This is my vision of Chrono Break, an intermediary between Trigger and Cross following the main characters. Hadriel, Symmetry, and Claado Shou have assisted with this plot. I intend for this to become a mod for Chrono Trigger someday, and an epic of the same scope. However, at the moment Temporal Flux is still in its early stages, and I can't really commit to doing this on my own. However, I can place the plot thus far out in the open for scrutiny and improvement.
Storyline points are the same thing as in CT; like "The Rare Red Rock" and "The Final Battle". Keep in mind that sidequests are cool.
--Keep in mind this was written hastily and roughly, so internet vernacular may be dotted throughout. Of special commendation is the line 'Belthasar was crapping himself with wtfs.'--
Here it is.
Before I begin, here is the overall theme:
Lavos sits critically wounded in the DBT; the Frozen Flame still points to it, but is silenced without an Arbiter. Originally, King Zeal died/disappeared because he messed with the Flame back in Zeal in the previous timelines. Now that Lavos is dead, the Flame needs an Arbiter; King Zeal fits the bill, since the Flame can't do anything and use its power without a commander. Lavos still wants revenge on humanity for destroying it. Thus, it communicates to the Flame; whenever King Zeal has a fancy, such as "What would 1000 A.D. be like with wars n stuff loalz," the Flame can use it to translate temporal changes. Introduction of chaos and strife pleases Lavos. Crono and the gang gradually reverse these problems; King Zeal is annoyed and begins messing with them. Still, nothing is in place to stop Lavos, and no one but King Zeal even knows it still exists.
This all changes after an experience that Crono survives; King Zeal intended to kill him, and thus told him of the Lavos's existence. He also lets it out that the Flame has convinced him to bind with Lavos as the Arbiter, making a prototype for what we know as the Time Devourer. Now that Crono has told Belthasar that the Lavos exists, it is threatened for the first time. This is when the game gets rapid and tough. The Devourer pulls out all the stops in its effort to stop the crew. Ultimately a confrontation arises with King Zeal, and the Frozen Flame. The party suffers losses, but believes they have succeeded. Time sort of exacts revenge on them in its own course, and Belthasar recognizes the threat still exists, and later creates Project Kid. Thus, this links Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross.
Note: Reference the RivenCrimse in the Vanguard Post.
~
Storyline 1 - Prologue - Castle Meeting
The year is 1002 A.D. Crono and Marle are married, though they're still innocent and mostly the same. Life hasn't changed much; things are peaceful. Marle wakes Crono up in the expanded house, and informs them that he, as chief knight, must attend a diplomatic meeting between King Guardia and two Porre diplomats. Crono must first run some errands. Lucca arrives with a newfangled car, and they ride to the castle, accidentally trespassing on an Imp's lawn. After a bunch of political bullcrap that Lucca and Marle trade running commentary on and that reveals the present political situation in the western half of the planet, one of the Porre servants begins to feel sick and excuses himself, followed by a friend. The Trio is suspicious, and Crono gets up and follows them alone. When he does, he finds that their suspicions were correct - the man is not ill at all, but rather is plotting against Guardia. The idea was to kill the Chancellor by requesting private audience with him; a pocket of soldiers hiding in the Dorino forest would then swoop in amidst the confusion and blockade Guardia Castle with few casualties. The first runs off, and Crono easily dispatches the other. The party unites and rushes out to Zenan Bridge, finding Porre troops approaching en masse. He fights them back somewhat, and continues to seek the Porre agent, who runs onto the Denadoro Mts. Porre begins shelling the mountain with napalm, an invention Lucca hasn't even released yet, and they retreat to the Masamune cave. Its remaining magical aura will allow Lucca to use an incomplete Time Egg to free herself.
Storyline 2 - The New Future
It backfires like no one's business, sending the party into a massive distortion. Cut to Magus in 11998 B.C. Magus is stumbling along a high mountain range, in a fierce blizzard. He recalls the words of the Elder of Last Village..."Indeed, the sea level has dropped, and a new mountain range has emerged on the horizon. However, it is very dangerous, as while the rest of the world is warming, these mountains still suffer terrible weather." Magus coughs a few times, and finally falls to the icy ground. In 2301 A.D., the party find they are in a strange building; the room is closely guarded. Eventually, they are released, finding Belthasar there. He is the director of this facility, called Chronopolis, and was testing his new Temporal Catch system. The rooms in Chronopolis include the Medical Facility, the Chrono Compendium, the Temporal Catch, the Dispatch Chamber, the Observatory, and the central directory. Belthasar asks how the party came to this era, though he is happy to see them; he informs them that according to his observations, the politics are heating up in their time, but that it shall all pan out. The player can visit some of 2302 A.D. at this point, and speak with a few residents.
It is noted that the existence of the Central Regime allows Belthasar the necessary resources and guise to operate Chronopolis under, and that the Central Regime came about due to an explosion in science that suddenly allowed widespread destruction and advances. Such was the technology that a world government's formation was sped up through direct fear of use of this power.
