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Losing something you held so dear was never easy; be it your favorite teddy bear or a memento from your greatest trip, or your best friend, or family member. He had lost a good friend, a good brother, in the hand of a fellow crew mate who had been with them for a long time, and it's all because of a devil fruit. He had laughed once in disbelief when he knew the reason of the murder. He had muttered several 'what if' situations when he sat by her side at the night after they found Thatch's body that day.
“What if he didn't announce it that day? That he found a devil fruit? What if he ate it right away after he found it? What if he found other devil fruit, instead of Yami Yami no Mi? What if he never found it at first?” he said, a small smile appeared on his face. “Then, he surely would be alive now, right, Cal?”
She knew him for so long. Long enough that she's able to notice the pain behind that smile. He might have cried, mourning over Thatch, with the others that morning. But she knew that it hurt him more than he showed. After all, they were good friends, who always got each other's back, who knew each others so well.
“Anyway, it means that I'll never taste Thatch's piña colada cheesecake anymore.”
He probably meant it as a joke, as he himself laughed lightly. But for her, it was a bad joke. Terrible, even. The more he tried to show that he's okay, the more she's sure that he's not okay and the more it pained her.
The loss of their fourth division commander thus drove one of their youngest crew mates to go after their ex-crew mates and Thatch's killer, Teach. He had said that it was his responsibility as the commander of the division where Teach was belong to. Although their captain and the rest of the crew tried to stop him, he wouldn't relent. Stubborn as he was, Ace went to avenge Thatch.
Ace was one of the most headstrong person that she had ever met. The story of his audacious declaration to get their captain's head was one of the stories that embedded well in their memory. Not only because they often retold it in parties, but also because it was interesting. It wasn't ridiculous, as every man had the right to dream and pursue it. It was interesting because the Mera Mera no Mi's user attempted to take Whitebeard's head more than 100 times, to the point that the guys were used to his failed attempts and grew bored to reel him from the sea. It was amusing since he never gave up even though he knew that he was facing a yonkou, even more the man that the world dubbed as the strongest man alive.
“I got bad feeling, Marco,” she confessed, voice slightly trembled. “Teach is dangerous. And the addition of Yami Yami no Mi's power... he's no joke.”
“Ace is strong, y'know,” he attempted to assure her.
“I know!” Her voice unintentionally went an octave higher. She quickly took a deep breath when she realized it. “I know. But I still can't shake this uneasiness.”
To be honest, Marco felt the same. He knew that Ace's strong; strong enough to be the Whitebeard Pirates' commander, strong enough to have 550 million beli bounty for his head. But, just like what Calixta felt, it was unsettling, his feeling was. Ace's recklessness was another factor that made him feel uneasy about the raven haired boy's 'mission'. Marco believed that Ace wouldn't back down, no matter how difficult his situation was, no matter how strong Teach was. But the most frustrating part was that they couldn't do anything to stop him. They couldn't do anything to protect him, to prevent something bad happening to another good friend of them again. It's exasperating.
The only thing that they could do was hoping. Hoping that everything would be alright. Hoping that their beloved firecracker would come back to them safely. Alas, it didn't go as they wanted. No, Ace didn't die in Teach's hand. But he didn't come back either. The news of Ace's imprisonment and scheduled public execution undeniably made their heart sank. Yet, it also grew a resolution inside their heart. A new plan was made, an all-out battle with their own life at stake. They were ready to declare and wage war on the Marines in order to stop the execution and take Ace back. They wouldn't let their brother died again.
And so, the full-fledged war between Whitebeard Pirates versus the Marine began. There were many familiar faces on the battlefield. Sengoku was seen on the execution platform and all three Admirals, along with all of the Vice Admirals were present. They also got backup force from Shichibukai. Big names like Donquixote Doflamingo, Dracule Mihawk, Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma, and Gecko Moria stood gallantly on the opposite side. It was as expected. This war wouldn't be easy and they might lose their own life in the process.
“Be careful,” Marco stated as his hands turned into blue-flamed wings, ready to leave the Moby Dick's deck and join the battle. “This war will be meaningless if I were to lose you even if we got Ace back.”
“Same goes to you. If I were to lose you in this war, I'll offer myself to take Ace's position. My crime is way greater than Ace's and their higher ups absolutely want me to die, after all,” she chuckled as she touched his face gingerly.
“Don't joke about something like that. It's not funny, Cal.”
“I'm not joking. That's how much you mean to me; that I couldn't imagine my life without you, that it would be better if I were to end it rather than to live alone, without you by my side.”
“Then I'm not going to die so you better not too.”
“Roger, commander.”
Once they had promised each other that they would bring Ace back and leave Marineford alive, Marco and Calixta went their separate ways with the former tanked Admiral Kizaru's attack and the latter dealt with Vice Admiral Stainless' attack. Everything that happened next were chaotic. Akainu's attack that made some of them lose their footing, Oars' battle, and a falling ship. Yeah. A falling ship, which was hard to believe but true. Apparently, it was the ship from Impel Down. And among them was Ace's little brother, the famous rookie Monkey D. Luffy whom Ace liked to brag.
