Dark with Enlightened Intentions (Steven Universe

Onyx was actually cheering on Pyrite as she began to fight off the beast, swinging her arms around once she started to shoot at it. She started to worry a little, watching as the first shot and then the second missed the creature completely.. but then her concern dissipated as the third shot struck it, toppling it over. "Yeah! Nice shootin', Rite! Good job!" She shouted from inside the shop, a wide grin on her face.

Unfortunately, the upper hand Pyrite had gained didn't last too long. She gasped in shock as the monster kicked off of the ground and lunged towards the gem with an open mouth.. Which Pyrite managed to keep from chomping down by using her gun. Even then, the monster was relentless, scratching at her over and over with the intent to inflict more pain. At that point, Onyx was at an impasse. She was told to stay and guard the shop, so clearly that meant Pyrite had this, right? But she was obviously in a bad spot right now, in no position to strike back and being forced to safeguard herself.

Then, Onyx got to thinking. They were partners. What's more, non-confrontational or not, her mission required Pyrite to learn more about Earth and return to Homeworld with this newfound knowledge. Pyrite trusted Onyx knowing this. She trusted her. And now, she trusted her with protecting the shop. Well.. surely doing that and backing her up was possible, right?

"Wait! Stop!" Onyx shouted out, running right out of the shop and into the fray towards Pyrite and the monster. As she closed in, she jumped onto her knees and slid, clutching her slingshot in one hand and the rubber strap back with the other. As she slid towards the monster, holding the weapon at an upward angle, she would eventually let go and shoot the ammunition towards it, in turn launching it off of Pyrite in the process. "Don't claw at my partner, jerk!" She quipped, getting right back up and dusting her knees off.
 
Pyrite wasn't about to throw in the towel, no way no how. But she found herself at an impasse with this monster clamped on her gun. She attempted to remove the weapon, but nearly had her hand chomped instead. Maybe if she... She hissed at the continuing pain. Now, come on Pyrite, you've suffered worse, you can--

Something shot the creature off of her and Pyrite found her weapon-- and subsequently herself-- to be freed. Rubbing her hand, she looked to where it came from, and found herself grinning at Onyx, "Yer one hell'ofa' sharp shooter!" Her expression changed once she remembered the threat at hand, "If ya' wanna help, Onyx, y' gotta be careful! Critter had me pinned down an' nearly went an' gnawed my hand off." She turned towards the creature, who was picking itself back up and looked ready to join the fray again, "What, y' wanna' go fer round two?" She clicked her gun, "Lessee' how y' fair dosey-dowing w' th' two of us!"

The creature looked between the two of them, backing away and growling. However, it soon kicked up dirt with its feet as it ran right at them. Right there and then it decided on its next target: Onyx.
 
While the battle was raging, Arsen stayed behind the counter for a while until he heard Onyx cry out and leave. It was subtle, but he could hear that the racket outside was getting a little further away from the shop. It was alright to check out the damage, right? Sighing and grumbling to himself, he carefully looked up to check out the entrance.. and just as he thought, the glass was in pieces and all over the floor. "Dammit.. The one time animal control doesn't do their jobs.." He sighed and clutched the bridge of his nose. "The one time.."

Onyx looked right at Pyrite with a smile before the creature even met with the ground from her attack, happy that she was saved, just as how she was happy she went and saved her. "Thanks! I practiced a lot for moments like these! You're okay, right?" She looked Pyrite over, seeing that she was a little scratched up as well as her clothes. Afterwards, she turned back to the monster. "I've never seen monsters like these before back at Homeworld.. Are they native to Earth? It seems a bit more.. unique." Onyx kept her slingshot in one hand, prepared to shoot once again once she saw the beast get back up, raring to attack them once more. "Speaking of practice.."

The gem took a deep breath and looked over to Pyrite, having an expression of absolute focus. "Pyrite, I'm gonna need you to keep the gun on it at all times. When it falls down, pull the trigger. For now, just leave this next part to me, alright?" She smiled at her briefly. "Trust me on this! I know what I'm doing." She left her on that last statement before turning to the monster and looking it over carefully. The way it attacked and maneuvered, it seemed rather single-minded in nature. Of course, she couldn't underestimate it with that fact alone. And then she watched it gear up to charge at them, dragging its feet across the ground.. wait. Its feet!

Onyx opted to do the same thing the monster did, and once she saw that it came after her, she gave a roar as intimidating as she could muster (which wasn't much, really, but it was a good effort), and took a mad dash towards it, pulling the rubber strap back as the distance between them closed. "You're a real big jerk, running around town and trying to destroy the shop like you own everything! Let's see if you're the same way.." She'd been pointing the slingshot straight at the monster as they ran at each other, seemingly intent on shooting at it..

..Until she suddenly pointed towards one of its feet and let go, shooting ammo right at it and leaping right before they collided. "..When you experience the agony of the feet!"
 
"Jus' some clothing damage." Pyrite replied, brushing off some of the dirt, "An'... t' be honest, ah've never seen anything lahk that thing either. What ah do know is that we're not gonna let it tear up this here store!"

