Skori got one good shot with his cannon before a stray butcher knife nailed him in the arm, rendering it useless by way of a plasma feedback. It burst into flames, charring the arm down to the endoskeleton. Skori cried out, but more in shock than pain, as he jerked his maimed limb back. The moment he took to clutch it was the opening the crowd needed.

"Skori!" Mericlou screamed, peering through a corner window, despite Tescadji's protestations, as she witnessed the retaliating mob piling atop her wounded brother.

It proved fortunate that humans tended to neglect the factor of an android's strength, and Skori subsequently proved that he could more than hold his own. Several members of the mob were thrown like so many rag dolls, but not without Skori taking damage of his own. Cuts marred his face, and his formerly pin-neat clothes were charred, ripped, and splattered with a combination of their blood and his own.

Aldrec would have helped; he wanted more than anything to come to Skori's rescue, but the sudden press of the mob had him busy with his own problems of the self-defense variety. He was unfortunately, not immune to the wrath of the press, and had been met with his own offensive wave before he had a chance to retaliate.

"Retalce!" He hissed, summoning a violent explosion that fanned outwards, throwing back the crowd quickly and efficiently, giving him the opening he needed to at last help the android.

"Rettej! Rettej!" Aldrec thundered, the spell casting the knot of humans aside and off of the struggling android. Quickly, he caught Skori as he slumped to the ground, but not before a shot from a bolt caster had hit him in the arm. Aldrec wailed in pain, and fell to one knee, but adrenaline kept his wits about him. Imbued with new strength, he returned to his feet, erecting a protective spell by sheer will as he ran back to the relative safety of the house. The mob, having suffered casualties of their own by the strength of the android and the magic of the elf, had retreated for the most part, to a few taunting humans, who viciously threw lead pipes and bottles to no avail.

"Hurry, chief, start the spell," Tescadji said to Jenius as he rushed the two in, and shut the door, barricading it with the sofa. Aldrec, once inside, collapsed to the floor, moaning in pain from the bolt caster wound, but so covered with blood from Skori, there was no way to tell whose blood was whose.

"Aldrec …" Mericlou moaned, kneeling between the two, joined soon afterwards by Krako, who sniffed and licked at Aldrec, like a dog pining for its master.




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