Previously in Apex AZ:
Tenchi and Washu set about construction of the OB gunship Resistance, as well as upgrading the defensive and offensive systems of every metallic ship in the galaxy, as organic ships were fine on their own. Tenchi had a meeting with the Trinity, and Tsunami volunteered to help, by fusing with someone. After consideration, Sasami stepped forwards. Good for her. Now we have a slight explanation for the similar appearances of Sasami and Tsunami, without reverting to some kind of sub-plot the author just thought of now which wouldn't really fit.
Apex AZ, Part IV – One More Final "I Love You"
There was a bench, a long bench. On it laid many different technical parts and objects, seemingly scattered at random. Amongst this were four hemispherical hollow containers, two of which had parts fitted in them. On closer inspection, there appeared to be a duplicate to every part there. These were the components that were going to eventually be built into the two bombs Tenchi was going to use to destroy the Borg.
Elsewhere in Washu's lab, four people stood. One was God, one a princess, two Goddesses. The woman with the light blue hair was kneeling down in front of the princess, her arms wrapped around the small girl. The older woman's head moved forward and touched foreheads with the young one, both their eyes closed.
"Together," Tsunami spoke.
Their bodies shimmered, as if being viewed from across a raging fire, and Tsunami disappeared. Sasami refocused and blinked.
"Are you okay, Sasami?" Tenchi asked.
"I... don't know," Sasami replied. "I feel strange."
"What happened to Tsunami?" Washu asked.
"I am perfectly fine," Sasami said, her voice deeper. "Do not be confused. I have endowed Sasami with my essence. We share control of her physical form symbiotically."
"Tsunami?" asked Tenchi.
"That's right," Tsunami replied. "You may call me Sasami or Tsunami, whichever you prefer. We are the same person now."
"You don't look any different," Washu said.
"That's because she's sharing my body," Sasami replied. "Her body is the treeship, so I can control it now."
"Do you like it?" Tenchi asked.
"Sure," Sasami replied. Tsunami took over, only apparent through the change in her voice. "We are both fine with this arrangement."
"Well, that's good to know," Tenchi said.
"I think Sasami should be dominant most of the time," Tsunami said. "I can ask her for control if and when I require it. Other times, I can just relate myself through Sasami." Sasami spoke. "That's good. Let's do that."
Tenchi cleared his throat. "Well then," he said. "Now that that's over, we can get on with the other things. Just tell us if you're having any problems."
"Sure thing, Tenchi," Sasami said, smiling.
--------------------
The Borg were still coming, relentlessly traversing the empty space between galaxies, travelling much faster than any space ship in the Jurai galaxy. Currently, they would reach the outskirts of the galaxy in about two weeks.
During that time, Tenchi would have to take the bombs and detonate them.
--------------------
Currently, Tenchi was standing outside, looking over the lake with his friends gathered round. Ryoko and Ayeka were hanging on to an arm each, and the others were sitting or lying on the grass. Aki was having an idle conversation with Sasami, Mihoshi was staring at the sky, and Washu was busy working with her laptop, perfecting the designs for her bombs.
Tenchi cleared his throat and turned around. Everyone looked at him, as he was about to say something. Ryoko and Ayeka let go, moving back to join the others.
"I'll be going to fight the Borg soon," he said. "I won't see you guys for maybe a week or so, so I've decided to tell you this now, kind of to give you hope or something, I don't know. But anyway..."
"What is it, Tenchi?" Ayeka asked.
"I've known my true heart's voice for months now," Tenchi said. "I feel it's time to tell you all."
He was going to tell them who his true love was. Everyone paid close attention, wondering what he was going to say.
"I don't know how it goes on Jurai," Tenchi continued, reaching into his pockets. "I know it's kind of a female oriented society, but I don't know how you've been brought up to think about these things, but here goes. And stay out of my mind, Aki."
"Sorry," Aki apologised, stopping his probing through Tenchi's thoughts. Tenchi had blocked them all anyway, so he hadn't learnt anything.
Tenchi pulled his hands out of his pockets clenched, apparently holding something in each hand. He knelt down in front of Ryoko and Ayeka.
"Ryoko, Ayeka," Tenchi said. He opened his hands to reveal some kind of necklace in each one. "Will you marry me?"
