The Pieces Has Been Set(3)

Lying on the ground unconsciously was Lawrence, and as he began to wake up and raise his upper body, he found himself in a tropical forest all tied up, sitting on a rock nearby was D4C, staring at him. 

"Do you know the definition of..."

Suddenly, D4C vanished and this time, Vaas, a character from Far Cry 3 appeared in the spot where D4C was sitting a moment ago. 

"...Insanity? It's doing the exact same fucking thing over and over again, expecting shit to change."

"Who the hell are you?"

As Lawrence asked, he noticed the ropes around him disappeared. He stood up and looked back at Vaas, only to see him sparta kicked him into a huge pit behind him, crashing on the ground hard enough to break his spine, Lawrence grunts in excruciating pain, he slightly opened his eyes and gazed at Vaas, looking down on him from the top side. 

"You are doing the exact same thing, Lawrence. What you're doing and still doing up until now is fucking insane." Vaas stated, sincerity in his voice as he spoke, "Do you get that?! Or do you think I'm the one being insane?!" he exclaimed violently.

At that moment, the environment around Lawrence shifted, and he found himself at an office in an underwater city. He hurriedly stood up and turned around to see a chair facing the wall. The chair spun itself around and faced Lawrence, revealing to be a man sitting on it. 

This man is none other than the antagonist of BioShock, Andrew Ryan, holding a golf club in his hands.

"You think that you're a man living the life to the fullest, even though you know you're nothing more than a slave to the Foundation." He said, standing up from his chair, he walked around Lawrence, and continued, "A man chooses, a slave obeys. So tell me Lawrence, are you a man or a slave? Are you a man who is ready to make his own choices, or are you going to be a slave who obeys the Foundation while your choices are restricted? Think about it."

"I.... I…"

All of a sudden, something flies towards him at mach speed, grabbing him by the face and throws him out of the water. Lawrence crashed on a mountain a hundred kilometers distant in the following instant, and since this is his own dream, pain is inconsequential. But this dream or nightmare he's experiencing is just bizarre. Looking up ahead, Lawrence saw the one who threw him fly out of the water and landed in front of him in mere seconds.

This being was none other than Omni man.

"Why are you doing this!? You're fighting for an organization who can't guarantee the world to be a better place and the safety of your loved ones!" Omni Man raged at him, pointing to his own head and adding.

"THINK LAWRENCE! You'll see this world crumble to dust and fall to chaos at the hands of the anomalies! Everything and everyone you know and love will be gone the longer you stay with the Foundation! So tell me Lawrence, what can you have with Molly in the next ten or so years knowing very well of the monsters lurking in the shadows and the thousands of wrong doings you did in the foundation?!"

"You... You don't need to tell me what to do!" Lawrence finally urges himself to yell out, "I can protect myself and Molly and make sure we live happily!"

Then, Omni man grabs him by his uniform collar and brings him close to his face, and in a deep, serious and menacing tone, he says, "The SCPs and Stands will burn your world down to the ground before you can even have a chance of having a family life with Molly!"

Throwing him into the air, Omni Man punched him in the abdomen so hard that Lawrence flew across the earth before crashing into a street like a ballistic missile, destroying countless buildings, vehicles, and killing thousands of innocent lives.

"Please... just stop... this." He breathed heavily, but his body appeared unharmed after the attack." It's possible... to have a good life… even if you live in a world full of monsters."

"Hm... interesting, but I rather disagree."

Glancing to his right, Lawrence saw Funny Valentine seated on a bench in the midst of the rubbles, destroying buildings and corpses of civilians while reading a newspaper. 

Lowering the newspaper, Funny Valentine looks at him and says, "You are no hero, Lawrence. A true hero fights for the people and his loved ones, but you Lawrence on the other hand are fighting for the sake of keeping the truth safe, because you were told to do so by the higher ups." He stated, "Your actions have no justice behind them, you're just a gun for hire meant to get rid of loose ends and your loved one Molly. As for what you said? No, both of you will suffer the consequences for your actions. Fate only favors justice and heroes, not people like you and that is why you will never attain peace and happiness in your life."

"Shut the fuck up!" Lawrence shouted as he rushed towards Valentine in anger.

"D4C!"

By his words, D4C emerged from underneath the bench and grabbed Lawrence before dragging him beneath the bench and threw him into a dark unending void. At the next moment, he abruptly lands on the ground safely and glances left and right to see nothing but darkness. 

