Friends, Meet Family

AU. When news got back to Tottoland that battleship of a certain Charlotte daughter was spotted within the mysterious Florian Triangle, Katakuri was tasked with the mission to retrieve his runaway little sister, with Panna and Nougat tagging along. They arrived on Thriller Bark the same night a certain rookie pirate crew made their entrance.

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Invitation

Eight years ago, sixteen-year-old Charlotte Lola abandoned her infamous family name and royal heritage, to run away from home. Six years ago, Lola started making a name for herself in Paradise as 'Marriage Proposal' Lola, living an independent free life searching for true love. Her many siblings back in Tottoland who still very much cared, tracked her progression through the papers, while carefully hiding the information from their vindictive Mama's knowledge. They canceled all future tea parties celebrating Chiffon and Lola's birthday, for fear of drawing Mama's ire. Though a few siblings were sneaky enough to secretly keep clippings of WANTED poster featuring their sister's smile inside their almond brittle drawers.

Three years ago, Lola suddenly vanished from the face of the globe.

It wasn't until now that news eventually resurfaced, stating a chocolate-themed battleship suspected belonging to a certain Charlotte daughter was spotted somewhere within the mysterious Florian Triangle. The Emperor Charlotte Linlin was not one to easily forgive, even when it came to family, so she personally tasked her second son Katakuri with the mission of retrieving his traitorous runaway little sister, going so far as granting him the permission to kill should the girl resist.

"Better you than me," Oven offered with a self-deprecating grimace. Katakuri gave a curt nod, as he prepared to set sail. He had known since years ago that his little brother was willing to kill family for treason, even when it had nearly been their triplet Daifuku's life on the line.

Charlotte Pudding was fourteen years old and she desperately wished to accompany her older brother on this mission, wanting to see her favorite older sister again. She was not allowed to go however, no matter how hard she threw her tantrums, because Pudding was very special to the family due to her mixed three-eyed blood. Charlotte Nougat and Charlotte Panna won the honor to board the Sweet Commander battleship instead, via the process of drawing straws amongst the youngest siblings. Nougat was stunned in delightful shock, and Panna squeaked doing a happy dance. It would be a vacation in Paradise, with the most popular brother of the family. They were so ready.

Katakuri was worried though. He sat on a gigantic carved bagel serving as deck chair under the battleship main mast, flipping through pages, a book detailing the horrors of the Florian Triangle.

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Panna leaped down from the brioche crow's nest, landing with elegant grace upon the doughnut quarterdeck. Panna was a nineteen-year-old teenager girl with patience as short as her temper, it had only been two days since they entered this stretch of treacherous sea but she was already growing bored of the dull melancholic scenery. She missed the sun.

"How are we supposed to find anybody in this place," Panna complained, walking up to her little brother training on deck. "The fog is so thick I can barely see my hand!"

Nougat was fifteen and the current youngest Big Mom Pirates executive. He swung his katana at his much taller sister, but Panna used her weaponized mammalian claws to block it with practiced ease. "Brother Katakuri told us we only needed to wait," Nougat said. He chased after Panna with his katana, but his older sister danced circles around him without even needing to put on an effort. "We're already broadcasting our position to anyone within the vicinity, whoever took Sister Lola will come for us as well."

"But it has been forever!" Panna whined, sidestepping a slash from Nougat and kicked him on the butt with her heel. She giggled, "Your back is wide open, little brother."

Nougat grumbled from where he had face-planted into the floorboard, about to speak, but abruptly stopped. "... mouth."

"Huh?" Panna tilted her head.

Nougat pointed behind his sister with a shaking finger. "Mouth!"

Panna turned around, to witness a gigantic mouth opening to swallow their ship whole.

Katakuri hurried out on deck when he heard his little sister's scream. Panna was crouching low behind Nougat in a failed attempt to hide, burying her face into the younger boy's furry scarf, posture somewhat comical due to Panna being twice Nougat's height. A cheetah mink crew-woman was patting the girl soothingly on the shoulder, to calm her distress.

Katakuri surveyed their surroundings from the bow, an odd mouth-shaped gate could be seen on one side and an island surrounded by high walls was vaguely visible underneath heavy fog on the other. He checked the Log Pose on his wrist, still unused to the lone single needle, but no magnetic activity was detected from the suspicious land. Katakuri frowned, walking around to the stern. He saw two other ships a short distance away from their current location, stuck on an oversized spiderweb, one larger that seemed a century old with black sails in tatters and another slightly smaller than their own with a weird sunflower figurehead. He did not see any ship with a chocolate and cocoa truffle theme, how very unfortunate.

"Lord Katakuri," a crewman came running up to him, panting for breath. "There is something strange going on!"

Katakuri snapped to attention when he perceived the forewarned echo of his sister's scream again. He strode briskly back to the front deck, in time to see his little brother unsheathing his katana against a ghost-like projection.

"Don't touch it, Nougat," Katakuri warned, before the boy embarrassed himself in front of their underlings. "It will sap your willpower."

Nougat reacted quick and hopped backwards, avoiding contact. The ghost creature at least did not try to pick a fight, instead opted for a hasty retreat after giving them all a careful glance. A scout, perhaps?

"It appears that someone here is capable of soul manipulation," Katakuri said warily. Those curious astral beings reminded him of their Mama's power to create incarnations, making him uncomfortable.

"Is Sister Lola really at a place like this?" Panna asked, hugging herself and shaking in her boots.

"You sound scared, Sister Panna," Nougat smirked, mirth obvious in his eyes.

"It's creepy!" Panna glared, pointing a clawed finger at the distant mansion veiled in forlorn gloom. "There are ghosts and a haunted house, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about this."

"Do you want to stay here and guard the ship?" Katakuri asked. They had two dozen crewmen and women for the job, but it would still be his sister's choice if she would rather stay behind.

Panna shook her head.

"Good," Katakuri said, gesturing at an apparent entrance about his height on the outer wall, with drapes and a sign read Thriller Bark across the top. "Whoever it is made the trap fairly obvious, but we should still proceed with caution."

Nougat and Panna made their way to the ominous gateway after giving their brother a quick affirmative nod. On the field, their older brother was their commander.

Katakuri turned back to his crew. "Make sure nobody touch the ship, use lethal force when necessary," Katakuri said. "Send out a flare signal if you encounter any difficult problems, let us know."

"Yes, sir, Lord Katakuri! We will make sure nothing goes amiss," the crew saluted.

Katakuri narrowed his crimson eyes and said no more, his cold gaze tracing an invisible presence some distance away. His observation haki could sense someone watching their every movement, but whoever it was quickly fled. Perhaps unnerved by his perceptive haki ability, relatively rare on this part of the sea. Katakuri put away the jellybean held between his fingertips, to follow his younger siblings, approaching the sinister building and crumbling stones.

Panna breathed, flexing her sharp claws. Panna did not like this place, so devoid of colors, since she was used to the vibrant saturation of Tottoland, but she was also an executive of the Big Mom Pirates. Panna would not shy away from a fight.

Nougat stared at the long staircase leading down, and down, into a pile of bones. "Hopefully Sister Lola is still alive," Nougat muttered darkly, his hand on the hilt of his blade.

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Author Notes

This is an alternate universe story for As a Charlotte Child, and would sometimes reference backstory events from the companion series.