p class="p1"span class="s1"Larxene's eyes widened in a mix of shock and slight fear as she caught sight of Asha. The silence that loomed over them now made her uneasy. She looked away quickly, feigning interest in the marbles scattered across/spanspan class="s2" the floor. How….How long had her face looked like that..? did that happen today? Things would have been….louder if it did, right? But if it didn't, wouldn't Xigbar have said something? That seemed like a pretty big thing to just ….leave out of the conversation. Either way, someone needed to say strongsomething/strong. Larxene finally looked up at Aqua. Maybe she would have something to say? Hell, she looks uncomfortable too… Her fingertips brushed over the trinket around her neck on impulse. She wanted to speak, or get up and leave. There weren't many places to go in the dead of night, especially in a deserted part of a city. It'd be dangerous. But still… she chewed her tongue in apprehension. It wasn't exactly her place to say stronganything/strong about what was happening before them, despite how badly she wanted to./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Asha shook as she struggled to quickly cover her face with a large piece of her hair. She wished more than anything to run back into her room without saying a word… but the circumstance did not call for cowardice. After all, this was a moment she had wished for for ten years. Her mouth ran dry as she finally took a closer look at the man before her. He had changed. Though no amount of aging could change a person this much. She knew full well what had caused the whitening of his hair and the yellow in his eye. It was what happens when a mortal abuses the power of the soul. Black magic is rarely able to be harnessed by mortals… and when it is, theres always a price to pay. Equivalent exchange if you will. Asha managed to break the silence first, "Asha did not expect to see you…" Xigbar noticed immediately that something was off. He had never seen any scars on Asha before, and to see her face mangled like that was shocking to say the least. Although he knew better than to say anything about it right now. Shivering at the thought of what might have caused it, he shook his head and managed to smile back at her. "Welllll I didn't expect to be tossed through the front door. S-sorry about yer… pots…" he replied, motioning to the mess on the floor. Aqua couldn't help but notice the stone that hung from Asha's staff. It's dull purple color began to glow much like the soul she had seen earlier, though it had never done so before. She didn't want to ask about it now, but she made a mental note to ask about it in the future. Asha stepped forward, closing the gap between her and the escape artist, gripping tightly to her staff, and standing sternly, with her shoulders back and her eyes squinting in a frown. Silence returned to the room once again, but this time Xigbar couldn't stand it anymore. "I-I'm sorry fer not returning fer ten years… you know why I couldn't… r-right?" He knew that look. But there was little he could do in his defense. Without hesitation Asha lifted a hand, and smacked him across the face, muttering something in another language under her breath. Rubbing his face, he continued, "Yea… I guess I deserved that… but I came by to-" Again, without hesitation and interrupting his speech, Asha lurched forward and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck. Not knowing what else to do, the performer stopped talking, and returned the hug, holding her close for a few moments without saying a word. Aqua felt strange, watching this reunion. Something about it seemed off… but not unpleasant, she couldn't figure out what was wrong about it. She crossed her legs and shifted her position in the pillows, still very tired from her nap being interrupted. Asha quickly let go and laughed happily. Stepping backward, she tapped her staff twice on the ground and sprinkled some powder over it. The ground beneath where she had chosen started to crack and give way. A skeletal hand emerged from the crack along with the rest of the body. The skeleton crackled and began to take the shape of a regular human…without skin or muscle. It's eyes glowed green as it shambled forward, and began to pick up the mess. "Tis a good thing Asha made extra food the night before this one. We shall have a party tonight then! What say you, dog?" She called over to Pooka, who's head was still in the doorway. He bleated loudly in reply and bobbed his head back and forth./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene couldn't help but smirk when Asha's palm connected with his cheek. That was a good one. Shit, she'd do the same thing. The performer did however, look away when the woman stepped closer for a hug. It seemed…..strangely intrusive if she continued watching. She looked up again once she heard her laugh. Laughter is…..good, right? She blinked slowly in an attempt to process what was before her eyes now. It'd been a while since she had gotten any sleep, could she be hallucinating? The ground… She pulled her legs close to her body at once and, though she tried, she failed to hide the sudden gasp that escaped her lips. A…..a fucking skeleton. Was….was this normal? Xigbar doesn't seem to care much. She cleared her throat and sat a little straighter, feigning bravery. She was sure the woman wouldn't turn her new….friend on them, but she was not about to let them know that it scared her./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua tensed at the nightmare before her continued to clean the mess on the floor. She didn't want to lose sight of it, for fear that it would make its way toward her. What it would do, she had no idea, but she didn't want to take the chance. Asha turned and began to clean the place up as best she could, moving things on the floor out of the way to clear a nice space in the middle of the room for each of them to sit. "Asha apologizes but it has been increasingly hard to keep my home tidy. That's what happens when you're left alone for so long. Things get messy." Aqua turned her gaze from the skeleton to the Escape Artist who stood awkwardly next to the cleaning pile of bones. He looked as if he was going to say something several times, but decided against it. Aqua wondered what it was he wanted to say. Could it be about their daughter? It seemed strange that neither of them were talking about her. She concluded it was probably because her and Larxene were in the room. But even still… it was an urgent matter. Who knows… she was certainly not one to judge relationships… especially when she was the one hiding from her own boyfriend. If she could even stomach to call him that anymore./span/p
