Lo-Fi Crush

[Tenchi Masaki]

Tenchi found himself looking at a strategically placed poster promoting rock and roll themes. It didn't occur to him that it was placed there for marketing purposes. Mostly because he was too busy rocking out to a song on his phone. But someone in the Northwest Campus had decided the common folk needed to feel safe and included and posters helped in that regard. Being off guard made it easier to sell products after all. Djinn who was strapped to his back just wanted this whole plan of his to be over with already.

As Tenchi hopped up and down head banging away, the receptionist asked for the next person in line. Tired of the daily grind all she could muster was saying, “next” repeatedly. Finally, Tenchi heard her as he turned around and smiled. The receptionist read his application form and found the part about why he wanted to sign up. It said he was a rockstar, but Tenchi told her he was a future rockstar while he took a rock n roll pose. The receptionist flatly said that she didn't care and issued his pass. The process was pretty straightforward all visitors to Northwest Campus got an I.D. pass and entered the lobby area waiting to be greeted by a representative.

Tenchi grabbed his pass and raced through the hallway to the crowd of people. On a walkway above them, the C.E.O. himself appeared to greet them. Tenchi was surprised to see that it was Double Northwest himself. He gave a welcoming speech saying he was happy that the volunteers there were going to show the world how special they were using Bracer Tech. As there was a huge crowd and Double was quite elitist, he didn't have time to look at every person and didn't see Tenchi. Tenchi was happy to see Double had found a productive, and more importantly, legal career and was making a difference in the world.

Djinn was a little more cynical than expected and felt Double was just collecting a paycheck. But the fact that Double had found himself being promoted to head of Northwest Direction was something to be proud of. It implied that Double had moved on from his ways enough to demonstrate competent leadership abilities. At least that is what an optimist would say about it but the reality was more nuanced. Tenchi moved through the crowd and got to the front as the large sliding metal doors opened.

An employee was waiting with a plastic bin held in his hands. Tenchi had to remove his belongings including Djinn, who felt quite insulted to be treated as a storage item. Tenchi was then directed to go to the Bracealizer which was the machine used to attach bracers to people whom they had selected. It would attach a bracer to his arm as he wanted it to. All he had to do was lie down on the bottom half and the machine lowered its top half down sealing Tenchi inside.

However, as Tenchi readied for the procedure, Double was walking along with his directors on a catwalk. He was annoyed and frustrated to the point that he couldn't take it anymore. He turned around and said, "I asked for qualified people but all you brought me were losers!" Double picked up Tenchi's phone and showed it to emphasize his point. Sarah Nade head of marketing said calmly, "You asked for subjects Double, and marketing delivered." Eartha Brute of Production Department, eyes widened as she aggressively said, "Don't try to blame me! Production has done as ordered! If anyone's to blame it has to be Belljar!" Double said, "This idea had better work! No slipups, and no defects!"


Double threw Tenchi's phone over the side and it proceeded to fall bouncing off various things until it fell onto Tenchi's chest. The Bracealizer's upper half then proceeded to lower down and fused his phone with the bracer tech power source. When the upper half lifted, Tenchi was suddenly ejected out of the machine and sent flying into a fence landing on the floor. After rolling around in pain for a few seconds, he stood up and saw he now had a bracer on his arm and started to try it out. His arm from shoulder to hand was covered in a grey second-skin material with synthetic muscle and nerves. The bracer was fitted on top of this and felt like it wasn't even there.


Tenchi figured that it integrated into the nervous system for better control by the user. But he was so occupied that he didn't hear the intercom say an error had occurred. Tenchi made his way down the hall and saw his belongings in a bin. He put his clothes and Djinn back on and came outside. There he saw three robots who approached him after seeing a message on a tablet one of them was holding. They ordered Tenchi to come with them as he had been deemed defective. Tenchi nervous and confused tried to explain that he wasn't, but as he reached out his arm Djinn was suddenly pulled from his back and into his hand.


The robots seeing this spoke to each other and decided that he must be resisting. Tenchi hearing this yelled, "No I'm not!" as the robots drew their cyber swords. Tenchi had no choice but to fight as all exits were suddenly blocked as alarms sounded off. As Tenchi clashed with the robot security guards, he found himself feeling a musical beat. All the surroundings were moving to the beat also as Tenchi attacked the robots in time with the rhythm.


Once the last robot was defeated Tenchi realized that his phone was producing a beat, and when he moved and attacked it, his attacks became stronger. But before he could celebrate he heard the voice of someone yelling at him. It said first and foremost don't step on her cat which Tenchi saw was at his feet. Then this person asked for help and Tenchi not wanting to have a shouting match asked if they could speak in person.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

As Tenchi headed in the direction of the voice he saw the full expanse of the Northwest Campus. It was as big as a city and full of security robots now looking for him. Eartha had been informed of the defect and not wanting to ruin the Production department's no defects record, ordered his elimination. Tenchi fought through groups of robots while occasionally seeing Eartha on large tv screens positioned around the area looking quite intent on destroying him and motivating her employees to do the same.


Tenchi finally came to a large dark room where Eartha appeared on a tv and said his time was up. Eartha informed him that this room's giant robot would put a stop to his pointless resistance. Tenchi readied for battle as the robot rose up to the platform he was on and started to attack. Tenchi dodged his fist constantly trying to pound or sweep across the platform while counter-attacking whenever there was an opening. This only made the robot mad however and caused it to reach full power and begin lobbing missiles down.


Tenchi deftly dodged and continued his assault until the robot had reached its limit. Tenchi running up its arm leaped into the air and said, "Our rockin dance was nice but now it ends with a bang." Tenchi then swung Djinn down hard slamming the robot on the head and sending it tumbling down to the floor below the platform he was on. Tenchi then headed on to meet the mysterious person guiding him.


Suddenly though the cat began to speak taking Tenchi completely off guard. The cat said, "Hey you this iis my cat S.O.S and I don't need you running off with her since it seems she likes you. I'm not even sure how you caused her to change shape and float along wherever you go but that can wait till later I guess." Tenchi explained that he didn't know either but it was really cool anyway. S.O.S was helping him during his fights and it was really sweet.


Tenchi then entered a room that was pitch black he then sprung a trap that caused a net to fall on him. This caused some lights to come on as the person emerged from the shadows. Tenchi saw that it was Patty Larceny wearing a Bracer on her left leg. and wielding a blaster at him. Patty recognized Tenchi and released him from the net after he promised not to take her kitty away.


Patty explained to him that she was infiltrating Northwest Direction because she wanted to know what project "Gemini" was. Tenchi didn't even know what she was talking about and felt it was just a conspiracy theory. Patty insisted however it was worth looking into and she needed Tenchi's help. She agreed to help Tenchi find a way off Northwest Campus if he got her the information she needed Tenchi reluctantly agreed partly because he wanted to get back to ACME Labs; but mostly because Patty was cute.


And so the two heroes continued on with Patty acting as support from her secret hideout while Tenchi fought his way to Eartha's office. Once there he greeted the receptionist and after she told him the wait to see Eartha would be a few months he decided to just knock the door down. As he ran into the room Eartha had a promo reminiscent of wrestling come on. Eartha then appeared to sparks and pre-recorded cheering.


She told Tenchi that the only way to solve any problem was to punch it in the face and as Tenchi disagreed she grew angry and felt she was not being taken seriously. So she would show him; the hard way. She removed her gloves showing both her arms had Bracers on them and began pounding her fists together. She leaped from her position down to the floor where Tenchi was and began to attack. Though she was tough Tenchi was smart enough to let her attack until she left herself open. Charging Tenchi and hitting the walls didn't help her much either.


Tenchi then saw Eartha start grabbing electrical wires to charge herself up while also occasionally throwing metal pipes. But it was to no avail as Tenchi swung and hit Eartha flying up at an arc backward just to run and meet her where she was going to land and deliver the final blow. The Bracers exploded and left behind a digital passkey which landed on the floor. Patty then radioed Tenchi and told him to stand by.


