Well, here we are with a new chapter! Hmmm... some violence warnings here, and I have a very, very, very OOC cameo... you'll know it when you see it (though I did fix it a little...) Enjoy, people! It's my longest chapter yet!


Last Chapter:

Norington ignored both of them. He looked at the two pirates down on the floor with a victorious gleam in his eyes. "Well, I trust you will remember this as the day Duo Maxwell and Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped," he said, returning the line coolly. "Take them away," he instructed his men. Heero watched them haul the pirates up, his eyes still fixed on Duo.

#(#(#(#(#(#)#)#)#)#)#

The day, which had started out cool and clear, had degenerated into a foggy, steamy morass. On nights like this it was impossible to sleep. The humidity in the air kept everyone awake, and congealed on all available surfaces. The steam even penetrated the stone walls of the fort, where Duo and Jack were kept in a cell of the jails. Other pirates were held in the cell next to theirs, and were engaged in trying to temp a nearby mutt close. They weren't doing this for any reason even remotely resembling fondness for dogs or a wish to pet a dog before they were hanged, but for a far more simple and self-centered reason: in its mouth, the dog held the ring of keys that would open the jail doors.

A rope was held out to temp it, as was a bone, and soft whistles and cries of 'C'mere, boy,' rang through the gloom. (the mutt, it might be added, didn't budge a single inch for anything. And, to add insult to injury, it sat about five feet out of the pirate's reach and watched them curiously from there)

"You can keep doing that forever, the dog is never going to move," sighed Jack from the neighboring cell. He'd really had more then enough of the whistles and cries- and, he'd seen the dog's owner training it not to respond to calls like these.

"Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows, just yet!" one of the four pirates trying to lure the dog in snapped. Jack and Duo exchanged a look and a grin; they knew full well that every occupant of the fort would be too busy to hang them, come morning. They had seen the medallion.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Said medallion still hadn't been put back in its hiding place- mainly because Dorothy had yet to be alone. Ever since Jack had shoved her back at her father and Norington, she hadn't had a single moment when she could have enough privacy to remove it. She had been waited upon, pampered, fussed over, and was ready to scream. It was still happening, too- she was watching her maid, Relena, filling a pan full of coals for a bed warmer. What type of idiot needed a bed warmer on a night like this? But she let the girl go through the motions- Relena was very skilled at most of her work. Dorothy could always get rid of the pan once the girl had left.

"There you go, miss," the maid said softly as she placed the bed warmer (a covered pan on a long pole) under the covers at the foot of the bed. "It was a difficult day for you, I'm sure."

"Mmm. I suspected Commodore Norington would propose, but I must admit, I wasn't entirely prepared for it," Dorothy murmured dryly, without taking her eyes off of the book she held in her hands.

"I meant you being threaten by that pirate! Sounds terrifying!" Relena said in shock.

"Oh," sighed Dorothy. Note to self: chambermaid has no sense of sarcasm whatsoever. But she still needed to answer. "Yes, it was terrifying," she repeated after a moment. But in truth, it hadn't been, not really. It had been a taste of excitement she would probably never have again.

Relena was nattering on. "But, the Commodore, proposed! Fancy that. Now that's a smart match, Miss, if it's not to bold to say."

"It is a smart match," sighed Dorothy. And that was the problem. By social standards, the match was brilliant- but the man was boring as sin. It was all she could do to stop herself from counting how many times she could insult him before he caught on- just to see his reaction. Unfortunatly, in society, intrest mattered slightly less then the cut of his coat and which oprea he was currently attending.

Coming out of her thoughts with a start, Dorothy began to parrot what she'd heard about him. "He's a fine man. He's what any woman should dream of marrying." How she hated the word should!

"What about Heero Yuy, and his friend Will Turner? They're fine men, too," commented Relena. Her eyes took on a rather dreamy quality at the mention of Heero's name, but Dorothy didn't notice that.

"That is too bold," she said, icily, with a sharp glance at the maid. Dammit! If this simpleton of a girl could see her interest in Will, then others could, too!

"Well beggin' your pardon, Miss," the girl said softly. "It's not my place." With that, she quietly rose and left the room, leaving Dorothy to her thoughts.

