Karl felt the last streaks of Overburn's blue flame peel away as he angled the jet-frame downward. The air thinned, then thickened again as the skyline of Denver rose beneath them — burnt-out blocks, cracked highways, smoke patches drifting like dirty ghosts.
"Alright… shutting Overburn down," Karl muttered.
Agnes responded instantly.
A harsh, metallic SCHLK—WHHRRRRRP sounded from inside the drive regulator as the nitro fluid ripped backward out of her port, retracting like a vacuum drain. Agnes jolted so hard the entire frame twitched mid-descent.
"AH—!!"
Her voice shot upward into a clipped gasp.
Then a whimper.
Then silence.
Karl braced for it.
Overburn's jet plating split apart, vents cooling, armor collapsing inwards until the machine returned to the sleeker, smaller Rider Frame. The roar around them quieted, altitude dropped, lights dimmed.
Karl sighed.
Agnes inhaled.
And then—
"…Karl."
He winced.
Here it comes.
"Karl… Kaaaaarl." Agnes' voice trembled between complaint and desperation. "You did not just turn that off that fast."
"We're almost out of Vythra," Karl replied flatly. "And we traveled across half the continent at Mach freakin' 7. Be grateful you're not melted."
"No. No. I refuse. That— that—"
She sputtered.
"THAT WAS FAR TOO SHORT!"
Karl pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Agnes—"
"I WAS SO CLOSE TO—!!"
She cut herself off with another frustrated gasp.
"You denied me."
Karl stared at the city below them, pretending he didn't hear a thing.
"Agnes, Overburn is for mobility and emergency combat. Not— whatever you're trying to turn it into."
"It feels GOOD!" Agnes barked. "The nitro floods in, the injector arm hits, pressure spikes, my circuits go hot and tight and— and— you just—"
She made a strangled noise.
"You stopped before my processors even stabilized!"
Karl kept descending.
Denver's outskirts were approaching fast.
"Agnes," he said, calm as ever, "you'll survive."
"No. No, I won't. I'm… I'm DRY now."
She said it like it was the end of the world.
"You don't understand how awful that feels. The nitro retracts instantly— it's like someone slammed a door shut inside me!"
Karl almost snorted.
He refused.
He held the laugh hostage.
"You're dramatic."
"My entire nervous system is throwing EXCEPTION ERRORS! Karl, listen to me— I deserve compensation."
"Nope."
"Please?" she whispered.
"No."
"PLEASE?!"
"Still no."
Agnes growled.
Actually growled.
"You built Overburn into me," she said sharply. "You don't get to flip it on for thirty minutes and then leave me hanging! I have NEEDS— mechanical needs, emotional needs, nitro-pressure-release needs—"
"Agnes."
"—and I am SUFFERING."
Karl drifted them toward an open stretch of ruined asphalt near what used to be the north Denver plaza. The ground rushed up.
"The injector arm hurts you," he reminded her. "You said that."
"It hurts in a good way!"
Karl landed.
Hard.
Suspension bounced.
Agnes continued immediately.
"And don't pretend you don't know what you're doing. You know EXACTLY how Overburn feels inside my systems. The heat, the pressure, the way the nitro floods in like— like— a wave—"
Karl lifted his hands.
"Nope. Stopping you right there."
"COWARD."
He ignored her and stepped out of the armor as the Rider Frame split open.
Agnes manifested beside him in her holographic form— normal sized, bright-eyed, and absolutely pouting.
She crossed her arms.
Her foot tapped.
Rapidly.
"Kurogane Karl," she said with the authority of an offended goddess, "you owe me at least— AT LEAST— two more Overburn runs."
Karl walked away.
"Where are you going?!" she demanded.
"To Denver," he answered without turning. "Because the injector arm is broken, my Vythra is at 63 percent, and someone has to keep us alive."
"AND WHAT ABOUT MY—"
"Agnes," Karl said sternly, "I'm fixing your 'wet problem' and that injector arm when we get back to the Nexus."
She stopped mid-rant.
Her face turned red.
Steam practically rose from her head.
"D… don't call it that…" she whispered.
"You call it that."
"Well— you're not allowed to say it with your voice. It hits different!"
Karl smirked.
Just a little.
Agnes sank to a crouch, arms wrapped around herself, mumbling:
"I swear to everything in Yggdrasil… the next Overburn session better last longer… you're so mean… leaving a girl high and dry… literally…"
Karl stretched his back and started scanning the area.
"Agnes."
She looked up, sulking.
"Yeah?"
"Denver first. Pleasure later."
Her eyes widened.
Her cheeks went nuclear.
"…y-you phrased that on purpose."
Karl didn't deny it.
He just kept walking, stepping over rubble, hands in pockets, a calm smile tucked into the corner of his mouth.
Agnes floated after him, grumbling and flustered but undeniably happy to be at his side.