With Xaldin gone from the tent, what was left was a stalemate. Xemnas truly enjoyed having control. Nothing could get past him, and Xigbar knew that. He had to be more clever…. but there wasn't much time to think. He knew Xaldin, and knew him well enough to know that he would follow his orders to the tee. Still holding his arms up in surrender he dared to speak again. "Xemnas…You and I both know that I have a better chance at finding her… Xaldin doesn't know what he's dealing with." The Ringmaster narrowed his eyes, "I have faith in him. You won't be able to weasel your way through this…" "Hear me out. I have a good hunch that she knows where yer precious soul is… I'm willing to bet Asha will even lead us to her. So we can't really afford to lose track of her, can we?" Xemnas nodded slowly, thinking things over. Xigbar interrupted his thoughts, "We don't have time to think about this. Are ya gonna let me find her or not?!" Xemnas dismissed the laser at his neck and spoke sternly, "Fine… Do what you must, but you know the price of betrayal….." He tapped the glass of the jar in his hand, making the pink soul sway with each strike. Xigbar headed for the door of the tent, "Yea yea…. jus' promise me one thing…. You'll give me that jar once I hand over the girl…. Deal?"
Xemnas smiled softly and nodded, "It is a deal. You have my word…" Meanwhile, outside Asha had made her way to the center of the circus grounds. 59…. Gripping tightly to the jar in one hand, and bringing her fingers to her mouth to whistle in the other, she called her "dog" from the shadows. The sound rang out across the grounds as the beating of hooves came closer and closer. 60…. As the black mass of fur came to a stop in front of her she lurched forward, feeling the familiar tug in her chest. All emotion and drive fading from her body and mind, nothing made sense for an instant, she just knew that she had to get onto Pooka's back. She did so without a word, and more sluggish than usual. What was next…? She couldn't remember… Turning her head slowly, she looked back at the big tent in the far back, the one she thought she had come from… She thought she recognized the person who just stepped out of those curtains, but, she couldn't seem to care. Tapping Pooka twice with her foot, he broke into a sprint to the entrance of the Circus.
Finally catching sight of the woman, he quickened his pace. Xaldin needed to end this quickly to contain the situation before it caused too much commotion with the patrons outside, and before any of his other coworkers took notice. Tonight's shows needed to run as normally planned. Shaking the thoughts, Xaldin focused once again on the task at hand. He commended her on her speed, for a woman. Despite weaving behind tents to stay off of the main pathways, he still maintained a decent sight on her. The performer's eyes narrowed, seeing Asha begin to slow. …what was she planning now? He stopped abruptly; her whistle rang in his ears. Something wasn't right. She looked…..strange. Was it because of the soul? His eyes widened a little as the shadows began to shift and take form. What on earth? Horns….? Hooves? He stared blankly and let out a low groan. Of course this wouldn't go smoothly. A towering shadow creature with horns and fur… He suddenly wished to be sharpening his knives undisturbed, in the solitude of his sleeping quarters. Wind stirred around him slightly as he watched the woman climb onto the creature's back. There wasn't a real way to 'save face' from this now, he wagered, feeling the vibrations in the ground of the creatures footfalls even from this distance. The woman was on her way off the grounds now. A thief is a thief, and the performer couldn't let himself turn his back to this. What would the ringmaster say? Drawing a breath, he spoke. "How fast can you run, little beastie?" He arched an eyebrow, trailing after the two with haste.
Pooka let out a deafening scream as he stopped in front of the gates. There were too many people to run straight through. But he was being chased… Crouching down, he prepared to launch himself into the air. With one giant leap, he flew over the gates and over a sizable crowd of people. Hitting the ground hard, he turned his neck to see if his master was still alright. "Hurry… Pooka… Fast…" Asha could barely form sentences, gripping tightly to Pooka's fur with one hand, and to the soul jar in the other. Screeching again, he took off into the streets of Radiant Garden.
Watching Xaldin take off after Pooka was only adding to Xigbar's worry. He wasn't sure if the goat-beast could outrun a man who was practically wind itself. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stop him either. Luckily, Radiant Garden was filled with many hidden passages that dotted the entire town; a secret that few had knowledge of. Breaking into a sprint after Xaldin, he phased from one area to another in front of him, trying desperately to match his coworkers speed. 'I might have to cheat a little… Would it be wrong to have him fly into a wall? Naahhh…' He was prepared to use anything and everything he could to hinder Xaldin's pursuit. Cause he knew Xaldin, and no amount of begging would make him show mercy. Yeah… he was one of those guys.