"Alright, I have enough. Who's next?!"

Just then, he is stabbed from behind by a blade of an unknown figure. Lawrence couldn't struggle as he was lifted up by the figure and mustering his movements, he turned his head around and saw the unknown figure who was shrouded in shadows, making it impossible for him to obtain a picture of how he looks but there was one aspect he did notice. 

The figures' menacing eyes, glowing blood red from the pupils staring directly into his soul.

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"What the hell are you?!"

"Foolish human. You live very short and vulnerable lives and are not perfect. In the SCP world, you're just shortening it even more. Only the most perfect and strongest of beings like me can live in worlds like these. Not weak and insignificant beings like you and the rest."

Reeling his arm backward, a blade sprang out from it as he shouted.

"Die, Lawrence!"

The figure sliced his head vertically in half, and everything went dark in his sight. 

—————————————————————————

– Ward H, Infirmary, Site-17 - 1:03 PM –

Lawrence's heartbeat was still racing and he was having trouble breathing, so the doctor was attempting to stabilize him. Nikolai, as well as Molly and Amelia, who had just arrived in the ward room, could only watch, worried. 

As the doctor manages to keep Lawrence alive, his eyes immediately open wide, and in a panic, he subconsciously unleashes something from him, and an extremely muscular humanoid manifests from thin air and starts swinging his blades left and right in pure rage. Nikolai hastily grabbed the doctors and moved them a good distance from the humanoid, who was moving at lightning fast speeds and slicing down any equipment surrounding it in two before it stopped. 

"Easy comrade! We are not here to hurt you." 

Lawrence immediately rose up as he noticed the humanoid floating beside him, which Nikolai, Molly and Amelia could see except for the doctors.

What they saw was a highly muscular male humanoid around the same height as Lawrence, but it had a few minor differences though. Its entire body was completely wrapped in white bandages from head to toe like a Mummy except for the eyes. His eyes had white pupils, much like Lawrence's, some of the bandages were loose on his arms and wore a dark red Greek loincloth. The only peculiar feature of the humanoid were the three blades protruding out of both its arms, similar to Kars' arm blades but lacking the same saw teeth that he had, and it was barefooted.

This was Lawrence's Stand. 

"Razor..."

"...I think I'm seeing a pattern here." Amelia remarked.

"You don't say?"

"W-What the hell is this thing?" Lawrence asked, puzzled, gaze drawn  at the imposing figure beside him. Having faced numerous monstrosities throughout his years of working for the Foundation, its appearance does not seem to bother him.

Answering his question, Nikolai responded, "That my friend is your Stand, and judging from the song I heard during your sleep, I believe it's a song called Ain't no Grave."

"So that's its name, huh?" Lawrence looked at his Stand for a brief moment. Covering his head with his hands in exasperation, he mumbled, "Nikolai. Dr.Buck. Can you leave me and Molly here alone for a few minutes?" 

"...Alright, Lawrence. We'll do as you say." Nikolai nodded his request. So he, Amelia, and the doctor, who didn't grasp what had just transpired, departed the room. 

Once everyone else left, Molly took a seat next to Lawrence's bed and asked him, "How are you feeling Lawrence?" 

"Molly... D4C told me you and Rodeo hid the fact that the world that Rodeo came from had no SCPs but mere fictions for a long time. Am I wrong?"

"I... no, you're right," Molly admitted, looking down in shame, "But if we had told you, your mental health would have gotten a lot worse."

"As if it's not gotten worse already, Molly, and now I'm stuck with this..." He glanced anxiously at Ain't no Grave, "...thing. And now I'm nothing more than an SCP in the foundations eyes!" he muttered angrily at the end.

"...Lawrence, I can see your Stand."

"But…" Lawrence paused, hearing her words made him realize something. Returning his gaze at Molly, he asked, "You touched the arrow, didn't you?"

With a sad frown, Molly began to recount her encounter with D4C. And when Lawrence heard everything, he held the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"That was unnecessary and dangerous, Molly."

"I know, I was overwhelmed by my own emotions, Lawrence. I... I just couldn't accept you being dead and I... saw what was inside the box you bought for me, and it just made my emotions go more wild until I had nothing but vengeance in my heart. I tried to stop him, but... I couldn't, and I tried to get the arrow but instead I accidentally scratched it and he got away with it. I'm so sorry, Lawrence." She said, looking down with a sorrowful expression.

