[They continue on and find the Dead Sea, a frozen lake with ruins of a city all around.] Harle: Zis iz... ze Dead Sea... Zis iz some sight... I feel like I am a living nightmare... Radius: The waves are at a standstill... And... What is that dark shadow in the distance...? Harle: Ze treacherous ocean... Ze eart', condemned by Dragon Gods... It'z not all zat bad... [They head through an old highway and defeat a mechanical creature.] [They continue on through strange terrain and go to the Tower of Gheddon.] Harle: Zis must be ze center of ze Dead Sea... All zis chaos must have spread out from here. Radius: The buildings seem to have melted into one giant conglomeration. What happened to this place? [They go inside and see a ghost on a bench.] Ghost: It-is-time... You-must-go... You-will-miss-the-train. [They follow it and get a station pass, allowing further access.] [They reach a new area. Serge pauses.] Radius: What's wrong, Serge? Did you sense something? [A girl in a white dress runs from them.] Harle: Are you alright? What...? You saw a child? I didn't see a child anywhere... !? Radius: Nothing will surprise me here. ...Let's just keep going. [They go further. Serge sees a purple haired girl run from them on a balcony.] Harle: We're inside a building, yet what'z zis t'ing doing in here...? Radius: This place is beyond me... [In the next room...] !! [They see ghosts of the Devas, Glenn, Viper and Riddel.] Radius: What in heaven's name is going on here...!? General...! Miss Riddel!!! And Glenn and the other dragoons...! What could have happened here...!? Harle: It iz unfortunate, but it appearz zey were held captive here before zey died... It'z too late... Zey are so close, yet so far. No one can help zem... [A red haired boy appears, then vanishes. They go further up and see a portal, which he goes through.] Radius: Are you alright? What's wrong? Harle: You have been acting strangely ever since we entered ze building. Iz it zat child again? Zere's no turning back now! We must keep going, Serge. [They go through the portal and appear in another area.] Radius: ...A sunset!? Have the clouds from the Dead Sea cleared up? Harle: It appears zat ze dimension itself iz more unstable here zan elsewhere. It'z a time and spacew witt'in a structure completely different from anywhere else. Luckily, ze distortion to leave zis place iz still here. Zat'z good newz for us. [They continue on and see the 3 children, who look much like Crono, Lucca and Marle. They head to the next area. Serge and the others follow. They now stand at a square, where a bell has fallen from its pedestal.] Marker: A.D. 1000 Nadia's Bell May our prayers for peace ring on for eternity... But Nadia's Bell will never be heard again... Never... 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...! 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!!! Radius: Who are those children...? Harle: It'z Serge's fault zat ze world will end up like zis...? Voice: Don't let it bother you. It's just a distant echo from ones far gone... It's just an illusion. [A man steps out into view. He wears glasses and has long red hair.] Man: Welcome to the Tower of Geddon... Time Crash Ground Zero! It's been a while, Serge. ...But... I guess you don't remember who I am. I don't blame you. You were only a little child back then. I'm Miguel. A friend of your father. According to the time outside, it's been about 14 years since the night of the storm... [Flashback to them standing in a room similar to the area they've just been in.] Wazuki: What is this place? Miguel: I don't know... but I don't think we're supposed to know about it... Voice: That child... That wounded child... Bring him to me... Miguel: What, what is that? Who's there? [Miguel starts heading further in.] Miguel: Wait, Wazuki!!! Where are you going!? Wazuki: There's no way we can set sail again in this storm. We don't have a second to waste... Or else... Serge will... Miguel: BUT...!!! Wazuki: I don't care what lies ahead of us... I'm going. There's no way I'll allow my son to die without a fight! I'd appreciated it if you waited for me here. Thank you for coming tonight, Miguel... Thank you. [He goes in.] Miguel: No! Wait! WAZUKI!!! [The flashback ends.] Miguel: Yes... I've been here in this very place... For 14 years... It wasn't like this when I got here, though... An incident that occured 10 years ago, transformed it into the Dead Sea. Don't you know...? There's nothing in the world as ruthless or impartial as death. All living matter ages over time and eventually dies... No matter how mighty or tiny its life force... So being alive means you're creeping closer to death with every second... But there's none of that here. No one and nothing ages. Nothing wastes away. This quiet, boundless, and beautiful world... An ideal world, straight out of a fairy tale, isn't it? A place and time that belongs to no one... Res nullius... It's because this is a future that was eliminated!!! History is composed of choices and divergences. Each choice you make creates a new world and brings forth a new future. But at the same time, you're eliminating a different future with the choices you didn't make. A future denied of all existence because of a change in the past... A future