The sun had begun to set, it’s blinding rays of light dissipating in the West, seemingly falling into the expansive sea. As the day-lit sky faded into night, high above the peripheries of civilisation, two figures could be seen travelling at immense speed, darting through the air. These two figures were an irregular sight, one appeared to be a gargantuan, muscular alien, whilst the other who was attached to his arm, appeared to be a young teenage girl. These two mysterious figures were a conflicting sight, but any who would peer at them from below would make out nothing more than a sudden blur in vision.

As Piccolo and Rhea continued to travel at unprecedented speed, from afar in the horizon, a large mountain that scraped the skyline became visible. With each passing second, the colossal sight became more and more visible, until finally both the Namekian and human were upon it. As Piccolo set his gaze to the expansive sight, he felt himself becoming reacquainted with the vast forests that littered the mountain like a skin, or a pelt. He couldn’t help reminiscing to his early life, when he had spent many months at a time in these forests. To him, they were a home, but to Rhea, they were her training ground.

Descending midway into the mountain, Piccolo passed through what appeared to be a tunnel in the canopy of the tree tops. As he lowered down past the forest roof, and further towards the forest ground, he became aware of several critters and creatures scurrying away in panic. There were more dangerous things be wary of in this part of the world, this was a certainty. As both the Namekian and Rhea finally touched down onto the uneven surface, Piccolo released his pupil from his grip, then quickly diving a few metres away from her, he stood in an opposing position. His stance appeared firm and strong, his solid, muscular legs were separated on a thirty degree angle, and his powerful, wide arms were neatly crossed. A highly regular gust of wind swept past the Namekian, catching his long white cape, causing it to billow wildly.

“This is your new home for the foreseeable future!” Piccolo bellowed towards his pupil, “So you’re best getting comfortable.” A teasing smile surfaced on his face, “Here you have to find your own food, water, and shelter. Failure to do so is your loss, and your loss alone. You’re not playing for kicks, you’re now playing for survival.” Something was missing however, something… crucial. After a moment, it struck the Namekian, Rhea’s clothing was all wrong, it was far too… prissy for a student of his. He had the perfect idea, and that included his handy powers of magic materialism.

Focusing a minimal amount of chi into his antennae, the Namekian visualised the ideal gi, one including his own symbol, but of course adapted for a woman. His antennae ignited in a shining white glow, before firing a material beam towards Rhea, causing her whole body to momentarily glow, replacing her old clothing with the new gi.

“There…” he exclaimed, pleased with his pupil’s new design, “that’s more suitable for what’s to come.” Now that Rhea was fully suited, it was time to put her skills to the test, but before she could begin training, she had to pass an initiation. Making use of his magic materialism powers once more, Piccolo focused his energy into his antennae again, this time blasting a material beam onto his now open palm. Instead of more clothing however, a long, sharp object began to form in his grip. As the moments passed by, it became clear that what he was materialising was a sword. The hilt was of samurai design, a jet black colour with Piccolo’s symbol also engraved in the base, and the blade itself was an immaculate shade of silver, curving as the sword progressed to the tip. This would suffice as an ideal weapon for Rhea out in the deadly wilderness, especially whilst she was still coming to grips with her abilities, but first, she’d have to obtain it.

“This is yours!” Piccolo stated, spinning the hilt in his palm, “…If, you can find it.” Quickly turning to the opposite direction from Rhea, Piccolo faced the upslope of the mountain. Then proceeding to grip the blade like a javelin, he launched it powerfully into the blackness of the forest, it’s shining silver hue becoming enveloped by the shadows of the mountain. In a few moments, it would have travelled miles up the mountain top, and then in the further seconds to follow, it would no doubt settle, entrenched in rock or soil, waiting to be found… hopefully by Rhea. After a moment’s silence, Piccolo turned to face his pupil once more, leaving her with only a few words. “Find your sword, and you have a weapon to defend yourself with. The longer you wait, the more at risk in the forest you are. The more efficient you are, and the faster you locate your blade, the better armed you are, and the more ready you are to begin training.” On that note, Piccolo silently, and suddenly, blasted into the treetops, disappearing from Rhea’s line of sight. As far as the young girl was concerned, he had left her to her task, but of course, he was watching…

Before Rhea could take off on the bike, she felt herself pulled up into the air. Instinctively, she grabbed the bag holding her most important technical utensils and clasped it tightly. The violently turbulent flight had almost caused her to drop it several times. The wind was hurting Rhea's eyes badly and she could barely tell where they were going. She thought only seconds had passed before she felt herself hit the ground. Rhea grunted as the bag fell on top of her. Wearily, she sat up and scratched her head, still unaware of what was going on. There was a flash of light and she noticed she was wearing different clothes. The next thing she could gather was that Piccolo had made her a sword, which he tossed away at lightning speed. Rhea came to her senses just in time for her eyes to trace the sword to its landing area. Before Rhea could speak a word, Piccolo had disappeared. Still, she had expressed her lagging complaint.