"What d'ya have up your sleeve...?" she questioned after hearing what Onyx had to say. Her first instinct was to shoot the creature again before it had a chance to attack them again, but... Onyx was a determined gem-- she'd seen that before. After a moment of hesitation, Pyrite put her gun up. She took aim. And she didn't shoot. Not yet. Not until that creature was taking another dirt bath. Pyrite trusted her, but hoped Onyx would keep giving her a good reason to.

The roar that Onyx made encouraged the creature to pick up the pace, guttural barks sounding out of it's throat. It pounced up, opening it's mouth, prepared to bite into Onyx.

What it wasn't prepared for was the shot to its feet. The creature made a loud yelp, throwing it off balance and landing it on its side.

It took all she had not to pull that trigger. What was that gem planning? She'd better know what she was doing there, or else-- What if she failed? Gems could sustain damage to their form. All that'd happen is they'd poof. It was the gem you had to worry about. But still, more than having to face this creature on her own, she didn't want to see... that look on Onyx's face. She had to pull the trigger. Pyrite's finger hovered. ... She had to trust Onyx, her partner. They were getting closer, too close, too close, just what the hay was--

As soon as the creature fell Pyrite shot her gun at it, sending a burst of light that only pushed it back onto the ground. She looked up, sighing in relief. If she had a pulse, then her chest would be beating something fierce, like those human chests tended to.

Slowly, the creature got up, staggering on three of its legs. The foot that Onyx shot was held up in the air. It turned its head between both of them before it backed away, whining. It was then that it finally decided to turn tail and limp away, kicking up dust in its wake.
 
Onyx landed back onto the ground moments after Pyrite had shot at the creature, seeing that the plan had gone smoothly. Looking over at her fellow gem, she raised a hand up in celebration. "Nice job, Rite! Now all we need to do is--"

She stopped herself once she saw the creature begin to turn away from the both of them, staggering away to escape. Well, Onyx was simply having none of that-- no way was it going to let it heal its wounds just to return to another part of the town and terrorize it to start all over again!

"Oh, no, y'don't!" Onyx shouted, tailing right behind the creature and shooting at it with her slingshot to impede it. "Come back here! You're not going anywhere!"

Onyx's shouts got further and further until they became muffled echoes in the distance, along with muted booms caused by her slingshot attacks. Soon, Pyrite was left behind, with the carnage in front of the shop keeping her company for a while. Well, at least until a certain someone decided to come out from hiding.

Arsen walked outside, holding his head from the destruction that occurred. His face was in shock. This nearly happened to the shop. This could have happened to the shop. It didn't take long for the surprise on Arsen's face to give way to confusion, and then to anger. They drove them off. How could they have known to do that? To top it all off, as much as they looked as completely different as could be, that monster had a gem-like adornment on it. Just like them. Just like Onyx and Pyrite. Arsen looked right at Pyrite, beginning to seethe with irritation.

"I knew it." He started, walking up to the gem with both hands clenched tightly. "I knew hiring you two was a stupid idea. Mind telling me why that creature has a gem like you guys? Huh?!" He asked aggressively, not even giving Pyrite space to breathe. "Or why you two knew exactly how to run the bastard off? Because I would love to hear your defense on this."
 
"Onyx, wait--" Onyx was far gone by the time Pyrite tried to stop her. Given how well that plan turned out, Onyx might not be so bad on her own, especially with that creature weakened... but having some backup didn't hurt.

She looked behind her, seeing the damage to the shop. ... Good thing it was only the window. Maybe Arsen would start to appreciate having them around.

When he came out, Pyrite was ready to brag about how they drove the monster away... only for him to swiftly disprove her previous notion. He started with accusations, that they were the ones to bring whatever that thing was over, "Now--" He didn't give her a chance to defend herself, only continuing his claims. Pyrite clenched her own fist, her look a mix of anger and disbelief, "Fer one, ah already said ah have no idea what th' hay that creature even is! Th' fact that it gota' gem has nothin' t' do with it, no way no how! An' are ya' tellin' me that we woulda' dragged this here beast t' th' place that we work at, fer what?! Tell me why you think we woulda' done that!" Fury was embedded in her voice, "An' y' know what ah was doin'? My job. Should ah have just let that critter go an' wreck th' store?" If Arsen was the only one working there, she might have, "... We didn't 'know' how t' deal with that... whatever it is. ... At least ah didn't. Y' think Onyx is dumb," she said, glaring at him, "But she ain't-- A whole lot smarter than me, since she's th' one who came up w' th' plan to deal with that thing in th' first place. ... An' a whole lot smarter than you from that claim yer makin'."
 
Arsen was beginning to lose his patience. As if having less common knowledge than most other people would entering a building with the intent to get a job wasn't bad enough, she had the audacity to say that she was doing her job. All he did was jab a finger against her chest sharply-- although no leverage came from it. "Then what the fuck do you call this, huh?!" Arsen shouted, raising one arm towards the door of the shop, completely shattered. "Some job you did! Not only that, but if you really didn't call that thing here, which I still doubt, by the way, then it sure took the both of you a hell of a long damn time to spring into action!" He got much louder, much more furious than before, as if the shop mattered to him. Like it was a living thing. But it wasn't. It belonged to Malka, who said she would take the utmost care of it. To have it damaged like this is just.. insulting her.

