Don woke before the alarm the next morning. He knew it was partly due to his body already readjusting to being on board a military craft. But he also couldn't deny the fact that he'd barely slept for more than ten minutes at a time during the course of the night. Worries, guilt, and Marvelous' lone question had kept him far more awake than he'd wanted.

For the first time in nearly eight hours, he allowed himself to glance back at the wall where his former captain was being kept. He'd heard the chain rustle several times throughout the night, never so violent as to suggest an escape, but enough to remind him of what he'd done. Now that he was officially awake, he could see that Marvelous had shored himself up against the wall, as far away from Don as he could possibly manage with the chain. He was sitting upright, but his head had drooped forward in sleep, and his shoulders rose and fell gently with each breath.

He was beautiful in ways Don couldn't even describe, and it hurt like a saber through his chest.

For several minutes he let himself stay in bed, silently watching Marvelous sleep. The other man was shirtless and shoeless, not from any practical necessity but to help better maintain the image Don needed to keep. He would even free Marvelous from the manacles if he thought he could trust him not to make his escape.

The thought sent a chill running down his spine. I can't trust him.

An odd shadow on the floor drew his attention then, pulling his eyes and thoughts to wondering what could be casting the strange dark shape on the carpet. A moment passed, then two, before he realized that it was a stain, and he followed it back in spots to Marvelous' arms. He sat up and, without hesitation, rushed to the former captain's side and inspected one manacled wrist. Don was just able to confirm that the skin had been rubbed raw to bleeding before it was flung upwards into his face.

He took the blow and rolled with it, tumbling backwards and away until he was out of the chain's reach. "You're injured," he said finally, looking up to meet the fire in Marvelous' eyes.

"Not as badly as you'll be once I'm done with you," Marvelous growled back. Whether he'd been truly asleep a moment before was irrelevant, as he was most definitely awake now. He gestured with the bleeding wrist he'd just swung at Don. "Want another look?"

"Not really." The blond climbed to his feet and calmly walked to a set of drawers near the front of the room. He knew military procedure decently well, and he wasn't disappointed to find the first aid kit sitting in the top drawer. "I'd much rather bandage your wounds."

Marvelous snorted, and it reminded Don of the fire that burned inside of the former captain. The fire he loved. "Why? So you can just make more?"

Don walked back to the safe zone and settled into a crouch. "I could, you know," he said softly, in what he hoped was far from a threatening tone. "Nobody would be surprised. In fact, I'm fairly sure they even expect it." Memories of other action commanders and their various off-duty activities sent another chill down his spine, and he looked to Marvelous for a reaction.

All he got was an angry sneer. "Of course they would. Why wouldn't you torture your prisoner?"

The word pinged something in Don's head, and he placed the kit on the floor before sitting down himself. "Marvelous," he said quietly, and pushed the kit several feet forward into the reach of the chain. "You're not just my prisoner."

Marvelous gave him a suspicious look, but inched forward slowly towards the kit. "Oh?" he asked, the angry disbelief clinging heavily to his voice. "Then what am I?"

"You're half-dressed on a chain in my personal quarters, Marvelous," he said sadly. "What do you think you are?"

Silence fell as his hand hovered just inches away from the kit, and Don watched as the realization played out on the former captain's face. Don shook his head and climbed back to his feet, turning away to properly prepare himself to go back on duty.

He paused, though, when he heard Marvelous' voice again, this time more timid than he had ever wanted to hear it. "My crew," he heard him say quietly. "Where are they?"

"They're safe." Don took a deep breath before he turned around, and prayed that Marvelous couldn't hear the falter in his voice, or the lie in his eyes. "I'm going to see them now."

Consciousness eluded Joe for a long time, but that wasn't something he was quite able to determine until he finally woke up. When he opened his eyes he saw dull gray walls, smooth and void of any defining features, on three sides. On the fourth was a door of thick, metal bars, and he was reminded almost immediately of the holding cell back on the Free Joker. Most importantly, he recognized it as a Zangyack detention block.

His hands were bound behind his back, and he pulled on the bonds experimentally. They weren't too tight, but were definitely secure, and appeared to be chained to the wall behind him. He had just enough slack to stand up and move around, but not enough to reach the door to the cell itself. There was nothing outside his cell door but blank wall, but he soon found that if he moved to his right as far as the chain would allow, he could just make out another set of bars to the left.

And behind that set of bars, he swore he could see a glimpse of ivory lace.

"Oi," he said tentatively, not sure who might be nearby. His voice carried easily around the smooth walls, and there was barely a pause before he got a reply.

"Joe-san?" came Ahim's soft voice, followed by a gasp from what had to be an adjoining cell. Joe saw the glimpse of lace rustle slightly, and felt a small amount of relief that they were all kept so closely together. "So you are here, thank goodness."

"Ahim," he said gently, aware that his voice was fairly groggy from hours of disuse. "Where are we?"

"Zangyack ship, as far as we can tell," came Luka's voice from the other side of the wall. Where Ahim's voice had been soft and patient, Luka's was hard and cold. It wasn't out of character, but Joe knew the thief well enough to realize that it meant they were truly in trouble. "Not even sure if we're near Earth still or not."