p class="p1"Larxene eyed the skeleton carefully while listening to Asha. She had begun to move to the center of the room as instructed, but instead finally spoke. "Shouldn't it be the cleaning lady's job?" She asked, sarcasm laced her voice as she motioned to Xigbar. "Ten years is a hell of a 'vacation' isn't it?" the performer knew that now wasn't the time for jokes, but to be fair, he strongdid/strong keep this a secret. A party, though? Would Asha conjure up more skeletons, then? Her stomach recoiled at the thought. /p
p class="p1"Aqua crawled over to the center of the room along with Larxene. Xigbar eyed larxene coldly at that comment, unsure of what exactly she meant. Folding his arms he frowned as Asha smiled widely at him and then Larxene. Asha laughed heartily and hopped over to Larxene with open arms, hugging her quickly and letting go just as hastily. She chuckled some more before adding, "You are quite right young one… However, the cleaning lady only works nights!" Xigbar raised an eyebrow thoroughly confused by what the two women were talking about. Making his way around the skeleton, he sat down in the middle of the room using a nearby pillow as a cushion. Aqua watched him carefully, unsure of what was going to happen next./p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene's smirk grew, hearing Asha laugh. The look on his face was priceless. A small part of her was still upset that he kept this from her for so long. The smile on her face vanished when she felt arms around her. The performer blinked a few times in an attempt to process what had just happened. Did Asha seriously just…? A hint of pink crept across her face as the woman walked away. Shit. Larxene feigned a cough and straightened her posture. Works nights? What? "That'd explain why your place is so clean at work, huh?" It felt strange to imagine. She glanced to Aqua. The expression on the girl's face caused her to glance again. Was she alright? /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua shook her head, trying not to stare in thought at the Escape Artist. Something about him made her suspicious… but she decided to push the thought from her mind because she really had no evidence to prove the feeling. But even still… intuition was intuition. Asha sat down next to Xigbar and snapped her fingers at the skeleton, commanding it to do something else. It scurried over to the leftover soup, and lit a fire reheating it for dinner. Satisfied that it started working, she leaned her head on the performers shoulder, having no regard for manners. Trying his best not to be embarrassed, Xigbar smirked at Larxene's reaction to the hug. This reunion was nice and all, but he had a message to pass on. He opened his mouth to say something, but wasn't quite sure how to say it. "I…. er… Look. Not to be the bearer of bad news… but the Ringmaster knows yer hiding Aqua." He looked directly at Larxene, avoiding Aqua's face which visibly paled. "H-he ordered me and Xaldin to do anything and everything we can to bring her to him." Asha froze, and her contented smile faded to her usual stern look. Slowly, she lifted her head off of his shoulders and scowled at him, waiting for Larxene to say something in return./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene's eyes narrowed, hearing her coworker speak. Her breath caught in her throat. How? That didn't make any sense. Unless stronghe/strong said something. Did he rat them out? She shook her head in silence and glanced at Aqua. He was talking about her like she just some….object to pass around, or like she wasn't even here. Anger began to build in her chest. This couldn't happen again. She wouldn't allow it. Who cares what 'The Ringmaster' wants? She drew a breath and spoke. "Don't you have a strongchild/strong you should be concerned about, mister 'father-of-the-year'?" Larxene didn't bother to hide the attitude in her voice, though she didn't raise it. She made a mental note to Apologize to Asha later for what she had just said. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Father of the year? Nice one. Xigbar broke out into a choking laugh as a smirk stretched across his face. "I keep forgetting how sharp you are, Sparky. Yer right though. I do have her to be concerned about. Thanks fer the input. Jus' be happy I warned ya. You know him… I mean ol' fuzz face won't be as nice as I will." Aqua tried her best to stay as calm as she could. She didn't know what was really going on, or why the Ringmaster wanted her, or even how he knew about her, but she knew it was now the worst of her problems. Clasping her hands together, she studied the ground, trying to keep from shaking too much. Asha picked at the wood of her staff angrily, keeping quiet, and swearing to herself that if her partner started anything else, she would remind him of what happens when she gets angry. "The thing is… The Ringmaster knows who she is… and he's got his eyes on that soul of hers. The bastard says it's pretty damn important. I've no idea what he could want with it… but I mean, orders are orders so—" A skeletal hand shot up from the ground and grabbed his neck tightly, not letting him finish his sentence. Asha bellowed and glared at him even more intensely, "Not…. Now. Not…. Ever ." The hand went back from where it came after a few moments, and Xigbar rubbed his neck nervously. Asha spoke again, "Asha does not think either of you realize how serious this situation actually is… Do you truly know the Ringmaster?" She looked from Larxene to Xigbar and back, staring at the young girl, waiting for someone to say something./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"The nerve! What's that supposed to do, scare her? "Oh strongplease/strong. You're gonna sick twinkletoes on me?" ridiculous. Xaldin knew full well that she was strongfar/strong more skilled with a knife than he was. And her aim was better, to boot. This was spiraling out of control too fast. She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to this girl, too. The performer knew she was being selfish. None of this was fair to Aqua at all. She didn't ask to be put in the middle of this mess, but of course, Larxene couldn't just….do her job. She was brought back to reality when her coworker stopped talking. The back of her hand covered her mouth as Asha spoke. More skeletons… She glanced to the one that had been silently following Asha's order from earlier. She was thankful that whatever…whoever? Was choking the life out of him had been over there, and not paying strongher/strong a visit where she sat. A shiver went down her spine at the woman's question. What'd that mean…? Of course she knew him, she'd been working for him for years… right? Larxene stiffened a little, realizing she was waiting for an answer. "L-Look, I don't know what you're getting at…" Asha was right though, the situation was getting far too serious for her liking. "I think he is selfish. That 'whatever I want, I get' mentality is honestly childish." She couldn't help but glare at Xigbar. