"Impossible!" Kuriiza cried. "They had only one child, Koori."
"No, there were two. The still born son was not still born, nor a son." Nova explained. "Upon having a daughter Frost feared her place as Queen was in danger. Her belief was, thinking the child her fault, Tundra might kick her out of palace and take a new wife, instead of waiting five years until she could produce another child.
"And so she claimed the child a son, and still born. But it was not, and it was not incinerated. The child, Rikka, was given to one of Frost's maids and taken from the palace to be raised by that maid as her own. But Rikka was told of her heritage and even kept in touch with Frost, served on the Changeling Council for a time as well."
Nova took a breath as she relaxed. She could tell Kuriiza was interested in her tale, there was little chance he would attack her before it was finished. What she didn't know was that almost everyone around her was interested, listening intently to her every word. "As you know Koori went on to have a son, Fubuku, who then had Blizard.
"Eventually Rikka became pregnant herself, with twins. And she chose to accept the danger such a pregnancy presents to our people and have the children. They were born, Yakedo and Touketsu, and she died shortly there after. Their father could not raise both sons by himself and so he kept the first born, Yakedo, and sold Touketsu. Touketsu later went on to have his own son, Frigid. You know how that line proceeds from there."
She shifted her footing a little as she considered the information she was sharing had been known only to her family for more than a thousand years. Touketsu had never been told his heritage, but Yakedo's line had kept track of both family lines. "Yakedo, too, had a child. Several, in fact. Three daughters and two sons. The daughters all died, along with one of the sons, during one of Fubuku's 'sweeps for traitors'." she continued.
"But that one son, Blaze, was enough. For he had two children in time. A son and a daughter. The son died in a Tournament of Skulls battle. The daughter went unnoticed and, in time, Flare had her own daughter. Me." She spread her arms a bit. "And that is why I will fight you but I will not kill you.
"The code forbids killing within the royal family for succession of the throne, stating the rights of the first born son. As a descendant of Frost and Tundra, and the only descendant of Cold still alive, that would be you. It also forbids challenging the throne for leadership outside of the Tournament of Skulls, but our people do not have the time to wait for another tournament."
Kuriiza stood there, motionless, as he absorbed what Nova had said. "Why should I believe a word of it?" he asked, almost too softly to be heard at this distance.
"What reason do you have not to?" Nova asked. "What purpose would it serve for me to tell you that you are a descendant of Frost and Tundra? To tell you that we are related? In fact, to tell you that your claim to the throne is stronger than even you had originally believed? Had our genders been switched, then perhaps this information would work in my favor."
Kuriiza nodded slowly, knowing she was right. Her tale simply reinforced his claims to the throne. It gave her no extra footing. All that it spared her from was death at his hands in battle. But if their genders had been reversed then the claim would have made her the rightful heir of the throne. Descended of the first born line, though female as it was, would have given her, were she a he, a higher position in the chain of succession than him, son of a second born.
And second born not just once, but twice over. Touketsu and his own father, both second born. Her line held the succession power of Tundra... He narrowed his eyes slightly as it all sunk in. Yes, her line held the power. She had nothing to gain by making up such a tale, in fact, it would only make her lose ground because her continued existence was now an even greater threat to him and to his future heirs. Any sons she had would have a strong claim to the throne and would inherit the incredible power passed down from Tundra.
As he looked across at her his eyes narrowed further. Suddenly he shot up into the air and glanced around him. Spying who he was looking for standing in the crowd he smiled. "Ospion!" he called down. "Throw it to me!" Vegeta and the others turned to look toward the crowd and saw someone among them pitch something up toward Kuriiza.
The Changeling caught it and then looked back toward Nova again. "I hadn't wanted to do this." he said. "Rumors say eating this increases your power, but since I didn't find many I've never had the chance to test it. But..." he tossed what he held up in the air and then caught it again. "To defeat you and end your threat it's worth the risk." With that he raised it to his mouth.
"Wait... that..." Gohan started as he saw Kuriiza catch the object tossed to him. He hadn't seen it in person but his grandfather had told him about it, described it to him. "That's a fruit from a Tree of Might!"
"A what?" Vegeta asked.
"Sanil had one on Earth. It's full of energy." Gohan said.
"If he takes a bite of that..." Piccolo started. But he stopped as it happened. Kuriiza bit down into the fruit and ate a piece of it. Almost instantly his body bulked up some and his power shot up quickly. His hand closed tightly around the fruit but he made sure not to destroy it.
"Now you are history!" he cried, surging down at Nova. She braced herself, not sure what had just happened, but lost sight of the Changeling a second later. Then a loud crack sounded as his fist smashed into her chest and sent her flying back into Videl. The half Sai-jin caught her and, as she did, Piccolo moved between them and deflected the energy blast the Changeling had launched at them.
