Yup, just a story about one of my theories about One Piece. I may actually write them all down and post them but I'm writing another OP story here on FF that I should really be working on.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its characters, because if I did, the art would be pretty shitty as opposed to the amazing work it is today.

-"~"-

It hurt, everything hurt.

Sabo was sure the fire had burned away his body. He could feel the pain all the way down to his bones. The intense heat he'd felt had most likely burned away all his flesh. The sea had only made it worse. To think the very thing that had kept his boat afloat just a moment ago was now eating away at his body.

"I must be dead." He thought to himself. "Or maybe I'm on my way to Hell. Maybe I'm being punished for going against my damned noble blood." He felt the water crash over his head.

"I'm sorry Ace…Luffy…" He thought weakly.

He closed his eyes, and the world and his pain faded away.

-"~"-

A warm liquid passed through his lips, and a feeling of safety and warmth spread throughout his entire body.

Sabo opened his eyes weakly. He gulped down what he now recognized as soup greedily.

"Hey now, if you keep drinking it like that you'll throw it all back up." An unfamiliar voice warned him.

Sabo felt his eyes focus and found himself in a small room. From the sound of the waves he guessed he was on some sort of a ship.

"W-Where am I?" He asked and winced, his throat hurt when he spoke.

The man in front of him grinned, "It's going to be alright kid. You're a pretty lucky guy, I know plenty other marine captains that would've left any ship-wrecks to die. You should thank the captain for saving your life when he comes to see you."

Sabo felt his heart sink. Marine, that's what the man had said. He'd been saved by marines of all people. He sighed, what a fine way to start out his pirating career, owing a debt to a marine captain.

"Where are we now?" Sabo asked avoiding the marine's gaze.

"Oh now? Well we found you making your way into the Calm Belt from the East Blue, which was about a week ago, and now we're on our way to the South Blue." The marine said cheerfully.

Sabo tried his best to hide his horror, which he guessed he'd failed at because the marine looked at him in alarm.

"Are you feeling sick? Hang on. I'll get you some more water. You were pretty dehydrated when we found you."

Sabo watched the man chatter on to himself and left the room promising to return.

When the man had gone, Sabo flopped down onto his back, a pretty stupid idea since his burned back made even the softest sheets feel like lead. He gritted his teeth against the pain, but a rebel tear still managed to escape.

"But I'm alive," he said to himself, as if saying it out loud could make himself be heard to his "brothers" in the East Blue.

-"~"-

The next few days blurred together for Sabo. Each day he felt his strength growing and his broken body started its slow healing process.

He met, and thanked, the captain of the ship for saving him. The man had introduced himself as Captain T-Bone, who was a large scary looking man who reminded Sabo of the zombies Ace told in his stories to try and scare Luffy. Luffy had been scared of them at first but soon began to enjoy them so much he'd chase after Ace to tell him more about them.

The memories he had were all that was left of his time with Luffy and Ace. He remembered how he'd considered inviting him to come with him and sail the seas, but he'd decided against it, Luffy was too little, and if Luffy stayed behind, someone needed to look after him. It was a good thing he'd decided against it, who knows what would have happened to those two, had they been there when the boat was shot down.

He shut his eyes against the memory, but he was free now wasn't he? He'd lied to the marines and told them that his parents had died when their boat was smashed to pieces.

Guilt formed in the pit of his stomach when he thought of his brothers. He should send them a letter, something to tell them that he was alive, but it was too risky. What if his parents found out? What if they tried to bring him back to Goa? No, as much as it pained him to think about it, he couldn't contact them. He'd waited far too long for this freedom. Besides, unlike him, his brother's were free to leave anytime they wanted to. That is, if they could get away when their grandpa wasn't on one of his unexpected "friendly" visits.

As much as it pained him, they needed to stay in the dark, just like everyone else. All he could hope for was that they'd gotten the letter he sent before he'd set sail.

"I'm sorry my brothers."

-"~"-

"Sorry about this kid, but this is as far as we can take you. At least the South Blue's as good as any place to get a fresh start." The marine said apologetically. "We need to get back to headquarters, that is, unless you're willing to reconsider our offer of joining the marines as a chore boy."

Sabo forced himself from gagging. "No thank you, but I'm grateful for you taking me this far."

"No problem, take care of yourself." The marine said waving goodbye as he boarded the ship.

Sabo was a bit sad to watch them leave, but at the same time relieved. The sooner they were out of sight, the sooner he could start his life as a pirate.

He felt the coins the captain had given him jingled in his pockets as he walked. It wasn't much, but it'd last him a few days.

He continued down the beaten path until he caught sight of a town nearby. It looked small and homely, so he quickened his pace so he could get to it before sunset. He still needed to find a place to stay. He'd eaten on the ship and probably wouldn't need to worry about food for the night.

