Chapter 29. Love & Games Part 2: Hela

---Heavy of Heart---

As I entered Whole Cake Chateau, I couldn't help but notice how different it looked from the last time I was there. The chateau seemed to be in a celebratory mood, with decorations on the baum walls. Homies were singing joyously, inspiring a tranquil atmosphere that greatly contrasted with my current situation. The guards, while appearing relaxed, also maintained an underlying tension, their shoulders drooping yet their faces remaining straight and alert.

My eyes scanned the surroundings, noting subtle changes. 'Did they add a new room?' I mused, catching sight of Baum, I didn't recall being there before. The chateau had evolved since my younger days, reflecting both the harmonious blend of good and evil within me. However, today, it was the weight of evil that I carried with my return.

I would have never expected to make an entrance into the castle leading in two bodies of my siblings - one unconscious, the other stone cold dead.

"Take them to the infirmary," I ordered the pirates carrying Moscato and Galette. The guards carrying Galette's body on a stretcher looked at me expectantly, wondering if she, too, would be taken to the infirmary. "Both of them," I affirmed.

Taking a different path, my heart felt heavy.

'I have to find Mama and...' I sighed deeply.

I didn't have to wonder what Big Mom's reaction would be; I could already picture it. Whatever this joyous celebration was, I had just doomed it by coming back to the castle.

---Loyalty---

As Keki walked to find the Queen, his mind was consumed by a heavy guilt for causing Galette's death and Moscato's critical condition. He walked, wondering what about him was such a bad omen. First, on his birthday, Daifuku was captured; then Kaidou had attacked when he was two, and Katakuri and Perospero suffered for it. Now this... What was it all for? Was the universe testing his love and loyalty to his family? But how would making him cynical help it? If it wasn't clear enough, he felt bad - terrible for each one of them that suffered in any way.

Hardly would a day pass when he didn't feel like raining down on Impel Down and saving Daifuku. Or sailing to Drum to find a doctor competent enough to help Katakuri and Perospero; curse him if he hadn't already tried.

When his story started, he might have desired a different fate: being part of the crew of the man who would go on to become the King of the Pirates. However, his allegiance had shifted the cozier he got with the Big Mom Pirates.

The time he had spent with his siblings had allowed him to know each one better. The oldest quintuplets loved hunting, beer, and conquest tales. Most of the decuplets were a menace. They were the biggest snackalism scoundrels in Totto Land and experienced underground dealers known for performing dark-alleyway deals - but Keki (and his siblings) didn't find it a menace as most residents complained.

Memories of his siblings brought a smile to Keki's face during this grim walk.

Lola had an adventurous spirit; she was rarely around, but when she came back, she brought lots of treasures, souvenirs, and stories that could rival Usopp's hyped tales of wonder.

Snack's loyalty kept Keki safe from the jealous Charlottes and helped him understand why taking direct action wasn't such a good idea. And Moscato, he might have had the kindest heart of all among the Charlottes, having already laid down half of his entire existence for the sake of Totto Land.

Since his reign on Ice Island, Moscato had increased the soul taxes to one month worth's of everyone's soul every month so that tourists and residents alike would desert the island, angry at the heavy taxes they faced, without knowing it was Moscato's plan to keep them safe from the Ice demon. Most of the remaining residents had been part of his own crew unit, and die-hard traditionalists who had willingly accepted the cost of living on such a cursed island. Moscato wasn't an exception to this tax rule, and his actions had allowed a peaceful coexistence of Ice Island with the other islands for over a decade, without so much as the demon's roar... until-....

Keki sighed, the weight bearing him down. His teeth gritted, and his fists clenched as he walked, cursing the universe for making him endure all those bad things just because he had had reserved feelings for being Big Mom's child. He was now okay with all that, no matter the fate. He didn't need any more of the universe's moulding. He was loyal and loving to this pirate family, and nothing would change that!

"Just heal Katakuri and Perospero already!" he muttered under his breath, his frustration boiling over.

As he clenched his hands tighter, his fists crashed against something in his pocket. The unexpected sensation re-alerted him to the treasure box he had put there earlier. He stopped and dug into his pocket, fetching out the small, ornate box.

He observed it, wondering if this could be the universe's response, an answer to Katakuri's and Perospero's ailment. But how could a Devil Fruit be a simple answer? More likely, it would be a reason for more problems - the biggest problem being the risk of falling into the water, which, frankly, had happened to Keki more times than he would like to admit.

Opening the treasure box, he inspected the peculiar fruit inside. It was shaped like a one, with an ethereal, otherworldly, golden glow. It's texture was smooth and inviting, making him desire to run his massive hands against the patterned swirls. He found himself questioning its nature and the ability it might grant the user. As he wrestled with reason, he wondered whether he should eat it.

However, just before he could succumb to that thought—

"Boo!"

—a voice - sudden, and accompanied by a chilling wind that brushed through the back of his neck - jolted Keki back to the present. He hadn't realized he had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had stopped to stare at the Devil Fruit.

