"Apollyon-class SCPs are considered impossible to contain," Maria Hill explained, her tone flat but heavy with implication. "And they are extrely 'active' in causing end-of-the-world scenarios."
Every word she spoke seed to lower the temperature in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters by another degree.
When she finished, the room went dead silent.
Nick Fury kept his eyes locked on the screen.
"Apollyon" wasn't just a word—it was a verdict.
A death sentence for the world.
Keter was bad. Apollyon was beyond that.
Apollyon-class anomalies were the kind of threats that guaranteed planetary destruction.
They weren't just uncontainable.
They were destined to win.
---
In the footage, Hughes finally spoke.
> "The only thing that could prevent an XA-class scenario is if sothing else, like another Apollyon-class anomaly, destroyed the world first."
He closed the file, rubbing his temple.
> "Their relative threat levels aren't asured by material containnt but by the number of inevitable years. And my guess? We've got a single-digit number."
He looked around the table. "Do we even have an Apollyon classification?"
O5-8 responded without emotion.
"No."
"No?" Hughes raised a brow.
O5-8 offered a faint smile. "The Overseers believe the Apollyon label is too defeatist. It damages morale. The plan is to reclassify existing Apollyons as Keter within the year."
He leaned forward slightly. "Now, what do you think?"
---
Hughes stared at him, eyes tired but sharp.
"You want containnt procedures? We've had this talk before. You know the answer."
O5-8 said softly, "We're assuming the first ti didn't work."
Hughes gave a twisted smile.
> "We could just destroy all intelligent life."
The room froze.
Even the livestream audience, already jaded by the absurdities of SCPs, fell into stunned silence.
"Did he just say—kill all intelligent life?"
Was he serious?
---
Wheeler spoke up, her voice calm but firm.
"You've joked about that before. You're not serious now, are you?"
Hughes turned toward her slowly.
"I am completely serious. And it would work."
He paused.
"The Foundation's mission is 'Secure, Contain, Protect.' Maybe it should've added: 'Preserve as many humans as possible.'"
That shook everyone.
A silent chill passed through the screen.
---
One of the overseers interrupted.
"It's self-evident that we want to protect humanity." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs noᴠelfire
Hughes smirked.
"Control the anomaly. Contain the anomaly. Protect the anomaly. Any other definitions you'd like to share?"
It was a brutal jab at the SCP motto, but no one argued.
Finally, O5-8 stepped in to calm the conversation.
"We're not going to exterminate humanity. That's not on the table."
The tension settled.
Hughes took a breath.
"Then there's another option: shut down all tic and antitic research. Everywhere."
---
Gasps spread through the room.
"Shut down the whole field?"
"No more anti studies?"
"That's suicide."
But Hughes raised his voice, determined.
> "Abolish the field. End every experint. Brainwash every researcher. If no one knows what SCP-3125 is, it stays buried."
> "We contain it not by fighting it—but by forgetting it exists."
---
Nick Fury narrowed his eyes.
"Just like the bomb from 1976…"
Thirty years ago, a conceptual nuke wiped SCP-3125 from existence—not physically, but cognitively.
And now, Hughes wanted to repeat the process—on a global scale.
---
In the footage, the rest of the room pushed back imdiately.
"No," Wheeler said firmly.
"We've already seen precursor anomalies. SCP-3125 is coming. We can't hide from it anymore."
Hughes went quiet.
The creature he feared—he couldn't even fully think about it without risking death.
It was breaking him.
And he knew it.
---
After a mont, O5-8 took the floor.
"The Foundation exists to protect. Normally, that ans securing and containing anomalies. Destruction is discouraged."
His voice beca firr.
"But high-ranking personnel—like myself—are authorized to make exceptions. And I am doing that now."
> "We will destroy SCP-3125."
> "Once and for all."
---
The screen didn't react.
But the livestream erupted:
> "They're going to kill SCP-3125?!"
"Finally! A full neutralization order!"
"The Foundation may be cold, but damn—they do what needs to be done."
---
Back in the footage, Hughes didn't respond imdiately.
Instead, he shared a story.
> "When I joined the Foundation, I asked my ntor: 'What's the biggest anomaly we've ever contained?'"
> "He told a rumor. That in the early days, the Abrahamic religions weren't monotheistic. There were three capital-G gods."
> "And about 150 years ago… the Foundation killed two of them."
---
The livestream exploded.
> "WHAT?!?"
"The Foundation killed two GODS?!"
"I'm sorry, WHAT is happening right now??"
"That's not just powerful. That's terrifying."
---
Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One stood still.
The look on her face was one of shock—and awe.
"Two gods… eliminated by humans?"
Her mind reeled.
Even minor gods were dangerously powerful.
But the Foundation?
They didn't worship gods.
They erased them.
---
Asgard.
Loki's mouth fell open.
"Killed… gods?"
He swallowed hard.
"Are we really gods, or just deluded mortals?"
---
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury stared, speechless.
They had stored divine beings before—like SCP-343.
But this was different.
This was execution.
---
Back in the footage, Hughes was shaken.
> "It's been 20 years since that conversation. Our tic tech is billions of tis stronger now. I helped build it."
> "I know what's possible. And what isn't."
Then, he faltered.
He didn't have a solution.
Not yet.
---
Then O5-8 stepped in.
"You suggested earlier… a stronger than SCP-3125. One specifically designed to counter it. A 'counter-.'"
---
And suddenly, everything clicked.
The Fictitious Amplifier.
The theoretical weapon.
The machine built not to kill the creature—but to cancel it out.
---
Hughes's face lit up.
"It'll take years. Massive resources. Total isolation. The lab has to be completely sealed from outside ideas—"
Then he froze.
And smiled.
> "…We already built it."
---
Gasps spread across the room.
> "The lab's complete. We finished it 20 years ago. We trained our best minds. We're ready. We just… haven't started."
His excitent was palpable.
> "We can do this. This is why we're eting, isn't it? The counter-—it's ti, right?"
He looked at everyone around the table.
Searching for confirmation.
---
Wheeler nodded.
> "When you joined the Foundation, you were told this day would co. That one day, without warning, you'd be asked to give everything you have for the sake of humanity."
> "Your team is in the bunker. The lab is ready. We'll fake your death. I
t's ti to go underground."
---
Hughes blinked.
His voice cracked.
"…My team's already there?"
"Yes," she said.
"They're waiting. And now… so are you."
---
The fight wasn't over.
But finally,
The Foundation had a weapon.
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