"Mind warning me if you ever do that again? Ugh..." Rhea fell onto her back and looked up at the rays of sunshine peering through the trees. It was obvious that Rhea would have to survive in the wilderness. She was still too shocked from the trip to be all-out scared, but in her thoughts, she had already begun to panic. "Bummer. I'd only been camping once." She sat up once more and shrugged. Her eyelids felt heavy while she enjoyed the mild wind on her skin.

"Well, better go find that thing, then." Rhea rose to her feet and dusted herself off. She grabbed the large back and flung it over her shoulder. Slowly, she was making way in the direction she saw the sword had fallen. Rhea was relieved that the bag wasn't too heavy, since there was no actual mountain road here. Only a bunch of trees and weeds... flowers here and there. She smiled at the occasional squirrel that would cross her path, trying not to think of the larger critters that inhabited the forest as she steadily went up the hill.

Piccolo appeared to be absent to the forest, but in truth the Namekian warrior was strategically hidden above the vast canopy of trees. From his clear vantage point, he could make out the sprawling mountainside that surrounded both himself and Rhea. Each tree looked like a mammoth, spawning from thick claw-like roots in the soil, ascending to hundreds and hundreds of feet into the air. As the trees travelled further and further up the peak of the mountain, their appearance and stature became more menacing. The largest of these haunting oaks was at the very top of the mountain, overlooking the rest of the earth like an ambivalent, imposing monster. It was here, at the very top of this testing training ground that Piccolo had aimed the training sword. If his aim was as accurate as he believed (and he was sure it was), then the sword would be lodged heavily into the thick bark of the mother tree, and extracting it alone would take great strength and even greater precaution. This was because, at the top of the monstrous oak, a grand pterodactyl rested with its offspring, defending its territory fiercely.

Of course, this had been intentional. The Namekian had devised this ultimate confrontation as a test of Rhea’s abilities, and of her character as a warrior. If she so much as yanked the blade, then the pterodactyl above would become unsettled, and of course, as Piccolo had discovered once before, it would become violent. Judging by the young girl’s impressive power level, Piccolo didn’t doubt her ability to be able to neutralise the threat if need be, but what interested him more so, was how she would deal with the confrontation. The Namekian had briefly encountered Rhea’s style back at West City, where she had demonstrated a basic understanding of the martial arts and ki power. The coming confrontation could very much overwhelm his student if she underestimated the gravity of the situation. Whilst the grand pterodactyl was no warrior, in the past, it had managed to knock even the demon king himself off guard on more than one occasion. If Rhea could quell the beast, and even defeat it, then to Piccolo it would prove her strength and her character.

The Namekian allowed a small smile to appear on one half of his face, it was rare that he indulged in nostalgia, but this situation heavily evoked his memories with Gohan when he had trained him against Vegeta and Nappa. That chapter in his life had had life changing implications for Piccolo, and for some reason he’d even given his life to save the son of his once mortal enemy. Maybe, if Rhea displayed the same promise and compassion, he could eventually grow to befriend another? The Namekian warrior dismissed the thought as quickly as it had came to him. It was a ridiculous idea, she had asked for guidance and Piccolo’s natural curiosity for her strength had forced him to oblige. It was nothing more than that. Although Nail now softened the Namekian’s heart and whispered within him, he wasn’t that soft… yet.

As Rhea began to make progress up the forest mountain, Piccolo decided to spice up the journey. So far, she’d proceeded with little hassle, but now he was about to complicate the stroll. Reaching out with his flat hand, the Namekian warrior concentrated a burst of ki. After a moment of allowing his strength to gather, he unleashed the energy as a tidal wave of force, and watched as it washed over the canopy of treetops. As he did so, his naturally large ears picked up the rustling of unsettled creatures fleeing from their safe habitats, some more panicked than others, and some much larger than others. A stampede was in progress, and he awaited with anticipation Rhea’s response.

