A/N: Heh. Reviews are my crack. And jeez, I now know what to get all of you for Christmas (nakedrobinnakedrobinnakedrobinnakedrobin!!!!) As for this chapter…. Well it's long. Very long. For me.

Oh yeah, this chapter is dedicated to My-name-is-foxglove, as well as all of you awesome people who gave me ideas, criticism, and encouragement.

Disclaimer: blehhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (translation: I don't own but I'm to tired to actually say it.)

Once more, Kori stood next to her cannon, fear and anticipation shivering over her skin. She gripped her swab till her knuckles whitened. The deck was silent, Kori could hear Richard's lips part before—

"FIRE!"

Cannons exploded all around Kori; smoke billowed as the balls soared in a neat arc to the ship opposite of them. They were well aimed. At least five hit dead on.

The pirates Slade was so intent to capture manned a ship not even a third the size and glory of the Titannia, it sat almost listlessly a few miles off the rocky and cliff-marred coast. It wasn't the size of the enemy that gave Kori and everyone around her a horrible foreboding that sat like lead in her stomach. Even Richard had realized something wasn't right; he had argued with Slade about attacking even as the Titannia drew near the vessel.

The cold captain only sneered at him and inquired as to whether he was too scared to command his crew. The comment was dirty and low, the crew nearly hummed in protest before remembering who they were dealing with. Slade would probably kill all of them if provoked. It's best for simple seamen to keep their heads down when the commanders disagree.

Kori had felt the sting of Slade's words and looked fearfully at Richard. She almost groaned aloud at his tightened jaw and flat blue eyes. Oh they were attacking for sure.

"Stupid male pride," she muttered furiously, causing the sailor next to her to glance up in curiosity. Panicking, Kori glared, reeled her head back, and spit over the side of the ship. The man nodded slightly, reassured of her manhood by the beautiful ten foot distance. Hm. I'm getting better at that, she mused. Then she buckled down to help get the cannon in place.

Kori blinked, hurrying to shove the shot and gun powder into the cannon. The tiny ship was now listing to the side, coming closer… closer… dangerously close. Kori realized the ship had no intention of stopping.

"Get us out of here!" Richard yelled, pitching his voice above the sailors' cries of panic. "She's going to ram us—!"

"BOOM!" He never got the chance to finish. The shock of the two ships colliding ran up Kori's legs, shaking her entire being. The Titannia lurched beneath her, and suddenly she was sent head over heels. Landing hard on the deck, Kori winced and shook her head. Looking up, she gave a strangled yell, scrambling out of the way of the cannon rolling towards her. Snapped from its restraining ropes, it trundled along, unhindered by any limbs it happened to crush. Finally, it reached the opposite side and plummeted off into the water below.

"Get 'em!" a rough voice called. Twenty or so pirates rushed over the rail, waving swords, knives, and clubs. Drawing her sword, Kori glanced among the sailors beside her, letting out a breath of relief when she caught sight of Richard up and fighting. Her mind also registered Slade, standing calm amidst the fray, but before she could think about it, a heavy club was descending on her.

Pure instinct had Kori dodging left, then swinging her sword in for a clean thrust. Her sword nicked skin and her attacker wailed in fury. He changed direction of his club so fast Kori just missed getting nailed on the head. Instead, heavy wood collided with her left shoulder. Kori hissed in pain, her arm rendered useless. Ignoring the pain, she thrust once more, this time burying her sword into the pirate's stomach.

He fell, and Kori pulled her blade free. Retching, she looked around, dizzy with pain. The pirates, though aggressive, were at a serious disadvantage. Already her comrades had taken down all but a few, who were still fighting bitterly. What could they possibly hope to accomplish?

A cry made Kori glance out to the sea, dizziness clouding her eyes at the movement. When she could see once more, her heart dropped.

Immerging from cover of the jagged bluffs of shore was a gallant, majestic ship, nearly dwarfing the Titannia. She flew the Jolly Roger.

Rammed and securely locked to the smaller ship, there was no way the Titannia would out run her, much less move. So this was what had inspired the pirates to this suicidal fight. The perfect trap. Ambush.

