Kera:

"Frieza." She whispered his name with all the contempt she could muster. The cocoon, which kept spinning, turned again so that he could look at her. A recognising smile flitted across his face.

"Kera." His voice radiated contempt. "What a surprise."

Kera had to pull herself together. From the looks of it, he couldn't touch her. Trunks had defeated him some time ago. He was dead. She was in the underworld. It was not unusual to see him here. Moreover, he seemed to be immobilised. So there was nothing he could do to her.

"Frieza. You here. What a coincidence," she called up to him. The cocoon performed a quarter turn and looked back at her.

"Kera. How nice to see you."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't your soul be purified and reborn?"

He laughed condescendingly as he continued to turn. "I don't regret my actions. That's why I was locked up here. My own personal hell." Again he laughed. Kera felt a shiver run down her spine. "But then, you seem to have made it here. Did you abandon your friends and end up down here? Couldn't you protect them? After all, I always knew you were weak."

Kera swallowed. This creature was talking rubbish. Kera knew she was here for a completely different reason, but still his words hit her. She just left Piccolo alone. She wasn't with him. He was suffering. And she wasn't with her children because her personal interests were more important to her. Frieza had turned enough to look at her again. "Oh, are you uncomfortable? But you know, Kera, that you always disappoint people. The warriors you're supposed to fight with and, above all, the prince you're supposed to defend. So, what did you do? He died right before your eyes." With a chuckle, he laughed.

Kera's breathing quickened. 'Vegeta's alive!" she repeated over and over in her mind.

"You failed to save him, when that is your very purpose in life. If you can't even do that, what good are you? I have always told you that you should have stayed by my side, but you preferred to stand by the side of this prince of nothing. Ridiculous! You ..."

A beam of energy whizzed so close to Frieza that he stopped mid-sentence in astonishment.

"You disgusting bastard! If you ever speak to Kera again, I'll tear you apart."

Jerking, Kera turned her head. Vegeta stood beside her, slowly lowering the hand from which he had been firing energy at Frieza. Frieza looked surprised.

Kera's breathing calmed. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Vegeta!" Frieza had used the turn of the cocoon to catch himself again. "Now that's a regular family reunion."

"Shut up. Have you heard of any other Saiyans here in this part of the Underworld?"

"Oha, so you're not really dead at all, am I correct?"

"That's none of your business. Answer the question!" growled Vegeta.

Kera felt a breath of air beside her and turned around briefly. Kakarrot had moved to her other side.

"What do I get in return?"

"That I don't tear you apart." Vegeta's voice seemed threatening.

"Not interesting. How about Kera gives me ..."

Just a blink and Vegeta floated in front of Frieza. He spun slowly with him, putting the filter of a grotesque dance on the scenery.

"Take her name in your mouth again and you will regret it forever." A ball of energy formed in his hand.

Frieza was silent for a moment, staring into Vegeta's eyes. "Vegeta, Prince of Nothing." He laughed spitefully. "I'm dead. What could you possibly threaten me with?"

"Frieza," Kakarrot hovered next to Vegeta and also had an energy ball hovering over his palm.

"Well, well, well. There we have another Saiyan." Another gasp of laughter. "Are you all dead and with you the last Saiyans? Sad story."

"You ..." Vegeta took a leap forward, but Frieza didn't even flinch.

"What if we owe you a favour?"

Kera and Vegeta's heads jerked to Kakarrot. Had he really just said that?

Frieza seemed to consider. Then he nodded slowly. "I'll call in that favour eventually, whatever it is." Vegeta growled and looked to Kera. She nodded hesitantly. Maybe it really was a possibility. Kakarrot nodded as well. Then Frieza continued speaking, "At the end of the wall, you'll find the way to a village where a Saiyan lives."

"Wasn't so hard, was it?" Vegeta gave Frieza another punch on the cocoon before he sank back to the ground. He grabbed Kera's hand and pulled her with him. Kakarrot followed.

It wasn't until they reached the end of the wall that they slowed down again. Kera stopped to catch her breath. "Thank you for being there."

Vegeta grabbed her by the shoulders and looked straight at her. "I'll never leave you alone with that rotten bastard again."

