Merry Christmas/happy holidays everyone! Here's a new chapter. Enjoy~

"Mama, we got him easily," Katakuri said to Big Mom's personalized den den mushi. "He just walked into the mirror with Brulee without a second thought. It took less than an hour for Pudding to wipe his memory."

"Ma- mama! What is he like? This Luffy," the snail asked. Katakuri could picture Mama leaning forward in her chair while asking the question. There really wasn't much to go on on how Luffy would be after the memory wipe. Especially after one so intense and thorough. So, he honestly answered that it was too soon to tell for him.

"Pudding is the one who is taking care of him until we all get back to have a real discussion on what to do. How to do this. The easy part, I think, is over. We did run into one of Doflamingo's ships, but sunk it. I hope that doesn't make you angry, Mama," Katakuri said in his bland voice, though he was sincere about not wanting to have upset Big Mom.

"I'm not mad. Doflamingo doesn't care about his subordinate crews, it won't matter to him. What matters is that we got the kid first, and we won't be letting this chance slip through our fingers," Big Mom said. Katakuri heard what he assumed was her shoving a piece of cake into her mouth. "This should keep things interesting," she added.

"Honestly, having someone so young eat it is the best part of it all. Yes, we will have to take care of a child that is not one of our own, but he's so easily moldable now, especially after the memory wipe," Katakuri replied, bringing the snail into his room since it was late, and he was getting ready for bed. Despite what some people thought, Katakuri did sleep on his back, he didn't sleep in a chair.

"You sound interested…" Big Mom said, sounding more curious than suspicious. She was in a good mood today. After all, they'd beaten Kaido, Doflamingo, the marines and every other small crew by getting to Luffy first.

"I am interested in what will happen in the future. I wonder if he will develop different moves than our own family has," Katakuri voiced truthfully. "You are right. This should make things interesting."

The call was hung up and Katakuri put the snail back in its case and went to bed, wishing they could just beam back to Totto Land, and not have to fight off marines coming after them for killing their members and taking the very valuable, liable treasure that was the young child. Katakuri wondered if he had any other family besides Garp. Well, even if anyone came looking for him, his memories of his old life were not in his reach.

Even if he came across a real family member in person, he shouldn't be able to recognize them in any way. It was absolute brainwash, and it was very convenient. They had never done it to someone so young, who also had the potential of using the very ability that was used against him, so he was even more curious about the outcome of this mission.

-x-

Luffy spent the next couple of days following Pudding around reluctantly, trying to remember anything about himself or his life. He did his best to hide whatever powers unintentionally happened because he didn't want to get in trouble with the only person he felt he had ever met. Even if he had lots of family, like Pudding said, he didn't feel like he did.

But, the boy did his very best to try and keep his focus on other things. One mainly being to hide what he could do in public. He was shown around Pudding's home island, being carried most of the time because Pudding was impatient with his tiny legs. Many people looked at the duo strangely, since they had never seen this little boy and no child with Pudding.

Luffy didn't seem to notice this, which Pudding was glad of. She didn't want him asking any questions that might be too revealing. Like why no one seemed to know who he was despite being told he was part of a well-known and important family. Pudding told him about the Charlottes as if they were royalty, not including the fact that they were actually pirates.

Even if Luffy didn't know what pirates were before, he wouldn't now and Pudding didn't feel like doing extra work. She had been contacted by Big Mom, who refrained from meeting her supposed child who just woke up after a head injury, as she didn't want to scare her new asset too early.

This situation was an example of whether being loved or feared was better. Would Luffy adjust better to them by being cared for, or would he fall in line and do what Mama and the others said out of fear of the consequences of not doing what he was told? That would be debated in a meeting between the actual important members of the family and Big Mom. There still was awhile before Katakuri and the rest returned.

And since it was such short notice about a new member of the family being brought, many of the crew were gone on other missions. Of course, word had gotten out to those not present about what had happened. Many of the Charlottes that were in Totto Land weren't informed of the development yet. Just knew by the papers that the Big Mom pirates had ultimately been the one to get the fruit user.

Even if he was still on the ship, no one wanting the boy would dare try and raid the yonko ship. The name of Big Mom made everything easier in situations like this, though Katakuri knew some of his crew at the moment would enjoy fighting seasoned pirates and not the wanna-bes they came across.

But, no one attacked their ship, and even marines were hesitant to do so. Especially after they had sunk a marine ship that had vice admirals on it. Katakuri wouldn't be surprised if admirals come after them, or if the marines just brush it off completely and forget about them. The marines saw each other as disposable as Mama saw some of her children.

