/REVISED/Prologue: Leap Forwards and Backwards

REVISED CHAPTER: SEE A/N BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR MORE INFO

"I guess you were right, It was all my fault. All my decisions and their repercussions. Despite how bold this might seem, I'm asking for your help. You're the only one I can trust. You'll probably forget these words, but it won't matter. Not to mention You've already seemed to have forgotten a few things, more than you think."

"That's fine, I've more to say, but let's take things slow. It won't make any sense right now."

"Sensei."

/3:46 AM /WASHINGTON, DC/

/FACILITY REDACTED/HALLWAY 2B ZONE A/

/0:53:45/TILL SINGULARITY SHIFT/

Muffled mortar fire echoed throughout the concrete walls of the narrow hallways, rampaging in an almost rhythmic tune orchestrated by the heavy artillery outside. With each strike rattling the walls, thick clouds engulfed the corridors in a thick smog of dirt and debris.

Amid the chaos, in stark contrast to the surrounding atmosphere, a middle-aged man dressed in a pristine officers uniform void of any creases or unnecessary folds strides forward; his posture was tall and firm, briskly marching down the hall, paying no mind to the passing staff and personnel as they quickly urged themselves to the side - Many of them were careful of not getting in the giant's way lest they face his wrath.

The man's gritted face matched the bleak atmosphere well; the decorated officer held a 'beyond pissed' face, further exemplified by the numerous scars from previous battles that frame the veteran's tight-lipped and ragged expression.

The officer was being pushed to his limit, Irritation on clear display; his hands tightened hard in a vice-like grip around the minuscule phone, pressed against his ear. With one free hand, he roughly caressed his scruffy brown hair, moving the phone far enough away to let out a deep sigh, a moment for him to vent, before continuing to bark away at the phone.

"Yes, I'm well aware of their current conditions within each of their profiles."

"Why, of course, that's because I'm the one who wrote the report."

"More importantly, however, did you even take the time to do more than a short glance at the notes within the report - that I made sure to specifically highlight?"

"Okay, now you're just shittin with me!"

The man paused, ceasing his onslaught momentarily as he darted his eyes around the walls; the outside artillery now striking more rapidly and in higher volumes.

"It's getting worse." He grimly muttered, letting out another irritated groan, using one hand to pinch his scrunched face.

"Enough of this bullshit doctor, despite the potential this gate provides, in the turning of this war - I can't let you proceed with what you have planned."

The last sentence oozed with poison as a finger jabbed against the disconnect button. Without a moment of hesitation, he buried the device inside his pockets, continuing his anger-fueled stride.

XXXXXX

/4:11 AM/Washington DC/

/FACILITY REDACTED/PROVING LAB ZONE A/

/0:28:30/ TILL SINGULARITY SHIFT /

Inside one of the faculty proving grounds, sounds of chatter resonated with the soft hums and whirs of machinery blaring throughout the room. A wide array of computer monitors, either normal or high-tech holo-imagery, were strewn about; the subtle hues illuminated the room with an ominous glow. Residing within were people hard at work, running like a well-oiled machine as swarms of lab personnel hastily moved from one station to the other gripping pencils and papers passing info to seated staff typing away at their keyboards.

On the opposite side of the room, a massive box the size of a small living room lays dormant. Piles of wires traveling along the concrete floor channeled themselves into massive pillars appropriated to each corner. Engraved in the stones were veins of what seemed to be blue energy pulsating with light. A multitude of menacing signs and painted lines bearing similar messages of 'Danger' or 'Do Not Cross' were plastered on the concrete floors further adding to the box's menacing presence.

Each side of the box was layered in a monstrous amount of steel, aside from the wall facing the rest of the Lab - Gone was the steel in its place, a thick layer of one-sided reinforced glass; inside was an empty room with its walls, ceilings, floors painted In a pale white, contrasting the dark lab outside.

Near one of the lab's corners, an older man with visible gray hair stood firm, letting out an exasperated sigh as he tucked a device inside his lab coat's pocket.

"I assume that call was with one of the facility officers?" One of the scientists questioned.

Yes, but pay it no mind, as dense as he is, his continued fight has yet to break down the walls that confine this world. What we have here are infinite possibilities, a chance to forever solve all our issues." The old man slowly walked over to a nearby computer, eyes focused on a monitor that displayed the box's white interior. Inside four boys remain seated, facing each other as they rummage through their bags and equipment.

"Are they ready?" The man asked. A staff member nodded om reply as they continued to type various inputs on their keyboard.