She hugged Vegeta. She was so grateful to have him by her side.

"May I ask what just happened? Or happened earlier?"

"It's none of your business, Kakarrot!" snapped Vegeta at the other.

"It's all right, Vegeta," Kera placated him. She looked at Kakarrot. "You were sent to Earth before the destruction of our planet and you don't remember anything. You were a little younger than Vegeta and I when our home planet exploded. Even before that, Frieza had power over us and oppressed us. He was so much more powerful than the king, Vegeta's father. That's why no one dared to attack him. Then Frieza destroyed the planet and we were among the few survivors. Frieza forced us to work for him. He humiliated us every chance he got. When I was ... the right age, Frieza started ..." Kera faltered. Vegeta grabbed her by the shoulder and squeezed. She took a breath, wanting to continue speaking, but finding no words.

"He used her," Vegeta said quietly, not looking at Kakarrot. "He was her trophy. Something to show around. To show that he had subdued the proud Saiyans. She had to ..." Now Vegeta's voice failed him as well and he had to take a few breaths before he continued. "When the opportunity arose, I allowed her to escape. I couldn't bear to see her suffer like that anymore."

Kera heard Kakarrot swallow hard. "I'm sorry for that. I knew Frieza was bad, but this ..." He shook his head, then gave Kera a quick hug. He looked down at her. "If we don't find out anything now, I'll make sure to question everyone here. I promise you that."

Vegeta:

Kera smiled gratefully at Kakarrot. Even if he found Kakarrot annoying, this time he had found reasonable words and Kera seemed to feel a little better as a result and that was what counted at that moment.

Together they continued along the road and soon arrived at a small village. It was hardly different from the first village they had visited in this part of the underworld. The arrangement of the houses was slightly different, but the architecture was the same. They immediately headed for the fountain in the marketplace and asked a young man who seemed to have gills on his neck and his skin colour looked slightly bluish.

"A Saiyan? A man?" he asked. Small bubbles of air came out of his mouth with each word he said.

"We don't know if it's a man or a woman," Kera replied.

He pointed down the street. "The fourth house on the right. A Saiyan lives there. She takes care of the parentless children. You'll recognise the house by the sign." He turned around before Kera could thank him.

Was this really the Saiyan they were looking for? Determined, they went into the indicated street and shortly after stood in front of the fourth house on the right. The door sign showed a drawn woman surrounded by many children. The house was also different from the other houses in the street. It was colourfully painted. The shutters showed drawings of children. Flower boxes were placed on the windowsills. It looked inviting and cheerful.

The three looked at each other. Kera shrugged and raised her hand to knock on the door. Nothing happened for a while. When she raised her hand again to knock a second time, the door opened.

A young woman about Kera's age was standing in the doorway, or rather, she was floating, for her lower body had also disappeared into a mist-like mass. Her eyes were exactly at Kera's level. They flashed black. The short black hair stood out wildly in all directions.

The woman stumbled. Hectically her eyes darted from Kera to Kakarrot and then to Vegeta and back to Kera. She blinked a few times, then uttered a surprised sound and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Kera?!"

Confused, Kera looked across from her. Then she nodded slowly. "Who ...?" She couldn't finish her question as the other fell around her neck and sobbed loudly.

"I never thought it possible to see you all together one day."

Vegeta stared at the scene before him. Kera didn't seem to know whether to hug the other woman or not. She was caught completely off guard. "Uh ... Hello," she returned weakly.

The other pushed her away a little again. "Sorry, I guess that was a bit much. You certainly can't remember."

"No, we can't. Who are you?" Vegeta's voice sounded equally uncertain, though he tried to drown it out with his gruff manner.

"My name is Gine."

The reaction she probably expected was not forthcoming. No one could relate to the name. "Okay, I'll tell you everything. Come in." Invitingly, she stepped back a little and invited them in.

Kera was the first to step over the threshold into the small room behind the door. It was a living room-kitchen. The cooker and sink were right next to the door and then led into a larger room, on the right side of which was a square table with four chairs. On the left there was a sofa. The woman pointed to the table and then fiddled with the cooker.