-x-

"You really think that kid can fit in with us all?" Oven asked Katakuri a few days later. They were both eager to get back home and in the know about what to do from now on concerning their valuable "prisoner". He took a long sip of his sake. "You know many won't welcome him. Mama has raised us all to think no one is as valuable as blood relations."

Katakuri didn't answer for a moment. "If they don't accept him, Mama will kill them. This is too important to be screwed up by the younger generations. I know the older can act pretty well, as we do it for a living, don't we? Try to act caring and kind to our citizens, yet we all secretly dislike most of them."

Oven nodded in agreement. What Katakuri had said was true. Pudding was special as being one of the best actors while also being one of the youngest in the family. She was one of Mama's favorites for many reasons, and her acting prowess was one of them.

"I hope the kid isn't too damaged from the memory wipe. Never done one that intense before," Oven replied, tossing his empty bottle over the side of the ship and into the water. "I wonder if we could have taken him and had him keep his memories. He's at most four years old."

"Precaution. No one knows anything about him, so why not start over fresh? Even if he doesn't have any replacement memories, he'll forget all about not knowing anything about himself by us distracting him well enough," Katakuri said nonchalantly.

"Who do you think will end up being in charge of teaching him how to master control?" Oven asked. No one had planned about this yet. It may be a single person or multiple people. It all depended on what Mama thought of Luffy.

"Most likely one of the devil fruit users. There are plenty to choose from, but I can't see choosing one of the younger ones as his mentor or caretaker," the sweet commander replied, drinking his own booze slowly. It was a calm day and no bad weather or enemy ship in sight. Not that either brother thought anyone in Paradise would have the courage and idiocy to attack a yonko's ship.

"Yeah, I would assume that as well. And it'll have to be one of us that Mama has a lot of trust and faith in. Someone she thinks can handle the challenge, or not. It could be the easiest job in the world."

"Or the hardest," Katakuri pointed out. "After all, I don't see this going as all of our childhoods' have gone. Tossed into a daycare to play or fight each other and gradually grow strong enough that Mama would choose favorites. We got along just fine doing it that way, but we were disposable children. Luffy isn't. There is no replacing him or his power."

"I guess," Oven said. "I'm bored," he commented, leaning against the wall of the cabin. "This kind of mission sucks. I don't get to kill anyone." Katakuri sighed and closed his eyes.

"You do realize we killed multiple crews, including a marine vessel? What more do you want?"

"Carnage. Torture. More booze," Oven answered in a grunt.

"Then I don't know what to tell you." Katakuri stood up, making sure to adjust his scarf to keep his gruesome mouth hidden. "I'm going to call Pudding and ask how things are going," he announced and left a grouchy brother on deck, heading inside and to the communications room.

He dialled Pudding's den den mushi, which picked up relatively quickly, meaning she was home and not out and about. "Hello?" she asked.

"It's me," Katakuri replied. His voice was distinct enough to be recognized easily. "I want to check in and see how Luffy is doing." It was more of a statement than a question. He was curious, but he was also wanting to know how the mission was going, since it wasn't deemed over until they returned to Totto Land to give Mama the full report and discuss what to do next.

"He's very shy and uncertain," Pudding answered. Katakuri was a bit surprised at first, considering how boisterous he'd been before, but his entire past was gone, so wouldn't it be expected for there to be significant changes?

"Has he showed any of his powers?" Katakuri asked.

"Yes. I know he's been trying to hide it from me, but he's used multiple powers on accident. The one he most often has happen is actually your power. Every time he sleeps, he turns into a mochi blob," Pudding explained. She laughed a little bit at it.

Katakuri had never turned into a complete blob or anything, but he had had trouble keeping his arms solid, which was the most annoying part of the devil fruit. So, at least Luffy didn't have to deal with it while he was awake.

"How is he handling not having any memories?" He didn't say anything about them taking them away, since he didn't know if Luffy was in the room or able to hear Pudding's conversation. He still had to be with her, because even if she didn't like kids, she wouldn't disobey Mama.

"He's having trouble with that. He doesn't remember any of his family and will have to be reintroduced to everyone." This proved Luffy in in earshot since she had said the lie so sincerely. "When do you think you and the others will be back?"

"Shouldn't be too long. A week more at least." He heard Pudding sigh on the other end.

"When can I introduce him to everyone else?" she asked exasperatedly. Pudding really didn't like kids and was only keeping Luffy with her on default because she knew the consequences of her powers the most. But Katakuri didn't know if Mama had told everyone yet.

"Wait a little longer," he said.

