Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, or anything mentioned within it, specifically the Borg. For anything else, see the disclaimer at the start of Continuum T. Do read the other two sagas first, so you'll understand what's going on.

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Previously in this storyline:

Tenchi went Super Saiyan 3, made friends, revived his clone, became God, lost his powers, found all but one of the DragonBalls, and now he's waiting until the last one comes back. If that's confusing at all, see the two previous sagas, Continuum T and Supplement DB. They should sort you out. And so, here it is. The third saga in this epic story. I'm regretting refusing to be paid for this now. Well, it's not my fault I didn't think it would catch on.

Apex AZ, Part I – The Third Super Saiyan

Since time had been restored, and everyone didn't remember everything that didn't happen, which was just as well, as they shouldn't have, nothing much had happened. For the past seven months, the six collected DragonBalls had been collecting dust in a box in the attic of the Masaki house. Aki had seen his way to moving out, and had gone to live on another planet. He had actually started a training school, where he hoped that he could teach people to control their energy, and hopefully to become Saiyans. He was doing quite well, and of course had plenty of backing by Tenchi, mostly in the form of financial aid. Tenchi had enough to spare.

Sasami, too, had been doing extremely well. Since she had started her training seven months ago, her power had increased dramatically. Not as much as the two Super Saiyans, as they had been training for years, at least, but Sasami was still doing amazingly well. She was able to fly with ease, and had been timed several months ago to fly around the world in twenty minutes. This, as any mathematician would say, was fast. This, as Tenchi would also say, is very impressive. It meant that Sasami could control her energy so well to be able to achieve those speeds that she now had a top power level of around five or six million. This was stronger than Tenchi was when he had first turned Super Saiyan against Sel. However, becoming a Saiyan was about more than just having a strong soul. It was about necessity.

Tenchi wandered outside one sunny February morning, planning to see how the garden was. He gazed around and decided it was mostly fine. There was a slightly cold breeze, but nothing able to kill anything there. It was enough to give Sasami a cold, though.

Tenchi walked up behind Sasami, who was sitting in the middle of the garden in lotus position, busy meditating.

"Morning, Tenchi," Sasami said, not moving, as he approached. "What's up?"

"Hey, Sasami," Tenchi replied, sitting down next to her. "Nothing much. Meditating?"

"Looks like it," Sasami answered, opening her eyes. "Is it time for another lesson?"

"No," Tenchi said, "but I do have a suggestion. Remember what I told you about trying to hold the highest energy possible as much as you can, so you get used to it?"

"Yes," Sasami replied. "I also remember you telling me to practise suppressing my energy."

"Good point," Tenchi said. "Although, I do think you should try holding a high energy as much as you can. You seem to be doing fine with the suppression."

"Okay, Tenchi." Sasami stood up and closed her eyes, raising her power level. She struggled a bit to get it past five million, but she managed it. She opened her eyes again.

"Hey, Sasami?" Tenchi said. "I'm going somewhere for a while. It's kind of private, so I can't tell you, but I'll be gone a couple of hours. Just keep training, okay?"

"Private?" Sasami asked. "Is it to do with who you love the most?"

"Sasami," Tenchi sighed. "It's not that I love someone the most. It's because I know my true choice, ever since I became God. The two are completely different. I love you all."

"Who's your true choice, then, Tenchi?"

"Just get back to training. You'll find out when it's time."

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"Little Washu?" Tenchi asked. "Can I ask you a favour?"

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The air bubble rose up through the water and floated on top for a moment, before popping. Sasami heard it.

The vole poked its head out of the hole and sniffed around, before deciding not to come out. Sasami heard that, too.

Sasami was deep in meditation. Her power level was still near her maximum, so her perception was more precise than normal. She could hear and smell and feel everything around her. She could almost see it as well, but her eyes were shut. Surprising, really, that she didn't notice the ten-foot green lizard monster standing in front of her.

Sasami closed her mind to her surroundings and opened her eyes, only to freeze, before scrambling backwards furiously as she caught sight of the monster. It watched as she went.

"Such power," the monster said through its toothy snout. It reached a clawed hand up and scratched its face, which was fairly inset into its neck and muscular scaly reptilian body. Large black horns protruded forwards from the top of its wrists, and extended to about the knuckles of the claws. The seemingly spindly legs supported it, although they were much broader than most human legs. They were bent in a couple of places, perched on the tips of the toes and crouched slightly. "I will have fun devouring it."

"Wha... what are you?" Sasami said nervously, finally backing into a bush. She pulled herself up slowly.

