Chapter Thirty-Two: Rise
"Rise! Throw away!
The charade of your life
Let the flame of my heart
Burn away!
Your complacence tonight
I command you to rise
Wash away! The decay of your life!
Feel the light of your eyes
Find the way!
Through the darkness tonight
Fearing no one!"
Rise-Disturbed

DBZ

Cold.

Numb.

Weightless.

Confusion…

Crushing weight…

What was going on?

What happened?

Where was she?

Was she alive? Or was she dead?

Was anyone there?

Why did she feel so weak?

What had happened to her?

Something was wrong. Amotto knew that much, but she was finding it difficult to care. But she didn't know why. She didn't know anything. All she knew was weakness…

DBZ

She opened her eyes to find her reflection staring back at her, a fresh gash running horizontally beneath her eyes and across her nose. Blood gushed relentlessly from the wound, mixing with her tears and running in rivulets down the smooth skin of her cheeks. She touched her fingers to the wound and winced instantly, quickly withdrawing her hand.

She sniffled and splashed water onto her face from the basin beneath the mirror. The water was already tinted red from her blood. It grew darker as she splashed more and more water onto her face.

She silently cursed herself and her father. Why did she ever want to make that bastard proud? Why had she even tried? Even if she had passed the Placement Trials, he still would have scoffed at her. She was, after all, merely a "weak female" as he so often stated. She didn't even like fighting, so this outcome suited her just fine.

She sighed and rested her hands on the basin, looking at her reflection again. Her eyes narrowed and she growled under her breath. Oh, but how she wished she had the power to pay him back for what he did to her face. His claiming it was an accident did not change the fact that he had done it, and that he had meant to do the damage he did.

"Father had high hopes for you, Amotto."

She cringed and glanced over her reflection's shoulder to see one of her older brothers standing in the doorway to the bathing room. "Yeah, and Frieza is a Saiyan. Piss off, Paragus. I'm not in the mood for your shit today." She picked a rag up from the corner of the basin and dipped it into the red water.

The spikey-headed man grinned at her. "Frieza's not a Saiyan, but father really did have high hopes for you. You, being his youngest and last child, were his last hope to inherit the Super Saiyan genes."

"The Super Saiyan is a myth, you know that." Amotto scoffed as she pressed the rag to her wound. "Father's a fool if he actually believed one of his children would become a legend."

"You know father. He always did dream big. He'd have to, of course, to believe you of all people would become a Super Saiyan." Paragus laughed. "I on the other hand happen to believe father."

Amotto turned from the mirror to give her brother a bland stare. After a moment she turned her attention back to the mirror, carefully dabbing at her wound with the rag. "Why am I not surprised? You always did have tendencies that bordered on insanity. Why should now be any different?"

"Mock me now, Little Sister, but I assure you that one of my own children will be the next Super Saiyan."

"I say you're wrong." She winced and looked at the rag.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so certain?"

"Well, for one, you're an idiot. You're also gullible. And you always were boisterous. This is just another of your bold claims that will never come to fruition." She dropped her rag into the basin, which was now completely red, and grabbed a fresh one.

"I beg to differ."

Amotto turned to face him, "I'll be a Super Saiyan before any of your children become one. Super Saiyans do NOT exist!"

DBZ

She found herself staring up at a massive sphere of energy that was bearing down on her rapidly. She felt an overwhelming sense of despair as fear gripped her soul. What could she do against power like that?! She was going to die! She closed her eyes and looked away…

DBZ

"Ow! Father, please! Stop! OW!" The scream burst forth unbidden as her father's massive hand struck her back. The pain was excruciating. Her father was a seasoned warrior and she was just a little girl…Why was he hurting her so? He was holding nothing back…

"Worthless scum! Yer less than trash!" His hand flew again like lightning, connecting with her cheek and sending her flying across the room and into the wall, before dropping like a sack of potatoes to the floor.

She was a little girl…

Why would a father hurt his child like this…?

"Yer no better than yer whore motha! In fact, you're worse'n yer whore motha!" Her father hiccupped and took a long draw from a dark bottle grasped tight in his scarred hand. "Yeh…yer worse'n yer motha. You's won't be any dif'rent den her." His words slurred and he swayed dangerously.

She looked up at him through her tears, her bottom lip trembling. Her knees shook as she held shivering hands to her stinging back. "Why, papa? W-why?"

