I have a theory that the old woman, Vera, is actually Marle.
A figure suddenly appears out of the darkness. It seems to be a short old woman
with a large hood over her head. Although fully covered, it's obvious she's
quite old.
"Aw, It's just some old hag," Kid says. Magil's sharp gaze on the woman remains
unchanged, however.
Not moving a muscle, I try to look for Magil. He's nowhere to be seen. I can
only guess he's sporting one of those trademark expressionless faces, somewhere
off in the darkness.
Magil seems apprehensive about the old woman's presence. It appears that Magil is concealing himself in the shadows, which is quite understandable. Marle would be able to recognize Magil's true identity, and he most likely did not want Kid to know he was Magus at that time.
The old woman continues, staring straight at Kid, smiling sweetly. "If you want
to steal the jewel, and if you really want to beat him, you too must give up
your most valued possession, Kid. As long as you cling to it, the hands of your
clock will never budge. They'll stay frozen, trapped in the distant past..."
The Old Woman knows Kid's true identity, and the nature of her transformation. She also knows that Kid possesses the Time Egg, and that it is the key to restoring her memories.
The old woman clasps her hands together. Bowing her head, she mumbles a few
words in a low tone.
Suddenly, a gentle pale blue light surrounds my body, filling me with a strange warmth!
"Wow... look at that!"
My wounds are being healed before my eyes! It feels as though there's some sort
of soft music being played all around me, putting me into a strange serenity.
This is clearly an example of healing magic. While magic seems to be more widespread in Radical Dreamers than Chrono Trigger, Serge has a minuscule degree of magical talent for example, it is still quite rare. Magil's magical abilities still seem exceptional, so I don't think every ordinary person can spout off cure spells.
Lynx raises his sabre overhead, ready to plunge it into us!
"I wouldn't do that if I was you."
Quickly turning my head, I look in the direction of the voice.
"You...!?"
There, under a large hood, stands the old woman from before!
"So, Vera. Looks like Porre couldn't keep their hands out of this after all,"
says Lynx, flatly.
"Good to see you again, Master Lynx. Seems you've seen better days..."
The old lady... she's from Porre?
"The Frozen Flame, we will take custody of it now. It seems none of you can
decide on who the rightful owner should be."
The old lady gives a small signal, and dozens of armed troops rush out from
behind her, securing the cavern.
"I will not forget this, Vera!" Lynx shouts, floating up into the air.
Brimming with hatred, Lynx's glance turns to us. "And you! You will see death
by my hand!"
Saying this, Lynx vanishes into thin air!
The soldiers untie Magil, and start heading towards us.
The old woman gazes down on us from under her hood. "I believe you all ought to
come with us."
The old woman is in fact Vera, a secret agent for the Porre military. And I know what you are going to say. Porre destroyed Guardia, so why would Princess Nadia be working for the Porre military? Although Chrono Cross states, or at least strongly implies, that Porre conquered Guardia, Radical Dreamers exists within a completely separate dimension and has no direct relationship with the events of Chrono Cross.
RD only tells us a few things about the past. The Frozen Flame was originally held by the northern kingdom, Guardia. After the fall of Guardia, the Flame came into the hands of the Arcadia Dragoons. Lynx, who was a power hungry human aristocrat, defeated the Dragoons to acquire the Flame (Paraphrase Zeality). Lucca wanted the Flame so she could place it in the tomb of her friend, who was probably Crono. The Frozen Flame, when combined with the Chrono Trigger, could control time and space. Since Lucca possessed the Chrono Trigger, she may have wanted to resurrect her friend with the power of the Flame. Lynx also sought after the Chrono Trigger, and killed Lucca in his efforts to find it, but it had been safely hidden with Kid. Vera launched a raid on Lynx's mansion in order to acquire the Flame, possibly by order of Porre. She also wanted to take the Radical Dreamers into custody, perhaps to recover the Time Egg.
Radical Dreamers never implicates Porre in the fall of Guardia, only infers that it is a military power. If Marle survived the destruction of her kingdom, she may have sought the same ends as Lucca: use the Flame to resurrect Crono. I can easily see Marle joining ranks with Porre, possibly the last remaining military power outside Lynx's hegemony, to her own ends. Even if Porre was responsible for the fall of Guardia, Marle may still have aligned herself with the lesser enemy in order to achieve her goal. During a chat session, Zeality added that Marle may have performed a Magusean feat by "surviving the darkness" to save her friend. While Marle does not become heartless and depraved like Magus, she is focused on her mission. Her support and kindness towards the Dreamers in the storerooms only serves to fulfill her own ambition.