"I am Yakonn," the monster said, in its low growling voice. "And I'm going to eat your energy." Yakonn lunged forwards quickly, swinging its claws around at Sasami. Sasami jumped out of the way and quickly put some distance between the two. Yakonn turned around to face her, and clenched its claws. The horns in the back of its wrists grew longer, until they were about as long as its arms. It waved them around a bit, before darting forward again at her. Again, Sasami dodged, but Yakonn moved with her. Sasami was busy avoiding the flailing horns, while Yakonn was standing in front of her, moving its arms quickly in an attempt to slash her.

Sasami leapt and flew up, away from the monster. She formed an energy ball in her hand and threw it at Yakonn. It impacted accurately, but caused no damage. Yakonn also leapt up and hovered at Sasami's height.

"You're only wasting your energy," Yakonn said. "That means I'll have less to eat."

"Better wasted than eaten," Sasami replied, holding her hands out in front of her, palms towards the lizard. A dark purple energy ball formed in front of them. "Saigas blast!" she shouted, launching the energy at Yakonn. Yakonn swung its arm and deflected the blast into the sky. Yakonn disappeared and grabbed Sasami from behind, holding her tightly. Its hot breath moved past her neck as a free claw ran across her throat, its wrist horns having retracted back into its arms.

"Once I kill you, I'll drain your energy," Yakonn whispered. "And what's better is, no-one else can stop me."

Sasami struggled, but Yakonn was very strong. It didn't let go. Sasami tried raising her power level, to try and force it away from her, but that didn't work. Tenchi could help, because he said he'd gone away for a while. Besides him, she was the strongest person on the planet. No-one else could help, even if they were aware of what was going on.

Suddenly, she felt something, a power, inside her. It was like a blockade, a barrier, stopping her from reaching behind it. She could guess that something important lay behind it. She reached within herself for it, trying to break the barrier.

Yakonn's grip tightened around her neck. In a few minutes she would be dead. The stinking breath was horrible. Sasami just wanted to get away. But the barrier wouldn't break. It was her only way to escape, as her power level was too low to be of any use against the monster. She tried yelling, to see if that would help, but her breath came out in bursts. She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated hard.

The barrier still wasn't moving. An impenetrable wall, unmoving to anything. But there was a gap. Beyond that gap lay another barrier. This one had a weakness, like a crack, too. It was an extremely small one, but it was there. Sasami tried to force herself through them to the other side. It was a struggle, but mere seconds from passing out, she burst through.

Sasami's hair drew together in places, and darkened. Rising up on her head, it flashed golden, followed by another burst. Yakonn let go of her and stepped back, its mouth open in surprise. This allowed her hair to spring up, reaching out before and behind her, half upright on her head. The long hair stretched out far, and lightened. An aura, there from the start, but only now noticed, glowed golden-yellow, and flamed up around the girl.

Sasami had become a Super Saiyan.

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Yakon gasped. "You're a Super Saiyan?" it exclaimed.

Sasami looked up at her hair, which was swaying in front of her. She really did have long hair. "Oh wow!" she exclaimed. "I am! I'm a Super Saiyan! I can't believe it!"

Yakon frowned, which was a difficult task for a lizard. It pounced forward, swinging at Sasami again. The only thing it slashed, though, was some of Sasami's hair. The few long hairs dropped to the ground, turning back to their original green colour. Sasami kicked Yakonn from behind, and pounced on its back as it stumbled forwards, making it fall onto the ground. Sasami flew up, forming an energy attack as she went. She launched it at the lizard below. It hit it, and caused a small pure explosion, a small sphere of pure energy, instead of billowing dust and heat. Once it dissipated, Yakonn was revealed, lying beaten up in the small crater pit Sasami had created.

Yakon staggered to its feet and looked up at Sasami. "Sasami!" it called. "That's enough!"

Yakon's image flickered and disappeared, revealing a form that had been inside it. It, too, was fairly bruised. It was Tenchi.

Sasami dropped down to him. "Tenchi, are you alright?" she asked urgently. Tenchi nodded.

"I'll be fine," he said. "But what about you? You've become a Super Saiyan. That's unbelievable!"

"But, Tenchi, what are you doing here?" Sasami asked. "I thought you were going away for a bit."

Well," Tenchi said. "I actually said that to make you think that I was away, so that when Yakonn attacked you, you wouldn't think that I would come along and save you."

"But what do you mean?"

"I asked Washu to make me something to disguise myself," Tenchi explained. "That way, I could attack you, to provoke you into becoming a Saiyan. It seems that I provoked you a bit further than that."

"So, because becoming a Saiyan requires a need to do so, you decided to give me that need?" Sasami asked.

"That's right. And hey, it worked."

