Back with Amelia and Evan, as the two were walking down the hallway, Evan asks one of the scp guards passing by that.
"Hey man, did you see Rodeo and a guy with gray hair walking by here?"
"Well I did see Rodeo entering an elevator with the guy you mentioned. They might be on the rooftop, since I do remember that's where the elevator stopped."
Evan nods and then both Amelia and Evan head for the rooftop.
———
(Rooftop, Site-19 - 7:30 AM)
Rodeo and Green were now on the rooftop. As the two had arrived there, Green immediately asked.
"Ok I'm here, Rodeo. What do you want to discuss with me?"
Rodeo looked at him for a moment before he opened his hollow stomach compartment and brought out the photo. Green's eyes widened and he checked his pockets but found nothing. No doubt, he dropped the photo back in the cafeteria by mistake.
Green looks at him and says coldly, "Give it back."
"Not until you tell me who's the kid in the photo, Green."
"That's none of your business." Green ignores Rodeo's words as he tries to snatch the photo from his hand, but Rodeo is quicker and reels his hand back.
"Green, if this kid is related to you just tell me and does it have something to do with your nightmare?"
"You wouldn't understand, Rodeo. Now give me the photo back." Green angrily said.
"Green, I just want to help you."
"I don't need help. Just please give me the photo back."
"Is he your son?"
"Yes, now please give it back."
Rodeo looks at the photo for a moment before he agrees and gives it back to Green, which he immediately puts it back in his pocket.
"Green, please just tell me. What is your story?"
Green looks away, "It's hard to explain."
"Well, I'm ready to listen."
But Green just started to walk away, not going to get ignored, Rodeo spoke in a higher volume.
"I thought you were stronger than this, Green. You fought SCPs and captured them and you can't talk about your son and about your nightmares. Was it related to your son?"
Green then stops, which Rodeo continues.
"Does Amelia know that you have a kid?"
"..."
"Does your son know that Your-"
"My son is dead!!" Green immediately cut off his sentence and yelled.
".....what?"
Unbeknownst to the two however, Amelia and Evan were standing next to the door that leads to the rooftop and listening to their conversation who were shocked by what they were hearing. Evan opens the door a little bit and they both see the two.
"...He's gone because of me."
"Green, you're not making any sense."
Green looks at him and Rodeo notices the sadness, regret and guilt visible on his face. Green then stands next to the railing and explains.
"I was just an agent for the foundation back in the old days mostly for interrogations and investigations regarding SCPs... and I had a family as well who didn't know I worked with the foundation."
Rodeo stood next to him, which Green continued.
"I was a really happy man, you know, even when I worked in such a place like the foundation. I had a beautiful wife and a great kid and they were the reason I kept moving on. Time passed and my wife died in an accident. My son was just 2 years old when it happened. Even after losing my wife, I had my son with me. He was the joy of my life. He would always ask when I would come back, what are we gonna eat for dinner and when are we gonna play baseball." He chuckles, "I saw him grow up so much and I was proud that he could have a future. I was always there for him you know and I would always come back to him, no matter what."
"What was your son's name?"
"Thomas Green jr."
"You named him after you?"
"Yeah... but then something happened."
"What happened?"
"I bet you know what SCP-023 is, the Black Shuck."
Rodeo knew about SCP-023. Anybody that would look into its eyes would die in one year, but if not, it will be either their closest family member or loved one will die instead.
"What happened when you encountered 023?"
"The foundation sent some agents to track 023 in London. I was one of those agents assigned for the task. It seemed like any other mission I've done, but this time, it's different. Because I.....looked into its eyes while trying to capture it and at that time I didn't know what its powers could do. Then when I came back home, I saw my son started to get sick, which that's when I knew that 023 had something to do with this. So I went back to London, finding people who were under the foundation's radar and knew about the stories surrounding 023. I used my position as Agent to talk to them, trying to find a way to reverse the effects to save my son. But they all gave me one answer is that...