As he neared the town he felt something odd in the air. Back in Fuusha Village, there'd been a sunny and safe atmosphere, as if the whole town was one big family. Here, in this village, there was a bit of tension in the air, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He felt he should keep it on the safe side and not cause any trouble, at least not yet. Right now he probably looks awfully suspicious. A mysterious lone kid would definitely raise some questions.

Bright lights to his right caught his eye. He turned and looked down an alleyway and saw what looked like a tavern or a motel.

He felt himself smile, surely someone there would be able to give him a place to stay the night, or at least show him where he could.

The alleyway seemed dark and unnerving. Sabo noticed a pipe of some sort lying nearby, without another thought he picked it up and swung it over his shoulder. The weight felt familiar, like all the times he'd go out with Ace and Luffy.

He walked into the alleyway with confidence. He used to fight with Ace, sure Ace won most of the time, but he made him work for the victory. And he and Ace had beaten Porchemy hadn't they? He could take on any common thief easily.

"Hey kid, whatcha doing in a place like this?" A hoarse voice asked from behind him.

Sabo turned on his heel and saw a group of boys around his age slowly advancing into the alleyway.

"You sound like you have a bit of coin on you." sneered one of the taller boys.

Sabo knew he could run, no, he knew that he should run. But the stubborn part of his mind kept him rooted at the spot. Just the idea of knowing he could go when he wanted gave him the courage to stand his ground.

"Hey kid, you better give us your money if you want to leave this place alive." Another boy growled.

Sabo felt like making a snappy comment, but he didn't want to piss them off any more than they already were. Besides, to make such a comment might imply that he was intimidated by them, which he most certainly was not.

He wasn't going to back down, not now. If he was going to cower then he might as well go home and let his parents lock him up and turn him into the makings of a noble. And by then he might as well have been killed by these boys.

"Come on ugly, give us your money now." another boy leered.

"Stupid kid, what is he mute?" another laughed.

Sabo still stood his ground. He swung his pipe in front of him like he would've done with a sword and widened his stance, he wasn't going down without a fight, running away wasn't an option now.

"Oh look at that! The ugly kid thinks he can stand up to us!" The tallest boy laughed.

"Why do they keep calling me ugly?" Sabo wondered. "Out of all the insults they could have called me, why that?"

"Alright kid, I'll take your challenge." The tallest boy smirked.

The others laughed as the tallest boy drew out a knife.

Sabo stared him down unafraid.

The boy laughed and rushed at him, knife ready to slash his heart out.

Sabo dodged to the side jumped up and using all his strength swung the pipe into the boy's head.

Blood poured out of the boy's mouth and nose and he stumbled back in a daze. Sabo took advantage of this moment of weakness and hit him again. This time, the boy fell and didn't get back up.

Sabo turned away from the unconscious boy and glared at the group behind him, staring at him with shocked expressions.

"Who's next?" He asked panting.

The boys growled, but turned and ran away. One of the braver ones ran forward and grabbed his fallen friend and dragged him away.

"We won't forget this!" One of them called back in the distance.

Sabo let his body relax. They'd be back, but for tonight he was safe.

Something caught his eye, the boy's knife lay half hidden in the shadows.

Sabo picked it up and put it in his pocket. When the boys came back he'd need some extra protection.

-"~"-

Sabo lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He still had most of his money even after paying for a cheap room for the night. He wasn't planning on staying in the town any longer then he had to, those boys would be back with a vengeance.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. When he looked up he stared at his reflection in shock.

Now he knew why those punks had been taunting him about being ugly.

His face was covered in scars and burn marks, he could barely recognize himself. He touched his cheek and was acutely aware of the state of his skin.

The fire hadn't just taken his ship, it had taken his face. No wonder the marines had taken pity on him. Thankfully the scarring didn't affect his vision or any of his other senses. At least he had that to be thankful for.

Despite his first reaction, he found himself grinning. Now if someone recognized him, he wouldn't be dragged back to the East Blue. No one would know who he was.

He grinned until his cheeks hurt partially out of mad glee, but also to prove that he was still the same underneath.

-"~"-

Sabo ate his breakfast quickly. He still had the rest of the island to explore. If he was lucky, he'd be able to find work and start saving up again for a pirate ship, or maybe there'd be pirates looking to recruit new members…He could hope couldn't he?

Staying in this town was out of the question. Out of all the punks that had cornered him last night, none seemed to be "leader" material. If his instincts were right, they'd have gone to their boss by now and ratted him out, he wasn't about to wait for them to go hunting for him. He was getting out of here while he still could. He wasn't ready to die yet.

Sabo became aware that the room had gone eerily quiet. He turned and glanced over his shoulder.

