CH - 2 [ Born in ash ]

In the shallow parts of the North Blue lies an island called Kuzonid, where pirates come and dock their ships freely. It is an island that has built itself on the power and business of wealthy pirates coming and going in their daily lives abroad. Pirates come to stay and relax while their ships are repaired, outfitted, restocked, and readied for new adventures. They sleep, and drink, and fight, and fuck; and the circle of life goes on around them, without too many people getting hurt. Kuzonid is an island that depends of the business of such pirates, and their discretion, and honor. Without them, the hearty people of the land could have no livelihood, since the soil is too difficult to grow in, and their aid of the World Government is so little. Marines steered clear for the most part because they know they weren't welcome. Only during desperate times do they come to the shores of this island.

On one of the island's hilltops, in a fancy house, lives young Avarik Halcen and his family. He has a younger brother Avarik Pol, a mother Avarik Ren, and a father Avarik Gouchu. But during this winter season, his brother Pol was far off in another sea in a boarding school to keep him from being distracted from his parents' high expectations of him.

Halcen himself was still at home, at age 13, raising hell with his temperament. His parents had tried many things to calm him, but Halcen was incurable. He was rough, especially now that he had hit puberty. He was going to create as much chaos as he could. He was angry, and he didn't know why. He was always ready for a fight, even though he lost to his schoolmates every time. He never put any thought into it, but he knew if he did some real working out, he could easily beat them. He was tall enough to look like a teenager, but still decently thin. He had long blonde hair that he kept combed back so his bangs didn't hang over, and vivid green eyes. He wore baggy clothes and his skin was always scraped up. He was always coming home with a new bruise.

Halcen knew he was smarter than most of the other people in town, and it was easy to get away with what he wanted. He was too eager to go cause trouble, and never got in trouble for it. But that was fading quickly, since his parents were getting ready to send him away too. This time, it wouldn't be a fancy boarding school. Halcen knew he was too rambunctious for that. So they had to make other, more drastic plans. Halcen wasn't ready for that. He knew when that day came, he'd have to enact his escape plan from the island. It was the only place he'd ever known, but he knew that had to change. This world was big enough to disappear in and nobody suspect anything. There were currently at least seven different pirate ships docked in their harbor as it was. Stowing away would be easy enough.

Halcen came home this one particular day, with a couple fresh marks on his scrawny body. He was proud of his work. He had finally taken on one of the new kids that he had taken a beating from earlier this year.

He opened the door to his large house at the crest of the hill. As soon as he walked in, wearing a victorious smirk, he was immediately abashed by their maid, Clarisse. She was short and wore puffy dresses that Halcen assumed had to be in her way. "Avarik Halcen!" she ferociously shouted. For such a dainty woman, she had the voice of the monster. He knew he was in trouble.

He turned to look at her walking in from the outside dining area. "Yes, ma'am?" he said, voice shaking.

"Just what trouble have you gotten yourself into today?" she walked up to him. She was already in her forties, but she was still a beautiful woman. She had long red hair, tied back, and a porcelain face, like a doll.

"N… nothing, ma'am."

She wiped her thumb on his face, across one of his new bruises.

"Ow!"

"And just what am I to tell the misses?"

Halcen's face grew dark. "Please, don't say anything to them."

Her face lit up. She wrapped her arm around Halcen's shoulder. She was only a few inches taller than him. But he was growing quick enough to be taller than her soon. "Of course not, honey." She was always so sweet. "Now, how about a piece of candy?"

Halcen's eyes brightened at the peace offering. She knew how to get to him.

She took out a piece of hard candy in a gold wrapper.

He took it with a huge grin and tossed it in his mouth. His face beamed. He was a sucker for candy. Just about any kind would do. Except the hot kind. He hated it with passion like no child could.

"There, there. Now have you got any homework to do?"

Halcen's face flattened and he puffed out his lips, trying to protest.

"Oh, no, not the squishy fish face," Clarisse grumbled. "If you have homework, you best get your butt upstairs and take care of it. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Halcen said, solemnly.