Joe bowed his head, thinking hard to the last thing he could reliably remember. The crew had been marched onto a transit ship and kept separate, but then things went fuzzy and he couldn't recall anything between then and waking up in the cell. His mind quickly did the math and he felt his heart sink. "And Marvelous? Is he here too?"

There was a pause, and he could almost see the girls exchanging a look. "We haven't seen him since we woke up," Luka said slowly.

"We have not heard him, either," Ahim added.

"So either he's not here, or he's out worse than you were." The words were said fairly matter-of-fact, but Joe could still hear the worry in Luka's voice. It wasn't something he liked to hear. He was in the middle of searching for words to ask for more information when the door to the cell block very audibly opened. Knowing full well Zangyack's preference for mistreating prisoners, he kept his mouth shut and waited to see their jailor.

However, he heard the voice before he saw the face, and his jaw dropped wide open.

"In case it hasn't already been made clear," the familiar voice stated smoothly and evenly, "the three of you are prisoners of the Zangyack Empire. As war criminals, you have no rights, but your lives have been spared due to special dispensation by Emperor Ackdos Gil. Your basic needs will be met, but be prepared to spend the rest of your natural lives in these cells."

The speaker took slow steps forward as he talked, and when he walked into view Joe forgot to breathe. It was shocking enough to hear the frantic engineer's voice in such a calm and authoritarian demeanor, but seeing him in full Zangyack uniform was like something from a nightmare. "Doc," he nearly whispered, caught somewhere between anger and fear. "What the hell is going on?"

Don paused, hands clasped tightly behind his back, and turned his head to look at Joe. "As aforementioned, you three are prisoners of the Zangyack Empire. Is that difficult to understand?" His eyes were so cold they almost seemed blue, and Joe could feel a shiver ripple down his spine.

"Where's Marvelous?" came Luka's voice suddenly, dripping with angry accusation. "What have you done with him, you traitorous bastard?" The words were followed by a cracking sound and a yelp, and Joe watched as rage flared up in Don's icy eyes.

"Enough!" the blond barked, half-turning to look back towards Luka's cell. "They pose no threat. There is no need for violence." He gave Joe one last unreadable glance before moving back out of sight. "Your Captain Marvelous has also been taken prisoner. He is receiving...a different sort of treatment than the rest of you." There was something there, Joe could feel, hidden in Don's voice, but he couldn't quite see what it was. It bothered him.

"Doc-san," Ahim said quietly, almost meekly, and Joe felt a surge of hatred for anyone who caused the former princess to sound that way. "I would also like to inquire about Gai...your former teammate."

Joe felt his stomach lurch with a sickening twist. Somehow he'd managed to forget entirely about their extra member. When he thought back, he couldn't even remember the earthling being led on to the transit ship with the rest of them. His skin grew cold as Don paused before answering.

"The pirate known as Ikari Gai has been declared dead," the soldier finally replied, and Joe could hear Ahim's gasp as well as Luka's strangled cry. "You would do best to forget him." There were sounds of shuffling and footsteps, and then of the door closing, and the three of them were left alone with their thoughts.

Gai stumbled through the forest, only partially aware of the terrain as he frantically tried to keep moving. It had been hours since he'd last heard any sounds of searching or pursuit, but he was nowhere near confident enough to slow down, let alone take a rest. Instead he focused on putting one foot in front of the other, getting himself as far away from the battlefield, as well as civilization, as possible.

The first round of aerial attacks had just barely missed the rest of the crew, but one had hit Gai almost directly. He didn't remember much aside from the sudden, bright light and flashes of pain, but when he'd next opened his eyes he found he'd been flung off the battlefield entirely. Zangyack ships were taking off into the sky, dragging the Galleon behind them, and Gai was left with the possibility he was entirely alone.

At first he'd stuck close to the battlefield, trying to catch a glimpse of any crew member that was still around, but there were too many soldiers and he'd gotten too close to being spotted to stay around any longer. When he'd started moving he'd almost run into a few patrols, and while he was pretty sure he wasn't identified, he still couldn't be sure he hadn't been followed.

It had been more than a day since he'd slept, but his body was still running off adrenaline and he didn't think he'd be able to stop anytime relatively soon. It might have just been insomnia, but for the last half hour Gai was sure he was hearing rustling among the forest branches, a whirring in the sky that was obstinately following him.

He tripped and fell heavily against a tree, and in a brief moment of presumed genius he rolled around the trunk and hid himself on the other side. If he was going to succumb to exhaustion eventually, he'd be better off confronting any potential threat now, while he still had something resembling physical strength. He clung to the bark of the tree, focusing on his breathing and keeping his heart to a dull thud so he could hear the rest of the forest surrounding him.

Then there it was, the shuffling in the leaves, a fluttering in the air, and Gai nearly held his breath as he waited. When a rust-colored object flitted into view, he tackled it to the ground and held it there as it thrashed beneath him. "Stay quiet if you value your life!" Gai said in his best cornered-hero voice, and glared down at his victim.

