Edonil: Me again! I promise there will be many more chapters over Christmas break (when I have time). Just one more week… Oh, and I'm going to try to write at least fifty chapters in this story. Aren't you excited? (I must be insane…)

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. SquareSoft does.

Claimer: I own Crims, Sarah, Nameless Angel, and this fic.

To Change

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Hey Blank!"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think this does?"

"No idea. D'ya think it's dangerous, Cinna?"

"No clue. Wanna test it?"

"How're we gonna do that?"

"Uh… Poke it?"

"I think I've already learned not to poke things."

"Oh, right. That Angel-thing."

"So… What're we gonna do?"

"Throw something at it?"

"Ok. Stand back!" Blank picked up a rock, made sure he was far, far away, and threw it at the strange device.

Nothing happened.

"Uh… D'ya think we can get closer?" Cinna asked.

"Dunno. I guess so. You go first."

"Why me?"

"I threw the rock. Now it's your turn to do something."

"Uh… Dammit!" Cinna cautiously crept forward. He stopped when he was a foot away from it. "Now what?"

"Touch it!"

"You touch it! I crept forward!"

"You're already over there!"

"Ok, Ok…" Cinna hesitantly reached out a hand and touched it.

Nothing happened.

"I'll go get the Boss," Blank said, turning.

"But- He left me alone! Dammit! It could be dangerous!" Cinna started pacing. He tripped on the machine.

Nothing happened.

---

Kuja glared at Blank. Fool! Touching an unidentified object in a place like this… Gaians were morons. There was no other explanation.

Then Blank pointed at the "machine", and Kuja had to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Blank asked. Kuja only laughed harder.

"That's… a… flower!" he gasped finally.

"WHAT?!"

"It's a flower! Taraxacum officinale weber, also known as the dandelion. A flower indigenous to Terra before the Collapse."

"That's a flower?" Cinna asked dubiously. "It looks like an evil machine of doom!"

"Yeah," Blank agreed. "I mean, what kind of flower is all puffy and whitish?"

"Watch," Kuja instructed. He bent over, picked the dandelion, and blew, sending the seeds floating through the air- in the direction of Cinna and Blank.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! BOSS!!! HE'S KILLING US!!!" Kuja chuckled as the two ran off. Tossing the stem onto the ground, he glanced around, looking for more dandelions to terrorize the Gaians with.

And then he saw it.

"Baku!" Kuja called. "I think I've found something that could be of some use!"

---

Baku looked at the strange machine. "And you say you can use this to contact somebody?"

"Yes, I think so. It could take a bit of work, of course, but I think it can be done. I only hope I have a strong enough connection…"

"Hey Boss!" It was Zidane. Baku turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"I just talked to Cinna and Blank. They say Kuja here attacked 'em with a 'killer flower of doom'."

"What?"

"Allow me to explain." Both Baku and Zidane looked over at Kuja, who was holding a strange puff-ball in his hand. "This is a dandelion- it's a flower from Terra. After blooming, the dandelion emits seeds into this puff-ball state. The seeds are designed to be carried away by the wind, like so." Kuja blew gently, sending the seeds into the air. "It's completely harmless. It's commonly thought of as a weed."

"I see… Zidane, you go- Actually, I think I'll go yell at 'em. The morons! Afraid of a flower! Kuja, try an' contact somebody!" Baku huffed off.

---

"You found a way of contacting someone?" Zidane asked. Kuja nodded.

"This machine has the power to infiltrate someone's mind. I'm going to use it to talk to someone in Alexandria."

"So you can use that thing to talk to anybody?"

"No. I need to have a strong connection with the person I'm contacting."

"So who are you gonna contact?"

"Crims."

"Ok. Mind if I watch?"

"Not at all."

---

"Crims!" There was no answer. "Crims!" Still no reply. Why not? Kuja bent all his thoughts on her name. "CRIMS!" He felt…something. But then it was gone.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Kuja was not precisely in his body at the moment, but if he had been, he would have jumped. That definitely wasn't Crims!

"Who are you?"

"I AM THIS MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"I want to contact somebody."

"WHO?"

"Her name is Crims. But this isn't working."

"IS CRIMS HER FULL NAME?"

"No..."

"THEN DO NOT THINK IT. IT WILL NOT WORK. TRY THINKING OF HER, NOT A NAME SHE HAS CHOSEN TO USE."

"Thank you." Kuja envisioned her lustrous crimson hair, her deep purple eyes, her quirky smile…

"Huh?"

"Crims?"

"Yes? What is this…?"

"It's me, Kuja!"

"KUJA! Are you alright? We lost contact with your ship…"

"There was a storm, and the ship sank. We're on the underwater isle where- I forgot to tell you! Our daughter is alive!"

"WHAT?!"

"I don't have time to explain… I don't know how well this thing works. Do you still have the coordinates to the isle?"

"Yes. Kuja, I don't understand-"

"I'll explain later. Can you get a ship there?"

"Yes."

"How soon?"

"Um… I suppose by airship it's only a couple of hours…"

"Ok, come to the spot of the isle, and stay there. I'll contact you every hour or so, ok?"

"Alright. Kuja, can you please explain-"

"CONVERSATION TERMINATED."

---

Kuja opened his eyes slowly. He felt very… groggy. But he'd gotten through! Help was coming… He'd just have to wait.

---

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Please, Dagger, we must hurry! I'm so worried…"

"Alright, Crims. Steiner!"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Prepare an airship. Give these coordinates to the captain. I want to be there as soon as possible!" Steiner nodded, and left.

Dagger sighed. Zidane was alright. He was alive and well. All was wonderful…

"Dagger…"

"Yes, Crims?"

"I was thinking about something Kuja said…"

"What did he say?"

"He said… He said my daughter… is alive."

Edonil: One more chapter done! Go me! Please R&R!