Piccolo:

Kera had told him that she would be spending the night with Vegeta, but he was still worried. Something had happened there and Kera had not yet told him what had upset her so much.

Before the sun reached its peak, Kera landed next to Piccolo at the edge of the waterfall. As so often, Menka was with Dende and Reyak had taken Gine to Bulma. He wanted to train there with Trunks. Piccolo had tried to meditate, but so far he had not succeeded. Every time he closed his eyes, he automatically visualised the golden thread that symbolised his connection to Kera. It seemed thinner than usual, less bright. Or was he just fantasising?

Kera plopped down on the ground, but said nothing more. Piccolo looked at her for a moment.

"What happened?"

He gave her time to answer. She stared into the forest and he thought he saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"Bulma's pregnant," she finally said.

Piccolo put his hand on her knee and swallowed hard. Piccolo focussed on Kera's feelings. Normally, she didn't just let them flow into him like that, but only allowed what she was willing to share. Was she willing or unable to do otherwise today?

He saw a small flame of joy. She was happy about Bulma's pregnancy, about the fact that she would soon be an aunt again. But the flame was small and almost completely disappeared in a dark blue mist of sadness. Sadness at the loss of her own child.

He gently stroked Kera's knee. She still looked away. A tear rolled down her cheek. Piccolo wiped it away with his thumb. Kera cuddled her cheek briefly in his hand before stiffening again. Her eyebrows drew together and now she looked more angry than sad.

Piccolo looked again at the colours of her emotions. The blue colour of sadness was surrounded by a red mist that seemed to cover all other emotions. Anger.

"The Supreme Kai was there. He hasn't made a decision yet and is asking for more time to think about it."

So that was the reason for her anger. She had to wait longer than she had hoped.

"At least he hasn't said no yet," Piccolo said sternly in an attempt to appease her.

Kera grumbled something incomprehensible and then fell silent again.

The moon showed its full face several times, but Kera's mood did not improve. On the contrary, it seemed to get worse.

The Supreme Kai appeared for the first time in about four weeks and said that he needed more time to think things over. After that, Kera was so angry for two days that Piccolo asked the children to stay with Bulma until her mother had calmed down. She didn't speak to him either, as if she blamed Piccolo.

When the Supreme Kai asked for time to think again after another four weeks, Kera was almost unbearable for a week. She didn't talk to Piccolo or the children, and when Vegeta came round to see what was wrong, she shouted at him and went for him. With an apologetic shrug, he had retreated.

Piccolo watched the golden thread of their connection with growing concern. What he had dismissed as a figment of his imagination months ago, he could now say with certainty: the thread was getting thinner and weaker.

Piccolo tried to draw Kera's attention to this, but she was ignoring him. She dismissed it as overprotective and continued to ignore him, which also made Piccolo angry. He tried to be as understanding as possible, but at some point his patience ran out.

When the Supreme Kai appeared again - it must have been the seventh or eighth time - and was again unable to make a decision, Kera let out all her frustration in a scream. The energy burst out of her and burnt the surrounding trees. Piccolo, who was a few miles away at her house, felt the vibrations in the ground and immediately flew to her.

He found Kera on all fours on the ground in her self-created crater. Her hair was blue, her suit torn in places, as if her own power had hit her. Or had she done it on purpose?

Blue, red and golden waves of energy came out of her body uncontrollably in several places and entered the ground. Some buzzed like lightning into one of the nearest trees and made the trunk tremble.

Piccolo felt for his connection to Kera. The thread was there, but in some places it no longer seemed to glow. He looked at Kera again, who had sunk further into herself, trembling, and suddenly he saw everything clear.

The word "unbalanced" had been buzzing around in his head the whole time, but he hadn't given it any further meaning. But it was exactly what described Kera's condition. Ever since she had come back from Vegeta months ago and the Supreme Kai had first told her that he hadn't been able to make up his mind, she hadn't fought. She hadn't even trained. Vegeta and Goku had visited a few times, but Kera had sent them away after a brief conversation each time.

