(The scene opens with the party of the Hoshidan children. Kanaya, Kiragi, Shiro, Galatea, Sumiko, and Tempest are walking together.)
Kiragi: I hope we'll be there soon... We've seen nothing but empty space for ages.
Shiro: If you ask me, we got to Valla a while ago... We just aren't in the spot that guy wanted us to be in.
Galatea: This place is abandoned... How awful.
Sumiko: I-I bet a lot of people got hurt if the land is this beaten... It looks like nobody has been here in years.
Tempest: If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's been well over three decades. Nobody has been here since we were born, that's for sure.
Kanaya: I wonder where that boy is... He wouldn't just abandon us, right?
?: I wouldn't dream of it.
(The boy with blue hair appears nearby.)
Shiro: Damn it! Don't scare us like that!
?: My apologies.
Sumiko: Um... If you don't mind my asking... What's your name?
Shigure: You... You can call me Shigure.
Kanaya: Shigure... What do you want with us? Why did you tell us to come here?
Tempest: You had better not be planning anything bad, because if you try anything...
Shigure: I wouldn't dream of it. I want to end this fighting just as much as the rest of you do, and that isn't possible if you're hurt.
Kiragi: Well, here we are in Valla. You said you were going to be meeting us here with other people, but I don't see anyone else.
Shigure: There's one specific location that I'll need you to travel to first.
Galatea: Great, because this clearly isn't a trap at all.
Shigure: There are mines here in Valla not far from where we stand now. Inside, there is a passage to the area where the rest of the fighters are waiting for us.
Kiragi: I don't know... How can we be sure you're telling the truth?
Kanaya: I feel weirdly connected to him... I think he's being honest.
Sumiko: Are you sure, Kanaya...?
Shiro: We trust you and all, but we don't want to risk running straight into a trap.
Galatea: If this turns out to be a trap, we'll fight our way out of it. If Shigure thinks he can get away with that, he's sorely mistaken.
Shigure: ...
Tempest: I suppose there is no other option...
Shigure: Head due north for a while. You'll arrive there soon... And... Thank you for your help. You're doing great so far.
(Shigure pulls a small blue stone from his pocket. It begins to glow, and he disappears completely.)
Kiragi: How did he disappear like that...?!
Shiro: That blue stone of his must have done it...
Sumiko: I guess all we can do is keep going... The mines await us.
Galatea: I wonder where he ran off to... This is arguably the most important part of the recruitment process, but he still ditched us.
Kanaya: I know he's telling the truth though... I can just... I can tell.
Tempest: I wonder how you two could be connected... It's strange.
Shiro: Let's just keep walking... We still have a ways to go.
(The group continues moving. There's a brief transition, and afterwards, the children are standing outside the entrance to the mine.)
Kiragi: Those stones Shigure had... They're everywhere!
Galatea: If I had to guess, they're far from cheap...
Tempest: Let's enter the mines. If the people we're supposed to meet are really inside, maybe we can finally get a damn explanation out of Shigure.
Kanaya: Alright... Let's do it then.
Sumiko: I have a bad feeling about this...
(The children start to head deeper into the mines. Eventually, it becomes dark enough that the only light provided is the gentle glow of the blue stones, leaving the area quiet and eerie. The darkness seems to be closing in from all sides.)
Kanaya: Did... Did you guys hear that? It sounded like something was walking towards us...
Sumiko: O-Oh no! Turn around!
(Invisible soldiers show themselves behind the party.)
Kiragi: Those things are back?! How many times are we going to have to swat them away before they get the message?!
Shiro: Apparently, it's a lot more than we would have initially expected...
Galatea: Regardless of how many times we have to go through these motions again, we're going to have to take them out. If we want to keep going, we'll have to get rid of them.
Tempest: Galatea is right. They'll only hinder our progress the longer we leave them be, so it's time for us to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
Shiro: Fighters of Hoshido! To arms!
(The battle begins. The chapter is a fog of war based map and an escape mission. The objective is to defeat as many enemies as possible before escaping through the top of the map to go deeper into the mines. Selkie has increased vision due to being a beast unit, and any units classed as ninjas also have increased vision, the primary example of this being Asugi.)
(After the chapter ends, Kanaya, Kiragi, Shiro, Galatea, Tempest, and Sumiko stand together once more.)
Kiragi: I don't understand... It's a dead end. There's nothing here.
Shiro: Shigure told us this would be the place where we would find the other fighters from this so-called resistance... But it's empty. Nothing is here.
Kanaya: I don't understand... Why would he lie to us...?
Sumiko: Think about the stone thing he used to disappear before... I wonder if we have to use these rocks for something.
Galatea: We don't even know how they work. How can we unlock their power if we can't even use them?
Tempest: They seem to have teleportation powers... Let's hold onto them and think about going to Shigure. Maybe that will point us in the right direction.
Shiro: I guess I'll go first... Let's get this over with.
(Shiro picks up a nearby rock and holds it. Soon after, he disappears.)
Kiragi: It looks like it worked... Everyone, get ready!
(Kiragi follows Shiro's actions and vanishes. The other children in the party, meaning everyone aside from Kanaya, Tempest, Galatea, and Sumiko, do the same thing.)
Kanaya: I-I hope they're all going to the same place...
Sumiko: I don't know for sure... But I'm going to try and follow them!
(Sumiko disappears after grabbing a stone.)
Tempest: I'll see you both on the other side.
Galatea: As to you.
(Tempest and Galatea do the same, leaving Kanaya alone.)
Kanaya: Mother... Is this the right thing to do? Is this the the path you want me to follow? ...I wish you were around to give me the answer... I miss you...
(Kanaya picks up a stone and disappears, leaving the area empty once again.)
Kanaya is baby
-Digital