As Rhea progressed up the mountain, the forest thickened, but not too much so that the rays of sunlight still peered through the trees, illuminating the forest with a kind of ethereal glow. Rhea took a deep breath as she took in the sight. This was supposed to be a training session, she thought, but she was glad that it turned into a great walk. The forest was quiet, aside from the joyous chirping of little birds. Although she enjoyed the trek, she wondered when she'd find the sword. Sunlight wouldn't last forever and she had very little experience building a shelter. She hoped there was a portable home capsule somewhere in her bag.

Her peripheral vision caught sight of a small glimmering spark further away, but disregarded it. It was then that her rhythmical pace was broken by a tremor in the ground.

"Woah!" - she staggered and looked around. The trees were rustling and numerous flocks of birds sprung from the treetops into the air.

"What the..." - Rhea kept staring into the distance, expecting to locate the cause of the commotion. Soon enough, a very deep rumbling sound was audible as an enveloping dark shadow started forming. As it drew closer, Rhea could make out several forms of animals, mostly large predators and even larger prey. They both had equal potential to flatten her in her steps. Rhea's face went blue and her legs automatically went on their way. Her heart raced along with her thoughts. Where would she go? What would she do? She had no idea where she was going and she was going fast. What about holes and canyons? Rhea grunted in despair as she tried her best to run faster.

As she ran past some trees, an idea occurred to her and rather than think on it, she clenched her fists and did her best to try to power up, focus her energy, whatever, just so long she'd be able to put her plan into action. She ran forward in a burst of strength and jumped straight at a tree trunk and used the momentum to propel herself onto the tree right behind her. She made two or three jumps between trees until she finally settled atop a large branch near the crown of the second tree.

"Phew..." - Rhea exhaled deeply, leaning back onto the tree trunk. As the animals were stampeding below and past her, she still wondered how this frantic run started. Then it dawned on her. The sneaky green guy, she thought. I'll show him. But before she went on to show anyone anything, she wanted to catch her breath. She stroked her forehead with the back of her hand to calm herself when another glimmer caught her eye. Not far to the left, there was a massive tree and there appeared to be something lodged into it. When she had a closer look, she was happy to figure out it was her prize.

Making sure that no animals were falling behind the murderous stampede, she jumped down from the tree and made haste in the direction of the sword. She felt she had enough of monkeying around. Shelter needed to be made and she had to send an email to her professor else her cover would be totally blown. Surely enough, she reached the tree within minutes. Just as she was about to jump up and begin her ascent, she heard a thundering screech from above. The sound was so terrifying, she hid behind the tree and cautiously looked up... to see a freckin' pterodactyl sitting comfortably atop a large branch. Rhea shrugged. The sneaky green guy.

She tried her best not to move so as not to alert the creature and at the same time wondered how she should approach the whole thing. Would she fight it? She didn't care about getting stronger that much so that she'd risk herself being chomped apart limb from limb by a raging bird. But she wasn't the one to back down on her word. Cautiously, she moved to the side of the tree and looked up. She assumed there was no other choice but to fight the beast, that that was exactly what the green guy had in mind. Slowly, she began creeping up the tree trunk, careful not to alert the monster. However, as she drew closer, she noticed something. The monster was a she and not a monster, but a mom. The pterodactyl sat upon a nest and she could even make out the tiny heads of its young. What fear had failed to prevent her from doing, sympathy now effectively had. But there had to be some way she could have both.

Inch by inch, bit by bit, she climbed higher and higher until she was level with the sword. She wrapped her palm around it and gripped it tightly, only to find that it was lodged pretty deep and that she would have to yank it if she wanted to get it out. But that sort of violent yanking would no doubt alert the nasty mom. Rhea closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She did her best to keep her balance with both her legs and her right arm, as she concentrated on the palm of her left hand. Within moments, a faint white glow enveloped her left hand. She placed her hand firmly on the hilt of the sword and clenched it tight, softly tugging on the sword. It would not come easily, so Rhea steadily applied more and more energy and, with some effort, the sword started gliding out of the tree trunk. Rhea was patient, she took her time and did her best not to break her concentration or her balance. And sure enough, there it was, comfortably in her hand. She flung the sword over her shoulder and slowly slid down the tree trunk, knowing that any rapid movement might alert the predator. Thus, she slowly crept away from the tree and when she reached a comfortable distance, her cautious step erupted into a sprint. Take that, sneaky green guy.

