Chrono Corruption

Act 5: Revolution

Chapter 34: The Enigmatic Gigaweapon

*Lab 51 Underground, 2305 A.D.*

"Well, what do you say, heretic?! How about we get this party started?!" Walter chided mockingly.

"Yeah, we're gonna rough you up, kiddo!" Erebus followed smugly.

"Dalton will be so pleased when we dump the bodies of his enemies at his feet!" Bridget taunted.

"Then we'll get the rest of your friends!" Alena said with finality.

Crono smiled, "Tch! We'll see about that!" he said as he took a strong stance.

Walter pressed a switch on a remote device he took from his inner suit pocket. Paradise X twitched and sparked, "It looks like our little toy is going to take a few minutes to heat up! In the meantime, we'll play with you!" he said as he cast an ice spell.

The ice spell missed Crono as he easily dodged it. Lucca then took a potshot at Walter and hit him in the back of his hand. He winced as he dropped the remote and it hit the ground and broke. "Wonderful, now I can't turn this thing off. Oh, well, no matter!" he said as both he and Erebus moved in on Lucca.

Lucca aimed down sight but to her amazement, Erebus and Walter bumped into one another. Irritated, Walter bashed Erebus over the head with his staff and Erebus shoved him. The two began to bicker. Lucca raised her brow in confusion.

Bridget smiled, "Never send a man to do a woman's job," she said smugly. She put out her hand toward Lucca and conjured a fire spell.

"Garet cast your magic on my sword!" Crono shouted. Garet did so, without a verbal response and Crono swung his blade. "Heat Slash!"

The superheated waves of energy plowed through Bridget, Erebus, and Walter, but missed Alena as she stepped aside. As her colleagues suffered, Alena stretched out her index finger toward Crono's forehead and conjured a light spell. "Gotcha, punk, right between the eyes!" she announced confidently.

However, Crono, looked up and as her Photon Ray left her fingertip, Crono emotionlessly tilted his head to the side and it missed. She was in turn then hit with the Thermodynamic Ray Plus used by Garet and Lucca. Crono blinked a few times, "Say, you guys aren't very strong after all, are you?" he accused rather innocently.

Walter and Erebus got to their feet, "Not very strong?! You'll pay for that!" threatened Walter as he conjured more Ice Lances. Erebus threw out spheres of shadow magic but none of them struck Crono and his friends. The members of the Regime were livid, but no matter what they tried, their magic was sub-par and their physical attacks were slow and useless.

"Don't you guys make the effort to combine your attacks at all?" Crono said continuing to keep his calm.

"What? Combine our attacks? Why would we waste time with that?" Erebus said with a smug grin.

"Because, moron, individual attacks only go so far," Lucca retorted.

"Don't tell me it's because you stupid politicians don't trust each other enough?" Crono asked with a chuckle.

"What does trust have to do with it?!" Bridget scoffed.

"Fine! If combining our attacks is what it takes, then Erebus, follow my lead!" Walter commanded.

"Say, what? Why do I have to 'follow' you? How about you follow me?" Erebus said with a raised brow.

"Because you fool! I'm the leader of this Regime!" Walter said angrily.

Erebus chuckled, "Since when? I don't remember any one of us claiming anything of the sort!"

Bridget scoffed, "If anyone of us is a 'leader' that would be 'me'!"

Alena then stopped her, "That's a load of bull and you know it!"

Walter grew even more frustrated, "Shut up, all of you!"

Then suddenly, the Regime members were all consumed in an explosion caused by Lucca and Garet's Incendiary Salvo. Crono shrugged, "You see what happens when you can't work together?"

"That was too easy...," Lucca said with suspicion.

Following this, the Frozen Flame, high overhead let off a pulse and it cleared the smoke that had been left behind from Garet's attack. The four members stood now showing their true colors. Their clothes were almost all but removed and shredded to tatters and their skin was burned away in multiple places revealing something that made everyone's jaw drop but no one more so, than Garet. Garet broke out into a cold sweat, "No, this cannot be! They are... Cyborgs?!"

