Thousands of world lines, spreading across the expanses of the fourth dimension. Each connected, each broken by a single choice. Alternate worlds, alternate realities living side by side, but never overlapping. This is the spiderweb we call time, woven in a tapestry of unstoppable chaos.

The web becomes more and more tangled by each choice made by minute creatures, by the living beings in the world. Every word, every action decides what path time will follow. Every decision breaks the thread of time into multiple possibilities. However, if you change one thing, the whole situation changes. Butterfly Effect.

The Butterfly Effect not only affects the individual, but drags all the people they know into the time thread their decision created. That does not stop people from reaching out and pulling the strings of time. Yet the single choice to do so creates a havoc more powerful than any force comprehensible by humankind. Time is harsh. Time is ever moving. Time leaves the results of every small detail choice in it's wake.

Playing with time is a dangerous game.

Chapter 1

Butterfly Affected

Makise Kurisu. A girl genius, already graduated from University at the extraordinary age of seventeen. Her papers already well known in the scientific community, she has a solid foundation for a career in Neurology.

However phenomenal her achievements may be, the now eighteen year old Kurisu isn't the only genius in the world, or in Japan for that matter. There are many geniuses of her age. One of them just so happened to be a fellow student of hers, graduated in her class at the same age, and already with a career as a Science Professor in the Tokyo Electronics University.

The girl professor walked down the halls of the University, her black heels clicking on the marble floor. Her honey-brown hair bounced in waves on her shoulders while she continued forward, framing her pale unblemished face. Balanced on her nose were glasses of the latest fashion, highlighting her grey-green eyes. Her green blouse, grey pencil skirt, pure white lab coat, and shining nametag made her stand out from among the crowds of students, making her social stance as a teacher prominent.

Hisakawa Akira. Eighteen, and beginning her first day as a guest teacher for a class on special relativity, or in other words: time travel.

Akira was always fascinated by the possibility of traveling through time, visiting the past or the future. So she spent endless hours studying theories and Einstein's concepts of relativity. She decided that she would make her focus be on such theoretical possibilities, and began pioneering multiple projects studying them. Most did not see her pursuits as something to study as avidly as she did, so she rarely spoke in front of a class, but today was different. She was going to speak to a freshman class about relativity and how it supported the basics of time travel before they attended a special press conference at the Radio Building in the Akihabara district.

Her hands gripped the folders she had clutched to her chest a bit tighter as the anticipation in her stomach grew into a much more wild excitement. This was her passion, and she finally had the chance to teach others about the concepts she so treasured. A small smile crept across her colored red lips. This was her moment to shine.

Slightly out of breath, the girl reached the top of a staircase and began walking down yet another hallway. At one of the branching halls she took a left and after a minute, reached the door that led to the classroom. Her classroom. For the day at least.

Her heart pounding, Akira pushed open the double doors that stood between her and the room lined with desks and chalkboards.

Twenty pairs of eyes turned to her in unison, making her freeze for a moment as if the gaze of the students were holding her in an opinion of disparagement. They were all rather incredulous, as they were no older than she was. Half the students face's turned into expressions of contempt. A lump of nervousness rose in the back of Akira's throat, but she swallowed it and put on a face of confidence.

Akira made her way to the front of the room and the student in the first chair called the order to rise and bow to the teacher. A common practice of respect for any teacher present in the University. After the students did so and returned to their seats, Akira cleared her throat and placed her folders on the desk.

"Good afternoon class. My name is Professor Hisakawa Akira." She wrote her name in hurried but clear print on the chalkboard behind her desk and turned back to the mostly skeptical faces of the students. "I'll be here teaching you about theories of relativity and how they relate to the possibility of time travel before you attend the lecture by Dr. Nakabachi this afternoon."

Respect was the only thing from keeping now more than half of the students from laughing in her face. It was true she could talk fancy, but her age clearly threw doubt on her abilities. She resisted the urge to bite her lip anxiously before continuing.

"Hopefully you've had time to cover basic relativity, but I'll give you a crash course to make sure we have the bases covered."

"There are two theories of relativity that were introduced by Albert Einstein: general relativity and special relativity. General relativity is a theory of gravitation and special relativity encompasses the realm of spacetime structure. The main focus here will be how these two have a connection to time and how we perceive it."

"While most see time as a constant, Einstein showed it is actually quite different. Time is an illusion; it's relative. It varies between the observer's point of view. He refers to time as the 'fourth dimension,' the other three obviously being width, height, and depth; three dimensional space. The theory of special relativity says that time slows down or speeds up depending on how fast something moves relative to something else. The general relativity theory also shows that theoretically, gravity can bend time."

She looked up from her notes and saw the boredom on the faces of the students. Clearly, they weren't having the easiest time understanding her. She quickly thought of a better way of capturing their attention.

"Picture this," she drew a cube and put an hourglass inside it. "A four dimensional plane, like fabric for example, only with the addition of time. Anything with mass that sits on the surface of that fabric will cause the fabric to bend towards that object. This theoretical four dimensional fabric is our spacetime plane. Bending space time causes objects to move on a curved path, which is actually what we perceive as gravity."

