Before I go into this, let me start by noting that I haven't played Chrono Trigger or Cross in a very long time, it's been over a decade at least, so I'm sure a lot of people here will be able to do a far better job of interpreting what I'm about to suggest. I also want to point out that I myself am not 100% convinced that this theory is accurate, in fact I have a lot of theories that often conflict with one another. ^_^;
I've been watching some retro streams of Chrono Trigger gameplay as of late, which has revived my interest in some of the circumstances in the game that are still left unsolved, in particularly the ones involving Schala and her mysterious pendent.
In regards to Chrono Cross, I've always had sort of a love/hate opinion of the game, but while putting some thought as to why they did certain things in the sequel, an idea popped into my head, that is so bizarre I've spent several hours going through the wiki trying to find as much information as I can, to either find evidence or disprove whether or not it is possible.
Having said all of that, please feel free to make any corrections to mistakes, as well as either positive or negative suggestions regarding this theory, I would very much like to know your thoughts on the matter.
Lastly, do to the nature of this subject, spoilers will be mentioned frequently.
Okay, the theory revolves around the question regarding Schala's pendent, this little object has a way of getting around in the games, which is quite odd.
Likewise, why is it that Princess Nadia (aka Marle) has Schala's pendant?
Why does Kid have the pendent in the game Chrono Cross?
What actually happened to Schala after the incident in the Ocean Palace?
There is a bit of dialog in Chrono Trigger at the Keeper's Dome which I've always wondered about.
OLD MAN (Balthazar):
"Schala...I've missed you so..."
"NO!"
"You MUST NOT climb Death Peak!"
"Wouldn't make it very far, anyway!
It has to be the right time...
...and...THEY...have to show you the way!"
Now, Balthazar is kind of in and out of it at this point, but I think what's actually going on is a reflection of a conversation he had with Schala, in the future, remember that this happens while Crono is still alive, so the party has no reason to go to Death Peak yet.
Basically, after the Ocean Palace incident, I believe it is possible that a gate opened up, which teleported Schala into the future, where she sees the devistation that Lavos has caused, she eventually meets Balthazar there, and then for whatever reason, chose to climb Death Peak on her own.
I feel that from there, she used her power to open a gateway to the Darkness Beyond Time, where she planed to influence certain historical events by opening gates that would enable the heroes from the first game to travel between time zones.
However, Lavos was able to figure out what she was doing, and after being defeated by Crono's party, happened to show up there, where he attempted to merge with Schala, forming into the Time Devourer.
Now, whether if my thoughts regarding Schala traveliing to the future and climbing Death Peak are true or not, I can't completely say.
Later on Crono's party manages to find their way to the Darkness Beyond Time, where they encounter Magus along with Schala, who is in the process of merging with Lavos.
Magus tries to fight the Time Devourer, but is defeated, Crono's party tries to fight it as well and is also defeated.
Note that this is in the DS version, which I have not played, so I'm not completely sure of the details behind this.
But it results with Schala teleporting Crono's party away, before stating the following to Magus.
Schala: "The strength you wield now cannot free me.
No, perhaps it is better said that no strength can.
So long as you lean upon the crutch of power, this world's sorrow can know no true end.
Return to your own time now.
Dwell not on this."
She then teleports Magus somewhere, where he decides to erase his own memories.
Now this is just a crazy thought that is a separate idea, but what if this instance of Magus would later become Wazuki (Serge's father, later Lynx)?
They both have blue hair and a long sharp jaw, and it would explain why Lynx's preferred weapon is a scythe.
On Schala's page of the Chrono Trigger wiki, it states the following:
"However, as Schala remained bound to Lavos, she heard Serge crying from being wounded by a panther demon, and struggled with all her might to make contact with the time period 1006 A.D. This caused the magnetic storm that nullified the power systems of Chronopolis and allowed Serge to touch the Frozen Flame and become its Arbiter."
Why would this make any difference to Schala, considering her current state? Unless Serge were somehow connected to her, perhaps Serge is a reincarnation of Magus, but I personally feel that Serge might actually Magus' son.
Now, what about Guile?
It's never actually stated that Guile is Magus, though it's clear the original intent was for him to be Magus, based on the game Radical Dreamers, but when they made Chrono Cross they decided to leave that area open for interpretation.
In my view, I feel that Guile is the same Magus that joined Crono's party, who didn't give up magic and retained his memories.
The other Magus was probably from a branching timeline, this could technically be the first sign of an alternate dimension showing up, but not the same dimensional split we have in Chrono Cross, as Serge's father had to of existed in both.
I don't know, but that's just another theory.
Getting back to Schala, we know that she created Kid as a clone of herself at some point during her corruption, and that Schala somehow regressed in age do to this, her hair also changed color.
But why would the developers do that?
This has puzzled me for a long time, if Kid were a clone, then it's fine for her hair and appearance to be totally different, that would only throw the players off, by making us think she is somehow related to Marle instead of Schala.
Then it hit me, the reason why Princess Nadia has Schala's pendent to begin with. . .
In the true ending of Chrono Cross, Serge's party saves Schala from the Time Devourer, she then makes a long statement, appearing to alternate between Kid's and her own personality, she also promises Serge that she will find him again no matter what.
