Title: and much madness must make

Rating: M

Summary: Being reborn in a chaotic fantasy world of superhuman pirates isn't quite as terrifying as being reborn the daughter of a heartless, gluttonous cannibal. [OC, AU]

Warnings: Mentions of cannibalism via Big Mom, violence, disturbing elements.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

(AN at bottom.)

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and much madness must make

"WEDDING CAKE"


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Gunshot.

She knows the plan, knows how things are meant to play out. Pudding will shoot Sanji. Her little sister will pull the trigger on her gun the moment he lifts her veil and freezes at the sight of her third eye; the sound of her gunshot will then be the signal for their other siblings to open fire on the rest of the Vinsmokes.

Bang, bang, bang.

Dead, dead, dead.

… This is not what happens. Firstly, Sanji is still alive. Secondly–

"Oh dear," Galette murmurs quietly, rising to her feet. Something trembles in her voice, a small stumble in her words. "What in the world are we going to… this is not part of the plan."

Understatement, that. Her sister certainly has a talent for stating the obvious.

Briefly, Madeleine spares a quick glance backwards. Good thing Peros had his wits about him; he'd already had the Vinsmokes held at gunpoint even before the situation rapidly devolved into what it currently is.

(Initiative. Something that she herself is rather lacking in, admittedly.)

Currently, there are nearly eighty Straw Hats are running loose… no, that needs to be rephrased. There are approximately eighty-odd copies of the Straw Hat captain, Monkey D. Luffy, running around wildly in the Tea Party, enthusiastically destroying and eating things like an absolute animal. Nearly eighty Straw Hats that had all simultaneously burst out of Head Chef Streusen's wedding cake, at that.

… Madeleine is a little dizzy at the moment. Lightheaded. In all honesty, the sight is utterly ridiculous, but nonetheless it still makes something in her veins run cold, because–

No, this really isn't the time to be wondering about how Straw Hat managed to get in to the Tea Party. Really, really isn't. Stop the chaos. First, stop the chaos. Everything else comes afterwards.

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices one of the Straw Hats suddenly making a beeline in Mama's direction, only to be stopped by Katakuri. Her brother's leg stretches a long arc through the air in to subdue Straw Hat without any further disturbance to their guests. Madeleine only takes a single moment to confirm this before she turns her attention to the clean-up, knowing that her siblings have things under control.

"What do you think you're doing, Katakuri? Are you trying to save me? You're nothing but a lowly child of mine, don't presume to overstep your–"

"No, Mama. This guy is after Mother Caramel's picture!"

Her siblings have things under control.

Everything is under control.

… So, Madeleine needs to play her part, too. Clean-up. Dispose of all the fake Straw Hats running around, rather than facing Mama and her ire.

Straw Hat has no idea what monster he provoked, thoughtlessly destroying the wedding cake right in front of Mama to make his grand entrance. Mama had been looking forward to the wedding cake for so long; it's nothing short of a miracle that somehow Katakuri has gotten their mother to focus on Straw Hat. To focus her anger on the impudent, reckless young pirate, rather than the destruction of her long-anticipated wedding cake.

Madeleine might not care much for her siblings, but there's no denying that it would be a huge loss to the family if Katakuri, their strongest pillar aside from Mama herself, were to be lost. Doubly so, if such a thing would happen by Mama's own hand. It's not a pleasant possibility to be thinking about, but there are many… precedents.

(How unfortunate.)

Madeleine makes short work of the mass of Straw Hat mirror clones, fragile images that they are. There's quite a number of them, but they're only mindless monkeys and lions and dogs from the forest. She tries to keep the bloodstains to a minimum. Mama is fond of a rich, vibrant red, but only the red that comes from the blood of her enemies, not animals.

It's good that she keeps an absent eye on the proceedings with Straw Hat while she's taking care of the absolute mess he's made of things, because this means she catches the way surprise creeps over her mother's face when someone suddenly uses water –no, tea– to free Straw Hat from her brother, a solid strike that–

Jinbe.

… Somehow, she's not surprised.