"Both the general and special relativity theories have been proven with GPS satellite technology that has very accurate timepieces on board. The effects of gravity, as well as the satellites' increased speed above the Earth relative to observers on the ground, make the unadjusted clocks gain 38 microseconds a day."

A few students had started to look interested, so Akira continued with more enthusiasm.

"This effect, time dilation, means in a sense that astronauts are time travelers, as they return to Earth slightly younger than, lets say they have an identical twin, on Earth. Time doesn't pass as quickly for them."

A student raised his hand. Akira nodded for him to speak, but he bent over his notebook and began scribbling. Confused, Akira blinked at him and watched for a minute, unsure of what to say. A moment later, he held up his notebook for her to read.

"So science has shown that in theory, time travel is possible? Not just a work of science fiction?"

Akira nodded. "Right. No one has yet tested time travel going into the past or the future. But there is the possibility. That possibility is what makes the idea something worth researching. In my opinion at least."

The student nodded to show he understood before he sat back down. Akira was a bit confused of the method he had used to ask his question, but decided to ignore it for the time being, as she had to manage the class.

Another raised her hand. "So now that we've established the theoretical chance of time travel actually working, how do other theories tie into it?"

"Well, there are many guesses as to how time travel itself works. There are wormhole theories that tie back to general relativity, tipler cylinder theory, cosmic strings, and others similar that attempt to explain possible routes for time travel itself." Akira explained.

"But none have actually been explored?"

"Not physically no. Nothing has been tested, because physics as we know it and technology, as advanced as it is, unfortunately limits our ability to even attempt time travel at this point. However, in the future, there may be more discoveries and then perhaps actual tests that would open the door to time traveling."

A young man in the back with wild black hair and a white lab coat stood up. "Time travel is real."

Akira and the other students looked at him incredulously.

"I-I'm sorry?" Akira stuttered. "What do you mean it's real? There's no proof it's an attainable feat at this point."

The young man shook his head. "Then how do you explain the internet phenomenon John Titor?"

The room went abuzz with chatter. Akira knew who this man spoke of. John Titor, the man supposedly from 2036. When he appeared in 2000, he had posted pictures of a time machine and the operation manual on a public forum, and supposedly answered many questions about the physics of time travel. What made his story more believable were his eerie predictions about incidents like the second gulf war occurring, and physics discoveries that had come to light, just as he predicted on the forum. The strangest thing he claimed was his worldline being different from the one he visited. Their future was apparently much more different from the worldline that current time was moving forward on.

Akira shrugged. "Just like you describe, a phenomenon. It's either a scam, or a real time traveler who did try to show us it is possible. I leave the choice up to you. I'm not here to tell you everything about time travel, only to prepare you for the lecture given later by Dr. Nakabachi."

The man shrugged, flipped his lab coat dramatically, and sat back down, deep in thought. The young man was unusually eccentric.

The bell rang, bringing Akira's class to an end.

"Before you go, I have a few official announcements to give you. Firstly, the lecture is at the press conference is something you will earn credits for. Attendance is not required, but recommended. My lecture will not earn you credits. Secondly, it is at the Radio Building in the Akihabara district, for those of you who don't know."

Akira adjusted her glasses as the students respectfully bowed in unison and began filing out the door. As the last student left the classroom, she breathed out a heavy sigh of relief and leaned back against the chalkboard. She had done it. Her first real lecture. And what's more, it was a success, prompting discussion itself from the students she had taught.

"There's nothing more satisfying than being able to express your passion to others and have it well received." She thought to herself, zoning out and gazing intently at the ceiling. "Hopefully, I'll have another chance to-"

A noise pulled her from her brief daze of euphoria. She sat up straight and looked around the empty room. Nobody was in any of the seats, so that couldn't have been what she had heard. Gathering her folders, she walked out from behind her desk and looked behind the filing cabinet, checking for something that may have fallen. A finger suddenly tapped her shoulder.

"EEEEEKKK!" Akira let out a cry of surprise and dropped her folders while whirling to face the culprit. Her folders burst open, sending papers in a sudden shower around their heads.

The boy from earlier, the one who had written in his notebook instead of speaking, was standing there, a very guilty expression on his face. He began wildly making apologetic gestures and bent to help gather the floating pages scattering on the floor, blown around by the air conditioning.

"I'm so sorry!" Akira exclaimed, kneeling down and snatching papers from the floor. "I'm a real klutz. I didn't realize someone was here. Don't worry about this I'll pick it up." She babbled, speaking quickly from her embarrassment.

The boy shook his head, made a calming gesture, and continued to help her retrieve the pages, gathering them into a neat stack that she could sort through without too much problem. Akira watched him as they worked, her curiosity piqued.

He was tall, probably four inches above her height of five-foot four. His hair was black and slightly scruffy, brushing the top of his black rimmed glasses. His bangs almost hid his light brown eyes, which sparkled through the clear lenses of his glasses. One would probably describe him as good looking, except his quiet demeanor prevented him from standing out from other men.