"Your excuses mean jack shit. Just like your insults and this 'job' you think you're doing well. And oh, by the way? The monster's still on the loose. Your friend's chasing it, but, uh.. Yeah. Mission accomplished? Beg to fuckin' differ." He sneered at her. "But I can say one thing for sure. She definitely handled it better than you did. In fact, maybe if she went in there instead of you, we wouldn't have had that problem. Or, hey, I'll do ya one better-- maybe if the two of you dumbasses hadn't applied for a job here, maybe we would have avoided this problem altogether." He finally backed up, giving her an absolutely scornful frown. "Call me stupid if you want. But I'm smart enough to know when Malka's made a mistake. Better I than her to tell you this: you've got no business here."
 
"..."

Arsen had a point-- Onyx did do a better job than she did. She did a better job at the interview, too. ... Onyx was just... better here than she was. Everything here was... so different than it was in the old 'wild west' days. She looked away, before staring at him again. He just had to go and rub that in her face, didn't he? That this couldn't possibly be her home? That it'd gone and disappeared long ago?

But hell, it was better that he tell her the truth, that she certainly didn't belong here. No way, no how. No use in pretending anymore, "... Fine." she said it softer than she'd intended, "Fine. I'll take th' blame too. Say that ah' brought that critter here..." she thought back to Onyx, how excited she was to get the job, "... But leave Onyx outta' this, sal'right? Didn't do anythin' wrong. Only tryin' t' do her job." she said, "An' ah know when ah'm not wanted. Maybe ah'll do you one better and just skip town altogether, that way y' don' have t' see my ugly mug anymore and ah don't have t' see yours." She spat. Her hat covered her eyes as she turned, beginning to walk away... but then she stopped.

"... By th' way, ah think ah have a good idea of when that Malka gal's went an' made one too." Her back still faced him. Pyrite went on her way, leaving a small trail of dust from the dirt she was kicking up.
 
"I'm glad you finally understand. Good riddance." Arsen left her on that note as she left. Took her long enough to realize that this simply wasn't the job for her. Not only that, but she seemed fishy anyways-- her and Onyx. But the way he saw it, one suspicious employee was easier to handle than two, right? Just so long as this one did her job better than Pyrite ever did. To him, she was just a wannabe cowgirl-- a living concept lost to time. That didn't seem to do her favors on her job, either. But she was gone now.

..Though, he misunderstood the true meaning of what her last statement was. He'll soon come to understand later, however.

~~~

A few hours or so later, just as the sunset was arriving and bathing the town in its reddish-orange color as Arsen was sweeping up the broken glass of the entrance, Onyx came running back, panting heavily and having an oddly-shaped gem in her hands. "Hey, Pyrite! I caught them! It took me a while, and boy, did he love circles, because he ran around in them and ran them around me, too! But I did it! Where do you think we.. should.. er.." Onyx slowed her running speed down as she realized that her friend was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she saw Arsen gathering all of the debris at the front of the store. "Where's.. Where's Pyrite?"

Arsen turned around to look back at the confused gem with tired, scornful eyes, as usual. Then, he simply turned around and went back to his job, sighing. He had to make up some sort of half-truth to make it easier on her, or else he'd never hear the end of it. "She left. Gave herself the axe and quit. She said she wasn't feeling adequate enough "compared to mah colleague" or whatever."

Onyx widened her eyes, then blinked, as if she couldn't believe the ears her form was gifted with. "Wait.. what? That.. That can't be.."

"It is." Arsen insisted, turning around to face her again, only slightly more aggravated about her reaction to the answer she was given. "She quit, 'cause you were better. Those are the facts. She accepted that, and so she left knowing this."

"But--"

"Are you gonna keep me from doing my friggin' job all day?!" Arsen snapped at her, making her flinch. "I told you everything. If you're that worried about her, then piss off and check up on her and leave me in peace. Your shift's over already, anyways." He turned around to crouch, carefully brushing everything into a dustpan. "And you'd better be ready tomorrow, 'cause now that she's gone, odds are you'll have to work twice as hard."

Onyx stayed silent, displaying a look that demonstrated bewilderment, sadness, surprise, and.. betrayal. She looked betrayed. She thought that she and Pyrite had an actual partnership going on. Now she suddenly decided to abandon the mission and leave her to collect the money? No.. She didn't care about the mission. Not now. She just wanted to see Pyrite. And then, she was going to ask her why.

Onyx's face turned desperate as she whirled around on her heel and ran the other way, leaving Arsen by himself in front of the shop again.

~~~

"Pyrite! Pyrite!" Onyx called frantically as she ran back to the spot where the two of them camped, looking around as if her life depended on it. Starting out, the calls of her partner's name was unsure, almost adamant that she'd find her. But then, they sounded more and more hopeless, and soon it even began to sound like the poor gem was on the verge of tears, as if she'd never find her. She would be on her own again. Before, she was confident that she'd be able to do her mission on her own.. but that was before she met Pyrite. They were practically the same when Onyx came to Earth; two gems having no clear destination, no clear home. When Rite disappeared, just like that, Onyx was alone again on Earth. She needed help. She wasn't afraid to admit that.