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Everyone was speechless, not to mention not breathing. Tenchi had just proposed to Ayeka and Ryoko. No-one was blinking, but their mouths were freely hanging open.
Tenchi raised his eyebrows slightly, glancing round. "Well?" he asked. "Will you two marry me?"
Aki, in the middle of leaning forwards to crawl to a closer spot when Tenchi had asked the question, fell forwards on his face. He looked up and blinked at Tenchi.
Sasami was the first one to nearly pass out from lack of air, and breathed in deeply. This prompted everyone to start breathing again, and stop pretending that time had stopped. Tenchi wanted an answer.
Too many thoughts were racing through Ayeka's mind for her to pay attention to any of them. Through these she could see her response.
"'s," she whispered. As Tenchi looked at her, Ryoko cleared her throat.
"Too," Ryoko whispered.
Tenchi raised his eyebrows in anticipation, looking between them.
"Yes," they both said, slightly louder. They blinked and smiled slightly. "We will," they said.
Tenchi smiled widely and stood up, only to be thrown to the floor again by the force of two women running into him and hugging him tightly. The two necklaces flew from Tenchi's hands as he tightly hugged them back. They all lay there, all kissing each other, expect for between Ryoko and Ayeka, and laughing loudly.
While the others watched them, Mihoshi and Sasami with tears in their eyes, and Washu gaping, Aki used his powers to bring the necklaces hovering in front of him, not daring to touch them. He looked closely at them, wondering what the pendants were. He hadn't seen anything like them before. He quickly realised that Tenchi would want them back, and levitated them to the ground near the people pile.
After a while the laughing died down, and the three just lay on the ground, closely holding each other. Tenchi looked round and saw the pendants on the ground. He reached over and picked them up, before motioning to the other two to get up. He stood up and held one of the pendants up.
"This is an extremely rare necklace," Tenchi said. "There's only two in existence, and this is the other one." He held the other one up. "Here." He placed the two necklaces round their necks. They both looked at it. The pendant was yellow-orange, the colour darkening slightly towards the centre. It was shaped like a small flame, hanging down from the head. As they looked, the colours flickered slightly.
"What are these?" Ayeka asked.
"They are firestones," Tenchi said. "I made them myself. They are solid fire, frozen fire. I froze them when I was God a while ago. I was just waiting for the right time. And this was it."
"It's warm," Ryoko said, holding the stone gently.
Mihoshi couldn't take any more. "You're getting married!" she shouted, running up to them, her arms spread out wide. Sasami followed similarly, and Washu hurried up to the others. Aki drifted across to Tenchi and punched him playfully on his arm, as they watched the women talk excitedly amongst themselves.
"You're engaged now," Aki said. He burst into a big grin. "Nice one."
"Thanks," Tenchi nodded. "I know." He smiled too, and the brothers hugged each other tightly, laughing loudly. They joined the other conversation, and none of them stopped laughing until they were sore.
--------------------
Soon, of course, the others were told. Nobuyuki and Yosho were suitably happy for them, and Tenchi's dad expressed his feelings very strongly. Asaka and Kamidake, for quite some time being inactive and guarding the gates at the front of the house, were also glad when they heard the news. When Tenchi took everyone to Jurai to tell Ayeka and Sasami's immediate family, they were all very pleased for all of them. It took about two minutes for the conversation to move along to the wedding ceremony, the plans for which were immediately started. As soon as possible was agreed, but at Tenchi's suggestion, after the Borg had been dealt with. Then there were so many other things to be arranged that it would really take too long to sort out there and then, so they were left for another time.
As the girls were planning and talking excitedly about everything, Mihoshi managed to slip out unnoticed. But Tenchi spotted her. He excused himself and caught up with the Detective First Class some distance down the corridor.
"What's up, Mihoshi?" Tenchi asked, slowing down to walk alongside her.
"Oh, hi, Tenchi," Mihoshi replied. "Nothing really. I just thought I'd go for a walk."
"Mihoshi, I don't need to read your mind to know that something's the matter," Tenchi said. "You can talk to me."
"I just..." Mihoshi trailed off. "When you proposed to Ayeka and Ryoko..."
"What?"
"I mean, I was happy for you, of course, but... I just felt that..."
"I didn't ask you how you would feel about that," Tenchi said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry. I should have thought."
