Kayi woke up to an alien place. :Huh?" she moaned. The last thing she remembered was the leg... "Huh?"

"Kayi!" Layfette bounded over and grasped her firmly in his arms. Kayi went rigid, reminded of the father...

"Layfette, you'er choking her," Marie laughed.

Kayi got up. "My leg's okay!" she exclaimed. "But where am I...?"

A scream answered her question. Layla's screamed.

"Holy Gods! Come on!" Layfette yelled, racing forward, his slim blade drawn.

-----------------

Kayi busted down the door, or rather opened it forcibly with her shoulder.

Layla began to laugh. The aged Assassin was sitting with Starkin and Dasmon and Bruno and a strange man with only one arm. But Kayi reconized that face, no matter how aged, wrinkled, or scarred it might be.

"Zhiraz!" Kayi raced over, seeing that Layla was in no danger.

Zhiraz laughed. It sounded so familiar... "Whoa, lil' Missy, you be hurtin' an old man like me," he said. "And don't worry. Yer Mammy be in no type o' trouble-Klineas just leaped on her," the old Hunter explained, waving his only hand left at a huge Coerl, the biggest Kayi had ever seen. Klineas stood up, revealing himself to be taller than Kayi at the shoulders.

"She's not my mother."

"Well, how you know my name?"Zhiraz said, cocking an eyebrow in such a familiar manner Kayi choked. "I mean, you be lookin' such so familiar, ye coulda been my own sis."

Bruno suddenly appeared in the doorway, holding a wrinkled piece of paper. "I believe that Kayi may have had a skirmish in the past."

Everyone was silent.

Bruno took that as his cue to walk over.

"I remember you, Kayi. Starkin bought you over in the months in the start of our Glory Days. Ah-hem! " Bruno began to read.

For the sake of the giant gold chocobo, may all parsnips be forever green and all carrots never be ever blue as Starkin's butt- er, excuse me Starkin, no insult meant.

Starkin looked very, very amazed and mystified that the note from the past had pre-empted him that he would still fall for the same things.

Today is the Forth day of Madmoon in which we have slaughtered a Desert Beetle herd. Missy Morgana, or actually Kayi, has been with us in the past and is hereby not insane, in the name of whetting stones. If Kayi is not true about the her claims of time-travel, then may her pants get cut off by a blind Judge and she be found dead in the sewers of Lower Cyril. Signed,

-Bruno, newly Alchemist who rode a chocobo backwards."

For a long moment, not a single soul spoke. Then, Starkin broke the silence.

"Well, Kayi," he said very, very slowly. "I do hope that you will not compare us to our younger selves. It seems that the only memory of you is a faint blur that we once had a guest who Bruno warped mysteriously-"

"Ho, I be remembering you, young'en!" Zhiraz suddenly said. One of his fangs was chipped off. "You be Tellenais's friend!"

Kayi nodded furiously. "Yes! Merlina's Panther with the Flame Collar!"

"Yes, that ol' thing is still alive and spoiled rottener than a bag of old potatoes-"

"Aw, Dearie, but that Tellenais is such a sweet little thing!" a new voice said. A viera around Layla's age came out of the doorway, gathering her shawl about her.

Kayi looked up. "Miss Kathereen?"

The viera looked surprised. "Not very many know my real name!" She had a strange accent.

"Er, an old young friend," Starkin said. "Anyways, I've just finished telling Zhiraz about why we're here and everyhwere."

Zhiraz nodded. "Hey, what was the clan called?"

"Clan Shakayi, why?"

He furrowed his brow. "Well, I be membrin' smthin' along the lines o' that name, ya be guessin."

Kathereen looked surprised. "Zhiraz! You forgot your own grandson's clan!" she exclaimed.

Zhiraz looked amused. "Kain has a clan? The nutty lil' tot finally got a few friends!"

Kathereen rolled her eyes. Or her one eye that was still usable anyways. "Excuse him. Dodderin' ol' fool, I tell yer."

"Well, Zhiraz, it's been nice to see you again, but we really gotta get going. And thank you for healing Kayi."

"You gonna be off without yer old friend, eh?" Zhiraz asked.

Layla shook her head. "No, zhiraz- we don't mean-"

Zhiraz shook his head. "Don't be worryin' about lil' ol' me, friends- I'd just be a drag." Usually, when someone said that, it was to make the other feel guilty. But Zhiraz really meant it.

"Go on- and if Kain gives you any of his nonsense, tell him his Daddy's gonna beat out his hide on the washing line."

Layla nodded and laughed. "We'll remember."

Everyone said their goodbyes.

-----------------

Layla was the first to step out of the old cottage as a few young children opened the front gate and came in.

The little viera looked up at them with giant eyes. "You- you- you dead!"

Kayi knelt down to a knee to look the little viera square in the eye. "Now, it's not nice to threaten old ladies-"

The little boy next to her shook his head. "Nuh-uh, my sissy ain't threatening anybody around here. But you be ghosts? Vampires? Out teacher tells us that you were dead fifty years-"

"Um, let's run, kupo," Carlos said.