A/N: Uh I did another revision of this chapter, but since there is nobody around to read it, it probably won't matter :(

Summary (yes there's a summary in here now): Set in a modern day El Nido. The future is not as it seems, old enemies return and it's up to a new group of heores to save the world before all hell breaks loose.

Disclaimer: Don't Own Chrono Cross, never will so whatever.

Code Thing
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Words that express meaning
--Flashback--

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Chapter 1 Countdown
The platform lowered quickly down the restricted floor, the elevator door slid to the left as a young woman (age 19) named Kid stepped out to keep watch while two males followed. Glenn, an Acacian Knight who happened to be the oldest, helped his friend Serge stay balanced; though the blue haired man's injuries were making that impossible. How Serge received those injuries, well that's another story for another time.

A fourth individual (who appeared to be roughly in his mid teens), remained rooted to where he stood and studied the new or rather old surroundings. The stoic expression on his face faltered for a moment as he narrowed his eyes and stared at the room that was a couple of yards away. He had known about every room in Chronopolis, though this was the first time that he had ever set foot in this room in particular. They had forbidden him from entering but he had a suspicion now of what to expect ahead.

Suddenly Kid turned around and stared at the boy who hadn't moved and sighed impatiently, "Hey what are ya waiting for? C'mon already," she gestured for the boy to come over; he only gave a slight nod and joined the other three companions.

They headed towards the Project Kid room but it took longer than they had expected. Serge's wounds inhibited his movements, meaning that they had to take a break every few minutes. There were also machines and robots placed in the area to prevent access to the other side, the group assumed that they had been off commission but that did not seemed to be the case. Then there was that constant blaring of red lights and loud sirens catching them off guard every five minutes, irritating them (Kid in particular) as they came closer to their destination. Kid was so annoyed she took it out on the machines as she rushed and dealt with them using her Spectral Dagger. To her surprise, the boy joined in on the fight using his two swords to help her out when it looked like she was having difficulties.

"Tch, I didn't need yer help," Kid simply said after they finished before joining up back with her friends. The boy said nothing towards Kid's comment and placed his swords away before following the others as they eventually reached the other side to where the Frozen Flame was once housed. The door was locked, but a designated area to the left where personnel presented identification was available.

The only problem as the boy noticed was that there was no use for a key card, there was no padlock or any way to open the door; the only thing that was there was a message saying that only personnel registered as arbitermay enter. Apparently Serge already knew what to do as the boy watched the older man stand in front a designated area that he had failed to notice before. An automated feminine voice resonated from the wall in confirmation as the door opened, allowing entry. However, the boy wasn't paying attention as he began to look down at what seemed like a bottomless pit, with a sense of foreboding. He looked up afterwards barely seeing another elevator passageway just above the current room. His train of thought was disrupted when Serge swayed to the right and fell forward against the wall, wincing in pain. The boy looked to the older man but Kid had already acted.

"Serge, ya okay mate?" Kid asked with concern as she came to his aid and helped him up.

"...Yeah I'm...I'm fine Kid," Serge replied forcing a smile in hopes to reassure the girl.

‘Why does he do this?’ the boy thought to himself as he studied the other male; his clothes were torn revealing the open wounds that bled slowly. Even after using all of their healing elements on Serge, there were still many more serious wounds that had yet to fully heal. Had he just taken it easy and at least taken a break it would have helped for a slight recovery, instead Serge continued to push himself to his limits causing his wounds to slowly open up again increasing the pain in his body. For a second, incertitude crept over the boy's mind, as he pondered on whether or not he should be preoccupied for the arbiter. He had considered this man at one point to be his enemy, but after Serge saved his life, that gradually changed. Since then, he had turned his back on his Superior and joined Serge, thus becoming a traitor.

And yet he couldn't shake off the awkwardness he felt. Never before had anyone stood up for him, and he certainly didn't expect this from someone he had been ordered to kill. But Serge did, and the man had spared him from a fate far worse than death; it was something that he was excruciatingly thankful for even if he didn't show it. And it was only fair that he repay Serge whatever way he could. Of course at the moment, he was unsure what approach to take in doing so.

He thought it over, it was now or never as he began walking towards the front of the door, and coming to a stop. He stood there blocking the other three adventurers from entering. 'It is for your own good.'

"What are you doing?" Glenn asked, becoming suspicious by the boy's sudden action. He shook his head, "I cannot allow Serge to continue." The three of them looked to each other surprised that he had called Serge by his name rather than refer to him simply as the "arbiter" as he usually had.

"For the matter, I do not think the two of you should go in either," he said afterwards, his tone impassive, the expression on his face remaining the same as he looked from Glenn then back to Serge. "Your injuries have become too severe for you to go on. If you keep this up you will surely die," he said his expression looked pained for a second.