"So we are both Stand users now?"

"...Yeah."

"Looks like we will never have a normal life. I thought of many things for our future, and now all of it's gone, because of us working for the foundation and living in a world of dangers, anomalies and entities. There appears to be no happy ending for us or this world." Lawrence said in utter sadness. 

Molly gently hugs him, "Don't say that , Lawrence. Things will change. We just got to have faith."

"On who? The Foundation?"

"No. On ourselves and our friends."

"I'm not sure anymore, Molly. I just... wanted things to be better between us."

"I know. I know."

Hugging her back, Lawrence sheds some tears in the process as Molly tries to comfort him as best she could. Meanwhile, Lawrence's Stand, Ain't no Grave, could only look at the two in silence.

—————————————————————————

On the rooftop of Site-17, Emma was currently on the phone with someone. And that someone came from none other than the Serpent's Hand. 

"Any new lead on the Stand arrow that got stolen from our base in Ukraine?"

[No ma'am. Whoever took it made certain that no security footage, evidence, and witnesses were left at the base. We attempted to spy on some of the Chaos Insurgency and Global Occult Coalition bases, but received no leads from them either.]

"Alright," Emma sighs, "Just keep me informed."

Ending the transmission, Emma placed her phone back to her pocket and pinched between her nostrils. Knowing her day is getting worse. 

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind her without her knowing. 

"Peek a boo."

"The hell!?" Emma screamed and fell on the floor on her back, she looked up and saw it was the Spy. 

"Spy?! You?! Here?!" 

Ignoring her stuttered look, Spy points his revolver, the Ambassador on her head and pulls the safety off of it. 

"So tell me, Emma. What is this stolen arrow you were talking about with the one on the phone?" He questioned suspiciously at her.

"Spy, I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise me that you don't tell anyone who I work with."

"I'm a mercenary, Emma. I don't keep promises unless I get paid in cash, but given the current situations we are in right now, I'll keep between ourselves. Now talk." 

"Ok." 

Standing up from the ground, Emma proceeded to explain to him regarding her work in the Serpent's Hand and some other details to him. She did not, however, explain the other classified ones that she had in her knowledge.

"So, let me get this straight. You are with the Serpent's Hand, and you've been dealing with the evil side of the foundation and secretly getting most of the SCPs out of the foundation's hands ever since you got your position as O5, and you covered your tracks very well with your position as O5. Hm, impressive."

"Yes, but believe me, I'm not a bad person. I just want to help the Serpent's Hand cause." 

Spy then points the Ambassador away from her and offers her a helping hand up, which Emma accepts, and he pulls her back up onto her feet.

"Alright, I believe you, but did you find the Stand arrow which was stolen from your Serpent's hand base?"

"No."

"I see, but remember this Emma." Gazing at her with a stern look, Spy began to spoke in a threatening tone, "If you try to pull a stunt on us or on the foundation that will affect our fight against the Stand factions, Scarlet King, and the other group of interest, I will not hesitate in exposing you to the foundation, and we all know what happens to traitors. Got it?"

Emma nodded, "Loud and clear."

"Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to check on the rest, while your secret is safe with me for now." Spy waved her farewell and headed for the door and left the rooftop.

"Just great." Emma muttered by the time Spy left. Then her phone started buzzing in her pocket, so she took it out.

"Hello?"

[Site Director, where are you? We couldn't find you anywhere in site-19 and we tried to contact you but it was coming unreachable. What happened and is SCP 073 & SCP 191 with you, ma'am?]

"A Human Stand dragged us to Site-17 and we couldn't make contact with you since the communication signals in Site-17 were jammed, but communications are now back. Did anything happen on site-19 while we were gone?" 

[For now no, but when are you coming back to the site?]

"I'll be back at Site-19 by 8:00 PM after I settle some things here on site-17, but for now I need you and the rest to keep site 19 in check, and make sure the argent crystal doesn't fall in the wrong hands."

[Yes, ma'am.] The person on the other side acknowledged before the call ended, leaving Emma standing on the rooftop, deep in thinking about the major situation.

'Could D4C's team be the ones who took the arrow from the serpent's hand base?' She said mentally.