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Although he could practically feel the steely gaze he was getting from Larxene, Xigbar kept a small smirk painted on his face as he thought Asha's question through. The two of them had known Xemnas for years, so what kind of question was this? Resting his head on his hand he turned to Asha slowly and asked quietly, "What do you mean…?" Asha straightened her back and looked down at the floor, taking a long breath inward before speaking again. "Asha is… Asha is a fool for not putting this together years ago. This damned Circus could have been prevented… You see… My people have a tale that we tell our children, and our children's children. It tis a tale that I foolishly scoffed at when I was young. It is a true tale of a demon of souls… Xemnas is the Demon of Souls." Xigbar's smile faded at the last sentence… Demons? As if. Aqua shifted in her seat and hugged her knees to her chest, feeling cold all of a sudden. "This Demon… comes every century, and the only way he is able to stay on this earth is my feeding off of the souls of the living. That explains your damn quota." Asha said her last sentence with a bitterness that practically dripped from every syllable, glaring at her loved one with a viciousness that would give anyone nightmares. Not letting anyone react to what she said, she continues, "H-He likely needs Aqua's soul for the sole purpose of prolonging his life here… You are all part of his plan. Asha is not exempt. Asha warned you all of the power of souls… Mortals cannot steal souls… It ch-changes them… It is power that was never meant to come to light. For studying this power and sharing it with the world, Asha will pay the ultimate price." The room went silent, save for the clattering of the skeleton./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene stared blankly at the fire before them, Asha's words began to sink in. A demon? Of course. Just….slap that ontop of the pile, why not? This was a mess. Honestly though, hearing it now, it strangely made sense. She didn't question it back then because of, well… She couldn't bring herself to look at Aqua. Maybe strongthat/strong was why she was killed back then? The performer shook the thought. "Shared..? wait, did…did you have something to do with these?" She asked, glancing to Asha and tapping her choker lazily. She wanted to believe this woman was just joking in some cruel way, but, with the way Asha looked, she didn't really have room for doubt. The performer dropped her gaze back to the fire. The dull ache in her chest was constant now. This wasn't going to happen again. She refused. Her fingers brushed over the pendant around her neck. It hurts. She wasn't going to strongdeny/strong that. But….what's a little more pain? It'd be easy. Her teeth had cracked it, and she didn't have to try that hard to do it. Crushing the thing wouldn't take much. or she could just…. Toss it in. The fire crackled quietly. She looked away from it, finally. She really needed to find a way to speak to Aqua alone. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Asha swallowed hard, her voice wavered as she answered the young girl's question. "Y-Yes.. Asha had a hand in your fate… Asha shared the knowledge of soul trinkets with the Demon at the very beginning…" Roughly grabbing Xigbar's wrist she pulled his hand out forward to show Larxene one of the rings. "This was the first. After a few were made, the Demon learned how to make them himself… Most of the new ones were fashioned using Asha's magic from her soul that he hid with him for so long.." Her voice became angry again as she gripped his wrist tighter before throwing it down. "Though with this one, Asha at least warned him as to what would happen if one took too much! Which Asha sees now was not heeded in the strongleast/strong!" Xigbar cringed at her anger, not denying his guilt for a second. She had warned him. Several times. Though old tales meant nothing to him. This was a power he was determined to master, and so far, he'd been doing alright. I mean, what's wrong with a few gray hairs compared to the magic he could do now? Right…? The voodoo priestess shook her head, and sighed. "This might only be proven by showing you… If you want to see what this Demon has done to your souls, then so be it. Witness the taint…" Using her thumb, she drew a symbol in the dust and waved her hands over it as a puff of smoke billowed from it. A flash of blue came from it, making everyone in the room lurch forward from the magic. "Behold… This is what your souls look like…" Asha looked at each of them, but her gaze fell as she turned to her partner, fists clenched tightly, she looked down, trying to hide her sorrow. Aqua sat open-mouthed as the people around her started to glow, with some sort of circular aura around them. Asha's soul was a perfect green circle, glowing with a hearty vibrance. Her own soul, though hard to see, was just as perfect, though it shone even brighter than Asha's, a beautiful rich blue. Larxenes soul was rugged, as if the circle of her soul was drawn with a shaky hand. It's glow was dull because the outsides of her soul was dotted with black, like it had been dirtied, or like looking at it through a grey screen. She covered her mouth in horror as she looked across the room to Xigbar. His soul was a deep purple… or so she thought… it was hard to make out. The edges of his soul were spindly, like strings of smoke were erupting from its center. She could barely make out his expression from this distance, for his soul was so black that it seemed to encompass him in a cloud. Aqua began to shake as she understood just what that meant. Did that mean that Larxene's soul would look like this in time? Her breath quickened as she tried desperately to keep quiet, blinking tears from her eyes. What was this?! Why was everything so dark all of a sudden? Did Asha's skeleton set something on fire, and the smoke was covering him? Xigbar knew the real answer, but he didn't want to believe it. No… it couldn't be… Looking down at himself he could see the purple glow of his soul on his chest. A-At least it's still there… right? Turning to Asha, he tried to read her expression, though she refused to even look at him. Not knowing what else to do, he looked at his hands stricken with guilt. What had he done…?