A boy with flaming red hair stood in the doorway of the restaurant. His pale skin made his dark eyes shine brightly. He wore mildly tattered stained clothes. It took Sabo a moment to realize the stains were that of blood.

From what Sabo guessed, the boy was around the same age he was, maybe a year or two older. He found himself staring into the boy's dark eyes and saw the eyes of someone who'd killed.

"About time you turned around." The boy said lazily. "Everyone else got up and got the Hell out of here, it's either pretty gutsy or pretty stupid that you didn't do the same."

Sabo didn't need to look around the entire room to know it was empty. He sat there in silence, than he slowly turned around, finished the last of his meal and placed a few coins on the table.

The boy looked at him in confusion.

Sabo looked at him neutrally. "Let me guess, those stupid punks are yours?"

The boy quickly resumed his arrogant expression. "Yeah, they came whining to me about how some scarred-face bastard almost killed them."

"They're pretty weak. It took me almost no time to beat up the biggest one." The words came tumbling out of his mouth before he could think better of them.

To his surprise the boy laughed. "'Weak' doesn't even begin to describe them! They came up to me and start telling me that I have to avenge them, that I shouldn't stand for this humiliation!" He snorted. "Pathetic,"

"Then why put up with them?" Sabo asked. He was stalling for time now. He needed to keep this kid ranting until he could come up with a plan. His pipe was under his chair but he couldn't grab it without the boy noticing, of course he had the knife from last night hidden in his jacket but who knew what this other kid had hidden in his. Besides, there was too much room between them and he wasn't sure how fast he could move to get close enough for the knife to connect.

The boy raised an eyebrow and grinned in a blood-thirsty manner. "Who says I do put up with them?" He asked darkly. "I rule this town and everyone knows it. There will always be people wanting some power, and if I like what I see I might just give them a bit." He laughed again in a way that sent shivers down Sabo's spine though he did his best to hide it. "I've no time for weaklings. I'm aiming all the way to the top."

Sabo reached into his jacket and threw the knife at the laughing kid and dove for his pipe. What he saw next shocked him.

The knife was hovering a few inches away from the kid's face. The knife then dropped from its invisible force and fell to the ground at the kid's feet. The kid picked it up and looked at Sabo with an amused expression. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" He mocked.

Sabo felt a cold sweat roll down his temple. Shit, this wasn't good. "What are you?" He asked, but he already knew the answer.

The boy cocked his head and widened his grin. "Just a kid who ate a devil fruit, you'll find out soon enough which one it is. Not that it'll make any difference."

It took every ounce of courage for Sabo to stand his ground. This guy wasn't like Luffy, while Luffy was still learning how to use his powers. This kid had obviously mastered his, or was close to it. He raised his pipe hesitantly, if he'd need to fight he would, he had to.

The boy smirked and raised his hand. Bright colored sparks seemed to be coming from his hand and Sabo felt something pulling at the pipe in his hand. He tried to hold onto it but the force was stronger and the pipe went flying out of his hands and flew towards the boy.

"We can't let you have that now, can we?" The boy asked mockingly.

Sabo watched this pipe and felt something twist in his stomach. It was pure rage. How dare this boy make a fool out of him? How dare he taunt him! How dare he make him seem so weak and feeble!

Sabo felt all this rage and frustration boil up inside him. He hated losing his temper, he'd always been the more level headed of his brothers but even he could be pushed over the edge, and right now he was falling over it at rapid speeds. He ran towards the boy, no battle cries escaped his mouth but there was no need. The battle could be seen in his eyes. In those eye reflected a flicker of fear and surprise pass over the other boy's face before Sabo's fist connected with his face. Again and again Sabo let loose a fury of punches, not caring whether they hit or not, just as long as his rage kept him going.

A sharp pain in his side made him gasp for air. His punches stopped and he kneeled on the ground and put his hand over his stomach as if to stop the blood from gushing out from where he'd been stabbed.

He expected to hear the boy laughing at him but to his surprise the boy was panting as well. The boy was wiping the blood from his lip and from his nose. He was looking down on Sabo murderously.

The boy drew a pistol out of his pocket and pointed it between Sabo's eyes. He was at point blank range and there was no way Sabo had a hope of dodging.

"You punk, did you really think you could kill me?" the boy's voice came out ragged between breaths. "It's going to take more than punches to bring me down."

Sabo wasn't looking at the boy anymore. He was too busy staring down the barrel of the gun in horror. He'd been so close to reaching his dream.

"I'm going to be king of the pirates!" The boy shouted forcefully, his voice echoing around the empty room.

Sabo stared at the boy in shock. Hadn't Luffy always yelled that time after time? But there was something different the way Luffy and the boy said it. While Luffy acted as if he was stating the facts like the sky was blue or meat was good and could be mistaken as joking for a moment, this boy gave a different impression when he said it. He said it as if this was what he had decided and he didn't care about whom he had to step on and crush beneath him, he would reach his goal. The boy's eyes had burned like the fiery pits of Hell when he'd said it.

