Hey all! So, as you can plainly see, this tale is not by me. Yeah, looks like I've got fans now, and I'm inspiring them to write too. I lighted edited, but the story is unchanged. Feel free to express your thoughts about it, and I'll gladly pass them on to the author! Also, heavy spoiler warning! If you haven't gotten to at least Episode 1000, or watched One Piece: Stampede, you might be confused...

Heir's Lament

By gemknightquartz

His chest heaved with exhaustion, his teeth gritting against each other like swords clanging for an eternity, his legs had given out after so long and had snapped from the final blow of that Giant's Hammer.

If he could get up, he would waste no time into tearing back into them, still willing to go on for another 7 days as he ignored his body's need for food and rest, if it meant he could defeat them and prove himself.

But in spite of his will to go on, he could not physically move. His legs were like two broken pieces of wood, bits of bone jutting out from either side as they bent at ungodly angles.

His left arm was currently twisted and frayed from Borsalino's light beams, all while his right one was no longer attached to him, sliced off mere hours ago once that hatted one finally caught him off guard.

His ribs were busted and likely piercing several important organs, half his body covered in icy cold as his bare skin felt numb to the touch all while Magma dripped from above him.

After 7 days and 7 nights, Douglas Bullet 'The Demons Heir', had been defeated.

"You Roger Pirates are always the hardest to kill." The red one said, heat pouring out of his body as he stood above him "But thankfully you were stupid enough to split up so we could take you down one by one."

"How... " Bullet breathed out, in spite of how each raspy breath made his lungs scream for his nonexistent mercy. "How did you defeat me?"

The red one raised a brow "How?" He asked, seeming to be willing to give his defeated opponent "It's simple."

He gestured around. Thousands of Marines swarmed around them, many lying dead on the floor or in the sea, while others tended to their wounded. What few remained were keeping their eyes and weapons trained on him for the slightest threatening movement, not wanting to take any chance of survival with how many this Monster had killed.

"These are the men and women who sail under the World Governments Flag, they live and die at our command, kill as many of us as you want, two more will always take our place!" The red one yelled as the heat coming off him increased as droplets of magma boiled any part of him, they landed on now that his armament had faded.

"We are JUSTICE! And as long as we are united against Pirate Scum like you, our Coats will never fall from our backs!" He yelled as Bullet paid silent attention to the victor of their fight.

Even though he knew he was so much weaker than him, he still came out on top. Why?

Was it because of his Devil fruit powers? No, Bullet had one of the strongest and most versatile ones there were, Magma alone could not prove his victory.

Was it because he was a Logia? Impossible, he had mastered his armament and never stopped using it against him till he physically couldn't.

Then what was it? What gave him the power to come out the victor in this Week-long battle? Was... was it what he said it was? No weightless boasting, but instead his words having the essence of truth behind them.

Did he lose, because he didn't have anyone to take his place? Was there some sort of power to having others back you up he never figured out?

No...

"What makes you strong, old man?" Asked the now 16-year-old Douglas as he lay injured against the railing of this ship of his always winning opponent.

"Old? I'm only 43 you little Gaki!" 'Gold' Roger laughed while holding a cup of ale as Crocus patched the little blonde up.

"Answer my question," he repeated as Roger sighed.

"Alright, I suppose the reason I grew this strong, was because I had such a great crew to protect," he simply stated, gaining a melancholy look into his eye as he spotted the other members of his crew hanging around. "I set out to sea with them, and I became so much stronger because I knew they had my back and I needed to have theirs. I wouldn't be half the man I am now without them." He sipped his beer gingerly as Douglas stared back.

"... You're lying."

"Hmm," Roger raised a brow, though one may take note of the dangerous glint in his eyes; seems he didn't like being called a liar. "One can only become strong when they rely on themselves, everyone else seeks to only use you and hold you back from finding your true strength." Bullet spat out the words repeated into his mind every night like Venom as he recalled his fellow 'comrades' constant attempts to put him down. "You can only truly reach your peak by yourself!"

Even his own brother betrayed him, the name of Douglas an eternal reminder of what true betrayal felt like.

"Gyayayayayayaya!" The captain of the Roger Pirates (real original there) laughed. "Well, believe it or not, that's all there is to it. A little sprout like you could learn a lot from this crew if you stuck around."

The boy stoically said, before standing up, "I will learn your secret in time old man, I know your hiding it... "

"Eh, we'll work on it. Now it's time for you to meet the crew!"

'Is that really all there is to it?' The unstoppable man thought in disbelief as he laid on his back, uncaring as a boiling foot was jammed into his gut as he stared at the sky 'Having people to rely on people to be there for you, that's what you meant.'

"Now join the rest of your fellow scum in hell, Pirate!" The red one yelled, Bullet simply closing his eyes as his grizzly fate was soon to commence.

His last thoughts were not one of panic at his incoming death, or anger at his failure, but one of sorrow, one of regret as they recalled all the times this power called 'friendship' was offered to them.

Always putting up those walls so he wouldn't have to worry about betrayal again.

All on his own after his Captain died...

'Rayleigh, Oden, Crocus, Buggy, Shanks, Gaban... '

"DIE! IN THE NAME OF ABSOLUTE JUSTICE!" The Marine, who one day would be known as Akainu yelled as the Magma-fueled fist came rushing into Bullet's face.

'I suppose it's fitting, as I die alone, that I realized how this power I craved has failed me... '

Unbeknownst to him and any other Marine watching, the merciless demon let a single tear drop from his eye, evaporating milliseconds later as his brain was fried, the rest of his body following suit.

'You were right Captain... maybe I wouldn't be here if I made some friends...'

Douglas Bullet, the most feared living member of the Roger Pirates, died as he lived.

Alone.

So, thoughts? Also, now that the flood gates are open, I'm now accepting submissions! Want to write, but unsure if you can do it? PM me, and I can drop your story here! I can even leave it anonymous if you prefer. Thanks for reading!