Chapter Eighteen - A Matter of Succession
Vegeta made his way up to the V.I.P. box upon returning to the arena interior. He had need to speak with Nova and arrange some sort of measures to ensure her presence didn't cause them grief. By the time he got there the kids had all left already. "When did you..." Gohan started.
The Sai-jin royal smirked. "Two years ago." he said.
"More importantly." Piccolo said, noticing that the Sai-jin was going to start gloating. "While you and Hotaru were fighting we had an interesting conversation with Queen Nova. Seems the Changelings have records mentioning Raven that reach back fifteen hundred years."
Vegeta glanced toward the Changeling before making his way over to the window and looking out into the battle pit. Raven. That name had been haunting him lately, because it was the only one of the two he knew. That nightmare... He'd had it five times in the last twenty days. Twelve times in the last ten months. Eighteen times since the Cell Games. The increasing frequency... he didn't much care for it.
"Any new information on her?" he asked at last.
"Unfortunately not." the Namek replied. "But... I have a suspicion that they've been guiding us."
"What?" the Sai-jin asked, scowling, as he looked toward the Namek.
"They know the future." he explained. "And they've altered the past enough that we shouldn't have even been born. But here we are, and from what we learned through Cell, without any real differences from what he knew. They could have stopped Zarbon from attacking Earth. Stopped Slug and Recoome from attacking Earth and Tanaria..."
"But they didn't." Vegeta said, getting what the Namek was at. "They let them come, instigated a need for us to become stronger... all just in time for the Androids when they knew already that Trunks would come and give us warning to further prepare."
"Exactly."
Vegeta snorted. "Well, keeping us around will be their last mistake." he said turning. "Right now, though, I want to deal with something more pressing." He turned his eyes to Nova. "We'll need to..."
"King Vegeta!" Mellona's voice sounded from the com system on the wall, obviously worried about something.
Vegeta made his way over to the com panel and pressed the button. "What is it?"
"A Changeling energy signature." Mellona replied. "Near the south ex..." her voice was cut off by a startled gasp as a loud explosion sounded. The Arena shook with the force of it at Vegeta's end but Mellona barely felt the tremor at her end.
"Noted." Vegeta replied with a growl as he turned from the panel. "It seems Kuriiza's finally decided to say hello."
As he made his way toward the door Nova stood. "I would like to come as well. It is my responsibility..." Vegeta glanced toward her and then nodded. She left behind most of her disguise, only donning the long hooded robe, and followed him out into the halls, the others right behind. There were a few more explosions as they went, each one deepening the scowl on Vegeta's face.
As they emerged from the building they found five of the arena's security personnel down and a wide circle of spectators standing around a short figure covered by a hooded purple cloak, the face hidden in shadows. "Ah, Vegeta." the figure said, his voice sounding like a slightly deeper version of Frieza's. "This should be fun."
Vegeta was about to say something but an arm came up in front of him as Nova looked at him. "May I?" The Sai-jin was silent for a moment and then nodded. She turned from him and stepped forward. "Kuriiza! Your family's rule has come to an end!"
"And just who are you?" Kuriiza demanded.
Nova reached up and slipped back her hood which drew grasps from the crowd around them. "I am Nova." she said. "The new Changeling Queen. Your claim to the throne is denied, Kuriiza. Your father, uncle, and grandfather are dead!"
Kuriiza reached up and pulled back his own hood now revealing a face Vegeta hadn't seen since he was a child. Kuriiza looked nearly exactly like Frieza in his first form. The only difference was a small pointed bump on the top of his head, almost like another horn. This drew even more gasps. "You dare defy my family!?" Kuriiza cried, angrily. "We are the greatest Changelings, the true masters of this universe!"
"You are nothing!" Nova shouted back. "You are nothing more than a pathetic imitation of your ancestors."
"How dare you!" Kuriiza cried, a burst of Ki washing out from around him. Vegeta couldn't help but smirk. It seemed Kuriiza had inherited his father's temper and Nova knew just what buttons to push to agitate him. "I am of the royal blood, descended from the greatest Changelings to ever live. Frigid, Cold, and Frieza! You... you are nothing! No Changeling, especially not a woman, could hope to match my family!"