Walter took a deep breath as he seemed empowered by the activation of his cybernetic body. His head, and hands were still flesh, but his torso, arms, and exposed shins were completely synthetic. The synthetics were a deep space-like color that shined like a starry night sky. They matched the human form almost to perfection. There were no hard metal plates like the R-Series or any other robot.

The other regime members looked largely the same as they rose to glare at the party with their red glowing synthetic eyes. The glow of hatred was so much that open wounds on any flesh that remained glowed with their eyes, revealing more cybernetics underneath.

Walter spoke, his voice now accompanied by a synthetic echo, "Ah, I was wondering when our synthetics would be fully activated. Did you think you were the only cyborg, soldier?" he said, speaking down to Garet.

"I hate to say it, Garet, but these guys seem a little more advanced than you," Lucca said reluctantly.

"Advanced? They seem almost... 'alien'," Garet observed with sweat forming on his brow.

"I don't care how advanced they are!" Crono said strongly, snapping Lucca and Garet out of their daze. "We'll still bring'em down!" he said as he took a stance with his sword.

"You will feel the burn of our wrath the most, punk!" Walter growled menacingly.

Walter followed his threat with another blast of minor ice magic spells which Crono dodged with his incredible speed. Erebus and Bridget gravitated toward Lucca and Garet while Walter and Alena focused on Crono.

The fight began once again but the Regime kept on using some of the same tactics as before. Even their magic seemed unaffected by the synthetic upgrades. "You guys do realize that machines can't help with magic power, right?" Lucca asked with a raised brow. She peppered Erebus with her Trigger Happy technique.

Erebus smirked as he shook off the bullets, "Who said anything about magic? Technology's where it's at, little lady!" he said as he rushed in toward her.

The tide of battle began to turn as the Regime now focused on using physical attacks which were indeed augmented by their cybernetics. While Walter and Alena were ganging up on Crono, beating him to a pulp, they still did not combine their attacks. Crono, however, chuckled as he noticed this. Crono hit the ground hard and slid backward a few feet.

Walter flexed in a prideful manner, "Hmph, see heretic? We have no need to combine our attacks!"

Crono threw his feet into the air and leaped up from the ground. Although he was battered and bruised he smiled playfully, "Nah! You're still too weak! You may hit hard, but there is no form to your movements. Plus, you guys keep trying to fight each other for openings. You just don't consciously realize it," Crono analyzed.

"There you go again! With that mindless babbling!" Alena screeched.

Walter and Alena growled as they began their assault on Crono again but this time Crono was dodging them and making faces at them when they missed.

Garet and Bridget clashed but Bridget could not get the upper hand like she believed she would. "You! Why are you so tough! I'm clearly more advanced than you!" Bridget claimed as the two wrestled against each other.

"...Because I was remade for war. You, clearly, were not," Garet said flatly.

Bridget roared, her synthetics gleaming like cinders as she managed to push Garet back with a fire spell.

Lucca taunted Erebus with a silly facial expression, "Na-na-na-na-na-nah~!"

Erebus merely smirked, "Heh, I wouldn't get too cocky now!" he said as he cast a Shadow spell that created a gravity well around her.

Lucca felt her body being compressed by the increased G-forces. "Urk! Ugh!" she grunted in pain.

"Heh, my Gravitonne spell makes you feel like you weigh ten times as much!" Erebus claimed as he moved in close. "Now I gotcha!" he said as he swooped in and grabbed Lucca by the throat.

Lucca's eyes widened in horror as she felt Erebus's grip tighten. She could no longer breathe. Due to his grip being strengthened by cybernetics, she could feel her vision fading quickly.

"Lucca!" Crono shouted in desperation as Walter and Alena intercepted him.