Just as the gem was about to give up, right as her eyes stopped scanning the place, they just so happened to spot the tent that Pyrite made. There it was! Maybe she was just resting, probably bummed out, judging from what Arsen-- Mr. Monitt-- said to her. Nevertheless, Onyx smiled brightly and ran over there, expecting to see her sticking out of the entrance in some form..

..But when she got there, it was empty. Nothing. Not even a trace of her to be found. The only thing out of place that a deeply disappointed and concerned Onyx found was a note on the ground, which she quickly leaned in to look at-- something, anything to lead her to Pyrite!
 
The first thing Malka noticed was the shattered window.

Immediately a number of possibilities came to her, including things she didn't want to consider. She yanked open the door, looking around, "Arsen!" She was thankful to have spotted him, "Are you okay?" Malka looked over him, instinctively looking for any injuries, "I think there's a medical kit in the bathroom... I'll go and get it, just in case." She rushed to the bathroom, coming back with a small kit, "Do you have any cuts from the glass? There's plenty of bandages--"

"What the hell happened to the window?" Alena asked as she came in, looking over the mess, "Some asshole decide to break it?"

"I don't know. I just got here..." Malka said, glancing at the damage. Mostly the bottom portion was taken out.

"That cowgal sure came in handy, eh?" Alena scoffed.

Malka's brows slightly furrowed, "If she had to do her job, then... she must have done some of it. Nothing else seems to be damaged."

"Still have to replace a window." Alena said, "Besides, how would you know? You weren't here. What if they broke the window and used that as a distraction to make off with some stuff?"

"... Well, Arsen was here." Malka said, "He was in charge while I was gone. I had to go and pay the rent when it slipped my mind." she paused, showing concern, "... So were Pyrite and Onyx. It's the end of their shift now, but I hope they're alright from... whatever happened."

"So what did happen, then? Mind telling us Arsen?" Alena asked, leaning against the wall and looking at him intently.

--

Pyrite was long gone by the time Onyx got there.

The note had several scribbles on it, words scratched out and sentences cut off before they even began. Hastily wrote with what appeared to be unfinished thoughts.

What was legible was the following:

"Onyx," the note began, "I'm leaving and I don't know when I'm not coming back. It's just how I am. That job isn't for me. Neither's this town. I thought I found someplace to call home I know when I don't belong somewhere. I didn't in the first place

I'm sorry Don't follow me. I'm probably far, faaar from here by now. It's not you Don't blame yourself. Nothing you could 'of done. It's inevitable. sort of like it always was

Take care of yourself. Make sure that Arsen guy doesn't give you too much trouble, you hear? I know you'll do better than me a good job. You're a good gem. while i'm a bad

Good bye

maybe we'll see each other again

See ya,

- Pyrite

PS: Good luck on that mission. That Malka gal could help you with whatever human stuff you need help with. A whole lot better than I can anyways. This isnt my time anymore

PSS: Don't try to find me.
 
Arsen was inside the shop and had most of the glass swept up from the carnage, simply leaning on the counter and reading a magazine until the two sisters finally came in, and as expected, they reacted the exact way he expected them to-- with complete confusion and fear. When Malka came over to him first and asked him a couple of questions, one of which being what happened with the shop and the others revolving around his well-being, "I'm fine--" He was interrupted when Malka looked over him, seemingly ignoring his answer. "Malka, I'm alright. There's nothing wrong with--" He didn't get a chance to finish his next statement when she asked about the specifics. "Good lord, Malka, calm down. Nothing bad happened to me." He was honestly just a little embarrassed by her concern.

Arsen's mood seemed to sour even more once he was asked what happened at the shop when they were gone. "Well, that's the thing." Arsen glared at both Malka and then Alena, as if he absolutely hated the fact that he was in charge when this all occurred. "A monster-- some ungodly horror-fest on legs that didn't look like it was an animal that belonged here, if it even was an animal-- charged at our shop and broke the window. The two employees let it happen, even though I'm sure they were the only ones that knew what that damned abomination was. They finally ran out to fend it off, but I wasn't a fool-- I knew they let that happen for a reason to get on my good side." Arsen grimaced, looking down for a moment. "Or, well.. I knew that she let that happen. Pyrite, I mean. The cowgirl."