And the problem was, the maid was right. Will was far more interesting, more real then Norington could ever hope to be. Compared to Will, Norington was a wound up doll, stiff and unanimated. Absorbed in her dilemma, Dorothy began to finger the medallion.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

The gloomy weather even had an affect on Will and Heero, as they were trying to fix everything in their shop that had been damaged or hurt by the rounds of fighting that had taken place. 'Trying' being the key word- Heero was staring at the gash in the pillar, where his hands had been pinned by his all too inventive opponent, for the third time in as many minutes. Will was starting to worry.

"Did that braided one hit your head?" he finally asked. It was tiring to do all the work himself. "I wouldn't put it past him. Bloody pirates." Will was still slightly sore over Jack's method hood of winning, and over Brown, of all people, getting credit for fighting the pirates.

Heero only nodded absently. He wasn't really paying attention, and this, was the final straw for Will. Heero always knew what was going on around him. Always. He usually chose not to react to it, but he always knew. Will was about to ask again, but Heero spoke first, surprising Will. It wasn't unusual for days to go by without hearing more then monosyllabic replies and grunts from Heero.

"Not all pirates are criminals."

This, more then anything else, shocked Will. Pirates were criminals! They robbed men, killed gladly, and caused chaos where they went. Not criminals? "What?" he managed to choke out. "Then what do you call the two who came through here? Jack Sparrow, and, what did Norington call the other one? Maxwell. They weren't criminals?"

Heero just shook his head. He had grown up far differently then Will, and had seen good men turn to crime because the rich had forced it on them. He knew Will wouldn't understand this until he had experienced it personally. It was true that Maxwell and Sparrow probably had several crimes on their heads, and most likely richly deserved the hanging they were going to get-... bright, twinkling violet eyes going dim on the end of a rope...- deserved the hanging they were going to get, but their actions proved they weren't truly black-hearted. Jack had hesitated to shoot Will, and Maxwell had risked himself to get Heero free from the gear axles. So it was unlikely they were all bad.

Will watched Heero drift off into thought again. Not criminals? What other word was there for a person who would steal another's wealth, and kill for a bit of gold? It couldn't be that Heero was going soft- Will knew that Heero despised murderers, cowards, and all those he saw as useless. But weren't pirates all three? Trying to get this line of thinking out of his head, Will went over to the door and looked out on the street.

It was quiet. Not even the rats or mice were making a sound. The only movement that could be seen was a lone cat, who was moving quickly up the street away from the docks. Will glanced over at Heero, earlier discussion forgotten.

Heero was now tense, all thought of pirates driven from his mind, for he had sensed it, too. Something was wrong.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

In the dank cells of the fort, the other four pirates had given up on the dog and curled up to sleep, and the guards were off playing dice with the other men. Why watch over locked doors? The only ones still alert were Jack and Duo. Duo had managed to keep many of his knifes, as they were all hidden but for the one in his belt, and was sharpening one methodically on the bars of the cell door. Jack was slumped against the wall, for all appearances asleep, but Duo knew better.

"When do you think they'll come?" he asked softly. No need to wake the residents of the other cell with this.

"Around 1 o'clock in the morning, probably," was the equally soft reply. "No one's on guard, then, and they like helpless victims best."

"I will bet you all the beer you owe me that those two from the smith shop run out with drawn blades, and start tearing into them," chuckled Duo. Especially the blue-eyed boy... he didn't look like he was ever off guard. Or ever anything but delicious...

"Sounds like them," Jack muttered. He opened one eye and peered over at Duo. What he saw made him smirk. On his partner's face was a soft, slightly amused smile. Jack had seen enough men in some combination of love and lust to know what that meant. He settled back into his slump. He considered it his duty to tease and torment his younger friend about his occasional crushes- just as Duo considered it his duty to laugh and deflate Jack's ego at every possible opportunity. This banter both helped them keep their perspectives of the world and cheered them up.

"You had fun fighting in that shop," he laughed softly. "Was it truly necessary to get that close to him to pull off a toss? You could have ended it with you knifes, by pinning him..." His voice drawled the last few words suggestively, and was rewarded for this by a slight blush that spread over Duo's cheeks.

"Wasn't enough room," Duo muttered. Oh, the images the word 'pinned' evoked... he quickly focused his wandering attention back on his knife before he managed to cut off one of his fingers.