Nova chuckled. "Yes, Changeling women aren't as powerful as the men. Our physiology difference includes being naturally weaker. And yet, I am the strongest Changeling alive. The Changeling people are tired of your family, tired of your rule, and we will not allow it to continue! We will not allow you to destroy our lives any more, and I will not allow you to further lower our image in the eyes of the galaxy!"
"I have heard enough of your treason!" Kuriiza cried, lifting into the air. As he did his power shot up from its former level. As the Changeling charged in at Nova her power shot up as well and she threw off her robe and brought her arms up to block. There was a loud crack and a bright flash as his fist met her arm. The blow slid Nova back only a foot and then she stopped. Kuriiza's eyes widened in shock.
Nova smirked. "More than you expected? I'm not even started yet!" she threw her arms back and left out a cry as her bright blue aura flared up around her. The rush of power knocked Kuriiza back a dozen yards where he landed with a scowl. The swirling energy quickly shredded the dress she'd been wearing revealing the rest of her body.
The purple stripes that came down from her eyes ran down her neck and upper body and under the red exoskeletal armor on her upper torso. The armor ended just above her rib cage and apparently the stripes merged into one as only a single stripe ran down, over the middle of her body, across her abdomen and down under more red exoskeletal armor that protected her hips and upper legs. The stripe emerged again behind her, directly over her spine, and ran all the up her back until it ended at the red plate atop her head. She also had red glass like plates on her shoulders, forearms, and shins.
From his limited knowledge of Changeling physiology Vegeta knew that the exoskeletal armor could be called at will and wasn't a permanent fixture to their bodies, at least not in their first forms. It was this ability to form or remove their natural armor that had earned them their names, even before knowledge of their transformations had been known. The appearance of the armor on Nova was proof that she wasn't going to back down from Kuriiza and he could tell the other Changeling knew that by the scowl on his face.
Vegeta's attention was drawn back to Nova as red glow caught his eye. Looking he saw the armor glowing and moving, expanding. And as it grew so too did her power. It was a slow increase at the moment, barely noticeable, but there. Which meant only one thing. She was transforming. /I should have figured, there's no way a Changeling female could be the strongest without being able to transform. Still, the power she has in even her first form exceeds what most male Changelings have when transformed... who, exactly, is she?/
Along with the exoskeletal armor over her torso and hips the glass like plates began to glow and expand as well. The expansion rate was increasing quickly and in a matter of moments her entire body was covered in red. Her feet, originally like those of a Sai-jin or Human, changed. The foot widened and two pairs of toes on each foot merged, giving her only three, which were twice the length and width of her original toes.
Her horn nubs grew out to half a foot and then hooked up vertically, went about two inches, and then stopped where they were broken and filed down at. Lastly, she'd grown more than a foot and was now slightly taller than Vegeta instead of almost a head shorter. Finally her cries died down and her blue aura subsided. Her body was now completely red, not even the purple from before remained. "I am the new ruler of the Changeling people." she said evenly. "There is no place for you among us Kuriiza, leave!"
Kuriiza growled. "I will show you true power!" Kuriiza cried as he hunched over and let out a scream. His purple aura flared up around him suddenly and his arms and legs began to ripple. And then his horns began to grow as he started to grow taller and taller. Neither Vegeta or Nova were overly surprised that he could transform. At least, not until his head began to extend backwards.
Nova took a step back as the ground shook and Kuriiza's body continued to transform. And then glowing snaking cracks began to form across his body. "No... way..." she said in quiet shock. "He can... reach the fourth form already!?" There was a bright and blinding flash acompained by an explosion a second later and then the shaking stopped. Vegeta growled and scowled as he got a look at the Changeling again. Save for the pointed lump on the top of his head, and being about half a head shorter, he looked exactly like Frieza.
"You see now what you face?" Kuriiza asked, smirking. "I have already matched my father!" With that he launched in at Nova and slammed his fist into her face. The blow launched her backwards into the arena with a crash destroying the entrance.
"Enough!" Vegeta growled as he moved in front of Kuriiza. "You may have matched your father in appearance." he said. "But you don't even match Cooler's power in that form. You are still a weakling."
"I am the greatest!" Kuriiza said, smirking. "Just like my father."
"Your father was pathetic. Even Cooler surpassed him in the end."
"Why you...!"
