Ace couldn't help but smirk when she saw Carter drop the bat, and it only took her a second to snatch it and jump back to her original position. She was pleased with the fact that it'd worked, and a little more pleased with Carter's hiss. It was a small factor of satisfaction, but she didn't do much to hide it. Her thoughts were that the fight would be over soon, in her favor, certainly. "That was smart," she heard him say. Her small smirk grew, but only slightly. Her smile was still small; subtle. "Distract me with the fire then take my bat," he continued. Though her smile had been growing just seconds ago, she felt a frown coming on. What's he getting at? She found herself thinking, a small yet persistent sensation of suspicion coming on. "Five years ago that probably would've resulted in my surrender. But I'm different now, y'know. Stronger. You're not going to win this fight, Alice. Might as well give up while all of your limbs are still attached." At this point, Ace's smile had completely vanished, being replaced with a sketchy glare. What could Carter possibly do to turn the battle around? Whatever the answer, Ace had no clue... "Let there be darkness," She felt her grip on Carter's bat tighten and her eyebrows furrow as she saw Carter raise his hand, and to her great discomfort, that was the last thing she saw.
Alice visibly tensed, though she quickly forced herself to relax her muscles, as her shoulder wasn't agreeing with her. She began to gnaw on her bottom lip and she felt an alarming sense of panic washing over her, which to her was the equivalent of being washed out by an unavoidable tidal wave. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness that Alice felt was absolutely agonizing. Thankfully, the peak of her panic lasted for a few seconds, for she quickly convinced herself that the only way to stand a chance without her sight was to calm down and revert to one of her other senses: hearing. She made a point to keep her ears open, listening to any sound she could catch. It was almost as if Carter were dancing on her nerves as he began to whistle. She could hear his footsteps; slow but torturous.
She didn't think her panic could get any worse... Not until she heard Henrietta scream for help. She was helpless, already panicking, and now her dear friend needed her now more than ever, and Ace couldn't do a thing. She was biting down on her lower lip so hard, it begs to bleed, though she neglected to notice. And yet, it was only a second later that she realized her sight had returned. Her first instinct was to turn to Henrietta, and the sight of her ally lying on the ground, helpless, was more than enough to get Ace moving, specifically toward her injured ally. Though she found herself pausing a few feet away from her, as her eyes drifted to Carter. Was he defending Henrietta? Alice was... Puzzled. Extremely thankful, for sure, but... Confused. I-If they were on different sides, then--- She quickly waved the topic away, before turning back to Henrietta and making her way over, kneeling down in the process. She was more focused on Henrietta than she was on anything else; in fact, she didn't care to listen in on what Carter had to say, she really just wanted to get Henrietta to a safer location.
It was only when she heard Keith say something about a Carter having a soft spot that the conversation caught her attention. In fact, she found her eyes turning to Keith and Carter. The moment Keith had said that she realized he was avoiding her gaze, and at this, she was torn between a number of feelings. Part of her was angry; outraged that he would dare do this to Henrietta. That he'd go so far to nearly kill her! Another part of her was desperately trying to figure out what the hell happened. Something happened during the five years that he was gone. What, she couldn't tell, but it changed him. Keith was no longer the Keith she thought she knew so well, he was not the Keith that offered her flower bouquets, he was not the Keith that she'd spended hours answering riddles with. This much, she was able to gather, but even though she now knew this was true, Alice was still clawing to figure out what did this. She would not be satisfied, no, she'd never be satisfied, but she would never be able to accept it until she knew what happened. Why he would do this? Maybe... Was it Alice's fault? Had she unintentionally provoked this? Ace began to bite her lip again, as she started to fed her insecurities, only to end up waving off the topic in an attempt to deny the possibility. ...Though her attempt hardly succeeded.
Her gaze was locked on the two for a few more moments, but her eyes soon drifted back to her wounded ally, only to find herself being drenched in even more alarming feelings. The moment she looked at Henrietta, she remembered what Keith had said in the first place. "Don't tell me you still have a soft spot Carter," He must have been referring to Henrietta, and at this, Alice felt overwhelmed by a troubling sense of jealously, which resulted in an uncomfortable glance back at Carter and Keith, though she made a point to look back at Henrietta as quickly as she turned away. Perhaps too fast.She couldn't even begin to understand why she was... Jealous, of all things, of Carter and Henrietta. But, thankfully, the feeling was brief and left just as quickly as it came.
Inhaling sharply, Alice offered her hand to Henrietta and plastered a smile on to her face. "We should make haste and get out of here." She began. "I think we'd both agree that a visit to Louie is in order... I'll be more than happy to help you up." As Alice began to ready herself to help Henrietta up, she found herself wondering what to do with Carter's bat. She'd forgotten about it up until now, and she wasn't sure what to do with it now. Shrugging, she gingerly placed it on the ground. If she was going to help Henrietta up, then surely she'd need all the strength she could musters. Sure, she wasn't the weakest of the disciples, but she certainly wasn't among the strongest. And seeing how muscle wise, Henrietta was, Alice found herself questioning if she could pull off escourting her ally to Louie's... Though, she wasn't sure if there were any other options, given the current situation.