...nothing can reverse the effects." Green let out tears and then continued. "I tried to get the foundation to help me, but they still didn't find any way to reverse the effects. I even sent a request that they should terminate 023, because I thought it might destroy the effects, but the request was denied. The year was about to end... and my son was lying.. on a hospital bed fighting for his life. The doctors did everything. I did everything to save him and.. nothing was working. In his final moments, he looked at me and said he loved me, and being the best dad in the world before I heard the flatline, meaning he was gone. He was just 9 years old when all of this happened. He...."
Green stopped his sentence, he immediately covered his eyes and started crying. Rodeo was just at a loss of words. This man went through so many things and hardships in the foundation for his family and then the only ones that he ever loved were gone. But his son dying to an SCP was the most heartbreaking thing he heard. That one person who he loved the most was taken away from him..... all because he looked into the eyes of an SCP and he was blaming himself for it.
"It's my fault."
"...Green, this isn't your fault."
"If I hadn't.. took that job in capturing 023, then he would still be alive. Who else should I blame?!"
Meanwhile at the door, Evan and Amelia were processing the information they just heard and they had a look of shock, sadness and sympathy for Green. Amelia, while shocked by this information, was also mad that he hid all of this from her but still felt sad and sympathetic for him, and Evan, he was shocked that he went through this much and lost everything to an SCP in the end, but was also mad at the scp responsible for it. Oh, if he finds 023 one day, he will give him hell.
Meanwhile, Rodeo approaches Green to apologize.
"Green, I'm really sorry you had to go through all that. And I'm sorry if I asked about it."
Green shook his head, "No, I really wanted to get it off my chest you know."
"I know." Rodeo nodded, but then he recalled something, "Wait Green, why did you hide this much from us and Amelia?"
"...I wasn't ready, I also wanted to forget all of it and I was also afraid that-"
"Amelia might get mad and be distant from you knowing you had a family once."
"...Yeah." He said while looking down.
".....I'm pretty sure she will understand, Green. She might-"
Rodeo then heard a sound and immediately looked towards the door to see it was open, and standing there was Evan and Amelia.
"Shit, they heard it didn't they?"
Jerking his head to his side in panic, Green looked at Amelia which she quickly looked away and headed for the elevator, but Green went after her.
Rodeo then approached Evan and asked.
"You both heard everything, did you?"
"How... how can he live with such guilt in his heart?" Evan asked, gripping his hands tightly.
"Even I'm surprised, Evan. He lost everything and yet here is still, risking his life and trying to keep people safe. Getting hurt on many occasions for the greater good even with the guilt in his heart. You gotta respect that."
"Yeah... should we go after them?"
"No, this is something they need to resolve themselves together."
"I hope you're right."
———
In the elevator, the first thing it shows is-
*Slap!*
-is Amelia slapped Green in the face.
"Yep, I deserve that."
"Why....why.....did you hide this much from me? When I first met you I thought you were just another Agent doing his job and then you started being a friend to me, started cracking jokes and..... had a crush on me. And now I'm finding out that you had a family once, you lost one of them to an SCP and you didn't even think about telling it to me." She said feeling a mix of anger and sadness.
"It's true. In all my years of working with the foundation, I never spoke of my past, because I wanted to move on and forget it. But no matter what I do, I see that damn dog in my nightmares telling me that I will lose everything by just looking at him, also that day when I flatlined, it was because I remembered my son's death, also his funeral where I cried my heart out."
(A/n: You know, I was rewatching SCP-023 video from Scp Animated Tales from the Foundation to get a better understanding of his past. It's really sad. I really recommend you watch that video.)
Amelia looked down for a moment and apologized to him.
"I'm sorry... for your loss."
"It's ok."
Amelia then asked, "Can I see the photo?"
Green thought for a moment before showing her the photo.
"....He looks a lot like you."
"Yeah, but his eyes are from his mother."