Patty came into pick up off the floor by teleporting in using Tenchi's Quick-5 frequency. Tenchi yelled, "What!? You could have been here the whole time!?" and wanted to know how she patched herself into the device which was still in the prototype stage. Patty said she contacted Delores at Home 01 and she told her about it after Patty explained the situation. Patty picked up the key and inserted it into the computer console to learn more about Gemini.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

A button began flashing and Tenchi decided to push it because that's just what is done in these situations. Suddenly the monitor displayed all five department heads onscreen They could all see Tenchi but not Patty. Double started off by saying, "Eartha I hope you've handled the defect. Your not Eartha where is she?" Tenchi lifted Eartha's large championship belt up for all to see as he said, "Your going to need another head of Production Double."


Double couldn't believe Tenchi was getting in his way again. Sarah intrigued smiled and said, "Ooh now this is interesting. Belljar honey, your camera is on mute it seems." Dr. Belljar had been quite animated as to what was happening but since there was no sound Tenchi thought he was mute. Belljar tried to repeat what he was saying but was cut off by Double yelling to Polly to get security over to Production immediately. Tenchi unafraid, said, "Bring it on Double! Your no match for me or my new abilities! I can hit things with my guitar to music beats and with Patty helping me I'm getting out of this Campu-."


Before Tenchi could finish a very upset Patty cut the feed turning all the monitors off while dragging Tenchi away by his ear saying, "You idiot!" Apparently, Tenchi didn't understand that Patty was running a secret resistance operation. Double had been made aware of it now and it was only a matter of time before he knew she was involved. Tenchi told her it wasn't a big deal since Gemini was a dark web conspiracy theory so she didn't have to keep this "secret resistance" of hers up. Patty sitting at her computer disagreed and gave Tenchi a very dark look as he tried to leave.


Tenchi quickly changed his mind and decided maybe this needed to be investigated a little more causing Patty to instantly change into her usual smiling self. Djinn felt the need to inform the idiot lugging him around that he was her hired detective if he hadn't figured that out yet. Sort of like those old detective film stories but with way more techno-crap blinking on and off everywhere. Tenchi did feel it was nice that he could call Patty to support him whenever he wanted and she would just appear. It was too good to be true but he wondered if calling her too much


Before Tenchi could finish a very upset Patty cut the feed turning all the monitors off while dragging Tenchi away by his ear saying, "You idiot!" Apparently, Tenchi didn't understand that Patty was running a secret resistance operation. Double had been made aware of it now and it was only a matter of time before he knew she was involved. Tenchi told her it wasn't a big deal since Gemini was a dark web conspiracy theory so she didn't have to keep this "secret resistance" of hers up. Patty sitting at her computer disagreed and gave Tenchi a very dark look as he tried to leave.


Tenchi quickly changed his mind and decided maybe this needed to be investigated a little more causing Patty to instantly change into her usual smiling self. Djinn felt the need to inform the idiot lugging him around that he was her hired detective if he hadn't figured that out yet. Sort of like those old detective film stories but with way more techno-crap blinking on and off everywhere. Tenchi did feel it was nice that he could call Patty to support him whenever he wanted and she would just appear.


It was too good to be true but he wondered if calling her too much would make her think that he sucked at fighting. Djinn grumbling about Tenchi's misplaced priorities sarcastically told him to start calling her in to help slowly at first. Then as their combat relationship improved he could call whenever he wanted. Tenchi felt that was the best way to handle things as Patty typed away actually working on solving their problems. Tenchi crashed on the couch and played with S.O.S until Patty decided on what to do next.


Having learned about Gemini she loaded the program and had S.O.S plug a cable into Tenchi's Bracer. Tenchi immediately sprung up and said, "You're right I'm an idiot and we need to stop Project Gemini!" Patty deactivated the program and Tenchi returned to normal. They both knew then that Gemini was bad news and needed to know Northwest Direction's plans. But that required more running and guitar gunning on their part.


Patty explained in their planning stage that he would go and infiltrate Dr.Belljar's office in Research and Development to gain more information regarding Project Gemini. Tenchi ran off to the lower levels of Northwest Campus where the Research lab was powered by geothermal energy using magma. Belljar was, to put it mildly, self-obsessed with creating new things. He was constantly scolded by Baron Von Wasteland who headed Finance.


Belljar would always say his vision is worth the cost while making sure to take different action-oriented poses. It happened so often that everyone in management and his department were used to it. But what made Belljar show up to work each morning was simple. He was responsible for creating Northwest Direction's newest products. His ideas were grand and the budget could barely keep up with him. But Belljar felt his ultimate project of this month would be completed soon. Actually, it had been the previous month's ultimate project as well as he hadn't finished it yet. He kept changing his mind about the hardware and software constantly but now he was sure it was perfect.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

Tenchi battled his way through the usual robots but Belljar made sure to introduce Tenchi to new models that needed testing. Well, maybe Belljar was watching and gathering data because he thought Tenchi fighting through the security forces was really cool. He would keep appearing in holographic form to taunt Tenchi as he fought onwards who was occasionally warping in Patty to deal with long-range targets. Belljar claimed if Tenchi reached a certain point he would get a gift basket. But he would not be defeating his new robot with V-shielding so he may as well forget about it.


Tenchi tried fighting the robot but the shields were too strong to break. Patty suggested coming up with a plan but Tenchi decided he knew what to do. He walked towards the robot and was going to reason with him. All Tenchi got in return though was a large fist in his face. He went flying backward through a glass panel and fell down into the shadows below.


When Tenchi awoke he saw two glowing red eyes coming toward him. As Tenchi screamed the figure emerged from the shadows and he saw that it was Rig Atony. He tried to calm Tenchi down by explaining what he was doing there. Effectively he was the head of Research and Development but he was fired by Double and replaced by Belljar. It had left him down in the dumps as well as his secret base they were both in currently. Tenchi wanted to know who his contact was and Rig told him it was Patty. They had been communicating about what Project Gemini could be.


Rig had even been helping Tenchi get through the Research Department by hacking certain systems as well. But that was about all he was willing to do though. He was a big strong guy, but getting demoted took the punch out of him. He was also dressing in business casual as opposed to his more lumberjack style of fashion too. His robot assistant, NTMG(Nutmeg) apologized on his behalf saying, "We're sorry for being so intimidating; and will try to be less threatening in the future."


Just then Patty came running in guns drawn worried that Tenchi was hurt or worse. She immediately pointed them at Rig and Yelled, "Tenchi are you here!? Please be alright!" Tenchi told Patty he was fine and wondered why she was so concerned. Patty, blushing, said it was nothing and he shouldn't be so reckless all the time. They both heard Rig's story about how Northwest Direction was a more fun company and made computer systems for theme parks along with other computer products. But after Double took over that all changed for the worse.


Rig said, "When Pricilla Northwest ran the company, everyday was engaging. Just like Carmen running VILE but after they both retired Double gained control of both organizations. No one in VILE even wants to go looting anymore it tragic really." Tenchi felt they could try more legal ways to have fun since Double became acting leader. Rig said that was his theme park but after Northwest stopped making products people stopped coming. NTMG said, "There are rumors speculating Rig thought Pricilla Northwest was cute."


While Rig told them NTMG said strange things every now and then and to not worry too much about it. Tenchi and Patty suggested Rig join them in their fight but Rig said he was a pacifist and fighting was dumb. Tenchi asked about how best to deal with Belljar and suddenly Rig's eyes lit up in anger and he began punching a punching bag with Belljars face on it. They both saw how strong Rig was and that he could break V-shields. Rig knowing what that meant, sulked about now having to fight after all. Patty explained in the team briefing that Tenchi would return to the V-shield robot and then Rig would be warped in to attack the shields and break them.


With no other options Rig agreed and Tenchi began making his way back to the room wondering if he was going to be punched again. When he got back he confidently attacked the robot while noting the spot he crashed through the glass panel had been taped already. At least they responded to messes quickly. Tenchi reentered the room and began the assault and just like before the the shields were unaffected. Tenchi warped in Rig who punched the shields and then pounded the ground with both of his fists creating a shockwave.


The force of his attacks shattered the shields leaving the robot exposed to Tenchi and Patty's attacks. Belljar called in more robots to support it but all of them were defeated stylishly. Tenchi and Patty had developed two-person special attacks where they both targeted the same enemies. It seemed they're constant fighting together was starting to pay off as they yelled, "Twin Strum!" Their combined attack sent the V-shield robot to the scrap yard.


