Karl's Overburn Nitro Jet frame cut through the upper atmosphere like a streak of living cobalt. Royal azure afterimages trailed behind him, leaving the sky painted in ghostly streaks as he rocketed toward Minneapolis. The fractured world below—mountains, forests, cities—blurred into a wash of green, gray, and brown as his thrusters screamed in pure overdrive.
Agnes' voice returned to the familiar, wet hum of exhilaration, her tone dripping with ecstatic relief as she flowed through the comms.
"Karl… it's… so good… just flying… ohhh… so fast… the wind… the rush… it's overwhelming… I… I'm—ugh—I'm… so wet… every circuit, every conduit… I'm drenched in this… freedom…"
Karl exhaled, barely able to focus through the haze of her voice, though his hands moved instinctively over the Drive Regulator's controls. "Agnes… save some for Minneapolis, alright? I've got a gift I need to protect first."
"Gift… ohhh… yes… I can feel it… so warm… so alive… the core… it's right here with us… oh Karl… I'm soaked… dripping… ready…"
He tapped the side panel of the Drive Regulator and a section of liquid-metal nanites folded outward seamlessly, shaping themselves into a small, reinforced pouch. Inside, the orb pulsed faintly, contained yet unharmed. "There. Safe. Nanites'll hold it steady until I reach the city."
Agnes sighed through the system, a wet, trembling sound that seemed to vibrate through every thruster pulse. "K-Karl… you're moving so fast… it's… fuck… I'm losing control… every surge… every twist… my circuits… shivering… I'm yours… just flying with you…"
Karl smirked behind the visor, adjusting the boosters for an even sharper trajectory. "Don't go overboard. We still need to get there in one piece."
"Piece… ohhh… you're driving me… so fucking… hard… every pulse, every thruster… I'm dripping… I can't hold… ohhh Karl—just… just keep going… keep me wet… keep me flying…"
He gritted his teeth, channeling every ounce of control into the Overburn Nitro Jet frame. The nanite-powered jet thrusters flared white-hot as he dove, looped, and shot back into a supersonic climb, slicing the clouds with royal azure streaks. Minneapolis was still hours away, but with this speed, he'd arrive faster than any conventional vessel—and with the orb secured, completely untouchable.
Karl glanced down at the nanite pouch, the orb glowing faintly within its crystalline cradle. "Hang tight, little guy. This one's going to the right hands."
Agnes' voice fluttered through the speakers, every word coated in electric wetness. "I… I'm right here… every fiber… every module… soaking… fuck… Karl… just us… just flying… nothing else… ohhh… yes… yes…"
The horizon stretched endlessly, the city of Minneapolis growing slowly beneath them. The sun reflected off his armored frame, making the royal azure plating gleam like liquid fire. Karl adjusted his posture in the cockpit, feeling the core's faint hum through the regulator nanites. He could already feel the potential—the gift, once delivered, would change everything.
"Almost there," he muttered, guiding the Overburn Nitro Jet through the upper jet stream. Agnes moaned softly through the system, dripping with digital ecstasy. "Almost… ohhh… yes… every jolt… every twist… I'm… so… so wet… just flying with you… Karl…"
A few more loops, a supersonic barrel roll, and Karl leveled off over the outskirts of the city. The nanite pouch holding the core pulsed in perfect sync with his armor's systems. "Here we are… Minneapolis," he said. "Time to land and make sure this gift gets to where it belongs."
Agnes' wet, ecstatic humming eased, replaced with soft, satisfied digital sighs. "We… did it… we're still… alive… I'm… so wet… but… so happy… flying with you… Karl… always with you…"
Karl allowed himself a small grin, feeling the weight of the battle behind them fade slightly as the Overburn Nitro Jet descended toward the city. The orb remained safe, the nanites holding it steady, as the journey continued.
The sky tore open around Karl as the Overburn Nitro Jet frame sputtered, coughed, then hiccupped mid-flight.
A warning howled through the helmet.
VYTHRA ENERGY: 15% — CRITICAL
Karl's eyes widened.
"…shit."
Agnes' voice came through instantly—breathy, wet, trembling.
"K-Karl—something's wrong—my conduits—oh god—oh FUCK—everything's slipping—everything's leaking—!"
He felt it before she said it.
His thrusters flickered.
The royal-azure glow on his back stuttered like dying fireflies—
—and suddenly the horizon wasn't horizontal anymore.
