Vegera:

Energy, strength. Sounds, light. Everything came at him at the same time and with an intensity he had not expected. He went down on his knees. Gasped. Rubbed his eyes. It was ... overwhelming. He looked down at himself. He was wearing his usual breastplate. Nothing else on his torso, though. White short gloves on his hands. His trousers were dark blue and cut tighter than Kera's, but not skin-tight.

He squinted at his chest. Flat. A little he had to smile. So this part was not Kera from Kera. He ran his hand over his hair and grabbed the back of his neck. The hair didn't stand out like Vegeta's, but Kera's braid was there.

Probably this was the best fusion there could be. Kera and Vegeta, already together in the womb and now united through fusion. Then he felt something else, something entirely new. Something he had never perceived before. He closed his eyes and saw a golden thread in the darkness. He knew immediately that this was Kera's special connection to Piccolo. Not only brightness emanated from the shimmering light of the thread, but also warmth and security. So even a fusion could not harm this connection.

Slowly he opened his eyes again and straightened up. He was no longer at the height of his strength, despite the fusion. He and Kera had been fighting too long for that, but it would be enough for Kakarrot to gather enough energy.

He looked once more at Kakarrot and saw the energy ball growing. Hercule's words had had an effect.

He took a deep breath. It was time to put an end to this demon. And it would be excruciating.

Now was his moment. Just then the fat Buu was thrown back and landed several steps away from him with a long swat in the grass. He did not get up again.

Vegera dashed forward. "Now you'll have to deal with me. We have a score to settle, you ugly demon."

Kera and Vegeta had fought Buu once before, together, with two bodies. Now they would finish it. Together again, in one body.

Kakarrot stood behind him. Buu seemed to have noticed that they were planning something, because he raced towards him. Vegera stood in Buu's way, stopped and a diabolical grin split his lips. Too late Vegera realised that Buu had lashed out with his right arm and aimed a haymaker at the pit of his stomach. He hit. All the air escaped painfully from his lungs. He held his stomach and doubled over.

Buu grabbed him by the hair, pulled him to him and gave him a hook on the chin that sent his head flying into the back of his neck. He staggered backwards, tried to regain his footing, but Buu was already on him again and kicked him in the face.

Vegera's head jerked back. His gaze blurred and he had to squint his eyes to see clearly again. He fixed his gaze on Kakarrot. The energy above his head was growing. Soon it would be great enough. The call from Hercule had helped. Now he just had to hold on a little longer. Just a little more.

The desire to lie down and sleep grew with every passing second. Another blow hit him. Vegera's movements became slower. His reaction was noticeably weaker.

He managed to block one more blow, then a kick hit him in the shoulder. He felt that the joint was pressed into his upper body. He suppressed a scream. Automatically he grabbed the painful spot and saw the second kick from the other side much too late.

He could only half-heartedly raise his arm, but the kick hit him with such force that he was thrown backwards and landed on the ground. Stars exploded before his eyes. He struggled for breath.

Keep going! He had to keep going. Somehow. He tried to push himself up. No chance. His arms buckled under him. There was no strength left.

"Get out of the way! I'm throwing the Super Spirit Bomb now!"

Where was Buu? He turned his head. Buu was behind him. He had known that Kakarrot would not throw the Super Spirit Bomb until he himself was out of the line of fire. Buu was using him as a shield.

"Fuck it! Throw that thing!" he shouted to Kakarrot. He didn't care about anything now. If they hesitated now, it had all been for nothing.

"No! I will not sacrifice you! Not when we can finally all live together again on Earth."

Something rushed over Vegera. Boo had thrown an energy sphere at Kakarrot. With difficulty Vegera turned his head to follow the trajectory of the sphere, but then he was jerked up.

He felt something, no, someone under him. He was being carried away from Buu. His head shook uncontrollably back and forth and he could not focus on the surroundings around him. Then he stood still again and was deposited on the grass. He looked up.

Hercule stood over him smiling uncertainly. He had taken him out of the line of fire. How incredibly brave this simple human being was.

With a yelp, Kakarrot threw the huge ball of energy. Buu had turned his back on him. Vegera was triumphant. He would catch him full on. But at the last moment, Buu turned and caught the ki ball.

Vegera looked at Kakarrot, who was trying to push the energy ball further against Buu, but his strength was also dwindling with every second. He was having trouble keeping himself upright at all.

Then he noticed something else. Something was tearing him apart.

Kera:

She was back in her own body. Didn't this kind of fusion last thirty minutes? Or how much time had passed?

She looked questioningly at Vegeta, who was crouching next to her. He looked as taken as she felt. Buu had beaten her up pretty badly.

Kera looked at the huge ball of energy that Buu was behind. He was slowly but surely moving back towards Kakarrot, who was standing just a few steps away from them with both arms stretched forward to push the ball of collected energy against Buu.

"Kakarrot can't make it," Vegeta said quietly, looking to Kera.

