Marco's POV

Days ticked by into weeks, weeks turned to months and still there was no change in Thatch's condition. It had been like something out of a nightmare when we returned to the infirmary that day. Talia had collapsed in a pool of her own blood from wounds she'd inflicted on herself and the entire room was covered floor to ceiling in strange bloody symbols, even the sheets on Thatch's bed. Oyaji's stipulation to pull Thatch off the machines keeping him alive, was to let Talia say her goodbyes.

Ace had been captured by Teach, who was now calling himself Blackbeard, and handed over to the navy. Teach was now a warlord of the sea which made everyone sick with rage. Everything was falling apart. The Whitebeard Pirates were crumbling fast.

Talia was in a coma, Thatch was as good as dead and Ace was locked in a cell waiting for an execution date. There was no hope.

I hadn't left Talia's bedside in weeks. We managed to fit another bed next to Thatch's knowing that's where she'd want to be the moment she awoke.

Talia's heart monitor suddenly flatlined sending me into full blown panic. Doctors swarmed the room in an instant as I felt myself slipping into cardiac arrest.

"Calm down, the pulse oximeter just fell off." One of the doctors tried to reassure me.

Why would it fall off if she hadn't moved in months? This thought seemed to hit the doctor at the same time as he placed the monitor on her finger once more. His eyes widened as he stared down at the frail girl.

I turned to her and felt my heart skip a beat as her bright baby blue eyes fluttered open. She looked about wildly for a moment panic on her face, until her gaze fell on me. Her body relaxed slightly before she resumed her frantic searching and spotted Thatch at her side.

She laced her fingers with his. "Thank you, Marco." Her voice was weak.

"Inform everyone she's awake." I ordered the nearest doctor before turning to her curiously, "For what?" I smoothed my hand through her hair tenderly.

"Protecting onii-san." She smiled faintly.

Once everyone knew she was awake, we could pull him off the machines so he could pass on peacefully and didn't have to linger in limbo anymore. I caught her free hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

"We wanted you to say goodbye." My voice shook.

"Goodbye?" Her eyes narrowed. "No, he's not dead."

"Talia, it's been months, he hasn't changed." I tried to reason with her.

"So?! That doesn't mean he's dead! He's just lost!" She cried and I felt my heart crumble once more at the broken expression on her face.

"It's time to say goodbye Talia." I held back tears as I heard the other commanders swarm into the room.

"No!" Talia roared as she spotted the determination burning in everyone else's eyes.

"Talia, you aren't the only one hurting." Jozu grimaced.

Her glare was almost intimidating, "Maybe not, but I am the only one who believes in him. I'm the only one here who won't give up on him!"

Izo choked on a sob and slipped to the floor in defeat. He'd tried for so long to hold out hope to hang on to the foolish hope that maybe just maybe by some miracle Thatch would make it, but he too had given up.

"Talia." I reached for her, but she pulled away from me with tears in her eyes and a look of betrayal on her face.

"Marco." Jozu pleaded with me, "Let this end."

A pain like no pain I'd ever felt before wracked my body as I pulled the frail girl into my arms and held her tightly against me. Her shrieks were deafening and threatened to shatter my resolve. How could I hurt her like this? What kind of monster was I?

"NO!" Talia screamed as she desperately tried to reach Thatch's side, "Onii-san!" She was completely beside herself as the others approached Thatch's bedside with heads bowed. "Don't! You're killing him!"

I clutched her tightly to my chest for fear if I lost my hold on her, I too would crumble.

Jozu reached for the plug.

Talia sobbed uncontrollably in my arms, her entire body seizing from the deep heartrending sobs. "Onii-san!" She cried desperately.

Jozu pulled the plug and all the machines fell silent. Talia's scream was ear piercing, the glass in the room cracked in protest from the shrill sound. I felt my own heart begin to crack in my chest as her body slumped into my arms.

"Onii-san!" She choked as I finally lost my strength and slipped to the floor with her in my arms.

A faint beep sounded from one of the machines and a chill swept across the room as Talia continued crying out for Thatch. I stared in awe at one of the monitors behind Thatch as I saw a faint green glowing line tear across the screen with subtle inflections. The beeping sound began to get louder and stronger the more Talia cried.

What was happening?

"...Talia..."

She couldn't hear over her heart wrenching sobs.

Everyone was in a stunned silence, tears streaming down their faces.

"Talia." He called to her softly.

I found my strength as his eyes opened and he frantically sought her out. She weighed next to nothing; I cradled her trembling form in my arms and spilled her onto the bed at his side. He placed his hand atop her head and her sobbing ceased.

Her bright blue eyes flew open and she turned to meet Thatch's gaze. "Onii-san!" She cried as she threw her arms around him.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." He smiled weakly as he held her in his arms.

Thatch was alive! It was a miracle. His heart was beating strongly on his own, the machine that had been doing it before had been powered down when Jozu pulled the plug. He was alive. Talia was right.

Thatch offered me a grin before turning to Izo, "Hey, onee-san, I think you should beat these scoundrels for making our little Talia cry."

Izo was a sobbing mess. "I'm going to beat you senseless you big oaf!"

"Eh?!" Thatch laughed, "I'm an invalid, you can't beat me." He looked down at the silent girl in his arms, "It'll upset Talia-." He cut off and chuckled softly to himself and I followed his gaze.

Talia was sound asleep curled atop him with her fingers coiled in his auburn hair that was now lying in tangled waves falling just past his chin. Her coma and her constant fretting and fighting had weakened her considerably.

"I'll take her to bed." I made a move to lift her away and Thatch swatted at me.

"Leave her. She's not going to kill me, she weighs nothing." His tone turned accusing as he commented on her weightloss. "I have quite a few choice words for you and Ace."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably and the air turned somber once more.

"What are we doing about that?" Thatch asked as he affectionately pat Talia on the back of the head in a comforting fashion.

"Gathering as much support as we can and waiting for them to set his execution date." I sighed.

"Teach knows, Marco." Thatch said gravely, "He tried to take her."

The doctors flitted about anxiously trying to shoo away as many commanders as they could and insisting they needed to examine Thatch as he'd just defied the laws of science.

"You won't find anything." Thatch chuckled, "Doctors didn't do this."

That's what she had been doing with those symbols? I stared down at Talia in awe.

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