Later that day, when Halcen's parents were home, they all went downstairs for dinner. They all gathered in the dining hall, which fit many more people than they usually had. They had a chef to look after their dietary habits, Lamont. He was a good man, only in his late twenties. He was a fair man, hair and skin. He was slender, but still fit, and taller than everyone else in the house. He was the son of one of Gouchu's business partners, but he was like family to the Avariks.

Gouchu himself was a little older, in his fifties. He had a dusty gray beard that stuck out from his chin, and short graying hair atop his head. He wore round glasses that barely helped him see better. He was aged, physically, but his mind was still sharp. He dug into the food, vivaciously enjoying it.

Ren sat upright; she was a woman of class, and demanded proper etiquette, even though nobody followed her rules. She was getting up in years too, but still took good care of her looks. She was still a very pretty woman, there was no denying it. She turned to Halcen. "How was your day at school, dear?" she asked earnestly.

Halcen sighed in annoyance of the question. "Same as every day, mother," he huffed.

"Halcen," Gouchu butted in. "You treat your mother with respect."

Halcen quieted himself, ashamed.

Ren was clearly disappointed, but more so sad. Her face let on a lot more than she wanted anybody to realize. Halcen sometimes had to take the time to realize that she actually did care. While she liked to have nice appearances, she was truly a good person, and had never done anything intentional to hurt Halcen. She sighed.

There was a quiet, so Halcen tried to fix it. "We learned about the World Government economy. How their new businesses brought in by the Warlords is booming. It's kinda interesting," Halcen admitted.

"Now we know that's all just a lot of propaganda being forced by their media, right?" Gouchu asked his son.

"Well, not all that they're telling us is lies. We just have to dissect it to figure it out," Halcen responded. This was where he and his father really got along. They were both very intelligent people, and had all kinds of interesting thoughts about the world outside. However, Halcen knew that with his father's traveling experience and age, he had a lot more to base his ideas on that Halcen did; one of the reasons Halcen wanted to get off this island.

After dinner was over, the family had dismissed, and everyone went off to do their own thing as usual. Gouchu went his study to look over more business papers. Ren sat by the fire in the den, reading one of her new books. While they were busy, Halcen went to the kitchen to see Lamont.

"Halcen!" he said with joy upon seeing the boy. "Whatever are you doing down here?"

Halcen sniffed around, smelling the sweets he knew were cooking. "What have you got down here?" Halcen asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Oh, you're being quite the little squirt, today, aren't you?" Lamont asked.

Halcen crossed his arms and huffed.

"The way I hear it, you got into another scuffle. But I bet you didn't get into any trouble for it again, did you? You're a little nuisance, huh?" Lamont teased.

"Lamooooont," Halcen whined.

"Alright, alright. What'chu want?" He leaned over the island table in the kitchen and looked down at Halcen. He had big blue eyes. They reminded Halcen of the ocean. Lamont himself was just as mysterious. Seemingly came out of nowhere almost a year earlier, and still Halcen knew little about where he came from.

"What are you making?" Halcen looked around the kitchen. The place was a mess. But he knew Lamont always cleaned up after himself. He was quite the creative type, always trying new concoctions.

"Well, if you must know," Lamont said, waltzing about the kitchen, "I'm making chocolate."

Halcen's jaw dropped in salivation. His eyes sparkled. "Chocolate…" he muttered through the flood in his mouth.

"Now don't go getting any ideas, boy," Lamont warned him. "This is the fancy stuff for your father's business friends that he's going out to meet tomorrow. He's got to have gifts. This isn't for little boys. It's got a hefty amount of rum, and a bit of nut."

"But…"

"No, no. No buts. This ain't for little troublemakers like you. Now if you're still hungry, I can whip you up something."

Halcen sighed, crossed his arms over the counter, and flopped his head down. "I just wanted some candy."

Lamont took pity on the boy. "Alright, well how about this? I can't give you any of this, but tomorrow I can make you a fresh batch just for you, minus the rum."

Halcen looked up from his pouting. "Really?"

"Yeah." Lamont smiled that beaming, cheery face. He was so pale, but he was so lively.

"Alright."

"Good. Now you better scat. It's getting late. You got school tomorrow."

"Awwwwww," Halcen whined.

