Vegeta:

"Got him!" shouted Kera after a while, holding up the Dragon Ball with the five stars. Vegeta came over to her. He had been searching a bush on the other side of the clearing. She looked up between the leaves. "It's getting dark. Have we been looking here this long?"

"Looks like it. I'll be on my way home then." He raised his hand in salute and flew off.

When he landed at the mansion, Bulma came running towards him excitedly.

"Where have you been?"

Confused, he stared at her. "What do you mean? You knew I was going with Kera to find the Dragon Balls."

"Yes, but that was over twenty-four hours ago."

"What?" He looked again at the sky, which by now had turned dark red. "When we left, we had about two hours until dawn. And it's just getting dark now, isn't it?"

Bulma shook her head vigorously. "Are you saying you can't remember how long you were gone?"

"No. We were in a forest back there." He pointed in the direction he had come from. "That's where we were looking for the Dragon Ball, which apparently took longer than we thought, and then we flew home."

"How could you not notice that it went dark one day and light the next? I was worried!"

"That can't be at all. How can 24 hours go by without us noticing?"

Bulma took a step towards him and stroked his cheek. "Are you alright?" She looked unsettled.

Annoyed, he pushed her hand away and went into the house. He had to see for himself what the date was. He looked at the display next to the door that provided house control, as well as information about the current weather, time and date.

For seconds he stared at the screen. It really had been more than 24 hours since he had flown off with Kera to look for the Dragon Ball.

"Vegeta, what happened?" Bulma had come up behind him without him noticing. Slowly, he turned around. He couldn't let his uncertainty show. He pulled her against him and pressed his mouth to hers. She only tried to resist for a moment and then surrendered to his touch.

He thought feverishly about what he should do now. How could it be that he could not remember over 24 hours? Had something happened in space that was doing things to his body that he couldn't explain? Kera! What was wrong with her?

At that moment, the phone rang. Reluctantly, Bulma broke away from Vegeta, ran to the phone and answered it.

"Vegeta! It's Kera!"

With quick steps, he walked into the living room and took the phone from Bulma.

"Yes?"

"Vegeta, I ... have you ...?"

Vegeta glanced briefly at Bulma and turned away. She understood and left the living room. "I can't remember the last twenty-four hours."

"Shit," she exclaimed. "I was hoping you'd tell me something else or have an explanation."

"What do you suggest?"

"We'll go to Dende tomorrow and have him examine us again. Piccolo will come with us."

"Why do you want him to come? I thought we were going to keep it to ourselves for now?"

Kera hesitated. "He doesn't know anything about space. But what if we forget something again on the way to Dende and don't fly to Dende at all? What if we end up somewhere else? At least that way someone is paying attention."

Vegeta snorted. "Fine by me. Then I'll join you tomorrow and we'll fly to Dende."

That night Vegeta slept very restlessly.

Kera:

As arranged, they flew to Dende the next morning. He examined Vegeta and Kera as he had done after they landed from space. Resignedly, he shook his head.

"I cannot see what you have done in these twenty-four hours. I feel the memory is there, but I can't access it."

"What's blocking the memory?"

Another shake of the head. "I really have no idea. I haven't encountered that yet. I'm sorry I can't help you right now."

Kera and Vegeta stepped back outside the palace. Piccolo was waiting for them there. "What did Dende find out?"

"Nothing new," Kera replied.

"What do you mean, nothing new?"

Kera swallowed. She had blurted something out. Uncertainly, she looked at Vegeta, who just shrugged. He probably didn't know anything more either.

Kera cleared her throat. "Vegeta and I can't remember anything we did in space," she said quietly.

"What?" Piccolo's tone sounded shocked, sad and slightly reproachful all at once.

"We were on a planet, tracking the trail of a Saiyan. We flew on. Next thing we know, we wake up twenty minutes before we land."

"You've been gone a year."

"We know, greenie," Vegeta snapped at him.

"And you were going to hide that from us?"

"Well, we wanted to try and find out what it meant first. That's why we went to Dende right after we landed."

"We're flying to Bulma. Surely she has a way in the spaceship to check the files and then see where you were."

"You'll leavy my ..." Vegeta put in.

"Your mate has just as much right to know. Perhaps you have caught some disease or injured yourselves. We will find out."

Reluctantly, Vegeta followed Piccolo and Kera. They ended up at the Briefs' mansion. Kera felt unable to explain the situation to Bulma, so Piccolo did the talking.

Immediately Bulma stormed off to the spaceship and disappeared inside. It was a few minutes before she called for the others to come in. She pointed to the monitor.

