There was a brilliant flash of light.

"Wait!" Bruno's voice called, distorted by time and travel.

A shimmering note flew out of the walls of the tunnel of brilliance.

"Give that to my future self."

The tunnel vanished.

"WAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kayi screamed as she realized one thing- there was no ground beneath her!

Starkin looked up at the sky when he heard a familiar voice.

"Kayi!" he screamed, his voice cracking as he sprinted as fast as an arthiritic bangaa could run- not too fast, but fast enough. Kayi's little frame crashed onto him with a loud crunch.

"Starkin! I'm sorry, are you okay?" Kayi cried, helping her old bodyguard up.

Starkin wheezed. "Save for bruising, I'm perfectly okay. Back to Bruno for you- may I ask how you got up there?"

Kayi shook her head. "Long story," Kayi said.

Starkin was very much amazed when he realized that his little guardlet would go back to the care of the decrypt old nu mou without as much fight as a hungry tadpole.

Kayi looked around to see that the battle had not gone so well for them. Starkin had just fallen to the Gladiator, and Bruno looked drained and out of health.

"What's going on- oof!" Kayi's eyes rolled around in their sockets, the rest of her paralyzed by a well-aim Stop. Her wildly flailing eyes could see Bruno in the same perdicament.

"The engagement is decided!" the Judge yelled. "Engagement goes to Clan... Clan Hard-to-pronouce!"

The Blue Mage, who was in charge, looked disturbed. "Aw, come on! Schizwicztoyvnich can't be that hard to prononce!" he yelled.

The Judge tossed over a sack of gil and a sword to the Blue Mage, who caught the gil, but the sword spun out of the air and thawked his head. "Ow..."

The viera Elementalist giggled lightly. "I think he remembers you!" she exclaimed.

Leroy, the Blue Mage, turned around. "It was an accident! I swear!"

Marie rose up. "What happened?"

The viera covered his mouth with her hands and started yelling as fast as she could- "Well, we got challenged to an engagement when we were doing our laundry in the river- ow! He bit me!" she cried and tightened her hold on the squirming mage. "Well, then- ow! He is really ticked off because- ow! He wasn't wearing any pants! So then he has to go- ow! to battle-" she shook her arms up and down, firmly hitting him against her waist, "without- Quit biting! His pants! And the Judge ticked him off even more by not allowing Color Magic, so he yells, 'Get the fuckin' chicken-"the Elementalist then related to them the scene of Leroy shouting vulgar, profane things at the Judge that had to do with "dickweed," "blunt blades," and "missing assignments."

The Judge nodded under his helmet, slammed a yellow card on Leroy, and said, "I love being able to do that" and vanished.

The Elementalist thumped Leroy again on her hip and let him go.

"So," Starkin said, hobbling over. "Well, reliving the End, eh?" the old bangaa asked.

Bruno nodded glumly. "Well, anyways, why were you so happy?"

Leroy nodded. "We had just finished an engagement with a clan, and Penelope here had a change of heart. You see, I've been havin' a crush on her for a while, but she hated me.But after the battle-"

"I decided that he was just about the cutest guy I've ever met," Penelope said, giggling.

"The Clan yu were battling, kupo?" Lief said.

"Oh. A clan by the name of Clan Sharkayi," Leroy explained.

"Well, she's not really in love with you-" Marie rushed to explain.

Bruno's staff slapped her back and she shut up.

"Sorry. Marie here thinks that love is just a chemical reaction in the brain in order for the continuity of all species. Scientific little girl!" Bruno said, pretending exasperation.

Leroy nodded. "Well, Clan... Er..."

"Well," Layla offered. "Around sixty years ago, we were Clan Crystal Bane."

One of the bangaa, the moogle Gunner, and the Elementalist looked up in horror.

"We're not dead, kupo," Carlos said quickly. "That was a rumor."

Leroy smiled. "I'm honored," he said, and his clan muttered the same phrase. "You used to be the best of the best back then?"

Layla nodded. "Sixty years ago. Things have lost their shimmer these days."

"Well, it's very fortunate we met- I'm glad to meet you," Leroy said politely.

"Which way, kupo," Carlos said, "Did Clan Shakayi go?"

"North," the Gladiator said. "Mussscadet."

"Thank you," Dasmon said. "We're just looking for someone."

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Okay, humor is kinda stale, but I hope that you like that chapter. As for Bruno's time-note and the warp, that'll be explained in time, don't worry! And also, Aria Star and I will be working on a story together. Look out for it, and thank you for reading!

-Mako