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Sasami remained a Super Saiyan for a while longer, in order to make herself accustomed to the feeling. Her power had increased a fair bit from the transformation alone, so her level was about seven million now. Tenchi was worried that Sasami would experience the same evil feelings as he and Aki had when they first became Super Saiyans, but she didn't seem to. Washu suggested that it was only God who experienced these evil pressures, as a sort of test. As Aki was a clone of Tenchi, he had felt this evil too.

The others were understandably shocked when they found out about Sasami's transformation, although they realised that it was a good thing in the end. Sasami had become stronger, much stronger than anyone else in the house, with the self-evident exception of Tenchi, and this was the undeniable proof of that.

For the next few days, Sasami and Tenchi trained some more, stretching her limits further. They now considered each other to be an equal, regardless of Tenchi's higher strength.

Two days after the transformation, Tenchi went to visit Aki. It was a weekly thing, meeting up with each other and having a meal. It was usually private, with none of the girls tagging along, but Tenchi decided to bring Sasami with him this time. They jumped to the planet Aki had built his school on, and walked over to the main building.

A receptionist met them in the entrance hall. He told them that Aki was just finishing with a class, and would join them shortly. While they waited, Tenchi and Sasami decided to watch the end of the class. They found the room and walked in.

Aki was standing at the front of the room, and sat on the floor in front of him were a dozen people of different ages, from ten to fifty years old. They had each been selected by Aki, and to a lesser extent Tenchi, to join the school, the Masaki Academy for Gifted Individuals, MAGI for short. Each person was levitating a ball in front of him or her, some attempting to raise two at once. Aki, being the teacher, was walking round, offering advice to people who were struggling, or asking them to demonstrate how good they were at controlling their balls.

As Tenchi and Sasami entered, Aki turned around. He was wearing a long pale yellow sleeved cape/coat, and a light blue tunic underneath. His hair, which he kept long as a further distinctive mark that differentiated him from Tenchi, was brushed back behind his ears. His eyebrows rose as they entered.

"Tenchi! Sasami!" he greeted. "Nice to see you." He turned around. "People, can you stop what you're doing for a moment? I'd like to introduce you to two very good friends of mine. This is the Second Crown Princess of Jurai, Sasami." Sasami waved timidly. "And this handsome guy over here is my brother, Tenchi. You've probably heard of him."

"Handsome only because we have the same face," Tenchi whispered. "Hello, everyone," he spoke up. "We didn't mean to interrupt. We're just here to see your sensei."

"Hey, Tenchi, why don't you show off your powers?" Aki suggested in a whisper.

"Like how?" Tenchi whispered back.

"I don't know. Why not go Super Three? It's one of the few things I can't show this lot."

"I'd rather not," Tenchi replied. "But how's about I get all those balls levitating at once?"

"Sure, why not?" Aki turned to his class. "Everyone, I'd like you to throw your balls at Tenchi here. He's going to try and catch them all with his abilities. After three, now."

Tenchi leaned over to Sasami. "Why don't you take care of this?" he whispered. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Sure I can," Sasami replied. "There's only about fifteen. I think I can handle it."

"Three!" Aki said.

The balls flew forward at Tenchi. Tenchi just stood there, while Sasami at his side raised her hands. The balls all stopped mid-flight, and stayed hovering. Sasami moved her arms slightly, and the balls started moving towards a large green bucket. Sasami dropped them in.

"Okay, that's it for today," Aki said. "Have fun, and keep practising."

The three waited while the class went out, some stopping to exchange a word with one of them. Once they were all out, Aki walked up to Sasami. "Sasami, I'm impressed," he said. "There's few people I know that would be able to do that after this little training."

"Good teacher," Tenchi said. "But I'll tell you what. Have you felt anything strange recently?"

Aki shook his head. "No. Why?"

Tenchi nudged Sasami. "Then you won't know. Sasami, do you want to show him?"

Sasami moved to the middle of the room and started to remove her hair bands. Aki moved over and asked Tenchi something. "What's she doing?" he asked.

"Just a little trick I helped her with," Tenchi replied.

"Can she become a Saiyan?" Aki asked. "No, I shouldn't think she can. Not after such short a time."

"Hey, I did even before I started training," Tenchi replied. "Just watch."

Sasami shook her hair loose and began to raise her power level. Aki watched on in surprise as Sasami passed the million mark. "That's a lot of energy," Aki said, gaping at what Sasami was reaching. She reached seven million and stopped.

"That's not all," she said. "Watch this." She started concentrating hard. Her hair rose up and darkened. Her eyes also blackened. She became a Saiyan, but she didn't stop there. There was a flash of light as she became a Super Saiyan. "What do you think?" she asked.

