The night after our celebration felt strangely still—an unnerving sort of calm that came only when the universe was quietly preparing for its next shift. After we parted ways, each of us teleported back to our respective Sites. I returned to Site-999, my home base, while Julius and Darius only went as far as the meeting wing of the same facility. They had requested a private discussion with me, something they emphasized was too important to delay.
By the time I entered the meeting room, both of them were already seated. Julius leaned casually against the long obsidian table, his Kokugan faintly glowing beneath his eyelid like a pulse of quiet danger. Darius had stacks of documents spread out before him, along with a large chalkboard covered in dates, arrows, and projected timelines.
The clock on the wall ticked softly—1888. The world marched slowly toward the 20th century, oblivious to the tidal wave of war that would soon tear nations apart.
I closed the door behind me. "Alright," I said, folding my arms. "You both said this was urgent. What's happening?"
Darius gestured for me to sit. "We were analyzing the next major global shift. A war is inevitable. Not just one war—two. A pair of defining conflicts that will reshape humanity. World War One is about thirty years away, but preparations must start now."
Julius nodded. "If we play this right, we can use the coming chaos to establish something… useful. Something lasting."
Darius slid a folder toward me. The label read: PROJECT: CHI – Controlled Havoc Initiative.
I raised a brow. "CHI?"
"Chaos Insurgency," Darius said calmly, tapping the folder. "The name will evolve, but this is the seed. A splinter organization—one that appears to break off from the Foundation, but in truth, will be our hidden hand."
Julius smirked. "Think of them as our shadow. Our dirty-work division. The saboteurs we pretend to hunt publicly, while secretly directing them from behind the scenes."
I flipped through the pages. Maps of Europe. Projected battle strategies. Predictions for the geopolitical tensions building between industrial powers. Early research notes on Hydra's future emergence. Even potential SCP assets that could be repurposed for an off-the-books militaristic faction.
"You're suggesting," I said slowly, "that we manufacture the Chaos Insurgency and let history believe they betrayed us?"
"Exactly." Darius laced his fingers together. "When World War I erupts, nations will already be drowning in violence and desperation. If a few anomalous artifacts go missing, if a few researchers defect, no one will question it deeply. The war gives us perfect cover."
"And in the future," Julius added, leaning forward, "Hydra emerges—small at first, but insidious. The perfect host. We insert our Chaos Insurgency operatives early enough, guide Hydra's direction, then eventually absorb it. Hydra becomes a sub-branch of the Chaos Insurgency. And the Insurgency? A sub-branch of us."
I rubbed my chin. "And with Hydra embedded into the future U.S. intelligence community, we'd effectively dominate S.H.I.E.L.D. through layers of puppetry."
"Exactly," Julius said. "We control the world subtly, indirectly. Hydra will handle the morally questionable experiments, covert warfare, enhanced soldier research, political disruption. Things even we shouldn't be caught doing."
Darius nodded. "And Hydra's downfall in the future will be staged. Hydra collapses, S.H.I.E.L.D. 'wins,' but the Chaos Insurgency persists. Hydra will be the shell we shed when it becomes inconvenient. But the Insurgency will remain loyal to us."
"This gives us…" I scanned the documents again, "massive off-book recruitment. Entire wars worth of potential D-class personnel, captured enemy soldiers, POWs, criminals, political dissidents…"
Julius nodded. "All funneled through them. Not us."
"And," Darius added, "we give them just enough anomalous tech to survive and thrive… without ever threatening us. Strategic crumbs. Not weapons we'd ever truly fear."
I exhaled slowly.This was dangerous. Brilliant. Morally questionable. Strategically flawless.A perfect example of why the Foundation existed—to control, to preserve, to manipulate the unseen threads of civilization.
"Alright," I said. "Let's break this down. First: leadership. If we want them to function independently and convincingly, they need a commander—someone intelligent enough to run operations, ruthless enough to enforce them, and charismatic enough to gather loyalists."
Darius slid another paper to me. "I've shortlisted several candidates. But our top choice is someone we… acquire."
"Acquire?" I repeated.
"A reincarnator," Julius said simply. "Another one of us. Someone like the five of us—but someone we don't openly bring into the Council. We use the system we were granted. We reincarnate a chosen individual, design their gifts, their mastery, then position them in the world so that when the Chaos Insurgency forms, they naturally rise to power within it."
I raised my brow. "You're proposing we create the founder of the Chaos Insurgency from scratch."
"Yes," the two said in unison.
Darius continued, "They'll be loyal—not to the Foundation publicly, but to us personally. The Five Founders."
Julius tapped the timeline on the chalkboard. "We need them born within the next ten years. That gives them time to grow, train, infiltrate early military academies, and be the perfect candidate when WWI ignites."
I nodded slowly. "I see. And the anomalies we give them?"
"Low to mid-tier," Julius said. "SCPs that wouldn't cripple us if stolen, but powerful enough to make them a credible threat."
"And technology?"
"Prototypes," Darius said. "Old models. Intentional flaws. Enough to give them an edge, never enough to make them independent from our influence."
I leaned back in the chair. The pieces were forming a perfect machine—one of deception, control, and long-term strategy.
"This is bold," I said. "Even for us."
Julius grinned. "That's why you'll approve it."
"And if it goes wrong?" I asked.
Darius shrugged. "Then we crush them in an afternoon. But it won't. Because their leader will answer to us and us alone."
I stared at the blueprint of the Chaos Insurgency—an organization that, in the public narrative, would be our greatest enemy, yet in truth, our most obedient creation.
Finally, I closed the file.Then I nodded."Alright. We do it."
Julius smirked.Darius exhaled with satisfaction.
I added, "We begin preparations immediately. We'll select our candidate for reincarnation within the week. And when the world goes to war… the Insurgency will be born in fire."
"And Hydra?" Julius asked.
I smiled slowly."We'll plant the seeds early. By the time Hydra rises, they won't even know who truly owns them."
Darius leaned back, pleased. "Then the future is ours."
"The future," I agreed, "always has been."