Artemis' POV

"You're… joking, right?" I asked, giving a small laugh that even I didn't believe, "Because, this isn't funny."

Marco, 1st division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, stared at me with a sad look. "I'm sorry. It happened so suddenly, there was nothing we could do. Whitebeard… is dead." His voice shook while he tried his best to hold back tears.

I couldn't believe it. This isn't happening, this is some sick, twisted joke, right? Whitebeard has always been in my life. Always. And now I hear that he died in the war? This can't be happening, he's THE Whitebeard, for crying out loud! I started to panic, he CAN'T be dead, he just can't!

"You're lying!" I screamed at him, "This is all some cruel joke that you're all playing on me!"

My breathing got quicker as I looked around me. Everyone from Whitebeard's crew were here, on his ship, our ship, giving me looks of pity as my knees gave in and dropped on the wooden floorboards of the ship. Marco only stayed quiet, not able to look me in the eyes.

"How could you let this happen?!" I continued to scream at him, "I knew I should have come along! This is all your fault!" I knew I was being unreasonable, but I couldn't help it. All I felt was anger and sadness as tears started to blur my eyes.

My hands turned into fists as I reacted on impulse and lunged at Marco. I managed a punch to his face before I was held back by a fellow crew member. Marco silently touched the bruise I just gave him as I struggled to get free, thrashing my arms and legs around while more tears ran down my face.

"Artemis." Namur, a fishman that I have grown to respect greatly, called my name. I persisted to struggle, mixed emotions blinding me while I continued to scream at Marco.

"Artemis!" Namur shouted at me. I kept blindly trying to attack Marco while I was held back. Namur grabbed my shoulders and screamed at me "Stop acting so selfish and look around you! You're not the only one suffering from this!"

I immediately stopped and took a closer look at everyone's face. It was true that they were giving me looks of pity, but there was something else too, something that I failed to notice. Grief. They were all grieving for Whitebeard's death too, every single one of them.

I was finally released when it was obvious that I had calmed down. After a moment of silence, Marco walked up to me and took a sealed envelope out of his pocket.

"Before we went into battle, the old man gave me this envelope and told me that if anything were to happen to him, then give this to you." He said, not a trace of emotion on his face. I took the envelope without a word, and walked to my room inside the ship, not looking back.

A few hours later

"Marco, are you sure you want to talk to her?" Namur asked.

"Yeah," He answered, outside Artemis' door. "We all know that the old man's death was hard to accept. We also knew that it would be especially hard on Artemis."

Namur was silent for a minute before he nodded for Marco to go ahead. He took a deep breath before he knocked on the door and called "Artemis?"

There was no answer. Marco and Nemur gave each other confused looks. There would almost always be a response from Artemis, it was in her nature to act on impulse without thinking, and responding when her door was being knocked on wasn't any exception. Marco tried again and still no response.

They both frowned before Marco tried opening the door to find it unlocked. They walked in and was surprised to find no one in the room. They saw the window wide open and a neatly folded letter was left on the desk. They cautiously walked towards the desk to read the letter. Slowly, their eyes widened in shock.

"Oh… my…" Nemur whispered, rereading the note out loud this time.

"Dear Brothers, I'm sorry, but I can't stay in the Whitebeard Pirates anymore, especially now that there's no Whitebeard. I'm leaving to follow the old man's instructions he left for me. I know that this is a selfish thing to do; leaving my family like this all of a sudden. But that's how I've always been, always getting us in trouble because of my selfish acts. Please tell Marco that I'm very sorry, I shouldn't have done what I did. I was just frustrated that I couldn't be there for the old man and Ace. Again, I'm very sorry. I couldn't even face you all and tell you this in person. One day, if I get past this deep grief I'm feeling, I'll come back to tell you I'm sorry in person. Sincerely, Artemis." He finished, a tear dropping down his face.

They both stood there for what seemed like an eternity. A strong wind blew inside the room as they stayed like that, sad to have lost another family member.

Hope you enjoyed the prologue, everyone! This is a two author story, so it should be interesting to see how this story goes! Until next time, later!, Possibility-Maker

Hey there, sorry that the stories are out of order, but you can read the prologues in any order. We should be starting the main story soon!-Fenrir