Aki had all but stopped breathing as looked at the Super Saiyan in front of him. Eventually, he managed a "Wow." And then he blinked.

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"So what'll it be?" Aki asked. He glanced over the menu again, but he knew what he was having.

Aki, Sasami and Tenchi were having a meal at a nearby restaurant. It was where Tenchi and Aki always went every week. The food there had a very good reputation, and it was easy to see why. Although living with Sasami, Tenchi still agreed that the food here was delicious. And why shouldn't it be? The second best chef in the galaxy worked there.

"Well, I want the mandarn steak," Tenchi said to the waiter. "And for dessert, I think the strawberry shortcake."

"I guess great minds really do think alike," Aki said. "Same for me, please."

"I'll have the aquanta slices with cheese and leak sauce, please," Sasami said. "And the orange melba fondue for dessert."

The waiter excused himself and moved off to register the order. The discussion was resumed.

"Sasami, I still can't believe that you're a Super Saiyan," Aki said.

"I know," Sasami replied. "Even I'm still a bit shocked."

"Especially me," Tenchi said. "I took quite a beating."

"Why? What happened?" Aki asked.

"Well, Tenchi disguised himself as a monster," Sasami said. "He attacked me and forced me to become a Super Saiyan."

"What kind of monster?" Ai asked, curious.

"Big green reptile, humanoid, extendible spikes in the forearms," Tenchi replied. "I must say, Washu did a really good job making it for me. I had no trouble controlling the body."

"Well, I guess the important thing is that Sasami did it," Aki said. "She is now the third strongest person in the galaxy, as well as the third best cook. I don't think there's anything she can't do."

"I think you're right," Tenchi agreed. "Sasami truly is the best person in the galaxy."

Sasami, understandably, was blushing furiously at all this.

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The mean was eaten, and Aki, as usual, paid the bill. Tenchi and Sasami were just about to go back to Earth.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you again, Sasami," Aki said. "You too, Ten. Say hi to everyone for me."

"As always," Tenchi replied. "But why don't you come over for a visit some time? We'd always be glad to see you."

"I know," Aki said. "You've told me that before. And my answer is still that I'll come if I can find the time."

"Even so, I think you should visit us soon," Tenchi said. The tone in his voice was slightly stressed, almost indistinguishable, but Aki picked up on this.

"Anything in particular going on soon?" he asked.

"I just have a feeling," Tenchi replied. "It's probably nothing. Anyway, I'll see you soon, yes?"

"Sure you will," Aki replied. "See you, Sasami. Have fun."

"I always do," Sasami said. "Bye."

Tenchi and Sasami waved farewell to Aki, holding hands. Tenchi raised two fingers to his forehead and used instant translocation. They left.

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A few days later, and nothing much had happened. The days just seemed to drag along. Even so, it had already been a year and seven months since four of the five alien girls had appeared on Earth. It was ten months after Tenchi first evolved, and in one month the last DragonBall was due to appear.

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The Earth had, comparably, a low level of technology. The leading scientific minds of the planet still thought radio waves and digital computers were a good idea, which showed the level of advancement of the planet. This being the case, and the fact that it was still a protected planet, despite Tenchi saying a few things to the population, all communications to that planetary system were forbidden.

So they contacted Aki instead.

"Greetings, Mr Masaki," the scientist said. He was speaking to him from across the galaxy, via a direct communications screen connection.

"What can I do for you?" Aki asked.

"We require the services of either Lord Tenchi or Lady Washu," the scientist replied. "We have made a discovery they may find interesting."

"But why are you talking to me?" Aki asked. "If you want them, shouldn't you talk to them?"

"Ah, but we can't. You see, the Earth is still a protected planet."

"I see." Aki thought for a moment. "What kind of discovery are we talking about here?"

"It is an alien space craft. It crashed onto the remote planet of Keesan. It's uninhabited, but we would like either Lord Tenchi or Lady Washu to help us with our investigation."

"Alien, eh?" Aki said. "I thought all the different species in the galaxy were known?"

"That's what I mean," the scientist spoke. "It's not from this galaxy, and from what we can tell, it is highly sophisticated. The orbital scans of the technology are unbelievable. Would you please relay this message to your friends?"

"Sure," Aki said. "It sounds interesting. I'll join the investigation, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," the scientist replied. "The planet is under quarantine until you arrive. We would appreciate any help you and your friends can provide. After all, Lady Washu is the foremost intellectual expert in the galaxy. We really need her help if we are to understand this technology."

"Well, I'll talk to them," Aki said. "I guess we'll see you soon, then."

