I've got myself on a Gokaiger kick. This is the first of a six-fic series dealing with the crew's early days as Gokaigers. The stories will take the form of connected vignettes and yes, the theme-naming will continue.

Spoilers: Marvelous' backstory (the flashback in 15, specifically).

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"Marvelous! Marvelous! Open your eyes, Marvelous!" The tapping on his head dragged him out of darkness, no matter how much he resisted. The darkness was numb, quiet. He wanted to stay. "Marvelous!"

"Stop yelling in my ear..." Pulling his arms towards him to rise, he froze and gritted his teeth as pain shot through him. Why did his right arm hurt so—wait. Basco. The bastard had shot him.

The memory chased off whatever remained of the darkness, and Marvelous took in his surroundings. He was laying face-down on the same stairs he'd fallen down when he'd been shot. The chest, with the Ranger Keys inside, was sitting at the top of the stairs not even a foot from his face, though he could barely see it for Navi, who was still watching him. "Thank goodness! Are you okay?"

He almost laughed, but instead pulled himself into a sitting position with his left arm and continued his survey. No trace of Basco or the Zangyack soldiers who had tried to end them. "How did I get back in here?"

"By the skin of your teeth, that's how!" She flew from the floor to top of the chest. "We managed to get back after AkaRed bought us time... I got the engines started, but you blacked out. You've been unconscious for an hour."

AkaRed's name brought more of Marvelous' scattered memories back. The explosion that had taken his captain was the last thing he remembered with any clarity. It wasn't something he was going to forget. "So we ran away..." He clenched his fists, the tensing of his muscles re-awakening the blaze of pain that was the upper part of his right arm. Left hand snapping to the wound, he choked down a yelp, not that it stopped Navi from noticing.

"Oh, your arm! Gotta take care of it!" Navi was halfway to the cabinet by the time she finished her sentence, and by the time Marvelous managed to get to his feet, she'd picked up the first-aid kit and carried it to the coffee table.

Despite cradling his right arm to his stomach, he still managed to get his vest off and his shirt unbuttoned by the time he sat down on the couch. Getting the sleeve off his right arm required peeling the fabric off the dried blood in order to reveal the wound itself. As he cleaned the blood from his arm, the jagged gash left by Basco's bullet revealed itself. Marvelous grimaced as he tossed the now-bloodstained cloth aside. That was going to need stitching.

He dug out a sterile needle and thread and set both sealed packages aside while he found the disinfectant. A hiss escaped him when he started flushing out the wound with it, the burning sensation a testament to just how long it had been left untreated. When the burning had subsided enough that he was sure he wasn't inviting a nasty infection, he opened the packets and tied a knot in the suture thread before threading it through the needle's eye.

It took several seconds for him to steel himself, and even then his expression was tight as he pierced the skin just under the wound. So focused was he on steadily closing it, he almost didn't hear Navi, who perched on the arm of the couch, "How cruel..."

Halfway through the stitching, Marvelous let out a snort. "He never did fight fair." The tunnel-focus on his treatment was fractured by the words, and it took effort to keep his hand from shaking as he finished and knotted off the stitches. Tossing the needle and remaining thread back on the table, he leaned back and... couldn't think of a damned thing to do.

Mere hours ago, he'd thought they were on the cusp of obtaining the greatest treasure in the universe. Now, his captain was gone and the man he had trusted as a friend and crewmate had betrayed and tried to kill him. He was alone.

"Live for my sake too! And... be sure to obtain the greatest treasure in the universe!"

Marvelous' gaze moved to the chest containing the Ranger Keys. AkaRed's last request, his wish, was in that chest. The chest was the key to the greatest treasure in the universe.

"But how am I supposed to..." Turning away from the chest, he stared at his hands, which rested in his lap. They were shaking again. His vision was getting blurry, but he didn't have the will to fight back tears. His left hand rose to his face and he let himself sink into the couch, whole body starting to shake with emotions no longer held back by adrenaline and anger.

"Marvelous..." Navi's voice was barely audible, not that he would have replied anyways. She flew to his lap and let herself be held against him by his right hand. There they sat, the only sound being Marvelous' quiet sobs, as the once-feared vessel of the Red Pirates sailed aimlessly through the vacuum of space.

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End Notes: Well, that took longer than expected to get done. Don't worry, the determinator Marv we know and love will be back next chapter! For now, we're just going to let him have a quiet cry. I hope to have the next chapter done a bit quicker. R&R!