Author's note: Awwww, wasn't that sweet?! I'm sure that maybe one diehard Tenchi fan will be screaming that I made them be friends, but come on… let them be buddies, won't you? No comments on whether I will make a romance (with T/R or T/A, of course!!!!!!!!), or even if I will have them rescued. For now, though, your insatiable thirst for action will be parched. It's high time something actually happened to these girls!

The Savages

Ayeka was woken up by a strange noise, and for the first time in her life, it wasn't Ryoko. True, her newfound friend was snoring rather loudly, and a trail of drool was trickling out of her wide-open mouth, but it was not the snoring that woke the princess up. As she rubbed her eyes and groaned, more foreign sounds came--from outside their house. Ayeka grumbled slightly, and wondered what the problem could be.

Gently, so as not to wake her friend, Ayeka slithered out of bed and crept towards the door. Slowly, she poked her head outside and scanned the surface. Her heart leaped when she saw a large convoy of boats wash up on the beach, but upon further inspection, her hopes were dashed and her fears were escalated.

The people that came out of the boats were of savage nature. Wielding strange ritualistic objects, primitive weapons, and scant clothes, the savages slowly began docking their boats on the beach, and got out to explore the island. Ayeka nearly had a cow as she saw several of the primitive men destroy their SOS system.

Her voice hoarse, Ayeka scurried back inside to tell Ryoko the news. Her friend was still snoring loudly, so Ayeka had to shake Ryoko several times before the pirate even opened her eyes.

"Nnnnhhh… Whutsgoingon?" murmured the other lady. Ayeka, too craven to get mad, gave her friend a look of horror as she slapped her to her senses.

"Ryoko, wake up!" squealed the princess. "Please, Ryoko, wake up!"

"Ughnn, what's wrong?" murmured the pirate. "Is Tenchi here?"

"Oh, if only it were so!" cried Ayeka. The princess literally dragged Ryoko out of bed, and forced her to look outside the door. Ryoko, too exhausted to protest, merely let her body become limp. However, once she got a good look at the boats and the savages and the destruction they were causing, her blood bubbled back to life.

"That's not good," she noted. Ayeka gave her friend a semi-hard love tap.

"No duh!" she said. Ryoko rubbed the place where she had been hit and gave Ayeka a face.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Anyway, we can't let these people ruin everything we've worked so hard to build."

"I agree," said Ayeka. "We've already suffered the worst that nature could throw at us; let us not suffer something like this." The princess turned around to grab some weapons, but Ryoko stopped her.

"Hey, you stay here and relax," she smiled. "I'll go kick their butts personally. You just stay here and be pretty--I mean, it's the least I can do after all the hard work you've been doing." Ayeka smiled coyly, and put her hands on her hips.

"I hope you don't expect me to actually do that!"

"But I do!" Ryoko winked playfully, and glided out of their house like a feather. Before Ayeka could chase after her, Ryoko knocked away several of the rocky steps that led up to the tree. Knowing that Ayeka hated the zip line with a passion, Ryoko had to knock the rocks away if she wanted Ayeka to stay put. Truth be told, she sincerely wanted Ayeka to rest--the princess had earned it. Of course, she secretly wanted to hog all the fun of blasting the savages herself!

As Ryoko plummeted to the ground, she screamed like a banshee. The savages scattered as she landed, and stared at her in horror and confusion. A few of the armed ones stepped forward, spears and bows in their hands. Ryoko only smiled childishly.

"Hey guys!" she squealed. "What's up?!"

"Grrr!!!" The savages roared out in fury, and their boldness multiplied as they stepped forth. Ryoko donned a faux mask of sadness and wailed out in pity.

"Aww, come on!" she sang. "I'm not a bad girl, really I'm not! I just want de mean ol' men to weave de iwand wight now!" The savages, though puzzled by her infantile performance, nevertheless advanced forth with weapons and sneers. One of them began barking orders to the others, and ropes were gathered. Ryoko snickered at the thought of being tied up by such primitive coils.

"Okay, no more Miss Nice Space Pirate," she sighed. Lazily aiming her palm at one of the primitive men, Ryoko gathered together her energy. Suddenly, before she could fire at the brutes, one of the men snuck up from behind and slammed a club against her head. Ryoko immediately lurched and fell to the ground, and darkness took over her eyes.