Arsen crossed his arms and leaned off of the counter. "Sure came in handy.. No shit. She was the one that called that thing in-- I heard her say it with my own ears. Said it was her fault." He scoffed for a moment. "Didn't matter anyways, because she was too incompetent to even keep up the charade-- the smaller one, Onyx, had to pick up her slack. Then, I told her off. She told me what I mentioned before she just.. quit. That's it. We only have Onyx now. Pyrite said her friend had nothing to do with it, but honestly, I've yet to see if that's true." Arsen frowned deeply, then eyed Malka with the very same disapproving glare he gave her back when she hired the two. "Still think they're trustworthy now?"

~~~

..No.

No, it can't be.

Onyx's face was full of desperate hope, so much so that she was smiling the moment she found the note and began to read it, thinking that it held a clue to where Pyrite was.

She couldn't have been more wrong in her life.

Instead, as her eyes skimmed through each and every word of the note, even the ones scratched out, her smile fell into yet another confused frown.. and then one of genuine sadness, especially when she saw the first line: "I'm leaving and I'm not coming back". That one statement cut her like a knife, as if their partnership was a means to an end to begin with. Onyx just pushed herself to keep reading, even as her fingers put pressure onto the note and began shaking, and even when her eyes began to mist over, making it near impossible to read over the note until she blinked them away, blotting the piece of paper with her bitter tears.

She tried to understand Pyrite's reasoning the more she read, but.. she just couldn't. She tried reading into the words that weren't crossed out, and yet, they seemed to come out less hollow than the ones that were. She tried reading deeper into the omitted statements, clinging to them more and more, like they seemed to have Pyrite's true thoughts hidden in them.

I thought I found someplace to call home-- they both did! Together! And they'd live in it together, too! That's what she thought, and now.. I didn't in the first place-- Didn't what? Didn't belong? Of course not! But others could accept them for what they were! Aside from a few others, but what did they know, right?

I'm sorry-- For what? She didn't do anything wrong! Nothing she ever did was wrong.. Except for this..

Sort of like it always was-- It didn't feel like that to her! She felt like they had a great partnership going! Was what Arsen said true? Did she feel inadequate? No.. No, she was better than that! It wasn't true! It couldn't be!

While I'm a bad
.. what? A bad gem? Why would she ever think of herself that way? This can't be why she's leaving. She can't be gone..

Good bye..

"No.."

Maybe we'll see each other again..

"Don't do this.."

This isn't my time anymore.

"I can't.."

Onyx finally dropped the note and fell onto her hands, taking off her glasses once the tears really began to fall. She was by herself. The one friend that was just like her that she first met on Earth.. and she was gone. She would weep quietly in the tent that she made for the both of them, at a loss for both words and actions. Onyx had lost her sense of direction, not knowing what to do next now.

The light she once made with her own happiness had fizzled out.
 
Malka was more than relieved to see that Arsen wasn't harmed by whatever occurred. ... However, her face fell as Arsen explained the incident, feeling that he wasn't lying about what happened, but... "Arsen..." she said, her eyes looking to the floor for a moment and trying to gather her words. She... she had to be the rational one here, "Are you sure you're not... exaggerating things a bit? What 'charade' were they keeping up? I mean, how... how could Pyrite have brought... whatever that creature was here? How could they have 'known'? They got the job, so it's not like they have any... reason to..." Malka said, her voice slipping here and there as she tried to piece together what actually happened. And then it hit her, "Arsen did... did you... make Pyrite quit?" It came out a bit sharper than she intended.

"Good riddance." Alena said it without thinking.

"What? I... Alena!" Malka turned to Alena.

"But it's true, I'm just stating what we're both thinking."

"I'm not thinking it." Malka said, "And you don't work here-- how can you say that when you barely interacted with her?"

"Look, Malka. You made a bad hiring decision. It happens." Alena shrugged, turning her head away.

"Neither of you gave them a chance!" Malka didn't mean to raise her voice.

"What, for them to show the obvious? You hired some cowgirl who looks like she came from some wild west hick town and a ditz!"

"She's manned the registers before and done fine!" Malka backed away, staring in disbelief at Alena, "How can you just make these assumptions about people you barely know?"

"I dunno, I could say the same thing about you."

"I interviewed both of them."

"... Malka, I know you want to see the good in everyone and all, but..." Alena sighed, "Someday it's gonna bite you in the ass."

"Why... why don't you trust me?" Malka asked, her voice cracking, "I always feel like I have to plead my case to both of you."

"It's not like that--"

"Yes it is! I never seem to make the right decision to either of you, you're always doubting me... Why don't either of you trust me?" Malka asked, looking at Arsen for something. Anything. Reassurance.

Alena also looked at Arsen, mouthing 'help me out here'.
 
Arsen made a face, as if he didn't want to be in something that seemed to be strictly between siblings. But, obviously, he had something to do with it, too. "Malka, it's not that we don't trust you. It's because we want to trust you that we doubt you so much. Know what I'm talking about?" He raised a hand before the both of them could make a confused face at him.

