The dragon radar beeped, indicating the appearance of the next dragon ball. AREU’s cross haired eyes looking off in the indicated direction. A mountain. Shouldn’t be to hard to find the dragon ball here. Likely just under a rock of some sort. And so the android flew in for a closer look, circling the mountain base for any possible signs of what side of the mountain it was on. And yet, no matter where around the mountain he flew, the dragon radar always pointed inward, towards the mountain itself. “This is odd… Perhaps the dragon ball is inside the mountain… Or on top.” The android said to himself, deciding it would be best to check the mountain’s snowy peaks. But once above the mountain, things were not quite the same. Where there should have been white snow and frosty air, there was burning red lava and boiling steam. A volcano. The dragon ball was inside an active volcano. And from the looks of it, the entire mountain was about to explode any second now. A quick scan of the area revealed nothing. The dragon ball must have been deeper inside. And so, the android descended down the neck of the volcano, coming nearer to the red glow of the molten earth. The raw heat and rising smoke made flight difficult and unstable. This air was attempting to rush forward from the warmer temperatures of the volcano to the cooler temperatures above, and pushing AREU upward along with it. Struggling to keep himself airborne, the green skinned researcher scanned the area once more. Finally, he could plainly see the small orange orb resting on top a rock that had not yet been melted. There wasn’t much time. The second that rock succumbed to the raw heat of this place, the dragon ball would sink into the magma, becoming almost impossible to obtain.
And so it was settled. AREU glided in, constantly struggling against the searing hot winds. The overwhelming heat rushing up against his synthetic skin. If he were any normal human, temperatures of this magnitude would have easily killed him. But even without his original protective armor, the android was still far more resilient than that. His body was designed to endure the elements. And this was it’s ultimate test.
Once within reach, AREU held out his hand. The sleeve of his lab coat slowly beginning to sizzle as it nears combustion from such a close proximity to the lava. Luckily, it was made of a special material designed to withstand temperatures and heat, so as not to catch on fire should a stray welding spark hit it. But this was far beyond what it was meant for. With one final lung forward, AREU gripped hold of the small orb and lifted it up, smoke rising from the palm of his hand as the super heated dragon ball burned at his synthetic skin. Not feeling pain from the burns, AREU shot up into the air. Using the rising air currents to hasten his escape.
Once AREU was finally a safe distance from the volcano, it blasted open, shooting up smoke and ash high into the sky. The researcher had managed to escape before the eruption, and with his prize in hand. Now all that was left was the final dragon ball, and meeting up with the white alien called Snow.
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