"You heard me, mister. Now git."

Halcen picked himself up, and turned out the kitchen, and headed upstairs to his room. He was upset that he couldn't get anything sweet tonight, but at least tomorrow he'd get some. So he stalked up the stairs, beginning to tire with each movement. His body was sore from the day. And he knew he needed sleep. The night was high, and his parents were sure to turn in any minute, as well as Clarisse and Lamont. They all had such predictable schedules.

Halcen lay down in his bed for the night. And soon he heard the footsteps and doors opening and closing throughout the rest of the house. And the light under his door died. The rest of the house became quiet. He was in peace.

And he let the night progress. Soon, he was stirred by a deep need. He sat up, and listened to the sounds of the quiet house. He stood up from his bed and put on his slippers. He needed to be quiet when moving so as not to rouse the rest of the house. He stalked downstairs, moving as slowly as possible to keep the floors from creaking.

He walked quickly across the open foyer into the kitchen. He looked around. It was immaculate. Lamont had cleaned up very neatly as he always did. This was no surprise. He was good housemate. But he wasn't there to check the cleanliness. He was there for the sweets. Halcen knew he wasn't supposed to be down there. But he needed his fix. The sugar was all he could think about. Why couldn't he have a couple pieces? Lamont was being unfair.

And there it was, sitting in nice packaging on the island. Lamont had taken individual pieces and wrapped them in various colored foil, then put them in a basket, and wrapped the basket in clear plastic with a beautiful bow on to keep it closed. Halcen knew this was going to be tricky, getting in and out without damaging it. But there were so many pieces. Surely, nobody would notice a few missing. He needed it.

Halcen picked up the bag, trying not to let the plastic crinkle. Even the smallest sounds late at night felt like nuclear explosions. He pulled it close to him, then set it gently on the ground. Being as short as he was, unwrapping the bow from the island would have been too troublesome.

But he stopped to listen. He needed to make sure nobody heard him. And that was when he heard the tiniest of creeks. He stopped and froze. It was coming from the back of the house. It could have been Lamont of Clarisse. Halcen was hidden behind the island, so looking in from the kitchen door, nobody could see him. But he had to wait.

Halcen listened as the sounds of scraping come across the floor. There was a small, high-pitched chuckle he could barely hear. What was going on? He tried to peer out from behind the island through the door, hoping to catch a glimpse. But there was nothing there.

Instead, a hand pulled around his mouth, and he tried to shout for help. But it was Lamont. He had pulled Halcen close to him. He gave Halcen the signal to be quiet. Halcen nodded and Lamont removed his hand. They were both crouched behind the island.

Halcen was about to whisper something, but Lamont put his hand over his mouth again and shook his head. He was not to make a sound. So they listened.

"Excuse me, sirs," Halcen heard Clarisse's dominating voice demand. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Halcen felt relieved. Whatever this was, surely Clarisse would take care of it. She was a very strong and up-standing woman. She could handle whoever had come.

"You can shut your mouth, old woman," a man's voice responded.

Then there was a loud shriek and a thud. Then atop it, the sound of more high-pitched cackling.

Halcen shouted "No!"

Lamont looked to Halcen and his eyes teared up as he shook his head. Halcen tried to stand up, but Lamont pushed him down and whispered "Do not move. Do not speak." He stood up and walked outside the kitchen to face whoever it was that was out there. He had a dark expression on his face. It scared Halcen.

"Lamont!" Halcen heard his father, Gouchu, shouting from upstairs. From the balcony, he could look down on the whole scene. Surely Halcen did not want to see what his father was seeing. But he could hear the pain in his voice. "What's going on, down there?"

Lamont must have been afraid. "These two men have come to our home, seeking violence, sir." He was surely on the verge of tears.

Halcen heard his father's steps down the stairs, thudding in anger. His father was not a strong man, but a smart man. He was very wealthy, and surely there had been many people in his life that had come after him for one reason or another. That was the life of a businessman. But this was beyond business. They had broken into his house and hurt his maid. There was something very wrong.

"What are you men after?" Gouchu demanded.

"Dear, what's going on?" Halcen heard his mother from the bedroom.