The communication ended. Aki moved away from the transmission console and sat on the floor. He proceeded to meditate, to contact Tenchi's mind.

"Tenchi, I need to see you," Aki repeated. "Please come."

The mental message soon got through, and Tenchi appeared in front of him. Aki opened his eyes and got up.

"Tenchi, hi," Aki said. "I'm glad you're here."

"What's up?" Tenchi asked.

"I just got off the comm. screen with some scientist," Aki said. "I recorded the message. Take a look."

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Tenchi finished watching the message. He looked up at Aki, a serious look on his face.

"Hey, why so serious?" Aki asked. "It's just some aliens. They're probably just exploring."

"I've got a feeling," Tenchi said. "I don't like this. Remember what I was saying a few days ago? I think this is it."

"What? You're saying this is bad?" Aki asked. When he received no reply, Aki too frowned. "What do you think?"

"I could always be wrong," Tenchi said. "I really hope I am. But if I'm right, we're going to need all the help we can get. The galaxy could very well be doomed."

"That bad, huh?"

"As always."

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Tenchi and Aki had returned to Earth to pick up the others, before jumping to the observation ship orbiting Keesan. They appeared on the main deck, and promptly shocked everyone there, nearly causing a few heart attacks in the process.

"I'd like to see the information you've gathered about the aliens," Tenchi said.

"Of course," the scientist who had spoken to Aki said. "Lady Washu, perhaps you would like to see it as well?"

"Sure." Washu joined them as they looked over the data collected on the crash. Apparently, the craft had entered the galaxy at an incredible speed, much faster than even the Lightning-class ships of the Jurai galaxy. It had proceeded towards Keesan, but was hit by a meteor shower, which forced it to crash on the planet.

As Tenchi and Washu looked over the data on the technology, the others looked around, not quite sure what to do. They smiled apologetically to the other crew there.

"Shit." Tenchi's word came as a complete shock to everyone. His friends had never known him to swear before. This must be really bad.

"Tenchi, what is it?" Ayeka asked. "That language is unbecoming of you. Remember Sasami is here."

"I know," Tenchi said, frowning deeply. "But the situation calls for it. We are in seriously deep trouble."

"What's wrong?" Ryoko asked.

"Yeah. Why did you use that kind of language?" Mihoshi asked.

"I could very possibly still be wrong, but if it is what I'm thinking..." Tenchi trailed off. "I'm going down there. Aki, Sasami, come with me."

At the sound of the orders, they knew it was serious. Ryoko stepped forwards. "Hey. Sasami's going and I'm not?" she remarked. "I'm coming too."

"As am I," Ayeka said.

"Well, I'm going to see what's down there," Washu said.

"Can I come too?" Mihoshi asked.

Tenchi's eyes flickered, before he replied. "Fine. You can all come. Just hope there aren't any survivors."

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The group appeared in the middle of a sparse jungle. The widely spaced trees meant they could see for a fair distance all around. However, the dark lighting caused by the trees blocking the sunlight meant the visibility was reduced.

As the others looked around, Washu pulled an object out of her pocket and folded it open. She started waving it around while it made quiet beeps and other noises.

"What's that, Washu?" Sasami asked.

"Oh, I remember that!" Mihoshi said. "That was the thing you told me not to touch, isn't it?"

"I tell you not to touch a lot of things," Washu said. "I lose track. But this is a Tricorder. It's a portable scanning device. It can do lots of things, probably too many, actually."

"Can I use that?" Tenchi asked. "I know what I'm looking for."

"Um, sure, Tenchi," Washu said, handing it over. Tenchi looked at it and tapped at it a couple of times.

"How does this work?" he asked. "Ah, there we go." As he pressed more buttons, the noises produced from it changed. He waved it around until the noises changed again. "Over here," he said, handing the Tricorder back to Washu. Washu looked at the setting.

"A bio-neural interface network?" Washu said. "That's obscure. Nothing in the galaxy gives off that kind of signal. That's what you were scanning for?"

"And I've found it," Tenchi replied, walking towards the area it was located. It was almost certain now what was there, in Tenchi's mind, but he had to make sure. It could mean the end of all life in the galaxy, and Tenchi knew it was deadlier than anything he had ever faced before.

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

The group find what they were looking for, and also Tenchi's worst nightmare. It's the Borg. Tenchi explains what they've found, and why it is such a terrible thing.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Attack of the Drones".

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As this is a new saga, this message should appear yet again, just to remind you. The ever-present review button is waiting patiently, and you can always email me your comments and queries at Anything and everything you have to say is both relevant and greatly appreciated. Personal replies to actual questions are guaranteed. I thank you once again for your support of this story.