Disclaimer: I own the rights to neither Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross! So there! :P

Author's Notes: I make full use of my artistic license privileges here, so there. :P again.

SPOILERS!!!!!! DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE BEATEN CHRONO TRIGGER THE LONG WAY AND CHRONO CROSS THE RIGHT WAY!!!!!!!! YOU WILL WANT TO KILL ME IF YOU IGNORE THIS!!!!!!! SO THERE!!!!!!!! TRIPLE :P

Schala is the greatest NPC of all time! So there! Many :Ps to the person who dares argue! So there! :P

Ahem... if you've ever read Revelations, you'll know why this fic has it's name. Yes, I have read (most) of Revelations, so... well, the game has many blatant Biblical references, so this fic will have about as many as most other fics (although most probably weren't intentional). If, for some reason, Christianity offends you, WHY THE HELL DID YOU PLAY THE FISKING GAME? Also, I am serious about reading this if you haven't beaten Chrono Cross, because it will (re: WILL. It doesn't have any yet) contain major spoilers for that game. Also, flame all you want. It's beginning to get a bit chilly and my feet get cold easily.

"I don't think you

Trust

In my

Self-righteous suicide.

I cry

When angels deserve to

DIIIIEEEEEE!!!"

-System of a Down, "Chop Suey"

~*~*~*~

"Janus! Come along!" I shout to be heard over the wind. My cloak billows and twists itself around my legs, making my already impeded walking even more difficult. "It's not far! We'll be warm there!" I look back. I make him wear black, so I can see him against the snow. How could I let myself lose him?

"Janus!"

Calm down, calm down, be warm and let me see. I stall the unceasing snowstorm long enough to catch a glimpse of my brother. Be warm, be still, let me fly. I run, glad that I wear pants on these outings.

"Janus!" I give him a hug.

"Alfador won't move." He holds out a lump of fur. Be warm, beat heart, send life to paws and nose, tail and ears. The cat meows, weakly. I'm tired. I can't do any more. Mother had me work on the Mammon machine today.

Lavos. That evil, vile creature. Its hatred burns my mind and freezes my soul. Every time I touch it I lose more of myself.

"Schala, you sick?" I stand up. I can't let him see me like this. He's only three. He's not ready, not yet. "Let me make it better." He touches my face. I feel clarity, a surge of power as my manna returns. I'm scared for you.

"Don't do that so close to Mother." I pull his hand away. "Now, stay close."

When he was born, I wasn't allowed to see him for a whole week. When I held him, the force of unformed mind almost killed me, though I was thirteen and the most powerful student in my class. I was in a coma for weeks. In that time Melchior, Belthasar, and Gaspar visited him. They felt his power as well. I made them promise to keep it a secret because I don't want my baby brother to become Mother's slave like me. I cannot hide him forever, though. That is why I teach him. When he can no longer hide, he will fight. And we will be free.

~*~*~*~

"Sis? You okay?" I can smell my charred flesh from Janus's fire spell. I focus my energies on healing the worst of it. I run a light mental hand over my skin covering any evidence of injury. I open my eyes and look up at the five-year-old giving me an impish grin. "I beat you."

"Yes, you did." He terrifies me. His powers grow more immense with each passing day. Mother is growing suspicious. "Let me heal you." My brother cannot heal. He can only hurt. If Mother ever finds him, the pain he will bring all of us, the pain he will bring himself will be unimaginable.

He stands in the middle of the cave. "I can feel the winds of time blowing here." Yes. I feel it. A whiff of something in the air. A sense of moving backwards and forwards at the same time.

"I feel it too. We must leave. The winds of time are dangerous and unpredictable." I echo the wisdom of Gaspar, Guru of Time. My brother nods. He understands the dangers of magic. I have taught him well. I have a feeling, if he fought today, he would win. But I am afraid. I don't want to lose him. I don't care about myself anymore.

~*~*~*~

A wave of hatred churns within the Mammon Machine. I send my mind in. It brings me down and I feel my will cracking, but I hold firm. I gain control and force myself to ignore the hateful, tempting whisperings of Lavos. I up the power and direct the energy to the necessary areas. I must do this every day or Lavos shall overwhelm us. And if I let anyone else do it, they might lose to Lavos. So I suffer, so no one else has to. Don't worry about me. I'll be dead soon.