Anything could happen in the battlefield. Unexpected betrayal was one of it, though it happened because of Akainu's provocation. How Whitebeard forgave Squard right away out of love made her realized that her Pops, their Pops, was the best parent that she could ever have. And seeing that made her long for their ordinary days. How great would it be if all of them could go back to the New World safely.
This war was long and tiring. Although they had sacrificed many lives and even Moby Dick, they still couldn't reach the execution platform. But as long as the sword's blade hadn't touched Ace's nape yet, they still had a chance. Yeah, they thought they still had, until a sudden order from Sengoku that made most of them freeze in place due to shock. Calixta thought Marco was the fastest person who could fly and stop it. Surprisingly, Crocodile had prevented the execution once. It was unbelievable, but they were grateful nonetheless.
Thanks to Oars, they finally had reached the plaza. The battle heated as they went even closer to Ace's place. Still, it was undeniable that the way to the execution platform was hard. They didn't know how many times they had as Sengoku could do something like before again; ordering the execution ahead of the schedule. The urgency probably was the reason why Marco attempted to charge head on as he flew towards the platform. Yet his attempt got stopped by none other than Ace's grandfather himself, the Marine's hero, Garp. Fortunately, the guys weren't disheartened by it and relentlessly charged forward.
“Open a path to Ace!!!”
“Ace! We'll save you no matter what!”
“Just hang in there, Ace!!”
“Don't you dare to give up!”
She had to hold back her tears when she yelled, “Ace!! Wait for us! Just a bit more!”
It's funny to think that that scene was able to warm her heart. She also felt stronger than ever when she fought alongside their comrades. And she believed that the guys also felt the same because even though they battered and tattered, even though bruises and blood covered their body, their eyes lit up; it glimmered with hope. It's like, they could do anything when they were together.
“Pops!”
“Marco!”
“Jozu!”
The series of yelling made the woman snapped her head back after she took down several marine officers. All three of them were facing the Admirals; Whitebeard faced Akainu, Marco faced Kizaru, and Jozu faced Aokiji. But the thing was, they weren't in a good state as they only took damage than attacking their opponent. If only she didn't have her hands full, now with the arrival of Vice Admiral Doberman, she would rush to their place and at least aid one of them.
“Commander Marco!”
It's the second time she heard that and that was her cue. She used a quick attack of rankyaku, her speciality, and fled with geppo combined with soru. Marco was in a pretty bad condition since he was shackled with sea stone cuffs. She knew that she couldn't help since she needed a key to free him. But at the same time, she also couldn't leave him alone. Not in that state.
“I'm fine. Go to the old man's side,” he coughed up blood, which totally showed that he's not okay.
“But―”
“Go, Cal. Seeing his condition, they'll target him without a doubt.”
With a clenched jaw, she finally stood up and ran towards their captain's place. Marco words were true. Sengoku saw Whitebeard's worsened condition as a chance, thus ordered his men to eliminate him. But their captain stood tall and fought back. He wasn't called a Yonkou without a reason.
“I must stay and watch over a bright future for my sons! I can't afford to die!”
“If you wish to see the future, then let me show it to you now, Whitebeard! Do it!”
Again, Sengoku ordered Ace's execution to be done. Yet, it was another failure, as Ace's brother, knocked the headsmen out with conqueror's haki, which surprised many, if not all of them, and it alerted the Marine higher ups since whoever possessed that ability was deemed to be a dangerous fellow. In contrast, they viewed the rookie as a hope and even Whitebeard himself began to acknowledge him and ordered them to support the reckless boy. Calixta stayed by the old man's side along with some of other commanders plus Jinbe as she saw that Luffy had enough support from their Alliances' captain and the guys from Impel Down. What she and the rest of them could do was waiting. And hoping that Luffy could save Ace in time.
Losing something that you cherished greatly wasn't easy. You ought to feel sad, hurt, upset when you experienced that. It's painful, indeed. It's even more painful when the earliest pain hadn't yet completely subsided, but he was forced to take the same bitter pill twice; first was someone he had considered as a little brother and the second was his 'father'. He cried so hard when Ace breathed his last breath and his knees gave up on him when he saw, with his own eyes, his 'father' died in the hand of the same person who killed Thatch. Probably, there were regrets lingering. He should have dragged Ace with force so the boy didn't have to engage in a fight with Akainu. He should have ignored his captain order to stay back, so he could aid him in fighting Teach. He cried a ton. He knew that it was a cost of war but it still hurt. It's excruciating, to the point that the grief almost killed him from the inside.