Quietly, Madeleine leaves the few remaining animal-Straw Hat clones to her other siblings involved in "clean-up" and drifts back to her mother's side. No matter how reluctant she might inwardly be to be anywhere near Mama when she's in a sensitive state, it's best to be careful when it comes to someone like Jinbe.

As for Jinbe…

The fishman's left arm hangs limp and useless at his side, lingering proof of their short altercation in the Dream World where she'd briefly gotten the drop on him. But Madeleine feels no satisfaction from it. Unlike Cracker, she has never derived joy from causing pain, for all the people she's killed. Madeleine knows of the strange habits some of her siblings have developed –deliberately inflicting injuries, learning to like the sensation of holding a blade in their hands and carving through flesh, and sometimes she can't help but wonder if it's some sort of coping mechanism, or if it's really a part of the Charlotte blood. Who knows? In the end, all she can do is take comfort in knowing that she herself isn't so far gone. Yet.

It's not like injuries suffered in the Dream World are real, anyways. Given a few days to a week, Jinbe would regain regular use of his arm.

… Probably.

"Taking the side of the criminal who destroyed my cake… truly, you surprise me, Jinbe. I see that you're not going to give up on quitting my crew, hm?" Mama's eyes gain a cold, cruel gleam with these words, and even though none of this is aimed at her, Madeleine still feels the chill to her very bones. Unconsciously, she holds her breath. "After all, what you're doing right now is nothing short of outright mutiny."

Mutiny. Betrayal.

Jinbe dips his head, a gesture of respect that defies his current actions, but his voice comes out strong and unwavering. "Please do not think of it that way, Big Mom. I would like to quit your crew, because I want to join the Straw Hats. I wish to sail under Monkey D. Luffy's flag!"

… Such bravery deserves to be commended. Such bravery, such stupidity. Madeleine looks at Jinbe the way one does a dead man, because if there was ever any chance of Mama forgiving him his earlier actions in aiding Straw Hat, he's gone and ruined it with these words.

Jinbe is dead. Pity.

"Ha!" Mama laughs, and Madeleine tightens her grip on her sword. Next to her, Katakuri tenses as well, eyes darkening. "I could care less about what you want to do after you leave! But you still haven't paid the price for leaving, Jinbe. Can you really live with this shame on your shoulders?"

Price… There is only one option, when it comes to paying the price like this, and that's–

"Lifespan, is it? I'm well aware of the payment you require." Jinbe nods, and it's a slow, steady movement. Almost… almost too steady, even, which–?

Jinbe steps forward.

"If you promise to leave my comrades unharmed, then I will lay down as much of my life as you wish!"

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.

In the hushed silence that follows the fishman's bold declaration, Madeleine is not the only one who finds themselves staring blankly at the former Shichibukai. Did Jinbe really just go and–?

If you promise to leave my comrades unharmed, then I will lay down as much of my life as you wish!

… Madeleine doesn't understand. How… how can he say something like that and mean it? There's nothing you can do if you're dead, so it follows that there's nothing worth more than life. Life, which Mama takes and takes and takes and it's not enough, never enough.

Jinbe is offering up his own lifespan to Mama? … For Straw Hat? Willingly giving up his own life for a brash, thoughtless young pirate? … Just like that?

How can he possibly be worth it?

(How can anyone ever be?)

"NO! Jinbe, you can't join my crew if you're dead!"

See? Even Straw Hat understands, if that exaggerated reaction of his is anything to go by. Life is important; what can one ever hope to do if they're dead, dead, dead?

Some things are worth dying for, wouldn't you agree? Jinbe's voice echoes in her head again, a remnant of their previous encounter when she was all that stood between him and the young captain he sought to rescue. Madeleine looks at Jinbe, then looks to Straw Hat, trying to find just what it is the man sees in this young captain that makes him so willing to lay down his own life for him, because–

Because Jinbe is an accomplished man in his own right, former Shichibukai and captain of the Sun Pirates that he is, and for him to bend knee to someone else to the point that even his own life is something he can cast aside without a single bit of doubt, it…

She… she can't understand it. Incomprehensible. Why?