Piccolo continued to observe Rhea in the heat of the action. Initially, she seemed quite stunned, a little intimidated even. The Namekian made use of his advanced hearing to tune himself into her heartbeat. From what he could conceive, it had begun to fluctuate, just as he had expected. The stampede created a raucous in the forest, larger creatures dominated the sound waves with the pounding of their claws against the soil and stone. Piccolo could also hear the smaller creatures screeching, their sounds varying depending on species and their level of arousal. Rhea seemed helpless at first, she hadn’t seemed to animate herself at all, until of course she saw the oncoming brigade of monsters. This was a simple task, really, the Namekian had only intended to use this as a warming exercise, to gage how Rhea worked under pressure and constantly changing circumstances. Piccolo wasn’t expecting her to fall at this first hurdle, but he had doubts as to how she’d deal with the pterodactyl.

As he’d anticipated, he observed his pupil easily steer clear of the situation by manipulating her ki. With a bound or two, from the tall branches of the surrounding trees, Rhea was free of the stampede, and within no time at all, she was back on the trodden path, up towards the large oak. Piccolo grinned, his long, jagged fang revealing itself on one side. So, she possessed more grit than she allowed others to believe…

Finally, as Rhea reached the top of the winding mountain, the Namekian watched in astonishment. Instead of taking the pterodactyl on directly, his pupil had decided to adopt a merciful approach, instead using her energy to gently free the sword from the tough trunk without any trouble at all. Truthfully, he had wanted her to show off her physical prowess against the beast, it would have been an adequate test of her abilities. But, as she had so aptly done, Piccolo adapted to changing circumstances.

Now Rhea had the sword, the Namekian had no quarrels with placing her into a truly dangerous environment. But first, he’d need to strip her of her comforts, if he wanted her to fight seriously. Quickly altering his posture to a majestic stand, Piccolo bound off of the tree that he had previously been perched. His form travelled fast, being enveloped by the blackness that resided below the canopy of leaves. As he reached the ground, the Namekian landed without sound, this kept his presence as covert as possible. Then, by quickly tapping into his natural Namekian agility, the warrior sprinted forth towards Rhea, his speed so intense that he became invisible to the naked eye. Within seconds he was within an inch of his pupil, and with swift guile, Piccolo relieved her of her backpack. Then, quickly diving hundred of feet into the air once more, he was invisible to the forest again.

Now she was in real trouble, without her provisions, her food, her shelter, her safety… she would have to rely on her natural skills to survive through to the morning. Of course Piccolo remembered employing similar techniques when he had trained Gohan. Leaving Rhea to fend for herself for months however, like he had done with Gohan, seemed counterproductive, as her skills currently far exceeded that of Gohan’s at the time. Therefore, the Namekian foresaw this little warm up as coming to a natural end by dawn, then the real training would begin. Sooner or later, in one of the most carnivorous forests of the planet Earth, Rhea would encounter something that would force her to fight, Piccolo was sure of it.

Rhea happily strutted along the forest path with her prize casually flung over her shoulder. But in the back of her mind, she knew that she needed to go ahead with finding a good spot to settle for the night. She reached for her backpack when she felt the backpack yanked away at lightning speed. The identity of the thief dawned on her instantly

"HEY, WAIT! MY EXCUSE FOR STAYING HERE IS IN THAT POUCH!" - she yelled at the top of her lungs, sending birds fluttering from surrounding trees into the evening sky.

"PICCOLO!" - she flailed her arms through the air wildly.

"DAMN IT!" - she grunted and let herself fall to the ground in a seated position.

She needed her portable workstation, else she would get in serious trouble. Moreover, it would make everyone worry. Her hands clutched into fists when she thought to herself about the dire predicament she got herself in. But she knew she'd get back at Piccolo, one way or another. She didn't think of this in a malicious way, but more along the lines of when someone gives her a challenge, she'll send one right back.

She estimated there wasn't nearly enough daylight left to build even a makeshift shelter, so she decided to do her best and pick up some berries and wild apples which would serve as breakfast and dinner, as well as find a high enough vantage point, where she could sleep safely, without worrying about all the forest critters. So, she went on her way and her trek lasted well into late evening. After a couple hours, she arrived to a rock formation that was both suitable for climbing and seemed hospitable enough to spend the night on. She had some difficulty reaching a preferred site that had some rocks that would shield her from the wind, but soon enough she arranged a makeshift camp, consisting of a pouch made out of one of her trouser legs which contained the forest fruits she collected along the way, while the second trouser leg served to tie up some firewood. After making a small fire and eating an apple and some berries, Rhea fell asleep almost instantly. She was too tired to think about the fact that she was sleeping under an open sky.

