Author's Note: My mind can be a scary place at times. And it's apparent when I dream. I think I might need to lay off the sentai so late at night because stuff like this happens in my dreams. I apologize in advance for turning things upside down. :) Fair warning, I do NOT know where I'm going with this, just going with the flow. Updates will be slow cause I'd kinda like to concentrate on finishing 'Pink and Red' and 'Black and Blue' before giving this my full attention. But when it's fresh in my mind, I gotta get it written, so here we go...

Disclaimer: Don't own it...

Kaizoku Sentai: Gokaiger

Things Are Not What They Seem – Part I

It was obvious what had happened the night before. It was no secret that the captain and the first mate had been lovers, but they'd never been so open about it in front of the others. That was more proof than was necessary that recent events had hit the captain hard. The need for the kind of comfort only the first mate could offer was strong. It had been some time since the green pirate had felt this, the pang of jealousy.

He'd shared his captain's bed before. They all had, at one time or another. But only the first mate had the captain's heart, saw the captain's tears, and calmed the captain's mind. It wasn't any wonder, really… they had been together for so long, been through so much. Aside from Pink and Silver, Green was still relatively new to the crew. Well, compared to the first mate, anyway. Though, he still wasn't sure he was ready to count Silver as a comrade, even though the captain had.

He sighed, staring through the open door to the captain's cabin. All he could see were red and blue jackets carelessly draped across the foot of the bed. More likely, that was just where they landed after having been thrown. Whatever activities the two pirates had been involved in had been long over, but he could still feel the heat in the air. It wasn't like him to feel this way. Green might be the color of jealousy, but it wasn't an emotion he often felt. But he would give anything to trade places with the first mate.

He briefly considered driving his closed fist through the cabin door, especially after having listening to soft sobs that could only be coming from his captain. He felt a knot in his chest, wishing he could be useful. After all, the captain wasn't the only one affected by the situation. They were all taking Yellow's betrayal hard. Though he knew the captain and first mate both took it the hardest, they'd been betrayed before by someone they cared for.

It didn't make things easier.

"Joe…"

His breath caught in his throat a minute when he heard his captain softly call his name. Both hands clenched in tight fists, though he desperately tried to tell himself to relax. He wasn't at all bothered about having been discovered. His captain probably knew he was there since he woke up almost an hour ago.

"Joe, you don't have to stand in the doorway… Come on in…"

Joe Gibken didn't like the tremble in her voice. The red pirate, named Scarlet, was usually a strong, proud, woman. She didn't show weakness, even to her crew. Except her first mate, Marvelous. Joe understood, but that didn't mean he had to like it. But she was now inviting him in to help support her through this time of weakness. Apparently she was taking this harder than he believed.

Don Dogoier was a dead man. Marvelous and Joe would be fighting over who got to fire the killing shot, but he was going to die, nonetheless. It really wasn't a problem that the Zangyack now had the Ranger Keys, except for their own. They could just reclaim them. It wouldn't be the first time it happened. It was, however, the first time that they were handed over to them by one of their own comrades. Neither Scarlet nor Marvelous gave their trust lightly. So when the engineer turned his sword on his captain, right in the middle of an already losing battle… Joe could have sworn he had heard her heart breaking… Every other sound seemed to have dulled in comparison…

"Joe, please…" He almost sensed desperation in her voice. And that was all that was needed to shatter whatever reservations he had. While he really had no desire for a threesome with Marvelous, his captain was asking for his help. She was practically begging. That, he couldn't refuse.

He took a few steps into the room, stopping just inside the doorway. He met Marvelous' eyes briefly as the first mate stood from the bed, almost fully dressed, grabbing the blue jacket. His footfalls were heavy as he walked to the door. Joe found that he couldn't stand to look at the pain in Marvelous' eyes, and he wasn't ready to face the pain in his captain's. He forced his eyes down, and couldn't help but let his gaze linger a moment on the opening left by Marvelous' unbuttoned shirt.

Joe had never been attracted to other men, but he had a strange desire to run his hands over the man's chest, fingers tracing the scars he could see, wondering which ones were left by the men that had betrayed the first mate and captain. His eyes darted back up to meet Marvelous' when the blue pirate came to a stop beside him, shrugging into his jacket. They held a silent conversation for a moment before Marvelous finally left, closing the door behind him. It was a moment longer before Joe finally managed the courage to look at his captain.

Her back was to him, sitting on the side of the bed opposite of the door. The bed sheets were wrapped around her, as if she was trying to hide herself from the world, from the truth.

"I don't understand, Joe…" She completely avoided his eyes while he quietly stepped around the end of the bed, pulling the sheets tighter around herself, as if struck by a sudden chill.

"Marvelous and I were so careful about choosing our crew… You were the only one brought in on a whim… yet… we never questioned your loyalty. You never gave us a reason to. None of you did…"

"Why Hakase…? Right?" He hesitated a bit, mentioning that name, especially the sort of pet name in which they called the yellow bastard. She cringed, just slightly, simply nodding in response.

He stood directly in front of her, but she still avoided his gaze. He couldn't help but reach out, gently running his fingers through the mess of burgundy curls tapering around her slender face. He was surprised when she leaned into his hand as he lightly brushed her cheek, accepting what comfort he could offer her.

"I don't have an answer…" He took a chance, sitting on the bed beside her, brushing her hair back away from her face. Green eyes, bloodshot from tears long dried up finally met his. "But you don't want to talk…"

She gave him a very small smile as she pulled one arm out from under the sheets, reaching behind him. "I wanna forget… pretend it didn't happen… that Marvelous and I didn't make a mistake in judgment… but we both know that's not gonna happen…" She tugged at the tie binding his hair until it snapped, letting loose his dark locks.


What the hell…? That was the only thing that came to mind when Joe bolted upright from where he'd fallen asleep on his workout bench. Now… his dreams were usually filled with things he'd much rather forget, things in his past… but this was the first time he'd ever dreamed of something so… off-the-wall was the only way he could describe it… It wasn't silly, there was nothing at all hilarious about the dream…

This was also the first time the dream was so vivid, so real, that it lingered for a long time after he woke from it.

He might have considered just brushing it off as just a dream, except for the entire crew had been withdrawn into their own little worlds. He briefly glanced at each of them before his gaze lingered on his captain. It looked as if he hadn't been the only one that had seen something not quite right in his dream.

He studied Marvelous' face for a long time as the red pirate sat in his captain's chair, brows twisted in deep thought. He'd seen this look on his captain's face before, but he didn't know if he dared to intrude. It usually meant Marvelous was dwelling on some dark memory that he'd much rather have forgotten about. But considering the content of his own dream… Joe considered for a moment if he should just come out and ask him…

He frowned as he studied the others as Don walked, or rather stumbled in, carrying breakfast dishes. All eyes, except for their captain's, turned to the green pirate as he shakily laid the dishes down onto the table. Don hardly noticed as Joe noticed he seemed to be dwelling on his own thoughts. Don was shaking, and he almost cowered back into the kitchen when he felt the others' stares. But not once did he dare look the others in the eyes.

Joe looked back to his captain, who happened to look at him at the same moment. A silent conversation passed between the gaze and Joe wondered again what the hell was going on. It seemed as if they had all had similar dreams. And he wondered if the dreams were warning signs of things to come. But, who was that woman, Scarlet? And why the hell was Marvelous wearing blue?