"SHUDDUP!" he roared as he chucked the bottle at her.

It exploded into a thousand pieces against her skull…

DBZ

She collapsed backwards onto a cushioned surface, stars dancing in the field of her swimming vision. She tried to roll over, but strong hands roughly forced her to her back.

Panic swelled up in her as warm air brushed her neck, flowing up to her ringing ears.

A deep, cruel voice whispering slowly, "Your father made the arrangement with my father…You are rightfully mine."

"No!" she whispered pleadingly. "No, no, no! Please no!"

"You're mine, Amotto. All mine…" His bare flesh pressed against hers, his solid frame unyielding as she thrashed beneath him in vain.

"No!" she sobbed, tears staining her cheeks. She tossed her head side to side as he forced himself on her…

"NNOOOOOOO!" she shrieked into the darkness of the room, red filling her vision…

DBZ

Always weak…

Never strong enough to fight back…

Always helpless…

DBZ

She hit the ground hard, jarring her already sore body. She looked up as the blue-skinned alien aimed his arm-cannon at her head…Her eyes widened and the familiar feeling of fear swept through her, panic making her heart race…

A bald, one-eyed man appeared from nowhere ki-blasting the alien's head into dust.

He turned to look down at her as the alien collapsed.

His eye widened slowly, his lips parting slightly behind a thick goatee.

She stared up at him in stunned silence…

His hand extended…

She took it…

A blinding light as she rose slowly to her feet, her grip tightening in his…

DBZ

"Broco…"

Amotto's gaze snapped up at the onrushing Supernova. It bore down on her, hurricane-force winds whipping up as it rapidly approached the ground. Cracks split the surface of the planet, pillars of stone rising forcefully from the insanely high energy levels.

Her eyes narrowed and she spread her legs, taking a wide stance. Her hands came up, palms extended towards the massive sphere. She ground her teeth together as muscles all over her body slowly bulged.

"No," she whispered. Her gaze intensified, her eyes lightening to green.

Calmly she focused her gaze on the sphere as her aura exploded to life around her body, her hair standing straight up in a rush of gold.

She summoned all of her ki, her mind oddly serene as she watched Coola's attack bear down on her. She shook her head slowly, but defiantly. "Not anymore," she whispered.

DBZ

"Well if it isn't little Amotto." Paragus grinned as she approached the wall of glass he was standing before.

She rolled her eyes as she stopped before him. "I heard the rumors. I had to come to make sure you weren't spreading lies." She held up a scouter for him to see.

He smirked and stepped aside, gesturing toward the glass. "Be my guest."

She grimaced at his confidence and stepped to the glass, holding the scouter to the side of her head. She activated it and looked down at a shaggy-haired infant sleeping peacefully in his cradle. It beeped once before the number 10,000 rolled into view.

She deactivated the scouter and looked sourly at Paragus. "How the hell did your weak ass produce this?"

His grin widened. "Didn't I say it already? My child will be a Super Saiyan!"

"He's a freak of nature."

"Oh, Amotto's got some bite these days. Do you need to be taught a lesson?" Paragus reached for her shoulder…

She batted his hand away and fixed him with a glare. "I came to say goodbye, Paragus. I'm leaving Vegeta for good. I joined a new crew. We're to go on a five year exploration mission through frontier territory. I'm washing my hands of you and everyone else in this depraved family. I'm done."

She turned her back on her elder brother and walked away.

Paragus laughed at her back. "Ah, good riddance to ya! You never were anything more than scum anyway! Brolly is better off not knowing you! I'd hate for him to grow up knowin' he has a weakling for an auntie!"

Amotto stopped. She turned slightly and glanced back at him over her shoulder. "You all would know a thing or two about scum wouldn't you? We are blood-kin, after all. It's an unfortunate fact of life that you can't choose who your blood-kin are."

She turned her back on him for the last time and walked away…

DBZ

Power flooded Amotto's tiny frame, her bulging muscles further ripping her already ravaged under armor. She summoned everything she could muster, but it was considerably lower than what she had generated upon first attaining her transformation. She'd had several opportunities, though, to expend large amounts of her ki. She'd put her Super Saiyan body through the ringer…

The orange surface of the sphere suddenly impacted her outstretched hands. She immediately flared her ki against it in an attempt to stop it, but its momentum forced her backwards.