Garet quickly tried to aim his Thermodynamic Ray at Erebus but Bridget intercepted him as she leaped onto his back. His shot missed.

As Lucca began to lose consciousness, a loud noise could be heard coming from behind Erebus. Miraculously, a powerful rocket-propelled robot arm hit Erebus square in the back, causing him to drop Lucca. Lucca coughed as she tried to regain her senses.

Everyone stood in awe as the robotic arm returned to its source via remote control. It attached itself to none other than Robo, who now stood before them reborn. He approached Lucca and gently placed his hand on her shoulder as he bathed her in his Cure Beam, "Thank you..., for everything, Lucca," he said softly. His voice now had a more pronounced echo.

He stood up with his eyes glowing red as he glared at the Regime members. "Attention, members of the Central Regime. Your chances of victory have plummeted by 67%. We will now end this altercation."

Walter's scowl turned into a smirk, "Perhaps you have forgotten our little friend behind us, Paradise X?!"

Robo was unshaken, "All variables were taken into account before that calculation was made."

Walter growled once more, "Oh?! Numbers are just numbers, machine! Care to put substance behind them?!"

"Inquiry!" Robo said as he lifted a finger into the air. "What do you fight for? Dalton? Lavos? Why did you become thralls for him? What do you get out of all of this?"

Crono followed, "Robo has a point. It can't be money. What did my dad promise you?"

Walter snapped, "Don't you fools see?! Lavos is an incredible organism! Trace amounts of its DNA can be found in all of the planet's organisms. Caelus informed us of the Frozen Flame and the story of the Neo Emperor, and Lavos. Lavos tried to take the DNA from all of our planet's organisms to give itself a new form. Now, Lavos is but a culture of DNA that we humans can use to further our own evolution! We could transcend with its power!"

"That's what you were doing with those experiments in the Lab above us?" Lucca asked for clarification.

"Indeed, we made 'clones' of our basic soldiers and infused them with replicated cultures of Lavos's DNA to create new life forms! Life forms that you fools destroyed!" Walter blamed.

Robo stepped closer, "Lavos is not dead but acting through the Frozen Flame! If you would have succeeded in your experiments Lavos would have corrupted those clones. Lavos will fill organisms with their undying will to survive and reproduce. You and the other 'Disciples' of Dalton have been indoctrinated by Lavos's will. None of this is your own doing."

Walter became filled with doubt, "What? But that would mean that Neo Emperor... is," he said as he was interrupted by a sharp pain in his head. "Argh!"

"You see? Lavos is in control, not you, not Caelus, and most certainly not Dalton!" Robo whirred fiercely.

"How would you know any of this?!" Erebus grunted.

"Because, we killed Lavos before," Robo began. "Queen Zeal of the ancient magical kingdom of zeal also thought she was in control but she was not, Lavos was. You fools..., are just pawns."

"No..., that's not..., how could Lavos be...!" Walter mumbled as he grasped his head in pain.

All four members of the Regime rushed Robo as their frustration peaked. Robo effortlessly took them all on as he played them against themselves. Since they couldn't work together they often collided and pushed each other aside only to be pounded by Robo in return.

The Frozen Flame pulsed lightly and Walter gripped his skull again as he turned to Erebus in anger. "Why can't you just follow my lead?!" he shouted wrathfully as he punched Erebus in the gut.

Strangely, Walter's fist got stuck and it turned bright red. It began to meld with Erebus's midsection. "What the hell are you doing?!" Erebus shouted in a panic.

"Me?! This isn't your doing?!" Walter accused in astonishment. Walter turned to Bridget and Alena. "Hey, help us out here! Pull us apart!"

Bridget and Alena seemed surprised but rushed to help their colleague regardless. With Bridget on Walter's right and Alena on the left, they grabbed hold of Walter's arm and began to pull. However, as Crono's party watched in horror, the four members of the Regime began to fuse in what looked like a very traumatic process. The wires and tubes erupted from their bodies and began intermingling with each other as the synthetics began to break down and merge with each other. Their horrifying screams echoed off the walls of the facility as the mass quickly began to transform. As they transformed their terrified faces melted away into the mass.