Robo works at Chronopolis with Atropos, so they can visit him, but not recruit him quite yet. After visiting, Belthasar informs the party that while their Dispatch technology is not finished, he can afford them a one-way trip back to 1001 A.D....to find the world under attack.
Storyline 3 - Darkness Ascendant
The Porre military has marched up through Zenan and is launching an assault on the kingdom, while Medina and Choras have gotten involved. They immediately wonder 'wtf.' They fight a few battles, whatnot, as Porre has recruited Mystics and stuff. They manage to beat them back, before Belthasar calls in. He tells them that something has changed time, and that they must immediately report to Chronopolis. The gang decide to ignore orders, however, and stop the Porre assault. They fight battles directly in Porre and immediately confront the individual known as General Montcrief. When Montcrief is destroyed, the Porrean assassin returns; before Montcrief dies, he directs the assassin to kill Crono, rather than just follow it. Stuff happens; the party seems to die but time's rewound. The assassin is nowhere in sight, and the world is back to normal.
Storyline 4 - Ephemeral Time
Belthasar instructs them to come to Chronopolis. They must first use the Epoch, which is stored in a crypt in the new Cathedral where Lucca believed it would be safe. They go down two flights and find what should be the crypt in which the Epoch's stored; however the room is in a state of temporal flux and appears to be an amalgation of weird architecture. They kill some fake boss and it changes to normal; they then come under attack, and fight a big boss battle with the assassin, who escapes, but they make it in (still only Crono, Marle, Lucca) and get there. The future, meanwhile, has been encircled in clouds, save for Chronopolis, which has a generator that can shield the facility from changes in time just in case. It has formed a temporary Pocket Dimension encircling Chronopolis. Belthasar can't figure it out, but there are problem areas where really crappy stuff is going wrong in time. He admonishes the party to recruit the old heroes and save them from this stuff so that they can launch a counteroffensive agianst..whatever's doing this. First, the team must get the secondary generators back online for Chronopolis. So they go to get secondary generators online, and Robo and Atropos accompany. Temporal fluxes abound and some baddies come; one injures Atropos severely, but the party succeeds.
So Atropos gets axed for awhile, and Robo's very said, but since Lucca and Robo are united, he feels like he needs to make a difference again. Belthasar warns the party that the Entity may or may not be on their side in his tasks, but he has faith in them. Chronopolis becomes the new End of Time/waiting area, as the dispatch Chamber can susbtitute characters in the three man party like the EoT used to. Now, they're given the directive to find the old team. First is Magus, who Belthasar is confident is still in the Dark Ages, looking for Schala. Before they leave in the Epoch, they are told to visit the armory, where Melchior awaits. Melchior tells the party that Belthasar brought him out of 1002 A.D. himself, and that he knows not what terrible things are going on. Melchior gives them some new equipment. So they go to 11,998 B.C., where Magus is located.
Storyline 5 - Wind of Ruin
They come to Last Village, where Alfador still chills with the villagers, and wahtnot. Elder tells them to search the new mountain range to the West, far on the horizon. So they get there, and immediately they're fighting some pretty big baddies. After CML or Robo get past the first area of the mountain, cuts to Magus on the ground. He says..."The wind...I will...never..." Then bang, flashbacks begin. Some attendants show Janus Zeal his room. He runs in a little, and then runs back to his mother, saying "Mommy!" The attendants laugh. Next, we see Queen Zeal and attendants in the hall of the Mammon Machine; she pushes Janus back and tells him to get away and go play somewhere. Alright, and then we go back to the gang, who fight some more baddies. We see a young Magus in his teens, surrounded by Mystics and Flea. Flea taunts Magus excessively, but the teenage Magus suddenly arcs a lightning bolt at him. He's about to punish Magus, but Ozzie walks in and says "heh, its a good thing he's gettin better."
The next cutscene shows Magus on a pedestal, with Ozzie. Magus doesn't actually speak, just faces the crowd, a ton of freakin Mystics all saluting. Ozzie says "It is the will of the Magus that we blockade Porre and Dorino! Go! We must capture the continent!" Meanwhile, we see a short pan of Denadoro Mts and the cave, and cut back to the army cutscene, to imply Magus is only doing this for the Masamune. He doesn't care about the Mystic War, just having them do his dirty work. Cut back to Crono owning people. And the very last cutscene shows Magus, alone in the darkness. Frog fades in next to him, in his mind..."Is that all thou hath?" He then sees a sparkle, and Schala's face. Fade back to the party. They finally find Magus, but he's only on his knees on the ground, sort of almost gone crazy. Tthey're about to rescue him, but you know it, a boss battle. This boss is going to be "one of the ancient ones," maybe a legendary beast passed down in legend to the modern day. So they fight this idiot and bring Magus back. Magus is just totally out of it. So they leave him to recuperate in Chronopolis. Belthasar then notifies the party that he has an increasing concern for Ayla, now that the blizzards have begun.
