Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a new stories from the depths of my imagination (really, not that deep)...

Alabastan Nights

This is a multi chapter story about a lonely boy that lives on the streets of an Arabian-like country, Alabasta. Along the way he will meet interesting people and one certain man could even be more than interesting... but let's save that for later.

(you probably won't be surprised to hear this story was based off Aladdin... I was listening to 'A whole new world' when I came up with this

Thanks to Aerle and Thérèse for beta'ing and thanks to MyLadyDay and SophieStaar for creating cover images (I'll rotate them)!

Disclamer: I don't own One Piece)

Now, let's first meet our main character and get introduced to his world. *insert Arabian music here*

Chapter 1: 'Yup, that's me'

I stretched my arms above my head and looked out over the city. It had awoken some time ago and I could see the market slowly getting crowded. It was like every other day. The sun was burning down heavily on the people, but it didn't stop them from going out into the streets. Of course, everyone needed food and it wasn't healthy to stay inside every day either.

I stood up and walked towards the darkest and coldest corner of the room. The crowded city was in stark contrast to my apartment – if you could call the place I was living in an apartment. It was just an empty room inside an empty building. The government had declared it unsafe. They said it could collapse at any time, but I couldn't care less. It meant I had a place I could live, out of sight from everyone else and if it would collapse, I would just find another place. It wasn't as if I hadn't done that before.

I'd reached the corner and sighed. Just one apple, that was all I had left. I took a bite of it. At least it's still edible.

With the apple still in my mouth, I put on my thin, black coat. Because even I needed protection against the burning sun. I hung my green and black striped bag over my shoulder, cast a last look on the few blankets I claimed as my personal possessions and jumped out of the window, ignoring the fact that it was the fourth floor.

When I almost reached the ground, I let small flames burst out of the soles of my feet, warming up the air underneath them and giving me a soft landing. I walked into the alley as if I hadn't just fallen out of the sky. I was used to doing things like that without being noticed. I had to. They couldn't know I lived up there. In that light it was good that the tower I lived in stood in a back alley and was surrounded by mostly uninhabited buildings.

I reached the end of the alley quickly and meddled into the crowd at the marketplace. first I walked around to watch all the stalls. Some were selling carpets or fancy pillows, some the newest Alabastan fashion, but most of them were selling food. Which was good, because food was what I needed.

I carefully looked around, without anyone seeing me. The regulars knew me. If I wanted to get something from them, I had to make sure they didn't notice me until it was too late.

That moment my attention was drawn to a big group of people crowded around a stall I hadn't seen before. Curiosity got the better hand of me and I sneaked through the mass of people to get a peek of what the marketer was selling.

"And this genie will grant you three wishes," the salesman said with a mysterious tone to his voice. I saw three shiny, though a little dusty oil lamps standing on the table before him. "But be careful what you wish for, since you have only three of them. After that, the genie will be free and gone."

I couldn't care less about genies. Sure, three wishes would be nice, but everyone knew genies weren't real, that they belonged in fairytales. Despite this fact, I still saw some of the customers look very interested at the bronze objects. Well, I was interested too; those looked very valuable. And if this man could sell them, I could do it too, right? I had let my eyes fall on the middle one, that was decorated with little turquoise stones.

"Things like this could end up very bad, when they get into the hands of the wrong person," the vendor continued his story, probably to make the 'good' customers more interested. I couldn't help but snort. Those rich bastards wouldn't know what good to do with three wishes. "Have you ever heard the story of the genie of Gol D. Roger, King of Thieves?"

I froze at the hearing of that name. The name of the man I hated.

"This man, the devil himself, had a genie too, named Silvers Rayleigh." I snorted again. Rayleigh had been his right hand, not a genie! Everyone knew that! Still, I couldn't help to keep listening. "Roger had two terrible wishes, giving him the biggest treasure in the world, while killing and hurting a lot of innocent people. However, no one really knows what his last wish was, but it must have been at least as terrible as the others. However, his genie was freed, that's for sure," the salesman said in a dark voice.

I made my way back through the crowd. I didn't need to listen any longer to those stupid stories. If that man had had a genie, he sure as hell could have done better things with it. I could think of a lot of wishes that would have made my live less of a hell, for a start.