Tenchi was now free to continue onward as honestly he really wanted that gift basket. Belljar said it really didn't matter if he beat the V-shield robot and that the gift basket was now even bigger than before. Rig wanted to achieve the goal of getting the basket as well. Patty felt the focus the team needed to be on more important things. But their minds were set as Tenchi made his way through the underground complex being sure not to touch the lava.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

All along the way Dr. Belljar would appear as a large hologram and taunt Tenchi until he reached a new room with a strange mechanical eye at the other end. Belljar gloated saying that now he would get good data on Tenchi's performance. His robot assistants however weren't so sure as they were being overwhelmed with on-the-spot programming as it was. Belljar could care less of course as he said, "And now Tenchi! prepare to feel the power of augmented reality!"


The eye's pupil started emitting a glowing red light as the room was changed and robots appeared. Tenchi figured the holograms must be made of hard light as he commented on the technology. Belljar just as excited said, "I know, cool right!?" Enemies were floating in the air and firing lasers at Tenchi who had to parry the attacks to the beat they were emitting before firing. As Tenchi blocked successfully the robots exploded because Belljar felt that's what they should do when they failed. His staff felt questioning this was rather pointless and continued writing code to add enemies to the room.


Patty decided they needed to drain the budget coming from Finance and created a meter showing how much Belljar was spending to defeat Tenchi. Tenchi caused the room to return to normal as the eye's energy had depleted and he rushed over to attack the eye destroying it. Belljar said that didn't matter because there were more rooms where that came from. Tenchi just wanted the gift basket though and as he charged forward expected to fight real as well as holographic enemies. He soon was proven right as Belljar unleashed a new experimental feral robot that was on all fours and had a tail ending with an energy gun.


The fight was made even worse as Tenchi was introduced to rage mode. When Tenchi caused enough damage to the robot it would emit a sonic roar and execute a series of attacks that Tenchi had to parry. The result was Tenchi looking really cool as he parried and delivered a final blow. Belljar rewarded Tenchi by having more robots attack while he generated holographic volcanoes which started spewing lava rocks into the air. As the lava rocks came down and exploded on impact, Tenchi was using his Bracers magnetic energy grapple to zip through the area unscathed.


This caused Tenchi to come into view of the gift basket and all he had to do was land on the platform to get it. A program staff member concerned with the spending yelled, "The budget spending is reaching critical levels!" Belljar incensed yelled, "I don't care! Just take the money allocated for bonuses!" Rig shocked and saddened screamed, "No! My bonus!" And just like that more money was spent to create holograms to attack Tenchi. Tenchi defeated the robots and tried to claim the gift basket but Belljar appeared and flicked it away revealing it to be just another hologram.


Tenchi, upset, yelled, "No!" as Rig said, "The gift basket!" Patty, still not believing the two of them, tried to make them feel better by saying, "Guys, we can get a gift basket at the Northwest Campus gift shop later, okay?" Tenchi and Rig felt it would have to do as they reached a higher level. Belljar appeared and created three volcanoes drastically draining the budget in the process. Large lava rocks were raining down as Tenchi managed to evade them reaching a second AR room.


The enemies were tougher and more numerous but like before Tenchi, Patty, and Rig beat them all. The eye was destroyed and Belljar was about to show Tenchi the futility of his resistance. As Tenchi entered Belljar's office, he pointed at Tenchi and said, "And so Mr. Tenchi finally appears!" Tenchi pointed at Belljar and said, "That's Mr. Tenchi to you!" Belljar confused said, "That's what I said." Belljar then explained that it was all over as the ultimate weapon would now be unleashed. The giant robot was being assembled and readied to attack Tenchi, but the budget was running out.


Patty told the team it was almost gone as the robot's head was being lowered into place. Belljar overjoyed said, "And now Tenchi Masaki! I am... defunded?" The budget had officially run out and all further actions by Research and Development were immediately stopped. This led to a rather awkward and embarrassing situation that had Belljar fall to the floor in defunded defeat. Patty and Rig appeared as Tenchi walked toward Belljar to finish him. But then Belljar suddenly tried to attack Tenchi with a sword. Tenchi dodged the strike and swung Djinn around smacking Belljar in the face and sending him flying to the side and exploding leaving the digital key behind.


It flew past Tenchi but Patty caught it and ran over to the computer console to get answers. What Patty found proved once and for all that Project Gemini was about controlling people and that it had to be stopped. The team began to make their way back to the hideout but they were ambushed by Double and Polly. They ran and broke through a large glass panel and began sliding down at high speed to get away. Tenchi told them to split up as they went down he went up and began ziplining with this magnetic grapple.


The others managed to get away but Tenchi wasn't so lucky. He was caught by Polly's security forces. Double walked over to Djinn lying on the ground and said, "You steal my tech and want to be a sigh, rockstar. To do what exactly?" Tenchi defiantly said, "Taking you down." Double shot back, "Well you won't be taking anyone down now will you? One out of four Polly? That's not exactly a passing grade." Polly quickly said, "He knows where the others are. I'll get him to talk." As Tenchi was knocked out Double kicked Djinn over the side to fall into the lava.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

When Tenchi woke up all he heard was Polly yelling, "Oi!, Oi!" while snapping her fingers. He was sure he'd appeared back at the hideout but when everyone started complimenting him and then sitting around him and snapping along he felt things were not right. Patty then told him he had been captured by Polly and needed to wake up already. What he got instead was actually Polly in her traditional Irish accent yelling Oi! (hey!). It had occurred to the others that Polly was not trusted completely based on her lack of information on Project Gemini and Tenchi decided to test that theory.


He kept bringing up Project Gemini during the interrogation. And also why was she working for Double in the first place. She explained that Project Gemini was just a firmware update and that she went to work for Northwest Direction and Double was the new boss. She didn't want her parents to be upset with her so she couldn't lose her job over conspiracy theories. Tenchi said she should look into Project Gemini like a good Jr. detective and see for herself. But Polly wanting to act professional told him she had enough of this Gemini nonsense and that he had until tomorrow to talk. After Polly had left to her office Tenchi mimicking her Irish accent said, “Now get this Gemini nonsense outta yer system!” Now he needed to find a way to get out of his cell and back to the others. But just then S.O.S. dropped through the cell’s ceiling vent with Djinn and after reuniting with Tenchi they were off.

As Tenchi raced through the Security department he came across numerous security nodes that had fallen out of place. Patty told him he had to knock them back into their positions so that the energy streams could flow properly. Rig and Patty helped Tenchi reposition the large spheres back into place whenever he came to ones that needed it. The result was the security department’s technical issues were fixed by Tenchi. This led to Polly announcing that the experience left her with mixed feelings as Tenchi was wanted but was solving problems as well. This would have helped the team out in the end probably except Tenchi entered the vents and ended up in Polly’s office looking down at her from above.

The team had decided to say “pretty please with sugar on top” would hopefully get Polly to crack and give them the password. But the vent grate gave way under Tenchi’s weight and down he and S.O.S. fell crashing right on top of Polly. S.O.S. clung to Tenchi's face as he squirmed around on the floor trying to pull her off. Polly had been checking on Project Gemini and seeing very suspicious things about but all of those thoughts were replaced by the sad sight before her. After Tenchi removed S.O.S. from his face he nervously said, “Polly! This is not what it looks like!” But it was too late Polly thought she had been ambushed and now readied for battle. As she said, “I’ve had enough of yer blarney!” she leaped into the air and pulled her two retractable attack rods from their holsters on her belt.

Polly began pacing in a circle around Tenchi ready to strike. Patty and Rig told Tenchi to not be too rough since they needed the password so he should just knock her out. Tenchi had to parry her attacks after she jumped toward him causing her hits to be directed back at her. While this was happening, Tenchi was trying to reason with her while she used the opportunity to get back at Tenchi. She said, “This will teach you to give me extra homework!” as she jumped in and began attacking. Tenchi parried her strikes and said, “Homework makes sure you're ready for unexpected things!” Polly said, “I’ll show you unexpected!” as she combined her batons into a staff and spun it around. A green swirling wind shot toward Tenchi causing him to dodge it barely.

Tenchi now had to deal with her attacks and wind which had to be avoided. As the battle went on Polly became more injured from the parries and Tenchi said, “We don’t have to fight anymore; you know there’s something wrong with Project Gemini.” Polly, thinking for a moment, said she wasn’t sure about things. NTMG said, “You are using de-escalation Tenchi very wise indeed.” Then Tenchi said, “Or are you too oblivious to figure that out?” Patty not believing how clueless Tenchi was shouted, “Oh come on!” while NTMG said, “You really blew it Tenchi.” Polly became enraged and attacked with even more ferocity than before. Tenchi felt he may have misunderstood the word oblivious' meaning.

