The sound of shouts, concerned questions, and the never-ending rhythm of archaeological tools chipping away at rough, firm stone resounded against a clear, cloudless blue sky that beat down heat from the sun above; it burned in spite of the cool the middle of autumn should have brought. Down below, a team of archaeologists worked away at a dig site. It laid coated in firm layers of hard stone that sealed away ancient treasures, and remnants of a time long forgotten in the bowels of history below its depths. The archaeologists worked hard in spite of the heat that beat down their backs and forced sweat across their brows, or the aching exhaustion that ran through their bodies and begged for a rest, or even the limited time the day held and the lion of a deadline imposed over them!

Well, all but one, that is.

Slunk against a rocky wall with a water bottle in hand that dripped with fresh, cold water was a man. His skin was slightly tanned from the hours spent baking in the sun, and his dark hair was glazed with dust. The clothes he wore were coated in a thin layer of must and dirt in some parts from all the work he went through, but the faint breezes that occasionally blew through his sight tickled his short, bushy, beard. With one last pant, he closed his mouth, yet opened it again to release a massive sigh as he sunk further down against his rocky seat.

"Hey boss, I found something!" cried another archaeologist as they brandished a calcified vase for all to see!

The other archaeologists gasped as they dropped their tools to gawk at the newly-uncovered vase, but the tired archaeologist could only sigh. His browns eyes glazed over where his fellow archaeologists all huddled together and marveled over the vase found, or towards where they stored all the other relics they had unearthed—the piles of crude toys, furniture, and rusted coins whose aesthetics reflected the times left buried—and then he sighed again.

"Talk about lucky," the archaeologist scoffed. He took another swig from his water bottle, let out a refreshed gasp for air as the water went down, and grunted as he wiped off his mouth. "I've been busting my ass out here all day, and I still haven't found anything other than rocks."

The man grunted as he pushed himself off the ground and dusted the dirt from his pants. For a moment, he cast a glance back at the cheering team of archaeologists before him, and a snarl cast across his face without him even thinking. "Look at 'em, acting all smug. They're probably already preparing their speeches for the museum interviews!"

The man placed his water bottle aside, stood tall, then grabbed his tools and dug away once more, the earth chipping away underneath the weight of his shovel.

"But whatever, I've taken a long-enough breather. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll find some dead kid's toy or" — the man grunted and slipped backwards as his grip on his shovel unsteadied — "SOMETHINGGGGGGGGGGG!"

The man yowled as his head conked against the stone, collapsed back on the hard, rocky ground, but wheezed and pushed himself up. A cursory glaze over his arms confirmed he achieved nothing but bruises and thin scratches from his impromptu fall; just before he could pull himself to full height, his eyes fell on something amid the rocks and piles of dirt! It was of a lighter color, yet seemed to have a much more solid shape than the average stone! Could it be? A grin stretched from ear to ear as the man pushed aside the dirt, and his mind ran wild with imagination as the shape became more and more solid! Whatever could have been hidden by this quite literally underfoot discovery: An ancient monarch's tomb? A box of treasures long-forgotten to the ages? Perhaps ancient records that contained historical discoveries for the ages? Oh, his heart throbbed at the very prospect! His grin only stretched wider as he finally tossed the last of the dirt aside, and unveiled…

A toy?

Well, that's what it looked like, at least. It seemed to be some kind of crude toy covered in dirt and stone. The grime quickly crumbled away to the ground as the man lifted the toy out of the earth. Its true appearance was that of a chunky, horned creature made entirely of wood, and it stood frozen with an arm outstretched as it stood on a round pedestal comprised of leaves.

But, it wasn't the only one, either; a look down below showed several other slivers and indicators of more strange objects. The man cleared the dirt away, and found not one, not two, but seven more of these strange toys!

There before him laid a crude idol of sorts that vaguely resembled a robot, first. It a wheel for legs stuck to a pedestal of what seemed like gears. After it was a thin woman with pointed ears and blank eyes, who wielded what the man believed were katanas, and stood on a round glyph of sorts that was decorated with archaeological symbols; a giant whale wielding an anchor far too modern in appearance for this age; a monster made entirely of magmatic rock with flames emerging from its hands and head; a guardian made of rock who clasped tight a large hammer; an eye with wings seated on a large suit of armor; and a gigantic bee with massive wings and stingers all laid in the dirt!

But, none of this could be right! These looked far too pristine for a site as ancient as this, and they held advancements in technology much too forward for this era. This was anachronism upon anachronism! What was going on here?

"Hey, everyone!" the man cried as he stood tall, and waved the rest of his team over to the sight of the strange toys. "I've found something really strange!"

The soft, bubbling chatter of the approaching archaeology team rang in the man's ears, but it was little more than background noise to him as he glazed over the toys again and rubbed his beard.

"Just what are you?"