Author's note: I received a question concerning Tenchi and his crew--as in, where are they, and how will they rescue our heroines. Well, unless I get a million and a half requests for their appearance, I'm not going to include them anymore. Like I said in chapter 8 (The Island), the story's taking a new twist. I'm putting all focus on Ayeka and Ryoko now, and except for those times when the girls mention them in passing fancy, I'm not going to bring up Tenchi or Sasami or any of the others. So sorry. Oh, and for reader's convenience, …---… is Morse code for SOS. Just another fun tidbit.

Impromptu Constructors

With the coming of a new day (and another hard night of sleeping together), Ayeka and Ryoko were ready to put all their efforts into the next part of their project. They had gotten the basics down, now all they needed to do was construct a shelter in their tree-house and make several SOS signals. Ayeka willingly volunteered to donate all her skills and resources in making the rescue signs--yes, she was very willing to help Ryoko in that field…

But first things first. Ayeka's energy would be dedicated to helping Ryoko with the tree-house first, then all matters would shift over to the emergency signals and such. Now in order to make a decent shelter that could stand up to most any element, the girls would need building material for their tree. Obviously, this was going to be somewhat of a problem, but nothing that a little ingenuity couldn't pull off.

Because she could scale their new home easier, Ryoko would be responsible for assembling all materials at the top. Ayeka would be busy gathering the needed items from the surface. A primitive elevator had been constructed to help speed things up a little. Using some rope they had made from hemp plants (Ryoko thanked her lucky stars that Tenchi had owned an outdoorsman's guide to survival in his tiny library) and the box that contained Ayeka's diary, the girls were able to lift multiple tools back and forth between the canopy and the roots of the tree.

Ayeka's first chore was to gather as many rocks as she could hold. They would be used as hammers mainly, while sharper ones would pass as saws and scrapers. Ayeka had no difficulty in gathering an impressive load, but it took several trips to the elevator to hoist all the stones up. Once Ryoko felt like she had enough, Ayeka was now expected to go and find several strong pieces of wood. Ryoko could break the tree's numerous branches by her own strength, and by using her powers she could fuse wood and steel together, but she would eventually need extra material.

Once Ayeka had piled the wood into the crate, she was next asked to send up lunch. Obeying Ryoko for the time being, Ayeka went into her cave and retrieved four bananas. She sent half their numbers up, along with some pre-requested palm branches.

"Heeeeeeeeeeey!!" Ayeka looked up, hearing Ryoko shout from the top of the tree. "What're you trying to do, starve me?!"

"I ate two myself!" replied the princess, having to shout just to be heard. A pause.

"Oh, okay. Hey, bring some water and come on up!"

"I don't have any cups!!" shouted Ayeka, and she added an insult under her breath. Ryoko threw down an object, and it just barely missed hitting Ayeka on the head. At first the princess felt like screaming at the pirate, but her anger died as she glanced at the object in her hands.

"A canteen!" she squealed. "Ryoko, where did you get this?!"

"Whaaaaaaat?"

"I SAID 'WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?'!!" A small pause.

"I held onto it while I was being washed away in the ocean!" came a reply. "Don't ask me why, but I thought it might come in handy!"

"(Probably stole it from somewhere)," muttered the princess to herself. Still, she was glad to have some kind of liquid container around, although she had to question where it had been hiding while she cared for Ryoko. Ignoring the questions in her mind, Ayeka hiked back to the waterfall and drank her fill from the spring. She then filled the canteen up to the brim, tightened the cap, and carried the precious treasure back to the tree.

"I've got the water!" shouted the princess. From high atop the tree, Ryoko gave a thumbs-up that was invisible to Ayeka.

"Come on up!" beckoned the pirate. Ayeka snorted, knowing full well that the elevator could not hold her weight.

"You cannot be serious!!" she screamed. "Do you really think that this tiny little elevator can hold me?!" Ryoko muttered something in return, most likely about how not even the universe's strongest elevators could hold Ayeka, and descended down the trunk.

"Here," she said upon arrival. Squatting down, Ryoko clenched her teeth as Ayeka climbed on her back, and soon the duo was flying towards the top of the tree.

"You know, miss Ryoko," said Ayeka, "you really need to build some stairs here."

"Hey, don't think that I'm going to do all the work!" shouted Ryoko. "If you want steps, you're gonna help me make them!"

"Why I--!"

"Don't you give me that!" roared the pirate, cutting off Ayeka's yelling. "If you don't work, you don't eat! Weren't those your words??" Ayeka, now fuming mad, could only bite her tongue as she was forced to eat her own words. The taste, she noted, was exceptionally bitter.

