Karl woke up wrong.
Not awake—
Not asleep—
Just wrong.
A splitting pressure hammered behind his eyes, pulsing like a living thing in his skull. His stomach rolled. His limbs felt like sagging lead pipes. His throat was dry enough to scrape.
He groaned into the dusty airport floor.
"…kill me…"
A soft hand touched his cheek.
"Karl?"
Agnes' voice wasn't teasing. Or smug. Or playful.
She sounded… tense.
"Karl, please answer me. You've been unconscious for nine hours and forty-three minutes."
Karl forced an eye open.
Her hologram knelt over him—solid-seeming, bluish pale, pupils shimmering with lines of diagnostic data. Her brows were pinched with genuine worry.
"You look like death," she whispered.
"…feel like it," he croaked.
Agnes' projected fingers stroked his hair gently.
Her usual confidence was gone.
"You scared me," she admitted. "Your vitals kept spiking and dropping. The alcohol hit you hard… harder than I predicted. I didn't know if you'd wake up."
Karl blinked.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"Agnes… warning first. Next time. Please."
She swallowed — an old human mimicry she did when she was rattled.
"I know," she sighed. "I'm sorry. I just… wanted you to enjoy your first hangover a little longer before I interfered. You earned the experience. I didn't want to take that from you."
Karl tried to sit up.
Bad idea.
The world spun sideways so aggressively he fell back down.
Agnes flinched.
"Karl—don't move. Don't push yourself."
She lifted his head onto her lap, her nanite-constructed hand rubbing slow circles along his scalp.
"I've got you."
He groaned but didn't fight it.
"Hangovers suck…"
"Yes," she said, "and yours is amplified by having a hyper-efficient metabolism. The toxins hit harder and faster."
"…fantastic…"
Agnes actually smiled — relieved, soft, tired.
"You're conscious enough to complain. That's reassuring."
Karl closed his eyes.
Her hologram body was warm — nanites mimicking heat through subtle vibrations. She gently massaged his temples.
"Before I detox you," she murmured, "I'm going to warn you. It's going to feel cold. Very cold. It will clear your system instantly but… you will not enjoy the sensation."
Karl, barely alive:
"Just… do it…"
"No," she said suddenly.
"No. Not yet."
His eyes fluttered open.
"What?"
Agnes looked away, conflicted.
"You only get one first hangover in your entire life," she said softly. "Once I detox you, it's gone. I know this is miserable, but… I wanted you to experience it fully. To remember what it feels like to be human in a stupid, ridiculous way."
Karl blinked up at her.
"That… doesn't make it better."
"No," she admitted, smiling sadly, "but it's honest."
He exhaled a shaky breath.
"…okay. Now detox me. Please."
Agnes nodded.
"Alright. Three… two… one—"
Nanites surged from the Drive Regulator permanently locked at Karl's waist, spreading through his bloodstream in a shockwave of freezing, biting clarity.
Karl gasped and convulsed.
"HNN—AGNES—AH—warned me—still awful—"
Agnes stroked his hair faster.
"I know, I know—just breathe, Karl—nearly done—"
The last of the alcohol burned out of him like ice fire.
He collapsed back, panting.
"Holy shit," he whispered. "Okay. I'm awake."
Agnes let out a breath she didn't need.
"Thank Yggdrasil…"
She helped him sit upright this time, guiding his back, steadying his hands when they shook.
"You're okay," she murmured.
"You're okay now."
Karl managed a tired smile.
"You're… surprisingly gentle."
Agnes looked away, cheeks faintly tinted by simulated blush lighting.
"You scared me," she repeated. "I wasn't programmed to handle that feeling well."
Karl opened his mouth to answer—
—but Agnes suddenly froze.
Her pupils dilated.
Her hologram flickered.
Her posture stiffened like she'd been hit with a surge of electricity.
"…Agnes?"
Her eyes went bright red.
"Karl. Transform. Now."
He blinked, startled.
"What—?"
"Karl, TRANSFORM NOW."
Her voice cracked — not angry, not panicked, but urgent in a way he had never heard from her.
He grabbed the sides of the Drive Regulator out of instinct.
"What's happening—?!"
Agnes snapped her gaze to the distant horizon through the shattered airport windows.
"It's an Ichor Storm," she said.
Quiet.
Cold.
Terrified.
"A big one."
Karl's heart stopped.
"How big?"
"Massive. Atmospheric readings exceeded safe thresholds five minutes ago. The outer winds will reach Denver soon. You will NOT survive this in human form."
Karl staggered to his feet, still shaky.
"Transforming—"
Nanites erupted over his body as the Rider Frame encased him, locking into place. The helmet sealed. The visor dropped.
Agnes' voice re-synced inside the suit.
"Deploying dorsal purifier blade—"
SHINK
A metal spike extended from his spine and split open like a flower, revealing the purification engine.
A shimmering air membrane surrounded him instantly — clean, breathable, shielded.
Karl steadied his stance.
"Agnes—what's the contamination level?"
Agnes ran calculations at lightning speed.
"Ichor concentration: extreme."
Her voice tightened.
"This is the worst storm we've encountered since the Pittsburgh Zone."
Karl exhaled slowly.
"…and it's coming straight for us?"
Agnes whispered:
"Yes. And fast."
They stood together on the cracked runway while the sky over Denver darkened, turning a sickly black-red.
Karl clenched his fists.
"Agnes. Guide me."
Her voice softened, but the fear remained.
"I'm with you. Always."
The first shockwave of the Ichor Storm hit the outskirts of Denver.
And Karl took his first step into it.