Edonil: Me again! I've had three guesses so far, and all three got it right, so I guess the secret is out. If you can't figure it out, though, I might not tell you right away.

Disclaimer: I didn't own FFIX in the previous nineteen chapters. If you think I own it now, you're dumber than I thought.

Claimer: Guess what! I still own Crims and Sarah! Ain't that crazy?

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To Change

Chapter Twenty

Steiner was patrolling again. He didn't have very many knights, so he did it himself, as often as not. And once again, things were rather uneventful. But he must keep that monkey safe!

"Captain Steiner!" Steiner turned towards the owner of the cultured voice: Kuja. Steiner hated Kuja. Kuja was evil, satanic, psychotic, but he was also sophisticated, intelligent, eloquent… Why did things always seem to work that way?

Beside Kuja was a female. She was buxom, with very little clothing and a lot of flaming red hair. She must be Crims. She didn't really seem Kuja's type, but his arm was around her waist, so there wasn't anyone else she could be.

"Hello, Kuja," Steiner said, nodding politely. He could be as polite as that… man. Not even a man! A genome! "And you must be Crims." The woman nodded.

"Captain Steiner, do you know the whereabouts of Zidane?" Kuja asked.

"Maybe. Why?"

"Captain Steiner, I understand that you do not like me, but please, at least cooperate. With that man on the loose again…" Steiner was surprised to see a spasm of pain cross the genomes face, which was immediately mirrored in his female companion's. Perhaps sadistic bastards could feel pain.

"He's in his office, looking at papers. What's so funny?" Kuja had started grinning.

"If I remember correctly, Zidane always hated paperwork."

"He still does."

"I should probably tell him we're here. Perhaps we'll talk later, Captain Steiner."

"Of course. Goodbye, Kuja, Crims." The two strode off, arm in arm. Steiner suddenly remembered that he'd meant to yell at Kuja for spawning a child without getting married. It was… indecent!

---

Zidane was suffering through reports on grain imports when Kuja and Crims came into the room.

"Kuja! Crims! You're here. When I got your letter… I don't know what to say."

"If you don't know what to say, then say nothing," Kuja suggested. "We have to talk."

"What do you mean?"

"I think… I think we know everything we need to learn… his location, but Crims and I could not figure it out. Perhaps you can think clearer than we can."

"Of course! Sit down. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"No, thank you. Crims?"

"No."

"Alright, what do you know?" Zidane asked, sitting down behind his desk.

"Well, I lived with him one and off for twenty-eight years, so I've learned quite a bit about him. I imagine he took my… I imagine he took her because you and I didn't cooperate and become his Angels of Death. He might not even know that you aren't dead. According to him, I ought to… stop soon, so if he killed you, and stole my daughter… It is the sort of thing he would do."

"I think he knows you're still alive," Crims added, "but he can still kill you easily. You should be careful." Zidane nodded.

"Do you have any ideas as to his whereabouts?"

"My first thought was Pandemonium," Kuja told him. "But I tried to contact him, through a telepathic link that both of us have with him, and I couldn't. The link is stronger when he is in Pandemonium, not weaker. Also, I tried going to Pandemonium to investigate, but it was closed up, inaccessible. So was Memoria. I didn't see him anywhere on Terra… There's something else that's rather perplexing. When a person like him leaves, they leave a trail of magic for others to track. I checked, and his trail just vanishes. Normally, that would mean he's used magic to disappear, and I can read the magical residues people leave behind. His magical residue doesn't make sense, though. According to his magical residue, he's gone to a place in the middle of the ocean. I checked, and there's an underwater mountain there. It was an island, but an earthquake sunk it five thousand years ago. There's nowhere there for him to be. It's like… I don't know. It's impossible!"

"Ok…" Zidane thought for a minute. "Is it possible to create fake residues?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I suppose it could be possible, but I wouldn't know."

"Maybe… Maybe he created a fake residue-thingy to confuse you."

"I don't know… It doesn't seem like the sort of thing he would do… You're probably right, though."

"Well, we'll investigate. But it's getting late. Why don't I find a room for you two, and we'll start in the morning." Kuja nodded glumly. Zidane wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure this was the first time he'd seen his brother display so much emotion. "Come on." Zidane led the two others towards a room. They looked so depressed.

---

Kuja woke bright and early the following morning. Crims was already awake, sitting in a chair and gazing out the window.

"Morning," he said. She didn't he look up. Kuja didn't really expect her to. She hadn't been very happy lately… Well, he hadn't either. She would be more talkative as the day went on.

"Crims, why don't you go have breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Crims, you can't find her by starving yourself!" Crims turned to look at Kuja. Her face was red and tearstained.

"Kuja, our daughter has been kidnapped! How can you think of anything else?"

"Remember what you said a few days ago? Don't worry. We will find her."

"I suppose…" They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Kuja called.

"It's Zidane. I heard voices… Dagger has invited Crims to have breakfast with her!"

"Ok." Kuja turned to Crims. "Indulge the Queen. Go meet her. I'm sure you two will get along." Crims didn't say anything. She simply straightened her clothes, pulled a brush through her hair, and left their room.

---

"Kuja!" Kuja turned to see Captain Steiner clanking towards him.

"Yes, Captain Steiner?"

"I want to talk to you."

"About?"

"Your… You and Crims."

"I see." Kuja had been expecting this. It should be interesting. Captain Steiner was so adamant about what one could and could not say in polite society…

"It's… Are you two married?"

"No."

"And you had a child?"

"Yes."

"So you… You two…"

"Please, say whatever is on your mind."

"It's just… It's indecent."

"And…?"

"Don't you care what other people think of you?"

"They already think I'm an evil, sadistic bastard who should be put down like a rabid beast," Kuja said mildly. His response took Captain Steiner by surprise.

"But… Not everyone…"

"Yes, everyone. Including you. Was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

"No. I mean… I hope… You find your daughter."

"Thank you." Kuja than quickly left, before Captain Steiner could say anything else that would make Kuja's heart ache.

---

Steiner was utterly perplexed. Kuja… didn't care what people thought of him. He knew was they thought, and… He made Steiner feel like the lowest, most pathetic thing on the face of Gaia. Splendid.

Steiner would just have to be nicer to him. Perhaps Kuja really had changed…

Edonil! Hi! I hope you've figured out who the mystery man is by now… I suppose you'll figure it out in the next chapter anyway. Please R&R! And tell me if you'd be interested in a story about Crims!