Slowly, Kera, Vegeta and Kakarrot sat down on the chairs and waited until their hostess had joined them and placed a steaming cup of hot tea in front of them all. She looked around expectantly.

Vegeta finally took the floor. "We," he pointed to Kera and himself, "have come to the Underworld for 48 hours to find out who our parents are."

Gine nodded. "I see. I never thought it possible that I would be able to tell you this one day."

"What exactly?" echoed Vegeta. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Sorry. I'm so excited." Gine fanned herself a little and smiled uncertainly. "I'm your mother." She looked at each of them in turn.

Vegeta looked at Kakarrot, whose features slipped, then at Kera, who showed a similar expression, and also felt in himself that he was no longer in complete control of his facial expressions.

"My father is King Vegeta!" exclaimed Vegeta as he regained his composure. "My mother ..."

Gine interrupted him. "I know. Please let me tell you from the beginning. I am a simple Saiyan, not a warrior. My husband, Bardock, was a good warrior. Our son, Raditz, was also to join the Conquest Force one day, but we didn't live to see that happen because of the destruction of the planet." She paused. Everyone waited impatiently for her to continue. "My cousin was the Queen of the Saiyans, King Vegeta's wife. She couldn't bear children."

"Stop! Are you telling me that the queen is not my mother?" Vegeta had risen slightly from his seat.

Soothingly, Gine raised her hands. "I will tell you everything, Vegeta. Please listen to the end." Vegeta sat back down, crossed his arms in front of his chest and nodded. "She could not, as I said, bear children. It didn't work out, at least. But she had to bring forth a successor or the king would look weak. After many failed attempts, they came up with the idea of taking another woman who would secretly carry the king's child, and the queen would fake a pregnancy. The choice fell on me." Gine paused in her narrative. The memory of what had happened did not seem to sit well with her. "Since I was ... am ... the queen's cousin, this was at least some kinship. I became pregnant by King Vegeta and was expecting twins. Twins are ... extremely rare among Saiyans."

She swallowed hard, took one breath, but then shook her head barely noticeably before continuing. "The first baby was a boy." She looked at Vegeta. "That was you. That ensured the succession to the throne. The second baby was a girl." She looked to Kera. "I had hoped that I would be allowed to keep you. At least one child, but the king decided that both children should grow up in the palace. The people celebrated the birth of the heir to the throne and you were introduced as his cousin."

"You had to give us both away?" Vegeta heard a slight tremor in Kera's voice.

"Yes. The queen let me see you from time to time. Those were always my bright spots. But then I got pregnant again and my husband hardly let me out of his sight. Kakarrot was born and shortly after that our planet was destroyed. The last thing I remember was a big explosion. Then I woke up here. Without my husband and children." She wiped a tear from her eye and looked at the tabletop. Then something did wet the wooden top.

Vegeta looked at Kera. She had her eyes wide and was looking at him. In her face he could read all that was bothering him too. Could this really be? Was the woman he always thought of as his mother not his mother? His stomach suddenly felt as if a heavy lump had formed there.

Gine cleared her throat. "You must have questions."

Plenty, Vegeta thought, and opened his mouth, but Kera was quicker.

"How come you recognised us right away? You last saw us when we were kids."

"You haven't changed much. And I got to take a look at you once, after a few years of taking care of the lonely children here. Vegeta was on a conquest mission on another planet at the time. Kera I saw beside a Namekian, and Kakarrot and Raditz were lying on the ground." She sobbed again. "I didn't know what it all meant. They just showed me this picture."

Kera put a hand on the hand of the woman lying on the table. Her mother's hand. "I'm sorry. My mate killed Raditz."

Gine's head jerked up. "You have a mate?"

Kera opened her mouth to reply, but Kakarrot was quicker. "But also only because Raditz threatened my son and wanted to destroy Earth!"

Gine's head wandered to Kakarrot. "You have a son?"

Kakarrot seemed flustered by the question.

Suddenly Gine put her hands over her mouth. "You being here means you are dead."

"Wrong," Vegeta said in his slightly condescending way. He still wasn't fully convinced by this story. Kakarrot and Kera seemed to be more easily swayed. "Kakarrot is dead, Kera and I only for forty-eight hours to search for clues to our origins."