/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene's eyebrows rose a little when her eyes adjusted to the strange lighting. She looked to Aqua immediately, being the brightest out of all of them. Taking a moment to process just what she was seeing, she gasped and couldn't stop herself from speaking. "That…really is beautiful…" She murmured, realizing what she said. The performer looked down at herself almost immediately. She couldn't make much sense of what she was seeing, but she knew it wasn't good. Uncomfortable silence had set in. why? She looked up again. Catching the expression on Aqua's face, she followed her gaze to Xigbar. What on earth…? Her throat went dry. "Is….there a way to fix this..?" She asked, her voice was near silent. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Asha took Xigbar's hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to reassure him... Though there wasn't much to be calm about. She looked sadly at Larxene before breaking the spell. As the glow from everyone's soul faded she said as calmly and evenly as she could, though her voice was laced with sorrow. "The damage done to your souls is impossible to fix. Y-you can stop now... To prevent further infection... But they will never be the same..." Xigbar looked down, not sure what to do with this information. His face was somber and difficult to read. Aqua couldn't take this anymore. Letting out a choking sob she stood up clumsily and ran out of the room, wiping her eyes as she dashed. This was too much. She didn't want this... She didn't want anyone's soul to be so tainted, especially larxenes. Taking a step outside into the crisp night air, her lungs filled with gasping sobs as she hugged herself. "I-I never asked for this... I wanted to get away from my life.. B-but I didn't want this..."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"The performer nodded slowly. That's all she needed to hear. Somewhere deep down she knew that something like this would happen, though. She figured that strongeveryone/strong knew to some degree. But, hers wasn't….too bad, was it? Hell, compared to Xigbar's, at least. Larxene's eyes widened a little, realizing what exactly she was hearing. "N-No…" She never once thought that she'd see Aqua cry, but that's all it took. Her hand closed around the pendant, pulling the choker off of her neck completely. She let it drop to the ground as she stood, following numbly after Aqua. "Wh…" her heart sank, unsure of what to say. "Hey…" She spoke softly, shaking her head at Aqua's words. "I'm so sorry…"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua couldn't manage to say anything in return. She was crying too hard to speak, her arms tightly wrapped around herself. She began to shiver because of how cold the air had become. Though it was late summer, the air outside the city seemed a lot cooler than usual. Once her sobs began to slow, she turned to larxene and managed to whisper, "Th-this is all real right,..? W-will... Will he come for me...?"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2""I'm so sorry for putting you in the middle of…..all of this, I didn't think—" Larxene held her tongue. What could she say? 'I'm sorry for being selfish'? right. She closed the space between the two of them in just a few strides. "I wish it wasn't…" She murmured, placing her arms gently around her in a hug. Larxene didn't want to think about how many bruises she could be hiding, she just hoped that this small amount of contact didn't somehow hurt her. "No," She spoke, making sure to keep her voice calm. "I'm sorry, I… won't let anything happen. I promise." Larxene stepped back after a few minutes, trying hard to keep her composure. She didn't expect something like this to be the consequence of cracking her trinket. No amount of apologies would be enough. She brushed her thumb over the other girls' cheek in silence. Seeing Aqua this way stirred a different kind of pain in her chest, one she couldn't exactly describe. Someone that beautiful should never be reduced to tears. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua stepped closer to hug Larxene again, burying her face in her neck. "N-no…. I don't care what happens to me… I-I just… You saw his soul… didn't you…?! I-I'd rather you promise me something else. P-Promise me that you won't share the same fate…Just… Just promise me you won't let your soul get like that… Y-You're no monster…" Shaking and gripping tightly to Larxene's shirt, she managed to catch her breath after pleading with her. Aqua didn't know why… but she wanted to know how she could help her, her and Asha. If she could, she would make sure neither of them had to suffer anymore. Though right now, fatigue was getting the better of her. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene blinked a few times, to process what the girl was saying. She returned the hug without question, though her cheeks were slightly pink. She didn't..? Why wouldn't she care about what happens to strongherself/strong? somehow, hearing Aqua say that made her heart sink a little more. "I care about what happens to you." She couldn't help but murmur. Though yes, she did infact see Xigbar's soul as well. "It…I…" She nodded slowly, hugging the girl's shaking frame closer to herself. "I promise." Her voice trailed off after finishing her sentence. Not a monster? Aqua seemed strangely sure about that. Larxene however, begged to differ. Monsters were selfish. And Larxene had become *incredibly* selfish as of late…/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Stepping back and covering her mouth slightly, looking away, still sniffling from crying so hard Aqua said softly, "Could we go back inside to sleep…? I think we both need it. Desperately."/span/p