She had been suppressing her urge to fight for months. She kept all her energy inside and forbade herself to let it out.

'Kera, my star,' Piccolo now spoke to her quietly in her thoughts.

Kera froze. She didn't seem to have noticed him before. Her trembling increased and she slumped even further.

"Leave me alone," she pressed out between clenched teeth without turning round.

He slowly walked around her, avoiding the flashes of energy that were still coming from her body. He knelt in front of her and lifted her chin slightly so that she could look him in the eye. She tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his grip.

"You need to train," he said calmly.

"I don't want to train. It's no use anyway. Our opponents are always stronger and we can't protect what's important."

Her voice dripped with self-loathing. It hurt Piccolo to see his strong mate like this. Her soul was wounded and if he did nothing, she would break and destroy her body too.

"You are a Saiyan. You must train and channel your energy into controlled channels, otherwise it will consume your body. Is that what you want?"

Kera looked at him. Although her body was full of unused energy, Piccolo saw none of it in her eyes. They stared mattly at him. The sparkle he loved so much was gone.

"Please, fight. For the children, for your brothers ... for me." He continued to look her firmly in the eyes. 'I need you.'

Three simple words in which he put all his love. He said it through their connection. In a way he couldn't lie about. It was the whole truth. He wouldn't be able to live without her. Even if her death didn't necessarily mean his, he couldn't live without her. Since the day she had crashed into the forest with the capsule, he had known that this woman was his destiny and he had accepted it. And now he would not give up without a fight.

Kera slowly sat back on her heels, raised her hands and took a deep breath. Balls of energy formed in her hands. Their appearance was constantly changing, as if Kera was unable to give them a solid form.

Suddenly Kera rammed her hands into the ground and the energy spheres disappeared into the ground.

Panting, Kera closed her eyes and remained in this position. Her breathing only slowly calmed down. Her hair changed colour from blue to red, then to yellow and finally turned black.

She looked at Piccolo and smiled slightly. 'Thank you,' she whispered.

Piccolo looked at the golden thread. It was still thin, but it was shining brighter again. Reassured, he stood up and held his hand out to Kera.

"Are you coming home with me? The children are still out. We can sit by the fire and make something to eat. Just like we used to."

Kera's smile widened as she reached for his hand. She stood up a little shakily. "Nothing I'd like better than that."

Kera:

Piccolo had asked her permission if he could take her in his arms, which she had gratefully accepted.

Her legs felt like pudding and her head seemed to float a few steps above her body.

She had used up too much energy once, when she had given the last of her energy to Piccolo during the fight against Cell. At the time, her perception had been consumed because she had been pregnant with the twins.

The outburst in the forest and the feeling afterwards were completely different. There was too much energy in her body. It wanted to get out, but Kera stopped it. It was as if it was consuming her body from the inside. She had ignored it. Didn't want to deal with it. Even her connection to Piccolo had suffered. She should never have let it get this far.

Piccolo dropped her off in front of their house. She sat down on one of the tree trunks they had placed in a semi-circle around the fireplace in front of the house and Piccolo lit the fire with a spark of his mind.

The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon and the chirping of the crickets and the splashing of the waterfall filled the dawning night.

Piccolo sat down next to Kera and put his arm around her. She cuddled his side and closed her eyes. She tried to organise her feelings. She felt exhausted and full of energy at the same time. She didn't know whether she wanted to sleep or train. She focussed on the golden thread between herself and Piccolo.

"Our connection ... it doesn't shine so brightly anymore," she said with her eyes closed.

Piccolo nodded at her side. "I noticed it months ago. I wanted to talk to you about it, but ..."

"I'm sorry. I was ... it was stupid," Kera finished the sentence lamely. "I wanted to achieve something new. I didn't see the point in fighting anymore."

