I'm kind of depressed that the last update only got one review :( I'm not going to threaten with no updates or anything like that, but it's frustrating…
Beta-read by Aerle
Legacy
Everybody had left the room. In silent agreement, as no one had uttered a single word since they had laid the captain's body on the massive bed, all the people present had known Marco needed this moment. They, the commanders, needed to be strong for the crew, but of all of them there was no doubt Marco was the one who had to be the strongest. Because, the moment their captain had given his final order, the responsibility to take care of them all had fallen on the man.
They all knew, no one was stupid enough to even doubt it, that Marco was more than willing to take on the responsibility, but he needed to mourn, too. And that was why they had made the silent decision to leave him alone now, to do this himself and grieve, because once he left the room he would have to take charge of their wrecked family.
In what now seemed another life, Thatch used to say Marco was the older brother in their big family, and it was the older brother's duty to take on the father's place when the father was no longer there.
Marco stood there, unmoving, for long minutes that could have easily been an eternity each, looking unseeingly at the great man that was no more, the greatest man in the world. The only man he had ever been willing to follow. His father.
Deep down, he had known this was a possibility. He had always known Edward Newgate was not a man who abandoned his own —that was, in fact, one of the many traits of the man that had attracted Marco to him. He had also known that the captain's health had deteriorated greatly over the years, that he could no longer take as much damage and make efforts as great as he had once been able to. He had also known that they were up against the greatest enemy, the most dangerous one, they had ever faced. And still, the idea that his captain, his father, could die, though understood by his brain, had never settled into his heart.
And now it had happened.
Silently, Marco walked to the huge basin his brothers had brought into the room, picked one of the towels piled next to it and dipped it into the water. He took a deep breath, turned to the huge body that no longer held that strong, protective aura he had so long ago come to cherish, and began to clean the blood and the grime of the battle away.
He didn't try to stop the tears that began to fall from his eyes once more, nor did he attempt to wipe them away. He just focused on his task. He didn't speak, because there were no words to express his gratitude, his grief; there was no way he could convey how much he would miss him or —and didn't it sound stupid— how much he wanted to chew the man out for being so stubborn and forbidding them —him— to help him.
What Marco did, however, was promise —because promises aren't to be taken lightly, they must be fulfilled— that he would do his best, everything that was in his power, to see their family through this, to help them stand up once more.
It didn't matter what the world would say, Whitebeard's legacy wasn't the legend of one of the greatest pirates in the whole world's history; the strongest man of the world's legacy weren't those last words, the confirmation that One Piece did exist; Pops' legacy was his family, and Marco would spend even his last breath if it was necessary to make sure it would survive.
Sorry, 6Lisa9, I couldn't resist xD
I don't know if you remember, but when Whitebeard fought Blackbeard, he specifically ordered Marco not to intervene. That's what Marco means when he says the captain forbade them to help him.
