An Act of Rebellion

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." - Albert Camus

Marco stood up on his toes, arms spread wide and head tipped back. The wind tugged on his clothing eagerly, whipping the fabric sharply around his frame. A light smile tugged at the corner of his lips as Marco inhaled deeply, absorbing the salty scent of the ocean. The wind felt cool on his skin, providing a pleasant contrast from the sun's warmth.

Flames pulsed eagerly beneath his skin, twisting and writhing like a child begging to go out and play. The phoenix yearned to be released, to fly and stretch its wings and steal another taste of true freedom. And who was he to deny it when it had been more than patient with him these past few weeks?

With one last deep breath, Marco tipped from his perch on top of the ship's main mast, slipping into the phoenix's form with practiced ease. He plunged towards the sea headfirst, sleek body smoothly slicing through the brisk morning air. The ocean below was racing towards him as he picked up speed, but the phoenix paid it no mind just yet.

Shouts of alarm could be heard from the deck, and the phoenix would have smirked had he been human at this moment. They were going to scold him once he returned, but he couldn't bring himself to particularly care at the moment. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest as the ocean rapidly approached, the thudding a reminder that he was alive while his mind was screaming 'not for long' if he didn't evade it now.

Waiting until the last possible second, the phoenix abruptly pulled out of his sharp nosedive, wings fully expanding to their rather impressive fifteen foot span. Air instantly filed his wings, testing and straining the muscles beneath in a way that felt far more satisfying than any training he could ever have on the Moby Dick. Exhilaration raced like lightning through his veins, and the phoenix let out a gleeful throaty trill.

After a few moments, the incredible pressure from his sudden directional change lifted, and the phoenix was streaking through the air faster than a bullet. He dared to dip a little lower, allowing his feet to trail into the rock-hard water beneath him. He was moving too quickly for the sea to grab hold of him, and he felt powerful. Nothing could possibly touch him now; he was truly invincible.

One flap of flaming wings was all it took to soar through the skies once more, flying amongst the clouds in a way no man had before. The Moby Dick was no more than a speck in the distance by now, and the phoenix banked back towards the large ship, not wanting to cause an outright panic amongst the crew if they lost sight of him. Wind whistled sharp in his ears, and the bird released another joyful trill to announce his return.

By the time a sandaled foot landed on the wooden deck, quite a crowd had amassed. What seemed to be half of the crew was scolding him for being so reckless, while the other half looked tempted to ask Marco to bring them along next time. Marco took the scolding good-naturedly, unapologetic and unabashed of the clamor he'd caused. The lightness he felt after every flight would forever be worth a few angry words from his crewmates. Freedom still coursed through his veins, far richer than any drug and intoxicating Marco completely.

A booming laugh rose above all the noise, and a small smile quirked on Marco's otherwise impassive face as he turned to face his father. "I won't apologize," he said simply, and Whitebeard laughed once more.

"I wasn't expecting you to, cheeky brat. You've caused quite a commotion."

Marco's eyes shone with amusement at the inside joke only he and his father understood. The blond walked off then, a hand raised in farewell in a show of nonchalance. "I'll be going then, some people still have work to do, yoi. Not everybody can stand around on deck doing nothing all day," he said airily, quickly ducking as a hand reached out to cuff the back of his head as he made his escape into the depths of the ship.

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So this was a bit of a spontaneous thing I wrote a while ago and only now got around to posting, but I just love the idea of teen Marco taking unannounced flights every once in a while to clear his mind and remind him of why he became a pirate in the first place. I headcanon Marco to be different from normal Zoans, where the users just take the forms and strength of whatever animal they have. Seeing as how the phoenix is immortal as well as a mythical zoan, I like the idea of it being a separate entity to Marco. Like, Marco can't just change his body into a phoenix, the phoenix is a part of Marco and vice versa, but they have separate instincts that for the most part coincide with each other. Their personalities and consciousness are intertwined but not the same- kind of a yin-yang type of deal, if that makes any sense? If Marco died, the phoenix would still be the same with whoever eats the fruit next, and they would become connected in the same way. I don't know, it's hard for me to explain but I've always liked the idea and it makes sense in my mind. I admit the idea isn't 100% mine though- to give credit where credit is due, I first saw marco-fushicho talking about it on tumblr, and I ran with it until it evolved into this drabble (: anyways, enough of my rambling. Don't forget to leave a comment down below, and most importantly, thanks for reading!

~Emy