Kera:

They watched for a while as the children practised the poses, corrected again and again and then pronounced a pause. It was time to say goodbye to Kakarrot.

"Goku, please say hello to Gohan for us in the afterlife," Piccolo asked Kakarrot as he put an arm around Kera, who was leaning against him.

"Do you guys know that sometimes I'm a little jealous of you? You have such a good relationship with Gohan. You were more than just battle buddies. To Gohan, you're part of the family."

"And we really are, little brother." Kera broke away from Piccolo and hugged Kakarrot, who returned the embrace.

"Now the fate of the world is up to you and the children."

"Do you really have to go now, Papa?" Goten looked up at his father hesitantly, who knelt by him.

"I'm sorry, son." He hugged him as well.

"Goku?" Chi-Chi had finally woken from her faint and was standing on wobbly legs behind her husband. "You have to go again?" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she asked her question in a croaky voice.

Slowly, Kakarrot nodded. He stood and opened his arms. He walked towards his wife, who fell into his arms. She sobbed.

"How am I to go on living without you? Gohan is gone now too and what if Goten dies fighting Buu?"

"It's okay, Chi-Chi. Goten will be fine."

Kera felt a twinge in her chest and felt strangely heavy. She could sympathise with Chi-Chi's pain. Letting go of the one you love the most was hard enough, and then not knowing what had happened to your own child ...

Kakarrot kissed Chi-Chi once more.

"We have to go," said Fortuneteller Baba, who had reappeared as if from nowhere.

Only slowly did Kakarrot break away from Chi-Chi. Kera saw that he would have liked to still hold her, that he would have liked to grab her and fly with her to the other side of the world, but he couldn't. He had to let her go.

Next to the witch on the glass sphere, he slowly rose into the air. "Kera, Piccolo, I entrust my family to you. Take good care of them."

Kera nodded and fought tears as she waved at him. He climbed up a few yards and was gone.

Silence descended on those present.

"I still don't believe Gohan is dead," Videl said into the silence.

"We can't sense his aura anymore," Krillin objected.

"I know. But something tells me Gohan is still there. Somewhere out there."

The young woman let her eyes wander over the platform. Kera wished so badly that she was right.

Piccolo:

When it was dark, they gave in to Chi-Chi and Bulma's urging and finished the training. The children had not complained, but he sensed that their strength was waning. They needed to recover.

But what would the demon Buu do in the meantime? Did they even have time left? The demon's reserves of strength were inexhaustible and he was invulnerable. Piccolo was still not sure if the fusion would lead to victory. Buu would show no mercy.

He had put his children to bed after dinner and waited until they had fallen asleep, then he had gone back outside.

Kera stood at the edge of the platform with her gaze fixed forward. Cautiously, he approached her and stopped slightly behind her.

"Buu destroyed a few more cities," she said without introduction.

"I know. I sensed the extinguishing of auras during training. What is he doing right now?"

"From the looks of it, he's built himself a house."

"Strange behaviour for a demon." Piccolo snorted.

"Didn't you used to be a demon and have a house in the forest?" asked Kera with a slightly amused tone in her voice. At that, she leaned back a little and pressed herself against him. He put his right arm around her waist and began to make circular motions in her neck with his other hand. She moaned as he released some tension.

"That feels good," she said softly. She had closed her eyes and placed her hand on his.

"This is bugging me so much. We've been through all this before. Before Gohan fought Cell, we also sat up here waiting for something to happen. This time Kakarrot was only on Earth for a short time and yet suddenly someone is back to destroy Earth. Or is it the Saiyans in general? Maybe I'd better leave Earth too," Kera said sombrely.

"Only if I come with you and we have a planet somewhere all to ourselves. That's where we'll start our own population." He had to laugh at his own words.

Kera laughed briefly too, before becoming quiet again. She turned fully to face him and put her arms around his middle. He could feel her wanting to pull him even closer. As if their soul connection wasn't enough at that moment and she would love to physically melt into him.

'I love you,' she whispered in his mind.

'And I love you,' he answered her.

He didn't need to see her smile to know it was there. Those few words between them gave them both strength. It meant so much more. They were there for each other. No matter what was to come.

"Do you actually want to have more children?" Piccolo had spoken the question before he could think further about whether now would be the right moment.

Kera was surprised by the question. She stiffened for a moment. Piccolo was about to change the subject when she asked, "What made you think of that now?"

"I've been thinking about it for some time. Before you ... left."

She turned to look up at him. "Really?"

He nodded. He looked down at the floor. "Sorry, this isn't the time."

She put a hand to his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her again. "You can talk to me about it, can't you?"

Her finger slid down his neck, trailed down his chest and tangled with the fabric of his suit.

Slowly, Piccolo lifted his hand and stroked a finger across her cheek, down her neck, then wandered over her collarbone. He felt the fine hairs on Kera's skin stand up. Kera bit her lower lip and tried to suppress a sigh. She shook herself slightly. His finger moved up again, lightly lifting her chin. She understood the invitation and floated up to him until their faces were level.