Upon arriving at the tree, Ryoko snatched the canteen from Ayeka's hands and drank it dry. Ayeka frowned, wishing that she had saved even a little, but decided not to get mad over it. She had had plenty of opportunity to swallow all the water she needed, so it only seemed fair that Ryoko should have her fill, as well.

"Ahhh!" sighed the pirate. "Best water I ever tasted! Here!" With a smile, Ryoko lobbed the canteen over her shoulder. Ayeka caught it, barely, and almost slipped as she dove for the container. "Nice catch."

"Humph!" Ryoko chuckled as Ayeka snorted, and almost found the princess to be cute when ticked off. Almost.

"Anyway, we need to get started," she instructed. "First things first, though. We need to build a fence. Don't wanna fall off of this tree now, do we?"

"No," sighed Ayeka, and grudgingly asked her companion what kind of work she should occupy herself.

"To be honest, I have no freaking idea," shrugged Ryoko. "I haven't the first clue as to how to go about this."

"Aren't you supposed to be the survival expert?" asked Ayeka shrewdly. Ryoko sniffed and thumbed her nose a little.

"Hmph, well I don't know everything."

"The understatement of the century," sneered Ayeka triumphantly. Ryoko growled, slowly getting tired of the immaturity that was growing between them. Sure enough, it had always been hard for the two ladies to get along, but after living together in such close quarters for so long, nerves were fading even faster, whilst blood boiled quick.

"I really wish you'd act your age, princess," snorted the pirate. Ayeka only laughed.

"And who are you to give me that order, miss Ryoko?" Silence. Ryoko frowned, keeping her mouth shut in anger. Wordlessly, the fuming pirate turned around and gathered a pile of lumber in her hands. Without saying a word, she began to build a crude wall out of the wood. Ayeka smiled for a little while longer, sensing that she had won that bout. Eventually, though, she did chip in and help.

Even without the assistance of nails and sophisticated tools, Ayeka and Ryoko were able to build a fairly impressive shack on the top of that tree. Ayeka had became the proud constructor of an impenetrable fence of stone and rock, whilst Ryoko began stacking wood for the walls. Fusing the timber together with her powers, the space pirate was able to build a reasonable foundation for their new home.

Ayeka was mostly responsible for the roof. After being hosited up in the air by Ryoko, she gracefully placed the wood over the gaping ceiling of the shack. After applying a mixture of mud, sand, and gravel, a layer of palm branches and leaves protected the inner roof. Another roof was added to that one for good measure, and a second layer of leaves and branches covered this.

Ayeka was also responsible for interior decorating. After retrieving everything useful from her cave, including the mattress, the prim princess managed to make a fairly neat living quarter. The bed was placed in the upper right-hand corner of the shack, while a tree stump-turned chair was put in another corner. The baskets that Ayeka had made were scattered about inside; more would join them later on.

After reviewing their work, Ayeka and Ryoko shook hands for a job well done. Though small and somewhat cramped, the shack would provide sufficient protection from the beasts of the land. Food could be easily retrieved from the high branches, and much of the island's layout could be seen if one climbed to the very top of the canopy. Ryoko reasoned that their next job, making an SOS system, should start there.

After bathing in the ocean, the girls called another "truce" and took a well-earned nap. Once refreshed, the princess and the pirate drank their fill from the pond they had found and set about making several distress signals. Ayeka, the esteemed princess of Jurai, would shine in this task, for none desired to escape the island more than she.

Diary of Ayeka

Sixteenth of May

We have accomplished much.

I am currently gazing at the sunset from atop my new home. It is an awe-inspiring sight to see; I am grateful that we have found such a glorious place to live in. Of course, I will still like the cave that I found, but this house in the leaves is absolutely perfect. "Kudos" to Ryoko, I suppose.

Setting up the distress signals took up more time than I thought it would. We started by going to the most open and accessible part of the beach. We placed several stones and branches there, several stones in three circles like … Then, we stacked the piles of wood to make three lines, - - - Finally, three more large circles, … This will have to do for a period.

We have built many more fires since, and we have even set up a smoke signal for passing planes and ships. At day we shall use the smoke, and at night we shall use the flames of the torches. Also, we are using the occasional berry we find as a dye, so that a passing boat or plane will be able to spot the color red. If that weren't enough, I have taught Ryoko how to use semaphore, and she is proving a good student. She knows SOS and HELP well, and I believe that is all we will need.

So we have food, water, fire, shelter, and now a way of communicating to the outside world. Hopefully, we will not have to wait long for a rescue party to claim us. So until that day, we shall just have to stick it out here and wait. My patience will last as long as I need it to.

Hopefully waiting,

Ayeka, Princess of Jurai