"Okay. Listen. The way I see it, how you run the shop is your business. My business is to make sure the way you run the shop is okay for the shop. I agreed with letting them do their thing. And besides Pyrite talking shit about me behind my back, what happened today?" He asked her specifically, pointing at the broken window and attempting to keep his composure as he lectured Malka. "This. Possibly worse if whatever that cowgirl was planning went through. Imagine if I didn't work here-- the damage would have worse than what happened. Never mind our employees-- well, employee and ex-employee-- what would you have done if the shop suffered more? Can you answer me that?" Arsen sternly looked towards Malka, talking to her almost as if she were a child, which she most certainly wasn't. It wasn't his intention, but it was the only way he could think of calming her down.. even if he himself wasn't too calm at the moment.

"It's not about trust, Malka." Arsen said this seriously, but for someone with awful trust issues, it came off as an excuse. "You clearly need help here. Like I said, what if you end up hiring the wrong person? And for that matter, once again-- what happened today?" Arsen frowned, clearly getting a little aggravated. "Don't blame me for this. It's as Alena said, you just made a bad hiring decision and don't want to admit it. What's more, you're acting like a prideful kid that doesn't want to admit they're wrong every once in a while. Stop that. I'm trying to help you here and it's like you don't want my help-- making a fuss over something that'll help you out in the long run. Being naive about your business choices won't do that for you." Arsen went from being calm to calmly seething, glaring daggers into the distraught eyes of Malka. "And you don't get that. You don't want to get that, no matter how many times I try and tell you. And besides, you want us to trust you? Give us a damned reason to."
 
Malka stood as Arsen talked to her-- talked down to her, like she was the employee and Arsen her boss, scolding her, "But I..." Arsen didn't give her a chance to defend herself, going on about the incident. It felt like he was trying to pin the blame on her now, which she knew wasn't true, yet... "Arsen, I wasn't-- I wasn't trying to blame you, I..." She felt herself back up more and more until she hit the wall.

Alena glanced at Malka, and a realization came to her, "Hey, uh, Arsen, I think you kinda'..."

"... Fine." Malka said, looking up at Arsen. She looked more hurt than angry, "I'm done."

"Wait, Malka, you can't--"

"I mean it. Both of you know how to run the business better than me, right?"

"Neither of us-- It's like you said, I don't even fucking work here!"

"But Arsen's right. I don't know what's best for my own business." Malka said, "I'm... just too naive, aren't I? This whole place would have toppled on itself if you or Alena weren't here to criticize everything I do!" She was unable to hide how betrayed she felt, "You're completely right when you say you have absolutely no reason to ever trust me!"

"Malka-- Malka you know it isn't like that."

"Do I?" Malka turned her head away, wiping some of her tears from her face, "I... I have to go." she went to the door, "Good luck running the shop." It came out quietly, like her yelling had taken all the energy out of her.

"Malka!"

The door shut.

"... Nice 'help' you gave me, asshole." Alena glared at Arsen, hard enough to drill a hole in his head.
 
Arsen only watched in disbelief as she stormed out of the place, with the only emotions he had at that point in time being slight guilt and full-on annoyance. In fact, the latter seemed to rule over his feelings on the former. Could Malka behave more immaturely? If she only accepted her mistakes and learned from them, then they could have moved on and appreciate the one employee they had. But no. Of course not. She had to twist it around. He could only glare at the door after she left until it closed, until Alena scolded Arsen for his 'attempt' at consoling her sister.

"..You know what, Alena? What the fuck ever." Arsen spat at her, clearly not willing to put up with her browbeating right now and simply walked behind the counter to sit back down. "She wants to act self-righteous? Fine. That's her choice. Just like how she chose to walk outta here. I never asked her to." He laid back in his chair, one side of his face planted in one hand. "Everything I do or say to her-- to both of you-- is always wrong in your eyes. Alright. Yeah. I was wrong to tell her off. I was wrong to make her leave. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Arsen is fucking incorrect." He stopped his ranting, moving his hand straight to the center of his face. "..She just doesn't understand what I'm trying to tell her.."
 
"Yeah, she sure fuckin' understood you now that she's out the door, eh?" Alena continued to glare at Arsen, "Neither Malka-- or hell, me-- asked you to be a fuckface, but, hey, I guess beggars can't be choosers." Alena said, "And I don't understand either. Actually, scratch that: it's that you're a colossal asshole who wants to be right than admit you had a hand in this, right?"

... Alena paused, turning away, "... By the way, you know what's your choice? Deciding you'll run this shop alone. Bye." She made a point of slamming the door on her way out.
 
Arsen watched as she went out as well after a moment of lecturing him, which fell on deaf ears. Well, mostly. He had no time to listen to this crap. And just who did she think she was? She wanted them gone as much as he did. ..Right? It wasn't fair to treat him as if he was the one in the wrong. He was the one who made the right choice. They caused the trouble. He ran the cause of the trouble out. And now he's the one being talked down to because someone can't handle any criticism. Sure. Why did Malka even choose to make him an employee?

"..Fuck this." Arsen muttered to himself, seeing that it was just about time to close up shop anyways-- the sky was turning dark. Sighing, he simply got everything ready to lock up, head out, and get some rest to start the day anew.

By himself.

He would only look back with tired eyes at the shop that was once his friend's, forcibly passed down to him due to quitting. Fine, then. If that's how it's gonna be, Arsen thought, face grimacing as he turned away and left, then I will run this shop alone. A hell of a lot better than she did. Just fuckin' watch.

~

The next day came, and Arsen was just as grumpy as ever, if not moreso-- seems like what happened really got to him. He kept one hand on his chin, reading a magazine to himself and watching for that entrance every now and then to make sure that he would take care of any customer that came through.

