Binary Love (18+)

Tinker, Healer, Soldier... Spy

Chaos was all around her, but for Nova it seemed like time had slowed down as she stared at Itsuki in shock. Her eyes widened as she took in his unconscious form, half buried under the twisted, broken door.

While most sounds were indecipherable and muffled, culminating in a cacophony of buzzing and bashing, Nova's breathing and heartbeat had never felt louder.

Heat burned through her veins - the logical part of her brain dismissing it as adrenaline - as her hands began shaking uncontrollably before her legs gave out from under her. Or she thought they had, but as she reached out to break her fall, she quickly realised that she was being dragged across the floor by a half crazed Indus high on Blue.

The four armed turquoise alien had a crazed look in her eyes, her filtration mask hanging from her neck as sharp finger nails pierced the skin on Nova's legs. The bite of pain made her hiss. She briefly wondered how the alien was still functioning without the mask, before Nova snapped out of her shock. She shook one of her legs free, the overalls ripping as she pulled away, before slamming her booted foot into the female Indus' face.

Nova felt, as well as heard, the crunch of bone. But even with a crushed nose, with her blood splattering the floor, the Indus didn't let go. She was clearly too high to notice the pain. In fact, considering how their species were empaths, this Indus should be curled up and completely incapacitated by all the strong emotions swirling around the room. Instead, with inhuman force, the alien grabbed both her legs with her four arms.

In a panic, Nova yelled, demanding that she let her go, while she helplessly tried to pry herself loose.

It was futile. The Indus clearly wasn't coherent, and shifted her grip, until she began to squeeze her chest, Nova's bones straining under the pressure.

She couldn't breathe. She was terrified.

From what felt like nowhere, Rosalind scrambled up beside her. Through blurry tears, Nova could barely make out her friend trying to pry the Indus off of her. Her usual pristine demure was completely gone; her face contorted with horror and desperation as she screamed at the tops of her lungs.

"Let go of her!" Rosalind yelled. "I said LET GO!" Nova began to cough, then choke, gasping for air, her arms feebly trying to push the alien off.

When it was clear that time was running out, Rosalind raised a scalpel in her fist - usually held with a delicate hand, this time her friend was wielding it like a knife - and with all her strength stabbed the Indus in the back.

Nova could see the look of confusion on Rosalind's face as the Indus didn't let go. It was like the stab wound had been just a scratch. Rosalind tried to stab the alien in the back a few more times, but stopped when she realised that it was doing nothing. With the look of dread in her eyes, Rosalind - in a last ditch attempt to save Nova - pulled the Indus' head up from the loose mask straps, and then thrust the scalpel through one of her eyes.

The body immediately released her, letting Nova gasp for air while the body profusely bled all down the front of her body. She had to look away. The scalpel poking out of the eye was simply too much for her. Nova was sure that if she hadn't been gasping for her she would likely be gagging instead.

Suddenly, she was being pulled out from under the body by the straps of her overalls. Nova froze, ready to fight off whoever now had her, before she recognised the blood covered hands as Rosalind's.