The ground exploded as the ball of death connected with it; the ground beneath her feet disintegrated as she was carried backwards. She strained against Coola's awesome power, veins and tendons rising against the taut flesh pulled tight across her rippling muscles. Her aura surged and brightened, flaring and whipping madly like an out of control fire.

She refused to give up…Not today. She'd endured so much in her life and she hadn't given up, yet.

She wasn't about to start today. This wasn't the first time the odds had been stacked against her.

She dug her feet harder into the ground, her muscles erupting in spasms and screaming in protesting pain. Her bones felt on the verge of snapping like twigs, but she endured. Her teeth ground together, spots of red appearing in her vision as blood vessels erupted in her eyes. Her aura began to brighten, bathing her entire body in an eerie greenish-gold color.

She dug deeper into her core, searching for more power. She pushed with her arms against the Supernova as her legs pushed against the ground, twin trenches stretching a rapidly vanishing trail across the ground…

She refused…She refused…

Her aching arms and legs trembled violently, weakness rapidly spreading through her body. The Supernova's intense heat scorched her, her battle-jacket flaking away as her armor curled and vanished into ash as more and more of her ki was spent…

And yet her aura burned brighter…and brighter…

Burning intensely, matching the brightness of Coola's attack…

Two titanic light shows of raw energy…

The Supernova carried on against her, its girth dropping deeper and deeper into the planet the further it pushed her backwards…

And still she refused to relent…

DBZ

Ka'bijj groaned as he opened his eyes. He rolled over onto his back and held a hand to his head. Coola sure packed a punch. He had a severe headache and no idea how long he had been out.

"NOOOOOOOOO! I REFUSE!" A screeching cry pierced his pain-wracked consciousness and he sat up quickly. His eyes widened as he beheld the incredible spectacle before him: Coola's Supernova attack reshaping the landscape and Amotto, a golden speck shining with the brilliance of the sun, clinging tight to it as it careened out of control across the planet's surface, rapidly carrying her further and further away from him and Turpin.

Coola had launched his most powerful attack on Amotto, but somehow she was keeping it at bay. She was steering a level of power that should have already disintegrated her body.

Ka'bijj stood up slowly, his mouth dropping open. He was stunned, to say the least. Not because of the incredible feat, but because of what he was seeing…

Or not seeing, as far as Amotto was concerned. He could sense that it was her, but all he could see was a raging golden aura burning against the surface of the massive orange sphere. He could just barely discern the vague outline of Amotto's body through her aura, but the details were obscured. All he saw was her power gone raw and unleashed. He could feel her ki fluctuating rapidly, rising and falling as the Supernova shoved her across the landscape.

He noted that while she had been unable to stop the Supernova completely, she had managed to divert its direction away from the planet and across the planet's surface. It was incredible! He had not ever expected the girl would have this much potential. What she was doing was entirely within the realm of possibility, even for an outclassed warrior such as herself. But it took a degree of ki control that she, herself, had admitted to not having. What she was doing should have been impossible for her, but she was doing exactly what Ka'bijj had told her: she was making the possible the impossible.

"Oy…Fuck me runnin'…" whispered Turpin as he came to Ka'bijj's side holding the side of his head. "Dat gal wou'da made a helluva Cleric."

"Yes. She would have made Master rank in less than five years, I believe."

"Yea. So's 'ow we's s'poss'd ta git 'er offa dis plane'?" Turpin glanced sidelong at Ka'bijj.

"I knew your plan would not be thought out." Ka'bijj rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Thank the gods I knew this would be the case when you mentioned it. My space pod is en route. One of us will have to distract Coola while the other incapacitates the hothead."

Turpin arched his unscarred eyebrow. "She's all yers, Kabby."

Ka'bijj grimaced at the nickname. "And here I was hoping you had forgotten that ridiculous name."

"Fuck no!" Turpin guffawed. "Ah cou'd neva fergit da looks on yer face! Dey w's pr'celess!"

The taller man frowned. "You never learned how to grow up, I see." He suddenly smiled. "I suppose it is just as well. I would hate to feel like I was dying with a stranger."

"An' yer still a stick n' da mud. Win-win fer bot' o' us!"

"It is always a case of winning at losing when dealing with you, my old friend."

"D'pen's on yer per-spec-tive," Turpin replied with a chuckle.