Storyline 6 - Shadow of the Entity
They go to 64,999,998 B.C. and they find the villages completely deserted, save for some robust, foolhardy people who continue to try and live topside. They know nothing about Ayla, and speak in spite about her. There are still reptites and other creatures alive. But they're dying out rapidly, so they're attacking like all hell to try and get access to the shelters the humans have secured. The lava fields cooled, and humans swooped into the warm caves. These creatures repeatedly try to break into these shelters, and are relentless in their attacks. Crono has to fight a few before he can get into Ioka. They learn that Kino met a warrior's end. Regardless, everyone tells the party that Ayla has gone on some magnificent spirtual journey to save everyone, as she was informed about an artifact by a "strange man." No one can really tell teh party what exactly they're doing. Belthasar comes in with some rumors and ancient legends, but nothing confirmed. He advises the party check the Lost Village, or that village that sat below Singing Mountain in the Prerelease. So they check around Lost Village, finding some pretty bad mutations and stuff, but eventually they nail it -- stone tablets.
They pick up these tablets, and Robo (or if he's not around, Belthasar) translates them. They speak of the highest holy artifact of the Reptites -- the Dragon Tooth. It was kept for generations, but now left unguarded as the Reptites begin to die out. It also speaks of huge guards and stuff. Now the Iokans explained that Ayla was doing this to try and stop the cold weather, or save her people. She was seeking this holy artifact. Crono and them are like "omfg, Ayla's gonna get her ass kicked" cause the kicker is, Ayla's pregnant. so they pursue her into Singing Mountain, fight some baddies. Eventually they find Ayla, but she passed out just before reaching the Tooth. They take Ayla and the Tooth back to ioka, and tell everyone to take shelter and prepare for the long haul. Ayla is sad she can't accompany the party, but they tell her she absolutely needs to have those babies. Back in the future, the Dragon Tooth, which has strong living/necromancic properties, allows Magus to quickly regain consciousnsess. Belthasar tells the party that he's narrowed down his options in pinpointing the source of this problems, but its still difficult as all hell. He gives the party teh assignment for Frog, but Magus intervenes loudly. He begins making his way for the door, but is stopped by the party, who ask him wtf is going on. Magus is still a little under the weather so he's more talkative. through some persuasion by belthasar, he tellst he party whats going on. While he was on the verge of death, and almost in total harmony with the Black Wind, he felt Schala. Belthasar immediately starts crapping himself with wtfs, like the Doc on Back to the Future when you mention changing time, but no one can change the will of Magus. So the party reason and say "Well we're going anyway; who knows, we might find some clues as to what's messing with time." They depart in the Epoch.
Storyline 7
It is noted at this point that the Dragon Tooth was later forged into the Hero's Medal. Belthasar allows them to journey by Epoch to 11,998 B.C. By Magus's advice, hey go beneath the waves, to the ruins of the Black Omen/Ocean Palace, which crashed. They can't take the main route in, though, and most of the architecture has been ruined. He senses Schala, but its weird; they're fighting their way through, but they notice odd stuff. The place looks like its been broken into already. Magus notes that defense points he observed being constructed while he oversaw the project as the Prophet have been destroyed, like sealed doors being opened. Eventually they come to the antechamber of the main hall, and find this huge funerary pedestal. The remains of Queen Zeal are inside. Right now, Belthasar breaks in to say "what? She was killed atop the black Omen." As they enter the main hall, a voice says "Go away..." the party notes how this voice seems to get all up inside their heads. There, at the head of the chamber, is the Mammon Machine, once again; its ruins. Hhowever, several wires protrude from beneath it, it is hooked up to a capsule behind it. As the party approaches it, it actives, and immediately opens up a huge gate.
A Lavos spawn emerges. This is a pretty weird Lavos Spawn. After its defeated, the Mammon Machine cracks, and the party turns to escape the crumbling Palace. But as they turn to run, they hear another voice. They turn back, and see that the capsule has broken. Schala has fallen to the floor, completely drained of her energy. Meanwhile, the Mammon Machine cracks, and gates start opening and closing all over the place. So they grab Schala and start heading for the exit. As the Mammon Machine's temporal distortions are preventing Belthasar from doing any kind of extraction from that time and place. Just as they reach the exit, a totally black figure appears. He says "This was not supposed to be..." Magus volunteers to hold this idiot off if the others will JUST SAVE HIS SISTER PLZZZZZ. So you fight him for awhile, and Magus's theme plays. You get the message that the other two are about to leave. So Magus does some badass sprite thingy or something, a new move no one has seen. He makes it out just in time. Well, a big explosion happens beneath the Ocean, and a light shines to the sky. They get back to Chronopolis, and belthasar notes that he's been somewaht able to bring his own time period into control. Schala and Magus need some time alone to discuss things, so they retire to a room there. The party can now check out 2302 A.D.
