Fade Away

"Fade Away!"

Suddenly located from Albert's suit's sleeves came out smoke in blue color similar to Albert's bird mask eyes as it started spreading across the entire room and covered all around it. At that moment, smoke went through the vents as well.

"What the hell is this?" Jeff questioned.

Rodeo's team were confused by this blue smoke, which also wasn't that thick that didn't block their vision, they could see each other perfectly.

"Is this meant to give us hallucinations or something else?" Evan asked.

Albert answered, "This is my Stand Faded's most deadliest ability. I suggest you don't move a single inch of your body, and let us just walk away. peacefully"

Meanwhile Johnson, Simmons, Carson and Sophia, although both of them weren't Stand Users, they could still see the blue smoke. 

"You're seeing this right?" Carson asked.

"Yeah we can see it." Johnson nodded.

'What did he mean by not taking a step forward or back? Is that how his Stand ability works?' Rodeo thought to himself.

From above, the drone was still hovering in the air and was recording the entire thing to the ones in the security room. 

[It's just a bit of blue smoke. What could happen?] Sane Kreig said calmly before moving his feet.

When he took a step forward, something flew past his right knee at frightening speed, an unknown object suddenly scratched his knee and moved away at a blur, making a deep cut on it as the Kreigs yelled out in pain and fell on the floor holding his knee. 

"What the hell?!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Something hit Kreig's knee but I didn't see anything." Sophia said as she looked around cautiously.

[SOME DAMN BIRD HIT ME!] Sane Kreig shouted loudly, continuing to grab his wounded knee.

"A bird?" Green raised a brow.

"Uhhh guys..... look up." 

Hearing Miguel's call, Rodeo's team looked up to see a murder of crows flying around the ceiling. Johnson, Simmons, Carson and Sophia couldn't see the crows since they weren't Stand users but Rodeo and the rest could see it. 

The crows looked like any normal common crow you could find anywhere in the world, but their eyes.... were glowing blue as they were staring at everyone below, as if they were waiting for them to make a move, much like predators looking at their prey.

"Oh my God."

"Oi kid!"

Immediately turned around, Rodeo was then got his legs and shoulders shot by Albert's colt revolver which he took out from his top hat.

Collapsing on the floor, Rodeo was bleeding badly as crimson red liquid leaked out from his four holes.

"""RODEO!"""

Everybody ran towards Rodeo, but when they did the crows immediately flyed towards them and scratched their arms, legs and chest with their beaks and talons, forcing the team to stop their mad dash towards Rodeo. 

Seeing this, Albert chuckles in amusement, "You still don't get it do you? Any of you try to move a muscle.... the murder will get you, regardless of anyone's speed and persistence."

"ZA WARUDO!"

Yelling out in rage, Evan used his stopped time at the moment which caused the world around him to turn black and white. 

"Now I just need to beat the ever living shit out of him, so the smoke and the crows will disappear themselves." Evan muttered, glaring at the man in the crow mask with murderous intent.

As he started to walk towards Albert who was frozen in time stop.... 

But then, faster than a laser beam, an object flies past him at unimaginable speed, leaving a scratch on the right side of his head before Evan could react.

"NANIIIIII?!"

Stopping himself from going any further, Evan looked upwards, only to see something that was causing his eyes to widen in shock and disbelief. 

Because....

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The murder of crows was moving in his world of stop time. 

"Bakana! These crows move in the world of stop time?!"

Evan then looked back at Albert who was still frozen in time, but somehow the murder of crows wasn't. 

"Don't tell me he really doesn't know that his Stand ability works in the world of stop time? And I think the time stop means nothing to the crows, which..... it's irrelevant to them. 

Deciding to fly towards Albert, he flew towards him at full speed. However this caused a major reaction from the crows.

Like locusts, countless Crows numbering hundreds, if not thousands of them flew towards him, scratching and clawing his entire body, causing him to fall on the floor face first with numerous cuts all over his body and bleeding badly. 

In Evan's mind, he was incredibly shock, not only the crows could still travel through his time stop, the speed they moved is shockingly even faster, previously he saw one injuring Kreig moving faster than a bullet, but this time, they moved at a speed that even he, who turn into The World, who can even react to light speed couldn't detect it in time.

