A/N: Here's a decent update!

-Chapter Fifteen-
Reunion


"Mom!" Piper shrieked, running to the wide arms behind her. Throwing her arms around her mother's neck, she began to cry. She felt silly, but it didn't matter.

Aeris hugged back her daughter, "Shh." She smiled, looking at her daughter, her emerald eyes glittering. "Piper, are you okay?"

Nodding, Piper wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I just can't believe it's you! How'd you get here?"

"Come on," Aeris said, leading her out of the bathroom. "Your dad is here too."

Piper grinned. One thing had gone right today. And, so far, I'm not in trouble! she laughed to herself, remembering her early fears. "Mom, how'd you know I was here?"

"Two young women came to us. They told us everything that's happened, and we're here to help." Aeris smiled as they walked onto the bridge.

"Dad!" Piper laughed, hugging him tightly.

"Hey!" Cloud chuckled, "How you doin' kiddo?"

"I missed you!" She planted a kiss on her father's cheek, "I just can't believe you guys are here..."

"Well, the time-key helped a lot," Cloud said, "You need to be more careful with that."

"The time-key? But when we tried it, it didn't work. I was sent to Zanarkand!" Piper said.

"Because of Ahriana and Sephianna. They made that happen," Aeris explained.

"How do you know?" Piper asked.

"They are the two women who came to us," Aeris said.

Piper's jaw fell, "Mom! They want to kill me!"

"No, they were controlled by Jenova," Cloud said, "Don't worry. They are still back home."

"Hey! What's going on in here?" Zalèa's voice rang out as she entered the bridge.

"Hiya Z," Piper said, in a much better mood than she had been moments before. "This is my family."

The Al Bhed girl nodded, looking over the three newcomers, "Welcome to the Dandilily," she grinned.

Aeris looked at Zalèa, "You must be Rikku's daughter."

"How'd you guess?" the blonde wondered.

"I knew your mother. She got pregnant with you while I was in Spira," Aeris chuckled, thinking of the past.

The twins, Evan and Nari, walked onto the bridge, "Hey, who are you people?" Nari asked. Introductions were thrown around quickly, and Aeris couldn't help but realize how alike the children were to their parents.

"So you're the famous Aeris," Evan said, "We should probably reunite them with our parents," he said to Zalèa.

"Yeah, and we'll get in trouble," the Al Bhed sighed.

Piper watched the interaction between her parents and her new friends. All she could think about was going home. Now that they were here, she was sure she could go back with them. But she wondered if she wanted too. iI'd probably never see any of them again.../i she thought sadly. She would miss her new friends dearly, but home kept calling her.

"Charis? Is that you?" Aeris spoke suddenly.

The black haired girl walked in, smiling brightly. "Hiya Aeris!"

"Where's your mother?" Cloud wondered.

Charis shrugged, "I don't really know. She's a Fayth."

Piper thought about telling about her talk with Yuffie, but decided not to. Not yet anyway. "So are we going back to Besaid?"

"Looks like it," Zalèa said, jumping into the navigational seat. "To Besaid!"

Cloud sat down by his daughter, grinning. "So you have any fun here in Spira?"

"At first," Piper answered. "I know," she whispered, "all about Sephiroth."

The ex-SOLDIER sighed. "Well, then you know."

"I know about Tifa too," she said quietly.

Cloud paused, "What do you know?"

"Well, she's sort of like my step-mother, right?" Piper asked.

"In a sense."

"And she traveled with you and Mom."

"Yes. And?"

"What else should I know?" Piper faced her father with curious, matching sapphire eyes. Silence. "Dad?"

"Nothing."

Piper sighed. Fun. More secrets.

"Hoo boy," Zalèa said, "Here come the adults."

Nari groaned, "See yah Piper. We'll probably never see the light of day for a few years."

"Zalèa!" Rikku's shrill voice said as she boarded the airship. "What in Spira -- AERIS!" she jumped up and down, running to the flower girl.

"Rikku!" Aeris giggled, hugging her old friend. "Nice to see you again."

"Nice?! It's terrific!" Rikku laughed. "Come on! You have to see Yunie!" she said, dragging her along.