Ka'bijj laughed and looked up into the sky. "My pod should be here any minute now."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, that there came a sudden and massive explosion. It swept him and Turpin from their feet and into chaos.

DBZ

A little girl, Amotto, stood silently as she regarded a hologram projecting from a small cube in her palm. She stared at the smirking woman that hung suspended in miniaturized form in midair. Tears dripped silently down her cheeks, her expression stoic.

"Mother," she whispered. "You were the only one there for me. You were the only one that defended me."

She closed her eyes and her shoulders trembled, her voice cracking. "Most days I can't endure. Not without you. You made me feel normal. Like there was nothing wrong with me. But there's something wrong with me. You didn't see it, but papa does. He points it out every day, as always. Only now you're not here to shut him up. You're not here to see the things he does to me."

"I miss you, mama." She stifled a sob. "I miss you so much it hurts. But I won't let you down. Weak or not, I'll never be helpless. I won't give up without a fight. Even when my bones are shattered and my spirit is broken, I will keep my promise to you. I love you, mama. I love you."

"And I know you love me, mama. I know this…no matter what papa says, I know you love me still. Wherever you are now."

She opened her eyes and smiled slowly. Her lips trembled as she grasped the cube between both hands and squeezed it.

DBZ

"I am weak and I am having a hard time accepting that fact. I want to help in this war, but the fact remains that the fighting is just beyond my level. Frieza is far too powerful. The Ginyu Force is far too powerful. I want to help, but I can't allow myself to be overcome with that feeling of helplessness. I can't allow my judgment to be clouded and jump headlong into a fight that I know I cannot win.

"Which is exactly what you are doing, Amotto. Granted you are much more powerful than you were before, the fact remains that you still are not powerful enough to fight Frieza. You should have accepted that you could not fight Falmer. You need to accept that there are forces out there that are far more powerful than us. I don't want to see you get yourself killed, Amotto." He offered up a slight, sad smile. "You're smarter than that…"

"Broco…" Amotto heard his words plain as day, but she knew he was nowhere near. And still she found herself looking around.

The light of her own aura blinded her, so she could not see the massive ball of death at her fingertips. She narrowed her eyes at it anyway.

I do accept that there are forces greater than me. But I don't accept that they'll overcome me. I'm sorry, Broco. I recognize the obstacles before me, but I made a promise that I intend to keep. I won't ever give up without a fight. I refuse to!

"Yer motha was weak. Yer no diff'rent. Scum, the both of ya."

Amotto's eyes widened. Then they narrowed.

"Ya'll neva be more than scum!" Her father's voice hiccupped. His words slurred. "Placement Trials my hairy ass! What's Frieza want with a weaklin' like ya!"

She closed her eyes and shook her head. I won't listen to you!

"Give this foolishness up, girl. Weak like yer motha. Ya'll die like 'er."

Like hell I will! I'm through listening to you! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

"Why do you persist, Amotto?"

Shut up, Paragus!

"You don't have the strength. You don't have the power…My infant son has more power in his tail than you have in your entire body."

She opened her eyes, and focused them straight up to where she knew Coola was hovering.

"You failed your Placement Trials, so now you want to go off and be an explorer. You'll die out there. The frontier is no place for a weakling like you. Give it up. Give up this endeavor of yours. Just…give it up, Little Sister."

"NOOOOOOO! I REFUSE!" she screeched at the top of her lungs, blood spraying from her mouth as she lacerated her vocal chords. Her aura pulsed and surged, and she focused all of her ki into her arms and legs. Her muscles burned with the heat of a thousand suns, threatening to tear apart as she strained against the Supernova. He bones ached, her joints popping rapidly as she shoved back against it. She felt a shudder go through it...

Then she felt a tremendous pressure as Coola apparently poured more energy behind it, and she felt it beginning to overcome her.

NO! Panic rose within her as her heart raced. No! She couldn't be overcome! No! She refused to let it snuff her out! She refused to die so easily!

"I WILL NOT DIE WITHOUT A FIGHT!" she rasped out hoarsely. She felt a quick stab of anger at herself…

Her anger began to build…

Oh no! No! Not now!

But she couldn't help it. Her anger rose, the pressure building within her chest. Everything she'd been angry about before flooded her mind in rapid-fire succession. The anger spiked, building more and more. She tried to fight it. She tried to let go.

