They drove the boat to the third island and slogged up the stairs to the dais where a strange voice told them that they were on the future island.
"Are we there yet," Glenn deadpanned, looking around in a bored fashion.
Suddenly a floating face mask flew at them and stopped, hovering in the air for a moment.
Draggy looked up, "Arrre we being tested?" he asked in his sugary sweet voice.
"Who cares," Serge asked, slashing it with his swallow, "I don't get the point of this whole thing."
Glenn glanced at him, "Let's just get this done,"
They used X-Strike to finish the battle and then looked at each other and grinned.
"Pound," Serge said, raising his fist.
"And explode," Glenn added.
They did a fist pound and then 'exploded' outward after.
They then stood there, waiting.
When nothing happened, all three exchanged a set of glances.
"Um…back to the boat I guess."
They went back down and Draggy sighed, "I'm sick of stairrrs!"
The other two chuckled, although Serge found it rather unfair the little beast could fly and they had to walk the whole time. Granted the baby dragon wasn't too steady in the air, but still.
They got onto the boat and noticed that the large three sided, physically impossible waterfall had disappeared and in it's place was a large compound.
"Hey! Something happened for no adequately explained reason when we went to those three time wasting islands!"
The other two clapped as Serge said this, obviously pleased to be moving on.
Outside the door that only opened upon Serge's, the arbiter's, order, the group stood, waiting to go in.
"…Are you okay?" Glenn finally asked.
Serge shook his head, "No…they explained stuff…like, nearly all of it…"
He sank to the floor, "I need to sit down…"
Viper shook his head, "I know this must be a lot to take in, you being the Chrono Trigger and everything."
Serge gave him a weird look, "What? Oh, that. No, that part doesn't bother me at all. It's just, they explained some things that were bugging me and I feel…empty."
Viper was obviously not getting it, and Serge didn't feel like trying to explain that he didn't feel like moving on after this upset.
He had only been continuing to figure out what was going on, and he assumed he would never know.
After learning everything he felt there wasn't a need to finish out the journey.
Luckily, his young dragoon friend knew just what to say, "You know, they didn't explain everything. Like…"
Glenn looked around and then snapped his fingers, "Like, where you got that extra set of clothing from after you got your form back!"
Serge looked up hopefully.
"Or…where Harle went! And, why Guile wanted into the manner!"
Serge started to nod slowly so Glenn went on.
"There's also the whole thing with Leah, none of us get that. And do you really understand why Kid's Astral Amulet lets you pass through the dimensions like that?"
With an exhale, the teenage hero got to his feet, "Wow, thanks. That was just what I needed to hear."
"No problem," his friend said.
Serge turned to the door, "Now, let's move on and either find more answers or more questions!"
They finished FATE off and then Kid woke up, ignoring them completely and instead staring up at the Frozen Flame.
She hopped up and somehow managed to make it to the top, where she spouted out some stuff about fate and the future and things of that nature.
Before Serge could tell her to get down because it looked like she might slip and fall, Harle appeared out of no where and hovered up.
"No! Don't do it Kid! For no adequately explained reason if you touch that it could be bad!"
Kid just glared at her, "Shut yer trap!"
"No! I'm telling zee truth even if it's not adequately explained."
There was a cry from above that sounded like a wounded dragon, and then Harle sadly shook her head, "I was hoping it would not come to zis."
She flew up and through the Frozen Flame just as Kid collapsed into a heap on the bubble's dome.
Viper looked around, "Am I the only one that feels like he's missing something?"
"No," the younger men answered.
Serge shrugged, "I don't know what's going on, since it's not adequately explained, but my gut tells me it will involve fighting something big."
Radius looked sad as he explained that Kid's condition hadn't changed; she was still in a coma from whatever had happened in the Frozen Flame room.
That piece of information still wasn't adequately explained.
"Hey, isn't that the princess?" a childish voice asked out of nowhere.
Serge looked around, confused, as another voice answered.
"Yeah, I think your right!"
Again, he couldn't see anything and apparently no one else heard the voice for they just kept talking in hushed tones around him.
"It looks like her mind is trapped for no adequately explained reason…"
"That's too bad…Do you think we could help?"
"Nah, it's like we have too…"
Serge finally realized the voices were coming from his weapon, and lifted it up, "Um, Masa, Mune?"
"Yeah!" they chorused, "Sorry we can't do anything to help her…"
A third voice joined in, "Well, well, aren't we lazy?"
"Doreen!" Masa and Mune yelped.
Serge just frowned at the legendry blade, annoyed that they were having a conversation and essentially ignoring him.
"You know we could help, maybe not completely, but…" Doreen said, trailing off.
Fed up, Serge shook the double sword, "Hey! Explain things to me! You three seem to know what's what, and a princess? I'm so confused because things aren't adequately explained, you've got to tell me everything."
"Err…" the three of them said together.