He leaned towards her until he was almost touching the tip of her nose. "Have you thought about it too?" he asked in a husky voice.

She smiled. "Maybe." She put her hands around his neck.

Piccolo's gaze darted to Kera's slightly parted lips, to her eyes where he read desire and back again. He came even closer until his breath mingled with hers.

"So, to what conclusion have you come?" he breathed.

In answer, she pulled him to her and placed her lips on his. Piccolo put his hands on her back and pulled her closer. A moan escaped her chest as if it was a release she had long waited for.

"Kera," he murmured as he roamed his mouth caressingly down her neck. Slowly he knelt down, pulling her with him and laying her on the floor. His body remained pressed tightly against hers. He did not release his lips from her collarbone.

She arched her upper body towards him. Piccolo felt her want to be even closer to him. Her hands travelled down his back, clawing into his gi. His lips found their way back to her mouth. Greedily, he kissed her.

A warm breath of sensation brushed against him. Kera had opened her connection. He now felt not only his feelings and sensations, but hers as well. He was also moaning now.

Kera's hands moved forward from his back, reached into the neckline of his suit and tried to slide it over his shoulders. Reluctantly, Piccolo let go of her, tore the fabric a bit and pulled the rest off his torso.

Smiling, he remained bent over Kera for a moment until he lowered himself slowly onto her again. This elicited a sigh of pleasure from Kera. Immediately she began stroking his now naked torso, following every muscle fibre. He enjoyed her touch, feeling her even more intensely through their connection.

Piccolo couldn't get enough of Kera. His hand wandered under her slender breastplate, pushed it up.

"Make it disappear," she breathed into his ear, nibbling on his earlobe.

A wink later, she lay beneath him, her upper body exposed. Piccolo's right hand stroked down over her shoulder. Gently he followed the curve of her breast, over her belly, down to her legs.

Kera wanted more. Their kisses became more intense. She longed to feel him. Everywhere. Her fingers moved over his head to his antennae. A shudder ran through his body as she stroked them. He groaned softly.

'Do you want to stay out here?' her voice whispered in his thoughts.

He paused for a moment and put some distance between himself and Kera. The moonlight bathed her in a cold glow, which brought out her beauty even more. She tilted her head.

'What are you thinking about?

'About how beautiful you are.'

He saw blush creep up her cheeks. In answer, she pulled him to her again and placed her lips on his. That night they would not think of tomorrow. This night would belong only to them.

Kera:

The next morning, Kera woke her children. Despite the impending danger, she felt more exhilarated than she had in a long time, which was probably due to the last night with Piccolo. She hadn't slept much.

"Mum, are you all right?" asked Menka, who had always been more alert than was usual for a child her age.

"Yes, everything is fine. I hope you slept well?"

Menka and Reyak nodded, but both still looked tired. After a quick wash and breakfast, they found themselves back on the front lawn of the palace. Trunks and Goten seemed a lot more tired than Menka and Reyak. Piccolo had apparently had to use a little harder methods to get them both awake.

The children lined up to continue practising the pose. After a few seconds it was already clear that all but Menka had forgotten the sequence of steps overnight.

"All right, I'll show you again," Kera said, standing up. "Piccolo?"

"I'm not doing this crap," he grumbled.

'Please. We have an example to set.' She put all her persuasive power into her request.

Piccolo sighed and stood with her.

For hours they practised the sequence of steps of the fusion. The children made an effort, which Kera credited to them.

"Very good. We'll take a lunch break now. After that we will test the fusion properly."

The children just nodded and went into the palace. Popo had already prepared a meal.

"I'm going to see Chi-Chi and Bulma for a moment," she said to Piccolo, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

In a shaded area next to the palace sat most of her friends. Krillin, the Turtle Hermit and Bulma were playing cards. 18 sat a little apart and seemed to be giving Krillin tips on which cards he could and could not draw on the others. Kera had to grin.

Chi-Chi and Videl were playing with Gine and Maron. Chi-Chi seemed to be distracted from her dark thoughts as they did so.

Gine scrambled towards her joyfully as Kera stepped into the shadows. She knelt down and wrapped her daughter in her arms.

"It's really amazing that Gine can crawl already. I always thought Goten was so early in his motor development, but with Gine ..." said Chi-Chi instead of a greeting.

"Yes, pureblood Saiyans are quite quick at that," Kera replied as she rubbed her cheek against her daughter's. 'And maybe it has something to do with the fact that I wasn't really me when she was born,' Kera thought silently.

Most of the time she managed to suppress that fact, but sometimes the thought would sneak up on her again and paralyse her for a moment. What if it did have some effect on Gine as she grew up? It was prophesied that she would bring chaos. Would this already become the next threat after the demon Buu?

"Are the kids on break right now?" inquired Videl, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, they've been keeping up really well. I think we can have a proper go after lunch."

"I'm really looking forward to it." Videl looked sadly into space at her words.

"You miss Gohan, don't you?"

Videl suppressed a sob and nodded. "I really like him," she said softly.