Storyline 8
Someone came and stirred up the Mystics back to ill-feelings agianst the heroes in 602 A.D., and old leaders have emerged. Ozzie, Slash, and Flea are missing, but this has nonetheless led to widespread war. Though Glenn, unspeakably wise thanks to his experiences, has struggled to retire and lay up the Masamune in Guardia Castle for permanent interring, he has been ultimately forced into service by the entire kingdom, who hail him as the greatest hero in the kingdom's history and believe he can swiftly end the conflict. Unfortunately, the nature of the invasion has caused a bloodbath. The party arrives to find him engaged in an unparalleled battle on the north plains, near Dorino, which has been severely ravaged. Glenn has killed hundreds. Crono helps him out, but Glenn quickly spurs off after the battle; the party attempts to follow, but the situation at Dorino is deplorable. They assist with their recovery for awhile. When they finally go up to Guardia to find out what's going on with Glenn, they find him collapsed in the Cathedral, sprawled before the altar. A huge crowd has gathered; Crono forces his way up to the fallen knight, who appears to have passed out. They cannot wake him from this state, so they call in Magus (unless he's already there). Magus tries to shake him with pointed speech; at last Glenn draws his weapon, at which he comes to his senses. He immediately begins to brood, and it is made known that he has lost the Masamune.
Storyline 9
Glenn eventually regains his fortitude once the party tells him what caused the Mystic revolt, and the other adverse effects raging through time. He vows to quest with the troop, but on the condition that they retrieve the Masamune; this is almost a moot point to the party, who laugh, as they had already planned to do so. Glenn has vital knowledge concerning the enemy, so he must attend; they sojourn to the desert, and find Robo critically wounded. They repair him, and he informs them that on a spot not far from here, several Mystics erupted from the ground in force, leading the party to believe their headquarters is underground, where Retinite used to lurk. The Forest reappears in 1000 A.D. now. Belthasar runs a thorough scan of the desert, eventually finding the old cave structure that leads to the surface; the party enters, and fights a few battles. Eventually, they reach a Sealed Door. They immediately question how an object of Zealian origin would be here, much less a highly advanced defense! With the pendant, they're able to infiltrate the complex, eventually entering a huge tunnel leading down (at this point, the scenery becomes lava flows, akin to Singing Mountain). They encounter the new Mystic Superweapon, who Glenn confirms as being rumored to exist. It is another modified Lavos spawn. They defeat it, and eventually reach the Mystic leader himself -- Serran, a sergeant in Magus's former army, who has begun to wield the lost Masamune. Special dialog occurs here if Magus is present.
The battle is won by the party, but Magus notes that Serran was using advanced temporal shadow magic. Before he succumbs to death, Serran informs the party that they will not escape this place -- that the red rock has willed it, and no one can escape its power or desires. However, he does not perish; a voice tells him to retreat into time, and he flees to the ruined Epoch. The party realize they left the Epoch before they knew that a war was going on, and that it was probably captured. It is partly destroyed; Serran triggers it, and escapes. Thoroughly intrigued, Belthasar must stop his curiosity in time to devise an escape plan for the party. Serran has shut down the transport machinery that leads back to the planet's crust; Belthasar provides the party with a series of natural gas vents; these are populated with gas-borne enemies. While fire spells instantly kill them, they are a double-edged sword in this environment. Eventually, the party makes it back topside and finds an inn, but cannot rest, as Porre vigilantes have set out en masse to slaughter the Mystics. Glenn alone awakes at night and attempts to stop the revolt, and is condemned by both sides, as each now wants to war. Glenn has the option to allow himself to stand between the sides and be severely beaten, or kill the opposing factions, who would normally be peaceful. Depending on which option he takes, he will receive different dialog when his friends realize he is gone and rush after him.
Serran's whereabouts are unknown. At the resolution of the incident, the Porre assassin reveals that it was he who incited the Porreans. He is wounded for some reason, and retreats.
Consequences for his decision:
silverforge2670: Option 1: Siding with Porre
This option will show Glenn giving into his distaste for the Mystics. You will fight a Mystic warleader named Ral with the assistance of two of his tough minions. These guys have powerful magic and a devastating Shadow-type triple tech. When you beat these guys, Porre gives you thanks for helping them and sends a favorable message to King Guardia about Glenn. They also give you some sort of magic reward. However, after the scenario is finished, if you try to use Mystic-operated stores in 1002 A.D., you will encounter substantial price hikes and occasionally an outright fight - these are only the more immediate results. If you go to Porre, though, tensions will have backed down somewhat between the two governments.
silverforge2670: Option 2: Siding with the Mystics
Porre will express incredulity at this course of action and will send forth their captain and two minions, just like with Porre. Be warned - these guys have guns. Their magical abilities are limited, but they possess heavy artillery to compensate. The Mystics will thank you if you beat them, give you a magical charm, and cease their revolt against Guardia. The surviving Mystics will turn themselves in. When you go to the future, however, you will find Porre to be much more hostile to you. All Porrean enemies will be more difficult to defeat.
silverforge2670: Option 3: Declaring Neutrality
This provokes a dismissive reaction from both sides. An absolute bloodbath then occurs. When it's over, the opposing armies will have been eradicated to the last man. The corpses are available for looting, and thus you obtain far more items than you would with either of the first two options. When the party arrives, they are shocked at what appears to be Glenn's handiwork, but none moreso than Magus. The party knew Glenn was a powerful fighter, but death on this scale seems beyond him. A flashback to Glenn's conversation with Cyrus on Zenan Bridge occurs. Post-that, the Masamune itself is altered to reflect the more sinister form it takes on in Chrono Cross.