that was destroyed even before it was born rests here... condensed into the Dead Sea. Radius: How is that possible...!? Miguel: "Fate." Our lives are governed by fate. Fate knows all and controls all. No one can run from fate... Even your presence here was predestined... long, long ago. Wouldn't you all like to become one with this world? To be a part of eternity? How about it, Serge? You need no longer struggle alone, nor fear an uncertain tomorrow. Well? What do you say? (Serge): Refuse!!! Miguel: I see... I guess there's only one thing left to do then... I take it you're trying to restore the dimensional distortion? If you defeat me and liberate this place, the distortion will return to the way it was. I guess this is it... Just as there are times of peace, there are times of war... You don't have to hold back. Attack me with all your soul if you wish to live. Let fate take its course...!!! [They defeat him.] Miguel: Well done! That's the way, Serge! My, you have grown strong. Maybe... just maybe... you and your friends have the power to defeat FATE and build a new future for humanity. The Dead Sea is the true form of this planet's future. That's right... At one stage our world was on the verge of such inevitable destruction... That was in 1999, when the parasitical alien life-form known as Lavos awoke and after centuries of feeding off this planet. Lavos fell from the heavens a countless number of years ago and burrowed deep beneath the surface to eat and sleep. Slowly but deliberately, Lavos devoured our planet from the inside out... waiting for the time to ripen its true awakening. Finally Lavos did awake and manifested its true form on the surface of the planet. That's when our world faced a death from which there seemed no possibility of escape... Were it not for a teenage boy and his group of adventurer friends, that is... These young heroes caught a glimpse of this planet's future destruction as it appeared in the year 2300. They realized they could not turn their backs on our planet, even if its death would not be anywhere near their lifetime. Time traveling from epoch to epock, they battled Lavos for the future of our planet, and eventually won. But in saving our planet from the death Lavos was going to bring about, they also changed the course of history... Lucca: At that very moment, this whole future time axis ceased to exist. Call it cause and effect... It is just a problem of possibilities, after all... In this world, there are no such things as absolutes or certainties. Marle: But the future that was supposed to have disappeared is about to be restored here... The future destruction of our planet is going to become a reality in this world once again... Crono: The vengeance of the future we killed is about to begin... With Serge serving as the trigger... Miguel: Perhaps, or perhaps not... Either way, it is all part of the grand game of the gods... and "goddesses!" People are dragged into playing this game... forced to put their own lives on the line... without even knowing the rules. Without even being allowed to complain, they try to do their best under the conditions placed upon them... The only alternative is to give up and leave the playing field in a forfeit... Three years ago, members of the Acacia Dragoons from Termina visited here... Those knights were after the Frozen Flame, of course. But instead they became salt for the Dead Sea... You see, only the chosen one can approach the Flame... [Shaking occurs.] Miguel: It looks like Fate has made its decision and has started to carry it out now... FATE doesn't want the Frozen Flame to awaken in this pladce at this time... It would choose to destroy the Flame along with the whole Dead Sea, than to allow its enemies to take hold of the Flame... This lost future is about to disappear into the darkness beyond the dimensions again... You have no time to spare. You must leave here immediately! Quick... go! Voice: I love you so much... That is why I sometimes desire to smash you to bits!!! Miguel: Don't worry about me! You must go now! Farewell, Serge! The future is yours for the taking... You... the one that the Frozen Flame has chosen! [They run away.] Miguel: My dear Leena... May you live in a happier tomorrow! [He dies.] Harle: We're not going to make it! [A huge dragon appears.] Dragon: Grab hold... sons of man! [He flies away.] [FMV] [A beam of light comes out from the Tower of Gheddon. Lava bursts from the ground and approaches the Tower. A huge shockwave comes out of it, destroying everything in the sea. Then it vanishes, sucking all the clouds away with it.] [FMV] [On a nearby island...] Radius: Why did you help us? Sky Dragon: I, too, would like to witness this. How thou shalt live and how shoult die... If thou art planning to bring forth a new entity, prepare thyself for anguish and sorrow. [He leaves.] Sky Dragon: To the Sea of Eden... If thou intend to defy the Goddess of Fate, speak with the ancient Dragon Gods, who sit in repose in El Nido... Let the path to the Sea of Eden be known when all the powers of the "Sleeping Dragons" are brought together... Radius: Serge, you're concerned about the other world, aren't you? The dimensional distortion should be back in order. Let's head to Opassa Beach.