"I think that's enough." Vegeta said, crossing his arms and glaring at Kuriiza. "You've outgrown your welcome on my planet."
He was about to say more when Nova walked passed him again and stood between them and Kuriiza. "As I said, this is my responsibility." she said.
"You can't..." Videl said. "He's gotten a lot stronger now. He's a lot more powerful than you."
Nova looked back at her and Vegeta recognized the look in her eyes. "Let her go." Vegeta said softly. "Sometimes you have to handle your own battles, no matter the odds." Nova nodded to him slowly then turned toward Kuriiza again. The other Changeling was smirking and she scowled, her eyes moving to the fruit still in his hand.
She looked back from the fruit to his face. The corner of her mouth rose slightly, in a small smile. In a burst of blue she shot in at him, her voice ringing out as she did. "Invalesco!" Her blue aura flared up and became both blue and red. Those behind her sensed a sudden burst in power but it was gone as quickly as it came and they didn't get a clear feel.
During that burst, though, she'd rammed head first into Kuriiza and then flipped over behind him. Nova landed, sliding to a stop, and then turned to face him again. As she looked up again her small small turned into a full grin.
As he stood Kuriiza saw what she held in her hand and then looked down at his own. "NO!" he cried, charging in, as Nova raised the fruit to her mouth. He pulled back a fist and launched a punch at her head as he reached her... but her free hand came up and caught it. She could feel the power coursing through her. Power more than she'd ever thought she'd have.
She didn't know if it would last or not and intended to put it to use while she still had it. She stood quickly, head butting the Changeling in the jaw. The blow knocked him up and she slammed her fist into his gut as she stood knocking him back. Then she opened her fist and fired an orb of blue energy after him. He recovered just before it hit and smacked it away with his tail. Then he flipped over and landed facing her again, a scowl locked on his face.
Nova raised the arm holding the fruit and smiled as she crushed it. That only made Kuriiza scowl more. There was a flash of blue and a flash of purple as the two launched in at each other. A loud crack echoed across the landscape as the two of them met and began exchanging blows again.
Vegeta heard sounds behind him and turned to look. Mellona and a contingent of guards from the arena were picking their way out passed the destroyed entrance, their eyes locked firmly on their scouters and the battling Changelings. They all looked rather pale. "Uh... um, sir..." Mellona started, walking up beside him. "Do you think it's wise to let them fight here?" she asked. "I mean..."
"I know." Vegeta said, turning his attention forward again. "I'll make sure it doesn't spread beyond just them... and if it does any damage to the Sennari it's only damage that would have happened anyway at this point. This is a Changeling matter, one of succession, I wont step in unless I must."
His father, standing on the other side of him, nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately situations like this are more about politics than protection." he said to Mellona. "Move too soon and, well..." The conversation trailed off as a bright flash of purple filled the sky from Kuriiza releasing a massive burst of ki to drive Nova away from him.
The younger Changeling was panting heavily. He'd not lost much power yet but he'd been exerting himself a lot to keep up with the woman. Not that she was faster than him, just more skilled. Much more. But the look in Kuriiza's eyes... it was wild. Vegeta didn't like it. Suddenly the Changeling turned toward the crowd and yelled. "Give me the other one!"
Another object came flying out at him and he caught it. A second fruit. "Coward!" Nova yelled. "Fight like a warrior!"
"Silence!" Kuriiza called down. "I will not lose here, no matter the cost! I will win, I will continue my family's empire!" He turned his eyes down to the fruit and raised it to his mouth. He paused, though, before he took a bite of it. His eyes narrowed and then suddenly he jammed the full thing into his mouth. A moment later his eyes snapped wide as his body swelled, his arms, legs, and chest growing to twice the size his father's had been when at full power.
And his power, his power shot through the roof. High enough it made Vegeta growl. Kuriiza looked at himself as the power increase settled and he smiled. "Now, now I am the greatest Changeling!" he called. "The greatest in the universe! This power... this power is incredible! None could hope to match me!"
Nova scowled and shot up at him. Reaching him a moment later she smashed her fist into his face with a crack but he didn't budge. She drifted back, braced herself, and called out again. "Invalesco!" Once again her aura shifted to both red and blue, like flame, and her power climbed. This time she fired a kick at his head but it had as little effect as her previous punch. Kuriiza smirked as his tail came around and smashed into her face knocking her down into the ground.
Her aura sputtered and vanished, but she groaned and slowly climbed back to her feet. Once standing again she turned to face her opponent and found Vegeta walking out toward him, arms crossed. The Sai-jin's father stepped up on one side of her and Piccolo on the other. "Time to let us handle this." the Namek said. "This has gone well out of your league."
"But..."