Storyline 10
After the incident, the party returns to Chronopolis, where Belthasar gives them disturbing information -- that the "red rock" could be something potentially catastrophic, and that they must prepare for a journey to infiltrate Zeal to access its boundless libraries and ascertain further information on it. Magus and Schala immediately recoil at the thought of returning, along with most of the party, who question the state of affairs there. Fortunately, Belthasar tells them that it will only be for the space of a night. The party immediately prepares, though Robo visits with Atropos here. They arrive at the Dispatch Chamber, and are whisked away to Zeal, ca. 12001 B.C., before the Prophet arrives and the Mammon Machine is activated for the first time. It is a clear night; the party immediately enters Enhasa, where dreamers have made pilgrimage to engage in wondrous fantasies on this beautiful night. The party can 'talk' to each dreamer, and see what they're dreaming of. The party makes its way into Belthasar's secret room in Enhasa, but finds nothing. However, they are ambushed by Nu guards; Belthasar scrambles to give the party a code to deactivate the guards, and if they fail to activate it, they must fight high level Nu. After this yields nothing, the party travels to Kajar. The labs are mostly closed and empty, but some burn the midnight oil. In the secret room there, the party stumbles upon Belthasar, sleeping peacefully (cue comical scene where future Belthasar laughs about his old self).
The party finds the tomes needed, and begins digitizing the data. However, they hear several footsteps approaching. They overhear voices mentioning that a lofty dreamer has noted that trespassers shall infiltrate the laboratories of Kajar on this night; frantically, the party tries to expedite the data transfer, but it is too late; Dalton enters with his troop of guards. He sics the guards on the party first, and they are easily dispatched, and flee. Dalton immediately summons a GolemPrince, and fights alongside it. When they are subdued, Dalton turns to flee, mentioning that the queen will not be happy about these trespassers, and that the highest authorities in Zeal are on their way to fry these dolts. The party is told to return, as Belthasar does not believe they have enough time to digitize the rest of the data before Dalton returns with a significant force, but the old Belthasar here wakes up. If Schala is in the party, she will ask him for the tomes; he will produce an orb that has them magically stored within. If Magus is in the party, he will remark that he seems familiar; otherwise, the party will simply implore that they are travelers from afar, seeking knowledge. Belthasar is too groggy to care, and yields the information. As the guys leave Kajar, a member of the troop will make a comment about wanting to see Zeal Palace one last time. The party can either return or make the journey; if the latter is taken, they'll have to fight members of the palace guard, which will be very difficult battles. If the party makes it, they will be allowed to see Schala and Janus sound asleep. If they enter the throne room, they will observe a totally black figure upon it who immediately disappears upon their entry.
Storyline 11
The party returns to Chronopolis. Almost having a seizure, Belthasar yells to his advisers that time seems to be changing again. He quickly notes that the facility itself seems to be under attack; the party goes to the roof to find the facility totally enveloped in a haze. Melchior accompanies to give the party upgraded weapons, and then quickly retreats; the party battles several ghostlike figures who fade in and attack the facility. The last boss is a Zombor like creature; after he is defeated, the party reaches the end of the research wing's roof, where the black silhouette is there once more. He speaks -- "Enough time has passed." He fades away; the party is ordered to return inside. Belthasar confides with his advisers, and reaches a conclusion. He asks the party to go to the roof once more; they find that outside are mists, just like the End of Time's clouds. Belthasar confirms it -- Chronopolis has shifted to the End of Time. He explains that while Chronopolis has countermeasures to withstand changes in time that could interfere with its creation, that huge changes in time which prevent its construction entirely will cause Chronopolis to active its last chance -- a trip to the void of the End of Time, where, in a Pocket Dimension-like area, it is shielded from temporal changes. The party is dumbfounded; they inquire what could have done this, to which they receive no answer. Belthasar merely tells them they absolutely must figure out what was changed; the party thus enters the dispatch chamber, and returns to 11998 B.C. Instead of the new continent, they arrive upon frozen, icy plains, set in the midst of an unrelenting blizzard. Fearing the worst, they scan the continent, they find Terra Cave, and immediately question its inhabitants.
