Concerning Schala/Kid, the Ideal Timeline, and Serge

[Hiroshino]

Alright, from what I've heard (I've never gotten this ending) when you free Schala in CC and beat it, that gives you the Good Ending. I also hear that she takes ALL the dimensions and timelines and such and she merges them all together into one true timeline existence. This would include the dimensions that were mentioned in all of the Chrono games. CT for SNES, CT for PSX, RD, and CC and dimensions that you don't visit such as the dimensions where the Reptites are the superior race and such. So we are left with one true timeline existence, right??

And now that we have one existence, I also heard that Schala and Kid merge into one true entity so there is only Schala, right?

And after all this, I hear that Schala goes back to find Janus and then will come back to find Serge. Now, I would understand her finding Janus since they were separated and how Janus was also searching for Schala. But something else bothers me. How does Schala know Serge and how does Serge know Schala, for Schala to be searching for someone who is from the Present while she was from the Dark Ages??

[ZeaLitY]

I don't believe she merges them all; merely, the Chrono Cross takes Home and Another and puts them right, perhaps with her assistance. Schala merging with Kid is also in question, but is mostly refuted. There is no mention of Janus, and Serge really hardly knows the real Schala, while she knows him because, as per Project Kid, she took pity on his crying and blew his father and Miguel to Chronopolis so he could be healed, in effect making him the Arbiter.

There is an article planned to resolve all this, since its really hard to figure out what is going on at the end.

[Hiroshino]

There is an article planned to resolve all this, since its really hard to figure out what is going on at the end.

Whew, that's good. I sure hope Chrono Brake is realized too and is released someday, and maybe clears up all of these mysteries. It's even harder for me since I've never even gotten the Good Ending..instead I had some extras and the Bad Ending (if it can be considered as one; it was the one with Schala/Kid/whoever walking in Japan..I think...).

[Jasson Knight]

I've heard that too.  I have to agree with ZeaLitY that it was probably more like the Home and Another Dimensions merging, rather than the whole thing.

Now, I always assumed that Schala and Kid didn't merge.  With Schala freed, I've assumed that Kid's past was being rewritten as well and it was simply reflecting in her changing speech pattern.

One of my reasons for this is this, is that in the orphanage fire, Kid's speech is normal.  Knowing from her history, we know she was forced to live on her own at a young age.  It's known that social, political, and economic factors do affect the development of accents and dialects in children.  Additionally, children can pick up new languages and even accents at a surprising rate.   So I think it's safe to assume she could have picked up the accent by frequently associating with others who had it.

However, when you free Schala, we know time is altered and the paradoxical dimensions are done away with.  In my honest opinion, this also means that the orphanage never burns down, Lucca is never kidnapped and probably killed, and Kid grows up in a stable, nurturing environment.  Her past no longer includes living on the street or associating with whoever she picked up the accent from.  Thus, her speech patterns change as we're "listening."  We really don't have too many verbal cues to differentiate between Schala and Kid, aside from the now missing accent, which I think has led to the impression they were merging.  So the part in the ending where she reassumes the "accent" momentarily may have just have been an attempt at humor.

As for what happens after the game, I believe Kid sets off from Guardia to look for Serge after the end, while Schala departs to places unknown.

Another assumption stems from that infamous photograph in the ending.  Many site that the dress she is wearing is a wedding dress (sari), but we don't know that.  Indian, Arabic, and other influences appear frequently in the Chrono series of games, but nor are they sticking straight those cultures.  It's entirely possible it's a photograph of Janus and her or that she also returned to the present and began a new life herself.  I don't think she merged at all with what can be considered a totally different person.

[Hiroshino]

I don't think she merged at all with what can be considered a totally different person.

I know what you're saying and all but that's another thing that concerns me. Kid in a way came directly from Schala. She has no true biological parents because Schala made/created/cloned/whatever Kid and then she was found by Lucca in a forest or somewhere on the mainland. My point with that is; I kind of always thought that Kid was cloned from Schala so then when they merged, they were one again or something. I don't know if that makes sense but, yeah.

[Chrono'99]

Another assumption stems from that infamous photograph in the ending.  Many site that the dress she is wearing is a wedding dress (sari), but we don't know that.  Indian, Arabic, and other influences appear frequently in the Chrono series of games, but nor are they sticking straight those cultures.  It's entirely possible it's a photograph of Janus and her or that she also returned to the present and began a new life herself.

In the official artbook Missing Piece, there is a full drawing of this man on Serge's page. He has the same body, and we can see Serge's head on it. Some people also says that the text near the drawing says "Serge in wedding cloth". I can't confirm the text translation, but I personally saw the book and the drawing. Thus it really seems that the man on the photo in the game is Serge.

...Of course you could also say that this drawing is from a former script, from the time when the game scenario was not totally set, since this drawing is from the "Radical Dreamers" part of the book (featuring artworks of Magil, the human Lynx from RD, etc.). There are also, in that same part, some drawings which show Serge as he appears in CC though, and none that shows him exactly like in RD, so it is really hard to tell...

[Jasson Knight]

Okay, I didn't know that.  =)  Since I haven't seen the artbook, I'm going to have to take your word on it.  So I stand corrected at least that far.  

I still stand by my opinion that they - Schala and Kid - didn't merge.

[Chrono Eternal]

As for the merging of Schala and Kid, I'm still debating with myself.  There are definite reasons the two could have or could have not merged.  But anyway...

I do believe that by using the Chrono Cross, all of the timelines were merged into one.  Whether you believe that all of them or just Home and Another were merged, I think it is important that we realize that Serge was allowed to exist, even though FATE had not planned for him to.

Anyway, I believe that it was in Schala's interest to free herself from Lavos/the Mammon Machine/a Lavos spawn/whatever you believe the other part of the TimeDevourer to be but more importantly to save the world from it.  She used the Arbiter, Serge, to do this in either one of two ways:
[list=1]

• Completely destroy the TimeDevourer from whatever dimension.
• Merge all the timelines into one using the Chrono Cross, therefore merging the Chrono Trigger timeline in which Crono and Co. had already killed Lavos with the Chrono Cross timelines.
[/list:o]
My textual evidence follows...

Illusion of Child Lucca: We... No...  Everyone worked to save the planet's future for nothing...  It's all because of you!  You killed it!  You...!!!  So many lives were supposed to be saved...  This planet was to be healed with love, hope, and dreams...!

Illusion of Child Marle: How could you? How could you do such a thing...!? It's all your fault that the world is going to end up like this! It's all your fault, Serge!!! Murderer!!!

These statements suggest that in one way or another, Serge's presence in the world disrupted the future the CT Crew had created.  Whatever Serge did to cause this is still a mystery to me.  Regardless, it is implied that the world can be saved if the original CT timeline is restored.

Leena: Don't scare me like that!  You just passed out all of a sudden!  Hm?  What...?  Terra Tower...?  FATE?  What are you talking about?  We just got here.  You got some Komodo dragon scales for me...   Don't you remember?  You sound confused...  Come on, Serge...  Get with the program. Our summer's just started...

The previous statement most likely caused a lot of fury among CC players.  Discovering that everything in the game except a simple quest for three dragon scales was a dream can be quite a let down.

Interestingly enough, though, this part of the ending occurs only when you use the Chrono Cross to defeat the TimeDevourer.  Otherwise, you simply see the credits roll.  This implies that the world did not need to be saved (as it already was by Crono and Co.), and that Serge truly would never embark on his epic journey.

It's just a theory - and every theory has its holes - but it makes sense enough to me.  That's why I believe that the ideal timeline includes a combination of all the timelines, specifically those of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, not just the two from CC.