He glared menacingly at the swallow and Doreen explained hastily, "Look, it's not that we don't want too, but we're not supposed too. I know it seems like things aren't adequately explained, but you'll be fine."
Serge shook his head, "That's not good enough! I want-"
Suddenly there was a flash of light and he was standing in a burning house.
"We've sent you to the past where Kid's mind is trapped! You don't have a lot of time, please hurry and save her before our power runs out!" Masa and Mune cried.
"Oh, your good, but this isn't over," Serge hissed to the weapon, "when this is over, I want answers or I'm sending you to Zappa to disassemble!"
He raced into the fire, intent on doing what they asked to save Kid, and debating whether or not he would actually follow through with his threat.
Starky explained why they were able to breathe underwater, which pleased Serge since it had been bugging him, but even the alien couldn't understand why there was a jellyfish monster guarding the entrance to his ship.
It was dead in a matter of moments, and they went inside, but the fact that it was there at all for no adequately explained reason still bothered him.
Starky ran, or rather hopped/floated, around his ship and happily announced that everything was in order, including the part they came down for in the first place.
But as they got ready to leave, Serge stopped at the door and frowned, "Hey Starky?"
The blue alien looked up at him and he asked, "What about the other you? The one that's in this world…this is his ship, isn't he going to need it? And for that matter, where is he?"
Starky blinked a couple times and then shrugged, "Starky don'ttt know. As youuu say, it's not adequately explained."
Serge chuckled and pat the glass head of the alien, "You know Starky, I like you."
Starky grinned and followed him out of the ship and back into the ocean.
"Your sure turning the boat into a flying machine will work?" Serge asked Starky, not entirely convinced.
The alien nodded, "Yesss."
Kid crossed her arms, "So, we jus' load this thing on the back, eh?"
"No!" Starky cried, "weee do a bunch ooof other stuff that makes iiit work for no adequately explained reason…"
Serge and Kid glanced at other, skeptical, and then shrugged and watched Starky start to work, equipping their boat with the ability to fly.
After a moment of silence, Serge looked at Kid, "Hey,"
"Yeah?" she answered, glancing up expectantly.
Serge's gaze wandered back to the ship, "Why are we going to Terra Tower again?"Whatever Kid had been expecting or wanting to hear, that wasn't it.
She pouted and crossed her arms again, "I dunno mate, what's it they say?"
"Because it's there? Like they say about climbing mountains?" he replied.
Kid shook her head, "Nah mate, for no adequately explained reason!"
Serge frowned, displeased, "Why of course…"
"Allll done!" Starky called, waving them over.
Terra Tower was a strange place filled with even odder creatures, and as they made their way through it, the party had gotten lost more then once.
Finally they came to a passage and hurried under it until they were suddenly stopped by a voice. Looking up, they saw a stone face embedded in the low ceiling.
It spoke to them in a wispy voice, "I used to be human before I was imprisoned here…"
"Really? Who were you back then?" Serge asked, genuinely interested.
The stone face took a moment to answer, and when it did, the voice was slightly annoyed, "That's not adequately explained, actually,"
Serge sighed and sadly shook his head, "Alright…"
As they watched from their boat, Terra Tower shifted and changed, its form loosing water and becoming a fossil of what it used to be.
"So…what exactly is happening?" Serge finally asked.
Kid shrugged, "How the bloody hell should I know!"
"I don't really get why this is important…it's not adequately explained, that's for sure." Serge said, watching as the metamorphosis was completed.
"I do know that in a few years this will be a huge tourist attraction." he said, starting o row the boat away.
"Oi, and Viper will probably charge a bundle to see it!" Kid laughed, playing along.
The beach was full of ghosts, and they all had something to say, trying to explain the last few things that didn't make sense.
However, it seemed rushed and somewhat thrown together, so Serge wasn't impressed. Not even when Crono's ghost made some comment about Lynx being his father.
"…"
The ghost blinked, "What? You don't believe me? It's true! Lynx was your father!"
Serge frowned, "This seems a bit…last minute. Are you sure you're not just making this up?"
"No! It's the truth! I swear it!"
"…This isn't just to make the game more dramatic?"
"No!"
"This isn't just a Starwars rip off?"
"No!"
Serge shrugged, "Whatever, I'm not really sure what sort of feelings I'm supposed to have about this inadequately explained plot point."
He started to turn away, but stopped and looked back.
"Wait a minute…"
The ghost looked worried and leaned away from him, "W-what?"
"If Lynx is my dad, and Kid is one year younger then me, then how did my dad, who was supposedly turned into Lynx when I was six, get to the mainland and burn down Lucca's house? That timeline seems a little hasty, don't you think?"
"…" it was the ghost's turn to employ the silent treatment.
Serge nodded sagely, "That's what I thought,"
Crono pointed to the purple vortex in the sand, "Ah, shut up and enter the final battle."
