The elevator doors slid open with a soft metallic sigh, and I stepped into the pristine white corridor of Site-01. The floors gleamed, the lights hummed with that artificial perfection only the Foundation ever seemed to achieve, and even though I'd just left the chaos and noise of the X-Gene labs behind, the silence here felt heavier. Denser. Like the building itself knew what kind of decisions were made inside it.
I exhaled.
Orochimaru could handle the gene project. He was better than me in genetics anyway, and honestly, my time was more valuable elsewhere. With Rick Prime's mind fused into mine for so long, thinking too long about D-Class volunteers mutating in rows felt like a waste.
And today was one of those days.A day where the wrong decision could alter history, the wrong sentence could erase our advantage over the entire timeline.
The meeting room door opened automatically as I approached, scanning my ID, biometrics, and a few… less physical signatures. Inside, the other four were already waiting.
Julius. Darius. Sun Tzu. Cleopatra.
The Original Five.
The only people in existence who knew that we weren't born here — we were sent. Reincarnated by a god with a twisted sense of entertainment and equipped with systems powerful enough to break entire universes if we wanted to.
We never would.Not together.Not against each other.
But we could.
That was enough to keep us cautious.
I slid into my seat at the circular obsidian table. Julius smirked at me as if he knew I had been up all night dealing with mutated D-Class volunteers growing fins and metal-skin plates. Darius nodded in greeting. Sun Tzu watched silently, and Cleopatra already held a digital tablet full of data we'd be reviewing.
We didn't bother with formal O5 designations here.This was family — twisted, paranoid, dangerously intelligent family.
Darius, the Watcher, broke the silence first.
"So. World War One." He leaned back in his chair. "The world enters one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history… yet all of us know exactly how it unfolds. A foundation of leverage, opportunities, and resources. It would be a waste not to exploit it."
Julius chuckled, swirling the drink in his hand. "I've already drafted projections. The political instability alone is a goldmine. Countries will be desperate. Desperate governments make… excellent suppliers of D-class personnel."
Cleopatra smirked. "And desperate corporations make easy acquisitions. The seeds of future tech giants are beginning to form in this era. Not ready yet, of course, but we can position ourselves to absorb them the moment they grow."
Sun Tzu tapped the table once — a gesture that somehow always silenced the room.
"We must not alter history excessively," he said. "Our future knowledge is worth nothing if the future itself becomes unfamiliar. A single divergence too early, and the entire timeline collapses away from our expectations."
He wasn't wrong.
That was one of our biggest concerns.
I leaned forward, steepling my fingers. "Which is why our interventions must be invisible. We keep the war on its original path. But we take everything we can behind the scenes."
Darius nodded. "Exactly. Weapons testing. Massive D-Class procurement. Political influence. Although…" He turned to me. "Your little project with Lelouch is going better than expected."
Cleopatra's eyes sparkled. "Ten thousand subordinates. Multiple facilities. A fully operational rogue organization. Lelouch Lamperouge has exceeded every benchmark we projected."
Julius scoffed. "He's practically ruling a small shadow nation. And the criminal empire he built? I'm having the time of my life running that thing."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, because if anyone should run a criminal empire, it's you."
He grinned. "I do good work."
Sun Tzu folded his arms. "Lelouch's caution is an asset. The arrogance he once had has been tempered by experience. He is dangerous, but controllable. And loyal — or at least dependent enough to remain aligned with us."
"He better be," I muttered. "We gave him SCP-006. Enough for him and thirteen loyal individuals. And he's already using it to strengthen the upper ranks of the Chaos Insurgency."
Darius pulled up holographic projections of Lelouch's expanding network.
"This organization will be our primary tool during the war," he said. "Political disruptions. Acquisition of anomalous artefacts. Sabotage against efforts by governments to secure SCP objects for themselves."
Cleopatra scrolled through a list of newly identified anomalies from this century.
"The Russian Empire is already sniffing around potential SCP-objects," she said. "Germany too. Britain is… quietly aware of eldritch activity. They will all attempt to weaponize anomalies during wartime."
"Which we cannot allow," Sun Tzu added. "Even a minor SCP in the wrong hands could derail history."
I leaned back. "So the plan stands: Lelouch handles operations in Europe through the Chaos Insurgency. Julius runs intelligence through the underworld. Darius monitors timelines and divergences. Cleopatra handles corporate insertions and resource acquisition. Sun Tzu handles predictive models."
"And you?" Julius asked.
"I handle everything too dangerous for anyone else to trust."
They all smirked knowingly.
It wasn't arrogance.It was simply true.
Rick Prime's mind — merged with mine.
My chakra-enhanced body.
My mastery over SCP anomalous research, multiversal science, and strategy.
I was the ultimate problem solver of the Foundation.
Cleopatra crossed her legs and tilted her head thoughtfully. "We also need to address the elephant in the room. Your daughter."
The room grew still.
"My daughter is under control," I said calmly. "The bracelet works. She's limited to level-4 reality bending, and she stabilizes at level-2 most days."
Darius frowned. "You know the concern isn't her. It's what happens if someone gets to her."
"That's why I'm here," I said. "I'm not letting history, war, or the world touch her."
Sun Tzu nodded. "Then ensure she remains unseen during wartime. Reality benders have no place on a battlefield."
"She won't be anywhere near one," I said firmly. "Besides… she's twelve. She likes drawing little dragons more than rewriting the laws of physics. She's my daughter, not a weapon."
Cleopatra softened. "We know. It's just… she's precious. To all of us."
That was true.The Original Five adored her — in a very paranoid, overprotective way.
Julius cleared his throat. "Back to the war. We've identified several anomalies that will awaken due to mass death. We need early capture teams."
"And financial opportunities," Cleopatra added. "When certain companies begin forming in the next decades, we'll place ourselves so deeply inside their foundations that we essentially are the corporations."
"Apple," Julius said.
"Google."
"Samsung."
"IKEA," Cleopatra added, earning a collective groan.
"IKEA?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Trust me," she smirked. "That company becomes an eldritch labyrinth of capitalism."
The room laughed — a rare moment of levity for the Original Five.
Sun Tzu's voice brought us back to focus.
"So. The plan for WW1:— Chaos Insurgency infiltration.— Covert anomaly recovery.— Influence political outcomes without altering the major timeline.— Expand our assets.— Secure future monopolies.— And maintain historical stability."
Darius looked around the table.
"All in agreement?"
We nodded almost in unison.
Five reincarnated monsters who had shaped the Foundation into something far beyond what this world deserved.
Five friends who trusted each other more than reality itself.
Five people about to guide an entire war from the shadows.
I looked at the projections of Europe glowing above the table — a burning continent soon to plunge into hell.
"We're about to rewrite the foundations of the modern world," I said softly.
Julius grinned. "We already did."
And so the meeting began — and history, once again, quietly bent in our direction.