"Looks like it. We're not going to give up now. Not when we're on the verge of victory."

She concentrated. Her left leg hurt when she stood up and she had trouble putting weight on it. She held out her hand to Vegeta, who grabbed it and pulled himself up by it. He did not put any weight on his left leg either.

Supporting each other, they limped to Kakarrot. He grimly concentrated on the energy ball and Buu standing behind it. The Super Spirit Bomb was now perhaps only ten yards away from them and closer to them than to Buu.

Kera stood at Kakarrot's right side while Vegeta walked around him and stood at his left side. She placed her right hand on Kakarrot's outstretched hand and her left hand on his shoulder. Vegeta performed the same posture in reverse.

"Kakarott, we can do this together now!" she said, letting what little energy she had left flow through her hands into Kakarrot's body.

"That son of a bitch is going to the afterlife nicely now," Vegeta growled on the other side.

Kera felt Vegeta flow his energy through Kakarrot as well.

The sphere shuddered and came to a stop. Then, very slowly, it began to move towards Buu.

Where did this power suddenly come from? It was as if she had licked a Senzu Bean and would have more power again with the knowledge that this would be short-lived. Almost as if by magic, she transformed into a Super Saiyan. Without effort. Like the flutter of a butterfly's wings, the energy fluttered across. As she squinted to her left, she saw that Vegeta and Kakarrot had transformed as well. Amazement spoke from both their faces.

She shook her head. They would be able to sort that out later.

Agonisingly slowly, the orb inched its way towards Buu.

"Just a little bit more!"

Kera's arms and legs trembled. She just wanted to lie down. She wanted this fight to finally be over. Finally rest and live a normal life for once.

"I hope that Buu will be reborn as a good being. Then we can fight each other again," Kakarrot said, panting.

"You're the only one who wishes that, too," Vegeta retorted.

Kera had to laugh out loud.

"Concentrate!" she shouted to her brothers. A final yell from all three. The Super Spirit Bomb hit Buu. An explosion followed.

They stood there for a moment, silent and tense, staring at the spot where Buu had been before. He was gone. They waited. Nothing happened. He did not regenerate. She felt no more energy from the demon.

"Well, finally. That took a long time," Vegeta said, slumping down.

Kera tried to run to him, but she stumbled and fell lengthwise. Kakarrot also went down.

Although they all had little strength left, they smiled at each other and raised their thumbs in victory pose.

Piccolo

"Quick, take us to Kera and the others!" he said to Kibitoshin, who was still staring at the glass ball.

"Uh, yes, gladly." He held out his hand. Piccolo grabbed it and waited impatiently until the others also clung to Kibitoshin and he finally brought them back to the world of the Supreme Kais.

He noticed the already familiar feeling of pulling all over his body and the next moment they were standing in the world of the Supreme Kais. He looked around. Kibitoshin had teleported them right next to Kera.

It stung him to see her like this. In almost every part of her skin he saw wounds, scratches and tears. One eye was swollen shut. Her clothes were torn. And yet she was smiling. She looked at Vegeta and Goku. They all had their thumbs up and were grinning at each other. All three were at their limit strength-wise. He could barely feel their energies. If he didn't see them alive in front of him now, he would be very worried.

Piccolo went down on his knees. Only now did she notice that he was next to her. She threw herself into his arms. He paid no attention to Goku or Vegeta or Hercule, who was somewhere nearby. He didn't care about anything. Only Kera mattered. He hugged her to him and sucked in her scent. She was alive. She had won.

"Ouch, not so hard," she murmured against his shoulder.

He loosened his grip a little, but didn't let go of her. "I've spoken to Menka. They're fine."

Instantly he felt her relief. Buu had been defeated. They would be able to hold their children in their arms again. The earth was all right again.

"Dende, please heal Kera and Vegeta first. I'll get in trouble with their companions if I don't."

Piccolo turned to Goku, who had just stopped Dende from healing him. With a smile, Dende stepped up to Kera and placed his hands on her upper arm.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed Dende's healing powers. Piccolo watched as her wounds closed. After a while she opened her eyes again. "Thank you, Dende. That's enough for me for now."

The young Namekian nodded and turned to Vegeta, who in the meantime had pulled himself up to a sitting position.

"Do any of you know why we were able to mobilise so much power at the end? It didn't feel like the power came out of me, but from somewhere else." Kera looked questioningly at the others.

"It can be that siblings who are close and reflect on what unites them develop a power that exceeds their individual powers for a short time," Kibitoshin said.

"But the fact that Kakarrot and I are close is news to me," Vegeta exclaimed as Dende healed his wounds.

Kibitoshin shrugged and seemed to grow smaller under Vegeta's gaze.

"Don't be so grumpy, Vegeta," Kera said, looking at her twin brother with a smile. He just sighed. Then Piccolo thought he saw a smile on his face. But it was too brief to be sure.

"Hey, can you come here, please?"