The mass began to take a new yet familiar shape. They became a rather large cybernetic mutant that was separated into a top half and lower half. The top half was a bulky torso that had an almost diamond-like shape to it. Four red eyes dotted its 'face' that was erected from the center of the torso and it was accompanied by an amphibious-like vocal sack underneath. Two more red eyes existed on the shoulders, the left, and the right. Its two spindly arms hung beside it and its skin was stretched so tightly over it, tissues and cybernetics could be seen through it. Its bottom half resembled an upside-down bowl of pasta with two more red eyes dotting it.

"You know, this is not what I meant when I said they should combine their attacks!" Crono said with a jab.

"This is the same type of mutant that was aboard the Black Omen!" Lucca claimed in surprise.

"Warning! This Synthetic Mutant poses a much higher threat than the Central Regime!" Robo analyzed.

"Still, four targets become one. Much easier to hit," Garet claimed.

The Synthetic Mutant let out a strange gurgle as it charged itself with energy. Robo responded with a warning, "Chaotic Zone spell incoming!" he whirred. But it was too late the gravity well sucked in the party and they were sucked in. Their bodies were electrocuted, burned, squashed, and stretched in the well of energy. They were tossed violently back out with numerous injuries. The mutant gurgled positively in response.

Crono and his friends regained their composure, undaunted. "Lucca cast your flames on my fist!" Robo instructed.

"Right! One Fire Punch coming up!" Lucca agreed as she cast a fireball onto Robo's left arm. The arm took off and slammed into the lower half of the mutant but it just shrugged it off. Robo was surprised, "Error! Fire Punch ineffective, lower body absorbed the blow!"

The lower body separated itself from the now levitating upper body and skated toward Robo with blinding speed. "Robo watch out!" cried Lucca as Robo was caught in a torrent of tentacle lashes as if the mutant was a weed whacker. Robo was thrown aside and beaten to a pulp.

Lucca rushed to Robo as Garet covered her. The upper body attacked Crono and Garet with energy and blast spheres. Garet shot them down with his machine gun and Crono parried them with his sword. "The lower half retaliates with that Life Shaver attack. It must be immune to most attacks. 'Focus-Fire' on the top half," Garet instructed as his eyes glowed, locking onto the upper half. Garet began peppering the upper half with machine gun fire and it retaliated with more blast spheres.

Crono smirked as he dodged some incoming blast spheres, "All right, top half it is then!" he said confidently. He suddenly vanished as his sword strikes struck the upper half with a Wild Frenzy. Crono managed many strikes, one for each unique sword he hand on him and the mutant began to bleed badly.

Lucca managed to get Robo up with an Elixir she poured into his fuel tank but as she turned around to wipe the sweat from her brow the mutant ejected a long tongue-like apparatus. Like a frog, the tongue was super fast and it attached itself to Lucca's face, both nose and mouth. "Lucca!" Robo shouted as he grabbed hold of the hose-like tongue. Lucca could feel her energy being sucked from her body as her eyes widened in terror. She and Robo tried to wrestle the tongue off her face but Lucca quickly grew weaker and weaker as she even seemed to slim down and lose body mass. The mutant, however, was regenerating to stop its bleeding.

Garet turned his machine gun onto the mutant's face and Crono managed to Cleave the tongue, separating it from Lucca. Robo managed to pull it from her face and she breathed deeply, gasping for air. "It almost... sucked me... dry," Lucca moaned with a cough.

"Are you okay, Lucca?" Crono asked as he bathed her in his Holy Healing spell.

She smiled at Crono as her body mass and color returned to her. "Yeah, thanks to you guys," she said wearily. Lucca walked over to Robo, "Hey, let's try a Fire Tackle to the main body that should deal it a heavy blow!"