Which means depending on the opponent's movement or reaction speed, these crows will outsped that opponent, even if that opponent is faster than light

Next second, time started to move once again and everybody saw Evan suddenly appeared lying on the floor covered in cuts.

"""EVAN!"""

"Guys, t-this guy's Stand.... is dangerous." Evan painfully muttered as he slowly lifted his head up and glared at Albert. 

Albert, seemed confused as to how he ended up like that, but he simply just shrugs it off and walks towards Rodeo, which the crows didn't attack him. 

In the next couple of seconds, Albert stood next to Rodeo who was lying on the floor bleeding while the latter looked at him.

"So this... argh.... is your Stand's trump card ability?"

"Deadly isn't it? You see, once I unleash the blue smoke, the crows will appear and attack any living thing that takes a step forward or back, and I think it will attack those who are flying as well."

He continued, "In fact, they will attack more violently if you increase your velocity. Because one day I saw a pigeon fly past the blue smoke when I was testing it out of my ability, which pretty much triggered like countless of my crows, like a bunch of hungry piranhas, they shredded the bird completely into bones, kinda graphic I like to say."

'So.... he really doesn't know that his ability can work in the world of stop time.' Evan thought to himself as he sighs in relief. If Albert knows this, they might get a bigger advantage.

Looking at everyone around him, he spoke, "So how does it feel being a step behind? I'm pretty sure you're feeling mad and angry knowing guys like me were able to pull off a stunt like this and are now a step ahead. You see folks, back then I was a normal person living life to the fullest and always thought I would be successful and always wanted to move forward in life..... but then the ones I considered as friends moved forward and became successful, and I was the only one being a step behind."

Clenching his fist, Albert began to produce a large amount of killing intent from him and continue his little monologue, "When they looked at me, see how far behind I was..... they started looking down on me and insulted me... telling that I will never move forward because Fate favored these arrogant bastards more than me. I hated it. I tried to move forward again and again but I always ended up a step behind, and it made me go insane, you know. It made me angry."

He chuckled, "Seeing the ones who moved forward being happy while people like me who were a step behind live useless and unhappy lives.... it drove me into insanity and madness. And that's when I found out that they took shortcuts or the bad road to move forward. It hit me.... why would fate favor ones who took short cuts rather than the ones who worked hard and put in years of effort? They say 'Efforts never betrayed you', but I call that quote a load of shit, which then clicked in my mind."

"You see, you need to do something bad which is called a shortcut in my eyes in order to get some good results done. And that's what I did. I took shortcuts, I did shady jobs for many years and it was successful. It made me happy! And even after I got my Stand I felt more happiness that I was moving forward even further now with my Stand abilities!"

He stops, looking at Rodeo and points the revolver at his face. 

"Then you showed up today.... and made me feel a step behind when you stopped us from capturing Dr. Buck and took the Stand arrow from our hands. The old memories flooded back in my head and that old rage from my past came back. I really hate those people who think they moved a step forward. Like you." He said with true venom in his voice.

"....I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I feel sorry for you. I really do. No one should feel like they are behind others, but it's part of life. When you take two steps forward, you need to take a few steps back so that you can move forward again. And no matter how many times you fail, you will no doubt succeed in life because you learned from your past failures and improved yourself more and more. It's not because of fate you are like this.... it's because YOU yourself made your road like this and saw things from a different perspective, and it makes me feel bad that you chose that road. I'm truly sorry for what you had to go through in the past." Rodeo finished his words that are filled with honesty and truthfulness in it.

Everyone was surprised that he was actually sympathizing with the enemy. Albert stopped pointing his revolver at Rodeo, he moved his hand forward in Rodeo's direction which the latter let out a confused look, thinking Albert would pick him from the floor.

'Huh, never expect this would be easy, I expect he will shoot me, or slash my fa-'

*Shing!*

Cutting Rodeo's thought, the person he thought he would help slashed his face, leaving a huge slash mark, causing Rodeo to yell out in pain. Luckily his eyes didn't get hit by the claw. 

"""RODEO!"""

Miguel was going to fire a shadow arrow, Green was going to throw an ice spear, Evan was going to throw his knives even though he was badly injured and Jeff was going to launch his right arm using his zipper.