Storyline 12
All this time, Belthasar is relaying messages of pure bewilderment, and confirms that they are in the real 11998 B.C. The citizens of Terra Cave confirm his greatest fear -- that this is a time in which Zeal still soars in the sky as the crown jewel of human achievement, and the Earthbound are relegated to the cold planet. Belthasar notes that the events of 12000 B.C. must have been somehow averted, and that the salvation of Zeal has ensured that the Ice Age never relents, and human society never evolves on the ground past the hovels of the Earthbound -- at least not for thousands more years. The party immediately travels to Zeal via Skyways, though they must battle guards stationed there. They make their way to Zeal Palace, and find Queen Zeal -- though she is still infatuated with Lavos, she remembers nothing of the events of Chrono Trigger, but nonetheless is joyful at the chance to beat some trespassers into the ground. After she is dispatched, she hints at where she is retreating; a Skyway gate is left in her wake. The party uses it, and travels halfway across the globe to the Royal Court, a small island with regal gardens and a second throne room; the gardeners inform the party where they are, though they wonder how they arrived. Inside, upon the second throne, sits King Zeal. He immediately welcomes the party, hoping that they've had a pleasurable stay in Zeal; the party immediately begins to question his living, history, and why Zeal has remained afloat. Zeal simply notes that he took some measures to avert all that nasty history, including instating clone versions of all the citizens, including Schala, Janus, and Queen Zeal. Schala/Magus and the party are horrified, but King Zeal merely welcomes them to enjoy a residency in the eternal kingdom of Zeal, holding that the world they knew will be erased as Zeal continues to fly, and the Ice Age below never ends.
The party insists on further knowledge and confrontation, but Zeal seems to not want a fight. Eventually, he retires to a balcony, with the view of the boundless sky below. The party follows him here; he once again tells them to have no worries, and live forever with him. A party member will have none of this, and physically attacks King Zeal. Thus begins a large battle; King Zeal is mostly a spellcaster, not wishing to soil his own hands. After being defeated, he collapses on the ground, muttering incoherent things, and blinks out of existence. The party, dumbfounded, begin to check the balcony, but Belthasar radios in and informs them that the death of King Zeal is serving as a trigger in time; however, explosions instantly radiate from the air and island; Belthasar notes that he cannot extract the party, but is dispatching the party's other members in an attempt to reach them while still retaining a grasp on the new dispatches, thus being able to pull them back. This fails; the entire party is caught in the maelstrom, and black out, the last vision being the figure in shadow in the sky.
Storyline 13
They awake on the ground, very injured; the must find shelter soon, which comes in the form of Zealian ruins buried long ago; they still contain a warming, magical aura. They fight a few automated guards and eventually reach the repository; there lies the Porre assassin. They have a long dialogue; the Porre assassin reflects on the erasure of his commands, and his gaining consciousness. He notes that after trying to stop the party from receiving the Epoch, he told Porre of their time traveling, and was given the instruction that should he be in a position to influence the past, he should do it for Porre's favor. After the events of 602 A.D., his human side grew discontent. He desires to come to Chronopolis with them. While around the fire, they discuss things, and reminisce of their journeys. As they're about to retire Belthasar bursts onto the scene, and is hugely happy they've been found. He notifies them that though the trigger of King Zeal has undone Zeal's continued survival, it will probably only be a matter of time before further ripples in the water of time effect catastrophic changes. Crono, Marle, or Lucca inquire as to what will happen in the modern time; Belthasar begs them to simply act out of faith, and continue the journey.
Before extracting the party, Belthasar reveals that the data taken from the Zealian volumes, their battles and encounters in the new Zeal, and temporal searches have yielded a few theories. He notes that he'd better not jump to any conclusions, but that the fate of the world rests on one man -- Gaspar. In all the tested scenarios in Chronopolis, knowledge that Gaspar retains is integral in rectifying the problem in time; the party is quick to ask where he can be found, but Belthasar regretfully states that he has disappeared from the scope of history. After the party transports back to the End of Time; the Porre agent has an adverse reaction to the magic being used to transport him and his damages, causing him to skew off into an unknown period.
Storyline 14
The party is advised to consult Spekkio; they search until they find the coordinates of his former room. A ladder of monsters begins, with the weakest ascending to the strongest; this lasts for a fairly long period of time. After the final boss, a red Nu appears, and activates a spell that instantly neutralizes the party. He then exclaims "SEE, I AM THE MASTER OF WAR!!!" Instanlty identified as Spekkio, he lets the party know that sadly, Gaspar embarked on a journey of his own back through time, and Spekkio was not told where he would be heading -- only that Gaspar, having fulfilled his duties and helped the planet rid itself of Lavos, was attempting to become one with the Entity.
