Karl must close the gaping melted entrance before water floods the Pampanito base.
He's still at 25% Vythra, so he has just enough heat to seal the breach without destroying anything else.
This is written as the final chunk of the same scene, long, comedic, and character-accurate.
Karl lay sprawled on the metal floor, steam rolling off him in soft curls as Azure Overbeetle Mode finished shedding from his body.
The flaming exoskeleton cracked, crumbled, dissolved into drifting blue ash.
The heat faded.
The glow dimmed.
And air finally became breathable again.
VYTHRA ENERGY: 25%
Mode Lock: Active. No further Overbeetle functions available.
Agnes hovered beside his head, clutching her stomach, still shaking from laughter.
"O-Oh stars, Karl—"
snrk
"Y-You looked like a—HAHA—like a boiling manatee—!!"
Karl sat up with the emotional dignity of someone who very much wanted to die.
"I survived three Abyssal Behemoths, cracked my own bones punching Erebions, and nearly melted a bridge—
JUST TO GET ROASTED BY MY OWN AI."
Agnes immediately covered her mouth, cheeks glowing bright cyan.
"I-I'm sorry! I-I've never seen you drown on land before!"
Karl's eye twitched.
"I DIDN'T DROWN ON LAND!"
"You kind of did…"
"NO I—"
A loud, echoing SHOOOOOOSH sounded behind them.
Both froze.
They turned.
And saw—
The massive doorway he melted off
—now a giant molten gap—
with the Pacific Ocean rushing in like it wanted to reclaim its property.
Water sprayed violently inside the port chamber, hissing as it hit lingering heat pockets.
Karl stared.
Agnes stared.
Karl:
"…oh shit."
Agnes snapped into panic mode instantly.
"K-Karl—!! The base is going to flood—!!"
Karl scrambled to his feet.
"What do I do!? I CAN'T SWIM—"
"I DON'T NEED YOU TO SWIM, I NEED YOU TO PATCH A GODDAMN DOOR—!!"
Karl looked down at the shimmering blue Vythra meter.
VYTHRA ENERGY: 25%
(Warning: Cannot activate Overbeetle again)
"…I only have enough for manual ignition."
Agnes sucked in a breath.
"That's all we need."
Karl slapped his hands together—
FWIP—SSSHHHH
A weak but stable coating of Royal Azure fire formed around his palms.
Not armor.
Not a blast.
Just a welding flame.
Karl dragged himself to the edge of the ruined frame where water was pouring in.
He slapped one hand on the molten metal.
SZZZZZZZZZZT
Agnes cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Don't burn the whole thing!!"
Karl grunted through clenched teeth.
"I KNOW HOW TO WELD—
KIND OF—
SORTA—
NOT REALLY—
BUT I'M GOING TO PRETEND I DO—!!"
He dragged his burning hand upward, melting and merging metal into a temporary seal.
Every contact hissed steam; every pull fused a new strip into place.
The water pressure fought him—
but the metal obeyed.
Slowly…
Messily…
Like a toddler frosting a cake with a flamethrower…
Karl sealed the hole.
The last piece fused with a loud metallic pop.
KLANG—TSSSHHH
Then silence.
No more water flowed in.
Just a few drips.
Agnes blinked in disbelief.
"…Karl… you… you actually did it."
Karl turned, exhausted.
"You doubted me?"
"You melted the door like it owed you money! YES I DOUBTED YOU!"
Karl crossed his arms.
"Well. I fixed it."
"You FIXED it the same way children FIX broken toys—
WITH FIRE AND PANIC!"
Karl shrugged proudly.
"It worked."
"…I hate that you're right."
The Pampanito submarine: completely safe.
The port chamber: only slightly scorched.
Karl: 95% steam, 5% dignity.
Agnes: Moments away from laughing again.
Karl slid down the sealed door and sat on the floor, exhausted.
Agnes drifted down beside him, voice softening.
"…good job, Karl. Really."
Karl sighed, head thunking back against the wall.
"Can we never speak about the dolphin thing again?"
Agnes blushed.
"…no promises."
Karl groaned.