Jack just laughed.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Jack's earlier prediction was a little off. He had predicted an arrival of about one... but it was closer to eleven thirty when a black ship slid into the bay. The other part of the statement was right, though- no one was alert enough to notice until it was too late.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Not even the two men walking past the guards at the fort noticed anything wrong. And the sentries were far more interested in when the next shift started then in what was on the water, though they did put on a semblance of alertness as the Commodore and the Governor passed, talking. "Has my daughter given you an answer yet?" asked the elder of the two men.

"No, she- hasn't, yet," Norington responded after a slight hesitation.

"Well," sighed the Governor, "she has had a trying day..." he quickly cast about for a different topic, and settled on an old classic. "Ghastly weather, don't you think?"

"Bleak," commented Norington without paying much attention. "Merely bleak."

Suddenly a dull thud was heard, followed by a loud crashing. "What was that?" asked the Governor in confusion, while Norington whirled towards the bay, where the sounds had come from. He knew that sound. It was- "Cannon fire!" he bellowed, tackling the civilian Governor out of the way as the next shot hit the fort walls, barely 100 feet from them. Quickly regaining his feet, the Commodore bellowed an alarm, rousing the fort "The regiment's on fire!" The Governor was left where he'd been pushed.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Inside that fort, the boom of gunpowder was clearly audible. Both Jack and Duo looked up, expectantly. "I know those guns..." Jack murmured. He quickly jumped up to look out the tiny window that was attached to their cell for light. What he saw down below made him grin. "It's the Pearl," he drawled to Duo, more in confirmation then in surprise. The other pirates, roused by the battle sounds, heard.

"The Black Pearl?" one of them gasped, drawing closer to the bars that separated the cells. "I've heard stories. She's been preyin' on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."

"No survivors?" Duo cried in an overdone parody of horror. "Then where did the stories come from, I wonder?" The other pirates paused, stretching their limited facilities to try and answer this conundrum.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Meanwhile, the cannonballs from the ship in the harbor were causing pandemonium at both the docks and the fort. Pillars were knocked over, people were sent flying, and the air rang with shouts, cries, screams of the wounded and endangered, and bellowed orders of action.

In the town, people were running everywhere, panicking. The explosive shots toppled walls, collapsed carts, and caused havoc among the unprepared and untrained civilians. Women ran in nightgowns and house dresses, men with only one boot, and children in every state of dress imaginable. Only one things was constant- the fear.

A small boy, face streaked with tears, screamed for his mother in the middle of a street. He never saw, or noticed, the cannonball that struck a set of loose scaffolding above him, sending it hurtling down on him.

But a passing girl did, and managed to scoop him out of its path. She didn't know whether the little one's mother would be able to thank her for it later, or if both herself and her rescued boy would live to see the woman come morning. The panic was too great to think of anything but the moment.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Into this chaos, the pirates sailed. Their long boats swept out of the cannon smoke, bearing yelling, screaming, torch-bearing pirates aboard them. The crew looked like everything pirates should- ragged, filthy, savage, screaming, with gold and bloodlust in their eyes. There were men who looked like they could have come from the next town over, men with the dark skin of Africans, men with the slanted eyes of the Orient, men who no one could say from whence the came. They were a ragged crew, but it was sure they could do one thing together- kill.

They held and swung all manner of weapons, from muskets and pistols, to swords and daggers, to hooks and chains. One odd little man, by the name of Jink, was even gloating over what looked like odd pots. As they reached the shore and shallows, the screaming mob jumped from the boats and rushed into the seething, panicked streets that were ahead of them, shouting and running forward...

Two among the lower ranks of the pirates paused, though. One was named Manny, and the other was called Wood, for the wooden eye he was continually popping in and out of an empty socket. Manny was waiting impatiently for Wood to stick the eye back in, so they could do some hunting. Once the small orb was in its place, they exchanged feral grins and followed after their ship mates.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

If panic and confusion had prevailed before, they now reigned supreme. The pirates raced among the town and townsfolk, killing, stealing, and destroying. There was no order, no rhyme or reason- it was like a mob scene, or a gang war. But in this war, only one side was fighting, and only one side was dying.