"Piccolo's right." Gohan said from behind her. "Let's just hope he doesn't have any more of that fruit... or we could be in serious trouble." Nova glanced back at him as he said this. If he was worried about Kuriiza eating another fruit then things definitely were out of her hands now. She sighed and turned to watch what would happen.
"Oh, so now you want to play, Vegeta?" Kuriiza asked smirking. "Well, I don't mind playing with you."
"This ends now, Kuriiza." Vegeta called up. "Your line has ruled for long enough. I think it's time for a change."
Kuriiza laughed. "So Nova gets the Sai-jin endorsement eh? Can't really say that'd sit well with the rest of our race after what you did to my family."
Vegeta snorted. "I'd imagine they'd be pleased I approve of their new leadership. Means I wont have to wipe them out to prevent future problems. You do realize that several races talking about joining the Sennari have been demanding just that, don't you? The annihilation of the Changeling race. Sort of an insurance policy against the rise of any more rulers like your family."
This was news to Nova. She'd heard that tensions were high in the galaxy about what the Changelings were doing. But she hadn't known there were entire planets calling for their destruction. Not too surprising, she supposed, after the Cold Family's rule the passed five hundred or so years.
"But I should think." Vegeta continued. "That most of them would be happy enough with your end and a stable, non psychopathic, leader in place." He stopped walking still a few dozen yards from Kuriiza and several feet below him. "Normally I wouldn't interfere with leadership of an independent government without some sort of formal request and certain conditions being met.
"But in this case you tried to interfere with our government and that changes the rules. So, Kuriiza, if you think you can take the Sai-jin King, if you think you can take the Sai-jin that killed Cooler, if you think you can take a Super Sai-jin..." at this there was a flash of gold around him as he transformed. "Then let's see what you've got."
Kuriiza's eyes widened for a moment as Vegeta transformed and then narrowed. "You don't scare me Vegeta, not now. My father survived his battle against a Super Sai-jin and I'm a lot more powerful than he was!"
"And the Sai-jin he fought was a weakling compared to me." Vegeta replied with a grin. "But come on, come and get me if you think you can. But I'll warn you now, I wont even need to use my arms or hands to beat you."
Kuriiza's purple aura flared up as he surged down at Vegeta. The Changeling pulled back a fist for a punch and then launched it as he neared. The Sai-jin royal simply tilted his head to the side and the punch slid harmless passed him. The Changeling growled threw a kick for his side. Vegeta twisted around so that he stood sideways and the kick missed.
Kuriiza then lifted up into the air slightly and spun, aiming a kick for the Sai-jin's head. But he bent his knees and ducked easily under it. It wasn't even close enough for the breeze to move his hair. Suddenly he stood and smashed his head into the other's abdomen. The Changeling's eyes and mouth widened in shock and pain.
Vegeta then lifted into the air and kicked out with his right leg slamming his foot into the Changeling's face. His left foot cracked into his chest and then he spun and smashed his heel into the side of his head, the blow sending him flying. Then he vanished as he took off at high speed. He appeared, a moment later, behind Kuriiza and slammed both feet into the Changeling's back with a thunderous crack.
Kuriiza surged forward a few dozen yards before falling to the ground and rolling/sliding a few dozen more. Vegeta landed only a few feet away, his arms still crossed. The Changeling was slow getting back to his feet but finally stood a moment later and shook his head to clear it. Looking back over his shoulder he scowled at Vegeta and growled. But then he smirked and started laughing which unnerved the Sai-jin.
He then raised both arms above his head, palms facing each other, as he started floating up into the sky. Purple, black, and red energy began to gather over his head, between his hands. "I should have just done this from the start!" he called out, still laughing. "This planet is DUST!"
Vegeta turned his head and spat. "What is it with you Changelings and blowing up planets?" he muttered.
"Now... DIE!" Kuriiza cried, pitching the attack at Vegeta. Meanwhile, the crowd began to back away from the battle.
The Sai-jin stood still as it neared, until it was almost upon him, and then jumped up and kicked it back to its source. "No thanks, you first." he said, grinning. The Changeling's eyes widened in shock and he thrust his arms down to hold off the attack. Vegeta opened his mouth, a glow coming from it, and then fired a beam of golden energy into the energy ball causing it to explode.
The mouth blast punched through the explosion and continued on up into space. Kuriiza fell the ground a moment later, a hole punched through the middle of his chest. His ki was fading quickly as Vegeta walked over to stand beside him. "Like I said, didn't even need to use my arms or hands."
"This... can't be... possible..." Kuriiza said, barely above a whisper. "I am... the most powerful Changeling... to ever... live..."
"Which just proves the superiority of the Sai-jin race for, you see, you only witnessed half of my full power." the Sai-jin said. Kuriiza's eyes widened for a moment and then closed as his ki vanished. "Good-bye, and good riddance."