"It's really nothing," Mihoshi said, smiling at Tenchi. "I shouldn't have mentioned it. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Tenchi said, looking straight at her. "I'm sure I'd have felt just the same in your position. It's all my fault, anyway. I really should have talked to you before."
"It's not that, really," Mihoshi said. "It's just... I guess I'm just having a bit of a time realising that I'm not your true love. Or loves, apparently."
"That doesn't mean I don't love you any less," Tenchi said, raising a hand to touch her shoulder. "Not at all. I've always thought you were the bravest person ever, and I still do. The others, they have their excuses, their own specialities. But you, you're normal. You're ordinary. And yet, you still face everything with us, just as though you had your own special powers. That really is amazing, and that's why I love you."
"Really?" Mihoshi had stopped to listen to this.
"Well, it's not the only reason, obviously," Tenchi said. "There's so many other things, but that's one of the main ones."
"Oh."
"Well, I guess the point is that I know you'll do fine," Tenchi said. "And we can still be just like we were before, if you want."
"That's okay," Mihoshi said. "I'll be fine."
"Course you will," Tenchi smiled. "Now, changing the subject. Do you know if there are any toilets around here?"
--------------------
Everyone stayed on Jurai for a while, while Tenchi and Washu talked, discussing various matters. They also talked with some senior members of both the Council of Jurai and the Council of the GXP, discussing battle strategies.
"I think here will be a good place to keep the fleet," Tenchi said, pointing at a holographic display of the galaxy, indicating a point near the edge of one side. The projection was floating in the middle, where Tenchi and Washu were stood, surrounded by the most senior members of both councils, as well as a raised area where the Overseer sat, watching the happenings and taking the final word. All the members were all holograms, projected images of themselves, who were sat in their large offices hundreds and thousands of miles away.
"But that's nowhere near the main planets," the Vice-Chairman of the Jurai Council said. "What could be gained by moving our ships there?"
"For one, it's the side the Borg are coming from," Washu said. "They're going to have to come through us to get to the rest of the galaxy."
"Right," Tenchi agreed. "It also means that they won't go through and destroy half the galaxy getting to us. They'll detect the mass amount of ships there and decide to destroy them first. It's just the way they think. If they destroy our main defences first, it automatically gives them a sense of dominance, and there's no more opposition after that."
"If they destroy us at all," the Secretary for the Jurai Council said. "Who's to say we don't have the upper hand right now? We know they're coming, and you've given us advanced upgrades for all our ships."
"But we don't have the upper hand," Tenchi said. "There's also another reason I've chosen this particular star. It has no planets, no areas of importance. It shouldn't really; it's a white dwarf star. It's already gone supernova."
"Enough with the astronomy lesson," the Chairwoman of the GXP Council said. "Why that star, and no others?"
"All ships must be outside the orbits of all the planets in the local system before they can go to warp," Tenchi said. "It's how it works. With no planets there, you'll be able to warp away instantly if there's serious trouble."
"You've said yourself that the Borg are faster than us,"the Chairwoman said. "Won't they just destroy us at warp?"
"If things do get that bad, I'll get aboard myself and stop them," Tenchi said. "It's called self-destruct."
"Self-destruct?" Washu exclaimed. "You're going to kill yourself?"
"It's the last resort," Tenchi explained. "But I may just be able to make them blow up instead. I'll just use instant translocation. That's not blocked by any kind of shields."
The Overseer cleared his throat. "This is all certainly interesting," he said slowly. "I trust your judgement, Lord Tenchi, as does everyone in the galaxy. You've actively saved their lives enough times for them to believe in your word. You may take precedence over the battle strategies."
"Thanks," Tenchi bowed. He turned to go, but turned back again. "Oh, there's just one more thing."
"What?" the Jurai Secretary asked.
"You're not going to like it, I don't think," Tenchi said.
"Like what?" the Chairwoman asked.
"I want to make a special recommendation for two people to lead the attack," Tenchi said. "Ryoko Hakubi and Mihoshi Kuramitsu."
Several of the GXP Council started coughing violently, while some of the Jurai Council thought for a moment and followed suit. The Overseer had a look of mild amusement about his elderly kind face. Tenchi smiled back at him, as if sharing a private thought.