But before they could do it, Albert shot both of Rodeo's hands before shooting his left thigh and lastly, right on the left side of his abdomen with his revolver which made them stop dead in their tracks. 

"IF ANY OF YOU TRY TO PULL A STUNT, TRY TO FOOL ME, TRY TO EVEN ATTACK ME, THE NEXT BULLET IS GOING RIGHT THROUGH HIS FUCKIN' HEAD! GOT IT?!"

Stomping Rodeo's right hand with his foot, he started crushing it before stomping his face with the other and started crushing his face, causing Rodeo grunting in pain. 

"Listen well, furry boy. I don't need your honesty and your lecture on what's right and wrong, I'm happy with what I've become and I don't need your sympathy. In this cruel world, your ideology of kindness and love will not work!"

He laughs maniacally, "Only by following this world's cruelty can one truly survive and move forward, and don't even think about pulling a stunt with your bombs! Alvin, Chilli Pepper or whatever the fuck he is told me, Josh and Spy how your abilities work! We used knowledge! And knowledge is power!"

"Also this smoke is gonna go through the entire site through the vents so basically, everyone is going to get hurt really... really bad."

"What?"

Michelle looked at the vents in the room to see the blue smoke was going through them alongside with the rest who also saw it.

"You're gonna gamble people's lives just to make yourself happy?!"

"I'm not gambling their lives, I want to see them hurt and crying behind my back while I keep on moving forward as they slowly fade away behind me. But don't worry this smoke will last for 30 minutes."

"30 minutes?!" Green exclaimed.

"You heard me, old man. Also gotta remind you that if you try to kill the crows, a new one will take its place. So basically.... you can't stop me."

Looking at the drone still flying in the air, he yelled out loud. 

"I know you're watching me, Dr. Buck! Don't forget everybody is in this predicament because of you! So get here before the smoke starts attacking everyone including you!"

Bringing out the revolver close to Rodeo's head, he coldly said, "Or I will kill him and the rest in this room...

DO YOU UNDERSTAAAAANDO?!"

————————————————————

– Safe Zone A, Site-19 - 1:00 AM –

In the safe zones, multiple staff members of the Foundation were waiting for the lockdown to open but so far it hasn't. 

But then, one of the researchers spotted something coming out of the vents, which appeared to be a blue cloud, fog or smoke of some sort. 

"What the hell?"

Once the blue smoke entered the room, some stared at it curiously while some stared at it in fear, thinking it might be an SCP, unaware that the crows were flying above them which they couldn't see. 

One of the researchers took a step back from the vents, which triggered one of the crows as it attacked him and slashed his back. 

This caused everybody to panic and they started moving left and right, but this caused the crows to attack everyone.

Mobile Task Forces and Guards tried to shoot the crows that were attacking them but they couldn't hit anything since they can't see them and don't know where they are and they too were getting attacked by the crows as well. 

All the safe zones were being affected by the cloud and while the SCPs were in containment, the cloud hadn't reached them, not yet at least. But still, every person in the safe zones was being attacked by the crows. 

This was Albert's site now and no one is leaving it.

————————————————————

Back in the security room, Molly, Gustav, Emma and Amelia could only look in horror at the Stand Faded's capability and Albert's madness. 

Luckily, the smoke hasn't reached the security room yet but they needed to do something. 

Amelia was now getting scared for Rodeo, Green and the rest. She knew this all started because of her and the Stand arrow, but it could only end if she gave herself up and the Stand arrow up. Amelia didn't want anyone to die because of her. She just couldn't. 

"Dr. Buck?"

Looking at the arrow she was holding then at Molly, with a bit of hesitation, she murmured.

"I'm sorry."

Turning around, Amelia runs out of the room while taking the Stand arrow with her. 

"Buck, wait!"

Before she could move forward, Emma stops Molly from following her, she points to the vents and she saw the blue smoke coming from it, the three stood still to make sure the that they don't get attacked by the crows since they were invisible to them and they didn't know from where they will attack. 

"Site Director, what if that guy doesn't uphold his end of the bargain?" Molly said anxiously.

"I'm not sure, we can only trust them to pull off some miracle. For now we can only wait."

'Please stay safe, Rodeo, Buck.' Molly thought as she felt incredibly worried for their safety.