Just behind him, a visibly distraught Onyx came out of the storage room, as she carried a box of extra supplies out of it. Gone was the usual smile on her face she sported as she did her job. Looks like the both of them weren't doing well emotion-wise.

"What the hell took you so long?" Arsen asked her, though not in his usual loud tone. "It just takes you a minute to take everything out individually. That was like five minutes at most."

Onyx stopped on a dime, placing the box on the counter and then stepped past the door allowing one to step behind and out of the counter. She didn't want to mention what she was actually doing-- that is, putting the gem that used to be the rampaging creature away, where it would be safe for now. The term 'Storage Room' indicated to her that that would be the safest method, especially since.. she was the only one with a job now. "..They were heavy." She said simply, picking it right back up. "I had to adjust myself a couple of times."

Arsen narrowed his eyes, but then just shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. He wasn't in the mood anymore for making a fuss whatsoever. "Alright, doesn't matter. Just sort everything out." He went back to alternating between reading his magazine and watching the entrance for customers. Just him and the newcomer. That's all that was needed. What kind of shop needs security, anyways? They didn't need some fish out of western water doing some unneeded job. Yet another reason why Malka made a mistake. Or at least.. that's what he wanted to believe.
 
The box stirred. Beneath the cardboard flaps there was a faint glowing from the gem inside, a mass of light slowly trying to form itself. At first, it appeared... almost human. ... But unable to keep this humanoid form for long, it quickly reverted to the monstrous form it was poofed in. Hands became paws as they stumbled out of the box, and her face forcefully reverted into a muzzle. Howling in confusion, it knocked over several boxes as it was trying to get out of the one stuck on its hind legs.

--

Pyrite found herself circling towards the town... again. She lost count of how many times she'd done this throughout the night. Stopping herself, she sighed, sitting on the ground. ... There wasn't much to get lost in, mostly fields and a forest here and there. But she knew what was bringing her back, "..." Pyrite stared at the town, only some feet away from her. She could go back again-- so she'd only be reminded again?

"You've got no business here."

"Onyx you're... doin' okay without me, aint ya'?" She said to no one in particular, "She's takin' care of herself just fine-- prolly better now that ah'm not in th' picture." She leaned back, staring at the sky... "At least you haven't changed, huh? Still th' same ol' sky from when ah went an' popped outta' here." She chuckled to herself, clutching the ground with her other hand.

... You have to stop lying to yourself, Pyrite.
 
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Arsen watched closely at Onyx working, stacking up new items as needed. She looked completely dead inside, like she lost the happiness that made this type of labor fun. Like she forgot what her end goal was. As he watched her, Arsen seemed to slowly get more and more aggravated. He knew he was right to run off her partner. She was no good. Hell, he's willing to believe that Onyx is too, to some degree. What did Pyrite mean by "she had nothing to do with this"? A few differences, and she could've ended up in Pyrite's position-- straight out the door. In fact, this could have happened to both of them. Because of them, he caused Malka to cry and Alena to just completely leave him behind (not that she wouldn't have done that anyways). Why are they so intent on leaving him with the work, saying that this was his fault?! There's nothing to take the blame for! Everything he's said to everyone was right!

Arsen finally closed the magazine he was reading to watch Onyx closely-- he seemed to want to get a conversation going after all of these thoughts that kept pounding his head over and over. Maybe trying to make friends with Onyx would be a good choice-- she seemed pretty distraught right now. She didn't seem to do anything suspicious, though, that could be grounds to double-cross him later.. Ah, screw it. C'mon, Arsen, think of something lighthearted..

"...Y'know, you're lucky your Pyrite friend bailed you out." He started, gripping his arm a bit as he started. "I might have unfairly fired you when you came back had she not explained herself."

Shoot.

Onyx stopped as she was stacking a can onto one of the shelves, blinking as she began to get lost in thought for a moment. "Huh..?"

"I mean, she said that she was the one who sent that damned creature our way-- it was clearly some sort of ploy to get us to like her more since not a lot of us.. well, liked her."

Onyx widened her eyes, then turned around to Arsen, utterly shocked by what he was telling her. There's no way. "What are you.. talking about?"

"Didn't you see? I mean, shit, where were you?" Arsen shrugged as he smiled genuinely, continuing to insensitively speak to the gem about her partner. Meanwhile, he seems to think he's making progress. "She was so fucking weird-- like, c'mon, where do you think you are, the Old West? Lose the hat-- and maybe the pistol, too. I doubt she has a license for that thing to be flailing it around like that; she could have gotten arrested anyways if she hadn't quit and stayed around here." Arsen gave a small smirk. "She also had that weird southern drawl. Not sure if she's from the country or what, but she honestly couldn't drop the fact that the western age was done. But hey, good riddance, right?"

Onyx's eyes of surprise turned into slow anger. Her gaping mouth shut into clenched teeth, and the hand that let go of the product she was stacking balled up into a fist.

"Surely you gotta know what I mean, right? I mean, you hung out with her for a while, I'm assuming?"

"..Yeah. I do know." Onyx grimaced at Arsen, then pointed right at him. "You know what I also know? That she was a better person than you ever will be! In your whole entire life!"