"Ren, stay upstairs," Gouchu shouted at her.

"No, I think she should join us," one of the men said.

"What are you doing?" Gouchu asked as feet moved.

"Leave her alone!" Lamont demanded. Halcen heard him jump at one of the men, and a struggle ensued. Then he heard a thud. "Oh, my God. What are you?"

Then that small chuckle Halcen had heard earlier came back, in full maniac form. He cackled in a high-pitched scream. And he could barely understand, but the monster spoke. "I'm here to kill every last one of you!"

Lamont cried out, and then he coughed hard. "Gouchu, run!" And then he was silent.

Halcen began to tear up as he heard the monster's footsteps thudding up the stairs. And his mother cried out in a loud shriek, just as Clarisse had.

"No, please, leave her alone!" Gouchu begged. "I'll give you anything you want. Just leave my family alone!" And then Halcen heard a spattering sound and another dropping thud. The sound of his father being murdered by the second man.

And suddenly, silence.

The monster upstairs traipsed across the hall upstairs towards Halcen's room. Look inside and said, in his gravely demon voice "There's nobody else in here. The kid must not be here."

Then the man downstairs answered. "Or he's hiding somewhere. We better make doubly sure."

"We'll just burn the house down like always. We gotta get going. If he's hiding somewhere, he'll die in the fire."

"Alright, I've got the gas."

There was the sound of splashing. Halcen began to smell the horrific putrid stink of the fire-starter. He knew his end was coming. If he waited until the aggressors were gone, the whole house would burn down around him. If he tried to run now, he would die too... but what would that matter? His whole family had just been slaughtered.

Halcen heard the match light. Then, a loud whoosh. The gas had been lit.

He stood up from his crouched position, shaking terribly. He reached for one of Lamont's butcher knives out from the wooden block. As his hand shook taking it out, it made a rattling sound. That alerted the men.

"There's someone in the kitchen!" The monster voice called.

Halcen staggered toward the door, holding the knife tightly in his hand, with the blade backwards. He finally made it, and tried to rest against the doorway. The gruesome sight before him sent him into flooding tears. He choked. There was his family. His father, Lamont, Clarisse. Each dead, bloodied, and now their bodies were burning. And upstairs he could see his mother's body as well. The fire would get to her soon enough.

Halcen's glare turned to the two men. The one standing near his dead family was a normal looking man. He had long black hair, and he was tall. The other, standing nearest him, was a werebeast of some sort. He had elongated limbs, covered in short black and brown striped fur, pointed ears, and a demon's face. He had long talons that were dripping blood.

This man was the product of a devil fruit, Halcen knew that. He had seen them a few times, humans with unique abilities. He did live in a pirate's oasis after all. He knew a bit about them. This man had eaten a Zoan fruit. Which beast, he could not tell. But he was a monster indeed. He stood in front of the fire as if it was nothing.

Halcen stared him in the face, and then charged, bringing the knife up, ready to slash. Yet the beast was faster and stronger than the boy. He swung his left arm across Halcen's face, sending him flying off his feet, across the room and smashed against the wall Lamont's dead body was leaned against.

The man with the black hair took over from there, pulling a hatchet from his belt. He was ready. He stepped across the fire and stood in front of Halcen, staring into his eyes. The man had the eyes of a killer. They were deep and merciless. Halcen feared him. He brought the hatchet up, ready to swing.

Halcen began to hyperventilate, breathing heavily. He was staring into the face of his end. "I'm going to kill you," he gasped. His mind began to race as he began trying to think of any way he might be able to fight back. He couldn't give up… but he wasn't fast enough.

The hatchet swiftly came down at him. Halcen closed his eyes as the weapon made contact with his face. The expected pain never came. Instead, he felt a heavy pressure, and heard a cracking that he thought surely must have been the sound of his skull being split in two. But he opened his eyes to see the man, staring back at him in abject horror.

The blade had cracked against Halcen's skin and a piece had flung back, cutting the man across his left cheek. Blood was just beginning to seep from his face. "What… what the hell are you?!" he cursed.

Halcen looked at himself, his hands and arms, to see that they were covered in a pitch black coating. What this was, he did not know. But he suddenly felt very powerful. He stood up, and watched the man back off in fear.