"Thank you." Akira said gratefully when they had collected all of her notes.

The boy smiled briefly and nodded, as if to say "You're welcome." He stood and held out his hand to help her up.

She smiled back and stood up with his assistance. "I really appreciate your help. What's your name?"

The boy quickly scribbled something on his notebook page, and showed it to her.

"Etsuko Dean-san?" She said slowly, trying to affirm her correct pronunciation.

He nodded.

"It's a real pleasure to meet you Etsuko-san." She hesitated. "If I might be so bold...why do you not speak?"

The boy pressed his lips together in a thin line, but he began writing, Akira watching as he did so.

"I was born able to talk but a few years ago, I was in a car accident. Smoke, whiplash trauma, and gaseous fumes from the cars damaged my larynx permanently." The boy waited for her to finish reading before he continued. "It doesn't really bother me. It's just a small obstacle to overcome in everyday life."

Akira bowed her head slightly, looking down at her black heels. "I'm sorry that happened to you, but I'm glad you weren't hurt otherwise."

Etsuko nodded again, and gestured to the door in a questioning manner.

"Oh yes, it was about time I left. You should probably head over to the Radio Building. The press conference will be starting in a half hour." Akira suggested as they exited the room.

Etsuko shrugged. "I've gathered a good amount of credits already, so I don't really need to go to it as much as others would. But it would be an enlightening experience, just like your lecture."

Akira laughed. "I'd say go for it. It would be fun."

Etsuko laughed silently, his breath coming in small airy bursts. "I'll pass. I've had a long day today. I'll ask my classmate Okabe to fill me in."

Akira nodded and bid him farewell before she left, parting ways at the path to the student dorms, where Etsuko began walking. Akira quickly went to the station nearby and began her journey to the Radio Building. She wanted to listen in on the conference herself, and eagerly anticipated the information Dr. Nakabachi had to present.

It did not take long for her train to reach Akihabara station. Akira hurried down the street to where the building was glowing, the neon lights of the surrounding buildings glinting on the glass windows. She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

She passed up the one weird student in the hallway. He was accompanied by a young girl wearing blue who was begging him for a small plastic toy from a nearby dispenser. She took no notice and went upstairs to the room where the conference was to be held.

It didn't take long for others to gather, and eventually everyone was seated and Dr. Nakabachi had begun his speech. Akira began listening attentively and flipping through the booklet provided.

"DOCTOOOOR!"

Akira jumped with surprise at the sudden loud outburst. She looked to her right to see the eccentric student from her lecture challenging Dr. Nakabachi.

"These theories are John Titor's! You've basically ripped his whole story and put it in this booklet!"

Akira looked closer, realizing that the student was actually right. Odd. She hadn't even noticed until he had pointed it out. Disgusted that there was nothing new to be found here, she left the room without drawing too much attention to herself. What a waste of valuable time.

She stomped down to the ground level floor and began rifling through her folder, reorganizing her notes. She sat on the bottom step, lost in her concentration. The nerve of the man, just reusing old theories already discovered. He had promised new discussions and facts that would be unearthed, but he stole the ideas of the internet phenomenon.

Akira thought for a moment. Then she realized that if the John titor story was really true...then was it possible? Could the scientific community be actually investigating the story and trying to utilize it into their factual research?

The honey haired girl stood up just as an announcement blared on the intercom.

"Everyone please evacuate the building. Repeat, leave the building immediately."

Akira was puzzled, but she complied. When she reached the street, she began listening to those around her, trying to figure out what was going on. She saw the one student and began making his way towards him. The blue girl was standing beside him, worry in her eyes.

Akira heard them talking.

"Okarin, are you alright? You look pale." Her high pitched childish voice reached Akira's ears easily.

Okarin, as she now knew he was called, slowly turned to look at his companion, then gazed back at the building in shock. "Someone….died."

Akira's heart pounded in her ears. Murder? Murder here at the Radio Building? Her legs felt weak from the sudden weight of shock that crashed down on her.

"It could have been me. Or him, or his young friend there. But who was it...that died?" Akira's panicked thoughts swirled in confusion as she began walking away with the others gathered around the building.

She went down the street so she could easily reach the Akihabara station and get away from all this. She didn't feel too well after hearing what had happened. People pressed to get to the station around her, most likely trying to clear the area to avoid police questioning. She shouldered her way through, and began making her way to the courtyard right before the station.

Suddenly, her head pounded and her heart rate skyrocketed. She fell to her knees and gasped loudly. Images flashed through her head. Then suddenly...

All was quiet.

Akira looked up to an empty street. Nobody was there. The crowd that had been pushing her moments before was gone. Dazed, she staggered to her feet and leaned against a nearby wall to catch her breath. Was she dreaming? Had she fallen asleep?

She decided that the heat and shock of the day had caused her to hallucinate, so she stood up straight and went to the station to wait for her train. Her day had taken an unexpected turn. However, it had changed far more than she realized.