"I've attached some exterior cameras to the spaceship so you can see some of the surroundings. You can clearly see ..." she tapped some buttons. The screen became bright and showed a green meadow with strangely shaped trees at its edge. "... that you have left the spaceship several times, but we just don't know what you have done. You landed on several planets, according to the logbook. And you can't remember anything?"

Slowly, Kera and Vegeta shook their heads. Kera didn't want to believe it. Months in space with no memory. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but Bulma was now proving it to her that it was true. What was wrong with her? She had lost her memory once before. Was it happening again now? Would she eventually forget her children and her mate? But then why couldn't Vegeta remember anything either?

"What ... what are we going to do?" asked Kera into the silence.

Bulma shrugged her shoulders. "I just don't know," she said sadly, looking at Vegeta, who just stared back dumbly.

"Kera, let's fly home."

Piccolo led her out of the spaceship with gentle pressure and took her in his arms. She felt so empty and helpless at that moment. What was happening to her right now?

After a troubled night, Kera spent the next day in her hut by the waterfall. She felt restless. Outside, she had the feeling of being watched, although she saw or sensed no one, nor did the children and Piccolo notice anyone nearby.

For every little thing she immediately snapped at one of the children or her mate. Kera had never been so glad that a day was over.

The following morning she could stand it no longer. She had to get out.

"I'll keep looking for the Dragon Balls," she announced to her family after breakfast.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Piccolo said. Her children's eyes darted back and forth between their parents.

"I don't care about that. I can't sit here twiddling my thumbs."

"Then let me go with you."

"No. I want to be alone." Kera stood up and left the hut. She felt the eyes of the children and Piccolo on the back of her neck.

As if of her own accord, she flew to Vegeta. She told herself that she had to come here anyway to get the Dragonradar. At the house, she met Vegeta.

"I'm going to keep looking for the Dragon Balls. I don't feel like sitting around," she said without a greeting.

"I'll come with you."

"Hello family, I'm back home," Kera called out.

"Where have you been?", Piccolo, who was standing outside the hut, greeted her gruffly, but also with a hint of concern in his voice.

Kera held up the bag containing all seven Dragon Balls. "Find the Dragon Balls. I told you so!" she replied, slightly annoyed.

"Five days?"

"What?"

"It's been five days since you left."

Kera shook her head. Her knees began to tremble and she sank to the floor.

"That ... that can't be. We found the Dragon Balls really quickly. Then I flew straight home. It couldn't possibly have been that many days." She looked up at Piccolo, who was standing in front of her with his arms crossed. "Why didn't you call me?"

"It wasn't working. The connection was blocked."

She cursed. "I have to go to Dende."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Kera hesitated. "Yes. And the children too. I want to talk to Kakarrot."

The four of them flew to Dende's palace. Kera explained to the young Namekian what had happened. But again, he could find nothing but that something was blocking the memory.

"Menka, can you please get back in touch with King Kai?"

Her daughter nodded, sat down and closed her eyes. This time she seemed to find it easier to make contact.

"Kakarrot, were you able to locate someone who can help us?"

"I think so. There's a part of the underworld where really good people go. You know, the ones who saved their world or something."

"So why aren't you there?"

"Uh yeah, because I prefer to train here with King Kai."

"He might as well go somewhere else, though," King Kai interjected, grumbling.

"In any case, I have found evidence that there is someone there who can help us."

"Why haven't you been there yet?"

"I thought we could do that together." Kera saw Kakarrot's grin.

She sighed. "All right, then. I'll talk to Vegeta."

Kera called Vegeta, who agreed after some hesitation. He came to the palace. Together they summoned the dragon Shenron. The sky darkened and shining brightly Shenron appeared before them. They thought about how best to formulate their wish.

"Do you really want to go to the underworld alone? Do you think this is a good idea now?"

"What are you saying, greenie?" Angrily, Vegeta had taken a step forward and was raking his fist. Kera held him back by the arm.

"Not so fast. I know what Piccolo means. What if we forget what we're supposed to be doing and don't come back at all? That could be problematic."

Vegeta took another step back and muttered in agreement. Kera looked to Piccolo.

"I understand your worries. But since we just can't figure out what it is, I want to solve at least one mystery. We'll manage it."

Piccolo nodded curtly.

"Great Dragon, Vegeta and I wish to go to the Underworld to seek someone who can solve the riddle of our origins," Kera said aloud.

The dragon was silent. Its eyes seemed to fix on both Kera and Vegeta. "This is possible only for a limited time," he spoke in his deep rumbling voice.

"We are aware of that."

"Let me go with them!" cried Piccolo suddenly.

The dragon turned his head. "No."

"Why no?" Piccolo's eyebrows drew together in annoyance.

"They are only allowed to go to the Underworld because they are pursuing a direct mission that is personally connected to them. You are not concerned in this case," the dragon replied.

