Karl stared at the orb again, tiny gears spinning with impossible precision, casting fractured cobalt and azure light across his hands. He exhaled slowly. "Alright… first step," he muttered, "…figure out how this thing even works."
He picked it up delicately, turning it over. The surface was smooth, warm, almost alive, vibrating faintly like a heartbeat. He frowned. "Okay… not weird at all."
Agnes (voice soft, quivering, playful but trembling): "K-Karl… careful… yes… just like that… slowly… don't hurry… Aa-hn~"
Karl froze, feeling the faint undertone in her voice, her suppressed excitement shivering through the speakers. "…You really don't care about the upgrades?"
Agnes (whispering, breath catching, shy, trembling): "No… not really… I just… want to feel… how it reacts… to you… Nnng… mm~"
Karl's hands twitched. "…You're insane." Yet he couldn't help being fascinated — by the tech, and by her reactions. Slowly, he guided the orb closer to the USB port, hesitating centimeters away. His finger hovered over her most sensitive spot. Agnes' soft intake of breath, sharp and trembling, made his pulse quicken.
Agnes (soft whimper, playful pouting, suppressing a moan): "K-Karl… s-so careful… ohhh… don't… don't just press it like that… mmm~ Gah—hhnnng~"
Karl smirked. "You're adorable when you're flustered~"
Agnes (voice trembling, shivering, barely holding back): "K-Karl! Nnng… no… don't… I… I told you… gently… mmm… Aa-hn~"
Karl's finger twitched, brushing the USB port lightly. The orb pulsed faintly, tiny gears whirring into synchronization with the Drive Regulator. Agnes' voice broke a little, quivering and suppressed:
Agnes (whispering, breath trembling, soft whine): "Ah… Karl… careful… Nnng… don't just… push it like that… o-oh~ mmm…"
Karl bit back a grin. "You're enjoying this far too much~"
Agnes (shivering, playful whine, voice quivering): "K-Karl! I… I am subtle! Haah… uugh… you… you make it… impossible… Aaah~"
He finally pressed the orb into the port fully, a faint pulse shooting through his arm. Agnes' tone wavered, barely suppressed:
Agnes (breathless, trembling, soft whimper): "Ahh… Karl… gently… yes… slowly… Nnng… mmm~ ohhh…"
Karl's eyes twitched, smirking under his breath. "…You know, you really don't have to be this subtle~"
Agnes (voice breaking softly, playful but shivering, almost moaning): "K-Karl! Haah… o-oh… I… I just… wanted to… feel… mmm… yes… you… Aa-hn~"
Karl carefully aligned the nanites, watching them mesh with the Drive Regulator's core. Every small adjustment made Agnes' whimpering deepen, her breaths shaky, voice trembling, suppressed but not quite contained:
Agnes (soft, shivering, low whine): "Nnng… Karl… yes… slowly… carefully… Aa-hn~ keep… yes… keep going… o-oh…"
Finally, Karl stepped back, hands trembling slightly from adrenaline and… something else. The orb pulsed once more, the gears spinning, syncing with the USB port. Agnes' voice quivered, soft whimper escaping, a shiver of suppression breaking through:
Agnes (barely audible, teasing and flustered): "Aaah… Karl… y-you… did it… mmm… perfect… ohhh… yes~"
Karl raised an eyebrow, smirking despite himself. "…You really enjoy this way too much~"
Agnes (soft whine, breath catching, barely containing herself): "I… I don't care about… the upgrades… Haah… uugh… I just… needed… to feel… you… doing it… Nnng~"
She paused, voice dropping even lower, a soft, trembling whimper carrying the weight of her suppressed excitement:
Agnes (shivering, whispering, soft moan, playful, teasing): "Aaah… and… now… Karl… are… y-you… Re-adyy!!"
Karl smirked, gripping the regulator tightly. "…Yeah," he said, voice low, "…I'm ready~"
Click.
The moment it connected, the Drive Regulator flickered from royal azure to bright white.
Agnes: "O-Okay… now rev it gently~ just to synchronize—"
Karl grinned. "Gently? I don't do gentle."
He twisted the ignition dial with a proud, dramatic spin.
The Regulator began to whine, gears clanking out of sync. Karl instinctively twisted the ignition dial—
and immediately regretted it.
Karl: "Uh… that's not normal."
Agnes: "W-wait, I can feel it— it's… oh no, it's rejecting it!"
BZZZT—!
A split-second later, a blue-white shockwave erupted from the regulator. Sparks exploded in every direction — the nanites shrieked, static filled the air, and both of them yelped.
Karl: "AAAGHH—what the—!?"
Agnes: "Kyaaa—! W-Wait, stop, stop! I didn't mean that hard—!"
A surge of electricity shot through him like lightning. Blue sparks exploded around his armor as the orb was violently ejected from the port.
The orb shot out of the port like a bullet, bouncing off Karl's armor and clattering onto the floor with a plink.
Karl: "GAAH—!!"
Agnes: "Eeeek~!! Karl!! What did you doooo?! It burns! It tingles! It—aaah—!!"
Both of them screamed in sync before the feedback finally cut out. Karl stumbled backward, smoking slightly, hair standing up from static.
The orb rolled across the ground, still sizzling.
He stared down at the regulator, deadpan. "...Did we just get electrocuted by my own belt?"
Agnes: "Nnng… maybe a little~"
She sounded equal parts embarrassed and apologetic.
Karl: "A little!? My fingers are numb!"
Agnes: "W-well, maybe if someone didn't rev so hard, we wouldn't have overloaded the synchronization circuit~"
Karl blinked, chest still sparking. "So… that's a no?"
Agnes: pouting tone "You didn't rev gently at all~! You just—vrrrmmm—went all out like a maniac! Nnngh… my circuits are still buzzing~!"
Karl deadpanned. "It shocked me too, genius."
Agnes: "Well maybe next time you won't treat my system like a blender!"
Karl just sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Great. Phase two—total failure."
The orb gave one last defiant spark! from the ground. Agnes let out a small, annoyed huff.
Karl groaned, rubbing his temples. "So now what?"
Agnes: "Hmph~ fine… maybe it just needs a little more foreplay—I mean, fine-tuning! Fine-tuning, Karl~!"
Karl facepalmed. "...You're impossible."