Kid looked to Serge then back to the boy, "What do ya suggest we do? We can't give up now," she said impatiently and skeptical towards the other boy. What was he up to? Was he going to stop them from entering? If so, then there was certainly going to be a whole lot trouble of coming his way.

"Kid's right, We've gotten too far on our own just to turn back and call it quits, so what now?" Said Glenn.

"I will go."

"What? Yer going alone?" Kid exclaimed.

"If you come with me, you would only slow me down," he replied in the same tone as Kid approached and stared at him. She had a look on her face that would make anyone crumble, but that did not seem to be the case as the boy remained unfazed by her gaze. Kid's blue eyes continued to stare at his own mysterious blue eyes that held a tinge of violet, she quickly turned away.

"Helios, how do we know that for sure?" Serge interrupted.

"Yeah! What if ya fail while yer on yer own? Or better yet, what if ya suddenly decide to betray us, huh?" Kid said as she waited for an answer. Helios looked down and saw that her hand was clenched tightly into a fist. The boy shook his head, "I came all the way with you three, is that not enough for you to trust me?" Glenn merely shrugged indifferently while Kid glared, Serge was about to open his mouth and say something but said nothing instead.

"Well you will have to live with it and trust me, all of you. It is my responsibility to correct this problem, you should know by now that I am the only one who can help you," he said looking inside to nothing in particular before turning his attention back to the group, mainly Kid. From the looks of it she was about to say something but Helios continued.

"Believe it or not, but we share a common goal; I want to save El Nido as much as you do," Kid rolled her eyes not taking in anything he said.

"You were on FATE's side and ya even tried to kill me mate Serge! That's enough for me to know that someone like ya can't be trusted…" Kid replied angrily, she still hadn't gotten over the fact that he had tried to kill the person she loved.

"Kid," said Serge, but Kid refused to listen. The boy was her enemy and nothing was going to change that even if he was coming along with them.

“You are right, I was on FATE's side and I am sorry for doing the things I did to you all. I have realized the mistake I made and I want to make things right however possible. If you do not believe then that is your problem not mines,” said Helios.

"Yeah whatever," said Kid, "give me one good reason why I should believe ya." They would have expected the boy to start quarreling with Kid, or even shout at her because she didn't believe him, but no such thing occurred as he expressed no emotion and remained stoic as ever.

“You know what it is like growing up here in El Nido, raised with the belief that the 'Goddess of Fate' protects us, and brings everlasting peace to this Archipelago. When FATE was destroyed, I was willing to do anything and everything to bring it back, and save mankind from them case they should ever came back. I was too foolish to put my trust in FATE and that was my mistake, I failed to realize that it is no longer trustworthy as guardian of El Nido.”

“It came to my understanding that there was an error in FATE's system, creating minor damage to its programming shortly after it was pulled back in time. If it was not corrected, the damage would continue to spread and affect the rest of its programming, until it eventually regressed to functioning just as its predecessor the Mother Brain Program did in a different timeline…”

"Mother Brain?" Serge said.

"...I am pertaining to a part of Chronopolis' vast records that are strictly classified,” the boy paused suddenly, as if debating on whether or not he should tell them, but then continued. “You see, the Mother Brain was an AI that was created in the mid 20th century. In a different timeline unlike our own, the Mother Brain was corrupted during the Apocalypse that occurred in the year 1999 AD, it tried to wipe out what was left of humanity in a span of 300 years. History was somehow altered and the Apocalypse never happened; since mankind continued to live on Apocalypse-free the Mother Brain was never therefore never corrupted. The scientists and other researchers of the future later integrated it with a more powerful supercomputer, thus creating FATE."

"Due to the Time Crash, Chronopolis and FATE were pulled back in time from the year 2400 AD to 10,000 years before their own establishments, 7,600 BC to be more exact. It may have been accidental, but I suspect that someone had coordinated this.”

They looked to each other knowing that Helios was speaking Belthasar, the Time Prophet who had told them about Project Kid; how it involved FATE and the Dragon Gods so that Serge could get his hands on the Chrono Cross, the only thing that could free Schala, Kid’s mother from the alien life form known as Lavos. From the way Helios spoke, they suspected that the boy didn't know about that.

“Such an event can cause a devastating effect on history as we know it, and as a result of this FATE ordered the creation of El Nido's archipelago. The majority of Chronopolis' researchers were also ordered to vacate the center and go forth and colonize the islands. FATE erased their memories...” The boy had an unusual expression on his face as if remembering something.

“They failed to notice that FATE had been corrupted, and the fact that they had all been sent out to El Nido without doing anything about it only made things worse. For a while FATE was stable, but something must have set it off into a downward spiral… FATE discovered that sometime in the near future it would be destroyed… Yes that was it. It is capable of calculating multiple possible outcomes of the future, and the probability that this would occur was too great. There was nothing it could do to prevent it from happening, so it decided to create a backup copy of itself, just in case. The copy is nearly identical to the original with a few minor adjustments but I assume that the same corruption that was present in the original FATE would also be present in the copy as well, possibly intentionally.”