She had the control! She was Amotto!

Her mind went blank suddenly, and she felt an eerie stillness. Her emotions faded to whispers, the sounds of the raging battle fading to nothingness. She was calm. She was collected.

Then the flood came…

Power erupted from the center of her core, rushing out in all directions in a massive explosion…

Her last sight to behold was Coola being swept away like an insect in the wind…

DBZ

Zether stretched his arms out wide as he strolled onto the bridge. "Mmm. What'd I miss?"

Falmer glanced at Zether silently. He looked at Diamond who shook her head.

Zether blinked. "A lot?"

"You can say that," Falmer said with a sigh. He leaned back in his seat, fixed Zether with a steady gaze and summarized all that had happened while Zether was in recovery.

"No shit?" was Zether's reply. "I always miss out on the fun." He sighed. "What a waste for Amotto to die like that, though. She had potential. The girl was relentless."

"She was," said Diamond quietly.

"She was also bat-shit insane."

Falmer looked sharply at Zether and frowned. "Though you have a point, that comment was tasteless."

"Why? She's gone, it's not like she's going to be offended by that."

"That's not the poi-" The ship suddenly shuddered violently, all the lights suddenly going out.

Falmer pushed himself up to stand, but was suddenly floating up to the ceiling. The emergency lights came on and he reached out a hand to stop his ascent against the ceiling. He looked down at Zether and then Diamond in surprise.

"What was that?" Diamond asked as she tried to boot up the computer. "The system is down. We're…uh oh."

Zether glanced at her. "I don't like the sound of that."

"You shouldn't. We're still in hyper space."

"Wait, what? How the hell is that possible?"

"Damn. That is not good," Falmer said quietly as he pushed himself down towards his seat. He caught the backrest and maneuvered down in front of his console. "Let's see…It is possible, Zether, because of the fact that hyper space is another dimension of space."

"Don't patronize me. I know what hyper space is. But aren't the hyper drive engines designed to automatically return to space Standard in the event of a malfunction?"

"Usually, yes. In this case something disrupted the entire system, including the hyper drive failsafe." Falmer frowned as he inputted several commands into his dim console. "A massive shockwave. The history shows that we were hit by a shockwave…" he trailed off, frowning suddenly. "But that…that is impossible."

"What?"

"The shockwave…seems to have been moving at the speed of light. Maybe even faster." His eyes widened. "And it is still accelerating! It literally tore a hole through space and time…That was why we felt it…That…I have no words…"

"What was it? Do you know?"

"No. I will not be able to figure out what it was until our systems are back up and running. Even then, that is the last thing on my mind. I have to figure out a way to drop out of hyper space before we move too close to a black hole."

"Refresh my memory, brother. Why would we get too close to a black hole in hyper space?" Zether asked warily.

Falmer sighed and glanced at his younger brother. "You never studied, did you?"

"I did study. You try and retain information after getting hit in the head by Tettuce."

Falmer rolled his eyes. "Hyper space is constantly shifting. It is more accurately described as tunnel space, because we are essentially traveling through a shifting tunnel. Some refer to these tunnels as worm holes. Hyper drive engines create miniature black holes to open up a worm hole. As we travel through hyper space, and without inertia or friction we are still traveling as fast as when we had power, we pass by intersections. Some of these intersections are very near to full size black holes. The miniature ones are not powerful enough to crush our ship, but the big ones..." he trailed off as he fixed Zether with a stare.

"The big ones will turn us into atoms…Right. Were we near to any of these intersections?"

"I tracked three before you joined us. We should have already passed one. We were still some distance from the other two."

"And you don't know if either of those two are near black holes, do you?"

"No, I do not."

"Well, what do we do then?"

"We must restore power."

"And then we'll be good, right?"

Falmer shook his head grimly. "That, I do not know. Whatever that surge was might have fried the engines. If we ca-" The ship suddenly shuddered again, considerably more violent than before, and the lights came back on.

There was a loud hum and then a slight shudder. Falmer blinked down at his console. "Power…restored. And we are back in space Standard."

Zether frowned. "Well…that was easy."

"Yes. Hm. The speed of the first shockwave was obviously too great for the computer to keep up with. It literally had no idea what hit it."

"Was that a joke?"

"It was an attempt, yes."

"Dude…don't do that again. That was not funny. That wasn't even a stab at a joke. You completely missed the mark."