Once Tenchi had worn down Polly again, he had to run to catch her as she fell from the air. Having Polly was one thing, escaping with her was another as Tenchi kept managing to bump her head into every door he went through. But he made his way to her personal hover lift and sped off down the route. Double had detected the intrusion by Polly and decided to handle things personally this time so to speak. He remote controlled robot with treads and sped off to confront the two.

As he arrived he announced himself and felt the need to remind Tenchi he was not impressed by him. He said, “Polly you’re just not good at your job.” As a hologram of Double appeared inside the hover lift’s cabin he continued, “Bypassing my security to access restricted Gemini files is a big no-no.” Polly surprised still mustered the ability to say, “Why would you hide the truth from me!?” Double flatly responded, “I need people trusting my vision; you failed that test.” Tenchi said, “I won’t let you build an army of mindless Northwest soldiers!” Double now surprised said, “What are you talking about? That’s not my plan, it— sigh.” Tenchi with a determined look in his eye said, “Just drop it, Double. We’re coming after you.” Double said, “Actually, it’s funny because see, I’m coming after YOU. Literally.”

Outside Tenchi and Polly heard something approaching from the rear. When they went to look they saw a giant robot gaining on them. As he came into view Double said, “You’d never understand the potential of Gemini” As the robot caught up to them it slammed into the rear of the hover lift Polly yelled, “What’s the endgame!?” Double responded, “I’m securing our future. Please even you can figure that out.” Polly said, “By controlling the consumers!?” Double said back, “It’s not control! I’m FREEING them.” Tenchi walking forward said, “That’s not how I see it.” Double annoyed said, “I don’t need to explain myself to a defect. All you do is hit things with a guitar.” Tenchi smugly replied, “But I’m REALLY good at it.”

Had enough as he said, “Argh! I’m over this! You’re not getting in my way any longer kid.” Double then proceeded to charge two energy cannons on his mech as Patty speaking through S.O.S. Told Tenchi to get out of there. Tenchi however refused after all they had been through as Double aimed the cannons at Polly and said, “Oh, and for you, Polly? You’re fired.”

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

The beams fired forward as Tenchi ran and pushed Polly out of the way. The hover lift was knocked off the tracks as Tenchi and Polly fell below. Double said, “Hmm, ”You’re fired”?… Oh, OH, I should have used the flamethrower. All right, well, there’s always next time.” Double turned around and went in the opposite direction upset at his missed weapon pun combo opportunity. Meanwhile, back at the hideout, NTMG was trying to wake Polly up. She had been injured in the fall and in order to hasten her recovery Patty and NTMG had given her arm Bracers. When she came to, the team told her about what had happened and Polly decided to join them in order to stop her former boss.

Three boss’ remained for the team to go after and to Polly’s dismay, the next one was Sarah Nade. Sarah had become quite conceited as head of the Marketing Department. It started out small at first but being on the occasional advertisement poster went to her head. Why hire models to be spokespeople, when you can do it yourself? Her ads started to feature her likeness more and more until it was centered around her as the “Face of Northwest Direction”. It was commercials and promotional music events from there as Sarah fully embraced the role of spokeswoman. It ironically made her strategically space out public appearances as the build-up to the masses seeing her lovely face was just as good as the event itself.

The fans mattered because they made her important from the only thing she cared about anymore, public opinion. She was the princess of popularity, the angel of the airwaves, the goddess of glory. As she awaited her showtime she gazed into her vanity mirror meticulously fixing her makeup as prerecorded video clips played around the area outside as the time drew near. Her robot entourage was hurrying about making sure everything was in place before the show started. Their leader would make sure no detail was left out and no defects would get in.

Tenchi arrived at the museum where he was told during a team briefing that the auditorium was connected to the museum building. All he had to do was navigate the museum to get to the backstage area and ambush Sarah in her dressing room. As Tenchi ran through the museum it showcased the origins of Northwest Direction and VILE. It was unsurprisingly narrated by Sarah and featured moving cardboard cutouts. As the origin stories of Northwest Direction and VILE was told however Patty, sitting in her chair and watching on her console became more and more annoyed. She and Rig felt that the dioramas were mocking Pricilla Northwest and Carmen while making it seem that the company and thieves guild respectively didn’t matter until Double became the CEO. The final straw was a diorama explaining how it was Double who created Bracer Tech and made the world a better place.

All of the Team warped in as Patty ran up to the cutout of Double and ripped it from its place. She threw it on the ground and stomped on his face screaming, “Liar!” Tenchi said, “Why do I feel more out of the loop than usual?” as Patty explained, “I wanted to be my own person. I ran away from my family when I shouldn’t have. I didn’t know it would lead to this.” Polly, concerned, asked Patty what was wrong as Patty continued, “Double didn’t create Bracer Tech I know this because this leg bracer was made by my mom.” Tenchi said, “Your mom has a competing bracer company.” Patty almost expecting Tenchi to be wrong said, “No! Tenchi. My mom is Pricilla Northwest.” Tenchi was surprised that Patty would reveal this to everyone as up to this point only the citizens of Gravity Falls and Tenchi and Kylie and Carmen were aware of this fact.

Rig in a calm tone said to Polly, “Now this makes a lot more sense.” Patty said, “Double’s always taken advantage of people but I didn’t think he’d take things this far. I’m not even sure how he was adopted and named CEO of my family’s company either. I know what you probably think. You think--” Tenchi interrupted saying, “Who cares. Did you think we wouldn’t talk to you anymore? We got this far because of you. We’re all here because of you.” Patty replied, “Yeah, but...” Tenchi went on saying, “And I’m here fighting because of what you found, and what you’re trying to stop.” NTMG said, “And speaking of Mister Tenchi is the one in the most danger.” Tenchi responded, “Well yeah, there’s that. But that’s, like, secondary or something.”

Rig stepping forward said, “Double doesn’t define who YOU are.” as Polly added, “And this doesn’t change anything.” Tenchi said, “It only gives us a stronger reason to fight. As friends.” Rig shed a tear as he said, “Tenchi, that was... beautiful mate.” Patty looking at Tenchi sitting beside her said, “So, you wanna go... crash a party?” Tenchi returning a smile said, “I’d like that.” As the team headed out Tenchi said, “You know I REALLY wanted to say that “crashing the party” line since we got here. But its okay, you can have it.” Tenchi raised his fist for a bump as Patty pressed her fist to his, smiled and said, “Alright.” Djinn said, “Oh so is this another date then? Well alright kiddies, I’ll record everything again then.”

The team saw a promo rap video featuring Double and girls that looked like Patty, Kylie, and Carmen as backup singers and dancers. Patty put her fingers in her ears and hummed in the hope of drowning it out to no avail.

Double’s the name and I’m cool with fame
I give the cool away when you say my name
(Double, Double, Double!)
That’s my name!
(Dubbie D!)
If you call me on your phone and you can’t get through
Remember I’m Double and you gotta dial 2
When your call gets through whisper in my ear
Like a homegirl tell all the things I want to hear
(Double, Double, Double!)
That’s Mr. D to you
(Dubbie D)
Gotta go
(Don’t go Double, Double, Double, Double! Giggle)​

The team felt the sudden bombardment of ads and promotional material was pretty pointless since everyone there was a volunteer for the Bracer Tech program. They already were in awe of Northwest Direction and felt it could do no wrong.