"Mihoshi is a Detective," the GXP Marshall said. "She is not in a position to command any kind of fleet, let alone the entire galactic force."
"She's a disaster on two legs," the Jurai Secretary said, obviously having heard of her. "The number of bills to her effect received every month is legendary. 'Another energy web gun, please, I lost the other one'. There is no way you're being serious about this."
Tenchi just looked at him.
"Is there?" the Secretary squeaked. This would cost a fortune in repairs.
"She may be a breathing bad luck charm," said Washu indignantly, "but she's also a very good friend. And when it comes to it, I can think of very few people that might be better suited for this. And I mean might."
"Thanks, Washu," Tenchi whispered across.
"Washu-chan, remember?" Washu whispered back, grinning, teasing him even in such a serious situation.
There was general discussion between the Council members about the mere thought that such a person would be considered to lead the attack, while Tenchi, Washu and the Overseer remained silent.
The Overseer cleared his throat again, demanding attention and silence. "I see no reason to doubt your judgement, Lord Tenchi," he said. "As I have already said, I leave everything in your doubtless capable hands. This meeting is over."
There was an upsurge from everyone around as their holographic connections were cut. Only Tenchi, Washu and the Overseer were left.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Tenchi," the Overseer said, getting down from his seat. "It's a big responsibility, saving the galaxy."
"Again," Tenchi replied, walking with him to the exit. "I think we'll be okay."
"For all our sakes, I hope so," the Overseer said.
--------------------
Ten days were all that stood between now and the largest confrontation the galaxy had ever faced, larger even than the few great wars that had happened near the start of the Jurai Empire.
Washu had finished constructing the two bombs. They looked identical, resting on the table in the main room, but for a label on each to identify it as the bomb for one of the tasks. The one on the left was for the cube, and the one on the right was for the galaxy.
"These'll be great," Tenchi thanked, looking over the two devices. They were metallic silver and round, about the size of a football. They were pretty much smooth all around the outside, except for a small panel on each of them, which housed a single button. Washu, in her infinite wisdom had marked these buttons "Blast off". These buttons, Washu informed him, when pressed, would give Tenchi ten seconds to get out of the blast area before it activated, instantly destroying everything around.
They were fairly light for Tenchi, as he found when he picked them up, but Tenchi did have his energy to help him. They just about fit comfortably under his arms, but he found that he couldn't reach his forehead to use his instant translocation technique while he held them. He put them back down on the table.
"Thanks for these," Tenchi said. "I'm sure these'll do a lot to help us, if not everything. If all goes well, we won't even need to fight."
"I knew you'd like them," Washu replied.
--------------------
"Well, I guess I'll be off then," Tenchi said.
He stood outside, the two bombs resting at his feet, speaking to his friends and family. They were all there to see him off. Tenchi was wearing his "business" outfit, which was the same clothing he wore as the Masked Man years ago, but without the mask. A small homing beacon was strapped around his arm, which constantly gave off signals to show his location. This is what Washu would hopefully be tracking.
Tenchi hauled one of the bombs under his left arm and rested his foot on the other one. He raised his right hand to his forehead and began to concentrate, finding the location he was going to jump to. He stood there for about a minute, very still, while the other looked on, slowly becoming puzzled that Tenchi wasn't disappearing.
Tenchi lowered his arm and looked at everyone, before laughing apologetically. "I can't seem to find somewhere to jump to," he said.
"So you can't go?" Aki asked.
"I don't think so," Tenchi replied. "It doesn't look like it. I probably should have checked that I could actually get there before going into all this."
"Why don't you try again?" Mihoshi asked.
"Okay," Tenchi said, slightly wearily. He knew it wouldn't work a second time, but he tried anyway. Predictably, he failed. "I can't even sense where the Borg cube is, let alone a galaxy thousands of times further away," he said.
"So, does this mean we're going to have to fight?" Sasami asked.
"Fight?" Tenchi asked. "I think it does. Unless I can get this figured out, we'll just have to wait, I guess."
"What if I tried to build some sort of amplifier?" Washu asked. "Something to focus your energy even more?"
"Focus," Tenchi mused. "That's it!"
The others jumped at this.
"What do you mean, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked.
Tenchi didn't reply. His body glowed a brilliant white, but there was nothing dazzling about it. The light changed shape slightly and faded. Tenchi had evolved to his third evolutionary form, the one that looked like a more organic Borg drone.