I returned to walking around over the marketplace, pushing thoughts of that man aside. I had to think about the best way to get what I needed. I wanted the lamp and some food; bread, fruit and preferably some meat. Well, it would be best to start with the lamp, since the marketer was new and thus not aware of the threat that was me. I grinned. It had been a while ago since I had set something on fire, so it would probably take the people some time to realize it was my doing. Yes, I knew what I had to do.

I made my way back to the genie-man. When I stood next to the stall, I heard the salesman negotiate with a tall man about the middle lamp. But no way, that lamp was mine! I opened my bag, so it would be ready to throw my loot in.

Before anyone had noticed me, I shot a flame out of my hand, immediately setting the whole table on fire. When everyone started to panic, I let my body become one with the flames and quickly snatched the lamp away, before it could get damaged. I lit the stall next to it too, to make it more believable and then sneaked back into the crowd. I ran towards my next victim, which didn't stand out, because a lot of people were running from the fire.

I got at the baker's stand, grabbed two large breads – which the baker didn't even see, because he was cautiously watching the fire – and put them together with the lamp into my bag. I continued my way to the fruits seller. I picked up some bananas and – hey, a pineapple! Pineapples have always been my favorite!

"Oi!"

I looked up at the fruit seller's face and saw immediate recognition in his eyes. I grinned at him and began to run again.

"Catch him!" the marketer yelled after me. "Catch him, it's Fire Fist!"

I laughed. None of the locals would be so stupid as to catch me, someone with devil fruit powers and one of the few of whom the powers weren't suppressed by the government. So unless there were any officials close by, I didn't need to worry.

I ended up at the butcher. "Hello," I greeted him.

The man gave me an unimpressed look. "Portgas," he said displeased, after which he started looking around, probably to see if there were any city guards within earshot.

"Yup, that's me," I said. "I would like that piece of meat," I pointed at the largest piece he was selling, "and a chicken."

"Fuck off, Portgas. You're not getting anything. I'll give you one chance to leave on your own. If you don't, I'll call the guards," he warned me. That wasn't very nice of him.

My face hardened. "I give you one chance to give me the meat, or I will burn this thing down."

We looked each other in the eyes for a few seconds, neither of us giving in. Then the butcher opened his mouth. "Guards! Guards! He's here!"

I cast a look over my shoulder and saw three guards heading our way. "Shit," I hissed. I quickly grabbed the chicken and set the rest on fire. Letting the flames guide me up into the sky, I landed on the rooftop of a nearby building.

I had almost immediately lost the guards. They couldn't jump or fly this high, except for a few higher ranked ones. That meant the guards had to use the stairs to get up here and by that time I would be long gone. In that prospective I was glad only higher government officials were allowed to use devil fruit powers. They didn't trust the lower ones with it. I had to be careful with my own powers, though. If I used them as much and in the way I did the past few minutes all the time, I would have one of those higher ranked guys after me very soon.

Well, who was I fooling. They would come after me sooner or later anyway. Even if they would never find out about my lineage. I was a devil fruit user, so the longer I kept my powers, the more I became a threat to them. Or so they thought.

I walked over the rooftops for a while and when I thought the coast was clear, I got back to the ground again.

It wasn't like I was planning on overthrowing the government or anything. I just didn't let myself be oppressed by them. My freedom was the most important thing to me. So a threat? I didn't think so. Though I did like to provoke them a bit, every once in a while.

I had reached the tower in which I lived. I looked around to see if there was anyone around and when this was not the case, I entered the building, this time just taking the stairs. One moment I almost lost my balance when the stone crumbled beneath my feet, but I managed to keep myself from falling and walked all the way up to the fourth floor.

I dropped my bag on the floor, sat down and started to unpack it. The food should be kept as cool as possible, so I put the pineapple into the dark, but drafty corner, together with the bananas and the bread. I looked at the chicken. I shouldn't wait too long to eat it, because it would soon not be safe to eat anymore. Actually, with these temperatures, I should roast it within an hour. However, when looking around, I could find only one little twig of wood. I should get some more wood or oil first. Wood was better to cook on, but scarcer too. Of course I could just roast the chicken above my hand or my feet or my dick, for that matter – I got to try the last, one time – but that would cost a lot of energy, so I'd rather use wood. It took some time, after all, before a whole chicken was done well.