Xaldin nearly rolled his eyes, hearing the guttural noise the creature made. It screams too. Great, of course it does. If the rest of his coworkers didn't know something was up before, they definitely knew now. In an oddly fluid movement, he cleared the fence and a gust of wind stirred after him. He managed to weave through the initial crowd of panicked people while keeping Pooka in sight range. The performer knew not to be aggressive with that creature, whatever it was. That woman was on it's back, and he needed her alive. But where was it taking her? He narrowed his eyes, slowing his run by a fraction. Is it going to leave Radiant Garden? What then? He'd have to apprehend them, there wasn't a way to avoid it. Not that he wanted to, but he needed to. sooner than later at that…
Holding the soul jar even closer to her chest, and pressing her face into Pooka's fur, Asha was truly feeling the worst of what the soulless feel everyday. She hadn't felt this way in years… truly lifeless in every sense of the word, and yet, still moving. Closing her eyes, she put all her faith in Pooka to get her home swiftly. Pooka could sense that someone was still pursuing them, and didn't break stride, as he started weaving in and out of the streets. Years ago, he could have been able to take the secret tunnels that the Gypsies had created… but now he had grown too big to fit. He had to rely on speed alone.
Xigbar chuckled to himself as he watched both Pooka and Xaldin jump over the gates, and weave through the crowd. He didn't have much speed on either of them, but he sure as hell didn't have to go over things. Going through things was much more useful. Without breaking stride, he phased through the gates, and kicked off the ground to run upside-down in the air above the crowd. "Eeenjoy yer night folks..!" He called out to the crowd and waved, trying to ease the situation as best he could. Make it look like all this was planned. Yea. Perfect. Turning down the nearest alley, praying his memory was correct about this particular shortcut. It was a dead-end. He skidded to a stop, tapping on random bricks. "Come on… Which one… Pick a brick, any brick…" One seemed to give way when he tapped it. "Bingo." Bringing his fist down on it, it pushed in like a button. A small crawlspace was revealed with a grating sound. Wasting no time, squeezed through, and hoped to god it wasn't one of the secret passages with the chutes. He'd much rather a ladder.
Xaldin began to slow his pace. Where was it taking her? Was it leaving the city? There was nothing out that way. He thought hard. At least, as far as he knew, there was nothing out there. A number of people didn't seem to be bothered with the gallivanting hellbeast sprinting through the city. Peculiar. A sense of amusement and anger rose in him now. A gust of wind circled around him. He kicked off of the ground hard, springing forward in a sprint. It seemed as if his feet left the ground. He was beginning to catch up to the beast now, making sure to stay a sizeable distance from it. A grin spread across his face. "Where's the fun in this?" He called after it. The thing just kept running. If it wanted a chase, that's what it'd get.
No luck this time, it was a chute. Sliding down into a pile of what Xigbar prayed wasn't bones, he kept moving. An age old memory of these tunnels allowed him to choose tunnels and passages without any second thought. It was second nature. Finally skidding to a stop in a crumbling dusty tunnel, he brushed the cobwebs off of the stone covering near the ceiling of the tunnel. It was a man-hole of sorts… built before man-holes were… man-holes? Ya get the point. Heaving it out of the way, the Escape Artist did his best to pull himself up and out of the hole and onto the dusty ground. Somehow, he had made it to the outskirts of Radiant Garden before the other two. See? It pays to cheat. Getting to his feet, and brushing the dirt and dust off of his clothes, he stood his ground in front of the opening of the last street of the city. Right on cue, Pooka came bounding around the corner, and was just barely able to stop before colliding with his former… friend. The mass of fur let out a deafening bleat, making it a point to direct the noise towards Xigbar's head. Holding his ears, to try and stop the ringing, he motioned for Pooka to keep going ahead. To the performer's surprise the creature listened to his command for once in its life and kept on moving. Though he had told himself not to, he couldn't help but look back to try and make out the figure of Asha in that demonic puff ball. From what he could see, she had her soul in the jar, but he couldn't see much else. It was a good thing too… soulless faces were no problem… as long as they weren't special. Shaking the thought, he turned to the last street one more time. "I am… sooo not ready for this shit storm… Maybe Xaldin will be a nice guy and take a hint…? Heh. As if." The thought had barely passed his mind, cause then, well… Speak of the devil. He was moments behind Pooka.