They all turned their heads in the direction from which the voice had come. Hercule was standing a few yards away from them, waving his arms excitedly. He was pointing at something that was obscured from their position by the rise they were standing on.

Vegeta was first to the black-haired man. Sharply he sucked in the air.

"What ...?" asked Piccolo, and in the next moment he already saw what had made Vegeta freeze.

The fat Buu. He was still alive. Hadn't the lives of the two Buus been intertwined?

"Can you please heal my little Buu?" asked Hercule.

Uncertainly, Dende looked first at Piccolo, then at Kibitoshin.

"No way. The evil Buu has come out of that one. The risk is way too big!", Vegeta snapped at Dende.

"Please, I'll take care of him. He won't hurt anyone else!" begged Hercule.

"Piccolo, do you still sense evil energy in Buu?", Goku asked him.

Piccolo was silent for a moment, looking intently at his aura. Then he shook his head. Vegeta puffed indignantly.

"Buu can't live on Earth, though. The humans fear him," Kibitoshin interjected.

"We will look for the Dragon Balls and ask Shenron to erase the people's memory of Buu," Goku suggested.

Vegeta, Kera and Goku looked at each other in turn, as if they were having a silent conversation. Finally, all three of them nodded at the same time.

Dende stepped forward and healed Buu.

Kera:

They all felt reasonably fit for transport again after Dende had healed the major wounds. Kibitoshin asked them to come together in a large circle and teleported them to Dende's palace.

A blink of an eye later, they were no longer in the green world of the Supreme Kais, but on the white platform in front of the palace.

"Mama!"

Immediately she turned around. Reyak and Menka ran towards her. They must have come back into the palace with Goten and Trunks from the rocky landscape where Buu had absorbed them. Reyak held Gine in his arms, who beamed at them just as joyfully.

Kera went down on her knees and hugged her children. Tears of joy and happiness ran down her cheeks. Piccolo also lowered himself to his knees and hugged them all.

"Papa!" Gohan, Goten and Chi-Chi ran towards Kakarrot. He too hugged them joyfully.

"Papa?" Trunks walked more slowly towards Vegeta and stopped somewhat indecisively in front of him, until Vegeta too pulled his son close and briefly embraced Bulma, who seemed surprised by her companion's sudden emotion.

Chi-Chi sobbed aloud in Kakarrot's arms. "Please don't ever leave me alone again."

"Don't worry. If you always have enough to eat, I'll stay."

The bystanders began to laugh. Kera twisted her eyes slightly. Typical Kakarrot.

"Mum, did you defeat the demon Buu?" asked Reyak.

"Yes, we did. It was close, but we did it. Together."

She looked over at Vegeta and Kakarrot, who seemed to sense her gaze and looked over at her. Both of them smiled. Kera returned the smile.

Piccolo:

"Goku, are you going to look for the Dragon Balls on your own, or shall we split up?"

"Dragon Balls? For what?" asked Bulma.

"For Buu," Goku said innocently, pointing behind him. Only now did the others notice that the pink demon had been standing in the shadows of the palace.

"What's he doing here? We must ..." Angrily, Chi-Chi roared forward, but Goku held her by the arm.

"Don't. This is the part of Buu that's good. He won't hurt anyone. Hercule will take care of him. With the Dragon Balls, we will wish for people to lose Buu's memory and for him to live on Earth."

For a moment, those present were silent. Then Bulma sighed.

"Fine by me. Shall we meet then and call the Dragonn together when the time comes?"

Piccolo looked to Kera. She nodded without hesitation and immediately replied, "Yes, I'd love to." Piccolo looked around. Everyone nodded one by one.

"Good, then we'll meet at our place in half a year." Bulma looked to Vegeta. "Will you fly me home?"

She put her arms around his neck and he lifted her up. She waved to the crowd while Vegeta rose. Trunks followed them after saying goodbye to Goten, Reyak and Menka.

There was a big round of goodbyes. Everyone hugged everyone, or at least almost everyone. Piccolo kept a little apart, preferring to observe. Was Dende hugging his daughter all the time or was he just imagining it?

Kera steered his thoughts back when she took his hand. "Shall we go home then?" she asked him.

He nodded. Hand in hand, they flew from Dende's palace to their forest. The young Namekian waved goodbye to them for a long time. Menka and Reyak flew after them, Kera had Gine in her arms.

Piccolo hoped that they would be granted at least a few years of peace, as they had been after the fight against Cell. He was almost certain that someone would soon come and threaten the earth again.

Dear reader,

This is the end of the Buu saga and Dragon Ball Z. I've put 79 chapters with about 258,000 words online in the last 1.5 years and have received so many motivating messages. Thank you so much for that. My dream was always to write a fanfiction that featured my character without changing much of the actual story. And now when I see Dragon Ball, I sometimes think about her really being there.

Since I already have ideas on how the story will go on, I'll probably write some more ;-)

All the best!

Your Jessica