"Alright," Pudding replied in a slightly annoyed tone of voice. Katakuri hoped she didn't ruin it by being the first to meet Luffy and giving off a bad impression. Or if she slipped into her sadistic side and was mean to the kid. Katakuri wasn't too surprised with the personality change to be honest. They all knew there would be consequences, but he was convinced that in the long run, it was a benefit to the plan.

-x-

After Pudding hung up the den den mushi, she turned to see Luffy peeking around the corner, clearly having been listening. Pudding already knew, since he wasn't the quietest breather. He was a child, so he wouldn't have haki yet. She was used to most of her siblings knowing haki. Luffy asked who she was talking to, curious since he knew they had been talking about him.

"That was one of our oldest brothers, Katakuri," Pudding answered. Luffy made a small "oh" sound and then nodded, walking back to the couch to look at a picture book Pudding had gotten from the small library on her island. Luffy didn't remember, but he'd never had picture books like this. Ace and Sabo just told him stories, didn't read them to him or show him pictures, but he didn't remember any of that.

After finishing looking at the picture book, since he couldn't read the small amount of words on each page, he asked Pudding if he could draw again. She gave him a pad of paper and a small pack of wax pastels she had bought for him.

It hadn't clicked for him to put something heavy on the corners of the page so he could draw without the paper moving around, and he didn't want to use the sticky stuff he hadn't seen since he first used it on accident. So, he was frustrated with it again, but kept drawing because it was the only way he felt he could express his feelings. Pudding didn't look like she wanted to talk to him about how sad he was. That just made him more miserable and lonely.

When he was just about to take a break from his drawing because he'd ripped the paper, he felt something ticklish on his arms before two more hands pressed down on the top corners of the paper. He now had four arms. He almost shouted in surprise, but didn't want Pudding to know about it, and kept quiet.

But, out of the powers he'd seen so far, this one was by far the most useful. He forgot about the paper and sat down against the wall where Pudding couldn't see him and played around with the extra arms. It was a good distraction. He looked surprised when the arms disappeared and pink petals came out, and then disappeared once hitting the floor.

Then, he thought for the first time that he knew of, maybe having all of these powers wasn't a bad thing. Maybe he could master them all. He stood up and walked to the kitchen, where Pudding was cooking something made of chocolate. "Pudding?"

"Yes?" she asked, though kept her eyes on what she was doing.

"Can you tell me what powers I have?" he asked.

"How about when I'm done with the mixing and put the batter in the oven?" she offered. Luffy agreed and then headed back into the living room to climb onto the couch. Luffy waited patiently for her to finish, not wanting to be a bother. Pudding seemed really nice, but there was something about her that put Luffy on edge and uncomfortable. He didn't know what it was, and felt bad about it since she was so nice to him. But he couldn't shake the feeling.

Pudding came into the living room, leaving the brownie mix to bake in the oven, holding a long list she'd been given before bringing Luffy back. The two had talked about them briefly, but Luffy had been uncomfortable hearing the whole list after the quake-quake fruit was mentioned and scared him off.

Pudding read out all of the abilities blanketed under the all-all paramecia, and explained their powers. Hearing all of the useful powers, and not dangerous ones, made him feel a bit better about the situation. He couldn't wait to make his own food, once he knew what kinds of food he liked a lot.

So far, he found that he liked chocolate chip cookies, sandwiches with ham and cheese, a pasta dish he couldn't pronounce, and a few other meals that Pudding had cooked for him.

Luffy smiled for the first time since waking up with no memory when he heard about the heal-heal fruit. He was glad he could do something not destructive or dangerous. He could help people! He didn tknow who he'd help, though, or how long it would take to be able to use that particular power.

"Pudding, how will I learn all this?" Luffy asked after she finished explaining the last paramecia devil fruit that they knew of.

"One of our siblings will help train you." When Luffy asked what train meant, Pudding explained, "It means to help you learn something. We don't know who yet, though. Most likely one of our siblings with a devil fruit."

"How many have devil fruits?"

"Twelve. Not including Mama's power," Pudding answered. She sighed quietly when Luffy asked to know about what powers they all had. Luffy noticed this and looked down at his hands in his lap. Pudding didn't like him, did she?

The woman noticed that Luffy had caught onto her mannerisms and felt irritated with herself and him. It was just hard taking care of a young child, no matter how well-behaved he was being. She would try to do better until she could pawn him off to someone else.

So, she explained the powers and attacks of her siblings. She left her own fruit out of the mix, as it might be suspicious for her to tell him she could take away memories after having his completely gone. Luffy was entertained by the conversation, wondering internally if he could get as good as his older siblings.