The pirates were everywhere, and into everything. Jink soon revealed exactly what his little pots could do- after lighting was looked like wicks on the smoldering ends of rope he wore around his neck, he tossed two of them into nearby window shop. Pausing only to note the following explosion with satisfied smirk, he then went chasing after a nearby woman who was fleeing in in a night gown. She screamed as the booms split the air, and ran faster, trying to escape the nightmare.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Duo's prediction was fairly accurate, too. Both Will and Heero had been part of the few who actually kept their heads when the attack had started. During the cannon barrage, they had stayed inside, knowing that being inside their sturdy stone shop was far safer then being out on the streets. But when the pirates had swarmed into the town, neither one was willing or able to sit out the fighting. Heero grabbed a brace of pistols, and two swords, while Will picked up his favorite sword and an ax off the wall.

They left the shop just as Jink went running past after the woman. Will demonstrated that he could throw more then a sword by hurling the ax deep into Jink's back. The smoking little pirate collapsed where he stood, and the two blacksmiths went to find more victims of their own, with Will grabbing the ax from the body as he ran past.

And there was plenty of opportunities for them- everywhere they looked, pirates were stealing, grabbing, assaulting, and terrorizing people. After a quick word, the pair split up, with Heero working his way up to the fort and manors while Will stayed in the town. They also agreed on something else, too- to kill every pirate they could find.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Up at the fort, the army was reacting. Finally. Men rushed down corridors, grabbing guns, and manned the cannons on the upper reach to fire back at the black invader in the middle of the harbor. This effort was impeded, though, because the fort was itself the main target of the shots from the ship. The gallows in the center of the courtyard was blown to bits by one well aimed cannon ball, and fresh holes were made across the curtain wall. Commodore Norington was striding around and giving orders with a competence and form that came from a lifetime career in the military. He might have been a pompous ass, but he was by no means stupid. "Fight the muzzle blasts!" he called. "Ready the full spray, fore and aft!" A figure stumbled into him as he finished bellowing the instructions to the men. "Governor!" Norington cried in surprise. He thought the man would have found some place to hide by now.

Not to sell Governor Swan short; he, though also rather foolish at times, was goodhearted, and brilliant in his own field of work. Sitting out a battle while cannon balls and bodies flew through the air was not his field of work. Both men were very well aware of this, and Commodore Norington took control of the situation before the Governor managed to get hurt. "Barricade yourself in my office," he instructed. The elder man only looked at him, in bewilderment. "That's an order!" snapped the military man, putting a steel into his voice. The governor looked at him as if seeing him for the first time- and turned to follow the instruction.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Dorothy, meanwhile, heard the commotion, and rushed to her windows. The perfect panorama view that her father had commented on that morning was more then enough to tell her what she needed to know. She saw the town, burning from both cannon fire and pirate attention. She saw the fort, firing at a ship in the harbor. And she saw the ship- the ship that, 10 years ago, had appeared to her through the mist. Her blood chilled at it. She had thought it might be a specter of some sort, maybe her imagination, but it seemed real enough. It was trading shots with the fort, at least.

A commotion nearer to the manor caught her attention. Looking down, she saw a band of pirates come rushing up from the town and through the gates. The lure of the rich manor house had been far too great a draw to resist.

Leaving the window, Dorothy raced for the stairs. Maybe she could block the door somehow, and delay them...

But she was far too late. Through some sadistic sense of humor, the gang stopped and pounded on the door, as if waiting for permission to enter. One of the footmen, who hadn't looked out the window, hadn't seen the pirates, and didn't know what was going on, walked towards it.

"No!" shouted Dorothy, spotting him. "Don't-!"

Too late.

"Hello, chump!" jeered Manny as the door opened, before lifting his musket and firing. Dorothy let out an involuntary screech as the man fell backward, and the pirates rushed in. As most of them raced into the dining room, looking for spoils, Manny and Wood looked for the source of the sound.

"Up there!" cried Wood, pointing to Dorothy with his torch. She turned and ran for her rooms, hoping to stop them there. The two pirates followed.

Quickly slamming the door and locking it, Dorothy turned and let out another soft screech, at finding she wasn't alone. Relena had apparently taken shelter in her rooms, too.

"Miss Swan," the girl gasped as they both dove to one side of the door. "They've come to kidnap you!" the girl babbled.