Piper smiled, "Something tells me you aren't in trouble anymore."

"That's good," Evan smiled back, "Very good."

"And this means we can go home," Charis said to Piper.

"Yeah... home," Piper said, still bewildered by the idea. Although she had only been in Spira for a few weeks, she wanted to call it her home already. The five followed the adults out, watching the reunion.

"Aeris! It's you!" Tidus laughed, embracing the woman who had brought him back to Spira. "How are you doing?"

"I'm just fine," Aeris smiled. She walked up to Yuna, and the two brunettes looked at each other for a moment. "Hi Yuna."

"Hi Aeris," Yuna replied, a smile tugging on her lips. She hugged her friend, who had saved her life more than once. "Glad to see things worked out between you and Cloud."

"Same with you and Tidus," Aeris joked. "It's been too long."

Yuna nodded, "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I, uh... lost the time-key," she said, embarrassed.

"Lost it?" Yuna giggled, "Did you ever get the one I sent to you after the honeymoon?"

"Actually," Aeris sighed, "Piper found it." Both brunette heroines looked back at their offspring, sighing simultaneously. "We have a lot of work to do."

"You know what's going on?" Yuna asked.

"Most of it. Come on," Aeris said. "Cloud and I will tell you guys everything, and you can tell us everything you know." The adults walked into a hut, leaving the five teens outside.

Nari glanced at Piper, "Does this mean we're off the hook?"

"I don't know..." Piper said, worriedly. "I know I'm not." There was a group sigh. "Now what?"

"Well, you still owe me a game of blitzball," Evan grinned, causing Nari and Zalèa to burst into a fit of laughter.

"What's blitzball?" Charis inquired.

Piper smiled weakly, "I suppose a game a blitz would be fun for now. Come on Charis, we'll teach you how."


"Neal?!" Yuna, Rikku, Gippal, and Tidus cried out in unison.

"He's behind all this?" Gippal said in disbelief. Neal had been his friend for years.

"They say he isn't really who you all think he is," Cloud said after the reaction.

"The real Neal died years ago, just before I came to Spira," Aeris said. "A spirit in the Farplane had enough power to revive the body and possess it."

"We have to tell Paine!" Rikku shrieked. "She's married to him!"

Cloud nodded, "Just don't let this Neal guy know."

Rikku got up to find a Commsphere, while Gippal began to pace the room. "I can't believe it..."

"Don't worry," Tidus said, having known Neal for a while as well, "Well get him."

Yuna stared at her hands. "Aeris," she whispered, "Why is this happening?"

The flower girl shrugged, worried about her daughter, "I really don't know Yuna. But like last time, we'll get through this."

The former summoner nodded, her thoughts trailing to the past. Seventeen years had gone by, and there hardly had been anything to worry about. A few disputes here and there, but she had never had to save the world again. She worried about what would become of Spira when she left for the Farplane. Yuna didn't like the idea, but she hoped her children held the 'world-saving' gene she and Tidus seemed to carry. She figured they did, since they had helped protect Piper so well.

Rikku walked in, holding a Commsphere. Paine's worried and angry figure could be seen in the screen. "Hello Aeris," she said.

"Hi Paine," Aeris smiled softly. "I'm sorry about Neal."

"Me too," she muttered. "What are we going to do about it?"

"We're going to Zanarkand," Gippal said.

"Huh?" Rikku looked at her husband, "What for?"

The one-eyed Al Bhed wrapped an arm around his wife, "That's where he is. If we bring Piper, he'll be there."

Cloud looked warningly at Gippal, "I'm not putting my daughter in anymore danger."

"But she is the key to all of this. We have to do it," Gippal said. "Besides, we will all be there to protect her."

Aeris nodded, "But we can't let the kids know."

"I'll meet you there," Paine said through the Commsphere. Hot tears fell from her eyes, causing her to appear extremely vulnerable. "See you," she hung up, obviously gathering the necessities to leave her home in Bevelle.