"Not to question your judgment sir but are those four the best choice-? They look young enough to be teenagers, probably no older than seventeen sir."

The old man turned his gaze towards the cube. Various machinery began to come to life as the room vibrated in response.

"We're out of time, any available personnel is either stationed on the frontlines or too injured to fight. The higher-ups have no interest in pooling their already scarce resources on a project too dependent on chance - Those boys despite their appearance, fought and managed to survive a grueling four-month operation on the eastern front - Their quick to adapt and show great resourcefulness; everything we need for this task."

"And now the officers no longer see them as an asset; they would have wasted such great potential." The old man scoffed, pulling a file from the insides of his coat, searching through an assortment of papers.

"Those four have a long history, not to mention the loss of their whole unit during their most recent operation." The man paused, eyes squinting hard as he glossed over the written sheets.

"It certainly took a toll on their mental health - However, every detail, whether significant or not, still plays as a major variable within the equation."

The man rubbed his chin momentarily as he took out four sheets of paper among the pile, carefully scanning the various columns and rows for confirmation before placing the rest on a nearby table.

"Every other one of their companions was either marked KIA or MIA - yet, there are some names here unlisted."

Turning his gaze back towards the monitor; the four boys sat patiently garnering their gear and doing final equipment checks. He walked over to an intercom at a nearby desk.

"Despite their lack of formal training, those four experienced and persevered through challenges that demonstrate a strong level of determination that many fail to display."

XXXXXX

Contrary to the chaotic lab outside, the pale room inside remained eerily silent. Sounds of bags and clothing ruffling alongside the occasional low grunts were the only thing breaking up the silence between the four boys.

One of the boys looked up from their inspection, taking glances at the three others in the room: The boy was Asian, smaller but not scrawny in comparison to the rest of his peers, bearing short black hair styled in a faded, but messy on the top undercut, and an oval but defined face to match his slick but more laidback appearance. His attire was no different: an all-black lower half featuring sneakers, jeans, a black solid plastic holster, knee, and elbow pads; full kevlar gloves alongside a black vest over a baggy gray hoodie. The boy tugged and pulled along his clothing as he readjusted the straps to his black Miltec Gen 2 plate carrier vest.

Glimpsing to his left, mouth curling up to form a mischievous, eyeing another squad member. "Hey, D-boy, whatda ye think we're gonna find on the other side?"

To his left, a larger more muscular Hispanic man poked his head up, eyeing the boy; his eyebrows raised, the neutral face he had dipping to a sour scowl. The heavyset closed his eyes, inhaling sharply as he rubbed his short tapered buzz-cut black hair. A boxy face with an even more prominent jaw framed his overall intense but neutral aura. Taking a moment to fix his all-black attire, refitting his: combat boots, elbow, and knee pads, the boy pulled hard on his kevlar gloves, patting his white shirt down before tucking into his Miltec jacket.

"Oi Feng, stop callin me by that shit ass nickname."The boy sighed, dragging a hand across his face before strapping in his black Cyclone plate carrier. "Diego's short enough man."

The aforementioned Feng chuckled lightly, muttering behind his smirk. "Whatever you say, D-man."

"Vete a la mierda." Diego cursed, tilting his head back as he sunk into his chair, writhing in irritation. Feng could only chuckle louder as Deigo flipped him the bird.

One of the boys sitting across the two looked up from his bag; the boy smiled lightly upon seeing the two continue poking jabs at one another.

Taking a moment to straighten his posture, the boy readjusted thin-framed glasses, with one hand combing his black hair to the side, fingers brushing past the blonde tips. He was caucasian, on the thinner side but slightly taller than his friend Feng; still significantly shorter than Diego. Similar to Feng, the boy wore a mix of civilian clothes with tactical gear. The blonde gripped the collar of his white shirt, fidgeting in his seat as the boy adjusted his clothing. He tugged on his blue jeans before moving down, strapping in his knee pads and tightening his black sneakers. Satisfied with the changes, the boy finished with his elbow pads and his fingerless gloves before squeezing inside his green fleece.

"If you really must know Feng." The blonde stated.

Feng stopped, both him and Diego turning their attention to the aforementioned blonde.

"The lab has done numerous scans and aside from the essentials, the location is entirely foreign." He cleared his throat, reaching down for his bag to slip into his black Crossdraw vest.

"Shit man - Wait! Yo, Shi, are we going to space or something?" Feng questioned.

