Chapter 10: Blades, Blood, and Bare Skin
The rooftop buzzed with raw energy—electric smoke rising from the wrecked drone, plasma burns still glowing on the cracked concrete. The wind whipped through Nexus-9, carrying the scent of charred metal and blood.
And in the middle of it all—Elliot, Nova, and Cipher—locked in a violent stand-off that was seconds from igniting.
Nova's blade pulsed at her side, a glowing arc of violet light. Her body—sleek, lethal, and impossibly close—stood between Elliot and Cipher like a coiled spring, every muscle tight, every glowing line on her bodysuit shifting like liquid neon.
Cipher, his visor flashing a violent red, flexed his plasma-scarred cybernetic arm. The two remaining Chrome Reapers were already smoldering wrecks on the ground—one twitching, the other a smoking heap.
And Elliot?
He was still trying to calm his racing heart—from both the fight… and the way Nova's kiss still burned on his lips.
[New Mission: Between Lust and Death]
Objective: Survive Cipher's assault… again.
Bonus: Keep Nova alive.
Failure: Instant termination.
Cipher's voice was a low snarl. "You really don't know when to quit, do you, Nova?"
She smirked. "And you really don't know when to stay dead."
In a blink, Cipher raised his plasma arm—faster than Elliot could track—and fired.
The bolt seared through the air, aimed straight at Nova's heart.
But she moved—too fast for a human—twisting sideways, the plasma bolt slicing past her ribs and burning into the rooftop.
"Nova!" Elliot shouted.
She didn't flinch—didn't stop. She surged forward, blade flashing, and Cipher barely managed to block her strike with his forearm. The impact sent a crackling pulse of light across the rooftop, the clash of metal on energy ringing like a gunshot.
The fight was brutal—close combat, no wasted movement.
Nova struck—fast and precise. Cipher countered—cold and methodical.
It was like watching two machines designed for violence tear each other apart.
And Elliot?
He was the squishy human in the middle of it all.
[Pro tip: Don't just stand there—MOVE.]
Cipher's free hand lashed out, grabbing Nova's wrist mid-swing. Sparks flared from the clash of cybernetics—his grip crushing, her blade still humming dangerously close to his throat.
"Rookie!" Nova growled. "A little help?"
Elliot's brain jolted back into action.
He grabbed the nearest weapon he could find—another piece of broken drone tech—and charged.
Cipher saw him coming, of course. His visor flared—calculating Elliot's pathetic, desperate lunge.
But what Cipher didn't expect—was Nova using Elliot's distraction.
The second Cipher adjusted his weight to dodge Elliot's swing, Nova twisted—using Cipher's grip against him—and brought her knee up, slamming it into his gut.
The impact made Cipher stagger.
Elliot took his shot.
He swung the hunk of metal like a baseball bat—connecting with Cipher's helmet with a sickening crack.
The red visor flickered.
Cipher stumbled, blood dripping from beneath his helmet.
Nova didn't give him a second to recover.
Her blade arced through the air—aimed directly at Cipher's throat.
But he was fast—too fast.
He dodged, catching Nova's wrist mid-swing again.
The rooftop fell deathly silent for a beat—just the crackle of their weapons and the sound of Elliot's ragged breathing.
Cipher's voice was a snarl. "This isn't over."
Then—he activated something on his arm.
A pulse of blue light exploded from his cybernetics, a flash grenade built into his system.
The rooftop flared—blinding Elliot.
By the time the light faded, Cipher was gone—vanished into the night.
Nova cursed. "Coward."
Elliot staggered, his vision still swimming with spots. "Did… did we win?"
Nova didn't answer—not with words.
She was on him in a second—slamming him back against the rooftop's edge.
"Nova—what the—"
Her mouth was on his again—fierce, hot, and overwhelming.
There was nothing soft about it—just teeth, heat, and the faint taste of blood and static.
Her hands—one warm and one cold—gripped his jacket, and for a moment, Elliot wasn't sure if she was going to kiss him… or kill him.
[Libido Meter: REDLINE. Neural Boost dangerously unstable.]
His brain barely functioned—but his body responded instantly. His hands slid down her waist—over the shifting neon lines of her suit—grasping at both flesh and metal.
She groaned against his mouth, a low, predatory sound.
"Nova—" he panted, his back still pressed to the ledge, "—what the hell was that?"
Her lips hovered over his—so close, he could feel the static crackling between them.
"Adrenaline," she whispered, her voice rough. "We could've died."
Elliot's heart hammered. "So you're… what? Kissing me because we didn't?"
Her glowing violet eyes burned into his. "I'm kissing you because I want to."
The words shattered him.
Before he could process it—Nova's hand trailed lower, past his belt, and Elliot's Neural Boost flared.
Electricity shot through his limbs—pleasure and pain, a brutal storm of sensation.
His knees buckled.
"Shit—Nova, my Boost—it's—"
"I know," she growled, her hand tightening on his belt. "Let's push it further."
[WARNING: Neural Overload at 97%. Immediate stabilization required.]
"Nova," Elliot gasped, "it's gonna—"
Too late.
The Neural Boost overloaded.
A pulse of raw electricity shot from Elliot's implants—sparking against Nova's cybernetics.
She hissed—half in pain, half in something else—her bodysuit glitching for a second, the neon lines flickering erratically.
For a split second, Nova's eyes went wide. "Rookie—what the hell—"
The rooftop lights flickered—every nearby electronic glitching from the feedback.
Then—silence.
Nova staggered back, her suit still glitching—faint trails of light cascading across her body like a malfunctioning circuit board.
Elliot collapsed to his knees—his whole body still crackling with leftover electricity.
The System buzzed—faint, like even it had taken a hit.
[Neural Overload… stabilized. Barely.]
Nova stared at him—breathless, stunned. "What the hell are you?"
Elliot wiped a line of blood from his mouth, his heart still slamming in his chest. "I… I have no idea."
And in the dark neon glow of Nexus-9—with both of them bloodied, breathless, and still crackling with static—Elliot realized something terrifying.
The danger wasn't just from the Chrome Reapers…
It was from himself.