Kuriiza was about to charge in at the smirking Sai-jin King when Nova's voice cut through the air again. "Kuriiza!" The Changeling stopped and looked passed Vegeta as the Sai-jin turned to look too. Nova was walking back out of the arena brushing dirt off of her but not looking much worse for the blow she'd taken. She floated a couple inches up off the ground, lowered her head, closed her eyes, and then crossed her arms over her chest, her fists pressed against her shoulders.
Suddenly she threw her arms, legs, and head back and let out a cry. Her blue aura flared up around her as the ground, once again, began to quake. And her power climbed. At first Vegeta thought she was transforming again but then he noticed her muscles expanding. The muscles in her arms and legs became more defined as her limbs expanded about fifty percent in size. Her torso and neck expanded some as well to make room for the energy.
Finally her power up stopped and she touched down again and lowered her head to look at Kuriiza. Her muscles hadn't bulked up as much as Vegeta had first thought but they were clearly larger. And her power had quadrupled. Still, she wasn't quite as powerful as the other Changeling. "Alright Kuriiza." she said. "Let's settle this!" In a burst of blue she surged in at him.
She caught him off guard with a hard right hook to the face that knocked him flying toward the gathered crowd. They parted quickly to let him pass but he managed to stop himself before reaching them. With a growl and flash of purple he surged in at Nova again. She brought her right arm up, deflected his kick, and then countered with a punch he blocked. She threw another punch and it connected with his stomach and knocked him back a little.
She moved to follow it up with a kick but he slipped around it, spun, and smashed his tail into the side of her head knocking her away. As she flew through the air blue energy sparked around her feet and then a wave of energy surged out at the chasing Kuriiza. The Changeling swerved around it to the right and found his target missing. A loud crack sounded as she dropped down from above, smashed her foot into his back, and slammed him into the ground.
He slid for nearly two dozen yards, carving out a trench in the ground, before stopping. As he started to stand back up Nova landed at the opposite end of the trench. "Your power will do you no good without skill." she said. "You have, what, 22 years of combat experience? Meanwhile I have 201 years experience."
"You've been training all that time?" Kuriiza asked as he stood, scowling.
Nova nodded slowly, smiling lightly. "Every heir to my family has trained, some. Never extensively, and never for power, only prowess in battle. We have been biding our time, waiting for fate to give us our opportunity to correct the mistakes of past rulers with as little bloodshed as possible."
"So, you admit to not only defying Changeling law that has stood for thousands of years and training, but also to centuries of treason?" Kuriiza asked, smirking. "When we finish here I will have you executed in the name of my family."
"I see little chance of that." Nova said. "I see little chance of you leaving this world alive, even if you were to defeat me. Your grandfather's jammers have prevented us from knowing much of the galaxy beyond the former borders of the Cold Empire. Things out here have changed since your family ruled. Changed considerably."
Vegeta knew what she meant, even if Kuriiza didn't. She was referencing the powers she'd witnessed. Many beyond her or Kuriiza, almost as many beyond the rest of the Cold family. Well beyond. "She's right, you know." he said. "The galaxy you knew before Cold went to Earth is not the same galaxy as what exists now."
Nova glanced back at the Sai-jin and then turned her attention toward the other Changeling again. "End this, your only chance for survival is to leave peacefully."
Kuriiza laughed. "So, you think you can kill me?" he asked, smirking.
"I could. But I wont." she replied. "Because our code forbids it. I am already breaking the codes enough as it is with this battle."
"What are you talking about? The code is against women training, not against actual fighting."
"I do not mean that code." she replied, smiling. "I have long since discarded it as worthless to me. A Queen must do what a Queen must do. I obey only those codes that are designated as applying to royal blood. Because I have royal blood. Ancient blood."
Kuriiza's eyes widened suddenly and he took a step back. "Blizard!?" he cried, his voice shaking slightly.
"In a manner of speaking." she replied.
Behind her Vegeta scowled. He didn't know what she was talking about but he didn't particularly like the implications she was making. If she shared blood with Blizard, the Changeling King that Frigid had overthrown... That would muck up the waters considerably. Though it could explain her power.
"He is a relative, but not an ancestor." she continued. "My line traces back through a different source. But I still call Frost and Tundra ancestors."