Carefully, Madeleine holds herself still when her mother leans forward. Mama all but looms over Jinbe's smaller form, and the bone-chilling aura of death emanating her is overwhelmingly dark and insidious.

"Choosing death over remaining somewhere you don't wish to be, is it…?" Mama's lips slowly peel back into a wide, wide grin that is all teeth and little else. "Nope, can't say I can sympathize with a choice like that. But if that's your final decision, then I'll just take all the life you have to offer… Give me your answer, Jinbe. STAY OR LIFE?"

Stay, or life?

… Madeleine knows how it goes, has seen this terrifying sight of Mama literally pulling out a person's very life from their body far, far too many times. There is no possible defense, no way to escape, no method to–

"Life," Jinbe responds without even a shred of hesitation. "I choose life."

"STAY OR LIFE?"

"Life."

"STAY OR LIFE?"

"Life!"

Madeleine can't believe her eyes.

"… What is this?" She doesn't. She doesn't mean to. She doesn't mean to say anything, but somehow the incredulous words slip through anyways, falling from her lips like irregular beads of glass that scatter before shattering on the floor. "Why… how is he… why isn't he…?"

Katakuri's hand closes over her shoulder, and her voice dies in her throat. The gesture is half-reassuring, half-reminder to get ahold of herself because everyone is watching, weakness is not tolerated –but even with her perceptive brother trying to ground her in this moment, Madeleine just feels cold. Shards of ice trickle through her veins, her entire world upended, because she just doesn't understand, understand, understand!

Mama's only favorite food aside from her sweets is lifespan. Lifespan that she acquires by calling out the attachment that all living beings hold towards life itself, an attachment that she seizes hold of through fear. So if one trembles for even a moment in front of her, their life is forfeit.

That Jinbe does not so much as even flinch before her, that no matter how many times Mama asks there is no trace of his soul, his life being torn out of his body, it–

"How is this possible?"

"There's no other explanation! He's not even scared of Mama in the slightest!"

"Mama can't take his life?!"

–it's impossible. She can't eat it. His life. Mama can't… Mama can't eat his lifespan?

… There is no denying the truth, not when it's splayed out so clearly before her eyes, even though it's something that's utterly, utterly impossible, and yet–

And yet–

And yet–

Jinbe looks directly into Mama's eyes, calm and steady despite the growing furor of their surroundings. "There's no way that a man who intends on joining the crew of the future pirate king will ever cower at the sight of a mere Yonkou!"

Madeleine doesn't believe it. Won't believe it, because he doesn't know. Jinbe does not know her mother's strength, doesn't know how terrifying Mama can be. It is only in ignorance that he can say something like this and believe in it with his entire heart. Future pirate king? Mere Yonkou?

… Don't make her laugh.

Jinbe is strong, certainly. But here in the heart of Mama's stronghold, surrounded by the entire Charlotte Family and its allies… what gives him the confidence to say something like that? His new captain, Monkey D. Luffy? Is it a joke? Is that what this is? … How preposterous.

Madeleine's hands curl into fists, and it's not until blood drip-drip-drips though her glass-cut fingers that she realizes what she's doing.

(Reopening her injuries, and for what? No reason. No reason at all. There's no need for her to do something so useless, so meaningless… that's something Cracker would do. Not her. Not Madeleine. Not–)

"… If you will not take my lifespan, then allow me to at least offer you a cup of sake. Let this drink to you mark my departure from the Big Mom Pirates!"

How?

How is he… how is he doing this?!

Defiance is death. Rebellion is impossible. There is only one path forwards, and that path lies in obedience. In being useful enough a tool to never be discarded. Madeleine knows this, has known this from the day she was born in this hellish world. It's a fact of life. Never go against Mama's wishes if you desire to live, because to displease Mama is to invite death to your doorstep. Madeleine might be a devil, but her mother is a demon.

Jinbe isn't… she's not weaker than Jinbe. She's fought him, and even though neither of them had gone full-out, she's more than a match for him. But Madeleine knows herself, knows that any struggle she puts up against her mother will end in failure, and so she doesn't. Because she wants to live. And in the end, only those who are useful are allowed to live.