"Yes....." Amelia nodded, but then she felt a complicated emotion in her for a split second. ".....Green, back in those days, I didn't try to understand you nor did I laugh at the tremendous amount of jokes you made while I was... cold hearted in most cases. I'm sorry."
"Amelia, you were... well you back then and I was...."
"The only man who had a crush on me, how do you feel about me exactly?"
Green took a deep breath, "When I first met you that day when it involved testing SCP-178, you were pretty much.. cold."
"True."
"But time passed and while you were still the same, I just still couldn't take my eyes off of you. You were the most beautiful woman I've seen in my life and while you can be cold one, that day they when you came to me while I was lying on a bed sick, weak and were worried about me, I knew that you were more than just a stone cold doctor till Rodeo came and made things better; he got me back on my feet and I saw you change so much. I felt happy for you knowing that there was somewhere there for you as a friend to keep you safe."
Green looked down for a moment and then said to her.
"I'm sorry as well for not being there, when you were going through tough times and not telling you about my past. But I promise you that I will be there for you and next time I will tell you only the truth." He said with honesty.
"Agent Green, I've done many things in the past, some right and wrong, not being honest with you and didn't ask or understand what you were going through, and still not telling you about my past. Are you ok with someone like myself?" She said with a sad frown.
Green then gently places a hand on her right cheek and smiles.
"Yes."
Amelia's eyes widen, she looks away for a moment and then says.
"And your family?"
Green looks down, "...I can't bring them back. I can only just remember them in my heart. But life always gives a second chance to everyone. And I want to take that chance I'm getting right now."
"Thomas."
Green looks at Amelia when she calls him by his first name.
"Do you really want to take that second chance?"
"Yeah."
The two looked into each other's eyes, and then, very slowly, they brought their faces closer, they closed their eyes and before their lips made contact, the lights of the elevator suddenly blew up, startling and surprising the two and the elevator became completely dark.
"Damn it." Green cursed, why does it have to ruin the moment? But then, he noticed that he was being hugged by Amelia.
"Afraid of the dark?" He said sarcastically.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Green."
For the next couple of seconds, the two got out of the elevator when its doors opened.
".....I should be heading back to work right now." Amelia said.
"Yeah." Green said, rubbing the back of his head.
Amelia and Green then looked at each other in silence.
"Thank you for telling me... how you feel, Agent Green."
"And thanks for understanding me, Amelia."
They then smiled and started walking down the hallway.
Life can be difficult for some in the beginning, but life does and always will give you a second chance. You should take those chances whenever they come and be better than before and be happy.
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On the same elevator that Amelia and Green were in moments ago, the bird lizard was standing for a moment who watched almost half of the scene before he disappeared.
———
(Abandoned Warehouse, Somewhere in America - 9:00 AM)
In the scene, the knight was looking at the Golden arrow with interest, while Jack Barton, the Stand user of 'Ride Me to Hell' was just sitting on a crate smoking a cigarette. Then the bird lizard showed up from the light bulb and said to the two.
"Well, I scouted Site-19 and to our bad luck they really put the site on high security and you know I was really having some difficulty in getting into their computers due to the fire walls they installed."
"Well, while you were gone I was able to get a new recruit on our side." The Knight said as he lowered the arrow down.
The Bird lizard tilts his head in confusion, looking at him, the knight points to the right to see a man wearing a top hat and a bird mask with the eyes glowing blue. He wore a British suit, had claw-like hands and long black wavering hair, and what made things very weird about him was him floating several centimeters from the ground.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said in a British accent.
[IMAGES]
Another STAND user has been made.
End of Chapter
———
Stand Name: Faded
Stand User: Still unknown.
Stand Type: Suit Stand (Similar to Oasis and White Album)
Abilities & Drawbacks: [Redacted]
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Consider giving me POWER STONES and vote for my stories and keep yourself notified for more chapters. Thank you.
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(In a Cave in Australia - 6:00 PM )
Deep inside a rocky cave in Australia, there was something on the rocky wall.
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[IMAGES]
To be Continued ➡