, she could've sworn she heard Kaos's sickening cackles…

And finally, with a racing heart and heavy breaths, she pushed her hands further into the bush! A tingling sort of pain pulsated from her arm, but it was little more than an afterthought as she patted her hand around the bush's inside and yanked out something hard and solid. With a grunt, she pulled her arm back out of the bush—an arm with its sleeve pushed up that was covered in thin scratches. Dangit, she'd better bandage that up later. But for now, she let her sleeve fall back over her arm as she analyzed her claim.

It was a solid purple object covered in ancient markings that vaguely resembled some kind of animal head. Maybe it was the thing she needed? Chihiro frowned and went to drop it into the bag, but when she did, the bag glowed red and spat it on the ground!

Chihiro's mouth twitched into a frown as she knitted her eyebrows as she yanked the artifact back off the ground and shoved it into the bag. Still no dice, for once again it tossed the artifact back out! So, Chihiro did it a third time, and then fourth, fifth, sixth, all to similar effects as before, and finally gave up at try number ten.

"Geez, what am I doing wrong?" Chihiro asked as she fished out the list and glazed over it once more. She was sure she had the right one, but her head was in such a haze she could barely focus on reading the list, let alone actually analyzing!

But, she was sure of it! This had to be the second artifact, the Guardifaun! Wait, hold on a second. Chihiro shook her head, looked back down on the list, and slapped her hand against her face.

"That doesn't say faun!" Chihiro exclaimed as she tossed the list back into her bag. "That says found!" Chihiro cast a scorning glare towards the wrong artifact and kicked it back under the bush. "Hopefully I didn't waste too much time on that."

Chihiro stood up, adjusted the strap of her bag and walked along. Nothing seemed of much interest at first until her foot hit something rock solid! She frowned, knelt down to the thing she kicked and examined it. It was a solid lump of dirt that was somewhat loosened by its kick, and in turn revealed patches of bright purple. Could this be what she was looking for? Chihiro uncovered the dirt to find… A Guardifound! At least, she thought it was a Guardifound, given its body was carved in the shape of a bulky soldier with shining gems for eyes and a clenched mouth that bore sharp fangs.

"Bulky body, humanoid shape, gems for eyes," Chihiro rattled as she turned the object around in her hands, "this has to be a Guardifound! They could turn anything into a living soldier!"

Chihiro bit her lip, then warily withdraws her bag and opened it. She trembled as she dropped the Guardifound inside, and in response, the bag glowed green once more!

Thank goodness. Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out the map from her bag and analyzed its spots. Where to next, trusty map?

Oh geez—all these spots were a good bit away from where she was now.

"Ugh, that's gonna be a lot of walking." Chihiro slunk down and held her head, but immediately lifted it up and snapped her fingers. "I could teleport there, though!"

You absolutely must NOT use magic on the artifacts! Hugo's voice echoed from within the confines of Chihiro's mind. Bad things could happen if you do!

Chihiro hung her head once more. "Oh, that's right. I probably shouldn't while I'm still carrying these things. Better not waste any time, then."

So Chihiro walked forward once more, but as she walked, a strange concerning feeling rang within her, as if something bad was just about to happen! She winced as she wrung the strap of her bag while chills crept down her spine at the same rate that cold sweat crept down her forehead.

Just then, a branch snapped!

"WHOEVER YOU ARE, SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!" Chihiro demanded as she whipped around, her hands bright with magic energy.

But, nobody was there. The only oddity was a broken branch and a purple object that resembled a weird-looking battery. The object made a pale, kind of strange glow as it rested next to the split branch, and a closer inspection showed that there was a small, but firm crack on its surface. Got banged up by the fall, maybe?

"Could this be?" Chihiro whispered as she picked up the object, dropped it in the bag and beamed as it was accepted. "It is! That was easy!"

Chihiro peered further inside the bag, and frowned as she examined the glowing artifact. It was hard not to, given that it stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the others.

"It looks a little banged up though." Chihiro sucked her lip and gently closed her bag back up. "Better be gentle with it."

And so, Chihiro went back to her little scavenger hunt.