Chapter 3: Factory Inspection

**Factory Inspection** is the third chapter of *Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling*, revolving around Team Snakemouth's trip to the Bee Kingdom to acquire the Ancient Key, which powers the Honey Factory. It is preceded by Chapter 2: Sacred Golden Hills and followed by Chapter 4: Mysterious Lost Sands.

## Plot

When Team Snakemouth reenters the Golden Settlement, they meet up with Levi and Celia, who drank so much Berry Juice during the Golden Festival the night before that they couldn't go looking for the artifact. Vi shows them the Ancient Tablet, and they all head back to the Ant Kingdom so they can report to the Queen.

In the throne room, the team hands over the artifact to Zaryant, who rewards them with a Crystal Berry and 30 berries.

Professor Neolith examines the Ancient Tablet, and says that the Ancient Mask can be used to decipher the runes in Roach Script, which will take some time.

The Queen suggests that Team Snakemouth uses this time to uncover the next artifact, which Neolith explains is the third and final artifact: a key, found in the Bee Kingdom, that can unlock the Everlasting Sapling.

The bees have been using the key to power the Honey Factory's core, so removing it would shut the entire factory down. Zaryant lets the team know that materials for a replacement power source have already been negotiated, so their mission will be a simple trade for the artifact.

The Queen thanks Team Snakemouth and Team Celia for rescuing the professor earlier when he was being attacked by wasps.

Celia tells the Queen that the wasps seem to have knowledge of the artifacts, so the Queen advises them to be on guard, and to stay away from the northern border with the Wasp Kingdom at all costs.

The teams are instructed to go through the bandit-infested Lost Sands, which they can reach by first going southeast of the Explorers' Association, and taking the first north exit. Then, they must stop at Defiant Root to enter the Hive. After hearing these directions, the teams are dismissed.

Team Snakemouth leaves the throne room, and while Kabbu is eager to visit the Bee Kingdom, Vi is not so enthusiastic. When asked, she says she doesn't want to talk about it.

After what Venus told him, Leif wonders if he can meet the children of his previous team members sometime after the mission. Kabbu and Vi are happy to help him out, and Leif is thankful.

On their way to the Lost Sands, the team meet Gen and Eri, who are stuck waiting for a worker to fix the bridge ahead, but Vi uses her Beemerang Halt field skill and brings the bridge down by herself. Gen and Eri thank the team, and plan to meet up with them in Defiant Root.

In the middle of the Lost Sands, the team meets up with the Caravan as well as Gen and Eri, who are protecting the merchants as they travel to Defiant Root, which, so far, has been an easy mission for them.

Unfortunately, from the cliff above, a group of bandits and wasps drop down and ambush them. The wasps recognize Team Snakemouth from the report the Wasp Troopers made after they were defeated in front of the tunnel to the Golden Hills. The team saves the Caravan by defeating them all, and Huscada gifts them a Crystal Berry out of gratitude.

Arriving in Defiant Root, Kabbu says he remembers staying at this town with Neolith. Vi realizes this means she's been Kabbu's neighbor all along, since the Hive is right up ahead.

After walking through Defiant Root, the team decides to take the elevator up to the Hive. Vi appears upset, but Kabbu and Leif promise to protect her from the teasing of the other bees.

Vi tells them that there's no need, and reveals that she was the one who said mean things to her sister, who teased her for wanting to become an explorer.

She also yelled at her boss, and told the Queen not to underestimate her capabilities. Kabbu and Leif recommend that Vi apologizes to them, but she angrily refuses.

When they go through the Hive's entrance, the team must first pass a test for impurities. After being scanned, the bee guard tells them that they have all passed and may continue forward.

In the next room, the team is surrounded by lots of bee guards. Kabbu considers this to be a grand welcome, while the Leif and Vi are more skeptical.

Walking past the bee guards, a bee named Doctor H.B. tells Leif the scanner detected something unusual from him, and he needs to be further inspected.

In her lab, H.B. says the readings show ancient crystal fragments lie within Leif, which have the apparently common side effect of granting magical powers.

She also mentions another object she found in Leif which she couldn't quite identify, and requests to dissect him, which makes Leif involuntarily summon a magical shield to defend himself.

H.B. does not press the issue any further, and requests that the team round up four other explorers found throughout the Hive, while she works with Crow to finalize some data. At the end of this interaction, Leif gains the Bubble Shield Lite skill.

The team finds Gen and Eri in the Bee Kingdom residential area, who head towards the throne room. They also find Zasp and Mothiva near a shop, who have been hardly humbled since their defeat at the Golden Hills.

Kabbu and Leif tell Vi that her sister will be sure to forgive her if she apologizes, so Vi promises to talk to her sister later.

With everyone gathered in front of the throne room, the door opens, and the explorers meet Queen Bianca, who Mothiva is overly obsequious towards, to the point that even Zasp tells her to stop praising the Queen.

The Queen is happy to see Vi has grown, and is pleasantly surprised to have heard of her accomplishments. Vi shyly thanks the Queen, whose kindness Leif admires, and wishes the Ant Queen took note of.

Reporting to the Queen, H.B. says that she can quickly construct a replacement power source for the Honey Factory. The Queen recommends that the explorers enter the Honey Factory with H.B. so they can witness the exchange.