"I will act as their protector."

Vegeta wanted to say something. Kera shook his head and Vegeta swallowed his remark.

"No." The word was so final that Piccolo lowered his head. The dragon looked back at Kera and Vegeta. "Are you ready?"

The two nodded. The dragon's eyes lit up. Kera thought she heard thunder rumbling, but before she was sure, it was gone again. "Your wish is granted."

Kera looked down at herself. She had expected to look translucent or feel different somehow, but she noticed no change. She looked to Vegeta's left and immediately saw the halo over his hair. She suppressed a sound of surprise. Vegeta looked at her at the same moment and also noticed the halo.

"I thought we were allowed to go to the Underworld!" he yelled up to the dragon.

"Only dead people are allowed to enter this world. So you are dead for 48 hours. If you return to your starting point within that time, nothing will happen. If you don't make it, however, you will remain dead."

Kera swallowed hard. She should have known there was a catch.

A muffled sound made her spin around. Shocked, she clasped her hands in front of her mouth and lunged forward. Piccolo had fallen to the ground and was lying on his back, breathing heavily. Dende had already knelt down beside him. Sadly, Dende looked up at her as she squatted beside him.

"What happened?"

"It's your connection. If you die, Piccolo dies too," Dende said softly.

"But ... I'm not really dead. I ..." Her eyes darted to Piccolo's face. She put a hand to his cheek. "Shenron!" She did not turn to the dragon and spoke softly, yet he heard her as he growled in confirmation. "Can you sever the link between me and Piccolo?"

Piccolo gasped. "No!" His voice was only a whisper.

"I can only weaken it for the period you are in the Otherworld. He will still be in pain. Your connection is too strong on too many levels. You should have shielded the connection from the wish."

Kera growled. "Why didn't you say that before?"

"You didn't ask," the dragon said emotionlessly.

"Do it!" Kera was shouting now.

She didn't have to look to know that the dragon's eyes lit up again as he granted her wish.

Momentarily Piccolo breathed a little more calmly, but still every breath seemed to cost him effort.

"I will hurry, beloved," she whispered, briefly resting her forehead against his. She pressed another kiss to his lips and looked to Dende. "Watch him."

Dende nodded. Kera rose and walked over to Vegeta. "Let's go then."

A blink and Vegeta and Kera found themselves in a different place. In front of them was a huge table, at which sat an equally huge being with red skin. A babble of voices could be heard behind Kera and Vegeta. In the doorway stood countless mist-like beings.

"Who are you?" The tall man leaned over his desk and regarded her.

"I am Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans, and I wish to obtain answers about my origins. This is Kera, my bodyguard. We made a wish from the dragon Shenron on Earth to be allowed to go to the Underworld for 48 hours."

"Kakarrot ... Son Goku says he has found someone who can answer our questions," Kera added.

"I see. I am King Yemma, the ruler of the Underworld. Here, take this." He handed them a small hourglass, which Kera attached to her belt. "With this hourglass, you will keep track of time. Before the last grain has trickled through, you must be back here." Then he handed Vegeta a scroll. "And you will need this to get through anywhere. It's a short letter with my seal on it."

"Thank you!"

King Yemma pointed to an opening to his right, through which they stepped outside.

Kakarrot was already waiting for them and began to explain the surroundings.

Vegeta interrupted him gruffly. "We don't have time for a tour." He pointed to the hourglass Kera had hanging from her belt. "When the time runs out, we have to be back here or we'll stay in this hole forever."

"Kakarrot, we have to keep moving. Piccolo ..." Kera broke off. It was too hard for her to talk about Piccolo lying on the ground, writhing in pain.

"What about Piccolo?"

Kera looked down at the ground. A failed suppressed sob escaped through her throat. To her surprise, Vegeta replied.

"If she dies, Piccolo dies too, and vice versa."

"Oooohhh ...," Kakarrot groaned out. "Then we should hurry. Come on!"

He pushed himself off the ground and floated up. Kera looked at the building they had stepped out of earlier. It looked like a temple. Huge. Countless columns supported the canopies of the porch, several storeys high were the curved roofs. Behind the building was ... nothing. Everything was bathed in a yellow light and it looked as if there were clouds everywhere, but she could see nothing else except ...

"Is that a snake?" She pointed below her. There was the head of a huge snake, looking towards the temple with its mouth wide open.

Kakarrot nodded. "Yes, that is the entrance to the snake path. At the end of it is King Kai's planet. It took me half a year to walk along there the first time." He chuckled briefly.

Kera didn't have to look to Vegeta to know what he was thinking too. They would both certainly cover the snake path faster.

"Don't we have to get to King Kai?" asked Kera as Kakarrot flew away from the entrance to the snake path.