Kori felt the oncoming of panic and despair. She turned her head carefully, meeting Richard's defeated eyes. She was right. They wouldn't survive this.

The men around her, sailors she knew and trusted, watched the approaching vessel, tightening the grips on their swords. She saw Vic emerge from belowdeck, a heavy cutlass in his one hand and a strange, handheld cannon in the other. Kori caught his eye and smiled grimly. He raised his eyebrow, hoisting the cannon on his shoulder. Kori's grin matched his, turning feral. Well if this was to be their last fight….

Richard shared in the sentiment, cracking his neck, limbering up for the fight. His lazy smirk made Kori's heart flutter, and for a moment she felt a pang of regret.

Pushing it to the side, she suddenly had a much greater worry.

Gar. And Raven.

Her heart stopped, even as the pirate ship drew up and pirates began to swing aboard. The yelling must have picked up. The din of chaos and the sailors' last efforts must have made some sort of noise. But Kori couldn't hear it.

They don't deserve this end.

She gave a wrenching cry, slamming her sword into a pirate's throat, then pulled away and sprinted to the door that led below. On her way she caught Gar, who was brandishing a knife and being completely ignored, despite his insults and threats.

"Ryan!" he yelped. "What're ya doin'!?! Lemme go, I gotta fight—yikes!" He winced, rubbing his neck from the whiplash of Kori jerking him around into the dim passage.

"Gar, I need you to do something for me," Kori whispered, pulling him along until she got to the kitchen. She began gathering food, as well as a canteen of water and two large kitchen knives. "I need you to get Raven to safety." Gar's bright eyes dulled in indignation.

"You want me to run away."

"No, I want you to do the smart thing. Do you have any idea of what they'll do to Raven if they get their hands on her?" Gar paled considerably. Apparently he had a few ideas. Kori let his imagination wander for a moment to emphasize the severity of the situation before stuffing the pack into his hand. "Exactly. Now let's go get—."

The door opened and in stepped Raven, hood up and pack in hand.

"—her." Both Kori and Gar stared at the dark girl who shifted uneasily.

"So are we going?" she asked quietly.

"How did you… nevermind. Come on, up through here."

Kori led them through a smaller door which led out to the opposite side of the ship. Once more outside, Kori found she could now hear the chaos around her with brutal clarity.

Helping Raven into a dinghy, and shoving Gar in after her, Kori grasped the lowering ropes with both hands, nearly blacking out at the pain in her shoulder.

"Take care of yourselves," Kori said quietly, taking in their scared, pale faces for what could be the last time. Gar gulped.

"You too, Ryan. And look out for Vic, I suppose. He gets to full of himself sometimes…" Gar trailed away miserably, and Raven put a hand on his shoulder. Kori, nodded once, then lowered the small boat carefully.

Well then. That was that. Swiping an arm across her eyes, Kori brushed away tears that had fallen.

She turned, decidedly not watching the boat paddle away. With a last sigh, she pushed her way back into the passage. Best make my entrance from the other side, lest they catch on to Gar and Raven's escape. Decided, Kori made her way down the hall.

She paused when she heard a strangled cry in a Raven's room. Who on earth?

Kori eased the door open, peering into the watery light of the cabin. Slade stood, pressed against Madam Millicent, before stepping away. The woman crumpled, sliding off of Slade's blade.

Kori gasped, immediately clamping a hand over her mouth. Slade turned, striding to the door and yanking it open. Kori stumbled backwards, scrambling away from the murderer.

"YOU!" he screamed, not quite in his right mind. He came at Kori, hitting her in the face before she could run. She crashed into the wall clutching her cheek, which had split open just beneath her eye.

With a quickness Kori couldn't counter, Slade grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her up and slamming her into the wall once more. Stars of pain exploded in Kori's eyes.

"Where. Is. The. Girl." Slade said slowly, a threat dripping off every syllable. Kori choked, her hands scrambled at the grip on her throat. She manage to speak.