"Again, with nicknames" The blonde Poked his head up, an ice-like stare narrowing through his glasses lenses towards Feng." Please just call me by my full name 'Shiloh'."

Shiloh paused, taking his glasses off, rubbing a spare cloth against the lens. "Who knows, like I said, completely unknown to any records of earth and any nearby planets in our system."

"So how do we know we ain't just teleing to some volcanic rock-? Kinda sus man if you ask me." Feng questioned further, with the last one in the group yet to speak, quietly listening in on the conversation.

The boy, just like Feng, was Asian: average in size although slightly more built, middle of the line, with the rest of the group; barely taller than Feng but shorter than Shiloh. He had faded short hair in which he combed forward. Sticking to the civilian theme the boy wore similar attire to Feng but with a more refined and professional look. A generally all-black outfit featuring: sneakers, jeans with a holster strapped on top; all matching in color. Straightening his back, the boy buttoned up his black shirt before strapping in the rest of his pads. Shoving his hands in a pair of fingerless gloves, he finished off by tucking himself inside his Viper VX buckle-up plate carrier.

"The scans were meant to determine if the singularity shift is sending us to an actual habitable place. I don't know the science behind it at all, but we're being sent there to do recon and hopefully come back with intel regarding any available resources or potential the new locale can offer."

"Yo, no way man-! Palus he ain't mute, who would've thunk." Feng teased, surprised to even hear a word come out of the recently quiet boy - Given recent events

Turning his chair to face him, he sunk into the chair, arms crossed. "How do you know all th-"

"I read the brief." Palus interrupted.

Feng's eyes widened, innocent smile turning into a small frown as he glanced over to his left. "There was a brief?"

"Nah, that shit had way too much words - I wasn't reading all that." Diego shrugged, throwing his hands up.

Palus and Shiloh sighed, a few weak chuckles from the boys, rejuvenating the previously dead atmosphere - Only for a moment, however, soon dying off to the awkward silence as the group turned back to their inspection.

With various questions plaguing his mind, Shiloh's eyes darted rapidly between Palus and his bag - on the fence, weighing the positives and benefits, before finally submitting to his curiosity.

"Hey P-" Before the blonde could finish, a loud beep rang throughout the room's speaker system, long static abruptly fading to sounds coming from the lab outside as the signal settled.

An older man cleared his throat as the sound of machinery buckling and chattering sprung to life. "Gentlemen it's time"

"Palus, I recommend you prepare your team. You have roughly five to ten minutes to prepare for the leap." Followed by a loud beep, the signal disconnects as the four boys trade looks; their faces, a mixture of confidence, webbed in faint traces of fear.

Sinking into his chair, Palus, the supposed leader smiled slightly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back facing upwards toward the ceiling.

Ya know..." The other three paused, heads raised with all eyes focused on their aforementioned leader. "Regardless of how this operation goes, failure, success, hell even if this ends up being our final moment together, I'm glad we at least took the opportunity to die standing. What matters most is the choices we make, not the experiences we have." Palus paused, a small trickle of fluid visible in the corner of his eyes.

With a newfound determination, the boy stood up, glancing at each of his teammates with a gleaming sparkle. "Whatdya say, boys, let's make our brothers and sisters proud."

The room began to shift and vibrate in response, muffled sounds of what seemed to be earth and steel tearing away at each other came from outside the room's steel carapace. The four, however, paid it little mind as a spark of hope fuelled their determination.

With renowned vigor and inspiration radiating from their lit faces, free of any worry or fear, one by one the boys stood up from their seats, nodding heads in approval while flashing each other a firm look. Even Shiloh, the usual quiet no-bullshit kinda guy, was bearing a toothy grin; all of them were.

They've lost brothers, sisters many of which they viewed as their blood relatives. Now they have an opportunity to die standing - hoping to have spent their final breaths at least attempting to fight back. Even if it were just moot banter, words, and actions that ultimately lead to nothing, the squads' simple act of smiling in the face of true, unknown, and potential death sent a message, a message that read defiance, refusal to quit, refusal to let the ones they've lost die in vain; a reality they refuse to accept.

"Fuckin aye that's wha I like to hear vato." Diego cheered, rising from his seat, giving his chest a hearty pound. Feng stood up as well, eyes sparkling with energy as he reached down, grabbing his ball cap firmly placing it on top of his head. "All aboooaaarddd - Who here's ready-? Cause we all got express tickets to god knows where." Feng announced, raising a fist in triumph.

Diego gave the Asian boy a hard slap on the back, letting out a loud cheer that permeated with a shimmering sensation, a feeling that's been absent for who knows how long.