Just when the team was thinking it couldn’t get any worse though, an unexpected theater section telling the story of the “Trans-Syberian Case” played out as a live-action movie. Curiosity got the better of them as they entered the movie theater. The inside was filled with posters about the heroic efforts of Double Trouble in Siberia. The team made sure to buy the appropriate level of overpriced sodas and snacks before they sat down and watched the show. It started by showing what appeared to be Zalmoxis from the rear, but as the actor playing him turned to the camera it revealed that it was a cheap suit with a helmet mask showing a still expression of the titular foe. To make things worse the acting was terrible and as a voice off-camera said, “We will stop you, you wicked creature.” The camera cut to actors who were playing Tenchi, Patty, Kylie, Polly, Ann, the Peaky Blinders, Klaus, Oscar, and Kate Walker.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

After a very badly delivered laugh Zalmoxis said, “No, it is I Zalmoxis that will defeat you! Hiya!” Tenchi halfheartedly said hiya as well as they were both pulled into the air by visible strings and proceeded to start a shockingly bad fight choreography while saying random fight cries. As the movie cut to another scene, all the heroes were now on the ground and defeated as Tenchi said, “Rats, we have lost. Why did we think we could ever win?”. Zalmoxis said, “Wuhahahaha! Ha, ha, haha! You random group of strangers were not hard but easy! And now I will blow up the world!” A sudden voice then said, “I don’t think so! Your plans end here!” The movie cut to a dust cloud blowing away revealing an actor playing Double standing heroically as the sun shined on him.

Zalmoxis said, “Hmm, you look very strong. Take this thunderbolt, ha!” As the actor said this the camera cut to him stepping on a button letting the audience know that it was just tricks and nonsense not real energy techniques. This seemed to be alluding to the fact that Double considered others winning to be nothing but luck and cheap tricks. It was kind of sad to see he had told himself that his poor performance in that adventure was not his fault and that the hard work done by Tenchi and his friends were suddenly cheating and sleight of hand magician tricks. Then both Tenchi and Patty also realized they had found themselves in a movie theater... watching a movie together... based on their adventures in Siberia. The urge to hold her hand was strong but Patty’s “boy is trying to hold your hand” sense was stronger as she diffused the situation by offering Tenchi gummy bunnies from her candy box.

Tenchi got a handful of gummy bunnies but at least they were her gummy bunnies. Of course no girl could hold out forever as Patty’s stress limit was reached as no one could endure a movie this cringeworthily bad for long. Patty knew she had to keep up appearances and gripped Tenchi’s gummy bunny-filled hand and squeezed hard to keep from losing her mind at how bad the acting and retelling of the story was. NTMG said, “That’s more like it. Physical contact during stressful times will help alleviate the psychological scarring that this movie is sure to cause.” Even though Rig only helped Tenchi and Carmen in Europe even he without asking knew this movie was not being honest and planned on writing a scathing review on the “Spoiled Carrots” review site.

A buried explosive went off under Double leading Zalmoxis to think he had destroyed him. As he laughed, “Muhahahaha!” Double said, “Quit that laughing.” Zalmoxis surprised said, “Oh gee, but why did you elude?” Double confidently said, “Your simple tricks don’t work to effect me!” Zalmoxis stepping on another button said, “Feel my ghost spray!” Two spears shot up in a cross pattern from the floor as Double grabbed them and broke them both in half. As Double said, “Nothing you do can scare me!” Zalmoxis then fell on his hands and knees as he said, “Oh darn, and now it is me who is afraid! I beg you to pity me!?” The movie crowd was cheering wildly as being in the Northwest ecosystem they believed anything the company said without question. The only saving grace was they believed it was just a movie and not real.

The camera cut to Double now with a fiery resolve background effect as he said, “No, haha! How can I spare a bad fiend like you!? You are a bad person and you do not wish to change!” As Zalmoxis screamed like a little girl, Double came over and began punching and kicking him. As Double delivered his special Twin Kick, Zalmoxis was sent flying into a large rock and onto the ground. The camera cut to Tenchi and Patty as Tenchi said, “Double is great! I’ll never be better than he is!” as Patty said, “I wish he was my boyfriend! He’s the choiciest!” Zalmoxis rose up and taking a ridiculously dramatic pose said, “I am beaten! Argh!” leading to a special effect explosion going off. As the camera cut back to a close-up of Double facing the camera with his hand displaying a peace sign saying, “Justice always wins!” The screen faded to black as THE END was shown in cheap bold text along with a caption reading, “Everything shown was 100% true no matter what Tenchi says.”. As the lights came back on, every member of the team had been so stunned by the sheer level of horrible that they all were frozen still with their eyes widened in disbelief.

Double’s ego and recklessness made him an embarrassment to VILE and he and his brother Trouble had to sit out the rest of the mission on Dirk’s airship. All they did from then on as VILE continued facing off against ACME and the other factions in Siberia was to be sore losers and jeer any news about Led Zeddelin and Tenchi Masaki that wasn’t negative. So they were mostly jeering the entire time though they seemed to not mind at all. They agreed it was far better than playing Golf on Led’s airships any day. This led to the point of outright spreading false information to cover up the truth.

What Tenchi and Patty also realized was that their hands had become stuck together by the gummy bunnies that had melted. Polly, seeing this showed them the back of the gummy bunny box so they could read the warning for themselves. She as well as regular snackers of Slick Foods products knew the dangers of improper snack use. The warning said under any circumstances do not clench or hold hands with anyone when gummy bunnies are in your hand as if they melt, they will harden like glue. No matter how hard they pulled, the candy gunk would only stretch a little before snapping their hands back together. Patty thought it was embarrassing, and Tenchi thought it was too good to be true.

Tenchi trying to ease the situation said, “Well it was ridiculous and untrue, but it was fairly entertaining.” The team all decided to give the movie a 0/10 for complete rubbish while the Spoiled Carrots critics' score had it at 100% fresh. Polly said, “I think Spoiled Carrots is rigged.” as NTMG said, “Well of course it is. You humans love giving yourselves false praise whenever you can as well as supporting corrupt movie industry practices in order to increase investor profit margins. Also, as a side note, You two may feel highly threatened by the fact that your hands are stuck together for all to see. But worry not the physical analysis I’ve taken means that 63% of the random strangers you see staring at you and judging you every second find that you look good together and also hope you are enjoying your date.”

While the financial reasoning was true it also pointed to Northwest Direction’s tightly controlled image. Positive public opinion was key to higher sales. But it was sad to see Sarah who was also involved in Siberia go along with this propaganda film. Double was made the whole reason Zalmoxis was defeated and everyone else was just a spectator; the opposite of what happened in Siberia. NTMG’s assessment didn’t exactly calm Tenchi or Patty down but that’s where Polly came in. She told them that other unfortunate people in their situation learned that a legendary couple had some of the soft drinks spilled on their glued hands.

Patty couldn’t take it anymore and angrily said, “This is ridiculous! I’m trying to stop an evil brainwashing scheme and I’m stuck with you! Look Tenchi, our hands are stuck together so I guess I’m yours forever now. Not that easy.” Tenchi upset by this said, “Excuse me I don’t think a crook should be telling me anything. Do you plan on giving me back my hand, Patty? I heard you were a sticky-fingered filcher, but this is too much!” The two of them hurt by their words could only look away from each other for the time being. Polly meanwhile was determined to tell the fairytale story to them.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

Polly said, “Once upon a time there were two people who sat next to each other in the theater. Everything was fine until their hands touched and the gummy bunnies melted without them noticing. When they tried to pull them apart, they could not and the girl was sad to know she would hold the hand of a random boy who was kind of cute forever. But the boy was holding Slick-onade in his other hand and after being bumped by a rude person it spilled onto their hands and loosened them a little. Dashing to the concession counter the boy ordered a huge XXL tub of popcorn and enough Slick-onade to fill it up. They placed their hands into it and besides a tingly sensation that made them both vow to never drink it again, their hands were now free. They were so happy that they exchanged phone numbers and texted each other every day after that until they got married and lived happily ever after. THE END.”

Polly said that after that fateful day, movie theaters knew to have a Slick-onade Fountain installed in case people got themselves stuck and all they had to do was stick their hands into its magical liquid to get unstuck. Tenchi and Patty felt the reason wasn’t magical but rather industrial but nevertheless, they were out of options. Polly told them that there was now a tradition where if two people got their hands stuck together the gummy bunnies melting would turn the Slick-onade different colors. If it turned red like it did for the legendary couple then they were totally meant to be together any other color, and no one would really care either way. Happy he didn’t have to pay for more drinks, Tenchi and Patty made their way to the Slick-onade Fountain.

A large crowd gathered as they realized what was happening. Word spread near and far that “two chosen by the bunnies” were going to test their love in the Slick-onade Fountain. They both were blushing from all the attention and wished people would mind their own business, but it was no use. Guys watching the event were saying he was so lucky to go with her while girls were wondering when their lucky day would come. Looking at their hands the gummy bunnies were a multicolored mess, and they didn’t see how it could turn a single color at all. But Polly told them to trust in the power of the Fountain. With all eyes on them they both looked at each other as they stood over the bowl where Slick-onade flowed into it and then back into the Fountain.