"Acknowledged! Robo Tackle initiated!" Robo said as his skates activated.

Lucca blessed Robo with her Fire Blast spell and his body became charged with the magical energies. Robo took off like a jet and slammed hard into the upper half of the monster and it became critically wounded. It sputtered and groaned as it tried to regain its composure. It used its tongue again but this time it didn't use its tongue on anyone in the party but on its lower half which shrieked in pain as it did so.

"Oh, no you don't," Garet said as he pulled out his Salvo. This time was different, however. He changed the weapon's configuration and aimed it at the mutant, "My Bazooka will blow it to bits," he said flatly.

"Allow me to join you!" Robo claimed as he moved some of his plates and revealed a powerful laser module in his chest cavity that wasn't there before. "Prometheus Lens!" Robo said with activation as a heavy non-elemental stream of energy erupted from Robo's chest.

The Bazooka hit the top half, shredding it to pieces and Robo's laser burned a hole through the bottom half. As it was non-elemental energy, the bottom half could not absorb it. The remains of the synthetic creature were immediately broken down and absorbed into the Frozen Flame overhead. The Flame then pulsed as it vanished back into the time stream.

By now, Paradise X had been fully activated and Atropos ran up to the party. Crono interrupted, "Okay, the Regime members are all dead, but what do we do about the big guy here?" he said, asking Atropos.

The party huddled as the massive machine struggled in its bindings. "Distract it, I'll try to disable it via the computers! It will begin a countdown style of attack so you must be quick!" Atropos informed quickly.

Crono's party settled and then began moving in to confront the massive, struggling robot. "Okay guys, let's just pummel it with everything we got!" Crono said with a charge. The team followed with war cries of their own.

Crono blessed Robo with his Holy Healing spell and Robo amplified it. "These Reflect and Deflect magic barriers should help us with taking cover! There is very little in this large room!" Robo claimed.

"Right, good thinking!" Crono said as the team was glowing with two magical barriers.

Paradise X was only composed of its upper torso. It had its inner workings and gadgets exposed as the armor plating was not yet installed. It hung from strong chains and thick cables that gave it power. It struggled and the roof above moaned with the creaking of steel being bent, "10!" it announced as it shot volley after volley of small explosives. Luckily, thanks to the Deflect barriers all physical projectiles were harmlessly batted away with some even returning to damage Paradise X.

However, these were but mere scratches as the robot stared down the party with its burning red eyes. "Hit it hard! Lucca give me some flames!" Crono said strongly.

"You got it!" Lucca retorted as she conjured a Fire Blast and blessed Crono's sword with it.

"Yeah, hit it with a 'Flametongue'!" Crono shouted as he leaped into the air and came down with a cleaving strike. Paradise X sustained damage in the form of a red-hot streak of sliced metal running vertically on its torso.

Paradise X swerved and struggled but continued its ominous countdown, "9!" it announced as it used a powerful machine inside its body to simulate casting a gravity spell that threatened the entire party. Luckily, though, it was bounced back by the party's Reflect barriers.

"I got something new myself!" Lucca stated as she brought a small red remote control. A small egg-shaped drone with four lights in a belt around it came out of her backpack. It levitated above the ground in front of her. She knelt down to take cover behind it. "Meet my new little toy! The Eggsterminator! It has a variety of functions! Take a look!" she said quickly as the drone opened up revealing intricate machinery inside. It fired a Flash Bomb at Paradise X's face and it managed to blind the machine.

"Sweet, that's really handy, Lucca!" Crono said with a smile. He then turned to Atropos. "Atropos, how are you doing with the programming?!"

"Slow, but steady!" she replied.

Paradise X didn't seem too keen on being blinded but it continued regardless, "8!" it announced as it freed an arm and swept the party with it knocking them all to the floor.

"Ow! Damn that stings!" Crono moaned as he got back up.

