Chapter 13

~Mihawk's POV~

"I've… I've let you die…"

This though crossed his mind so late.

He didn't want to believe it.

Even keeping his outer cool poise, his heart was in a thunderstorm. Everything around him was moving so fast yet it seemed time had stopped for him.

His golden gaze had caught her image as her life was fleeting away from her: she was sitting down on the ground, a smile on her face and claws surfacing from her stomach.

Calysta looked chaotically calm even in this situation and he was just… frozen in time.

-Mihawk! – Shanks called out, snapping the swordsman out of his trance. – Alexis says she can help her out! Snap out of whatever your state is and help us get her out of Akainu's claw.

He only nodded and rushed towards her limp body, carefully holding her form after Shanks pulled her out of Akainu's claws.

Once he stepped back, making way for Alexis, time seemed to move in slow motion.

It was so slow…

Taking an eternity for everything to end.

For the nightmare to end.

The thing was… Mihawk was fully aware that it wasn't just a sick product of his imagination.

It was reality.

Her life was slipping away so quickly, the colour fading from her figure.

His golden eyes were vacantly set upon Alexis, whom was currently sending metallic shards into Calysta's body, stopping the bleeding completely. Upon closer inspection, Mihawk could see that she was giving orders that were unheard to him while everyone moved frantically slow around him.

Zoro and Perona had joined them, Perona showing an expression of shock on her face while the green haired swordsman just stared blankly at Calysta's form yet, his eyes hid away the turmoil inside his heart. The green haired swordsman was feeling guilty for not doing anything to prevent the current situation.

-Dracule. – Alexis called, standing in front of him, finally awaking him from his thoughts. – Where can we take her?

Without a sound, the raven haired swordsman walked towards Calysta's body, picking it up and, almost robotically, carrying her inside his home, towards his own bedroom. He gingerly placed her upon the bed before covering her body with a large blanket before proceeding to pull the curtains, causing little to no light enter the room.

-Mihawk… - It was Shanks. He placed a hand on the swordsman's shoulder, trying to get some reaction from him but to little use.

Mihawk did nothing.

No flinching.

No comment.

He could barely hear him breath.

It was so light.

So frail.

It was the first time Shanks had ever saw the swordsman falter, lose control over his feelings.

Breaking down to such a deplorable state.

-Please leave. – The raven haired swordsman finally spoke.

-We'll be in the living room. – The Yonkou informed before leaving the room, followed by everyone else, leaving the swordsman alone with the woman he loved.

Finally left alone with Calysta, the swordsman allowed his body to lie down next to hurt, pulling her limp body into his embrace. Unconscious, her scars were visible since she wasn't using her abilities to hide them away.

Even with the carvings on her skin she was still perfect to his eyes.

With his calloused fingers, he traced lines that followed the drawings of her scars.

Across her cheeks.

Over her lips.

The curve of her neck, towards her shoulder.

She was carved to such an extent that was almost unbelievable someone could withstand so many hardships.

And yet… she was still perfect to his eyes.

He loved her so much.

Returning his hand to her cheek, he pulled her into a tight embrace before letting silent tears finally fall from his eyes.

His heart was torn and he could only hope and pray, to whomever would listen to him, to bring her back to him.

~Alexis POV~

Everything was wrong.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

As she took a deep breath she could feel the heavy atmosphere around her.

It was eerie and uncomfortable to her.

As the large group arrived to the living room, she quickly took the chance to just let her body fall onto the first large chair that she found, sighing heavily. As she stared into oblivion she felt a warm and large hand being placed upon her shoulder before hugging her form tightly. The scent she felt belonged to her beloved Shanks whom was doing everything in his power to comfort her.

-Everything will be alright. – He whispered into her ear, only earning a defeated sigh from her.

-I can only hope that you're right, Shanks-dear. – She stated before resting her head against his head that was now next to hers. – I only wish we had Joshua with us… He would've know what to do in this situation.

