Kai Goten lay on the grass, catching his breath. He was covered with sweat, as was Kai Kibito, who lay down next to him. The ancient warrior gave him a sideways glance. "Have you reached your first epiphany, yet?" he asked breathlessly. He was hoping that Goten would be able to reach it before the Tournament, so that he could use more of the techniques the Supreme Kai was trying to teach him during the match. Since the Supreme Kai had announced Goten would be entering the Tournament, he had Kibito train him harder than ever on the physical side, in hopes that the mental training would click once he was focused on something else.

Goten sighed. "No," he said, morosely. "Master Kibito, are you sure I'm capable of it? I mean… this epiphany business… just how many mortals have had one?" he asked.

He knew the answer, of course. This had not been the first time he'd asked the question. Epiphanies were rare, and the mortals who had them often went on to do great things with their lives. An epiphany was when a mortal somehow, either through meditation or purely by accident, came upon a basic universal truth… the truth of the Kai. Goten needed to have an epiphany if he was ever going to understand any of the Supreme Kai's teachings. The Supreme Kai said, once he had his first epiphany, Goten would be able to build on it more and more, until he was able to reach enlightenment.

And then, his mind might survive the transformation into a Kai.

Of course, it didn't help that time was against him.

"Kai Goten," Kibito said, rolling onto his side to gaze at the boy, who gave him his full attention. "When the Supreme Kai first thought to bring you here, I didn't think any of this would work. I didn't believe any mortal was capable of withstanding the training, let alone becoming a Kai. And yet, I've seen you surpass every obstacle placed in front of you, since you arrived here," he said, and pushed himself to a sitting position, which Goten copied. "This is just another obstacle, little Kai. If anyone in the whole universe can do this, it's you."

Goten grinned up at him gratefully, and Kibito tousled his messy hair with one large hand. "Now, then… let's see how well you fight when you can't move," he said, and Goten groaned, standing up. He always hated Kibito's paralyzing beam…

Pel sat cross-legged in the blue grass, a tiny bird whimpering in her hands, its wing broken. She tried to focus her energy, feeling the bird's pain, wanting to sooth him so badly. She could feel it, her energy was there, she just...couldn't….

"You can do this, Pel," a soft voice said, calming her. "Life wants to happen, Pel. The bird's wing wants to be whole. Let your energy merge with the bird's energy, follow it to where it wants to go," the voice said.

Pel bit her lip. She wanted to be able to do this, she wanted it so badly, but she wasn't Namekian. She wasn't from the Dragon Clan. She was just human.

After nothing happened, Pel sighed, looking away. Tears were in her eyes, and one fell down her cheek. "I can't…" she sobbed.

Dende frowned, placing a hand on her head. After a moment, he moved his hand away. "Pel… your emotions are all over the place. This isn't normal for you," he said, worried. "I remember something in your mother's recordings that talked about wild mood swings. Have you been experiencing blood loss?" he asked, concerned. "Because, once every 28 days, it's normal for you to-"

"It's NOT my PERIOD!" Pel almost screamed, then suddenly she blushed scarlet. She had never spoken that way to anyone, especially not Master Dende. "M-master Dende, I'm sorry…"

Dende smiled, shaking his head. "It's no problem, Pel, I know you're not feeling like yourself," he said, having a thought. "Pel… this might be a reaction to being separated from your own kind," he said softly.

Pel sighed. "I'm the last of my kind. Except Goten, and he's…" she sighed. "I miss sleeping next to him, and bringing him food, and…" She trailed off, and Dende didn't press, knowing full well how much the human missed her mate.

"I know you miss him, Pel, but he did say he'd come back, right?" he asked, giving her a small smile. "So, you should have faith in him. Know that he misses you just as much as you miss him. And," he said, leaning towards her conspiratorially, "What would he say if he found out you thought you couldn't do anything because you were human," he said.

Pel hadn't thought of that. Goten would never, never let anyone tell him he couldn't do something he wanted to do, especially not himself. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Okay. Let's heal this bird's wing, he's been in pain long enough," she said, determined.

Dende smiled, and the two of them got back to work.