Robo faced Garet as the two stood up, "Garet stand on my shoulders and arm your Salvo would you please?" he asked politely.

"Affirmative!" Garet responded as he did as he was asked.

The two spun around spraying the field of battle and mostly Paradise X with volleys of lasers and mini rockets. The two came to a stop and Garet disembarked, "A Ballistic Spin will put a 'spin' on things!" Robo said with a robotic chuckle.

As the smoke cleared, Paradise X was undaunted and shook in its bindings once more, "7!" it announced. Its eyes gleamed as it blasted the party with powerful rays of heat vision.

"Ow, ow, OW, that burns!" Crono said painfully. Crono retaliated with his Scintillation spell and shocked Paradise X violently.

Lucca commanded her Eggsterminator, "Let's see, how about this! Stasis will lock it down! Hopefully it will give us more time!" she said as she winced from the pain. The Eggsterminator hit Paradise X with a powerful beam of light and it seemed to freeze it in place. "Yes! Just like that!"

"Let's take the time to recuperate!" Robo suggested.

"Hit me with your Heal Beam, Prometheus I can charge it up," Garet claimed.

"Acknowledged!" Robo said as he did just that.

Garet took Robo's energy and charged himself as he did so. He then covered the party in it and some of their wounds cleared up and their stamina was restored. "This Recharge Beam will give us a boost in long fights," Garet explained.

The stasis effect wore off Paradise X and the machine regained control of itself. "6!" it continued. Small salvos appeared from multiple places across its frame and ejected little grenades. These grenades exploded with strange yellow gases that enveloped the party causing them to choke and tear up.

Crono's throat burned as he reached out to Robo, "Robo...! Catch my healing spell...!" he said with a series of coughs.

"I am unaffected by the gas! I'll have you all fixed up in a jiffy!" Robo said as he caught Crono's Holy Healing. He once again bathed the party in his Holy Heal Beam.

"Atropos, what's going on over there?!" Crono shouted as his throat had regenerated.

"I'm sorry! Paradise X is giving me quite a struggle! Its programming is fighting me back! I am nearly 50% complete with the shutdown protocol!"

"We're cutting it close!" Crono said worriedly.

"Battery's running low on the Egg! I got enough juice for one more strike!" Lucca said with warning. She punched in a few buttons and the drone opened again. This time it revealed a laser device. It shot out a hot sphere of energy that collided with Paradise X with explosive damage and then the drone went back to Lucca. She stored it safely away to recharge.

Paradise X was now showing signs of damage but it was still not enough, "5!" it blared. It opened its mouth plate and out came yet another laser device. It pummeled the party with Dark Beams but luckily, the Reflect barriers sent them back to Paradise X.

"Good! Hey, Lucca!" Crono said as he turned to her. "Hit my sword up with that Nitro spell of yours! I'm gonna rip this thing apart!"

"You got it!" she replied strongly as she blessed Crono's sword with green flames.

Crono darted around Paradise X with blinding speed slashing at it causing explosions to erupt from every cut he made. When he was done, Paradise X was now heavily damaged enough to the point where its right arm fell off and hit the ground with a loud metal clang. "Heh, I'm gonna call that one, Nitro Frenzy!" he said proudly.

Paradise X now sparked whenever it moved, "4!" it announced with a glitch in its voice. Strangely, Paradise X revealed that the strange machine inside could imitate even more magic. It cast a 'spell' that enveloped the party in a blue geyser of energy. The spell drained the party of their strength and stamina and transferred it to itself.

"No! I will cut away that energy you just stole with my new Water Cutter!" Robo claimed as he used a new weapon. He took the weapon from his back via a 'third arm'. It had a hose attached to its back. Robo got in close and the tool unleashed a highly pressurized stream of water that cut off Paradise X's remaining arm. It too fell to the floor with a massive clang. The weapon then stored itself away.