"What?!" demanded Dorothy. That made no sense! Why would of thieves want her?

As if sensing the question, the girl lowered her voice to a whisper. "You're the governor's daughter!" she hissed.

Dorothy paused. That made a horrible amount of sense...

Her thoughts of life as a hostage were cut off by the sudden banging at her door. The pirates had found her. "Relena," she snapped, turning back to the girl. "They haven't seen you. Hide, and at the first chance you get, run to the fort!" Leaving her maid with these orders, Dorothy turned and dashed to her bed chamber. There was something there that she could use for a weapon.

As she dashed past, the pirates managed to break the lock. Manny burst in, and spotted the edge of Dorothy's dressing gown whipping around the corner. Grinning, he ran after it... and ran right into a bed warmer swung at full force. Cross-eyed, he staggered back and fell.

Relena took her opportunity, and dashed for the door. She had had enough of violence! It was all so wasteful and pointless... as she raced for the stairs, she caught a glimpse of Miss Swan taking a swing at the other pirate. And so unladylike.

Dorothy's second swing was unsuccessful- Wood managed to catch the pole. He smirked, and started making faces at her, trying to spook the 'little girl.'

Dorothy glared at him. She was not going to let this filthy, thieving bastard frighten her! Quickly, she angled the pole, and pulled the trigger on the side. The cover slid open, dumping its load of hot coals onto Wood's head and shoulders.

"Guaaah!" the pirate cried, releasing the pole the bat at his shoulders and hair. "Manny! It's hot! It's hot!" While he was thus occupied, Dorothy rushed past him and made for the door.

"Come on!" snarled Manny, staggering up and dragging Wood after her.

In the foyer, pirates were running back and forth with bits of loot in their hands, ignoring the body of the foot man as he lay in the middle of the hall. Dorothy herself noticed him, but was more worried about the pirates chasing her then respect to a dead man. She darted down the stairs as quickly as a bed gown and slippers would allow- which of course wasn't near quick enough. Manny had almost caught her by the time she was near the bottom of the stairs. Then Wood jumped over the railing of the balcony, landing in front of her. She was trapped!

As Dorothy looked around wildly for a way out, another pirate, his hands full of looted gold, burst through one of the doors. Suddenly a whirring noise filled the air. Everyone, pirates included, turned to look for the sound, just as a stray cannonball crashed into the house, through a pillar, and strait into the pirate's gold. He was blown back through the doors he just came through, which were knocked off their hinges by the impact. While Manny and Wood stared after him, Dorothy lunged out from between them, and towards the now empty dining room. Her pursers tried to follow, but were temporarily blocked by the crash landing of the chandelier- it had been knocked loose by the cannon ball crashing through the pillar.

Once in the dinning room, Dorothy jammed an ornate candle holder around the door handles. That would keep them out for a bit, but the piece of crap wouldn't hold out for long; it wasn't Will's work. Looking for a weapon, Dorothy saw the swords that were mounted above the fireplace. With a smirk and a lunge, she had one in her hand- but was jarred out of her hopes by the fact that the blade refused to come free of it's mounting.

"No!" she hissed. What kind of idiot would keep swords that were only for decoration?!?

Her father, apparently.

The candle holder was starting to bend. Dorothy looked around wildly, seeking an idea...

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

In the cell, Duo had succumbed to nervous jitters, as there was nothing he hated so much then not being able to do anything. These jitters consisted of throwing his knifes at almost any moving target he could find. Two mice, three rats, five large spiders, nine little ones, eight cockroaches, and one thing that no one really wanted to look too closely at were dispatched as Jack and the other cell mates listened to the boom of cannon fire and rattle of muskets that echoed down to their cells. Jack was keeping his own tension controlled by monitoring the action through the window that was high in his cell.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Heero was carving through the pirates with an efficiency that bordered on the berserk. Any pirate near of him was as good as down, and several further away were dispatched by his pistols. The swords and blades he used to devastating effect, slashing among and through the pirates as if they were merely straw dummies. And, indeed, in comparison to his skill, they bore a striking resemblance to the practice bundles that were set up in the sword yard.