"Yeaaaah ur damn right about that-! I would have been mad pissed if I spent my final years sittin around in some refugee center dying of old age - starving n shit!"

Everyone laughed, including Palus; all except for Shiloh, who was still seated, albeit bearing a goofy grin, as he watched his friend's joyous moment together.

It didn't go unnoticed, however, as Feng strode over behind the blonde, crouching down, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "C'mon now Shi - show me some of that team spirit.'' Shiloh chuckled lightly, huffing hard as he weakly twirled his finger in the air in celebration "Woo-hooo.."

A feeble but genuine laugh, given the boy's timid nature, followed as the two nodded firmly - trading smiles before joining in with the others.

The moment of joy echoed throughout the room for several minutes - with each of the boys, mostly Feng and Diego, chanting or reciting some kind of boisterous rallying cry to raise spirits.

Despite the almost festive moment among the four - the moment died down, their voices fading to murmurs - then silence.

The noise grew louder, outright overpowering the air around them with the vicious sound of an unknown entity chewing and ripping away at the steel.

The four furrowed their brows, eyes narrowing to an intense razor-sharp stare that scanned the entire room; they were alert - their senses informing them of a possible unknown threat. The muffled and drowned-out sounds of whirring machinery that the four boys previously ignored were now a slow deep roar that seeped into their ears and soon ricocheted inside their heads - time seemed to stop.

No, it's as if their whole world stopped.

"This doesn't seem right..."Palus whispered.

This noise was close but too close, a sound that seeped underneath their skins, coursing through their veins, sending an unnatural feeling along their whole body. Soon their vision blurred, Palus was first to notice, wide-eyed and staring blankly at the palms of his hands.

"Hey, is anyone feelin this right now?" The voice was muffled, but Palus could make it out as Fengs. Despite his conscious wanting to reply, words failed to formulate a choking sensation reducing his voice down to a silent croak.

Drowned-out sounds from his friends berated his ears as each of them, one by one, fell limp on the ground.

He could hear it - no Palus could feel it - a strong anonymous force pressing down on his body, bringing him to his knees.

"The hell's going on-"

He was the last to collapse, vision fading, body too heavy to keep up as he submitted to the otherworldly force. Through his impaired vision, the last he could make out was a blue crack within the air, slowly growing, consuming physical matter as the room, gradually broke down - chunk by chunk, concrete, and steel being flayed off.

His vision grew dark; sounds of earth and metal collapsing in on itself began to fade away as a woman's voice barely broke past Palus's impaired hearing.

"Sensei-"

XXXXXX

Back outside in the lab, all members of staff were furiously working away. The commotion from earlier turned into a full-blown flurry of voices relaying information and scientific jargon back at one another; It was chaos. Machines roared loud as red lights began flooding the darkroom, intertwining with glaring blue light engulfing the room's other half - a discord of red and blue challenging one another, signaling an error in the labs' experiment.

"What do you mean there's been an error!" The recently calm and collected doctor was now fuming, his eyes glowing with a ravenous fire matching the red-stained room.

"Doctor we don't know! everything should've gone according to plan all variables were accounted for inclu-''

The scientist was cut off as the main door burst open. A towering giant came marching in, fists clenched, posture looming over in an almost predatory hunch - It was the captain; any person that dared get in his way was roughly shoved to the side by the towering behemoth.

"Doctor what have you and your team done!" The captain stomped forward, eyes blazing with a fiery glare, downcasted on the frail man. Despite Towering over him, the doctor was unfazed, with a fiery glare of his own to match the captain's - an intense inferno spiraling between the two.

"Captain everything here was refined to pure perfection- We've spent countless months experimenting and dialing all potential errors, making sure nothing went wrong."

Reasoning with the giant was a futile, almost dangerous task; the doctor understood this. Carefully choosing his answer with the most logical and sound explanation; the off chance of it being to the captain's liking.

Feeling almost insulted by the attempt, the captain's eyes widened in response as the captain slammed his fist onto a nearby desk, sending a thunderous wave of shock resonating throughout the room. The Staff froze, fearfully watching the engagement from a distance.

"How dare you have the audacity to say that despite the chaos that's ensuing not just here but throughout the entire facility-! Not to mention you've been doing this behind my back for how long you say?!"

"I'm shutting this down, Doctor." The captain snapped, shifting his body to face the rest of the room."All of you shut it down completely! Shut down all power!"