After this, it's not completely clear what happens to Schala, or Kid for that matter, though the wiki suggests the possibility that the two might have merged together as one person.
In the next scene, Serge wakes up on the beach next to Leena, his memories of Kid and his adventure have been completely wiped, then it moves onto another scene showing the book from the intro with some narration:
"Thus the curtain closes on another tale.
An eternity has passed...
Fleeting dreams fade into the distance...
All that is left now
Is me and my memories...
But I'm sure we'll meet again,
Someday, you and I...
Another place, another time.
It's just that we might not realize
That you are you and I am me...
Let us open the door to the great unknown.
Come across another reality.
And live another today...
Even when the story has been told.
Life goes on...
Until we meet again.
Take care of yourself, my friend...
Forever yours,
Schala "Kid" Zeal"
Then the book closes and the camera focuses onto a picture that I believe might have a surprising twist that everyone's overlooked.
The wiki presumes that the picture is of Schala or Kid in her wedding dress with a man standing next to her, whose face we cannot make out.
That might be true, it might also be a picture of her dressed in royal garments.
I personally doubt that it's Serge standing next to her, I also don't think it's a picture of Schala during her time in Zeal while sitting next to her brother, as the man is too big to be Janus, and he's too small to be Magus in a later time.
What I think this picture is showing us, is a clue as to where Schala may have actually gone.
I know this is a huge stretch, but what if the picture we're looking at is of the young King Guardia XXI and his wife Queen Leene?
Now if you look closely at the man's outfit in the picture, you'll notice that he has kind of a sash around his body which is at a slight angle, the location is not exactly the same, but considering that it's probably from an earlier time, and the fact that a lot of designs were modified in Chrono Cross, I think it could actually be a young King Guardia XXI.
Think about it for a moment, after saving Schala, her age has been regressed, her hair and physical appearance has changed, she's possibly merged with Kid, and the pendent has been returned to her.
Because she has been observing the world's events from the Darkness Beyond Time, she has witnessed the progression of the Guardian royal family, as well as Crono and Nadia's adventure through time, which was possibly made a reality do to her involvement from afar.
She has also blamed herself for many of the problems that have happened over the ages, meaning that she would most likely choose the life that enables a potential future, over a life of personal happiness.
What I'm theorizing is, that after Schala is freed, she may have traveled a bit through time, before finally settling in the middle ages, where she took on the alias of Leene and married into the Guardian royal family, passing her pendent down through her decedents until it would eventually end up in Princess Nadia's possession.
I don't recall the game making any statements regarding how or when the Guardian royal family acquired the pendent, if Schala was able to pass it onto Kid, then it wouldn't make any sense how it would end up with Queen Leene, unless the events with Kid took place first, and the pendent went backwards in time.
I also want to point out the message Queen Leene wrote to Princess Nadia:
"Dearest Marle, I know things are tough between you and your father. But nothing can break your bond of blood. Neither words of anger, nor great distances. Someday, when you have children, you will understand. This special bond is part of a family tree which links us together."
— Queen Guardia XXI, Leene
To which the wiki has to say:
"The contents imply that at some point in her life she figures out that Marle is her descendant."
I don't think she figured this out, I think she may have known all along and kept quiet.
If she found out that Nadia was her descendant, while observing history, then she would have to go back in time to make it happen, otherwise a paradox would occur, and Lavos would not be destroyed.
In other words, it would have been impossible for her to stay in Serge's time, as she had a more critical reason to go back.
Likewise, Magus probably wouldn't have recognized her as Leene, do to the extreme changes in her appearance, this might have also been intentional on her part (as Schala would be capable of magic). Plus I seriously doubt Magus would try to make eye contact with the wife of his presumed enemy.
At the same time, I don't think she intended to use her magic more than necessary, as her primary reason to go back would have been to provide Nadia with a living ancestor, as well as the pendent, and she probably stopped using magic altogether, which is why she wouldn't or couldn't use any to heal the King after he was injured.
But this leads to yet another crazy theory, as stated earlier, after getting the true ending in Chrono Cross, Serge wakes up on the beech next to Leena.
I always thought it was interesting how some characters in Cross had similar names and personalities to people in Trigger, and I kind of wonder if Schala, presuming that she did go back in time as Leene, has incarnated several times since then along side of people she has grown attached to.
For a couple of examples: Janus/Magus > Serge and Schala/Kid/Leene > Leena or Glen > Glenn, Cyrus > Dario and Schala/Leene > Riddel.
But anyway, I'm not sure about any of this, just wanted to know your thoughts.
And yes, I know it's crazy.
[Update]
Chrono Trigger used placeholder sprite graphics hidden on the maps for various scenes, some of which didn't make it into the final game, but are still hiding behind graphics in said rooms.
In the scene where Schala uses the pendent to open the door, if you remove some of the game's layer graphics you'll find Queen Leene's sprite along with an attended standing behind the door.
I thought this was interesting, as it potentially links the two characters together in the original game.
https://youtu.be/2Ja3TdujlDg?t=12m44s