Karl groaned and slumped into the cockpit seat.
"…We need a shortcut."
Agnes leaned forward, voice playful:
"Got any genius inventions for that, Mr. 'I Traveled the World In My Youth'?"
Karl slumped forward, groaning loudly.
"Come on. When I was younger, I did world tours on foot. Ran from New York to Pakistan. Did laps around half of Russia. I hunted down every single bastard related to the people who killed my parents—didn't even stop for water."
Agnes's eyes widened.
Then slowly narrowed into the smuggest expression possible.
"…Karl. Darling."
"But when I was younger," he protested, "I flew around the world all the time! I had my prototype—my masterpiece—the Hyper-Burner Jet Gear! Thing could cross continents in under an hour. I hunted down every last terrorist tied to my parents. Engine was so efficient I burned, like… two months of fossil fuel in a day."
Karl suddenly sat up straighter, a grin creeping onto his face.
"Oh, actually? Back then I had this BEAUTIFUL jet prototype I built using—"
Agnes immediately cut him off, deadpan.
"Here we go."
Karl, ignoring her:
"—a modified diesel engine, dual-combustion injectors, a reinforced titanium frame, and—get this— the ENTIRE thing ran on a cocktail of gasoline, kerosene, and whatever industrial waste the local markets threw out!"
Agnes stared at him, mouth slightly open.
"…Karl."
Karl puffed his chest slightly.
"It flew like a dream."
Agnes blinked slowly.
Then her expression turned dangerously smug.
"…Karl."
He looked over.
"What?"
Her voice dropped into a teasing, seductive purr mixed with judgment.
"Sweetheart. My metal muncher.
Do you realize you're bragging about global orgy-level air pollution?"
Karl choked.
"It was for REVENGE—!!"
Agnes's eyes narrowed to slits.
"…Karl."
He smirked. "What?"
She leaned forward on the HUD, her tone switching from confused → seductive → teasing monster.
"Are you… maybe… by chance… the world's cutest narcissist?"
Karl sat up straight.
"WHAT?! How—WHAT—where did that even—NO—!"
Agnes shrugged innocently, twirling a digital gear between her fingers.
"You mourned ordinary civilians like a saint five minutes ago—"
Karl: "As I should!"
"—but you're bragging like a goddamn action movie villain about erasing multiple generations of terrorists."
Karl: "THEY STARTED IT—!"
Agnes (purring):
"Oh~ I know, I know. I'm not scolding you~."
Her avatar slides closer, cheek resting on her hand.
"I'm just saying… maybe the reason our Vythra is at 11% is because your ego alone drains 20% every time you talk about your 'world-tour genocide arc'."
Karl sputtered.
"THAT IS NOT—!!"
Agnes giggled, the teasing now fully back to her normal seductive, fluster-playful mode.
"Awwww, look at you getting all defensive~. You're adorable when your trauma and your bragging collide~."
Agnes raised her hand and began counting on her fingers.
"One — you mourn the innocent civilians like a saint."
"Two — literally thirty seconds later, you brag about your fossil-fuel-super-mega-jet-death-machine like God personally gave you the screwdriver."
"Three — you're smiling. While Erevos is smoking."
Karl sputtered.
"I'm NOT a narcissist!"
Agnes (sing-song):
"Suuuuure you're not~."
Agnes leaned her chin on her palm, tilting her head as if analyzing a strange animal.
"So let me get this straight…
You mourn civilians like a poet…"
Karl: "Yes—because they deserved—"
"…but then you casually tell me you built a planet-eating jet engine that turned the sky into soup so you could do a global death tour?"
Karl went red.
"…Agnes—"
"Karl."
"…Agnes—"
"Karl~."
He snapped.
"THEY KILLED MY PARENTS. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO, SEND THEM A STRONGLY WORDED EMAIL!?"
Agnes burst out laughing.
"Oh my god~ you're unbelievable!
You're like if grief, genius, and petty rage had a baby!"
Karl glared at the HUD.
Agnes winked.
"And I love it~."
He sighed, defeated.
"So we walk."
Agnes nodded.
"We walk."
Karl grumbled as Erevos took its first heavy step toward the highway.
Agnes (teasing sing-song):
"You ruined the global climate~ you can walk a few thousand miles now, big guy~."
Karl groaned louder.
Agnes giggled louder.
Karl buried his face in his hands.
"Agnes. Please. Just… can you NOT bully me for five seconds?"
Agnes leaned in, lips curving into a teasing little smirk.
"Absolutely not."
She hopped onto the corner of his HUD screen and winked.
"Besides… I like you better when you're flustered."
Karl pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Agnes. Can we fly or not?"
Agnes raised one finger.
"No."
Karl crossed his arms. "…Jump-jets?"
"Nope~."
"…Emergency turbine burst mode?"
"Try again, sweetie~."
"…Gear-leap sequence?"
"Honey… we are one transformation away from passing out."
Karl slumped deep into the pilot seat.
"…So we walk."
Karl groaned loudly, gripping the controls.
"…Fine. We walk."
"Yes, we walk. Unless you want to transform again and die~ but if you die, who's going to push my USB port?"
Karl's face went red instantly.
"AGNES—!! CAN YOU NOT SAY IT LIKE THAT—?!"
She leaned in closer on the HUD, voice dropping to that signature seductive whisper:
"Only if you stop making it so easy to tease you~."
Agnes (cheerfully):
"Yay! Road trip~!"
Karl:
"…You're going to talk the entire time, aren't you?"
Agnes:
"Lock on~"
"Lock on~"
"Lock on~"
"LOCKED IN!"
Karl slammed his forehead on the control panel.
Karl groaned, grabbed the controls—
—and Erevos began the long, humiliating trek toward Tokyo.
Agnes hummed the entire time.
Loudly.
The long journey to Tokyo began—
with a pissed-off engineer…
and the AI who refused to let him forget his past villain arc.