She was awakened by the sun's rays shining directly into her face and a strong wind waving her hair. When she pried open her eyelids, she realized she was hovering above the ground. Her eyelids flew open instantly and her heart started pounding as she looked around, frantically trying to piece together what was going on. The gigantic shadow hovering over her made no room for second guesses. Rhea was in the clutches of a dark-skinned, ferocious-looking pterodactyl, even larger than the one she encountered in the forest. Tears formed in her eyes almost instantly and she let out a terrified shriek. It was then that all her fear momentarily turned to anger and a strong barrier of ki erupted all around her, making the pterodactyl lose its grip.

"STUPID BIRD!" - Rhea flailed her fist at the creature, seemingly not affected by the fact she was plummeting to the ground. The pterodactyl didn't seem particularly keen on losing its prey that easily, so it lunged down and turned around, now ominously hovering over Rhea. This only seemed to further increase Rhea's agitation, as she instinctively gathered her ki and simultaneously bent her feet and hugged her knees, forming a cannonball which soon struck the pterodactyl on the head with such force that the creature wavered in the air and then finally flew away, albeit uneasily. Rhea looked up at the bird flying away, still wishing to deal some blows to her massive kidnapper.

"Come back, you!" - she flailed both her arms in the air, when she realized it would be but seconds before she hits the ground. Then it all came back to her. How she wanted to get stronger in a way that would be best for everyone, but ended up in a predicament where she had no weapon, no supplies and no way of knowing where she was. And it was all because the green guy stole her equipment. Moments before Rhea would smash into the ground, another blaze of ki erupted around her.

"NO!" - she yelled out as she straightened her arms and body in an upright position. The ki emanating from her thundered against the ground, sending clouds of dust up into the air. When the dust cleared, it revealed Rhea hovering motionlessly but inches from the ground, still powered up, eyes shut tight with anger. She exhaled calmly as her feet lightly touched down onto the ground. Letting out another, more exasperated sigh, she rested her hands on her hips and thought over the situation. Then, an idea dawned on her. Quickly, she made her way to the forest, practically tip-toeing between the trees, so as not to disturb even the slightest and most frightened of creatures - it was imperative that nothing indicated her presence as she scanned the surroundings. Finally, she spotted her target further away, scouring her few belongings on the rock where she had spent the night. Slowly and cautiously, she took into the air. After the whole pterodactyl incident, she stayed in the air long enough to remember how to focus her ki. It required a lot more energy than Rhea thought it would, but she ascribed it to the fact that she was a beginner. Bit by bit, she gained altitude until she had the target in her sights.

Without wasting a second, she formed a ball of ki and flung it straight at him. He would surely dodge or deflect it, she thought, but didn't care. She knew survival was important, but she also knew she wouldn't let her father worry himself sick because she was outside playing camping. Piccolo indeed dodged the blast and she immediately felt his eyes upon her.

"TWO THINGS." - she yelled out from the distance.

"ONE, I AM NOT HERE TO PLAY GIRL SCOUTS." - she made a small pause to catch her breath.

"AND TWO, IF YOU REALLY WANT ME TO STAY HERE, GIVE ME MY COMPUTER BACK. WITHOUT IT, I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LEAVE."

But she didn't want to leave, she found herself thinking. In her heart, something told her that if she abandoned this challenge, she would come to regret it deeply. She just hovered there, staring at Piccolo, her long brown hair waving softly in the wind. She didn't feel cold or afraid of any outcome. She knew that no matter what, she would do what's right for everyone, even if it meant leaving. Deep inside, she hoped it would not come to that, but at this point it was out of her hands. It was in his.

"I don't want to leave..." - she began softly, before realizing that she has to raise her voice -" I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE." - she paused for a moment before the following words rushed out - "BUT I CAN'T HAVE OTHER PEOPLE WORRYING THEMSELVES TO DEATH BECAUSE OF WHAT I WANT."

"I can't be stronger at the price of someone else's tears." - she spoke to herself, all the while meeting Piccolo's gaze, while he remained standing motionless atop the rock formation.