The staff began working instantly; nobody dared challenge the raging titan's orders - especially now.

"ALL OF YOU STOP!" The doctor let out a blood-curdling yell, an act of defiance that over-exerted him as he dropped to his knees, clutching tightly around his chest. The whole room froze, the frenzied staff even the captain turned dead still, jaw slacking in astonishment.

All eyes and ears turned to the doctor; his stunt having captivated the room.

"Captain, if you tamper with the energy readings now the system would collapse on itself. There's no telling just how much energy would be released in a violent explosion because these energy readings aren't ours!"

The captain shook his head, eyes narrowing to the Doctor with unnerving fear. "What do you mean doctor?!"

Now back on one of his feet, barely clinging on, the old man propped one of his arms onto the desk, gripping his chest tight. His glassy eyes trembling, his body paralyzed by fear as he focused on the Blue rifts forming out of thin air, visibly eating away at the cube.

"My god..." The doctor coughed up several droplets of blood as he desperately gasped for air, voice reduced down to a croak, the Captain stared in disbelief at the ever-growing blue rift - growing to a near terrifying size.

"Explain, Doctor, what hell is going on!"

There was no reply; The doctors' condition worsened, his body soon submitted to the pain coursing through his body. A loud thud drowned with the ensuing chaos as the doctor's upper body collapsed onto the floor, voice weak, uttering words in-between coughs of blood. "Someone or something has somehow hijacked the coordinates and is actively interfering with the portal's coordinates."

His half-lidded eyes struggled to remain open, blood trickling down from his mouth as the captain dropped to his knee, propping the doctor's upper half.

Futile efforts.

The growing rift reached its peak; the monstrosity had consumed the entirety of the steel box. In an instant, the rifts closed as small mounds of dirt and rock that never went through came crumbling down. Gone was the steel box and the four pillars; In its place was a massive crater, no reminiscence of anything previously there.

XXXXXX

"I didn't truly understand it back then. But now I do, adulthood, responsibility, obligation, and the choices you make that extend beyond those ideals."

"I even understand their implications."

"Therefor-"

The sound of a door bursting open echoed across a massive room. Light came pouring in, reflecting off tall glass walls overlooking a city below. A woman with long black hair came waltzing in, making a beeline towards the person standing idly behind their desk, gazing outwards through the glass.

"Sorry to interrupt, president but the energy readings we've detected earlier this morning near the outskirts have reached staggering numbers." Her face narrowed, waiting for a reply.

"Oh, Rin- I almost forgot about that."

"I suggest we don't idle around this matter, miss-"

"A familiar face."

"Pardon me, ma'am?"

Snapping back to attention, the woman gave her a warm smile before glancing back out the glass.

"Have our forces mov-"

"Understood, we'll deploy immediately." Before they could even finish, the woman took a quick bow before turning for the exit.

They paid it no mind, simply smiling lightly as they peered through the glass, basking in the sheer scale of the large city below them before staring off at a distant speck of blue light far off.

"You're the only one I can trust-"

"Sensei."

Author Notes:02,02, 2022. 12:24am

Yo, my message remains the same. This project is one I'm gonna stick with hands down. Blue Archive - But with a more "fleshed-ish" story. Add to the game's main story by adding more details and spice to bring out more from the characters and the events in the story. Add more depth and layers for SCHALE, KIVOTOS taken as an entirety - as in the whole city and more importantly make a story that really lets the characters shine in certain moments/events when interacting with others whether it be one on one or in a group - love the character, hate the character, feel empathy for the character - sad moment, happy moment, I want to box the shit out of my wall moment you name it, I'm gonna try and make certain moments within the story tailor to that need. (This ones by far my most important/difficult priority - given how "Blank" some characters are and how little resources global has right now - We're slowly getting there though.)

To new readers thank you for taking the time to read my half ass story for those that are already with it, for the most part, thank you as well I really appreciate it. Truly

For those that are new readers, this is a revised chapter since when I first wrote this I was still experimenting with writing - it being my first time and all.

Mistakes will be made so bear with me that's why if I feel as if a certain chapter might've been done better - as in the writing is just straight whack then ill be going back and revising it. I'll be putting a little symbol on the chapters that have been revised. I won't tamper with the already written plot just fix a few things to make it more up to snuff with my writing standards when viewing my work.

Any questions, suggestions, ideas, general comments go ahead and spill I'm pretty open about this kinda stuff.

I hope to see you again in future chapters, if not that's fine too. Stay safe, treat each other with respect and ill catch yall later.