"Focus," Tenchi repeated. "It's obvious, isn't it?"
It wasn't.
"By evolving, I increase all aspects of myself," Tenchi said. "My knowledge, power, skills, and concentration. I'll be able to do it now." He tried, and after a few seconds found a target. "Got it!" he exclaimed. "Oh, wait." He lowered his arm again and looked at the others.
"What is it?" Ayeka asked.
"Just a couple of things," Tenchi said. "Basically, my plan is to go to the Borg galaxy and destroy it first. Then I'll jump to the cube and blow that up, before coming back home. The galaxy should be okay to deal with, but if I can't blow up the cube for some reason, I'll try and take it over. In this form I'm even more advanced than the Borg are. If I take it over, I'll fly it to that star we talked about, Washu, and I'll let you know I'm fine, and how I've done. I'll also try to send some messages to the ships from long distance, using the technology inside me now. I think I should be able to do that.
"I'll be back within a week," Tenchi finished. "I'll see you then. Love you all."
"Good luck, Tenchi," everyone called, as Tenchi repositioned himself and jumped away.
You'd better come back soon, Ryoko and Ayeka thought. You're getting married to me soon, remember?
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Two days had passed, and everyone was worried. According to Washu, Tenchi would have been able to set off both bombs a hundred times by now. Only two possibilities could be thought of: Tenchi just needed a rest, and was waiting for his energy to recharge before jumping again, or Tenchi had commandeered the cube and was flying it back himself. If it was the second option, it still didn't explain why Tenchi hadn't contacted them yet, but the first option did explain this. It was, after all, many hundreds of times further to travel than just across the galaxy.
There was no way at all to find out how Tenchi was doing. As much as Aki tried, he couldn't detect any energy signals that far away. He struggled to sense people even in nearby star systems; he only managed to contact Tenchi to tell him about the Borg's appearance because they had a strong mental connection, apparent when they had fought the little creatures that bore no resemblance to Gollum, which were sent by the evil wizard Rytel. But that, of course, never happened.
Tsunami couldn't tell how Tenchi was doing either. With all her powers, she still couldn't stretch her abilities that far. She couldn't even sense as much as Aki, even with Sasami's help. So Sasami and Tsunami spent their time instead talking with each other and making sure they were properly integrated.
Washu was extremely busy at work. As well as refitting several thousand ships with new modifications, she was also upgrading another version of her Tricorder, to give it even more range. So far, the range was double the width of the galaxy, 200,000 light years, in radius. She still couldn't detect anything, so she was busy expanding it, as the deadline crept ever closer.
Everyone else in the galaxy was also worried. Just yesterday everyone had been informed about the Borg, the threat they posed and their relentless approach. Even the protected planets had been told, all sixty-seven of them. Earth was probably the worst reaction to the news. Although Tenchi had told some Earthlings about the existence of everyone else in the galaxy, most of them were extremely shocked and scared as news of a huge spaceship landed in the spot where it would immediately attract attention: the lawn outside America's White House. Paranoia swept over the American President, who ordered wave after wave of fully trained special agents to surround the ship and give a menacing feel, hopefully making the intruders go away.
Unlike the other protected planets, which had offered interest and a welcoming atmosphere to the purveyors of doom, Earth was downright hostile. No-one wanted to believe the truth, and the science fiction fans went around saying this was all just a stunt for the next movie of that popular space trekking series. Most of them came to their senses, however, when the visitors finally gave enough demonstrations to show who they really were.
The people who had visited Earth to tell the inhabitants felt that they really shouldn't have bothered. There wasn't really much point in telling them, anyway, as all they did afterwards was shuffle around shouting that they were all going to die, some regularly visiting "religious" buildings, where they worshipped a non-existent god. Tenchi was, of course, the only God around, and no-one worshipped him when they saw that he existed. It all just gave them something to do, instead of letting them go on with their lives as normal, oblivious that they could at any time be invaded by an army, an infestation of alien half-robots intent on killing them.
There wasn't really much point at all.
In the next episode of Apex AZ:
The end of the waiting comes, along with the Borg. Tensions are running high as everyone prepares to battle, and to hear how Tenchi fared with his war against their enemy.
All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Waiting for God".