~*~*~*~

"Tell me what disturbs you, child." I lay my head on Gaspar's lap. He's my only friend. Him and Janus are all I have. I should count the other two, but Melchior's a bit too obsessed with his new sword, and Belthasar is just... weird. I know one should not think such disrespectful thoughts about such wise and powerful people, but it's true.

"Dalton, he wants to... marry me," I sob. I hate that man. He is power-mad, like Mother, like Lavos. If I marry him, then I will be even more a slave.

"I know. The entire court is rejoicing for you." Gaspar strokes my hair.

"I'm not." I'm only nineteen. I'm not ready to get married yet. And who will care for Janus? Who will love him and teach him and show him right from wrong? Who will wake up in the middle of the night and comfort him if he has a nightmare? No one cares about my brother except for me.

"If you resist, they will become suspicious. Remember that your brother's safety depends upon secrecy." I know. I have to marry Dalton. I cry. Why Why Why Why Why? Must I suffer for my power? Must I suffer because I am gentle and kind and wish to be a good daughter and sister? Shall I never be free?

I don't matter. Janus does. I must do whatever it takes to protect him.

"Will I still live in the palace?" If I can just stay near Janus...

"Yes, my dear. You stay in the heir's quarters, Dalton will stay in the Prince's Quarters."

"So I shall stay near Janus?"

"Yes." I'll do it. If it helps Janus, I'll do anything. Nothing else matters to me. Nothing. Not even my own life.

~*~*~*~

We still train every day. Janus wins every time. He doesn't need the practice. We both know it, but we continue to delay the inevitable. We must fight Mother. We must defeat Mother. Just us one more day, I beg of you. One more day for us to be together, for I fear Janus will be alone once this is over.

~*~*~*~

"You're not really marrying Dalton, are you?" Janus sits at the edge of my bed.

"Don't worry, I'll still live right here." If I could wipe out the way Dalton leered at me when I said yes. I fear our wedding night. He may hurt me.

If I could wash my mouth of his kiss, if I could cleanse my shoulders of his bloody hands.

"Janus, please, leave me be." If I could kill Mother... we could be free. I try to imagine it, but I fail. I don't know what free is, but it has to be infinitely valuable, because so many good men have fought so hard and so long for it, without knowing whether they would win or not.

~*~*~*~

My hands hold the dagger shakily. I wish myself unseen and silent and creep into her room. My hands raise the knife. I will. I must.

My hands sink the knife into her and my feet flee the room as the guards come.

I run to my room and strip off my clothes. I hide them under the bed. I pull on my nightdress and crawl under the sheets and force myself to breathe softly and slowly.

I am suffocating.

"The Queen has been attacked. The Kingdom of Zeal is in danger. Awake, arise, this is a call to arms of all citizens of Zeal." I sit up in my bed and throw on my clothes. The alarm! I forgot about the alarm!

Knock knock, knock. "Princess Schala! The Queen requires your assistance."

~*~*~*~

They made me heal Mother. I wish I could fight. I wish I had wings and could fly Janus somewhere safe. But I don't have wings and I can't fight, so I must do what they say.

There is search among the court for the attempted murderer. It is apparent that the killer had potent magic powers to be able to sneak past the guards. So far, suspicion had steered clear of me. The wedding will take place as scheduled. I'm scared, but I am brave. I will not pity myself. This is as it must be. Nothing can change that. I must learn acceptance. I must learn that I can do nothing.

~*~*~*~

"The winds of time blow strong today, Schala. Don't you feel like the clock is moving backwards?" Yes. Janus is right. The fabric of reality bends. Lavos stirs. I can feel it. The time-wind awakens it and it lets out a low roar.

I focus. I direct the energy surge, absorbing much of it into my body. I fall to my knees. I am strong. I can do this. I clutch my pedant and it draws the excess energies from my frail human body.

I stand up. The wind of time screams in my ears. I stumble out of the Mammon Room and into the halls. People cover their ears to protect themselves from the time-wind's roar. Some cannot hear it. The fabric of reality rips apart and there is silence as it repairs itself.

I release Janus from my grasp and run to Mother.