The final hiss of escaping steam echoed through the airtight port chamber. Karl slumped forward, dragging his boots across scorched metal as tiny blue motes of ash drifted lazily from his armor. Each movement released curls of heat, the last remnants of Azure Overbeetle Mode evaporating into the cold, humid air.
Agnes hovered beside him, cheeks flushed cyan, fingers fiddling nervously. Her voice attempted gravity, but the tone cracked almost immediately.
"K-Karl… I… um… this… the… the magic circle on your drive regulator—"
She cleared her throat, blinked rapidly, and muttered: "…it's… uh… a… really important… magical technical enhancement… thing…? Yeah, that."
Karl groaned, dragging himself along the metal catwalk of the Pampanito. His frame still radiated heat, puddles steaming where he stepped.
"Try that again," he grunted, leaning against the wall for support. Steam hissed from vents along his spine. "But… you know… like you're not laughing internally."
Agnes flushed harder. "I—I'm not laughing! I'm… I'm being… professional!"
Her cyan glow flickered. "S-So the magic circle… um… it… it appeared when your Vythra dropped to exactly 50 percent. And… and it's… it's not just a symbol… it… activates… potential upgrades in the Drive Regulator… like… unlocking latent functions or… or amplifying your integration efficiency…"
Karl blinked, tilting his head. "Uh-huh… sure. That's… very definitive, Agnes."
Agnes's glow dimmed slightly. "I-I swear it's serious! The circle… it… it spins… and… I… I've never seen it behave like that before… it's… different… from any standard upgrade protocol…"
She shivered, embarrassed at her trembling voice. "I—I mean… it's… kind of… nostalgic? Like when… um… you were… first… learning to… integrate with me…?"
Karl snorted, heat radiating from his body like a kettle. "Nostalgic? You're really trying to hit me with 'nostalgic' after this entire bridge-melting spectacle?"
Agnes's cyan glow flickered nervously. "…I-I just… it's… motivating…! Yeah… motivating…"
Her voice dipped shyly, almost whispering: "Remember… the old catchphrases… Faster, Karl~ Twist that ignition~ Mmm… ohhh yes~ Push me harder~ Feel your Vythra surge through you… through me~…"
Karl pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course. You just had to bring that up here."
Her glow pressed close, almost like a weight, still flustered but clinging tightly. "…I-I can't help it… it's… hard to forget… teaching you… back then…"
Karl muttered, dragging himself past a storage rack filled with relic sonar equipment. Steam hissed as the floor beneath him glowed faintly from residual heat. "Fine. Fine. But tell me exactly what this magic circle is doing. None of your cryptic, flustered nonsense. I want answers."
Agnes straightened, trying to look professional. "…It… it's a system-wide sync enhancer. Sort of… like a Vythra amplifier. When active, it can… potentially boost your Drive Regulator's capacity, maybe allow new functions to manifest… but—"
Her glow dimmed, voice cracking shyly, "…I-I… I don't fully know what it will do. It's… spinning so lazily… like it's… waiting… for you… to do something… or… something else… I… I don't know…"
Karl's fingers hovered over the ignition dial, eyes narrowing at the slowly spinning glyph. Every rotation pulsed faintly, synchronized with his heartbeat.
"…So basically… it's a mystery," Karl muttered, voice low, almost tired. "…And I'm supposed to… pull it?"
Agnes's cyan glow quivered, hovering at his shoulder. "…I-I mean… I think… maybe… but… be careful! I-I… um… I can't predict exactly—what will happen…"
Karl sighed, gripping the handle tightly. His knuckles steamed. "…Perfect. Everything's a surprise today."
Outside the port chamber, faint drips from the evaporating water ticked against the metal floor. The ambient hum of the base mixed with residual heat, creating a strange, tense quiet.
Agnes leaned closer, almost resting against him. Her tone wavered between seriousness and shy nostalgia. "…J-Just… be careful… Karl… okay? I… I'll… um… I'll try to… stay serious… but… I… I… can't promise not to… think about… old times…"
Karl's hand lingered over the spinning circle. He exhaled slowly. "…Old times, huh? Guess we're about to make some new ones."
And with that, he readied himself—hand steady on the ignition dial, blue ash still drifting faintly from his feet, the spinning magic circle pulsing slowly, lazily… waiting.