He paused in his movements, however, when he saw the mob scene that was currently the Swan home. Pirates were having what looked to be an orgy of looting, and at least two different fires could be seen. Heero wasn't going to intervene- a rich person could afford to lose a bit. Then he thought of Will's reaction if Dorothy got hurt. With a sigh and a muttered curse at idiocy in general, he started to fight his way towards the house.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

When Manny and Wood finally managed to force their way into the dining room, they found nothing. There was no one in the room, and an open window was prominently displayed on the wall across from them. Instead of immediately racing across to it, however, Manny turned to the room, smirking. "We know you're here, poppet!" he jeered. "Come out- and we promise we won't hurt you."

As he spoke, he moved slowly across the room, almost as if following a scent. "You've got sompfin' of ours, an' it calls to us. The gold calls to us."

In the hidden cupboard where the silverware was stored, Dorothy picked up the medallion and stared at it in the small sliver of light that came through the crack of the doors. Suddenly the light was blocked out. Dorothy looked up- right into the eye that Manny was peering through the crack with.

"Hello, poppet," he drawled. Then he threw the cabinet doors open.

"Parley!" Dorothy snapped out, before the pair could do more then aim their weapons.

"What?" demanded Manny. Wood just looked confused (as usual).

"Parley. I invoke the right of parley," Dorothy repeated. Trust these pirates to be so imbecilic as to not recognize one of their own basic laws! "According to the Code of the Brethren set down be pirates Morgan and Bartholomew, you have to take me to your captain." And her father had protested her reading on pirates!

"I know the Code!" Manny growled, in high indignation- or as high an indignation a filthy, illiterate pirate could reach.

Dorothy put no stock whatsoever in his words. "If an adversary demands parley, you can do them no harm until the parley is complete," she reminded her captors. And luckily enough, she had something that the pirates should be willing to do just about anything for...

"To blazes with the code...!" started Wood, raising his sword- but Manny smacked it back down.

"She wants to be taken to the Capin'!" he reminded Wood in a vicious rumble. He then turned to Dorothy, with what could only be described as a smug grin. "And she'll wifout a fuss. We must honor the Code." Manny ended this little speech with a mocking bow. Dorothy began to have a bad feeling about this... but showing that would leave her in a tactical disadvantage.

Besides, there was no going back now.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Heero- who by this time had made it into the foyer of the house- was nearly bulled over by the exiting Manny and Wood, who were dragging Dorothy after them. What happened next was very fortunate indeed for those two, for if it hadn't, they would surely have been two more in the collection of those who had been hacked down by Heero's blade, and they would never have been able to take Dorothy, thus changing the whole plot of this story.

What happened was this: the pillar from earlier, which had been punched through by the rouge cannon ball, gave into the inevitable (and gravity) and toppled over.

Right onto Heero.

He was close enough to the stump of the pillar that he was pinned- not crushed- but he couldn't get enough leverage to lift the heavy slab of wood off him. To add insult to injury, the angle he was held at made it impossible to get a shot off at their retreating backs.

They hadn't even noticed him- he was just another body in the looting mob. And in the smoke and dust, not even Dorothy had recognized him.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Back in the town, the pirates were still staging a riot. Two of them pitched a barrel through a tavern window; one was setting fire to anything handy; more were making trips to the boats, carrying anything that they deemed valuable- which pretty much was anything shiny that wasn't nailed down. Will was fighting a pirate who was wielding a hook and an ax. Jumping up some steps, the pirate got the hook around Will's neck and held him against the ax blade.

"Say goo'bye!" he leered, and prepared to swing his weapon.

However, another cannon ball came to the rescue.

It slammed into the mooring of the tavern sign that hung above the fighter's heads, causing it to swing down strait at the pair. The pirate spotted it first and froze, distracted from his victim. Will took the moment to duck out of the hook, and out of the sign's path. His foe wasn't that quick. The pirate was rammed through a large picture window by the force of the swing.

"Goodbye!" Will said cordially, before running off to engage another pirate. As he headed into the street, he noticed something that made his blood run cold: Dorothy, being pulled along by two of the despicable crowd that was currently over running Port Royal. "Dorothy!" he gasped, and started to chase after them, intent on causing serious mayhem. He was stopped however, by what was perhaps the last person he expected to see. Jink was standing in front of him, grinning. Will froze, Dorothy momentarily driven from his mind. How the hell...? The gnome of a pirate grinned evilly and waved goodbye- and a split second too late, Will looked down and saw the pot between his legs, with the fuse just reaching the end.