"Thank you, dear brother, for pointing out what I could not see." Falmer rolled his eyes.

"Will you two quit your bickering," said Seluri as she walked onto the bridge. She glanced between the two of them sharply. "What just happened?"

Falmer cast his brother a sour glance as he told Seluri what had happened.

"Well, what caused it?"

"I do not know. The computer cannot determine what it was because of how quick it occurred. It barely registers as happening at all." He frowned. "The navigation systems were reset."

"That is fine. I want you to alter our destination anyway."

He glanced at her. "Why?"

"Bardock and Seripa have training to do. You should be able to find the coordinates for the planet. Search S.S.T.G. 5."

Zether looked at her suddenly. "How do you know that planet?" he suddenly demanded.

She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "I should ask you the same, Gylderian. S.S.T.G. 5 is the last of the training grounds of the Clerics of the Old World."

Zether frowned. "S.S.T.G. 5 is where our ancestors went for the Gylderian Writ of Passage."

Seluri blinked. "Don't you mean the 'Rite' of Passage?"

"No, Writ of Passage. R-I-T-E."

Falmer grimaced and face-palmed. "Zether…That is 'rite' you buffoon. 'Writ' is W-R-I-T."

"Really? Huh. Dad pronounced it 'Writ.' And how do you know about the Rite of Passage, Saiyan?" He glanced at her with a frown.

"I am cultured, unlike you obviously." Seluri grimaced as she regarded the young man. "The Rite of Passage is what Clerics of the Old World once had to endure in order to become a Cleric. It spanned multiple planets, though. Ten, to be exact."

"Hm. Well, the Gylderian Rite of Passage only took place on S.S.T.G. 5, if I'm not mistaken," said Zether. "I honestly can't say, though. My father was the first Gylderian in centuries to undertake the Rite. He researched it his entire life, but a lot of what was known about the Rite was destroyed centuries ago. He had to piece everything together from legends and myths. He was convinced that legends of our people undergoing transformations were based on fact, based on the examples of other races that were able to transform. He figured that since there were so many races that could do it, that it was a common result of evolution."

"How old do you think those legends are?" Seluri asked slowly, her eyes narrowing as a curious expression came over her features.

"Hm…I'd say the oldest dates back almost 1500 years. Why?"

The former Cleric glanced down to his waist. "You do not have a tail."

"Wait, what? Of course not. I'm a Gylderian, not a Saiyan!"

"No," said Falmer slowly, "but some say that our race once had tails. As recently as 5000 years ago, even."

Zether glanced sharply at his brother and shook his head. "Don't even mention those fanatics, Falmer. Flash-evolution is just nonsense. Adaptation takes time. Even I know that."

Falmer met his brother's gaze, but spoke to Seluri, "Are you suggesting our races are related?"

She shrugged. "It is possible. 5000 years is a long time. A lot can happen in that amount of time. How long has your race been technologically capable of space travel?"

Falmer looked at her and said, "Long enough for us to have inhabited at least a dozen different worlds. Even the Gylderians are not immune to internal strife. We have experienced many civil wars that have ravaged planets. Our most recent one, which occurred about 2000 years ago, is the only one that is recorded in its entirety. The others are only mentioned. The last war, we assume, is how we lost much of our information on the Rite. At least, that is what our father assumed."

"I see. It is possible our races are distantly related. The planet I hail from is not the same planet Seripa and Bardock are from. I hail from Planet Saintya. My people inhabited that planet for longer than our history recorded. But it was not our home planet. We do not know where our original planet was, or even what it was called. All we know is that our ancestors made Saintya our home because the star system it was in had numerous planets that were capable of supporting life. It was perfect for our isolationist mentality."

"Saiyans are isolationists?"

"We are also naturally pacifists, if you can believe that," Seluri said with a laugh.

Zether laughed. "I don't believe that. There's no way."

"It is true," she stated matter-of-factly. "My people abhorred violence. We loved to fight, yes. But it was competition for us. We did not fight to kill. We fought to win, without killing. The whole reason the Order of the Clerics of the Old World was established was to defend our people. We did not kill anyone until our Great War. A war that pitted Saiyans against the Ice-jins." She frowned and looked down.

Falmer arched an eyebrow at the dark look her eyes suddenly took on.