He turned to his partner, to whom he said, "We have to leave, now!" And off they ran, through the back of the house, away from the fire and the demon child.

Halcen slumped down on the ground, grabbing onto the body of his father. He sat still as the inferno raged around him, devouring the remains of everything he had ever loved. It howled against him ineffectively, incapable of giving him his place with with his family. So he began to sob uncontrollably.

Soon enough, as the flames reached uncontrollable levels, emergency fire services came to the house, knocking down the doors to find Halcen alive, in the fire, and covered in black. One of the men grabbed him and picked him up, rushing him out of the house as it burned down. There were no other survivors.

As the night began to fade into the dawn, and the fire died down, Halcen slipped away from the scene. A horde of people had come, bombarding him with questions that he wasn't able to deal with. He wanted rest. He wanted peace. He went down to the shore and watched as the sun came up.

When it did, he looked at himself, and could barely find the peach of his own skin. He was no longer covered in the mysterious black power, but dried blood and ash. The sight of it threw him into frenzy. His tears were dried out, but he was still in shock. He screamed out as he flung himself into the water, scrubbing himself furiously with his nails. He needed to get clean. He couldn't stay this filthy.

Finally, he began to settle down. His skin was inflamed and red, having scrubbed it raw, but he took solace in the fact that he was finally clean. His body now began to hurt. How could it be that after all that had happened, only his self-inflicted assault was enough to hurt him? He couldn't figure out where that power came from. He had never eaten a Devil Fruit... so where?

He stood up, staring over the ocean. He may not have known about this mysterious power, but he sure as hell knew he needed to get off this God-forsaken island. He couldn't stay there. There was nowhere for him to stay. He had no home, no family. It was time to leave.

Avarik Halcen strode through the docks of Kuzonid, dodging multiple people in his quest. People were running around carrying all kinds of stuff. His body was still wet, and his shoes slapped the boards of the docks, leaving wet prints as he went.

The port itself was well put together. It had enough for a dozen ships at a time. Considering how small the island itself was, that was quite a large number. The men and women of the port almost stepped on his multiple times, and many began shouting at him to get out of their way. They were all in a rush, and a little runt in their way would only mess things up. But he would not be deterred. He was there for a reason. And there it was. He waltzed right up to one of the larger ships, climbed on over the brow, and finally onto the boat.

Halcen looked around in excitement to see the busy crew. They were all making preparations for their departure. It looked like they had all had a good night's sleep, and their ship was nearly ready to go. At the helm, up above the main deck, stood the captain. Halcen recognized him immediately.

So he made his way across the deck, and had to dodge a few more rushing crew that nearly knocked him over the edge. Halcen glared at them in anger. Finally, he made it up the stairs and stood in front of the captain. He was a very tall man, larger than average men by about four feet. He was very wide, and had dark skin. He had strangely curled black beard and a small spot of hair on top of his head.

"Excuse me!" Halcen called the man.

He looked down at Halcen with his stale brown eyes. "What the hell are you doing on my ship, you runt?" the man asked with a stern glare.

"I'm here to join your crew!" Halcen shouted, trying to sound tough.

Everyone around laughed at him. "Who is this kid?" Somebody asked.

"My name is Avarik Halcen!"

"Is that so?" the captain asked. "Well, listen here, Avarik Halcen. Do you have any idea who we are?"

Halcen stared deeply at the man. "Of course I do. You're the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, "Diamond" Jozu. And this is your crew."

Jozu was taken aback. "If you know who we are, why do you want to join?"

"There's nothing for me on this island anymore. I want to leave, see the world, make my place in it. A life of adventure? Of finding dreams and fulfilling them with my own hands? Of making each day count? Of taking what you want, and being able to protect what's important in your life? A pirate's life sounds pretty damn good to me!"

Jozu laughed, his body rumbling with its magnitude, his crew laughing alongside him. "You've got guts, kid!"

"I think the old man will like this one," one of the crew added.

"Yeah, he's got spirit," another pitched in.

"I think you're right there." Jozu turned to his navigator. "Alright then, let's go see Whitebeard!"