"Gai!" it squawked up at him, flapping uselessly against the dirt and grass. "It's me! It's Navi!"

Sure enough, it was the not-bird that Gai had pinned to the ground, and he nearly fell over completely in shock. "Navi!" he cried out, then let her loose so she could right herself. "I, I'm sorry, I thought it was Zangyack, I thought-" His words ran out and he let himself fall forward to wrap the little robot in a huge hug.

"I'm glad you're alive too," Navi said, and patiently endured the hug until Gai was finally ready to let go. "But the Zangyack...they have the Galleon! What happened?"

Gai shook his head, wiping new tears away from his eyes. "I'm still not sure," he said, dragging an accidental streak of dirt across his cheek. "The entire fleet ambushed us, I think, and the next thing I know everyone is gone and the Galleon was being towed away." Frustrated, he pounded a fist into the dirt and let a few more tears fall. "Dammit, isn't there anything I can do?"

"There might well be," came a familiar voice from behind him, and Gai felt his blood grow chill. His gut directed him to grab Navi and tumble away, and he came back up with his body placed solidly between the robot and the voice.

"Basco," he growled up at the lanky privateer. "Here to finish us off? I warn you, it won't be easy." One hand stayed outstretched to protect Navi, and the other fell down into his jacket pocket and closed around his cellular. He had no desire to go head-to-head with Basco, especially after their last run-in, but he wasn't sure he had a choice anymore.

The cocky smile on Basco's face looked more forced than ever, and the privateer clucked his tongue impatiently. "Now, now, Silver," he began, his voice equal parts sing-song and annoyed, "I've got far bigger problems in front of me than an abandoned cabin boy and his pet bird."

"Bigger problems?" Gai couldn't help but repeat the words back questioningly. He thought for a moment to be insulted by the indirect jab at his combat prowess, but then a wave of exhaustion washed over him and he dropped to one knee to keep his balance. "Why? What's going on?"

Basco leaned up against a tree and crossed his arms, his eyes wandering upwards through the forest canopy as he spoke. "It seems a certain member of your crew was a Zangyack plant the entire time," he said conversationally. "He turned in the crew for the bounty and resumed his position among the Zangyack ranks."

The words seemed almost meaningless to Gai until his brain kicked back into gear and properly processed them. "A member of our crew..." he mumbled to himself, not quite understanding, even if a brief image of Joe came to his mind unbidden. "A Zangyack plant? That makes no sense!" The fierce pride he felt for the rest of his team came bubbling up to the surface, and he found the strength and balance to stand up confidently. "You're lying."

"You don't have to believe me," Basco said with a shrug. "After all, it's not like you have anything to lose, right?" His eyes darted back towards Gai, and a smirk started to spread across his lips as he lifted his shawl and pulled out a folded newspaper. "Just read this first, and when you're done, tell me again that I'm lying." With a flick of his wrist he tossed the paper so that it landed perfectly in front of Gai, front headline boldly visible with a picture of the Galleon underneath.

"Pirates defeated by Zangyack forces," Gai read aloud slowly, before crouching to pick up the paper. His lower lip began to tremble and he started to skim the article, pausing to read the more incredible bits out loud. "Defeated in battle...taken prisoner...Ikari Gai, presumed dead..." There was a stinging in his eyes as tears began pool and roll down his cheeks in a constant stream. "I can't...I don't..."

"Keep reading," Basco prompted, his voice an odd mix of confidence and resignation. Gai could only comply.

"In the end, it has been publicly revealed that the operation leading to their defeat was headed up by the undercover Elite...Forces...agent..." Gai's voice faltered and broke, and the paper fell from his shaking hands to scatter across the ground. "No. It...can't be..."

Basco spoke loudly, obviously assured that they were safely alone in the forest at that moment. "When presented with the unlimited reward, he made only three requests," he said, eyes back up towards the canopy. "One, every surviving member of the Gokaiger crew as his personal prisoner. Two, an assignment on a new ship. And three..." Basco paused for a moment to cluck his tongue in annoyance. "The public execution of one Basco ta Jolokia."

Gai blinked through his tears and managed to raise his gaze enough to look at the tree Basco was leaning against. "I don't understand," he said, not bothering to clarify what it was he was having trouble with exactly. He wasn't entirely sure he knew, anyway.

"Amusingly, it's the last piece of Zangyack military intelligence I received before they cut me off." The former privateer shook his head and pushed off from the tree, taking a wide stance to face Gai head-on. "And now we find ourselves in similar positions, Silver. Both of us running from the same enemy."

Gai was pretty sure he knew where Basco was going, but he couldn't believe it. His heart still couldn't believe it. All the evidence did was make his heart hurt even more, to the point where his mind wouldn't focus on anything except the pain in his joints and the tears streaming down his face. "I...I..." he croaked miserably, and only barely felt Navi nudge up against his shin.

"So then, pirate, you tell me," the former privateer continued, his voice dripping honey but holding all the confidence of a felon on the run. "Is there something you can do? Or, perhaps..." He walked forward, right in front of Gai, and lifted the boy's chin with one slender finger to look him squarely in the eye. "Is there something we can do together?"