p class="p1"Larxene rubbed one of her eyes absentmindedly. How long had it been since she'd slept now? Either way, she nodded her head in response. She didn't want to suggest going back inside until Aqua was comfortable enough to do so, but she was honestly a little surprised nobody came outside after them. To be fair, it's been ten years… She shook the thought, hoping that she'd finally be able to get some sleep. /p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Asha shook as she struggled to quickly cover her face with a large piece of her hair. She wished more than anything to run back into her room without saying a word… but the circumstance did not call for cowardice. After all, this was a moment she had wished for for ten years. Her mouth ran dry as she finally took a closer look at the man before her. He had changed. Though no amount of aging could change a person this much. She knew full well what had caused the whitening of his hair and the yellow in his eye. It was what happens when a mortal abuses the power of the soul. Black magic is rarely able to be harnessed by mortals… and when it is, theres always a price to pay. Equivalent exchange if you will. Asha managed to break the silence first, "Asha did not expect to see you…" Xigbar noticed immediately that something was off. He had never seen any scars on Asha before, and to see her face mangled like that was shocking to say the least. Although he knew better than to say anything about it right now. Shivering at the thought of what might have caused it, he shook his head and managed to smile back at her. "Welllll I didn't expect to be tossed through the front door. S-sorry about yer… pots…" he replied, motioning to the mess on the floor. Aqua couldn't help but notice the stone that hung from Asha's staff. It's dull purple color began to glow much like the soul she had seen earlier, though it had never done so before. She didn't want to ask about it now, but she made a mental note to ask about it in the future. Asha stepped forward, closing the gap between her and the escape artist, gripping tightly to her staff, and standing sternly, with her shoulders back and her eyes squinting in a frown. Silence returned to the room once again, but this time Xigbar couldn't stand it anymore. "I-I'm sorry fer not returning fer ten years… you know why I couldn't… r-right?" He knew that look. But there was little he could do in his defense. Without hesitation Asha lifted a hand, and smacked him across the face, muttering something in another language under her breath. Rubbing his face, he continued, "Yea… I guess I deserved that… but I came by to-" Again, without hesitation and interrupting his speech, Asha lurched forward and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck. Not knowing what else to do, the performer stopped talking, and returned the hug, holding her close for a few moments without saying a word. Aqua felt strange, watching this reunion. Something about it seemed off… but not unpleasant, she couldn't figure out what was wrong about it. She crossed her legs and shifted her position in the pillows, still very tired from her nap being interrupted. Asha quickly let go and laughed happily. Stepping backward, she tapped her staff twice on the ground and sprinkled some powder over it. The ground beneath where she had chosen started to crack and give way. A skeletal hand emerged from the crack along with the rest of the body. The skeleton crackled and began to take the shape of a regular human…without skin or muscle. It's eyes glowed green as it shambled forward, and began to pick up the mess. "Tis a good thing Asha made extra food the night before this one. We shall have a party tonight then! What say you, dog?" She called over to Pooka, who's head was still in the doorway. He bleated loudly in reply and bobbed his head back and forth./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene couldn't help but smirk when Asha's palm connected with his cheek. That was a good one. Shit, she'd do the same thing. The performer did however, look away when the woman stepped closer for a hug. It seemed…..strangely intrusive if she continued watching. She looked up again once she heard her laugh. Laughter is…..good, right? She blinked slowly in an attempt to process what was before her eyes now. It'd been a while since she had gotten any sleep, could she be hallucinating? The ground… She pulled her legs close to her body at once and, though she tried, she failed to hide the sudden gasp that escaped her lips. A…..a fucking skeleton. Was….was this normal? Xigbar doesn't seem to care much. She cleared her throat and sat a little straighter, feigning bravery. She was sure the woman wouldn't turn her new….friend on them, but she was not about to let them know that it scared her./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua tensed at the nightmare before her continued to clean the mess on the floor. She didn't want to lose sight of it, for fear that it would make its way toward her. What it would do, she had no idea, but she didn't want to take the chance. Asha turned and began to clean the place up as best she could, moving things on the floor out of the way to clear a nice space in the middle of the room for each of them to sit. "Asha apologizes but it has been increasingly hard to keep my home tidy. That's what happens when you're left alone for so long. Things get messy." Aqua turned her gaze from the skeleton to the Escape Artist who stood awkwardly next to the cleaning pile of bones. He looked as if he was going to say something several times, but decided against it. Aqua wondered what it was he wanted to say. Could it be about their daughter? It seemed strange that neither of them were talking about her. She concluded it was probably because her and Larxene were in the room. But even still… it was an urgent matter. Who knows… she was certainly not one to judge relationships… especially when she was the one hiding from her own boyfriend. If she could even stomach to call him that anymore./span/p
p class="p1"Larxene eyed the skeleton carefully while listening to Asha. She had begun to move to the center of the room as instructed, but instead finally spoke. "Shouldn't it be the cleaning lady's job?" She asked, sarcasm laced her voice as she motioned to Xigbar. "Ten years is a hell of a 'vacation' isn't it?" the performer knew that now wasn't the time for jokes, but to be fair, he strongdid/strong keep this a secret. A party, though? Would Asha conjure up more skeletons, then? Her stomach recoiled at the thought. /p