Storyline 15
The party returns to Chronopolis, and speak with Belthasar in an attempt to decipher that riddle. Robo visits Atropos; Glenn speaks with Magus and Schala, while Crono and Marle retire to a cliff. Lucca talks to Belthasar; she asks him directly why he truly built Chronopolis. Belthasar remarks that like ancient humans guarding their caves once they find shelters, he is attempting to protect the timeline for humanity's sake from negative outside influence, giving the choice of free will to all. Lucca immediately asks what the danger is to time; Belthasar responds that time is relentlessly at war with itself, and that immortals such as Lavos and other beings who can harness shadow magic in excess will always pose a danger. Satisfied, Lucca begins helping around the laboratory. Crono desires an end to fighting, and Marle reassures him that it won't be long. Glenn, to Schala and Magus, makes the comment, "Truly, thy family is the most dysfunctional upon this world," in jest. He then expresses huge worry that no one in his era is worthy to wield the Masamune, and notes that its capacity for dreams are still subject to the corruptability of mankind.
Melchior also here informs the party that he was in the process of packing up his tools and moving off the continent of Medina when he was attacked; Belthasar transferred most of his items away, but powerful weapons may have fallen into the hands of the bandits, who may be allied to Porre. He remarks that before his transfer, he had been testing Guardia Rainbow Shell and discovered that the composition of most of the outside layers was dirty and unpure, having mixed with other dusts and metals over millions of years. He postulated that if one could penetrate these layers and tap the pure shell beneath, compressed at the time of Lavos's fall, the most hardest substance known to man could be accessible, and perhaps imbued with special energies due to the coating of magic that occured when Lavos hit the planet. He had no way to test this in the outside world, and only wrote basic theories and made smal applications (nonetheless dangerous in the hands of the wrong). However, in Chronopolis, he has access to temporal energies, where he can put his theories to use. By using a small wormhole gate, he plans to open a portal inside the shell temporally and fission out pure material. He is not skilled enough to shape the Gate fission as to produce a sword instantly, but he can spend a huge amount of time hammering away at the stuff to make it into something useful. He's refining the Rainbow at the moment. Belthasar tells the party that the Porre agent who assisted them's whereabouts are unknown. He then asks "What, you don't want to find him, do you?"
Storyline 16
With this accomplished, Crono, Magus, and Schala head to 11,998 B.C. on Sorin's tail. However, as soon as they warp in from the Temporal Catch, they find something unbelievable; an immense city under the waves whose architecture is clearly that of Zeal. It's a highly advanced city akin to Atlantis. When the party contacts Belthasar about its existence, he finds it hard to believe that it even still exists. According to Belthasar, this was ancient Zeal; the people that raised a continent into the sky to form the kingdom of Zeal were from this place. He then enlightens them as to the nature of the Zealian Schism. The Zeal we see floating in the sky in the original Chrono Trigger was a relatively new place, and not everyone wanted to risk it. Those that didn't stayed behind in this city, built beneath the water (as Zeal conquered the sea before the air). A fourth Guru remained in charge; the Guru of Stars. As there are two realms to human existence -- body (Life) and mind (Reason), there are two realms to the universe -- (Time) and space (Stars).
As Crono accomplishes various quest-related tasks around the city, cutscenes occur. Janus is a major focus here. He talks to his father about various issues in his life, including his past, his sister, and his mother. These conversations, "fireside chats" if you will, are intended to provoke and numb the player's senses at the same time. At the end of these quests, King Zeal will offer Janus the chance to join with him, along with a special guest…a revitalized Queen Zeal! The King claims that they can all be a family again, and that the holy artifact, the Frozen Flame, has made it possible. This is when Janus realizes it's totally fake and tries to make a break for it.
King Zeal warps in front of the party as they seek to find some way out, and tells them that if they do not leave, then "we have a problem." A woman bursts in at this point, shouting that he has defiled history, and that the city, Calasperan, was supposed to lay sleeping in ruin. The party wonders if this entire city is a fabrication, just like the previous fake Zeal. The party has no earthly idea what's going on, but the woman tries to restrain King Zeal. She tells the party to flee; looking back, they see Zeal overpower her and throw her in a room. Crono and company reach a strange area where a few men ask them if Dyasavah wished them away; a party member says yes, if they are referring to the lady. The attendants offer to transport them to dry land, but Belthasar interrupts, stating that he's finally got a lock on the team, who travel out.
Storyline 17
The team immediately question what just happened; Belthasar remarks that the city they were in is indeed real, with a long and rich history of its own -- one cut short. Initially, Zeal conquered the waves before rising to the air; the place they built was called Calaspera. There were four Gurus, and when Zealians desired to sail above, one of them and several people declined this option, and remained underwater. They continued their own time research, in much more harmony with the planet than their friends above, but in 12000 B.C., the fall of Zeal caused destructive auras and debris to permeate the magic barriers and waterlocks of that city, causing it to come into ruin. He said that the Zeal of the sky even forgot that place eventually, and news of it only came through hearsay, which, investigated by a Guru, would cause suspicion of that Guru's mental health. Belthasar reveals that apparently, King Zeal has restored the city in 11998 B.C., two years after its destruction. The party then begins speculating whether the area will disappear if they defeat King Zeal there, and whether the loss of life would have to pass again. Belthasar can't offer moral advice here.
