Solace

With Garp defeated, and Akainu too, the fate of the Marines was hence sealed. No one was going to rescue them, for none among them were powerful enough to face against even Whitebeard, let alone Roger.

Garp was rendered immobile, and his ligaments torn and tendons ripped apart. He lay near the execution platform , now a crumbled block of steel, in it's sorry state thanks to the gigantic duels between strong men. Garp's energy reserves were nigh empty, and his blood levels were severely lacking. Yet he would not die. He sat stone-still but his heart was steadfast.

He would hang on to life, even if the reasons for it were still unclear.

He felt so useless. He could not save his profession, his career's prestige, nor could he maintain his duties as a grandfather, and as a father too.

His face contorted in anguish, and he gave a huge sigh.

Seeing his old rival fall, Roger's mind stirred, and he relished his thoughts and ancient memories.

Countless had been the times when they had clashed, and Garp had almost succeeded in killing him for more than a time. Fights with him were one of the only times Roger had got bone fractures when battling Marines. All others he deemed unworthy to fight him, and it was not even boasting or over-pride doing it's work. Garp, or Sengoku. But mostly Garp.

That Sengoku was mostly busy in achieving his missions and was focusing on his promotions.

But Garp, no. He only wanted to exterminate pirates. He solely focused on that job, and dedicated the entirety of his large heart for that cause. The only reason he willed himself to get promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral was for it's perks and the amount of freedom it provided, so that he may work his will as much as he wants.

Witnessing Garp's struggles, Roger strode up to him, and stood still for a moment.

And then he spoke, and his voice was monotonous.

"Why, Garp?" Though he gave off a verbalisation with a singular tone, and his aura had not yet ceased, his voice broke. " Why did you have to do this? Does. . . Does eradicating pirates mean so great a duty for you? It weighs down you too much, my friend. It clouds your judgement, though not in ways y'all deem. You lost your family, Garp. Your ambition engulfed you, and. . . you lost yourself. I heard your son became a huge revolutionary, and Luffy too, he's a pirate now. If only you had taken some more time to weigh down your feelings and possibilities. I. . . I'm not saying that you did the wrong thing, but…" His voice modulated to pity. " Did I even accuse you of not protecting my son? No. I knew, I know that you did your utmost to save him, but you chose your career over your family. And that… that is your doom."

The Pirate King's last words echoed and boomed over Garp, who was barely able to pay heed to Roger. The Hero of the Marines, tried to gather all of his leftover strength and talk, but what came out was but a croak.

A rasp it was, but he poured out his feelings in those words, and his emotions washed over anyone who was standing within earshot of him.

" Roger! Forgive me, for the unforgivable things I have done… your son's life you endowed upon me, and I let him nigh die with little care… distrust-worthy am I now, a man dwindled to darkness. My life, a lifeless void, and though my face shows reactions and emotions, my heart is of lead, or so I believe. Sengoku and others tell otherwise, but firm is my belief, that I have failed. . . As a man, as a father, and certainly as a grandfather. And now falls my career too. What have I now? Nothing except false-promises for thee, my friend, if I might dare to call ye that. My tired anguished brain yearns for eternal sleep, but my heart wants redemption. I should do something, shouldn't I, Roger? Yet I am afraid it is all too late now. Regret blooms like a rose, and it's thorns prick the edges of my mind. What do I do now, but pass on? Alas, even that is improbable now, for these injuries are not enough. . . Sorry, Roger. Sorry…"

Tears bloomed in the brim of his eyes, and slow as a snail poured down to his cheeks, and dampened the earth. Twin eyes gleaming, his temples quirked, and at last, his face went still. How . . . Odd, for a man of his stature.

With that, he fell into a deep slumber, a mode of unconsciousness. But at the least, it offered him a brief time when he could be free of all the troubles that dotted like stars in his sky of a head.

And thus was defeated Garp.

Roger had not let go of his sight of Ace even when focusing on the faint words of Garp.