p class="p1"Aqua crawled over to the center of the room along with Larxene. Xigbar eyed larxene coldly at that comment, unsure of what exactly she meant. Folding his arms he frowned as Asha smiled widely at him and then Larxene. Asha laughed heartily and hopped over to Larxene with open arms, hugging her quickly and letting go just as hastily. She chuckled some more before adding, "You are quite right young one… However, the cleaning lady only works nights!" Xigbar raised an eyebrow thoroughly confused by what the two women were talking about. Making his way around the skeleton, he sat down in the middle of the room using a nearby pillow as a cushion. Aqua watched him carefully, unsure of what was going to happen next./p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene's smirk grew, hearing Asha laugh. The look on his face was priceless. A small part of her was still upset that he kept this from her for so long. The smile on her face vanished when she felt arms around her. The performer blinked a few times in an attempt to process what had just happened. Did Asha seriously just…? A hint of pink crept across her face as the woman walked away. Shit. Larxene feigned a cough and straightened her posture. Works nights? What? "That'd explain why your place is so clean at work, huh?" It felt strange to imagine. She glanced to Aqua. The expression on the girl's face caused her to glance again. Was she alright? /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua shook her head, trying not to stare in thought at the Escape Artist. Something about him made her suspicious… but she decided to push the thought from her mind because she really had no evidence to prove the feeling. But even still… intuition was intuition. Asha sat down next to Xigbar and snapped her fingers at the skeleton, commanding it to do something else. It scurried over to the leftover soup, and lit a fire reheating it for dinner. Satisfied that it started working, she leaned her head on the performers shoulder, having no regard for manners. Trying his best not to be embarrassed, Xigbar smirked at Larxene's reaction to the hug. This reunion was nice and all, but he had a message to pass on. He opened his mouth to say something, but wasn't quite sure how to say it. "I…. er… Look. Not to be the bearer of bad news… but the Ringmaster knows yer hiding Aqua." He looked directly at Larxene, avoiding Aqua's face which visibly paled. "H-he ordered me and Xaldin to do anything and everything we can to bring her to him." Asha froze, and her contented smile faded to her usual stern look. Slowly, she lifted her head off of his shoulders and scowled at him, waiting for Larxene to say something in return./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene's eyes narrowed, hearing her coworker speak. Her breath caught in her throat. How? That didn't make any sense. Unless stronghe/strong said something. Did he rat them out? She shook her head in silence and glanced at Aqua. He was talking about her like she just some….object to pass around, or like she wasn't even here. Anger began to build in her chest. This couldn't happen again. She wouldn't allow it. Who cares what 'The Ringmaster' wants? She drew a breath and spoke. "Don't you have a strongchild/strong you should be concerned about, mister 'father-of-the-year'?" Larxene didn't bother to hide the attitude in her voice, though she didn't raise it. She made a mental note to Apologize to Asha later for what she had just said. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Father of the year? Nice one. Xigbar broke out into a choking laugh as a smirk stretched across his face. "I keep forgetting how sharp you are, Sparky. Yer right though. I do have her to be concerned about. Thanks fer the input. Jus' be happy I warned ya. You know him… I mean ol' fuzz face won't be as nice as I will." Aqua tried her best to stay as calm as she could. She didn't know what was really going on, or why the Ringmaster wanted her, or even how he knew about her, but she knew it was now the worst of her problems. Clasping her hands together, she studied the ground, trying to keep from shaking too much. Asha picked at the wood of her staff angrily, keeping quiet, and swearing to herself that if her partner started anything else, she would remind him of what happens when she gets angry. "The thing is… The Ringmaster knows who she is… and he's got his eyes on that soul of hers. The bastard says it's pretty damn important. I've no idea what he could want with it… but I mean, orders are orders so—" A skeletal hand shot up from the ground and grabbed his neck tightly, not letting him finish his sentence. Asha bellowed and glared at him even more intensely, "Not…. Now. Not…. Ever ." The hand went back from where it came after a few moments, and Xigbar rubbed his neck nervously. Asha spoke again, "Asha does not think either of you realize how serious this situation actually is… Do you truly know the Ringmaster?" She looked from Larxene to Xigbar and back, staring at the young girl, waiting for someone to say something./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"The nerve! What's that supposed to do, scare her? "Oh strongplease/strong. You're gonna sick twinkletoes on me?" ridiculous. Xaldin knew full well that she was strongfar/strong more skilled with a knife than he was. And her aim was better, to boot. This was spiraling out of control too fast. She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to this girl, too. The performer knew she was being selfish. None of this was fair to Aqua at all. She didn't ask to be put in the middle of this mess, but of course, Larxene couldn't just….do her job. She was brought back to reality when her coworker stopped talking. The back of her hand covered her mouth as Asha spoke. More skeletons… She glanced to the one that had been silently following Asha's order from earlier. She was thankful that whatever…whoever? Was choking the life out of him had been over there, and not paying strongher/strong a visit where she sat. A shiver went down her spine at the woman's question. What'd that mean…? Of course she knew him, she'd been working for him for years… right? Larxene stiffened a little, realizing she was waiting for an answer. "L-Look, I don't know what you're getting at…" Asha was right though, the situation was getting far too serious for her liking. "I think he is selfish. That 'whatever I want, I get' mentality is honestly childish." She couldn't help but glare at Xigbar. