Karl's cockpit shuddered violently as the fused projection gears disintegrated mid-flight, melting before reaching the Sentinel. Sparks and molten fragments rained against Erevos' reinforced hull. He gritted his teeth, sweat running down his forehead. "…Dammit… nothing's surviving near that core…"
Agnes' avatar flickered beside him, her digital form tense and taut with worry. "…Karl… hold on! The projectiles aren't working… nothing survives the heat! You have to… stay inside the cockpit!"
Karl's hands slammed against the Drive Regulator. The nanites were working overtime, trying to reinforce the cockpit's outer plating and keep the projection gears semi-cohesive, but the Sentinel's heatwave pulsed with predatory precision. Every second closer to the core meant that the plasma rays emanating from its flamethrower arms were more intense, more focused, and more destructive.
He adjusted Erevos along the rails, sliding diagonally backward as the Sentinel rotated its arms, the flamethrower barrels glowing bright sapphire. "…No choice… I need to test the cockpit's limits. I need to…"
Agnes' voice rose, urgent, sharp. "…Karl! Don't push too far! Your nanites won't hold if you let them overload! I… I'll do everything I can to reinforce—just hold out!"
Karl's visor fogged as the first ray of intense plasma sliced across the distance. The cockpit shook violently, and the overlapping metal gears and alloyed plates around his arms and shoulders warped under the heat. "…Nanites… hold!" he gritted through clenched teeth, feeling the first pangs of flesh-burning heat creeping through his gloves.
The Sentinel pulsed, almost in rhythm with the molten aura around its core. Its sapphire orb glimmered, and with a violent sweep of its arm, two beams of royal-azure plasma shot outward simultaneously. They struck Erevos head-on, vaporizing part of the rail below and sending molten shards raining.
Karl reacted instantly. The eight projection gears integrated into Gearstorm Nova whirred, spinning to form overlapping shields along his forearms. Nanites reinforced them, gluing and welding the metal together in near-real-time. Sparks flew as the beams impacted, melting outer plating but failing to penetrate the reinforced layering.
"…Agnes… how long can you maintain cockpit integrity?" Karl asked, voice strained.
"I… I'm doing everything I can!" she responded, her tone almost frantic. "I'm diverting all auxiliary nanite flows to shield the cockpit! I… I can hold… just… keep it alive!"
Another flamethrower sweep came, wider and faster, aimed to trap Erevos between two waves of plasma. Karl rotated, sliding along the rail support, stacking the projection gears together to absorb maximum impact. The overlapping surfaces warped slightly under the heat, glowing orange, but they held… barely.
"…Roasting me alive," Karl muttered through gritted teeth as sweat hissed off his skin inside the cockpit. Burn marks started forming along his exposed arms and neck where the cockpit's heat shielding couldn't fully block the thermal radiation. "…This… this is insane…"
Agnes' voice cracked with concern. "…Karl! Don't… don't let yourself get cooked! Focus on movement! I… I'm reinforcing everything I can—rails, cockpit, auxiliary vents! Just hold… just hold out…"
The Sentinel advanced, flamethrowers whirring like twin furnaces. Each pulse of plasma seemed to anticipate Karl's evasive maneuvers, cutting off his options and forcing him to retract along collapsing beams. The cockpit shook violently as molten metal and glass fragments fell around him. Every motion required overlapping gears, constantly reinforced by nanites sticking and welding them together midair.
"…I can't… keep up forever…" Karl muttered, wiping sweat from his visor as his arms burned inside the cockpit gloves. "…Need… another angle… need…"
Agnes' avatar floated closer, concern etched into every pixel of her form. "…Karl… listen to me! You… you have to keep your head! Don't let it break you inside! I'm… I'm controlling everything I can! Rails, supports, thermal vents, auxiliary shields—I… I'll keep the cockpit stable! But… I need you to hold out!"
A sudden blast of plasma slammed directly into Erevos' side, sending molten shards of rail and forest debris spiraling across the cockpit. Karl barely twisted in time, stacking the projection gears into a reinforced shield, nanites weaving molten edges together. He could feel the heat radiating through the plating, pressing against his armor. Burn marks were beginning to form along his neck, the exposed skin at the back of his hands, the heat searing into his flesh despite the partial shielding.
"…Agnes… it's too hot… I'm…" Karl's voice broke slightly. His internal nanite network was screaming for cooling, trying to repair the scorched plating and prevent internal systems from frying. "…I'm getting roasted…"
"I… I know!" Agnes yelled back. "…I can feel it too! I'm doing everything I can! Just… just don't give up! You… you're stronger than this!"
Another pulse of flamethrower plasma, and Karl reacted without thinking, spinning Erevos to angle the impact through overlapping shields, projecting nanites to fuse additional gears as temporary armor. The beams scorched the outer layers, vaporizing fragments, but the reinforced overlapping shields absorbed the brunt of the energy.