After nodding to each other they placed their hands into the Slick-onade and felt a tingly sensation as the legend described. Tenchi and Patty both were feeling bad about what they had said earlier. They also were worried about Slick-onade side effects which led the two to make up. Patty said, “Um Tenchi I’m sorry I yelled at you I was just freaking out from that ahem, “movie” and the gummy situation.” Tenchi said, “Well, Patty I’m sorry for calling you a sticky-fingered filcher your more than just a thief you're also a friend.”

Patty smiled and she said, “If I had to have this happen, I’m happy it was with you. You’re the choiciest Tenchi.” Tenchi said, “I feel the same way, Patty.” Tenchi not being able to live with wondering about it for the rest of his life said, “So um, Patty, was tonight supposed to be a “whatever”.” Patty nervous said, “I don’t know. Are you saying it was a, “you know”?” Tenchi unsure said, “No, I don’t think it was necessarily a “whatever” unless you think it was a “you know”.” Patty feeling even more nervous as she said, “Me neither.” Tenchi and Patty couldn’t stop nervously laughing as Tenchi said, “I can’t believe all these people thought it was.”

Their nervous laughter bounced back and forth between them as when one laughed the other did too for a few seconds. Then they locked eyes and started to slowly move closer together. Polly couldn’t believe she was getting such good pics as she snapped away with her camera. Suddenly Patty coming to her senses said, “We’re free!” The Slick-onade turned blue, however, and they were just maybe hoping for... another color. But then the color changed from blue to red as apparently the various artificial dyes and chemicals used to make it had to settle first. As they like the legendary couple before them, vowed to never drink Slick-onade again. The assistant manager observing the proceedings said, “And so it has come to pass! Another couple has taken the required Slick-onade baptism and made their holy vows! And also understand that we are in no way legally responsible for any side effects suffered from Gummy Bunnies or Slick-onade consumption. May they be happy forevermore!” The crowd erupted in cheers as popcorn rained around them as they hurried out of the room as fast as possible.

As the team used mental coping techniques to recover from the horrendous propaganda they saw, they readied for the Auditorium. The fireworks were going off all around as volunteers filed into the stadium to see Sarah. Tenchi asked what the plan was, and Polly said, “Get to the backstage area; her performance is happening soon.” Patty told him he had to move quickly to make it in time as Tenchi and S.O.S. dashed off.

Sarah’s entourage regretted informing her that the intruders had not been stopped in the museum. Sarah angered at the thought of not performing, yelled, “They will not put my show at risk! I am going on NOW!” The children’s choir would have to be stuffed into the DJ tent as Tenchi realized he couldn’t ambush Sarah now. Tenchi made it to her dressing room and Sarah was nowhere in sight as he looked around and saw only a goldfish costume hanging on a rack. Suddenly he heard her entourage coming saying they were looking for 24K Fish. As they burst into the room their leader pointed and said, “There he is! Get him onstage!” The group charged at Tenchi in the goldfish costume and lifted him over their shoulders and ran off.

Tenchi was thrown into the area beneath the stage as they told him to run in order to make it in time. Sarah was meanwhile having all eyes on her as she said, “This is so amazing. As the face of Northwest Direction, I just want to thank you for being a part of Project Bracer. Everyone put your hands in the air! This is so on-brand it's amazing! You’re going to be great out there.” As Tenchi reached the stage lift elevator, he was launched upward and onto the stage where Sarah was. The crowd went wild at the sudden appearance of a Northwest biggest selling merchandise character 24K Fish onstage. Sarah was not amused however as he appeared earlier than planned.

Tenchi removed the costume and said, “Give us your Gemini password!” Sarah infuriated, quickly regained her composure as she said, “YOU! You ruined--! Actually.” Sarah addressed the crowd s she said, “You’re all about to see a really cool set with my special friend here!” Then as she turned back to Tenchi she said, “I am the queen of spin. And this is MY show! ASSISTANTS!” Sarah then told the crowd, “And you out there get ready for the show! Hit it!” Sarah’s dress skirt suddenly unlocked in front revealing it to be Bracer wings that spread wide behind her as she took a dramatic pose. Sarah flew into the air as Tenchi removed the rest of the goldfish costume in order to fight Sarah.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

Tenchi began attacking Sarah but nothing he did had any effect on her. Polly said her dress must be shielding her; Patty agreed and told him he would have to stun her first. Polly warped in to assist Tenchi as her attacks had a stunning effect on the larger enemies they fought. As the rest of the team attacked Sarah was stunned and knocked back. She gracefully recovered with a spin and said, “Let’s make things more fun! And turn down the lights.” Sarah’s assistants were now the only ones illuminated by the stage lights until they too went out. Tenchi had to avoid Sarah and her assistants in total darkness. As the lights came on around them The team had to attack them fast before they could. Sarah called in the band which lined up at one end of the stage and danced while playing trombones towards Tenchi.

Tenchi jumped over them and pulled himself toward Sarah with his bracer’s energy grapple. He spun around mid-air and hit Sarah with Djinn. Sarah was knocked back and was tiring from the constant attack but gathering herself she said, “The crowd is in the palm of my hand. And all they want is a real performance. Let’s see who they want more.” Sarah and her assistants started doing choreographed dances and clapping as Tenchi started playing Djinn to the beat. As Tenchi was performing the crowd took his side until Sarah was defeated. Sarah opened her dress and said, “No one takes my place and lives to tell about it!” Flying into the air, Sarah charged her wing up until she started shooting lasers at Tenchi with her hands.

Tenchi blocked and parried the beams until Sarah charged at him where he then leaped into the air and knocked Sarah to the ground. Sarah slowly rising said, “I can’t lose here. I’ won’t lose here.” Tenchi walked forward as he said, “Some things you just can’t spin.” He knocked Sarah up into the air where she proceeded to explode in spectacular fashion. The digital key fell back down and was caught by Patty as Tenchi said, “I’m feeling this stage guys.” Patty said, “You’re the choiciest, Tenchi.” NTMG cut the power as the team made their exit. Double via hologram came in and ordered them to be found. He saw a drawing of Patty saying, “See you soon creep.” Double then ordered the entire campus to be shut down.

Meanwhile back in his office, Double spoke to Baron von Wasteland saying, “Even Polly is with them now? I’m surrounded by fools.” Baron said, “But there’s only you and me now.” Double then was told by Baron that he had shielded the tower and not even a mouse could get to them. Double said, “What do you know about security you’re the accountant.” Baron warned Double not to upset him only for Double to say, “Good. I want to see just how angry you can get if they make it here.” Baron said, “If that happens, they’ll be sorry.” Double said, “Now it’s time for coffee.” Baron reminded Double that the café was closed. Double demanded it be reopened immediately as coffee was far too important to go without. Double then said, “Project Gemini will be accelerated. We’re going to settle this like family.

It was a certainty that Patty didn’t consider Double to be family. He was adopted by her parents and Carmen had named him leader of VILE while she was away. There was nowhere Patty felt safe anymore. But that changed once she met Tenchi again; he always had a habit of showing up when she needed him most. She remembered how she went without hesitation to see him in Siberia on that ghastly train. He still helped her out then just like he had been doing again now. Tenchi said, “Okay guys were still down two passwords; Double’s and... Finance Guy.” Patty said, “You mean Baron Von Wasteland?” Polly said all the robots had formed a defense perimeter around the building.

Rig said, “How do you know that?” Polly replied, “I got an email about it. They haven’t removed me from their manager mailing list yet.” NTMG said, “Not even your ego is big enough to overcome them, mister Tenchi.” Rig dismayed said, “If Tenchi can’t take them then we can’t blast through to the building.” Tenchi’s brow furrowed as he said, “Blast through to the building...” Patty said, “Why are you suspiciously repeating those words?” Tenchi told them that he had a plan.

Tenchi decided that fighting through the robots wasn’t necessary. He just needed to go over them using the fireworks cannon on top of the QA building. He credited Patty with knowing what had to be done the whole time and thought the plan was foolproof. The others, however, felt the plan was foolish and had little chance of success. Patty figured Tenchi knew her words were supposed to be sarcastic, and Rig felt they should try the plan because Tenchi was so enthusiastic about it. And with the team in agreement, Tenchi used the cover of darkness to get through Production.