-But we don't have him here now… - Shanks spoke out, pulling a chair and sitting right in front of Alexis. His legs were spread apart so that he could pull her closer to his body and hold her tight. – He wanted to leave for a while and so I let him. – He brushed her hair away from her face, before caressing her cheek. – We have you though, and I trust in your abilities. – His eyes rose towards his crew members. – We trust in your abilities.

Her gaze turned towards her crew members that she had grown to adore so much and smiled.

-I hope that it was more than enough to work.

-What did you do, really? – Zoro finally spoke, after settling his emotions.

-I have this ability that makes me able to mutate into a weapon or release shards of steel that I can control whenever I want. – Alexis proceeded to explain to the swordsman that she knew far too well. The opposite couldn't be said, though. – These shards or basically my blood and, what I did was give part of my blood to her, creating a steel layer that would help heal her organs. I've done of smaller wounded animals and minor wounds with the crew but never to this extent. That's why I'm saying that I can only hope that what I've done was enough. – She let out yet another heavy sigh, closing her eyes in the process. – And right now I'm still controlling those shards and it's exhausting to do so. – A small drop of sweat dropped down her forehead and dripped onto her lap where her hands were resting. Her eyes slowly opened when she felt her hands being grasped by her beloved red haired pirate.

-That is an interesting power. – Zoro stated, curiosity taking over his mind. – A devil fruit.

-It a natural ability. – Benn proceeded to explain which Alexis was very thankful for. She had her hands full controlling her power at a long distance. She would've asked for Mihawk to let her stay in the room but she knew the swordsman wanted and needed to be alone with Calysta. – When she appeared to us she was unaware of it.

-She appeared? – Now it was Perona's turn to be curious about the whereabouts of this red haired woman.

Benn's gaze was set upon Alexis for a split second, waiting for some silent order. She nodded lightly, allowing him to proceed the explanation.

-She isn't from this… world. – Benn continued as he sat down on one of the many couches in that living room. – The same goes for her brother. – He pointed at Akbal whom just waved at the pink haired girl. – Apparently, in her world, there are no such things as devil fruits and powers so, she didn't know what she was able to do until she got into a fight with some bandits. - The nostalgia and memories washed over him, remembering how the two of them had gotten lost in that snowstorm. He had grown really fond of that girl since that point on.

Suddenly silence fell upon the room.

There was nothing to say.

Absolutely nothing.

Just… emptiness.

Worry.

Guilt.

And as the never ending seconds passed, Alexis felt as if her power was growing weaker until she finally decided to unleash her power to her most recent level. Her hair suddenly turned white and the tribal drawings appeared on her skull.

Both Zoro and Perona stared in amazement at this woman that had appeared at that castle just a few days ago. She seemed so… unique and powerful.

The green haired swordsman couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his lips.

He wanted to fight against this woman that could transform into weapons.

-Can you please start talking about anything and everything? – Alexis requested, tapping her foot on the floor. – All this silence is making me annoyed and uncomfortable.

-A pirate's life for me? – Yasopp asked and received a nod from her.

-Misty Mountains Cold. – Alexis whispered, almost sounding like a threat. – But very quietly. I don't want Hawkie to think that we don't care one bit about Calysta. He's worse than a woman PMS'ing when he's in this state and I don't blame him for that.

-It feels like you're the one who doesn't care that much. – Zoro commented as he leaned against the wall.

-When I get nervous or stressed I make these strange remarks that make people think exactly like you. – As she spoke, she opened one of her eyes, revealing a completely black orb to him that sent a shiver up his spine.

She really looked powerful.

No wonder she was in the pirate crew of a Yonkou.

She had this calm and dangerous aura around her that made Zoro jump of excitement and expectation of a strong opponent and a good fight.

Very quietly the Red Hair Pirates began to hum the song that Alexis requested before Shanks began to sing the beginning of the lyrics followed by the rest of the crew.

Now that was perfect to relax her.

It helped that Shanks was massaging her hands, soothing her even more.

As the melody sunk into her being, her mind began to track back to the fight where Calysta had nearly lost her life.

Akainu had done something inhuman especially towards her brother.

That bastard had brainwashed her own brother in order to order him about and kill Calysta. Luckily he had remembered Alexis and stopped but now he had a strange set of powers that neither of them knew how to control. If only Calysta was alright, she could help Akbal with his new abilities.

