(A/N) My third fan fiction. I don't have time to update the others but I have time to write a new one. Weird. Anyways, Marco is 20 in this story, and the girl's name is Lexi. She'll introduce herself later in one of the other chapters. Please read!

NOTICE! I've started redoing the story in third person and adding more detail. I'll try to redo one chapter a day, and until I finish, I will most likely not be updating any of my stories. Thank you.

Chapter 1: Stowing Away

She was stupid. Really, really stupid. And she knew that. Unfortunately, it was the only way for her to travel to the next island. She couldn't afford to buy her own sailboat, as she had just spent the last of her money on a new change of clothes, and enough food to last the trip. Unfortunately, the only ship sailing to Green Leaf was a Marne vessel. Sure, they might not like the Marines (or the World Government, for that matter) on her home island, but as long as they paid for the supplies they were buying and left the people alone, it was alright.

Lexi got on board fairly easy. Some of the lower ranking marines were carrying barrels onto the ship, most likely provisions. Lexi tip-toed over to one of them, pulled the lid off, and dumped whatever was inside into the water. She then proceeded to climb into the wooden container. She reached for the lid, grabbed it, sat down inside, and placed it more or less in the right place. After a while, she heard muffled voices, and a two pairs of hands lifted the barrel. She was carried onto the ship.

A few days had passed since then. She had been stowing away on the vessel. It was fairly easy. All she had to do was keep to the emptiest hallways, rooms, and closets. The ship was pretty large, so she was able to get by. She knew that if the marines caught her she'd would be in a lot of trouble. Well, at least she'd still be alive. That's better than what would have happened on a pirate ship, where she'd definitely be killed without a second thought.

After a week Lexi's food supplies started to run low. She hoped they'd be docking soon. It was only supposed to be a 5 days long trip to Green Leaf, but if you took the size of the ship into account, you ended up with a 9 day long trip. Lexi sighed. She would have to sneak into the kitchens at night to get something to eat. With a little luck (not that she had much to begin with), she wouldn't be caught. Now, how to get off the ship and onto the island...?

The wall next to her suddenly exploded, and sea-water started rushing into the fairly big supplies room. Yelping in alarm, Lexi bolted towards the door, hoping to get out before some marine shipwright came in to patch up the hole. She ran up a small set of stairs and down a long hallway in an attempt to get to higher ground, but when she suddenly heard voices she was forced to jump into a nearby cleaning closet. Lexi put my ear to the door, trying to make out what was being said.

"The Whitebeard Pirates have been sighted. Prepare the cannons and mobilize the men!"

"Yes sir!"

Great. Just what she needed. Pirates. Once the owners of the voices were gone, Lexi carefully peeked out from the closet. The hall was empty. Quietly, she snuck out of the closet and made her way to the kitchens. Thankfully, she had a plan ready for these sort of situations - steal food, then a lifeboat and escape. In the chaos of battle no one would notice her getting away.

To find the kitchens all Lexi had to do was follow her nose. The chefs had been preparing dinner right before the pirates had been spotted, and one could smell the food cooking a mile away.

Lexi entered the kitchens carefully, ready to turn back and run if anyone was still there. She got lucky - the coast was clear. Lexi walked over to the cupboards, passing the fridges, looking for stuff that wouldn't spoil easily. She packed her rucksack with as much food as it would hold.

Satisfied with her work, she made my way up to the deck of the vessel. When she opened the door, she noticed that not a single person was around. Strange. But then again, maybe the fight was taking place somewhere else. Yeah, that must be it, the fight must be somewhere else, probably on the other side of the ship. Ignoring her instincts telling her she was most likely wrong, she walked through the shadows (one can never be to careful) she started making her way in the direction of the lifeboats.

As she rounded the corner, she was met with a gruesome sight - marine soldiers lying sprawled across the deck, either unconscious or dead, most being burned quite badly.

Anyone else would have probably thrown up on the spot, but not Lexi. After all, she had seen much worse during her life.

Lexi faltered a little, but as soon as the situation sunk in, she went back to focusing on where she wanted to go - the lifeboats.

Walking out into the open, she hoped that nobody would see her. When she was more or less in the middle of the deck, she caught a glimpse of a flash of blue to my right. For once, she listened to my instincts and threw herself onto the floor. Thank goodness she did, too, because something whizzed by right where her head had been just moments ago. Lexi rolled into a crouch and looked around for her attacker. To her left stood a man with blond hair and a bored expression on his face. It was a man she recognized from his wanted poster - Whitebeard's First Division Commander - Marco the Phoenix. Lexi swore under her breath. He was the last (or one of the last, at least) person I wanted to meet. Then, he addressed her:

"And here I thought we had taken down all of the marines."

She swore again. Trust a pirate to jump to that conclusion. It was because of the marine cap on her head. She never took it off. It was a reminder of her mother. She had given it to her before she had passed away. But that definitely did not mean that she liked marines. On the contrary - she hated them. They were the reason she had died.

"Cowardly of you, sneaking around and hiding while your friends are fighting." He had a look of disgust on his face.

"Look, I'm not a marine", Lexi said backing away. She spared a glance over my shoulder and saw that she was headed in the direction of the lifeboats. Thank goodness!

"Really? Your cap says something else. And just why would anyone else be on a marine ship?"

"That's none of your business!", she snapped. Snapped. SHE SNAPPED AT THE FIRST DIVISION COMMANDER OF THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES. 'Suicidal much?', she thought. Then again, she was known for her temper...

He chuckled. It was an eerie sound, considering the situation. Blue flames erupted from his arm. It must have been a Devil Fruit ability. Not knowing what else she could do, she turned and ran away. He gave chase, but she could tell that he was just toying with her, like a cat with a mouse before it ate. A predator and its prey. He wanted to get her hoping that she could actually escape before taking her down and proving her wrong. Even knowing all of this, she couldn't help but believe in her own ability to get away.

After a while, she stopped hearing the sound of his footsteps. Lexi spared a glance over her shoulder. There was no one following her. She slowed to a slow trot, trying to catch her breath. She turned around completely and started walking backwards, hoping to at least get a glimpse of her pursuer before he tried to ambush her. She took a few more steps, before she hit something. Something warm, and muscled.

"I got you", the Phoenix whispered, his breath tickling Lexi's ear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the same blue flames that had appeared before show themselves again on his right hand. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do, and she tried to struggle out of his grip and run. That didn't work. The Phoenix gripped both of her wrists with his other hand and brought the flaming one closer to my stomach. She wasn't exactly sure what happened afterwards, but when panic took over her body, and she shouted "No!" her attacker let her go, and was blown back. She suddenly felt very weak. So weak, that her legs couldn't hold her weight anymore, and she fell to the ground. Pain suddenly blossomed in her head told her that she had probably hit it on the way down. Her eyelids felt really heavy, and she realized she was going to lose consciousness soon. The last things she saw were two sandaled feet coming towards her. Her last thought: 'I'm going to die.' Then, everything went black.

(A/N) Somewhere below this is a little white box. Please type in what you think about this and press the small button that says 'post review'. It won't take too much of your time, and I would really appreciate it!