As Tenchi came crashing down on top of the roof of the QA building, he said, “Woo! What a wild battle! I wish you could have seen it! Rig said, “I can’t believe you didn’t die!” Polly said, “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” Tenchi agreed and also felt that they should never mention it again as he went over to the cannon. Patty told him to sync S.O.S. to the cannon so that NTMG could aim it properly at the building. Once it was targeted at Wasteland’s office Tenchi hopped inside. As Tenchi said, to himself, “This is the greatest plan ever.” The team in the hideout said together, “This is the dumbest plan ever.” Patty then said, “Sigh, Let’s hope this works.” as she pressed the return key on her keyboard causing the cannon to shoot Tenchi forward.

As Tenchi sailed through the air a blimp passing through blocked his path. As Tenchi hit the blimp he bounced off and crashed through a different window in the Northwest building. The team saw he was in the cafeteria; filled with robots eating. They immediately put their lunch plans on hold and charged Tenchi. Tenchi fought through them and ended up upsetting the chef who realized he had made all that food for nothing. Rig grabbed Tenchi and told him to get out of there as he threw him behind him and onto Polly’s baton staff. Polly launched Tenchi up to the second floor of the cafeteria where the chef came crashing through the wall and said, “No one messes with Northwest cuisine.” He extended his skillet handle so he could use it like a katana and attacked.

The team had to deal with him and other robots he called in until he was struck down. As Tenchi continued on the team knew they were getting close to Wasteland's office. Over the intercom, Wasteland shouted, “Lockdown the hallways! Make sure the intruders are stopped at all costs... *snicker* Hahaha, I said costs.” Patty groaned in annoyance as the bad puns were getting to be too much. As Tenchi came out to the atrium, he saw a giant statue of Double. Polly told him Wasteland’s office was to the upper left where the balcony was. Tenchi began grappling from point to point to get there faster but the flying robots were not about to let that happen. Tenchi screamed, “Craaaaaaap!” as he was suddenly knocked away and fell into a tree. He then tried ziplining around to get to the balcony.

Baron said over the intercom do whatever you can and he would pay for it as Polly said keep moving forward. Tenchi said, “First of all Polly I was gonna do that anyway; second I am an adult.” Patty remarked, “Says the guy who shot himself out of a cannon.” Tenchi found himself on the shoulder of the Double statue as he made his way up higher by climbing up it. Once he reached the head, Rig warped in to help with some redecoration. Rig said, “Take this statue Double!” and punched Double’s head off revealing the balcony was straight ahead. Tenchi grappled over to it and ran inside.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

Tenchi saw a phone on a pedestal ringing and as he picked it up and said hello, Wasteland said “If you are trying to get me... I’d turn and run away.” Tenchi refused to make a deal with him as he said, “You think I’ll let you stop our plan? Leave profits on the table?” When Tenchi told him he didn’t care about money, Baron said everything was about money and hung up. Tenchi saw the glass doors in front of him open up and Tenchi decided to go inside. Polly warned him to be careful as there were people who said he was “wise as a dragon and just as dangerous.”. Tenchi entered Baron’s office and saw to the left and right of him multiple samurai robots in glass cases and Baron on the other side of the room straight ahead of him.

The office was ornately decorated with Japanese motifs and sayings alluding to profits and business advice in kanji. Tenchi ran up to the desk and ordered Baron to give him the password. Baron said, “Of course take it. *tch* What do you think I am dumb?” Tenchi told him it was worth asking for only for Baron to get angry. He said, “I was struck by an illness and Double cured it. Carmen was wise to put him in charge of VILE.” Tenchi said, “Why? Double’s not a very good leader from what I’ve seen.” Baron decided talking was a waste of time and more importantly money as he gave a sinister smile and leaped onto his desk. Suddenly the Fifth Symphony started playing as Baron transformed into a giant Toxic Bracer Dragon!

As the Bracer tech finished encasing and transforming around him into a Bracer armor suit, he now stood 15ft tall! As the neck and head finished forming over his actual head, Baron said, “Where’s your courage now kid?” Tenchi said, “Polly. That dragon thing. Was NOT AN EXPRESSION!” Baron leaped over Tenchi with his wings spread wide and landed behind him. Baron’s Bracer helmet licked its teeth as he said, “You wanna get to Double? You gotta get through me.” As Baron roared loudly the room shook as he unleashed his fury. The team began warping in to assist Tenchi in taking him on as Baron stalked his prey. Tenchi made sure to avoid swipes from his glowing poisonous claws as he attacked when he saw openings.

Soon Baron was sent flying back causing him to transform back into his normal self. Baron said, “You’re only making me angrier.” He ran toward Tenchi while changing back into his dragon form. And as the Bracer formed its neck and head section, he hit Tenchi hard with a punch and sent him flying back into the treasure vault door. He quickly closed the distance grabbed Tenchi in his hand and whispered, “Let's take this somewhere more private. We don’t want to disturb the neighbors now do we?” Baron crashed through the Vault door sending Tenchi flying to the other side of the room where Tenchi landed and slammed his Bracer hand into the ground to stop sliding. He then rose up and grabbed Djinn and walked toward his feral enemy. Patty seeing this was quite worried about Tenchi though she also felt a guy bravely facing down a dragon was quite impressive.

Tenchi preferred to be doing anything else as Baron rushed toward him swiping furiously with both arms. As the fight continued Baron suddenly roared and prepared to fire his dragon beam at Tenchi. Polly was warped in and together the two of them fired a beam to block it and then overpower it. This sent Baron flying back again and into his normal state. He said, “Gemini... the profits we’d leave on the table.” Tenchi confidently said, “The quarterly report is in; and you are out!” Baron annoyed said, “Wow, that is so wrong I don’t know where to start correcting you.” Tenchi swung Djinn and caused him to spin around Baron. He then ran forward grabbed Djinn and hit Baron through the glass wall. Down he fell into the treasure room and disappeared under the gold coins.

Baron then slowly emerged from the coins walking towards Tenchi as he said, “I buy stock in futures. But not yours kid.” Baron again changed into his dragon form and continued the fight. Tenchi then knocked Baron back causing him to simply remove his chest, neck, and head to tell Tenchi directly with a laugh as he said, “It’s funny that you think you can beat me. But as long as you keep making me mad, I’m not going anywhere.” Baron reactivated his chest neck and head to start attacking again as he said, “It’s time to cash in, by taking you ou--!” A new shipment of Quarterly profit money had arrived and unfortunately for Baron, he was right under the pipe. All the profits crushed him under its weight as his passkey popped out of the pile of coins. When Tenchi regrouped with the others Tenchi said they should have seen the last part of the fight. NTMG, however, told him that they were watching and Polly suggested letting him deal with Baron since he was so scary.

Now all that remained was Double. Polly asked Patty if she was ready for this and Patty told her that it will be over soon. NTMG interjected saying that Double was scheming, and Tenchi was daydreaming. Tenchi told the group he needed them to be positive for this and Patty shouldn’t let emotion get in the way. Patty told Tenchi all she wanted to know from him was where her mom was. Tenchi thought she had retired but Patty said she stopped making appearances ever since and Double might know where she was. She wanted to apologize to Tenchi for how bad things were when they met in the beginning. Tenchi told her not to worry about it and soon they were going to make Double pay.

As the elevator arrived at Double’s office, Patty said, “Now it’s just you and us Double, and nothing is going to get in the way.” But as they ran inside Patty's eyes widened as she said, “Mom? And Carmen?” The two were standing facing the office desk and slowly turned around as Pricilla said, “Pacifica.” As the team walked toward the two, Carmen’s pendant glowed causing an energy barrier to surround the team. Pricilla said, “And that’s as far as you’ll come.” while Carmen said, “I thought I trained you to be more cautious Patty.” Patty not believing what was happening said, “Mom I tried to find you and Double’s doing bad things.” Pricilla said, “Gemini. I know I promised to help him and I won’t let anyone get in the way.” Rig said, “Pricilla. Carmen, no, you can’t be a part of this.” Patty then said, “Unless they’re being controlled by...” Tenchi finished her thoughts as he said, “Gemini.” Pricilla and Carmen speaking together said, “Double’s finest work. And able to seduce even the most stubborn of minds.”