Her eyes were shot open as she finally felt Calysta's heartbeat through her steel shards making her jump from her seat and rush outside of the living room towards the room where both Mihawk and Calysta were.

The crew followed her, trying to understand her sudden burst.

Alexis opened the door carefully, not wanting to scare the grieving swordsman that was now sitting on a chair, next to her bed, holding her hand in both of his warm and calloused hands.

-Hawkie. – Her voice was filled with care and tenderness as she spoke his awful nickname. She noticed that his cheeks were red and slightly wet from his tears. Alexis could only feel compassion towards the swordsman that was sitting in front of her, a small dim of hope still shinning deep within the golden ocean that was his eyes.

Before she could say anything else, Calysta's form stirred next to him before she finally turned to her side, facing Mihawk.

His eyes were wide open as he looked at her form before his gaze jumped to Alexis.

He couldn't contain his happiness: finally breaking his always calm and collected self he jumped from his seat and pulled Alexis into a tight hug.

-Thank you so much. – He whispered against her red hair before letting her go.

-You're welcome Hawkie. – She smiled widely at him. – Oh, one more thing, I accelerated the process of regeneration that she had so… she probably already has her other arm already.

-Shanks… - Mihawk called, making the captain that was standing at the doorstep come in. – You are a really lucky man.

-So are you. – The red haired captain said, looking at Calysta's form that was beginning to wake up.

-My dear friends, let's leave the two lovebirds alone. – Alexis said, as he casually walked out of the room but was stopped suddenly.

-No. – Mihawk said, his gaze never leaving Calysta. – I want you to stay here. I want her to know who saved her life.

-Oh Hawkie, you've turned soft. – Alexis commented, giving the swordsman an innocent look when he glared at her in an amused deadly stare.

-Why are you so loud!? – Calysta groaned as she sat up on the bed but quieted herself when she saw the room filled with way too many people. – Why is everyone here? – Her mind suddenly clicked. – Where's Akainu?

-Dead. – Mihawk informed.

-For real? – She couldn't hide the wide smile that crept to her lips.

Everyone nodded, smiles on everyone's face as they saw the excitement grow on her face.

She was finally free from those dark days.

She was no longer hunted.

She was no longer a prey.

She was the hunter and she had succeeded.

-Thank you so much. – Her smile grew wider when tears began to stream down her face. – Thank you so much for being there for me. – She cried out, breaking down suddenly into a burst of tears and joy.

Everyone could only laugh at her reaction.

She was adorable in this state and she looked so happy.

Mihawk helped her up from the bed and pulled her into a tight hug.

-I've missed you. – He whispered into her ear.

-You've turned soft, Hawkie. – She commented, followed by a light chuckle.

-So I've been told.

-This calls for a celebration! – Shanks stated making everyone cheer and rush to the kitchen. It was going to be a long day but it was going to be enjoyable.

Calysta was finally happy and Mihawk had finally found someone that would stay by his side until the end.

They were happy.

They were no longer the prey.

They were the hunters.

~END~

A/N:

So... that was the end! :D Yeah! I really couldn't wait until Wednesday. I had it complete yesterday and I couldn't way to publish it!

I had fun writing this final chapter. It was... Amazing and a roller coaster of EMOTIONS! GAH!

CAN'T!

FANGIRL!

SDKJLBGVSK.

Anywho! I hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as I did.

I want to give a special thanks to Kimi Saruby who has been reading my fanfictions since the very beginning and I'm very thankful for her support. It means the world to me that you've enjoyed these adventures!

Not only her but I hope everyone else has enjoyed this adventure!

I had fun.

I'll be taking a break from writing but I already have plans for a future fanfic and... it's another One Piece XD god damn me and my waves of one piece! It's going to be a Zoro x OC one. Yes I enjoy creating my own characters. It's FUN :D

As always, I do not own One Piece

I only own Alexis and Calysta (also Joshua who was mentioned)

Akbal belongs to my friend :D

Until the next adventure my fellow readers :)