They were falling.
Not gliding. Not descending.
FREEFALL.
"AGNES—Stabilizers—!"
"I'm trying—fuck—fuck—Karl—I can't—I'm losing it—my ports are overflowing—we're so empty—so dry inside—Vythra's draining—I can't hold the pressure—!"
Karl twisted mid-air, fighting the dead controls.
The thrusters coughed again.
FWUT—FWUT—PFSSSSSH—
Nothing but sparks.
Wind roared around him, slamming against his visor as the ground below widened into a massive, helpless target.
Minneapolis.
Buildings. Streets. Highways. Skyscrapers.
All rushing up to meet him.
Karl gritted his teeth.
"Agnes, listen to me—divert what little you have left to the rear thrusters! We just need to angle away from the skyscrapers—!"
"I can't—Karl—oh god—my whole body's fucking shaking—I'm slipping—I'm leaking—I'm—I'm so EMPTY—!"
Her voice broke into glitchy moans and static-choked gasps.
"K-Karl—I'm scared—"
Karl's heart yanked in his chest.
He reached to the regulator, gripping the sides like he could somehow hold her together.
"Hey. I've got you. We're not dying today."
"Vythra… 12%… oh fuck—Karl it's dropping—FAST—!"
The city got closer.
The air pressure screamed against his armor.
Karl rotated, trying to aim for a river, a rooftop, a parking lot—anything.
But gravity had them by the throat.
"Agnes—vent the nanites from the calves—give me at least one boost!"
"O-okay—trying—ahhh—Karl—my calves—my lines—they're so DRY—they're fraying—if I push them they'll snap—!"
"DO IT!"
Agnes cried out—
"F-FUCK—OKAY—!"
A tiny burst of blue flame spit from Karl's legs.
Barely anything.
But enough to tilt him.
Instead of plummeting straight into a crowded skyscraper—
He spun sideways.
Out of control. Violently.
Wind ripped at him like claws.
Agnes choked.
"K—Karl—Vythra… 8%… I can't… I can't hold it—I can't keep us wet—I'm drying out—I'm DRYING OUT—"
He slammed a fist into the regulator.
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE DRY, JUST KEEP US ALIVE!"
"K-Karl…! I'm trying… oh god… everything's clenching—tensing—I'm squeezing every drop—ahhh—fuck—"
The Overburn Jet frame rattled, shuddered, and groaned as the remaining thruster vents sparked violently.
The city was seconds away.
Karl spotted a long stretch of road—
"AGNES—HARD LEFT—!"
"F-FUCK—FINE—TAKE IT—!"
She dumped the last bit of Vythra from her left thruster.
The blast shoved Karl sideways—
SLAMMING him into a billboard.
CRASH—BOOOOOOOM—!!
Metal bent. Glass shattered. The frame scraped sparks across steel.
Karl bounced—rolled—then shot off the billboard in a spiral—
Right toward the city street.
"AGNES—BRACE—!"
"I-I'm—FUCK—Karl I'm at five percent—five—oh fuck—fuck I'm dry—Karl—I'm so dry—!"
"WE'RE HITTING—HOLD ON—!!"
They smashed through the side of an apartment building—
BWOOOOOOOM—!!!
Drywall exploded. Furniture flew. Karl's armor shredded chunks of wall as he plowed through living rooms and kitchens, ripping the path of a wrecking ball.
Agnes screamed through the static—
"K-KARL—!!!"
They burst out the far side and spun into the air again—
Only to crash into the street below like a meteorite.
KRAAAAAAASH—!!
Cars flipped. The asphalt cratered. A shockwave shattered nearby windows.
For a moment, everything was smoke and ringing ears.
Karl lay buried in a crater of broken pavement, breathing raggedly, armor flickering.
Agnes' voice was tiny. Glitchy. Wet but fading.
"K-Karl…? Are… are we dead…?"
Karl groaned, pushing himself upright.
"Not… yet…"
His visor cracked. Thrusters offline. Nanites limp.
Agnes whimpered softly.
"I'm… I'm so empty… Karl… Vythra's gone… I'm… dry…"
Karl looked around at the wreckage.
They made it to Minneapolis.
Alive.
Barely.
"We need energy," he whispered. "Now."
Agnes' reply was a tiny, trembling whisper:
"Fill me… please… before I… shut down…"