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[color=hotpink]"I have faith in my friends to not drag me in, Lady Victoire, and besides..."[/color] Her eyes momentarily met Ami's as she offered a grim smirk, not indicating whether it would be a stone cold bluff or a dangerous threat. [color=hotpink]"They should know better. Rafters."[/color] Around the finish of her statement, the gunshot from Annabel rang out from the rafters and freed Riku, the fight continuing forward on more even ground. Akiko considered getting involved for a moment before she simply fell backwards, purple light flowing through the normally green-starred brooch across the bard's chest, her kicking back in the air and watching as the fight unfolded. To others watching, she'd be floating in mid air, but the bard was aware of various applications of the purple relic. As long as she didn't overtax it, the vacuum would keep her afloat.

Gosh, all this talk about Light and Dark girls was boring, wasn't it? As fun as watching the girls fight was, the bard started to grow bored slightly of all this talk regarding target practice. Not that it wasn't useful, no it absolutely was. It helped her garner an idea of the 'friends' that she worked with. Castle would be the greatest asset if she needed to put any of them in their place, sure, but she still needed to be ready in case Castle alone wasn't enough.

Annabel admitted to stealing, or at least wanting to steal, something, though not the book, and Akiko leaned forward from air seat. Interesting that the newcomer and clear-witch of the combatants would willingly admit this to Victoire, but then again, Akiko wasn't too sure of the interpersonal dynamics of the vampire yet. That being said, she definitely could [color=red]see just what was the target[/color], the similar flash appearing here to see what was going on with Annabel and what she could learn.

[color=hotpink]"She stole a card, Lady Victoire. Bastion, I believe."[/color] Akiko spoiled the fun for the group and spoke to Victoire, a smile washing over her face. She glanced back at Annabel and smirked. Sure, that put a target on her head, but she figured that maybe the vampire queen to her side was a pretty formidable ally to work with.

Once the snake came into the room, Akiko stood from the sitting position she was in and immediately prepared herself, the purple light on her fading momentarily. Something was amiss about this snake, and when the gravity suddenly turned off, well, Akiko was immediately intrigued. While it would be nice for Akiko to just let the snake eat Annabel, maybe that wasn't the best idea overall. If this was as big of a threat as she made it out to be, keeping multiple people alive was the best course of action.

Her chest flashed, and the winds of fate sparked up behind Annabel and pulled her out of the way, over to Akiko specifically. While the gravity was off, there was still an atmosphere, meaning she could still use the winds to move. Similarly, if something wasn't initially affected by gravity anyway, it wasn't about to be now, correct? 

Annabel would land beside Akiko and Victoire, if she kept going along that path. [color=hotpink]"Sorry to spoil earlier, but we've got bigger priorities. Push off the wall, get around the room like that, and use whatever you can to deflect and dodge. If you're in a tight spot, shout something and I'll try and worm you out of it."[/color] Castle manifested behind Akiko, though only for Kanbaru to see. [color=hotpink]"Keep yourself alive, and you may want to use that card. We've gotta be careful and we can't afford to lose."[/color] 

Akiko's chest gleamed with green and she launched off the floor, cleanly flying up into the rafters with a throw from Castle. She had to bide her time, wait for a good opportunity, then she could go in for a strike...

[color=darkolivegreen][i][b]"Maybe we shall come and assist in restraining this beast?"[/b][/i][/color]

[color=hotpink]"Maybe. Let's find an opening first..."[/color]