Hey guys, this is my first attempt at publishing a fanfic. I've got lots of ideas, this is just the first I had ready to post. I'm also working on actual books, and about a dozen other projects, so writing is my passion. Hopefully that shows.

I love One Piece, but I don't own it, so I take no credit for Eiichiro Oda's characters, nor the One Piece world. But I did put a lot of OC's in here. So enjoy!

Disgraced

Why won't they listen to me? Halcen repeated over and over in his head. That Phoenix fruit is mine! I found it! Why are they listening to Marco's lies? Halcen stood there in front of the crew of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard's personal ship. These were people he had been with for years, some almost a decade. And they all looked upon him scornfully. Most shouted angrily, but some cheered at the event. "Why won't any of you listen?!" Halcen shouted again, gruffly, on the verge of tears.

Avarik Halcen was 22 now. He had been part of the Whitebeard crew for nine years. He was about average height, a little less than six feet tall, had long blonde hair that he usually had gelled back so his bangs didn't cover his eyes. But it was all askew now, from the hectic night. He had a strong, wide jaw, and dark green eyes. His nose a was a little larger than normal, but he was still a handsome man. At least, his track record suggested women thought so. He had had his share of fun in all this time. But now was not one of those moments.

Marco stood before Halcen, on the opposite side of the deck, also surrounded by the horde. Marco was now a fully grown man of 18. He was no longer the short little twerp that he had been in Halcen's eyes for so long, but a strong warrior. He had been hardened after these many years of traveling the seas. Halcen knew he was going to be a tough fight.

Whitebeard stood, refusing to show any emotion. This was Halcen's fight now, and nobody was going to help him. Why? He still couldn't understand.

"Halcen, don't do this," Thatch told him.

"I have no choice!" Halcen shouted. He was sober now, and done slurring. All the excitement had straightened him up real fast. This was no longer a party night. The dawn had already come, and the sun was skimming over the sea.

Marco didn't say anything, just stood, waiting, with a dark look on his face.

"Why would you do this to me, Marco? We're brothers!"

Marco looked deeply at Halcen, his spiked yellow hair hung sadly to the sides. "You're doing this to yourself, yoi." His voice was solemn.

"Fine!" Halcen charged him, swinging his powerful arms at Marco's face.

A sudden burst of blue fire erupted all around Marco. This was the devil fruit power at work. It burned around them, spewing out, and almost reaching the other crew members that Marco was not trying to hit. This was his first time using his new power.

Halcen was not deterred. His entire body was instantly coated in armament Haki. His whole body turned black. He smiled and continued his punch. It was more than enough.

Marco took the hit in full and was thrown off, over his comrades, and off the side of the ship. But he quickly gained his composure and his body lit up like a match, while floating over the sea. The sun's glimmer reflection looked brilliantly contrasting to his visage. It was a sight to be sure, but Halcen wasn't there to appreciate art. He was there to fight.

"Come back here, Marco! And fight me!"

Marco gave himself a few moments to gain some familiarity to his new power. He was going up against a skilled fighter who had taken down many devil fruit users with nothing but his own natural power. Marco was new to being on the other side of that fight. He needed to make up the difference fast. He drove his new fiery power furiously toward Halcen, his entire body seemingly transforming in the process. His legs became talons and his arms became wings. A beak of yellow fire emerged where his face had been. Marco was now a full-fledged phoenix.

His body rocketed towards Halcen at breakneck speed. Halcen threw his hands out and intercepted the crashing bird with his own strengthened body. The force of the impact drove Halcen back, but he remained on his feet. He used the momentum to sweep his arms over his head, holding firmly onto Marco, and slammed the creature down on the deck on his back.

Marco landed on his back with a hard thud, and the flames on his body enraged, almost lighting the whole ship on fire. Marco coughed heavily, but his new power immediately began to heal him. He wasn't done yet. He flipped himself back over before Halcen could get on top of him and thrust a fiery leg into Halcen's chest.

Halcen was lifted off his feet and went sailing over the crowd of onlookers. He landed with a heavy smash against the wall to the inside of the ship. His body remained fully unharmed however. Halcen dropped back down to the ground on his feet, ready to fight.

Marco dropped down from the sky, throwing bursts of fire at Halcen.

Oh shit! As much as he was resistant to it, Halcen knew better than to needlessly take damage. He jumped into a roll that got him out of the shower of flames. The fire began to spread as Halcen ran from Marco.

Marco dived down under Halcen, sweeping under his legs.

Halcen's body took little injury, but he was thrown from his footing with a loud shout. "Fuck off!" He rolled to the ground and ended up on his ass.

The burning bird flew around the ship once more as he readied another dive attack. This time, the man of black was already off his feet. And he would have little time to ready for a counter. Marco sped up as quickly as he could, and aimed his blazing beak towards Halcen.