"…Nanites… overclock… shield… reinforce…" he muttered, voice trembling from the heat. "…I need to… push it back…"
Agnes' avatar hovered closer, visibly trembling in the cockpit HUD. "…You… you can do this, Karl! I… I'll hold everything! Rails, debris, auxiliary—everything! Just… just don't burn up before I finish reinforcing!"
The Sentinel's sapphire core pulsed violently, almost mocking him. It rotated, flamethrowers sweeping across the area in long arcs, sending intense rays slicing across forest and debris alike. Karl twisted Erevos backward along a collapsing support beam, firing the nanite-reinforced projection shields like extensions of his armor. Sparks, molten metal, and vaporized debris filled the air.
"…This… this is insane…" Karl muttered. "…I can't… keep touching this heat… but I have to…"
Agnes' voice softened slightly, pleading. "…Karl… just a little longer… hold… hold… I… I've got you! I can protect everything… cockpit, support rails, everything! I just… need you to survive for me…"
The next pulse of plasma hit the cockpit directly, and Karl felt the heat surge through the reinforced Gearstorm Nova plating. The overlapping gears warped slightly but held—just barely. Burn marks flared along his arms and shoulders, the interior temperature climbing to critical. He hissed, the scent of scorched metal and skin filling the cockpit.
"…I… I'm holding…" he muttered, teeth clenched. "…I… won't die here…"
Agnes' voice cracked again, but this time with determination. "…Good… good! Just hold! I… I'll keep reinforcing everything… I won't let you fry… not while I'm here…"
Karl's eyes narrowed. "…Okay… need… next move…" He looked at the remaining integrated projection gears. Eight in total, half already fused and reinforcing shields. "…Maybe… I can use these as overlapping… plasma absorbers…"
Agnes' avatar nodded rapidly. "…Yes! Stack them! Overlap! Nanites will weld them together midair! Absorb… redirect… just hold! I… I'll manage everything else!"
Karl gritted his teeth, rolling along the rails. He aligned four fused projection gears in front of the cockpit like a mobile barricade. Nanites stuck and welded each layer, constantly repairing warping and melting metal. Another pulse of plasma from the Sentinel's flamethrowers hit, burning the outer layers, but the layered shields absorbed the impact, redirecting some of the energy into dissipated molten shards.
"…Yes… holding… still holding…" Karl muttered through clenched teeth. His armor smoked, plating partially warped. Burn marks along his skin pulsed painfully, but he refused to retreat further. Every fiber of his body screamed against the heat.
Agnes' voice rang out again, softer, almost intimate amidst the chaos. "…Karl… you… you're doing amazing… just… hold… I… I've got everything else… just survive… just survive…"
The Sentinel pulsed again, almost as if reading their synchronized determination. Its flamethrower arms swept in arcs, longer, faster, and hotter than ever. Sparks and molten debris flew through the air like lethal shrapnel. Karl adjusted the overlapping projection gears, spinning them slightly to redirect arcs and absorb maximum energy. The cockpit shuddered violently, the intense heat pressing against his armor and searing into his skin.
"…I… I'm holding…" Karl whispered, sweat mixing with molten metal smoke, "…I… won't… give up…"
Agnes' voice was trembling now, but resolute. "…Good… good! Just… hold… I'll… I'll make sure nothing… nothing burns inside… I… I swear, Karl… just hold…"
The forest around them burned, molten shards raining across the ground, support beams warped and twisted, but inside the cockpit, Karl and Agnes were locked in a desperate, coordinated ballet against the Sentinel's plasma onslaught.
Karl gritted his teeth, aligning and overlapping gears continuously, letting the nanites weld them midair as plasma arcs slammed against them. Burn marks on his skin intensified, steam rising from exposed arms and neck, but he refused to yield. "…I… I can… survive this… just a little longer…"
The Sentinel's sapphire core pulsed like a heartbeat of molten malice. Its flamethrower arms whirred, preparing the next salvo of plasma rays. Karl's cockpit shuddered, smoke and sparks filling the interior. Nanites were pushed to the absolute limit, fusing melted edges, reinforcing warped gears, pumping Vythra flow into the shields at maximum.
Agnes' voice cracked one final time, but this time full of conviction. "…Karl… just… hold out… I… I… I'm not letting you burn! You… you'll survive this! I… I've got everything… just hold… just hold…"
Karl's eyes narrowed. "…Holding… not giving up… no matter what…"
The Sentinel's arms whirred, plasma barrels glowing, heat radiating in waves like a living inferno. Karl aligned the overlapping, welded gears, sweat dripping, burn marks searing, cockpit shaking violently. The cockpit's reinforced shell groaned under the pressure.
"…We… we can do this…" Karl muttered. "…We… will survive…"
And through the roar of molten steel, screaming plasma, and overlapping, reinforced nanite shields, Karl and Agnes braced for the next wave, their resolve unbroken.