Everything that she's ever done in this world, is for the sake of living. To blink and breathe and wake up to another morning, no matter how torturous, how painful. All the blood on her hands, the sins staining her soul black –everything that Madeleine has ever done, was in order to live.

… Madeleine is not Jinbe, and Jinbe is not Madeleine. That's obvious. But even so, Jinbe is so hopelessly outclassed by Mama that he shouldn't even stand a chance against her, but–

Mama can't take his lifespan.

Mama can't eat his soul.

Mama can't… devour his life.

… why?

Just because… just because Jinbe doesn't fear her? Because he doesn't fear her? A flimsy explanation like that –is ignorance the only reason why Mama can't eat him? Ignorance, of all things? That's so pitifully laughable that it's not even funny, not funny, nOt fUnNY–

Ignorance. That's really all it takes?

NO.

All these years… Madeleine has gradually killed her heart and given up everything that defines her as a person, because she wants to live. Because no one defies Mama and lives to tell the tale. But how can this possibly be the answer?

If the answer to everything is blindness, ignorance, stupidity, then what's the point of all these years of mindless killing, of painstaking perfection, becoming an absolute monster–

What's the goddamned point of everything she's done this entire time?!

.


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Katakuri is saying something to her. What is he saying? Madeleine can't hear. Her brother's voice is muffled, as if it's coming from somewhere far, far away, which isn't right. It's not right. He's standing right next to her. His hand is still on her shoulder–

No.

He's leaving.

He's leaving to… fight.

Fight…

… ha. Hahaha. Fight?

Fight, fight, fight. Kill, kill, kill. For fuck's sake, what's the point?! Kill, kill, kill. Fight, fight, fight. Fight for the sake of not being killed by Mama, for the privilege of being allowed to live… when it's utterly pointless in the first place? Perfect weapon, obedient tool, mindless dog –ahahaha, it's all useless, useless, USELESS!

Ignorance. Stupidity.

That's all it takes.

… Haha, that's all it takes. That's all it takes to be free of Charlotte Linlin's shadow!

(Too late, too late, an answer that she can't hope to follow, not since the moment she opened her eyes in this world and saw–)

Fear, thick and suffocating. Choking her throat. Terror, coursing through her veins. Panic, a sharp pounding in her chest, the sound of her heart bursting forth from her ribcage. Ah, but wait. She doesn't have a heart. It's common knowledge, isn't it? Madeleine is heartless.

(The funny thing about it is, she wasn't born heartless. No, she went and carved out her heart with her own two hands! And for what? For nothing! Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all! There was never any need to–)

Unnecessary.

Ah… just look at them. Her dear siblings, all so concentrated on the battle unfolding in front of them. Bege has betrayed the crew. Someone released the Vinsmokes. The Straw Hats are escaping, escaping–

Brothers and sisters, why haven't you realized it already? What Jinbe proved just now… no matter how hard they try, it's USELESS! Everything they do is useless! They fight and fight and fight because they fear Mama as much as they fear dying, because they fear dying at her hands, but it's precisely because of that very fear that she holds each and every one of their lives in her hands. In her bloodied hands, stained with her own blood!

Fear, hah!

Fight to stay on Mama's good side. Fight to kill her enemies. Fight to serve in Mama's crew. Dangerous, dangerous, but the alternative is death. Death? Yes, death. There is always a choice: Die or die or die!

To hell with that.

Even when there is an explosion that rocks the entire castle, that brings the entire structure falling down, Madeleine is still connected-disconnected from her surroundings as everything collapses around her. It's bitter, but never has everything been so clear. The sheer foolishness of everything, the futility, the uselessness of all she's ever done–

Really, she must thank Jinbe.

Really.

Really.

Clearly, she needs to–

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"WEdDiNG cAAaaKeEeeE!"

