Lynx

Lynx
Lynx1.jpg
Lynx
Japanese name	{{{Japanese}}}
Career	Feline Demi-Human
Age	? (17 with Serge in his body)
Gender	Male
Origin	Arni
World	Home World
Height	6'4"
Weight	176 lbs
Build	Solid
Laterality	Right-Handed
Weapon	Swallow/Mastermune
Innate Element	Black

Lynx (ヤマネコ, Yamaneco) is a fictional character who serves as one of several antagonists in Chrono Cross. A feline demihuman, Lynx is Kid's archenemy. Lynx appears to have insight on Serge's current situation, far more than Serge does himself. He is known to be seeking the legendary Frozen Flame, and at the start of the game, he has been living among the Dragoons of Viper Manor. For reasons unbeknownst to Serge, Lynx is actively seeking him out.

Story

Lynx is merely using the Dragoons to acquire the Dragon Tear from Viper Manor. Lynx and Serge cross paths a few times, with Lynx repeatedly making cryptic references to things as of yet unknown to the player, such as Serge's status as a "Chrono Trigger". As stated in the previous game and later in Chrono Cross, the definition of a Chrono Trigger is "pure potential"; to be more accurate, the potential for altering history according to one's dream. In a dramatic sequence in Fort Dragonia, Lynx manages to possess Serge's body and to trap Serge

File:Serge as Lynx

Serge in Lynx's body.

in his own, effectively becoming Dark Serge.

File:Dark Serge

Lynx in Serge's body.

The game continues from there, the player using Lynx's body and his skills. Dark Serge quickly becomes a scourge, tarnishing Serge’s reputation, and placing Kid under a spell, forcing her to follow him.

Once back in his Home dimension, Serge in Lynx's body realizes that Lynx once inhabited Home World as well; he served as an agent of the militarist nation of Porre and helped overtake El Nido. As such, he is highly unpopular among the residents of El Nido. Still, Lynx has not been seen for many years as he had actually led the Acacia Dragoons to be trapped in the Dead Sea while searching for the Frozen Flame. Lynx is not actually seen, but it is confirmed by series creator Masato Kato in the Ultimania Guide that Lynx did go to the Dead Sea with Harle and died there. After the player succeeds in giving Serge a new human body (he is literally "reborn" as his true self), the player enters the Chronopolis and defeats Dark Serge and FATE.

Near the end of the game, Lynx is revealed to have been Wazuki, Serge's father, brainwashed by FATE. When the young Serge was bitten by a jaguar demon, Wazuki and his friend Miguel sailed to meet the Sage at Marbule. The violent storm caused by Schala threw them off course and they ended up in the Sea of Eden. Due to the storm, FATE, the supercomputer which controls Chronopolis, shut down temporarily. Serge was healed by the Frozen Flame but was at the same time chosen as the Arbiter of Time between Lavos and the beings of the planet. Wazuki's mind was eroded by his fears, catalyzed by gazing into the Flame. Wazuki and Serge returned to Arni, while Miguel remained trapped as FATE rebooted. Despite their return, Wazuki's mind eventually succumbed to FATE; he was turned into the physical manifestation of Serge’s greatest fear, a humanoid panther, and was instructed to drown Serge in order for FATE to regain control of the Frozen Flame. However, it was not sufficient, as the Flame's chamber is sealed by another defense mechanism. In 1015 A.D., Lynx and his assistant Harle attempt to persuade Dr. Lucca Ashtear into unlocking the defense mechanism, Prometheus. As Lucca does not comply, they burn down her home and orphanage. This event can be witnessed later in the game, through time travel. Serge watches the scene and meets Kid, before returning to his own time.

In Radical Dreamers, Lynx is the main antagonist. He resides in Viper Manor, and is the adoptive father of Riddel. In this version, Lynx is already in possession of the Frozen Flame, but is also looking for the Chrono Trigger (Time Egg). In one of the alternate scenarios of the New Game + mode, Gil reveals that Lynx's true form is a green alien octopus called the Martian Conjurer, and in another, it is revealed that he had an illegitimate daughter named Shea that he sacrificed for occult practices (which is presumably part of the reason he murdered Lucca and destroyed Kid's home in this dimension). In some of these alternate scenarios, Lynx dies.

How to Recruit

Serge is forced to switch bodies with Lynx during the events at the end of Fort Dragonia in Another World, and thus, you automatically recruit him, and he is mandatory.

Tech Skills

Glide Hook	"Slice opponent as you gently fly past them"	Target: Single foe	Learns: 3 stars
Feral Cats	"Invoke a pack of magic cats to attack"	Target: All foes	Learns: 15 Stars
Forever Zero	"All things become eternal nothingness"	Target: All foes	Learns: 35 Stars

Trivia

• Lynx's feline appearance, the fact that he manifests as a male incarnation of FATE in your final battle with him, and his largely black and gold color scheme are likely a reference to Tezcatlipoca (Wikipedia:Tezcatlipoca), the Aztec god of fate, black magic, and chaos. In Aztec myth, Tezcatlipoca was identified with and would take form of a jaguar - the animal that attacked Serge as a child. This would also justify the tribal sounding music that plays in the battle with FATE. In Incan mythology, the cougar (which Lynx is identified as) has a similar role to the jaguar in Mesoamerican mythologies.