"I think I know what you mean. If you don't want to fight anymore, I understand and I'll help you where I can. It just doesn't seem right for you to stop training from one day to the next. You need the training."

"But it's no good!" She kept her eyes closed and fixed on the golden thread, which was beginning to flicker in places.

'Kera!' Piccolo called out in her mind. Was he there? Was he waiting for her in the space between time?

She materialised in the space, which consisted of infinite darkness. In which only the thread of gold provided light.

She carefully placed one foot on the ribbon and felt a vibration under her feet. An expectant hum. When was the last time she had stepped onto this ribbon? When was the last time she had taken the time to fully savour this connection with Piccolo? In the past, they had regularly used this connection to send messages, to express their feelings, to be closer to each other than they could have been physically.

Kera walked slowly at first, feeling her way carefully, as if she were crossing this bridge for the first time. The areas that were less brightly lit felt cold, while the rest radiated a cosy warmth.

The further she walked, the more confident her steps became. She had forgotten how good it felt. How had she gone so long without this touch? She looked round. The places that had been dark earlier now shone as brightly as the rest of the path.

The outline of Piccolo emerged from the darkness. Wearing only his purple battlesuit, he stopped an arm's length away from her and smiled at her. His dark eyes seemed to shine.

'Long time no see,' Kera formed in her mind.

'Too long,' Piccolo confirmed.

Slowly, Kera stretched out an arm and Piccolo came towards her. Kera took a step forwards at the same time and they closed the gap between them. Kera rested her head on Piccolo's chest and he hugged her tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go.

'I'm sorry I paid so little attention to you and the children,' Kera mumbled against the fabric of his suit. 'I was selfish.'

'Next time you feel like this, talk to me. Together we can do anything.

Piccolo's words touched Kera deeply. How could she have ignored him like that? Him, who meant everything to her? Who knew her on all levels, perhaps even better than she knew herself.

'Please never forget that I love you. Everywhere with you ...'

'... nowhere without you,' she finished the sentence and looked up at him. Piccolo smiled, closed his eyes and disappeared.

Kera followed his example and left the darkness of the intermediate world to open her eyes again in the physical world.

The fire crackled merrily and spread a pleasant warmth. She was still leaning against Piccolo's side, breathing in his woodsy scent deeply.

"Shall we go to bed?" Piccolo's voice sounded raspy and a grin flitted across Kera's mouth.

Piccolo stood up and wanted to turn round, but Kera held him by the belt of his suit.

"Are you tired yet?"

Piccolo slumped back onto the tree trunk. "Depends on what you're up to."

Kera undid his belt and reached under the strap of his suit with her other hand. With a tug, she tore the fabric and exposed his chest. She ran her hand over the contours of his muscles.

Piccolo pulled down the other strap of his suit and pulled Kera between his legs. Kera's hand ran over his abs and undid the belt. It fell silently onto the grass next to the tree trunk.

Kera leant towards him and gently pressed her lips to his. A tingling sensation spread from her mouth over her face and finally over her whole body. Piccolo moaned softly against her lips.

She pushed herself against him and felt his erection. Her hands slid over his hips, into his trousers, gripped his bum and began to knead it.

Piccolo's lips travelled from her mouth to her right cheek and finally down her neck. "Would you like to take off your breast armour?" he whispered, without pausing to kiss her. His hot breath tickled her skin.

"Take it off." Her mate complied with her request by touching the armour with one finger and it disappeared into nothingness with a soft hiss.

"Much better," Piccolo whispered, tracing the contours of her breasts with his fingers. Kera moaned. She left her left hand on his bottom and moved her right hand to the front of his body, gripping his hard centre and smiling at the moan she elicited.

Piccolo was right. She was a Saiyan and couldn't give up her training. Maybe not even a fight. She would only hurt herself and maybe even those she loved if she suppressed her urge to fight. But she needed more. She needed him. Piccolo. Her mate. She needed his encouragement, his trust, his love. And his body, which she now surrendered to.