Storyline 16
...Everything I just wrote was erased because I clicked some link, and back wasn't fast enough to preserve this.
-Party visits Ayla, who had a child
-Talking with Ayla triggers temporal distortion
-Belthasar loses contact
-Party finds itself in prehistory prior to Lavos's landing; Ayla, Iokans dance
-Talking with Ayla and mentioning Azala triggers invasion; Ayla knows nothing, but does know the party members
-Party helps fight off invasion, reaching Azala at the top
-Ayla fights her, loses; party steps in to fight
-Azala defeated; party asks about Red Star, Azala knows nothing
-Mention of Red Star sends Ayla into a fury; she kills Azala
-World grows colder; postulating, party talks about her son
-They reassure her that he'll live, and reality reassumes itself
-Belthasar extracts them
Storyline 17
Belthasar notes that like the previous Chrono Triggers, talking to Ayla was the cause of this distortion. He notes that research shows no pattern to these historical rewrites, but that it seems a force is choosing at whim human desires and magnifying them, using dark, widespread machinations to alter the course of time itself. The party remind him that they wish to visit the Porre Assassin and locate him; he suggests they check the Zealian Ruins where he was first found after the elimination of the false Zeal. Schala wishes to come, as she knows her way around the place; they head for the Dispatch Chamber and arrive in 11998 B.C. They locate the ruins and the place where he was found without much effort; however, they spy an open entryway that he had been sitting in front of, and crawl through. They quickly find sprawling ruins that lay below Zeal Palace before (Zeal Dungeon lives!). Schala notes that in these corridors were the tomb of kings, a detainment facility, secure, arcane laboratories and the treasury basement. These make little difference to the party, as the changes are only in architecture as they continue downward; they begin to encounter amalgations of magic and living tissue, undoubtedly left from earlier days. It seems auras and energy are empowering whatever organic or sentient material found its way in. Belthasar notes, somewhat in shame, that the uncontrolled experimentation in the final days of Zeal under the Mammon Machine's reign is responsible.
A Nu sleeps in front of the treasury door; the party awakes him, and he notes that "Whoops, better awaken the doom seal." Frantically, the party calls Belthasar, who answers that he'd better not, and that he will unleash a ferocious defense system upon the party. Belthasar helps them deactivate it, but he isn't 100% that it's been stopped; the Nu remarks "whatever," and goes back to sleep. One hall remains before the treasury; Schala has an onset of memories, and the party then enters. They are shocked to find Queen Zeal, a strange, blue-haired teenager, and a completely-restored room. Queen Zeal is nice and benevolent. The blue-haired boy calls himself Janus; the party immediately freaks, including Schala, who is in disbelief. The party notice that where cave should be in a hole in the wall, zooming clouds are seen. Belthasar remarks that it seems to be happening again, but that long buried, the soul of Queen Zeal can't be responsible. He's not sure about the boy, who now steps forward and tries to comfort Schala. Belthasar gives an ubiquitous "hold back, Magus," as Schala and the party are dumbfounded by this kid's knowing her. The party talks to Schala, asking her how she knows him, and any other information; Schala quotes strangely that he looks as she thought Janus would in her mind if he had grown up. Queen Zeal is infuriated, experiencing some kind of pain; she stands poised to challenge the party. She and the boy dissipate from existence as Schala regains her composure; all that is left is precisely what Belthasar feared -- the defense mechanism.
A ghastly creature, it spouts some semi-philosophical lines about the void and nothingness, and proceeds to give the party and really hard battle. After it is defeated, it notes with its dying breaths that it can feel the King; that somewhere he lives, and he prays that his failure will not displease him. The party then enter a final flight of stairs below, and find an item on a black pedestal. Belthasar responds ambivalently and asks the party to return to Chronopolis.
~
Things on the way:
Gaspar will be found in a primeval era, in which the planet is brimming with new life and is in its most energetic throes. He plans to bind with the Entity somehow, and be absorbed into it.
Belthasar will give the Chrono Break to the party, an item he created in Zeal but hid away due to its potential only for bad application. It is an item that uses temporal fluctuations to assassinate a person or destroy something, and it is unfathomably powerful. He intends to destroy King Zeal with it.
Schala must somehow bite the bullet and become skewed into the DBT somehow at the end. Magus will pursue her, resulting in being subjected to temporal fluctuations, and awaking with a near total-amnesia. Thus, Guile was born.
The Porre agent will make one last heroic gesture. I'm unsure whether events like the Fall of Guardia itself will be included.
~
Things that bind this story:
King Zeal found the Frozen Flame in Zeal; he thus did not pass away, but was carried away by his own will and disappeared from the scope of history.
After Lavos is eliminated, the Frozen Flame is the last beacon of his will, and thus more heavily magnifies the wishes of King Zeal to spread chaos according to Lavos's last directive.
~
Hadriel also has a variety of ideas about how King Zeal can use the Chrono Break if it falls into his hands, including assassinating the Entity or maintaining some control over it.