The being formerly known as Lavos and currently known as the Time Devourer cried out as the Chrono Cross melody played, shattering it's hold on the child form of Schala.
With its hold broken, the glorified hedgehog from outer space dissolved into shiny particles that floated upward.
A disembodied voice started to speak with no clear indication as too who it was or where they were.
It spoke of what they had gone through, of what had happened and what didn't happen. It spoke of how FATE was destroyed and that the human race had its own choices to make. Then it mentioned that they would go back to live the lives they should have without the interference from FATE, and that their memories would be removed.
"Whoa, wait, what?" Serge said, looking around.
The voice bid them farewell and then everything went black, leaving no time for goodbyes or confessions, no chance to argue the topic or stop it from happening.
Serge woke up on Opassa Beach with Leena yelling at him for falling asleep. He sat up and spit sand out of his mouth, looking up at her, "What are you talking about? And how did I get here?" he asked.
She blinked, "You just passed out in the middle of our conversation!" she nagged.
Serge stood up, "Leena, why are we here?"
"You just brought me my Komodo dragon scales, remember?" she asked haughtily.
Serge blinked, confused, "But…that was…what about…" he turned and looked over the ocean, seeing that Sky Dragon Island was how it should be and there was no sign of anything wrong. It meant he was in Home World.
"What about Terra Tower and the Time Devourer?" he asked, turning back to Leena.
She just gave him a look, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but maybe we should head back to the village, you're not making any sense."
Serge stepped away, shaking his head in confusion, "But…"
He turned and stared out at the ocean, "The inadequately explained identity of the inadequately explained disembodied voice may or may not have deleted my memories! And what if everything that's happened that wasn't adequately explained didn't really happen?"
-FIN
"Whoa! Wait! Hold it!"
A young woman wearing white clothing with a long blonde ponytail came running out, staring at a screen where the credits of CHRONO CROSS were playing.
"That's it?" she asked in disbelief, "But…did Serge loose his memory? Will Kid ever find him?"
She turned around, "Lucca! Get out here!"
Another young woman wandered out, her hair short and violet colored, "Yes?"
"Your smart, explain the ending of the game to me."
She blinked, staring at the screen where a shot of someone standing in a school room was shown.
"Is this a perfume add?" Lucca asked, puzzled.
The other woman shook her head, "I don't know!"
"Marle, calm down, we'll figure it out." she told her friend.
The girl sighed and then frowned, looking to Lucca, "Say…did you die in this game?"
"My house burned down but my actual demise wasn't adequately explained." she replied.
Marle nodded and Lucca turned the question back on her, "What about you?"
"I'm…not sure. I mean, I was a ghost, so…"
They both paused and then Marle looked around, "I would have thought Magus would have been around here…he is probably important to the plotline and everything."
Lucca shrugged, "Eh, what can I say? Maybe he was the inadequately explained man who brought Hydra Humor to Kid?"
"Kid was Schala's cloned daughter?"
"So it says,"
"That's a bit farfetched," Marle replied, frowning once again.
Lucca fixed her glasses, "Tell me about it…and poor Robo…no love for him. He seems to get killed in every timeline."
"Well, at least he got a cameo! Frog didn't even get a picture in your house!"
The inventor scoffed, "He got a whole character named after him in this game, what more does he want?"
Marle tapped her chin, "That reminds me…what's up with Harle? She was a dragon, right? Or was she a fragment of a dream?"
"I don't know myself," Lucca admitted, "I'm not even sure what happened to her. Maybe she was a Reptite?"
Marle shrugged, "Maybe,"
"…And Leah?" Lucca mentioned, scratching her head.
The former princess of Guardia crossed her arms, "How should I know!"
They both looked back to the screen and saw the final scene of Kid wearing a puffy dress and staring out at the ocean.
The screen faded to black.
"Okay…what was that supposed to mean? Did Kid find Serge, then?" Marle asked.
Lucca rolled her eyes, "You're a hopeless romantic…"
"Don't get down on me just because you didn't end up paired with anyone."
She glared at the white clad woman, "Let's not get personal,"
Marle shrugged and then sighed, "I'm still confused…things just weren't explained enough and nothing seems to have been resolved when you really think about it."
"I know, it seems a bit anti-climatic," Lucca agreed.
They turned off the projector, "Well, that's that I guess." Lucca said sadly.
"Until next game!" Marle smiled.
Lucca let her gaze wander, "Eh…about that…"
-Fin
And that conculdes F.N.A.E.R! I hope someone will enjoy this. My brother and I had a blast joking about through the game and the new game+. Please note that the last scene with the 'slideshow' is an ode to one of the Chrono Trigger endings you can get. Besides, I felt badly that the cast of Chrono Trigger had such an unpleasent fate...
There might be an 'extras' chapter coming up that would be posted attached to this fic that will detail other fun things my brother and I did.
Thanks for reading!