Paradise X no longer had arms to battle the party with, "3!" it announced. It then produced a charge and its whole body became electrified. It unleashed this storm of electricity on the party and once again brought them to their knees.

"Why won't this damn thing blow up already?!" Lucca moaned in frustration.

"Sturdy bastard!" Crono said behind clenched teeth.

"It is a weapon of mass destruction after all," Garet stated factually.

"We're running out of time!" Robo said desperately. "Garet bless me with your fire magic! I'm getting in close!"

"Very well," Garet said as he wearily got to his feet.

Robo became charged with Garet's Over Heat spell and he dashed up to Paradise X and opened his plate armor. "Power Bomb!" he announced as an explosive force was unleashed from all of Robo's lasers and open vents.

The damage done to Paradise X was now critical, "2!" it still managed to announce. It showered itself in its own Cure Beam in an attempt to ward off some of the damage and bend its broken body back into shape. The amount of damage it removed was enough to bring it out of its critical state but far from repaired.

"Damn it!" Crono shouted angrily.

"Anyone, have any ideas?!" Lucca asked desperately. "No? Well at least I can do this!" she said as she cast her Blast Guard spell on the party.

"Atropos!" Robo shouted back.

"I got it, I got it!" Atropos cheered with delightful optimism. "97% just a few more seconds and it will-!" she said as she suddenly was cut off.

Paradise X interrupted, "1!" it announced as it hit the party with a strange flash of light from its eyes. The party froze in place from the omnilock and could do nothing.

Atropos looked down and saw that the protocol she was performing had also frozen. "...No...," Atropos muttered.

Paradise X lit up as steam escaped from its frame, "0!" it announced. The machine revealed its core and it collected Dark Energy that seemed to warp the surrounding space within the factory. Atropos watched helplessly as Crono's party was engulfed in the blast. Paradise X seemed to reset itself afterward.

Atropos rushed to the party in fear but to her surprise, they were all still alive. Crono was kneeling and propping himself up with his sword clasped in front of him. Lucca lay on the ground trying to move. Garet struggled to get up after being planted on his back but Robo had performed a miracle. Robo stood strongly, albeit heavily damaged. His body began to glow with a fierce light. In an instant, everyone witnessed a transformation via an Aura Surge.

"H-how...?" Lucca mumbled.

Robo's plate armor was now platinum in color and his eyes glowed with an icy blue color. The leather decorations had become gold in color as well. Robo spoke with a strong tone, "No, Paradise X, NO! You will not destroy me and my friends! You were created to destroy and subjugate others! I will not let you win this battle! I am REALLY PISSED OFF!" he shouted as he revealed his core under his plate armor.

Robo gathered an enormous amount of energy and then released it in one powerful beam that was surrounded by a set of two smaller beams that surrounded it like a double helix. "Neutron Beam!" he shouted as the beam tore Paradise X in two from the head down.

The machine fell and started a fire in the rubble beneath it. Everyone was stunned as Robo quickly returned to normal. Atropos came to him but before the party could even recuperate an alarm system went off. A female voice came from the speakers, "Attention, attention, Paradise X has been compromised. Detonation of Lab 51 is imminent! Escape immediately!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Crono said as he struggled to get to his feet.

Atropos flashed everyone with her Heal Beam, "There, that should at least get you all mobile! Let's get out of here!"

The party quickly managed to escape from the crumbling facility and back to the surface. However, it seemed like the destruction would engulf the facility on the surface as well. Garet called the Neo Epoch and it arrived almost immediately. The party boarded and Atropos loaded herself onto the back. The Neo Epoch took off just in time for the party to witness the massive explosion from the sky.

Crono laid back in his seat in relief, "Whew! What a task that was!"

"Question!" Lucca said as she comically raised her hand like a school student. "How did you have an Aura Surge, Robo?! You're completely synthetic! So how did you do that?!"

"I will explain in a bit..., I need to process this first," Robo said with exhaustion.