"No. We need to get to the area where the souls who get to keep a part of their body go."

"A part?" Irritated, she looked at Kakarrot. The image of two legs without a torso crept into her mind's eye.

She saw Kakarrot grinning. "The upper part. The lower one will look more like ... mist or something. Souls who go there have done a lot of good during their lives and are allowed to exchange with other souls and support other souls. King Kai has called them 'guide souls', because at some point they too will be reborn, but they don't lose their good nature and then take on caring roles on their planets again."

"And you think we'll find a Saiyan there?" Vegeta's question sounded sceptical.

Kera was doubtful as well. Saiyans weren't known for being particularly caring. They had already sent the youngest children to other planets, they had murdered whole peoples to conquer their planets and then sell them to the highest bidder. Kera could not imagine that they would find any of their people there.

Kakarrot pointed downwards. "Make sure you stay above this path as much as possible when flying."

Kera looked down. A light blue path kept shimmering through under the yellow clouds. "What happens if we don't?"

"We can lose our orientation. And if you fall down there, you end up in hell."

Kera swallowed. "Have you been there?"

"Yes, I fell off the snake path once and it takes quite a bit of time to get out of hell."

Silently they flew on. The path seemed endless. Kera could not estimate how much time had passed. As she was about to take a look at the hourglass, Kakarrot suddenly called out, "We're here!"

They landed in front of a large white gate. To the left and right stretched a wall that seemed to end somewhere in infinity. Kera did not see any bend, which indicated that the wall enclosed something. It seemed to stretch on in a dead straight line.

Two guards stood in front of the gate. It was clear that not just anyone was allowed in here.

"Stop!" one of them shouted. Angular face. Determined expression. "Do you have a pass?" He held out his hand.

Vegeta handed him the small scroll King Yemma had given him earlier. Critically, the man eyed the document while the other kept his eyes on Kera, Vegeta and Kakarrot.

Finally the first guard nodded and opened the gate a crack. They slipped through.

Beyond the gate stretched a large meadow. A path wound through the grass. Houses in the distance. Kera held the two men back and looked at the hourglass.

"It took us about 12 hours to get here?!" She couldn't quite believe it, but the hourglass didn't lie. "Then we only have 24 hours to look for a clue. If we don't get to King Yemma on time, we're in trouble."

"I believe I can teleport you there."

"You think or you can?" asked Vegeta. "There's a big difference."

Kakarrot closed his eyes for a moment. "I can," he then said firmly.

"Then why couldn't you bring us straight here?"

"Because I don't know anyone here. I can only teleport to where I've been before or whose aura I know."

They walked down the street for a while. "So what do we do now?" asked Kera uncertainly.

"We'll have to ask around," replied Kakarrot. "King Kai heard that there was definitely a Saiyan here, but I'm afraid that's all he knew."

Kera sighed. Vegeta grumbled in annoyance. Asking around didn't sound like it would be fun or lead to a result quickly. The first ten spirits they encountered, at least that's how Kera referred to them in her head, didn't know what to do with the word "Saiyan". All the beings they met looked normal above the waist, like a human or a human-like animal being or even a Namekian. Below the waistline, their shapes blurred into a mist whose foothills did not touch the ground, making them seem to float above the earth.

When Kera looked at the clock again, after they had once more received no helpful information, she cried out in frustration. Time was running out. After all, they had already met beings who at least knew the word 'Saiyan', but no one knew where to find him.

She ran after the two men who were arguing. Vegeta blamed Kakarrot for making them come to the Underworld for nothing. She only listened with half an ear. She had hoped to maybe even meet a relative, but they hadn't even seen the signs of a Saiyan.

As they walked, Kera let her eyes wander. Although several hours had passed since they had passed the gate, the surroundings had not changed. Meadow and forest. In the middle of it the path. It looked very idyllic. Did it get dark here at all? Or did ghosts not need sleep? She herself did not feel tired or hungry.

They had already walked through one kind of village, at least that's what she called the cluster of houses, and then stayed on the path. A second village lay some distance ahead of them.

They passed a narrow archway that stood at the side of the path, behind which seemed to be a garden. A waist-high wall extended on either side of the archway. It looked inconspicuous and Kera did not want to pay any further attention to it, but then she did take a quick look through the arch. A single large tree stood a few paces away. Something caught her attention and she narrowed her eyes to look closer.

Could it be? Or were her eyes playing tricks on her? She took a few steps towards the large tree. There was a kind of cocoon hanging there from which a face was visible. She came even closer. It was not possible. Or was it?

She looked up and concentrated on the cocoon and the face. She sucked in the air sharply. No doubt about it. The metal plate over one half of the face was undeniable.