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Although he could practically feel the steely gaze he was getting from Larxene, Xigbar kept a small smirk painted on his face as he thought Asha's question through. The two of them had known Xemnas for years, so what kind of question was this? Resting his head on his hand he turned to Asha slowly and asked quietly, "What do you mean…?" Asha straightened her back and looked down at the floor, taking a long breath inward before speaking again. "Asha is… Asha is a fool for not putting this together years ago. This damned Circus could have been prevented… You see… My people have a tale that we tell our children, and our children's children. It tis a tale that I foolishly scoffed at when I was young. It is a true tale of a demon of souls… Xemnas is the Demon of Souls." Xigbar's smile faded at the last sentence… Demons? As if. Aqua shifted in her seat and hugged her knees to her chest, feeling cold all of a sudden. "This Demon… comes every century, and the only way he is able to stay on this earth is my feeding off of the souls of the living. That explains your damn quota." Asha said her last sentence with a bitterness that practically dripped from every syllable, glaring at her loved one with a viciousness that would give anyone nightmares. Not letting anyone react to what she said, she continues, "H-He likely needs Aqua's soul for the sole purpose of prolonging his life here… You are all part of his plan. Asha is not exempt. Asha warned you all of the power of souls… Mortals cannot steal souls… It ch-changes them… It is power that was never meant to come to light. For studying this power and sharing it with the world, Asha will pay the ultimate price." The room went silent, save for the clattering of the skeleton./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene stared blankly at the fire before them, Asha's words began to sink in. A demon? Of course. Just….slap that ontop of the pile, why not? This was a mess. Honestly though, hearing it now, it strangely made sense. She didn't question it back then because of, well… She couldn't bring herself to look at Aqua. Maybe strongthat/strong was why she was killed back then? The performer shook the thought. "Shared..? wait, did…did you have something to do with these?" She asked, glancing to Asha and tapping her choker lazily. She wanted to believe this woman was just joking in some cruel way, but, with the way Asha looked, she didn't really have room for doubt. The performer dropped her gaze back to the fire. The dull ache in her chest was constant now. This wasn't going to happen again. She refused. Her fingers brushed over the pendant around her neck. It hurts. She wasn't going to strongdeny/strong that. But….what's a little more pain? It'd be easy. Her teeth had cracked it, and she didn't have to try that hard to do it. Crushing the thing wouldn't take much. or she could just…. Toss it in. The fire crackled quietly. She looked away from it, finally. She really needed to find a way to speak to Aqua alone. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Asha swallowed hard, her voice wavered as she answered the young girl's question. "Y-Yes.. Asha had a hand in your fate… Asha shared the knowledge of soul trinkets with the Demon at the very beginning…" Roughly grabbing Xigbar's wrist she pulled his hand out forward to show Larxene one of the rings. "This was the first. After a few were made, the Demon learned how to make them himself… Most of the new ones were fashioned using Asha's magic from her soul that he hid with him for so long.." Her voice became angry again as she gripped his wrist tighter before throwing it down. "Though with this one, Asha at least warned him as to what would happen if one took too much! Which Asha sees now was not heeded in the strongleast/strong!" Xigbar cringed at her anger, not denying his guilt for a second. She had warned him. Several times. Though old tales meant nothing to him. This was a power he was determined to master, and so far, he'd been doing alright. I mean, what's wrong with a few gray hairs compared to the magic he could do now? Right…? The voodoo priestess shook her head, and sighed. "This might only be proven by showing you… If you want to see what this Demon has done to your souls, then so be it. Witness the taint…" Using her thumb, she drew a symbol in the dust and waved her hands over it as a puff of smoke billowed from it. A flash of blue came from it, making everyone in the room lurch forward from the magic. "Behold… This is what your souls look like…" Asha looked at each of them, but her gaze fell as she turned to her partner, fists clenched tightly, she looked down, trying to hide her sorrow. Aqua sat open-mouthed as the people around her started to glow, with some sort of circular aura around them. Asha's soul was a perfect green circle, glowing with a hearty vibrance. Her own soul, though hard to see, was just as perfect, though it shone even brighter than Asha's, a beautiful rich blue. Larxenes soul was rugged, as if the circle of her soul was drawn with a shaky hand. It's glow was dull because the outsides of her soul was dotted with black, like it had been dirtied, or like looking at it through a grey screen. She covered her mouth in horror as she looked across the room to Xigbar. His soul was a deep purple… or so she thought… it was hard to make out. The edges of his soul were spindly, like strings of smoke were erupting from its center. She could barely make out his expression from this distance, for his soul was so black that it seemed to encompass him in a cloud. Aqua began to shake as she understood just what that meant. Did that mean that Larxene's soul would look like this in time? Her breath quickened as she tried desperately to keep quiet, blinking tears from her eyes. What was this?! Why was everything so dark all of a sudden? Did Asha's skeleton set something on fire, and the smoke was covering him? Xigbar knew the real answer, but he didn't want to believe it. No… it couldn't be… Looking down at himself he could see the purple glow of his soul on his chest. A-At least it's still there… right? Turning to Asha, he tried to read her expression, though she refused to even look at him. Not knowing what else to do, he looked at his hands stricken with guilt. What had he done…?