But there were something else that he needed to do other than crying. He had to stand tall and strong despite the grievous situation. With the death of his captain, the responsibility of leading the rest of the crew automatically fell on his shoulders. He didn't have a time to mourn. He needed to do what his Pops would do in this situation. He needed to protect Ace's legacy, he needed to fulfill his captain's order. Marco led the commanders to fight Akainu instead of avenging the death of his brother and father with Teach. His utmost priority was to protect Strawhat Luffy, not to settle the score with the Marine or Teach. They had lost so many lives and Marco didn't intend to prolong this pointless battle. But that's not the case with the Marine forces, as they kept pursuing them and wanted to take them down for good. Facing that situation, they didn't have any option other than kept fighting to stay alive. It was thanks to Red Hair Shanks that the battle finally came to an end. He stopped the war and proposed to Sengoku that he would be the one who took care of Whitebeard and Ace's burial instead of letting the Marines paraded their deaths. Marco was thankful for it, he sure was. Otherwise, they would fight meaninglessly till their last breath and both their captain and Ace wouldn't get a proper burial that they deserved.
She never saw him cried after that day. He didn't even cry at the funeral, whilst the others cried like there's no tomorrow, including her. She wondered how he could do that. After all, Marco probably was the closest person to both of them, three of them if you counted Thatch. How could he kept being so calm and collected like usual; like, there was nothing happened? Was it because he was so busy treating the injured so he didn't have time to grieve or be sad? Well after all, the Marco whom she knew always thought about others first than himself. And it's always her duty to look out for him when he couldn't do it for himself.
“I brought you tea. It's chamomile,” she uttered as she placed the glass mug on his desk.
“Hm, thanks,” Marco replied without looking up from his works. He had been busy to keep track with the guys' recovery and had missed his meals several times already. It concerned her to see how busy he was, to the point that he would ignore his health. Well, technically, he wouldn't fall ill since he's a phoenix and he could heal himself. But still, he needed rest. A plenty of it.
“You should take a rest, Marco.”
He turned his chair to face her and took time to take one of her hands with both of his, a small smile appeared on his face. “You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. Besides, I won't be sick just because of these. You're the one who need to rest since you'd been cooking for us since early morning.”
Usually, when Marco did that, she would relent. But this time, it didn't work.
“Don't try to change the subject!” she scowled. “I'm talking about you, not me. Do you think I didn't know that you only slept 2 hours at max these days? You're a doctor, you should know how bad not getting enough sleep is.”
“I'm a phoenix, Cal. I can't fall ill even though―”
“First and foremost, you're a mere human, Marco. Don't ever forget that.”
The first division commander was stunned for a moment. No one had said that bluntly before. He was known as 'Phoenix' Marco, the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user. He's seen as a capable comrade, yet also posed as a difficult opponent to deal with due to his devil fruit power. Of course he knew that he's a human. But somehow, during these hard times, he pushed himself more than he realized, abandoning the fact that he's only a human being who also needed proper sleep and meals.
His expression softened. He was glad that someone like her was there by his side to remind him whenever he overstrained himself. He then pulled her closer, encircling his arms around her slender but sculpted waist.
“Sorry to worry you,” he muttered as he buried his face in her abdomen. He felt her fingers gently ran through his hair, the way he liked it. When he only heard a single 'hmm' from her, he lifted his face, looking straight at her.
“Would you forgive me?”
This trick was effective most of the time. He knew that she couldn't stay mad at him for a long time when he did that; a sweet smile and gentle eyes. Upon hearing her sigh, he felt victorious. Even more when she cupped his face with both of her hands and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
“You're so sly, commander.”
It's dawn when she woke up due to habits. She's always a morning person, after all. Her previous 'job' started at 4AM, or 3 sometimes, which made her keep the habit of getting up early. But when she saw his sleeping figure, she stopped herself from getting out of bed. Instead, she rolled to her side, hand propped her head as she observed her man's face. He looked tired, yet peaceful at the same time. That was the tranquility that she longed for. She wanted him to find peace of mind, to be free from the huge responsibility that he had to shoulder, she really did. However, she also knew that it wouldn't be possible right now. The rest of the crew relied on him. He would never do anything that'd disappoint them.
The urge to help him was too big. She had offered her help numerous time, yet he rejected every single one. He would carry his burden alone, that's the kind of man he was. His kindness, after all, was the first reason why she fell for him.
She shuffled closer to him, caressing his cheekbone, before she planted a kiss on his forehead.
“You don't have to, Marco,” she whispered quietly. “You don't have to shoulder all of it alone and appear strong all the time. It's okay to cry. We're humans so it's normal to cry. It's painful, I know. But do remember that you still have us, you can rely on us. And we'll always be here for you. Always.”
A bitter smile adorned her face as she hugged his torso.
“It's my turn to help and support you, just like what you did, and still do up until now. So now, let me be your strength, your shoulder to cry on, and let me be your home.”
Little did she know, he had already awoken since she caressed his cheeks. He actually wanted to prank and tease her but instead her words made a single tear rolled from the corner of his eye. He might have lost a father and his closest brothers, but he still had his other brothers, friends, comrades, and the woman whom he loved, who would be there for him no matter what.