"I remember my first kill. To take a life was such an alien concept to me. When I killed that young Ice-jin, I-" She stopped, her voice catching. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, killing was not something we could really comprehend. Why would anyone want to kill?" She chuckled dryly. "We learned of many reasons why when we faced the Ice-jins. Our people were not prepared for such death and destruction. The first war had been a test of our strength. The second war…the one that began the very day I became a Cleric…That one destroyed my people's souls. That was when we truly got an understanding of what killing was…"

She sighed. "The Ice-jins slaughtered my people…Cold himself destroyed Saintya and sent his lieutenants to destroy our Cleric training grounds…Taking out most of the Clerics in the process…Our only military force."

"Ah, that answers my next question. So the Clerics were the military?" asked Zether.

"Not exactly, no. Clerics of the Old World were an order charged with defense. A military goes to war, but the Clerics were posted throughout our territory and ordered to defend different sections. For years after its inception, the Order staved off enemy attacks with minimum casualties…But as I said before, that all changed when the Ice-jins came full force. They blew through our defenses in no time and scattered our people."

"Is that how Vegeta came to be in power?"

"Yes. He was a usurper. He had attempted a coup de tat, but spies helped to prevent that. He was highly ambitious and convinced his family was descended from ancient royalty." She shook her head. "He was delusional, though. Just a foolish, albeit somewhat charming, man."

Falmer arched an eyebrow. "I would deign to call that man charming. I met him a few times. He had the personality of an Ice-jin."

Seluri grinned. "Yes, that is an accurate description. But as I said, he was delusional. He took his most loyal followers-"

"He had followers?" Zether said incredulously.

Seluri scoffed. "Yes, he did. They were all idiots, though. But they were enough to allow Vegeta to create his own "empire" under the rule of Frieza when that time came. Our Elders foresaw this. They knew the Ice-jins, being power hungry monsters, would want to keep the Saiyans in check and out of the way. They did not want the competition or resistance. They were more than willing to start a massive campaign against us and…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

"I think that is enough. So…ahem, we are going to S.S.T.G. 5?"

Seluri looked at Falmer and nodded. "Yes. It is the only place where Seripa and Bardock can get the necessary training in order to become Super Saiyans themselves."

He nodded and set to work. "ETA is…two days."

"Good. They should be out of recovery by then."

DBZ

Berik looked down at Broco's lifeless body, his expression somber.

"You deserve a better send off than this, my friend. I am sorry that Amotto could not be here." He sighed and stepped away from the chamber within which the lifeless body lay. He pressed a button, and a metal door slid up and sealed the body off.

Seconds later there was a roaring sound, and Berik sighed again. "I would have preferred to give you a proper burial. But I cannot allow your peace to be prolonged any longer. You are free from the trials and tribulations of this existence. Rest peacefully, valiant Saiyan Warrior."

The roaring suddenly ceased and the door opened slowly, faint wisps of smoke issuing from within. Berik lowered his gaze when he saw that the body was gone, completely incinerated into oblivion.

DBZ

Ka'bijj stared down at Amotto's unconscious, naked form. His eyes were wide, sweat beading down his forehead and cheeks.

"What she did should be impossible."

"Ah 'gree," murmured Turpin. "W'en's yer space pod gonna be 'ere?"

Ka'bijj gestured to his left and Turpin looked sideways as a pod slowly settled onto the flattened ground; whatever Amotto had done at the end had completely devastated the surface of the planet for further than the eye could see. Where there had once been trees (which were admittedly sparse after the powerful clashes earlier) there was now only flat land.

Whatever she had done had also briefly incapacitated Coola: he was lying unconscious several hundred years away.

The taller Saiyan knelt down and gently scooped her into his arms. He frowned at how frail she felt. "So powerful, and yet so delicate. She is the ideal candidate for Cleric."

"Back 'n da day, me'be." Turpin eyed the girl curiously. "Wha' d'd she do?" he asked as he glanced around at the swept over landscape. "Wh're'd dat powa c'me fr'm?"

"I do not know," Ka'bijj responded as he started towards the waiting space pod, Turpin following. "But she is definitely a special woman. It drained her to nothing, but she completely obliterated Coola's Supernova."

"Ya don' t'ink…?" Turpin asked slowly, frowning as he paused.

Ka'bijj paused, too, and glanced back at him. "I do not know. But if the ancient legends are true, then she just became the first Saiyan in almost 3000 years to break the limitations of Super Saiyan."