“What does that mean?” said Kid impatiently.

“It means FATE probably knew all along that you would come and only put up a fight to deceive you, not even Lynx knew that its copy existed. FATE could not let its biological incarnation know such information; it would be too much of a risk to take. Instead that task went to me, I was told that it was supposed to be a couple of years from now but the plans changed at the last minute. Chances were that you and your allies would have returned here and discover the new FATE, so they sent me out to dispose of you before you could anything about it."

"...Had I succeeded… Things would have been different. The new FATE would continue following in its predecessor's instructions until it is too late and it reverts into... No..." he says indecisively to himself, "...until it decides that it wants to change history to make sure that it is never pulled back in time. Why would it do that? Does it want to save itself? No…It will cease to exist if it does...”

“But if there is no Chronopolis, then there will be no El Nido as well...Then again there will not be a Dragon God either.”

Kid understood what he meant. If FATE manages to prevent the Time Crash, then Chronopolis and Dinopolis wouldn't be thrown back in time; a war would not break out between the Dragon God and FATE and it wouldn't come out the winner. Since Chronopolis no longer exists in the past, the islands of El Nido are never created because there won’t be anyone there to inhabit them. If that was the case then Serge will never be born, and since he was the reason that Schala cloned herself in the first place she too would cease to exist. That also meant that Schala wouldn't be rescued, the Time Devourer would continue existing and growing stronger until the day it finally breaks out of the Darkness Beyond Time and devours all of time and space.

"You knew about this all along?" Serge asked interrupting Kid's thoughts.

Helios shook his head, "No...This piece of information was withheld from me; they must have considered that if I knew I probably would not have gone along with it. Regrettably it took me too long to figure out the truth... I made a mistake, and now I must correct it.” The boy looked around, before gazing back at the other three individuals, "I have to do this on my own.” He took out a key card he had acquired before he and the other three adventurers had gone down from one of the pockets in his jacket.

"Where'd ya get that?" Kid said as she tried to snatch the card away but the boy was too quick for her and sidestepped away before she could make a grab for said item.

"Were you planning to go by yourself all along?" Glenn finally asked, Helios pocketed the card avoiding Kid once more, before looking to the knight.

"It would be best if I do, but-"

"But nothin'! I still say that yer not to be trusted. And since yer not goin' to hand over that card to us, then I'm goin' to have to kick yer arse, and take it from ya,” she said.

“That would only waste our time. Kid,” said Glenn; Kid scowled and stomped her foot in protest.

“Fine then. I'm comin' with along too, ya hear?” The thief said surprising Helios, his eyes widened involuntarily for a split second before returning to normal.

"..."

“Glenn, ya take Serge to the docks," she said.

"It's not safe," the Knight cautioned, he looked to Helios who said nothing.

"Tch don't worry about it Glenn, It shouldn't take long time, I'll be back before ya know it," She said reassuringly. Helios opened his mouth as if to say something in protest but said nothing when he saw that she had taken out her dagger. Kid had assumed that he was going to put up a fight to prevent her from following, but that wasn't the case.

"Are you sure?" Serge muttered.

"Yep," said Kid as she looked to Helios who remained silent and continued to stare at her. After a few seconds, the boy simply nodded in defeat and walked on ahead without her but waited patiently on the other side.

"'sides, if he tries anything funny, I'll just kick his arse so hard he'll kiss the moons," she added and said it loud enough for the boy to hear her.

Serge thought about it, "all right, but please hurry up. Who knows how much time we got left." Kid nodded and joined the younger teen.

"Oi wait up!" Kid yelled at Helios as she caught up with him. She watched the boy take out the card she had tried to get a hold of seconds ago and search for a card recognizer. When he found it, he slid said card through before realizing that it also required a six-digit number code to be entered. There was an expression on his face as if trying to remember something; Kid would have suspected that Helios didn't know it, but was surprised when he pressed a few numbers without hesitation.

"This is it," he said looking to Kid as a new door opened revealing another elevator. Helios pressed the button waiting as it lit up with a green color. A few seconds later the elevator doors opened up.

"Yeah, whatever." Kid merely replied as she looked back at her friends who were now retracing their steps and heading back to the other elevator. She couldn't help but shudder at the thought that she might never see them again, she shook the thought aside and tried to focus on the problem at hand.

"You can still turn back and join them," Helios said quietly as he stepped in. Kid glared at the boy when she heard those words, she paused for a moment but then followed the boy in.

"Why ya gotta say things like that?" She asked.

“Because you are making a mistake,” Helios responded as the elevator closed.

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To Be Continued