Kera took the hourglass from her belt and placed it centrally on the table. "We don't have much time left. We have to get back to King Yemma on time or we'll stay dead."

"Please tell me your stories," the woman asked, and so the three told their stories. Each told a piece of his own story until someone else took over. Kakarrot told of his foster grandfather Gohan, his training with Master Roshi, how he had met Chi-Chi. The fight against Frieza. This story was completed by Kera and Vegeta. Vegeta mentioned his wife and son.

Gine told them as much as she could about her time on the planet Vegeta. Then she looked at Kera again. "And you entered into a bond too?"

Kera nodded. "Yes." She presented the characters on her wrist. "This is ..."

"Namekian," Gine finished the sentence.

Astonished, Kera looked at her. "You can read that?"

"Yes. I've been here a long time and had plenty of time to learn new things. I'm quite good friends with a Namekian one village over."

"Shit!" Vegeta jumped up. They all looked to him. He pointed at the hourglass. "We only have a few minutes left."

Startled, Kakarrot and Kera now looked at the clock too. Talking had made the time fly by.

"Come then."

Together they stepped outside the door. Gine hugged each of them. Then she looked at all three of them again. "I am proud of you. You have all become true warriors." She smiled and her eyes began to glisten with tears.

Kakarrot held out a hand each to Kera and Vegeta. "It was nice to meet you ... Mother."

After the long conversation and the many answers Vegeta had received, even he wrestled a brief smile from himself. Gine raised her hand to wave. "Greet your companions and your children." She looked to Kera. "Do you actually have children?"

"That's right, we didn't even get to that. Yes, I have twins, a boy and a girl."

The last thing Vegeta saw of Gine was eyes widened in shock and a mouth contorted into a scream. When he opened his eyes again, he saw King Yemma.

Kera:

"That was a close one. Give my regards to the god of earth," King Yemma's voice boomed down at them. They had no chance to say goodbye to Kakarrot and were back in Dende's palace in the next moment.

Kera rushed into the palace to check on Piccolo. She felt the connection grow stronger again. Dende was with Piccolo. He looked a little pale, but he was alive.

"You were hardly there when he suddenly got better."

Kera fell into Piccolo's arms and was overjoyed to see him. "Thank you for looking after him, Dende."

Vegeta now entered the room as well. She turned to him.

"Did you also see the shocked look on her face when I told her I had twins?"

Vegeta nodded. "Dende, find out if there are any bad omens associated with Saiyans and twins."

Kera gave him a brief punishing look and added. "Please, Dende."

"I will try. If I find anything, I'll let Menka know."

Piccolo felt fit again, so until Dende had gathered news, they would fly back to their forest first. At the edge of the forest, Piccolo pulled her down with him. She looked at him questioningly, but he said nothing, instead pushing her against a tree. Wordlessly he looked at her.

Kera felt her breathing quicken. She sensed his arousal. "Did you miss me?" she asked in a throaty voice.

He growled and put his lips over hers. He didn't stop to undress her, but tore her clothes to stroke her skin. Kera did likewise without releasing her lips from his. She had felt nothing of the lack of connection in the 48 hours in the Underworld, except a slight pressure on her heart. It had been worse for Piccolo. He had been in pain for 48 hours, every breath an agony. She had felt the reverberations of pain when she had touched him for the first time after returning from the underworld. The connection had materialised again at that moment.

His body now craved hers, just as hers craved his. They made love quickly and recklessly, hungrily. After Piccolo had replaced their clothes, they flew home hand in hand.

They entered the empty house. Menka and Reyak were with Bulma. Piccolo and Kera did not sleep that night, but made love over and over. It was as if they had not seen each other for years.

It wasn't until dawn that they lay on the bed, tightly embraced, and exchanged their first words.

"So you really are Vegeta's sister," Piccolo murmured while pressing his mouth into her hair.

Kera nodded. "Twin sister. I would never have thought it possible. And Kakarrot and Raditz are our half-brothers." She gave a short laugh. "That feels so unreal." She became serious again. "In a way, though, it's nice. We're probably the last three Saiyans and we're united in blood."

Piccolo hugged her to him.