I burned a place on the floor free of dust and other unwanted things and placed the chicken down on the clean spot. Then I got up and went out again, taking my bag with me.

I walked around the city for a while, but didn't find anything I could use. Besides, the guards were probably still looking for me, so I couldn't create a havoc by stealing something again. So that left me only one option.

I stepped into the desert, which began directly outside the city gates. About seven miles away, there was a big oasis. There I would be able to find enough wood.

It would take me hours to go there and get back if I just walked, so I used my powers to speed up a little. A few minutes later I reached the forest. I walked through it, enjoying the coolness of the shadows the trees cast. After a little while I reached the big lake in the center of the oasis, laying at a little lower level than I was currently standing. The view was beautiful; different kinds of birds were flying around the lake or bathing in it, the water shining in the sunlight. A group of nomads let their cattle drink out of the lake.

Once again I asked myself if I couldn't live here. There was shadow and water at hand at all times, after all. But I knew I couldn't. I needed stuff from the city sometimes too, but the most important reason: I would be bored to death. So I just enjoyed the few times I went here.

I smiled and went down to the lake. I had been so stupid to forget to bring my canteen, so I had to sneak into the nomad camp. It would be a waste after all, if I didn't refill my water supply while I was here.

Most of the nomads were at the lake side with the cattle or just chatting while refilling their own water. So it didn't took much for me to sneak in and steal one of their waterskins. I quickly filled it and then went back to the forest to collect some firewood.

A little less than half an hour later I was back at my living place – I would say 'home', but that would give the place too much credit.

I took the spear I had made out of wood and shove the chicken onto it, started the fire and sat down next to it, holding the chicken just above the flames.

I sighed bored. Sometimes I wondered what life was all about. Just surviving? Was I even meant to be alive? I mean, other people obviously thought I shouldn't be and I didn't have any friends either, nor family. But still, I was here, right? Sure there must be some reason for that? I didn't really feel like just giving up my life or letting myself get caught by the government, either.

Maybe I should just try a little harder to get friends? Ha, who was I kidding? Nobody would want to be friends with me if they knew who my poor excuse of a father had been.

Well, for now I just lived for my freedom. That was really the most important thing to me at the moment. I would see what else would come to me.

After having waited a very long time, I decided the chicken was done and damn, I really enjoyed that meat when my teeth sank into it and it touched my tongue. Even though it was just chicken meat without any herbs or spices, it still tasted delicious.

It didn't take me too long to finish the whole chicken. I was licking my fingers clean, when I suddenly remembered something else that was still inside my bag. When I was certain there were no traces of chicken flavor left on my fingers, I leaned over so I could stick my hand inside the bag. I took out the bronze oil lamp and put it before me on the floor.

I should polish it a bit, wipe the dust off of it. Then at the same time I could check if there was a genie inside it after all. I laughed. Not that it would be.

I got up and fetched one of my blankets, since I didn't own anything that was made to clean with. I sat down by the lamp again and picked it up, first inspecting it a little. It was really beautiful. Especially when it would shine some more.

I carefully wiped a streak clean of dust. Then waited. Nothing happened. I wiped clean a few more streaks. Still nothing happened. Why was I even expecting something to happen, anyway? Ah, this was bullshit. There was no fucking genie coming out of it!

I began to rub it more fiercely. I had to make it shine as much as possible.

But then, suddenly, something was coming out of the oil lamp. It looked a bit like smoke or fog, but it wasn't quite that. It quickly formed some sort of cloud that kept growing and growing. Slowly it took on the form of a human person.

No way! There really was a genie inside the lamp?! I was sure my jaw hit the ground by the time the genie had totally come out. It had the form of a man, wearing light blue clothes. He had a scar running in a half circle around his left eye, a goatee and a reddish brown pompadour hairstyle.

The genie coughed dramatically. "Finally, you let me out! Damn, it was dusty inside there!" He looked at me and cocked his head in confusion, when he saw my surprised face. "What? Didn't expect me?"

TBC~

I hope you liked the first introduction! Please leave a review if you liked or disliked it (though please only constructive criticism if you didn't like it).

I will have to warn you all... Marco will not appear before the third chapter. Some other interesting people will, though ;)

So, I hope you liked it and will return for the next chapter.