/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene's eyebrows rose a little when her eyes adjusted to the strange lighting. She looked to Aqua immediately, being the brightest out of all of them. Taking a moment to process just what she was seeing, she gasped and couldn't stop herself from speaking. "That…really is beautiful…" She murmured, realizing what she said. The performer looked down at herself almost immediately. She couldn't make much sense of what she was seeing, but she knew it wasn't good. Uncomfortable silence had set in. why? She looked up again. Catching the expression on Aqua's face, she followed her gaze to Xigbar. What on earth…? Her throat went dry. "Is….there a way to fix this..?" She asked, her voice was near silent. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Asha took Xigbar's hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to reassure him... Though there wasn't much to be calm about. She looked sadly at Larxene before breaking the spell. As the glow from everyone's soul faded she said as calmly and evenly as she could, though her voice was laced with sorrow. "The damage done to your souls is impossible to fix. Y-you can stop now... To prevent further infection... But they will never be the same..." Xigbar looked down, not sure what to do with this information. His face was somber and difficult to read. Aqua couldn't take this anymore. Letting out a choking sob she stood up clumsily and ran out of the room, wiping her eyes as she dashed. This was too much. She didn't want this... She didn't want anyone's soul to be so tainted, especially larxenes. Taking a step outside into the crisp night air, her lungs filled with gasping sobs as she hugged herself. "I-I never asked for this... I wanted to get away from my life.. B-but I didn't want this..."/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"The performer nodded slowly. That's all she needed to hear. Somewhere deep down she knew that something like this would happen, though. She figured that strongeveryone/strong knew to some degree. But, hers wasn't….too bad, was it? Hell, compared to Xigbar's, at least. Larxene's eyes widened a little, realizing what exactly she was hearing. "N-No…" She never once thought that she'd see Aqua cry, but that's all it took. Her hand closed around the pendant, pulling the choker off of her neck completely. She let it drop to the ground as she stood, following numbly after Aqua. "Wh…" her heart sank, unsure of what to say. "Hey…" She spoke softly, shaking her head at Aqua's words. "I'm so sorry…"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua couldn't manage to say anything in return. She was crying too hard to speak, her arms tightly wrapped around herself. She began to shiver because of how cold the air had become. Though it was late summer, the air outside the city seemed a lot cooler than usual. Once her sobs began to slow, she turned to larxene and managed to whisper, "Th-this is all real right,..? W-will... Will he come for me...?"/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2""I'm so sorry for putting you in the middle of…..all of this, I didn't think—" Larxene held her tongue. What could she say? 'I'm sorry for being selfish'? right. She closed the space between the two of them in just a few strides. "I wish it wasn't…" She murmured, placing her arms gently around her in a hug. Larxene didn't want to think about how many bruises she could be hiding, she just hoped that this small amount of contact didn't somehow hurt her. "No," She spoke, making sure to keep her voice calm. "I'm sorry, I… won't let anything happen. I promise." Larxene stepped back after a few minutes, trying hard to keep her composure. She didn't expect something like this to be the consequence of cracking her trinket. No amount of apologies would be enough. She brushed her thumb over the other girls' cheek in silence. Seeing Aqua this way stirred a different kind of pain in her chest, one she couldn't exactly describe. Someone that beautiful should never be reduced to tears. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Aqua stepped closer to hug Larxene again, burying her face in her neck. "N-no…. I don't care what happens to me… I-I just… You saw his soul… didn't you…?! I-I'd rather you promise me something else. P-Promise me that you won't share the same fate…Just… Just promise me you won't let your soul get like that… Y-You're no monster…" Shaking and gripping tightly to Larxene's shirt, she managed to catch her breath after pleading with her. Aqua didn't know why… but she wanted to know how she could help her, her and Asha. If she could, she would make sure neither of them had to suffer anymore. Though right now, fatigue was getting the better of her. /span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Larxene blinked a few times, to process what the girl was saying. She returned the hug without question, though her cheeks were slightly pink. She didn't..? Why wouldn't she care about what happens to strongherself/strong? somehow, hearing Aqua say that made her heart sink a little more. "I care about what happens to you." She couldn't help but murmur. Though yes, she did infact see Xigbar's soul as well. "It…I…" She nodded slowly, hugging the girl's shaking frame closer to herself. "I promise." Her voice trailed off after finishing her sentence. Not a monster? Aqua seemed strangely sure about that. Larxene however, begged to differ. Monsters were selfish. And Larxene had become *incredibly* selfish as of late…/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s2"Stepping back and covering her mouth slightly, looking away, still sniffling from crying so hard Aqua said softly, "Could we go back inside to sleep…? I think we both need it. Desperately."/span/p
p class="p1"Larxene rubbed one of her eyes absentmindedly. How long had it been since she'd slept now? Either way, she nodded her head in response. She didn't want to suggest going back inside until Aqua was comfortable enough to do so, but she was honestly a little surprised nobody came outside after them. To be fair, it's been ten years… She shook the thought, hoping that she'd finally be able to get some sleep. /p