The crisp, cool water seemed to calm Piper's nerves, at least a little. She was going to regret leaving Spira; she'd never be able to play blitzball. Charis didn't like the idea of it, and had decided to watch from the beach as Piper and Evan faced Nari and Zalèa. Nari, of course, had whined about having the Al Bhed girl on her team. After a draw of straws, the teams had been picked the same way. They had crushed Nari's team, obviously. Piper stayed in the water, looking up at the morning sky.

"So are you really going to go home?" Evan asked.

Piper hadn't realized he was still in the water. Floating around, she replied, "I don't think I have a choice. I want... I want to stay here. But I don't think I could ever..." she stopped, knowing Evan would understand what she meant. I don't think I could ever kill Charis. We can both be home, and that's where we'll stay.

"Zalèa will miss you," he said, tossing the blitzball up and down in the air. "Nari too. They've grown pretty fond of you, I think. That's pretty amazing, you know."

Piper faced him, taking in his beach blonde hair and turquoise eyes. How she loved his eyes... Stop that, she ordered herself for being silly. "What's so amazing about it?"

"Well, Nari and Z have never really gotten along with anyone outside our circle. Zalèa can be hard headed at times, and because she's a year older, Nari sort of looks up to her." Evan grinned at Piper, "It was weird for her to accept you right away."

"Really...?" Piper said quietly, half paying attention to what he was saying. Half her mind was still thinking about him, and of course, the heinous plots against her.

"Yeah. I'll miss you too, you know. You're fun when we're not worried about getting killed," he laughed. "You should find a way to stay."

Piper wondered how he could have such a bright outlook at everything, such a buoyant personality. She remembered a time when she had been like that too. Things change. "Thanks," she said for the compliment. "but I really don't think there's a way I could stay... All my friends back home, and my school, everything's back there."

"You could go to school here, and we're your friends, aren't we? And you only met the others for a little while; everyone's still curious about you," Evan said, tossing her the ball.

She smiled slightly, using the ball as a floaty; she was beginning to tire from keeping herself afloat. "I know but --"

"Rao, oui dfu! Cdub vmendehk yht lusa pylg!" Zalèa cried out in Al Bhed, laughing. Nari was by her side, in a fit of giggles as well.

Evan instantly turned a bright shade of vermilion.

"What did she say?" Piper asked, curiously.

"She told us to stop flirting," Evan blushed.

Piper laughed, "You can speak Al Bhed?"

"Yeah. Z taught me and Nari," he said, diving underwater.

Stifling another giggle, Piper waited until he rose from the water, "Can you tell me how to say, 'You guys are losers,'?"

Cerulean eyes glittering, Evan said, "Ed'c hud vmendehk, ed'c muja."

Piper grinned, facing the two giggling girls, "Ed'c hud vmendehk, ed'c muja!" she pronounced. Zalèa and Nari fell to their knees, crying with laughter. "I didn't think it was that funny..." she looked at Evan who was shaking his head, a grin on his face. "I didn't say what I wanted to say, did I?"

"Not quite."

"What'd I say?" Piper demanded.

Evan laughed, "I can't tell you."

Throwing the blitzball at him, Piper stuck out her tongue. "I'll just ask Zalèa then!" she giggled, swimming to the shore.

"No don't!" he cried, chasing after her.

"Zalèa!" Piper shouted, running through shin-deep water. She stopped running when she saw the adults, serious faced, talking to the three girls on the beach.

Charis' face showed nothing but fear. "Okay... let's go."

"You can't!" Nari cried.

Zalèa turned"Piper! Tell them you want to stay! You're not going back to Zanarkand!"


Al Bhed Translation:

Rao, oui dfu! Cdub vmendehk yht lusa pylg! - Hey, you two! Stop flirting and come back!

A/N: If you really want to know what Evan made Piper say, look it up yourself :P Hehe. This chapter was the longest I've written in a while and is the turning point in this story. It was also something to do what I meant to in the entire story. Truly this was supposed to be an all-fluff fic, but I figured that'd be sort of dumb and this happened. So I have to add a little fluff in here and there, and that was the PiperxEvan fluff for now. ::sigh:: You're all going to hate me very soon, I'm sure.

Always - Letselina