Xaldin continued after the creature, more interested now in where it was heading, rather than the jar the woman held. He'd never let that thought reach the ringmaster's ears though, He knew better than that. Just has he thought, there didn't seem to be much out this way. Nothing but dirt and dust. He crinkled his nose, his hair flared up around him. More noises. Alright. He grinned for a moment, wondering when this beast would tire itself out. The grin faded from his face almost immediately, recognizing his coworkers unmistakable hair up ahead. He continued forward in a torrent of wind, nearly colliding with the smaller man. Gripping the fabric of Xigbar's shirt, he finally came to a halt, bringing the other performer to eye-level, demanding answers. Not only has the escape artist sprung up out of, literally nowhere, he is also now setting Xaldin back on the ringmaster's orders. "What do you have to do with this? You had better speak quickly, old friend." His tone was strangely calm, despite the anger in his eyes.
Gripping tightly to the larger man's arms, he couldn't help but laugh loudly at the situation, though the laugh was mostly from nerves. Xigbar really didn't have the heart to struggle, he'd rather Xaldin waste his time on him than pursue Asha any further. "Alright alright sheesh… I guess you could say I have both nothin' and everythin' to do with this situation…? The thing is though, you'd be makin' a big mistake if you kept chasing after her." Being held up by his shirt was quickly growing more and more uncomfortable.
Xaldin blinked, Xigbar's words sank in. He loosened his grip on his coworker's shirt, letting him drop to the ground. "Explain yourself." He stated, not particularly liking how cryptic his coworker was being. "And what 'mistake' would that be? That woman can barely stand on her own, what exactly do you think she's capable of?" Xaldin asked, arching an eyebrow. The wind around them finally ceased, as he folded his arms behind his back. His patience was beginning to wear thin. There wasn't much he could do if he lost track of the creature now. Xigbar was stalling. "You had better make it quick."
Fixing his shirt he looked back up at Xaldin. 'Damn this guy is so tall…' Chewing his tongue he thought about his next few sentences carefully. The big lug knew that he was stalling, which he couldn't deny. Stalling was exactly what he was doing. "It's not what I think shes capable of… I know for a fact that once she puts her soul back that not even the both of us together will be able to take her back." The escape artist takes a big breath in, truly unsure of what to say next. "As fer what I had to do with this… Honestly almost nothing. I had no idea she would show up, and frankly, I-" His voice went even quieter at the end of this sentence, "I was kinda hoping I'd never have to face her again…"
So the soul was hers…. That's why it was glowing the way it was. He kicked himself mentally for not figuring that out sooner. Souls can be put back? He shook the thought, focusing again on his coworker. He does know her… "Really?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. 'Almost' nothing? What on earth was that supposed to mean? "Oh, you didn't?" He asked, glancing to the side, barely able to make out the creature. It had quite a bit of speed, even though it looked so strangely, Xaldin had to give it that. "What is your relation to that woman?" Not giving Xigbar a chance to respond, he spoke again. "Since you have so kindly held me up, You can get the Ringmaster's property back. And if being face-to-face with that woman is that terrible for you, imagine what Xemnas will do to the both of us if you mess this up more." He warned, raising his arm to point to the animal. Could he call it an animal? Even so, he turned his coworker by the shoulders, and shoved him forward in a gust of wind. He knew some form of punishment would be waiting for him when he returned to the Circus grounds. "Run fast."
Stumbling forward from the sudden push, Xigbar doesn't even bother to look back. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he starts the journey into the dusty expanse. Mocking Xaldin quietly, "Run faaaaaast…." Making a mouth with his hand he continues whining, "Imagine what he'll do if you mess this up even mooooore. Heh. Yeah right. As if this could get any worse." Following slowly behind the dust trail that Pooka left behind he tries his best to plan what he is even going to say. "Hmm… What would work? I know. 'Oh hey honey, long time no see, jus' stoppin' by to kidnap yer new blue haired friend and possibly ruin another person's life. No big deal. A day in the life, ya know?' Too flowery. Maybe, 'Hello lovely! Long time no see! Ten years feels like yesterday doesnt it?' Oh jeez… this is gonna be great." He decided that perhaps he should wait a few hours before returning to Asha's home.