Eyeing him from the corner of his eyes, he was not unaware of Sengoku's plan of crushing Ace before Roger could Garp. Nevertheless, his friend, Garp who had given him more than a few hearty duels, needed at least an ounce of respect. If Roger had not stood there and spoke to him, the honour he would be giving Garp would be so low it would be a shame put onto himself.

Moreover, those words were something that had to be spoken; Roger would not have felt at rest if they had not been spat out of his cracked mouth.

When Roger glanced towards Ace, he saw Luffy with his brother, both running in the direction of the invading pirates.

Luffy was apparently fumbling in his hand a key, made of a unique material of wax.

It was the key to Ace's handcuffs. The key to Ace's freedom.

However, Sengoku the Buddha was not still. Watching all with his golden eyes, he deemed the assassination of Ace most important, when he saw that Gold Roger was not possible to kill at the moment.

And thus, he swiftly ran towards the escaping duo.

Yet a little afar from the Execution Tower, Whitebeard's fight with the two Admirals was coming to an end. For the allies and Commanders of the great Yonko had arrived, finally vanquishing the nigh entire armies of the Marines.

As Aokiji shot at Shirohige powerful bullets of crystal ice, Commander Jozu interrupted the fight, and as the shards struck his strong arms, they shattered into a hundred pieces.

The Commanders now came forth to lessen the burden of their Captain, for Whitebeard was now extremely fatigued from fighting against two Admirals. Even he did not possess that much stamina.

Flower-Sword Vista swirled like a top, and struck the high defences of Aokiji's towers of icicles.

Rumbling, they fell, and Aokiji stood naked, against the might of almost ten thousand strong pirates.

Blamenco, also a division commander, took from inside his vast pockets a long broadsword, and rolled down the pavement and struck at the place where Kizaru stood. But Kizaru escaped, for Blamenco was much too slow for him to not dodge it.

Namur the Fish-man, a shark commander of the eighth division, he lunged towards Kizaru wherever he tried to appear, and tried to bite him using his razor-sharp teeth. He himself was much faster than his comrade Blamenco, and additionally his martial-arts and fighting skills were also more refined, but still Kizaru evaded the attacks of the Commanders.

However, now the two Admirals were reduced to a simple state of defence and guarding. They had little time for offence, for they were being overwhelmed by the mere numbers of the pirates.

Aokiji could not use better attacks with a wider range too, for the higher-ranked Pirates would just simply wave it away, or Whitebeard may quake the icebergs to their doom.

But Kizaru was not hesitant to use such attacks.

Spinning clockwise at an alarming rate, he held his arms parallel to the ground, and shot rounds of light-bullets, flying at all the directions. He didn't even care about fire attacking allies, but it was mostly that almost all the Marines had already fell, or that the remaining were strong enough to defend against his technique, or run away.

Additionally, he turned his entire body except his limbs into pure light, and that act blinded his enemies. While they were yet shielding their eyes from the bright flash, Borsalino's bullets hit their mark, and felled many pirates.

Swirling backwards, the Admiral winked out of existence, and then reappeared to the place where the nearest hostile ran.

Kizaru appeared, kicked at an unbelievable speed, and teleported again. That was his signature melee move, and he used it then to vanquish more than twice a dozen pirates.

Though that attack worked well for normal pirates, it would not do for the Commanders. For they possessed the Kenbunshoku, and a few had honed theirs to a great level.

And when he was beginning to get whelmed by almost half the commanders of Whitebeard, and a great many ally captains too, Kizaru himself retreated, for there was no alternative.

The two Admirals were the last of the Marines' hope; they had to retreat and endure the longest. If they were defeated, the war would come to an end.

With that, Aokiji and Kizaru both dashed back, towards the Platform and Sengoku.

And it was then, that they saw that Ace had been freed.

As the Admirals were zooming towards the Fleet-Admiral, they noticed that their superior was intently analysing something. And they felt that it wouldn't pain to see what he was seeing, and so they twisted their necks to see.

Two men, one with limbs that could extend beyond a dozen miles, and another whose fire burned with a passion that could melt the heart of the other.

Ace was freed.