When vision was restored to her, Ryoko woke up to discover that she had been tied to a rock. Surrounding her were the savages, dancing and hooting like mad. Torches were lit, and decorative wreaths were over her neck. One of the savages, which appeared to be the leader, was especially dressed in exotic wear, complete with the skull of an animal on his head.

Ryoko smiled dryly as she regarded the scene. Either they were all about to get a whole lot more "friendly" with her, they were worshipping her, or else honoring her presence. Though Ryoko liked the thought of all three possible cases, she really wasn't one to be restrained, and a slight tug on one of the ropes caused it to--

--remain constricted around her wrist. The pirate sneered, and tried the rope again. It kept tight. Swearing mildly, Ryoko lurched forward, and yanked on the ropes with all her might, but only succeeded in wearing herself out. Apparently, these primitives knew their binding skills well. Not even Ryoko's strength could have broken such carefully-crafted threads.

As she struggled, the chief of the savages slowly stepped forward, chanting wildly in a tongue that no civilized person knew. The maniacal look in his eyes and the blade in his hand only suggested one thing: they weren't going to worship Ryoko, they were going to sacrifice her! Ryoko's topaz eyes bugged out as she saw the murderous gleam in the chief's eyes. They were going to kill her. They were really and truly going to kill her. She screamed out in horror, and summoning all her might, she yanked on the ropes until her wrists began to sing out in pain. But no, nothing would work--they were on there for good.

Ryoko fell limp, sweating and breathing wildly. They were going to kill her. She was going to die, alone, on this horrible island, by the hands of savages she should have been able to slaughter. It would not be by Galaxy Police forces which she met her end, nor by the Jurai military, or Nagi, or another bounty hunter, or even by an illness. No, Ryoko would suffer the worst possible death: here, alone, on this island, at the hands of savages that worshipped a pagan god.

Ryoko actually cried out of fear, and slowly closed her eyes as she accepted her fate…

"HEEEEYY YOOOOUU GUUUUUUUUYYYYYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A mighty shout erupted out from the heavens, and as Ryoko and the savages looked up, they spotted a wild-looking woman standing on the edge of the tall tree. She leaped onto the zip line, and let out a scream so loud and bold that it would have made Tarzan jealous. Ryoko gasped in shock as she realized that the woman was not screaming out of fear, but out of fun.

The woman leaped off the zip line as it neared the ground, and rushed over to where Ryoko was.

"Ayeka!" gasped the pirate. The princess grinned in triumph and held up her balled fist.

"No, it's… 'Space Pirate Ayeka'!!!! Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!!" As the insane woman cackled with glee, the savages roared out fiercely, and rushed forward with weapons aimed. Ayeka let out a shriek, and began cutting away at Ryoko's binds with a knife.

"And Space Pirate Ayeka says, 'Let's get the heck out of here'!!!!"

"Aye-aye, Captain!!" Ryoko shook out of her restraints, and ran after her wild comrade with the speed of a cheetah. Behind them, the savages growled ferociously, and gave chase to the two women. Ayeka shouted something about having seen this sort of stuff in a movie once; Ryoko couldn't help but smile, even as she escaped a grisly death.

"Here, hold on!" shouted the spacer. Ryoko grabbed Ayeka and scooped her up into the air, and the two flew away towards the mountain where Ayeka had first discovered Ryoko.

Once they reached a safe haven, Ryoko let Ayeka down and wheezed for breath. Both women's faces were flushed, and both gave the others an occasional glance. Finally, Ryoko spoke up--but it was clear she was trying to hide a giggle.

"'Space Pirate Ayeka'?" Ayeka shrugged, and laughed sheepishly.

"Well… I was rather… eh, feeling wild." Ryoko smiled and chuckled, and patted the princess' back.

"Well, if you're a space pirate, then I'm a princess."

"As you wish, your royal lowness," smiled Ayeka wryly. She winked, and Ryoko gave her friend a gentle shove.

"Seriously, though," sighed the pirate, "thanks for saving my life, again. Oh, wait, lemme guess: you only saved my wretched butt so that you wouldn't have to do all the work yourself, am I right?"

"No!" sang Ayeka happily. "I saved you because you're my friend!!" Ryoko's eyes widened slightly upon hearing Ayeka's heartfelt declaration, and a kind smile grew on her face. The girls spent the next few minutes smiling warmly and catching their breath, and Ryoko soon realized that their fledgling friendship was now absolute.