"Den dat means…"

Ka'bijj frowned and started back towards the pod. He was silent as he gently deposited Amotto into the waiting seat.

He booted up the life-support system and looked over his shoulder at Turpin. "I am afraid so. That means this girl has achieved the Second." He turned back to Amotto and carefully slipped an oxygen mask over her face. Then he jabbed an IV into her left arm. He entered some commands into the computer carefully, adjusting the settings for Amotto's critical state.

Ka'bijj glanced at the silent Turpin to see an expression on his face that suggested he was trying to wrap his mind around that.

"Does this surprise you, Turpin?"

"Yeh, i'does, ac'u'lly."

"Why does it surprise you?"

"Yer s'gg'stin' dat der's a f'rm b'yon' Supa Saiyan. Yer s'gg'stin dat der's a s'quel t' dis ni'tmar'!"

"A rather…simple way of putting it, but yes. I am suggesting that there is a Super Saiyan Second."

"Supa Saiyan 2…"

"Yes," Ka'bijj said with a hint of irritation to his tone. "Are you quite done playing this little word game?"

Turpin grinned. "Ah s'ppose. Ya's a'way's gotta ru'n mah fun." He laughed.

Ka'bijj shook his head, and then looked sharply past Turpin. "Coola is awake."

Turpin turned to see Coola slowly pushing himself up and grimaced. "Ah, so's 'e is. Damn."

The taller Saiyan looked down at the shorter man. "I need you to distract him for a few moments."

Turpin blinked and looked sourly at Ka'bijj. "Why?"

Ka'bijj scowled. "I am sending the girl to S.S.T.G. 5! I must record a message for her so that she knows where she is, and what is in store for her there. I also must tell her which direction the complex is from where she lands."

"Why no' jus' 'ave da ship lan' by da c'mplex?"

Ka'bijj hesitated, glancing down at Amotto quickly. "Call it a crash course in being a Cleric. It is cruel to do, I know, but she has the capability. She will have recovered some strength by the time she reaches the Training Grounds, so she shall have a fighting chance. I was never able to guide a student, but I saw her potential today. She will become a great warrior. I…" He frowned and glanced at Turpin. "This is my way of claiming her as a student. This is my only chance to guide her. It will be my greatest and final test for her."

"Yer m'kin' 'er a Cleric?!" Turpin suddenly demanded.

Ka'bijj nodded. "Yes. If she makes it to the complex alive, then I declare her officially a Master Cleric."

Turpin frowned and looked down at the unconscious Amotto. "Ya see 'n 'er wut ah s'w 'n Tettuce?"

Ka'bijj nodded again, his gaze moving to Amotto again. "She has great potential, Turpin."

The scarred-up man nodded solemnly. "Ah un-der-stand. Ah'll hol' da l'z'rd off. Do wut ya's got'sa do."

Ka'bijj looked at him and nodded. Turpin glanced at Coola, who was holding his head. He transformed instantly, wincing and grabbing at his chest as the power surged through his aged body.

With an explosion of gold, Turpin launched himself towards the stunned Ice-jin.

DBZ

Ka'bijj watched in silence as the pod rocketed through the atmosphere, vanishing out of sight within seconds. Behind him he could hear Turpin's cries of pain as Coola used him as a punching bag. He grimaced and turned to face the battle. Turpin was no longer transformed and Coola was punching him back and forth across the sky.

Ka'bijj lunged forward without a second thought, his eyes turning green, his hair turning gold, and his golden aura enveloping him instantly.

Amotto was off the planet. Only he, Turpin, and Coola remained. Nothing that happened from this point onward mattered anymore. The future had never rested on his shoulders as he had so often believed.

The future belonged the youth of this generation. Amotto had made that clear to him.

Ka'bijj rushed to what was almost certainly to be his doom…

DBZ

(When I finished this chapter I kind of just sat and stared at my screen for a minute. Then I went back and read Amotto's first appearance. She has come a long way. A lot further than I ever imagined. I can't say when I realized it, but I think Amotto is easily my favorite O.C. to write. When she was almost killed by Frieza, I had a completely different plan for her. Looking back and seeing where she is and where the story has gone…I'm glad that idea changed. Thank you all, as always, for reading and for reviewing. The next chapter is coming soon.)