Before the team leaves, the Queen acknowledges that she was wrong about Vi, and now believes that spending time in the outside world has actually helped her grow.

The teams enter the Honey Factory, and are greeted by a friendly tour guide named Tuvi. All of a sudden, the factory shakes, alarming everyone. A computerized voice warns that the factory has been compromised, and Alert Code 32 is engaged, forcing a complete factory lockdown.

H.B. tells Team Snakemouth that Code 32 means that the factory has been attacked by hostile forces, which is strange, because she didn't notice anyone else enter. (In a later sidequest, it is revealed that the protocol was triggered by the wasps' sabotage at the Honey Power Plant.)

Tuvi says it's routine checkup time, so the Overseer, who has the disarm code, could be anywhere in the factory. As she's working on the replacement key, H.B. sends the teams out on a rescue mission to find the Overseer. The team also has to rescue the mysteriously missing Team Mothiva.

Team Snakemouth obtains a Factory Pass from the Overseer's office, which they use to enter the honey production area of the factory. Lockdown protocol causes some platforms to be routinely shocked. To circumvent this, Leif activates his Bubble Shield once again, this time, protecting the entire team from the electrified panels. As a result, Leif learns the Bubble Shield skill and field skill.

The team explores the factory, collecting Factory Passes along the way. They find Gen and Eri, who are being attacked by a Bee-Boop, and save them from harm. In return, Gen and Eri operate a switch which helps the team obtain a Factory Pass.

With the 3 Factory Passes collected, the team opens the leftmost door of the honey production area, and find Malbee, the maintenance chief and Vi's old boss, being attacked by Abomihoneys. The team rescues her, and she tells them that the Overseer is most likely trapped in Honey Storage.

Malbee says that since the vents shut down under security protocol, Abomihoneys have been popping up in the factory. Malbee repairs the pump, opening the way to the storage, and activating the tram ride. Malbee tells Vi that if she ever gives up on exploration, she can be rehired to work in the factory, which Vi says will never happen.

The team descends into Honey Storage, where Vi shows her Beemerang prowess when she uses the recoil of her Beemerang Halt field skill to flip a switch from behind. Upon reaching a dead end, honey begins to drip from the ceiling. Kabbu warns the team to get out of the way, and a gigantic Ahoneynation drops down in front of them.

After fighting the Ahoneynation, it bursts, revealing Mothiva and Zasp, who were trapped inside. Mothiva tells Team Snakemouth to never speak of this again. Zasp explains that they had found a keycard, but before he gets to tell more, he gets interrupted by Mothiva, who feels embarrassed, and runs off. With Mothiva gone, Zasp thanks the team, and says that even Mothiva can get very scared sometimes. He then gives them a Factory Pass, in exchange for never speaking about this again, and walks away.

Using the Factory Pass, they enter a room infested with Abomihoneys, with the Overseer at the top of a tower of crates, terrified for her life. The Overseer apologizes to Vi for teasing her about becoming an explorer, and the team escorts her out of the room, saving her from the Abomihoneys. She's very grateful, and heads to the core room.

Team Snakemouth meets up with the Overseer, H.B., Crow, and the other two teams. The Overseer uses her keycard to unlock the core room.

Right as H.B. goes to replace the key, an alarm goes off, and the room begins flashing red. A gigantic robot called the Heavy Drone B-33, backed up by Bee-Boops, bursts into the core room. H.B. attempts to shut the robot down with deactivation code 940906, but because Code 32 is in effect, the robot rejects the command, and vows to protect the core at all costs.

The team destroys the Heavy Drone B-33, allowing H.B. to replace the key with its replica. Mothiva asks for the artifact, but H.B. gives it to Leif. Leif reacts to the magic of the artifact, prompting H.B. to tell him that he can visit her lab if he wants to learn more about his condition. Mothiva leaves with Zasp, jealous that Team Snakemouth gets to claim another artifact.

H.B. tells the team that she has something cool to show them in her lab, and that they should visit later. With the third and final artifact in hand, the team decides to go report back to their Queen to give her the Ancient Key.

## Areas

* Lost Sands
* Defiant Root
* Bee Kingdom
* Honey Factory

## Enemies

* Acornlings (Quest)
* Numbnails (Quest)
* Thieves
* Bandits (Quest)
* Burglars
* Cactilings
* Psicorps
* Arrow Worms
* Midges
* Wasp Scouts (Mini-bosses)
* Wasp Troopers (Mini-Bosses, summoned by Wasp Scouts)
* Chompers
* Denmukis
* Bee-Boops
* Security Turrets
* Abomihoneys
* Ahoneynation (Mini-boss)
* Heavy Drone B-33 (Boss)
* Monsieur Scarlet (Optional mini-boss)

## Medals

* Shock Trooper
* HP Plus
* Tardigrade Shield

### Purchasable

#### Merab

* Numb Resistance
* Poison Needles

#### Shades

* Poison Attacker
* Super Block+
* Status Booster
* EXP Booster

## Quests

* Leif's Request
* Theater Help Wanted!
* Requesting Assistance
* Card Masters of Bugaria
* I Wanna Get Better!
* My Specialty
* A Smiling Dish
* Team Snakemouth...
* I Want a Souvenir...