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.EXTRA: By a Single Sugar-Spun Thread

Jinbe doubts she remembers it, but the first time he encountered Madeleine was not on the day he formally joined Big Mom's crew. Certainly, she was in attendance with several other prominent members of the Charlotte Family that day, but–

But the first time he saw her was when she was sitting next to Praline, eyes closed and dozing against a tree while her sister sang a soft, lilting song. He did not recognize her at the time, but even after learning more about the Charlottes and being able to put names to faces, something about that scene stayed with him… for all the whispers of dangerous and heartless that is attached to Charlotte Madeleine.

"She's always been a bit of an odd duck," is how Praline had placed it, a strange little smile twisting at her lips. "Madeleine doesn't really know how to socialize with others so she comes across as stiff and cold, but she always has the family's best interests in mind."

A fairly diplomatic answer, all things considered.

He wonders how much of her coldness is from her true personality, and how much of it is simply the result of the rumors around the girl. Call a person heartless every single day, and it's no wonder that they'll begin to doubt themselves. Big Mom's children are strong, truly a force to be reckoned with, but Jinbe remains skeptical of the way she takes such a hands-off approach, when it comes towards guiding, supporting her children. As long as combat potential isn't compromised, as long as they can contribute to the family, nothing else seems to matter.

Becoming a member of Big Mom's crew was always a temporary arrangement.

He didn't expect Luffy to infiltrate Totto Land the way he did; Jinbe had thought he would have to head out and search a good long while for his captain after resigning from Big Mom's crew. Luffy's capture was unexpected as well, and he'd rushed towards the Library where prisoners were kept as soon as he heard news of it–

He didn't expect to find Madeleine there, either. Was Big Mom already so wary of Luffy?

Fighting Madeleine was… an experience. One that he isn't particularly anxious to repeat, if the paralyzed state of his entire left arm right now is anything to go by –unlike most of the crew, the details of Madeleine's Devil Fruit ability wasn't very well-known. Perhaps as a direct result of her reticent personality. Some sort of space-manipulation? Time-manipulation? No, that didn't seem quite right–

When Big Mom calls him out, names him a traitor, he sees the subservient way Madeleine shadows her mother behind her brother. And for a moment, he cannot help but compare her to the late-season sea-violet, her coloration a pale mimicry of the vibrant pinks and reds of her mother.

It's a surprise that she does not move to join the battle that breaks out. Even with her brother's rushed directives to subdue Sanji's family, she remains still and does nothing. It's odd, and matches up with absolutely nothing of the little that he knows about the girl… but all suspicions aside, Jinbe isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Perhaps Praline would be able to make sense of it, if she were present.

They've accomplished what they'd set out to do. Sanji is back with the crew, where he belongs. The Vinsmokes have been saved. All that's left now, is safely retreating from Big Mom's territory.

… It won't be easy. Even without Madeleine, there's still the rest of her siblings to be worrying about.

"C'mon, let's go!"

Yet, Jinbe cannot bring himself to regret anything for even a single moment. Given a second chance, he would still rescue his captain despite any injuries he might receive, face down a Yonkou and stand his ground, fight to protect the Straw Hats. No, his crew. Because he, too, will be sailing under Luffy's flag now, won't he?

Even if he dies for it, Jinbe will never regret his decision. This is his vow, his resolve… as a Straw Hat.

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Author's Notes:

Updated! … Tbh sometimes I still can't believe I'm writing stuff for the WCI arc. This thing is a monstrosity that sprouted from a 2k-word one shot that was sitting around and growing mold for weeks, yeesh. We're actually well into 20k+ words by now…

Will edit for grammar and stuff later, sorry.

On this chapter: Tea Party goes awry, as per canon. Predictably so, I guess. Also, three cheers for Jinbe! Madeleine really needs to take a page out of Jinbe's book; all our problems would be solved if that were the case. Or the pressing ones, at least. Definitely would be healthier for her mind, as we definitely see in the aftermath of Jinbe's resignation from the crew.

Next chapter will continue on with the Straw Hats' Grand Escape from Whole Cake Island. Any requests for stuff you'd like to see before I go on and finalize things? (Rubs hands together like a villain.)

XxZuiliu