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[color=aba000]"Well, thank you for letting me know,"[/color] Alicia responded with her best effort at a calm demeanor. Still, Trixy had raised her curiosity. One might have considered it idle chatter, but typically 'party' and 'assassination attempt' did not naturally go together. It seemed to indicate at least that she knew more than she was perhaps letting on. It might not be worth pursuing at the moment, but it was something to keep in mind.

So as Samantha returned, the Seraph would provide her own knowing response in turn. [color=aba000]"Still, it's all a bit odd. You go to the trouble of setting up a secret party with a secret address, fill it with people hostile to the Ascendancy, then you do the equivalent of throwing up a big neon sign that says 'hey we're over here'. I could probably pick up this aura halfway across town. Makes you wonder if this event is a bit more than it seems."[/color]

For a few moments she watched the dancing as FanFan and Trixy got into it. At the very least they could spare that much time, especially with how much her comrade was getting into it. But eventually she would dismiss herself, nodding to Leena as she did so. [color=aba000]"I'll catch up. Just have some things I need to do first, people to meet, you know how it is."[/color] With that she slipped off, headed towards the various side rooms and the back of the hall for a bit of detective work.

But she did not make it very far before the lights dimmed and the music faded. Eyes wide, she turned towards the stage and the girl who emerged there. [color=aba000]"No no, it's too soon. That isn't enough time."[/color] But there was nothing she could do about it, as events continued at their own inexorable pace. 

As if hearing her inner thoughts, things got worse. Music rang out, her Spark flaring in response. Yet she was not the main target of it anyway as bedlam and violence began to spread. Girls went crazy, fighting each other and lashing out with their powers. A bar exploded, fire and darkness everywhere as the lights failed. 

Dodging back, Alicia transformed into her magical girl outfit to handle this new, drastic, situation. Her Third Eye kicked in, cutting through the magically induced darkness and removing it as an obstacle to her moving about. The fighting was still a problem, but at least she could see it coming. Dimly, she heard Rachel's comment over her comms, a spike of worry lancing through her. This was dangerous by itself, but she still had not seen any indication of what the Mint was up to. What if there was more? [color=aba000]"Vi's an empath,"[/color] she said over the radio, coughing and trying to make herself heard over the music. [color=aba000]"She's got this entire place going crazy. You send girls in here they're going to be walking into a warzone. We need to contain it! Leena, make sure FanFan is alright. Penny, please tell me you're recording all of this."[/color] 

If someone was going to try and use this to make them look bad, she at least wanted it to be difficult for them.

For now she moved, Requiem's Dawn in its sword form and ready to act as she pushed forward towards the back rooms. This was not over yet, and she was not going to rest easy until she was sure that every threat had been dealt with - whether that was Vi or someone else. 

[hr]

"Ren," the older man replied, shooting her a crooked smile. "I could always say something profound about us all being travelers on the journey of life, if you'd prefer. Besides, a tourist has his tricks. I'm a bit more sturdy than I seem." He'd have to be, to hang out with magical girls on any sort of normal basis. 

Finding themselves suddenly addressed by another pair, Ren shifted to look at the duo before tipping his head. "Ladies." He would allow Liss to explain the situation, figuring they would pay her more attention than they would him. In the end it was a bit of a moot point as the concert finally began. 

An eyebrow rose as the song began, a call to abandon inhibition and follow the desires of the heart. Reaching into his pocket, he felt for his car keys as the violence soon began. "Looks like that's my cue to-"

Then the bar exploded. 

Thrown bodily through the air, Ren slammed down with the air driven out of him. Pain flared through his torso, but he was disoriented enough to the point that he didn't have the attention to acknowledge it for a few moments. Man he hadn't felt like this in ages, not that that was a bad thing. He didn't exactly enjoy feeling like this.

Grunting, he slowly stirred and dragged himself over to a nearby table through grit teeth. Definitely some broken ribs at the very least, lacerations, plus who knew what else, but at least he wasn't on fire. Taking a deep breath he began to focus his inner energy, turning it to healing himself to the point where he could even walk. He just hoped he had the time to do so, with everything else going on