Legends of Ardonia 3: Color Balance

Chapter 17: Differing Perspectives

The elevator lowered with Killic and his family on it. A young boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes immediately started running down the catwalk when the elevator stopped.

Opal: "Don't run too far, Harley!"

A teenage boy looked over the edge at the scientists below, his black, curly hair sitting above bored black eyes.

Jian: "Why did we have to come here again? I could have easily stayed at home."

Killic: "Because, son, you are about to see the future before your very eyes, one of peace, tranquility, and technological leaps and bounds."

Jian rolled his eyes.

Jian: "Right, sure."

He followed Killic as he led the way to the laboratory beneath them, Opal grabbing Harley by the hand to make sure he doesn't run off again.

Killic: "This is where all the magic happens. All the scientists here work tirelessly to ensure a better future for our land."

Jian didn't look excited, even with all the various Droug tech around him. Harley, on the other hand, was bouncing up and down, running down the aisles of workstations and staring at the various equipment the scientists were working on. A scientist soon approached Killic, a metal belt-like contraption which sported multiple yellow energy bars on each segmented section in his hands. Harley immediately bounded up to the scientist and started asking questions.

Harley: "Are you a scientist? What's that thing? How long have you been down here? Is the food good?"

Opal: "Don't bother him, Harley. I'm sure he just needs to talk to your dad about some stuff, okay?"

Scientist: "I won't take long. Killic, we made a breakthrough with your design, and since you wrote that the stun feature works better in bursts, we added multiple points of contact."

Killic: "Excellent. Will it run out of energy?"

Scientist: "We connected it to the Droug power cores, so as long as those are active it will remain powered."

Killic: "Good. Prepare our volunteer for the surgery, I'll continue showing my family around."

Killic led them back to the main floor as the scientist turned away into another room. The next room was the Ring, where Jeeno, Bedrock, and Survivor were testing their suits out by themselves.

Killic: "Wife, kids, I would like you to meet Jeeno, Bedrock, and Survivor, three excellent people who have helped bring our dreams to a reality."

Jeeno landed in front of them and folded her helmet away.
Jeeno: "Hi, nice to meet you all! And who's this cute little one?"

She ruffled the hair of Harley.
Harley: "I'm Harley, nice to meet you robot lady."

Jeeno giggled a bit and shook Opal and Jian's hands. Bedrock got out of his suit to greet the family. Survivor stayed in their suit, giving them a nod. Jian looked a bit intrigued upon seeing the Diamond Sentinel.

Jian: "How strong is that thing?"

Bedrock: "Stronger than me, and that's saying something!"

Bedrock let out a deep chuckle.

Killic: "I would let you try it out, but we designed it specifically for a Magnorite."