Luck was certainly working overtime for Will today, however. There was no explosion, and now the expressions switched- Jink looked puzzled, while Will grinned and started forward, his original goal of mayhem wrecking back in his mind. Unfortunately for Will, Luck being as fickle as she invariably is, the loot burdened pirates coming up behind him cold-cocked him with a vase as they passed, leaving him lying on the street. People, pirates and townsfolk alike, ran over and around, leaving him as one more casualty of that hellish night.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Meanwhile, back in the cells of the fort, Duo had demolished another 3 large spiders, 5 small ones, 4 mice, and one more rat. Jack was still ignoring him, still staring out the small grilled window.

Suddenly, he dove off his ledge, tackling Duo to the floor as an exploding cannonball blew a gaping hole in the stone wall off the dungeons. This was the purpose of having the cells against the outer walls; if anyone was going to be hurt or killed, they would be criminals, anyway. But if no one was hurt, the blows provided a fantastic opportunity: escape. For the four pirates that had been trying to catch the dog, it was a gift from heaven- for the other two, it was a mocking salute from hell. The hole was didn't reach far enough into their cell to be of any use. All they could do was watch the others escape. "My sympathies, friend," one of them said on the way out. "You've no manner of luck at all." Then he was gone, out the hole and down the rocks, beneath the cannon fire from the fort walls.

Jack glared, then stood and took a closer look at the hole- or, to be more accurate, at the small piece of it that protruded into their cell. "Hey, mate!" he called to Duo. "I bet all the beers I owe you that you can fit through this and bring back somethin' good to know."

Duo eyed the small opening with apprehension. "Maybe I could, but would I want too?!"

"Of course- you can check to see what the thieves are looking for, help yourself to a bit of what they've taken, and reassure your confidence that the smith shop boys haven't gotten themselves killed."

It would be hard to say just which of these opportunities appealed to Duo more (certainly it was one of the second two), but in the end, he went. He was able to dislodge more stones from the hole, and make it larger, but a number of pockets were ripped out before Duo stood outside the walls and ran off to the town.

Jack looked longingly after him, caught between annoyance that he couldn't go and delight that the Pearl was so close again.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Overhead, the moon finally came out from behind the clouds that had covered her for half the night.

#(#(#(#(#(#)#)#)#)#)#

A/N: Well? How'd you like what I did with it? (and what I did with Relena- I had so much fun writing that- and like I said, blame Catslaugh.) You know, of all the characters, I'm finding Will the hardest to write. I know his attitudes and everything, but it's harder to write an idealist, naive adverturer then I thought it would be. What do you think of him so far?

I now have three fics up- Yay! And it's very intresting to try and keep to a deadline in my house. You see, fics are considered recreation, not work, so I tend to get kicked of the computer while working on them... but it's fun to try and get around parental rules (if they're not here, they can't enfore them, hey?) so I manage. Thanks to reviews of chapter 4:

Shaeric Draconis:
Thank you! I was kinda worried about their meeting... did you like what I did with them in this chapter? Catspurr had a very fun time. They are soooo cute together- and they can be so clueless! I hope you liked it!

The Elven Archer Of Rivendell:
Many thanks for pointing that out! If I can find a spare millisecond or so (and that's harder then in sounds, believe me!) I'll fix it. See ya game day (ya know what I'm talking about)!

Shayde-chan:
::glom:: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I feel very flatterd. And I do agree, the most often fusion you see is replaced characters- second most often is long lost relatives. They can be good, but they do get old after a while... oh, and I agree with you about Elizabeth- there were so many times when she showed some spirit, but she never followed through on it! Dorothy on the other hand... (and I LOVE your description of her!) Glad to have amused you!

M-python-girl:
Drat. How much paper work did those darn knights have to go through to do that? I'll just have to find the new one. And if the holy grenade doesn't work, the not-so-holy bazooka will do just as well ::wink::. Both I and Catspurr thank you for the chocolate- it was very appreceated! I hope you like the new chapter!

See ya all next time- chapter 6 is a totally original scene by me- and it's the second meeting of Duo and Heero! Don't miss it!