Double walked forward letting the others see that it was him making them repeat his every word. Polly sickened said, “You stole Patty’s own mother and Carmen too!?” Double responded, “How else could I have made Patty’s parents adopt me and become the leader of Northwest Direction and VILE? I wasn’t exactly Carmen’s favorite.” Patty disgusted said, “Let them go.” Double said, “You think Gemini is bad but it really isn’t. It simply convinces people to use the Northwest ecosystem.” Polly said, “Wait, you mean this is a ridiculous plan to sell stuff!?" Double replied, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to make things that people want!? It’s very, very, hard! I’m tired of trying to figure out what size, shape, color, and how many to make! Gemini takes the headaches away! Because now I’ll make that decision for you.”

Rig said he was enslaving people only for Double to claim it was freeing them. Tenchi said this evil scheme was so... corporate. Double said, “I know right? But look at you wanting a Bracer to become an sigh, “rockstar” You’re nothing without my technology. You chose it and soon you’ll get everyone else to as well.” Patty said, “Bracer Tech was meant to help people. It was mom’s idea!” Double replied, “Well Gemini is mine and now who’s in charge!? Me! We’re getting near the time for Gemini to start transmission later losers.” Double left the room with Pricilla and Carmen following him. Tenchi hit the wall as hard as he could, but it did nothing. As Tenchi began to doubt himself the team told him that he didn’t need the Bracer and his character led them as far as they had come.

 

[Tenchi Masaki]

Tenchi then heard NTMG mention that the forcefield was harmonic. This caused Tenchi to try something as he placed his hand on the wall, he felt the rhythm and matched the beat to his, hoping that he could send enough energy to overload the forcefield. As he did the energy kept increasing until finally the forcefield shattered. Tenchi led the team as they jumped through the glass and landed down on the bridge Double was walking across. Tenchi said, “Hey Double, we got beef!” Double said, “Okay screw this! Do what you need to just stop them.” He then walked into an elevator and went to the top of Gemini Tower. One of the robots hit a button that retracted the bridge walkway as Tenchi undeterred said, “Team split up, and let’s get this jackass!”

Tenchi made his way around the area as the team helped make way for each other. As they were progressing suddenly, they started getting attacked by a giant robot. Tenchi remembered it was Belljar’s final project as Patty said Double must have had it completed. The robot charged up a beam in its hand as Tenchi maneuvered to get out of the way. The robot continued to pursue Tenchi as Tenchi figured out an idea. As the robot punched through a wall, Rig grabbed its finger and held its fist in place Tenchi then rushed over and launched himself upward from beneath its arm and hit it. The arm broke off and NTMG started to run over to it. Once he saw he was able to use it the others dropped in to lift the huge arm up.

NTMG began to fire the energy cannon at the giant robot until he overloaded the beam causing a huge explosion. NTMG was blown to pieces as the team came over to what was left of him. Rig said he would fix him when they had time and Tenchi said, “Whoa, he is messed up.” NTMG said, “Stop Tenchi. I am fine. I am just glad to be useful.”

The team headed up to Gemini Tower and saw Double standing there. Patty said, “You are not going to do this.” Double said, “You know how you become a winner? By having the will to do whatever it takes. Something all of you lack.” Tenchi said, “Enough Double, you can't beat all of us." Double activated a forcefield separating Tenchi from everyone else and told Tenchi he could make him a real world-famous rockstar. Tenchi said, “Not interested.” Double then removed his suit revealing a Bracer suit underneath. He then activated Gemini and blasted Tenchi back as he said, “Another puppet, and this one should fare me better.”.

Tenchi rose and said, “I’m proud to be a member of the Northwest family.” Rig said Tenchi would never say that and Double explained that was the point. But before he could go on S.O.S. attacked him. Double threw Tenchi over to the Gemini mainframe and prepared to do battle with S.O.S. and no matter how cute she was he was going to defeat her. Double sent energy waves across the ground as S.O.S. jumped over them until she reached Double and attacked his hand the had the Gemini control on it. Once she knocked it away Tenchi was freed from its control and went to attack Double. Double activated the platform they were on and it raised up to the roof.

The energy pylons there charged up and infused Double with even more energy as the fight continued. Double said, “Too bad your little adventure ends here.” Tenchi began fighting double who unleashed his full power. Tenchi then attacked Double with each one of his teammates one by one ending with Tenchi attacking Double and hitting him hard onto the ground. Tenchi said, “It’s over. Give us the password.” Double defiantly said, “Never.” Tenchi and Double charged each other and locked their guitar and beam sword weapons together. Double then said, “You’re just a bunch of losers.” Tenchi said, “Maybe so. But together we’re unstoppable.” Tenchi then finished Double and knocked him away again. As Double slowly rose he saw Tenchi and his friends standing together and said, “Sigh, this is just too much work.” Double then self-destructed as that was easier than working hard to win.

The team was happy it was finally over as they raced back to the Northwest office to see Pricilla and Carmen. Pricilla said she was sorry things turned out the way they had while Carmen was sorry to see Double had fallen so far. Rig said it wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle as Polly said she wanted to make it up to Ms. Northwest. As Pricilla spoke to Polly saying she would be welcome there anytime, Carmen and Patty exchanged looks about the situation. They had used eye contact so much during public situations, or heist missions that it became their own language to them.

Carmen looked, “So I assume you and Tenchi did it again. Patty blushing looked back, “Well he just showed up here, and I, well figured I may as well ask for his help again tee-hee. He was really cool like last time in Siberia too.” Carmen looked, “Oh so you think he’s a cool guy and I think your mom does too. Actually, he saved your mom and your boss today, so we both approve.” Patty’s face going full red looked, “A-approve of what!? It was just friends helping each other out like always! Haha...ha.” Carmen looked, “You are aware your mother and I have been talking about when you two were younger and he and Kylie came to Gravity Falls right?” Patty looked, “Oh god! This is so embarrassing!”

Pricilla told Rig it was good to see him again and couldn’t wait for him to head Development again with NTMG too. Patty told her mom she was sorry she ran away, and they agreed to catch up on lost time. Tenchi remembering the meetings with either of Patty’s parents were never pleasant tried to excuse himself by saying that he didn’t exactly fit in with the rich corporate club, only for Pricilla to stop him and say, “Tenchi, I think you know yourself, that you are special, and make the most of what's given to you to make a difference. I feel that’s the kind of attitude we need here right now. And Project Bracer needs an ambassador, a leader; a real, “rockstar”. Are you interested?”

It went without saying that Tenchi was going to help out and the team began rebuilding the campus as well as Northwest Direction’s reputation. Pricilla explained to the public that the company's course correction was a result of several plans that did not work out carried out by the now ex-CEO Double. All the department bosses were recovering in the medical facility but that was just a cover story for the fact they were now incarcerated in a maximum-security prison. Baron, Belljar, Sarah, and Eartha, realizing they had been fooled by Double’s schemes, felt he got what he deserved. And the fact that he had to rely on technology to fight Tenchi was even more humiliating for him. Double, however, was, to put it mildly, upset. He kept yelling to all who could hear from his cell and said, “It’s a trick! It’s all a trick, one day I’ll bring it all to light! Tenchi could never beat me in a fair fight! I am Double the best CEO to ever live! Now get me out of here!”

Needless to say, most were not listening. And those with mental issues that still had informed him that they were Napoleon, Ceasar, Hannibal, and Ms. Potts. Carmen demoted Double back to the lowest rank in VILE as Trouble needed his brother to work effectively. The others were not punished as they were not aware of Double’s treachery. And all the ACME and VILE members simply knowing what had happened would be more than enough punishment for Double as it was.

Patty’s parents no longer had problems with Tenchi as her father's snobbish behavior was the primary factor in the first place. They were happy to know Patty chose nice descent boys to be friends with. Though they wondered why his guitar could talk, they fully accepted Tenchi after all he had done for their family. Tenchi and Patty were now free to hang out whenever they wanted and hang out they did. They enjoyed running from here to there spending every day fixing Northwest Campus with their friends. And also, on occasion they found themselves answering fan questions about that awful movie. It had become a cult classic, and fans of the movie were dressing up as characters and saying inaccurate character quotes from it. But otherwise, things were returning to normal and the two of them were happy to have saved those they cared about again.


THE END.