Sabo expected the boy to pull the trigger, but it seemed like the boy was waiting for an answer.

"I believe you," Sabo said calmly and was surprised to find he meant it.

The boy stared at him for what seemed like a year, then pointed the gun to the side and swung it hard against Sabo's head.

Lights danced in front of his eyes then he fell into oblivion.

-"~"-

The next time Sabo woke up he was in a shoddy looking house. The roof had holes in it, the paint was peeling off the walls and the windows were cracked and dirty. His stomach was bandaged clumsily, as if it had been rushed and the person had had little experience in first aid, but at least the blood wasn't gushing out anymore.

Sabo sat up and winced at the dull pain. Where was he?

He pulled off the moth eaten blankets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The floor was dusty and covered in grit. Sabo wondered what the state of the rest of the house looked like.

He leaned against the wall as a support and partially dragged himself to the door and opened it. The next room was somewhat of a mixture between a kitchen and a sitting area and just as shitty as the previous room had been. To Sabo's faint surprise, he saw the boy sitting on a beaten up sofa quietly cleaning a dagger.

"Hey," Sabo said awkwardly, having nothing better to say.

The boy put aside the dagger and looked over at him looking mildly annoyed. "Good to see you're finally awake, I had half a mind to wake you up myself." He growled.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Sabo asked coldly. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful, he was just suspicious.

The boy sighed and looked him in the eye. "Because of what you said,"

"What?" Sabo asked in confusion.

"You said you believed me when I told you I'd be King of the Pirates."

"Yeah so?"

The boy glared at him. "Most of the time when I tell people that they laugh, or tell me I'm just wasting my time. I hate people like that, so I kill 'em. They'd just laugh because they're scared of the world and are too stupid to try and change this miserable world. The world is messed up enough, it doesn't need those bastards."

"So why am I here?" Sabo asked cautiously.

The boy grinned. "If I'm going to be King of the Pirates, I need a strong crew. You beat up those weaklings the other night without even getting hit, and even more impressive, you landed a few hits on me. That takes guts. If I'm gonna give this world Hell, I need strong people to back me up. So what do you say? You wanna work under me?"

"What makes you think I wanna be a pirate?" Sabo said coldly.

The boy laughed. "You think I don't know? I can see it in your eyes. You've got a pirate soul burning in 'em. You don't seem like the type to lower themselves to being a navy dog or go on living an ignorant normal life."

Sabo gritted his teeth. Were his ambitions really that obvious?

"I don't have time to deal with uncertain people. Either join me or get the Hell out of my house. It's your choice."

Sabo looked the boy over. He was definitely going to grow up to be just the kind of ruthless pirate that would make his dream come true, even if his dream was close to being impossible. He had a way of looking at the world that poor optimistic Luffy would never be able to.

"Fine," Sabo said calmly, "I'll join your crew, but on one condition."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

Sabo took a deep breath, "If I join you, I don't want to be some expandable lackey. I know a little bit about navigation, so for me, it's either navigator or first mate. I'm not going to settle for anything less."

The boy looked at him in surprise than started laughing. "Alright fair enough, but just remember this. If you join my crew, you're in it for life. No second thoughts, no trying to abandon us, nothing. If I catch you doing any of that," He grinned cockily, "I'll kill you in an instant. So we've got a deal?" He got up off the couch, walked over to Sabo and put out his hand.

Sabo knew that if he agreed, he may have just signed away life, but at the moment it didn't seem like he had anything to lose. His brothers thought he was dead, he was pretty much disowned by his parents, not that he ever gave a damn about them, and he was far away from his home. He took the boy's hand and shook it. "Deal,"

The boy's grin widened. "Smart choice, the name's Kidd, Eustass Kidd. And yours?"

Sabo shrugged. "I guess I don't really have a name anymore."

Kidd raised an eyebrow. "So what am I supposed to call you, now that we're nakama?"

Sabo thought for a moment. "Beats me, you choose if you want to, I don't really care."

Kidd snorted.

"Why's your name 'Kidd'?"

"To Hell if I know, I guess my parents didn't feel like coming up with anything that took imagination."

Sabo rolled his eyes. "Well just try and put a little bit of originality into mine. The last thing I need is a bounty poster with a stupid name."

-"~"-

"Hey, I think I just came up with a name for you." Kidd said wiping the blood that'd been splattered against his cheek.

"Oh yeah?" Sabo asked cleaning off his pipe. "Let me hear it."

Kidd stared down at the fresh corpses in front of them. "How does the name 'Killer' sound to you?"

Sabo snorted. "Very original," he smirked swinging his pipe over his shoulder, "Sounds good to me."