He didn't understand the part about the awakened devil fruit, and didn't want to annoy Pudding, so he didn't ask about it. After that, he had a long nap in the arm chair this time. Pudding was glad he took so many naps, and didn't throw tantrums like many of her younger siblings had. He seemed very reserved and shy.

Pudding did her best to be a nice "big sister" to him, and didn't let her irritated emotions slip out when she was near him. After a few days of this, Luffy grew more comfortable around her, assuming she had just been having a few bad days. He didn't bother her much, but wasn't afraid of her or thinking she would be mad at him. Though the feeling was still there, just much dimmer and in the back of his mind.

-x-

The day that Katakuri, Oven and the others on the ship returned, there was an immediate meeting with all of the upper Charlotte children to talk about Luffy's presence and how they were going to go about this. Pudding was still stuck babysitting Luffy, but would hear the plan after the meeting was over.

The eleven eldest children sat around the meeting table with Big Mom at the head of it. Three of the four sweet commanders were sitting nearest Mama. Smoothie, Cracker and Katakuri were all there, with the rest of the other side of the uneven shaped table that was much wider on one side than the other to accomodate Big Mom's size.

"As you have all heard, we got the all-all fruit from the marines. But it was eaten by someone already. So, we have the new fruit user staying with Pudding right now," Big Mom announced. The table stayed quiet, knowing better than to speak without being given permission to. "Katakuri, please explain."

Katakuri leaned back in his chair a bit more before explaining the situation in detail. "The one who ate the fruit is a three or four year old child. We have him in our custody now, like Mama said. Pudding wiped all of his memories, so it's a new start for us to assimilate him into the family. He now thinks that he is our youngest sibling."

The table was filled with disapproving mumbles from some of the others. "This child is important, so no one had better mess it up," Mama said in a dark voice that silenced the others. "There is no replacement for someone who ate an all-all fruit, especially this one."

Smoothie asked, "Who is gonna take care of him and train him?"

"The best choice would be one of our devil fruit users," Big Mom replied. Everyone agreed with that. Someone who didn't have one would be useless at teaching a child how to deal with them. "You will all have to make an effort when the one who will teach him goes on a mission of some sort and babysit him."

Oven took a gulp of his tea (wishing it was alcohol instead), and said, "How does everyone feel about having someone else have their power?" He didn't have a real problem with someone using his, but some of the others might have a problem with it. The less important Charlottes who had a devil fruit would not have their opinion on this matter. At least to Mama. They would just have to deal with it.

"I don't mind, as long as mine doesn't become the only one he uses," Smoothie said. Brulee was sure that it would take a long time for Luffy to master any of her abilities besides using and entering the Mirror World. Everyone felt that way. Even if he did use their powers, he wouldn't be proficient at it for a long time.

The other devil fruit users felt the same as Smoothie and voiced it. Daifuku was actually looking forward to what form the genie would be for this Luffy. Then came the question that no one asked, but all thought. What would Mama say about Luffy using her power? But no one asked.

"He's already been using mine on accident apparently," Katakuri said. "Pudding said he turns into a 'blob of mochi' every time he goes to sleep." A few of the others laughed, suddenly feeling a bit bad for the kid. How overwhelmed he would be with powers he can't control? But, it was overshadowed by their instincts to be the strongest and do whatever Big Mom wanted.

"Mama, this child is a huge liability," Perospero said, speaking up for the first time. "If he has all of the paramecia fruits, that means he has Whitebeard's power. He could destroy Totto Land, even on accident." A few of the others who hadn't thought of this murmured agreement with the concern.

"Ma-mama! That's why we will have someone teaching him. Someone who can keep him under control if something does accidentally happen. Besides, we'll make it so he doesn't want to hurt any of us. We'll make him like us. And know that hurting any of his family will result in extreme punishment."

Katakuri closed his eyes, already knowing who Mama was going to choose. "Katakuri will be the one to keep him under control. You have awakened your fruit, which no one else has, and you have conqueror's haki. In case he gets too wild, just knock him out!" Then she laughed. Many of his siblings were shocked at the choice of one of Mama's most useful and dedicated sons to be distracted by raising and educating a child who wasn't even biologically related to them.

But, her reasons did make sense. And Katakuri couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. Besides, this was a mission, too. Just a very long term one. He was one of the oldest of the children, so he'd been around younger ones for decades.

"You had better take good care of him, Katakuri," Mama threatened. Katakuri nodded, and said he would do his best. "All of you, welcome Lufy into the family like he is one of our own," she commanded. The others all agreed and the meeting was adjourned. They would be explaining to their other siblings who werent important enough to be part of the meeting and express their opinions on the matter.