Kera:

"Kakarrot's aura has changed."

"Changed? Are you saying you could feel it all the time?" inquired Vegeta in wonder.

"Yes, at least when I was concentrating hard on it."

"The auras of gods cannot be sensed by mere mortals," Vegeta repeated the sentence Piccolo had said earlier.

"I know. But I can sense them. Beerus' too. But not the way I can sense other auras. I have to concentrate very much on it and block out everything else. And then it still feels like it's slipping away from me all the time, like ..."

"... Like it's switching dimensions," Vegeta finished her sentence.

Surprised, Kera looked at him. "Yes, just like that. Can you sense it too?"

Vegeta nodded. "What could that be?"

"Well, good question. Either normal mortals can sense the auras of gods after all, if they just concentrate well enough."

"Unlikely."

"We gave Kakarrot the energy and that's why we have a connection to him."

"Possibly. But it doesn't explain why we can sense Beerus' aura."

"We were once possessed by god-like beings."

Vegeta fell silent, biting his lip. "Do you think there are ... after-effects?"

She shrugged. "I hope not." Sadly, she lowered her head and looked at the floor. It still seemed unreal to her that she had spent her life sharing her body with another being. Unbeknownst to her, the sorceress Malaha had lived inside her for decades until at some point she had gained control of Kera's body and Kera had only been able to watch helplessly as Malaha and her companion Aitor, who had been trapped in Vegeta's body, had begun to subjugate all the inhabitants of Earth.

A shiver ran down Kera's spine. She hated to think back to that time. What if Vegeta was right and they really were feeling effects. If sensing divine energy was one of them, that was something they could certainly live with. But what if there were more side effects that they were unaware of now?

"Kakarrot is a Super Saiyan again," Vegeta snapped her out of her thoughts. "Do you think the transformation was only possible for a certain amount of time?"

"I guess so. Our energies are used up at some point, too."

"That means the earth is doomed."

"Again." Despite the ominous situation, Kera smiled. "So far, we've still somehow managed to save Earth every time. Maybe this time something will happen again."

"Then pray, because Kakarrot has used up all his energy now."

Kera looked up. Kakarrot was falling. His hair was black again. He had given all he could. It hadn't been enough. Beerus was still there.

"Let's catch him before he hurts himself."

Vegeta jumped down from her elevated vantage position. Kera followed him. Vegeta shouted to the children standing together on the deck to get out of the way. Immediately they obeyed his request and jumped apart.

Vegeta landed, Kera right beside him. Not a second too soon. Vegeta caught Kakarrot before he crashed to the deck. Kera supported him by Kakarrot's legs.

"Hey, guys. Good catch," Kakarrot said weakly, trying to twist his lips into a smile.

"Good fight," Kera said.

"Look out!" shouted Piccolo.

Beerus was now landing as well. "I did have to use all my strength for a moment, but still your Super Saiyan God lost. We had agreed before the battle began that I would then destroy Earth. So, farewell."

He raised an arm. Small bolts of lightning twitched above his hand.

Carefully, Vegeta placed Kakarrot on the ground and rose. "My turn now."

Kera rose as well. "I'll fight with you."

"Kera, Vegeta, don't," Piccolo begged softly.

"Kitty!"

Everyone turned in confusion. Gine had wriggled out of Piccolo's arms and was running towards Beerus, who was balancing a dark ball of energy on his raised hand.

"Gine, don't!" Kera had taken a step forward to stop her daughter, but she was too slow. Gine escaped her fingers and ran to Beerus and hugged one of his legs.

Visibly irritated, he looked down at the child on his leg. Gine had lifted her head and was smiling.

"Please, don't," Kera whispered. She was afraid for Gine. What if he did something to her? Everyone held their breath.

The ball of energy over Beeru's hand shrank and then disappeared.

"Whis, take me home. I'm tired," Beerus said without taking his eyes off Gine.

"Very well. Can someone please take the child away?" he asked politely to the crowd.

Kera ran forward and lifted Gine, who held out her little arms to Beerus, who seemed frozen.

"Goodbye!" shouted Whis. The next moment the two of them had disappeared in a whirl of bright light.

Kera looked at her daughter. Had her eyes just flashed purple?

Somewhere in space:

"Lord Beerus, you have done well," Whis remarked with a glance at the God of Destruction as they flew through space in a tunnel of light to reach Beerus' home planet.

"I don't know what you mean, Whis."

"I felt the child's power too, Master," Whis said softly, but Beerus did not respond.

Vegeta:

It dawned. The mood had lightened since Beerus had left the ship and the guests were eating and drinking together. Only Vegeta and Kera could not yet quite join in the light-heartedness that the others felt.

"What on earth did Beerus see in Gine? I just can't believe it!"

"Neither can I," Kera said. "It was so strange. When I picked her up, it looked like her eyes were flashing purple. Like the purple of Beerus' aura."

"Are you saying she absorbed the energy?" asked Vegeta sceptically.

"I don't know either, after all. It worries me. Beerus seemed frozen about Gine. What on earth did he see in her?"

"Hey, you guys all right?" Kakarrot stood between them.

"We're discussing why Beerus didn't destroy Earth and what it has to do with Gine," Kera informed him.

"Oh, we'll figure that out. For now, let's eat in peace."

"Your nonchalance sometimes seems to border on stupidity, Kakarrot," Vegeta said snidely.

"Now don't be so mean all the time, Vegeta." Kakarrot pouted. Then his face brightened again. "Great performance by you, by the way. The way you yelled 'my Bulma' was cinematic."

"How long have you been there watching us?" asked Kera suspiciously.

Kakarrot grabbed the back of his head in his typical gesture. "Well ... not that long." He cleared his throat. "After all, if we do another one of those rituals, one of you can become the Super Saiyan God," he deflected.

"Kera and I will train and reach that level without anyone's help."

"Alright. By the way, I just found out I'm going to be a grandfather," Kakarrot reported.

"Congratulations, Grandpa Kakarrot." Kera smiled at him.

The three of them watched the waves for a while before they joined the others and finished the evening together.