"Yeah, let's continue this when we're back with everyone else," Crono moaned.

"Impressive Prometheus, err, Robo. I did not think that would be possible for you," Garet said with a light smile.

"Thank you, Garet, and thank you, everyone!" Robo said with a light chuckle.

*Later at the Robot Colosseum, Doan's Office*

The party gathered in Doan's office as they finished patching themselves up. "Well, I see you all certainly had your work cut out for you!" Doan laughed.

"I've never seen a robot like that before!" Crono claimed as he was still excited from the adrenaline.

"Yeah, a real shame all those resources had to go to waste!" Lucca pouted.

"Not to worry Lucca, I contain all the data and information needed for the R Series and its X variant," Robo claimed joyfully.

"I do as well!" Atropos said backing him up.

"Moreover, Garet, this is a big victory for you. The Central Regime members are all dead now," Crono pointed out.

"Yes, I feel a great sense of catharsis," Garet claimed with a soft smile. "I'm still taking the time to process it though..."

"Oh, I understand where you're coming from. Trust me!" Crono said with a wide grin. "Well guys, we should be getting back to the others now. Everyone ready?"

"You're leaving again?" Atropos asked as she twiddled her fingers.

"Only for a little while, Atropos. I must help Crono here take back his home and finish off Dalton and by extension, Lavos," Robo claimed.

"Well, either way, Prometheus, good luck! I know you'll all succeed!" Atropos said cheering them on.

Doan sat down at his desk as Crono's party headed toward the door, "Be well friends, and stay 'heal-thy'!" he said with a wink.

"Thanks, Doan, you too!" Crono said encouragingly.

With that, Crono and his party made their way back to the Neo Epoch and returned to the End of Time.

*End of Time*

Crono's party disembarked and everyone welcomed Robo's return. Everyone was astonished in their own way. "Welcome back, judging by how you look I trust everything went well?" Gaspar asked with a warm smile.

Robo responded as everyone crowded around him, "The Central Regime has fallen. They are defeated."

"Although it saddens me to see more human souls corrupted by Lavos meet their demise, it lifts my heart to know that they can no longer bring harm to the world," Gaspar said melancholically.

Janus threw back his cape, "They chose their fate, and just like my mother, they did not receive that which they wanted. What a pity..."

"I guess immortality is not what it seems, is it?" Glenn asked rhetorically.

"Usually it comes out to be some false promise anyway," Tomo added. "Why would you want to be immortal in this life anyway? Y'know, where all the pain and suffering are? Would you really want to just sit and watch the world go through cycles of life and death?"

"Seems kinda boring to me," Ty followed. "I'm only 22 and I already get bored easily. I couldn't imagine trying to keep myself busy for an eternity."

"Immortality for 'afterlife'! Not during life!" Ayla claimed with a grin. "Elder say, life short so live well! If life endless then nothing matter. Love make life worth living!"

"Lady Irma was also tempted by the allure of eternal life and she gave it quite a lot of thought before she came to the same conclusion. Love is simply a greater treasure," Lex said strongly.

"It's so sad that others only want eternal life so they can rule over and control others. They simply don't trust the children that they raised to take over for them," Marle said sadly.

"Well, I know it's not for me, that's for sure!" Crono said with a chuckle.

Gaspar faced Crono, "Well now, most of these 'disciples' have been defeated. All that's left now is to confront the country of Porre and... your dad, Caelus."

Crono's demeanor changed to a serious tone and he sighed heavily. "Yeah, I guess it is time to confront Porre, isn't it? Marle and I are acting rulers after all. It's time to see what they want out of all this! So I'm gonna need all the help I can get!" he said readying himself. Everyone cheered along with him and they began to prepare for the coming confrontation.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" Lucca said as she dashed up to Robo. "Tell us how you had an Aura Surge!"

Robo's eyes brightened happily, "Ah, yes! Well, you see...!"

*End of Chapter*