"You damn monster!" Halcen shouted at the predator. He pushed himself off from the wall as swiftly as possible, and made a dash towards the middle of the ship, but he only got a few yards before Marco was on him.

He dove down, as hard as a screeching evil eagle could. His claws tucked into his body to make him more aerodynamic as he flew towards his prey. "Now, it's over, yoi," he said aloud to himself.

Halcen turned, and readied for one more impact. His body had taken little damage, but he was getting tired already. Marco was learning his powers too fast. This fight was too intense. He needed to end it. Halcen lunged at Marco, himself flying into the air. But he was poised for his wing, not his body.

Halcen grabbed tightly as Marco tried to free himself. Marco was thrown off balance and started shaking furiously. His fire flashed heavily in midair, trying to hurt Halcen. Halcen twisted his body in the air, and flicked Marco back down to the ship.

Marco landed once more with a loud crash, and a cry.

Halcen dropped down from above, and brought his arms down in a heavy hammer. He smashed into Marco's chest, almost breaking his bones. He knew he had to have caused serious damage with that blow. Then, Halcen leant down and grabbed Marco by the throat with his black hand. He lifted him up and brought back his other hand, ready to swing.

A loud, thundering crack shook the whole ship, freezing Halcen in fear. He looked back to see the old man, Whitebeard, standing there. "That is enough, Halcen," he declared.

Halcen stared deep at Whitebeard. "Of course, as soon as I have the upper hand, you step in. You just have to protect your golden child."

"This has gone too far, Halcen," Whitebeard shouted. "Look around you!"

Halcen looked around the ship, seeing that where the fire had been started was smudged out from the old man's power. He was defending his ship from the destruction the two of them were causing.

The crowd around them gaped in horror and boos. "Stop it, Halcen," some of them cried. These were his comrades, his friends, his family, his nakama. And they were taking Marco's side.

Marco struggled desperately as the black hand, squeezed tightly against his neck, choking him. He could feel unconsciousness coming.

"Let him go, Halcen," Whitebeard demanded.

Halcen let Marco go, and the man slipped forward, trying to maintain his footing as he ran to hide behind Whitebeard, rubbing his throat. His face was red.

"But he-"

"NO!" the old man shouted, cutting him off. "It is one thing to accuse others of lying, and theft, but to attack another crewmate is unforgiveable! You have dishonored yourself, Marco, and our entire family."

"But, Pops…"

"No, Halcen," he spoke in his rough voice. "There is no excuse here. Had you wanted a fair chance, you would not have acted so irrationally. This matter is closed. You have proven your own mistrust. And I cannot have you here, anymore. You must leave us!"

"Pops…" Halcen muttered, trying to come up with a response.

"I am not your Pops, Halcen. Not anymore. We are not your family. You have betrayed that bond, and you must leave."

Halcen struggled to keep from tearing up as he searched the faces of the men and women he had traveled with. Thatch, Ace, Grey, Haruta, Namur, Teach. This was the only family he had. "Please, no. I can't… I can't be all alone." He turned back to Whitebeard. "Pops, please, listen to me!"

"I'm done listening to your excuses. You have done enough to this family. And I cannot ignore it anymore. Gather your things. You need to leave."

As Halcen stood there, he realized this was reality. No drink, no drug, no woman, could make this pain go away. Nothing could stop this from passing as it was. He swallowed his anger for the moment, collected himself, and turned away.

Halcen stepped off the ship, and back onto the dock of the island he had only come up on a half hour earlier, with his bag packed tightly, without saying his goodbyes. If they had cared enough for him, they would have said something to stop Whitebeard from kicking him out. Now, he was alone.

"Hold up!" called a hoarse, but familiar voice.

Halcen turned to see the old man, Axcel D. Grey. He was about half a foot taller than Halcen with long, tangled gray hair. He was late in his fifties, and the wrinkles on his face said he had been through a lot more than most people his age. His teal eyes held a lot of pain. He was a pirate, through and through. And a good man. He had a bag with him as well.

"What are you doing, Grey?"

"I'm coming with you," he said, walking fast to catch up.

"You need to go back. You're needed there. That's your home."

"No, Halcen, you need me more."

"I don't need anyone," Halcen spoke softly. "I'll be fine on my own." He avoided eye contact, then turned around to continue walking.

"I seem to recall myself saying something very similar, years ago."

"Grey… don't."

"Halcen, stop!"

"What do you want, Grey!?" Halcen shouted, turning to him, eyes red from swallowing his emotions.

"I'm going with you. I owe you at least this much. I'm here, whatever you need."

Halcen swallowed hard, trying to maintain his composure. That somebody would sacrifice their whole life, to make sure he was okay… was too much for him to accept. Genuinely good people were few and far between in a world like this. "Alright… thank you."

"So… where are we headed? What's the plan?"

Halcen looked over the ocean, as he watched the Moby Dick pulling away from port. He plotted carefully in his head. Halcen turned back to Grey, smirking. "First things first, we need a ship and a crew."