Arsen flinched at her sudden change of emotion, but then his eyebrows turned downwards. "Excuse me?! Who the hell do you think you're speaking to?!"

"A heartless jerk!" Onyx retorted, loud enough for him to hear. "You told me that she quit because she was feeling inadequate compared to me! But.. now here you are, telling me that she sent the monster here for some.. some dumb plan that makes no sense! She would never do something like that! I know she wouldn't do something like that! Wanna know why?" Onyx bellowed louder and louder, practically overwhelming Arsen with his rant. "Because you wanna believe what only you wanna believe! You said you don't trust us, but you don't want to accept any reason to trust us! You'll dismiss our work, treat us like garbage, and instead accept anything if it means that we can't be trusted, even if it's not true!"

"Your work here was mediocre!" Arsen slammed his hands on the counter.

"It was just fine!" Onyx jabbed her finger towards him. "See? You don't want to accept that!"

"Oh, just shut the hell up!" Arsen was practically burning with irrational anger at this point. "You have a job that literally anyone else can do. And her job? Who the hell needs security in a convenience store?! I've never heard of something so fucking stupid!"

"Well, that's only because.. because.." Onyx was just so mad, she didn't know what she was saying at this point. Her feelings came out, all in one, perfectly timed, perfectly perfect, statement. "Because you're so fucking stupid!"

Arsen had had it at this point. He jumped over the counter to stare daggers directly at Onyx. "What.. What was that?!" He snapped at Onyx, who looked more bewildered that that hopped out of her mouth than anything. "I don't think you realize the situation you're in! Remember Malka? She's not running this store anymore! I am! And what I say goes!" He inched over closer to Onyx, who backed away slowly. Not only did she look as infuriated as Arsen, but she seemed this close to tearing up. "You wanna keep your job, don't you?! You want to stay here, right? I'm sure you don't want to end up like your pal did!"

"I-I'd.." She frowned deeply, screaming at him when it was her turn. "I'd much rather end up like her if this is how the store's gonna be run! You're.. you're awful, Arsen!"

"I told you not to refer to me as--"

"You don't deserve formalities!" Onyx silenced him right then and there, glaring at him with eyes more intense than his own. "I think.. I think I know why Pyrite quit.. And why Malka left the store to you." Onyx kept backing away from him. "It's.. it's just because you're an awful example of a human being, Arsen. Out of all of the people I've seen here, met here.. You're the only one here that seems to want me and Pyrite gone. And in doing that, look at this place. It's barren. People used to love coming in here. And that was when the both of us were here."

Arsen's face went blank, almost as if his anger disappeared for a moment.. then it came back again. "I.. No! Shut up..! Just shut the fuck up, okay?! You don't know me!"

"That might be true.. But what I do know is that no one wants to be around you for that reason! You just push people away!"

"Fuck you, alright?! I don't have to listen to this shit!"

"Do you enjoy doing this, Arsen..? Why're you like this? Who hurt you?!" Onyx clenched both of her hands into fists this time. "Was it us?! What did we do?!"

"Nothing! No-- Everything!"

"What does that even mean?! I'm trying to understand you-- maybe even help you! So why do you--"

"Just stop getting involved with me, Thallia!"

..Onyx stopped for a moment. Thallia? Who was that? She inched forward for a moment, raising one hand up to him. "Arsen, who's--"

Arsen flinched away from her touch, eyes wide and wild, almost as if he just experienced something traumatic. He stumbled away from her, seeming less angry and more frantic with fear. "L-look, just.. Get out of here! You're fired! Leave me the fuck alone, alright?!"

Onyx took her hand away, face filled with regret and sorrow.. but that took a backseat to anger, as she just yelled as Arsen, who was currently looking down at his reflection on the glass counter. "Fine! I'll leave! I know when I'm not wanted!" Onyx opened the entrance, and then turned around once she was out. "Have fun getting value by yourself, you miserable jerk!" With that, she slammed the door.. which made the distraught Arsen flinch a bit.

He was breathing heavy. Almost irregularly. He felt his hands tremble against the glass. She was right.

Onyx was right. Malka was right. Alena was right.

They were all right.

And he did it again to himself. The same problem that he came to terms with and decided he couldn't live with trying to change.. reared its ugly head again. He was by himself. He caused this.

No one wanted to be with him, because of him.

"I.. I still haven't changed. Even after all that's happened, I'm still an asshole. That's.. that's never going to change. I can't change that.. I never will be able to.."

Arsen repeated "never" to himself, which increased in intensity until he sounded like he was close to tears.. but before then, he at least tried to pull himself together and shakily walk back to his post behind the counter.. Until he heard noises from the storage room, which made him stop in his tracks. Something was knocking over the boxes. And it didn't sound human. "W-what..?"
 
Alena stared at her phone as she approached the shop, pushing on the door, "Come'on-- you dumb--" ... Oh. Right. Pull. Hah. Good thing that cowgirl wasn't around. ... Neither was Malka. She hadn't missed any texts.

'Hey Malka... u still upset?'

'Malka, answer me'

'Malka'

'im sorry'

She sighed, turning it off. ... She quickly noticed the lack of customers in the store. This place wasn't ever booming, but, geez, usually there was a person or two... The only one here now was Arsen. She'd hoped that Malka would of come back by now... She glanced at the door before looking at Arsen, pausing.

"... So." she began, "How's... business?"

More noise came from the back room. Howls and barks intermixed with the thuds and bangs of items falling over and getting knocked into.

"... Arsen. Are you turning this place into a pet shop? It's real fuckin' quick to renovate anything."