"You (pant) bastard (pant)." With that, she swung her leg forward with every last scrap of strength she had left. She hit her mark and Slade dropped, roaring curses as he clutched between his legs. Some part of Kori took vicious satisfaction in his pain even as she reeled to her feet. She had not taken two steps before she felt it.

In a last, wild swing, Slade manage to catch her with his sword, slicing a deep cut down the length of her back. Kori faltered as searing pain swept through her. But she couldn't stop. Not now. She would not die by Slade's sword. Gritting her teeth, Kori continued her shuffling run until at last, she burst through the door.

The first thing she noticed was that the battle was over. The second thing she tried not to notice was the bodies that littered the desk. Hands flew into Kori's line of vision. Pirates grabbed her by the arms, knocking the sword from her hands. Kori gritted her teeth as her shoulder ached once more, and she could feel the blood dripping sluggishly down her back.

She struggled, bucking and kicking, cursing the pirates blue, even as one hoisted her onto his shoulder and swung to the pirate ship. Kori was thrown down to the deck, hands already securely tied.

"Ryan!"

Kori stopped her struggling. Jerking her head up (ow), she saw Vic and Richard, bound and kneeling. Both were badly beaten, bruised, bloodied, but they were alive. She nearly wept for happiness. They looked relieved to see her as well, though Vic's eyes clouded with worry.

"So you know each other. How pleasant." The voice was a deep bass, and Kori's skin crawled at the sound of it. Its owner leered down at the three.

The man was tall, with long, knotted white hair, though he looked to be in his thirties. He wore steel-tipped boots and a long coat, his skin beneath it puckered a raw red. Most striking about the man was his forehead, on which was tattooed a second set of eyes. They were alarmingly realistic, showing a red gleam that reflected in his true eyes.

"Trigon," Richard hissed, hatred lacing in his voice. The red man chuckled, though it provided Kori no comfort.

"So you've heard of me. Amusing. I take it you know my accomplice as well?" Slade stepped forward and Richard lunged at him, teeth bared.

"Slade, you traitorous bastard!" Slade walked to stand next to Trigon. Kori saw the slight limp in his gate and smirked.

"So where is the girl, Slade?" Trigon asked. Slade faltered and his calm mask cracked into anger.

"I was unable to catch her," Slade said stiffly. Kori nodded at Vic and Richard, who were sending her questioning looks. Again, they breathed sighs of relief. The exchange did not go unnoticed by the pirate king before them.

Once more Kori felt herself be grabbed by the neck.

"So, lad, 's there something you'd like to be telling me?" Kori was distracted from answering. As Trigon had jerked her upright, her shirt had slid down enough to press against her breasts, which were now free of the bandages. Trigon took notice of this, his eyes running from her face to her chest and back again. His thin lips spread into a lecherous grin.

Shit.

"Or perhaps I should say, lass." The deck went dead silent. Kori closed her eyes. Then she did the only thing she could think of. She reeled back, and spit.

Another good one. It hit Trigon dead in the eye. He yelled in disgust, throwing her back to the deck. Kori bounced on the unforgiving wood, then landed on her stomach.

Turning her head a fraction, she looked at Vic pleadingly. His worry was openly displayed on his face, but he nodded, calmly accepting. Kori half wondered if he had figured it out before.

She sighed wearily, and even as rough hands grabbed her arms once more (among other body parts), she refused to look at Richard. Avoiding his eyes, which were drilling into her, Kori hung her head, finally succumbing to the blackness.

A/N: okay now. I present to you 'Kori revealed'. I loved your ideas (ranging from hilarious to quite dramatic and sad) but I had to do it this way. No lie, it had been banging around in my head since the birth of this story. And I finally got to introduce Trigon! I was really excited when I thought up his part in my tale. And he wants Raven, get it? So canon! And, heh, I gave Raven some creepy psychic powers in this chapter. NO, not real ones. Just some more of that good old unexplained phenomena. No worries though, she and Gar aren't out of it yet. The story is winding down a bit though. The end is (kindasorta) in sight people! Now kiddies, I want FEEDBACK!

Oh. And Happy Thanksgiving!

PS. yeah. definately rated T.