The sudden sound felt like an icy gust that chilled his soul a bit. His eyes widened, and his spine straightened as he struggled to process the startling interruption within the moment. Being taller than everyone else in the castle, except for Big Mom, meant that only Big Mom could speak from an area as high as his neckline. Perhaps that was why he turned around, calling out to his mother, wondering if she was the one who had decided to try and scare him.

"Mama?" Keki asked, turning around. But instead of his mother, he found himself face-to-face with a completely different being.

The creature before him was a vision of dark beauty. She wore a dark dress that barely reached her knees. Despite this apparent tailoring flaw, the shadowy nature of the dress seemed to drape over her form, obscuring much of her figure and dimming the light in the Baum. Her jet-black hair, tied into two knots, framed her face like a dark halo, while her cutting expression gave her the appearance of a character from a horror movie.

Yet, amidst her foreboding appearance, there was an unsettling allure. Her facial features, strikingly illuminated by the faint light, stood out with an ethereal quality. Her pupils were vibrantly marked with the shapes of numerous stars - all of varied sizes. Her skin, smooth and supple, contrasted sharply with the dark fabric of her dress, and her naturally red lips provided a vivid splash of color against her otherwise somber appearance.

Standing at the same height as Big Mom, her imposing stature briefly made Keki question if she was an illusion or merely an inflated balloon. Her unnervingly still presence, coupled with the way she stared at him as though she were not truly alive, deepened the mystery surrounding her.

However, the precise dimensions of her form and the intense aura of her presence made it clear that she was real.

After a moment of stunned contemplation, Keki arrived at a single, reasonable conclusion: she was a giant child. But how another giant child had appeared in Totto Land was the greatest mystery of all.

"Heeey..?" Keki greeted, still unsure if she was real - or even alive, for that matter.

The giant girl continued to stare at him as if she were reading into his soul. Despite his fascination with some aspects of her, Keki found her unwavering gaze to be creepy, unnerving, and deeply uncomfortable.

"Are you lost?" Keki wondered aloud, troubled by how here eyes barely moved.

She actually replied this time, bringing Keki a twisted sense of relief. "Are you?"

Keki found her voice to be smooth and melodic, yet it carried an edge of cold detachment. Her tone was almost too calm and her voice seemed to echo slightly, as if it came from a place just beyond the physical realm, adding a haunting quality to her words. There was an unsettling blend of curiosity and menace in her voice, making Keki's skin crawl.

"Or were you kidnapped?" she furthered her inquiry, her tone chillingly calm.

Keki, still grappling with his discomfort, quickly realized that her question stemmed from his appearance and the confusion about his presence. Her assumption that he had been kidnapped by Big Mom made sense given his giant stature.

"No-no, this is home," Keki replied, a hint of embarrassment coloring his voice as he tried to brush off the awkwardness. "But, um, have you been kidnapped?"

"In due time," she responded calmly, causing Keki's expression to shift at the ominous implication of her words.

"I'm Hela," she introduced herself, extending her hand for a greeting.

Despite his apprehension, Keki lifted his hand to shake Hela's. Their hands met with a satisfying click, and for the first time in a long while, Keki felt a rare sense of comfort while shaking someone else's hand. The handshake was firm and reassuring. He was actually shaking hands with another giant, a fellow being of his own size.

Wiping away his satisfied expression, Keki offered a grin as a more comfortable feeling began to creep in. "I'm K-k-..." he stammered before catching himself. "—cursed with a terrible name in this world, but you can call me Jake!" he declared, opting to introduce himself with his former, more endearing name rather than his given one.

Hela looked at Keki, her gaze curious and slightly bemused as she noted his sheepish grin. "Okay, Jake," she said calmly, "you can let my hand go now."

Keki blinked, realizing he had been holding onto her hand longer than necessary. With a sheepish smile, he released her hand and took a step back, his cheeks flushing slightly.

"Sorry about that," he said, his voice laced with a mix of embarrassment and relief. "I have never met a giant child before."

Hela tilted her head slightly, her starry eyes observing him with an almost analytical precision. "If that makes you sad, I can put you out of your misery. Gladly."

A cold wind, accompanied by an ominous whistle, swept through the room, catching Keki off guard. The carpet beneath his feet suddenly jerked violently as if trying to escape from the gale. The unexpected movement sent Keki stumbling, and he fell flat onto the ground as the carpet skidded away, visibly frightened and seemingly calling out for Mama. The chilling sensation prickled his spine as he watched the carpet retreat in fear. Despite the chaos around her, Hela's posture and composure remained unshaken. She stood perfectly still, like a tree deeply rooted in the earth, unwavering and resistant to the whistling gale that swept through the space.

Keki looked up at her, struggling to gather his composure as he tried to make sense of the surreal and unsettling situation.

"Who are you really?" he managed to ask with a nearly frightened tone as he stood up. He considered the possibility that she might be an apparition visible only to him. The ominous whistling had unnerved him the most, making him wonder if she was Death, coming to claim him for his actions in Ice Island. Was the demon bear really this serious about killing everyone, even those who managed to escape?

But he had touched her hand. How could she be an ethereal being?

However, her presence suggested otherwise - her cold stare, aura, and dark features contrasted sharply with her otherwise cute face.

Hela, acting oblivious to Keki's tense demeanor, bent down and retrieved the treasure box he had dropped when he fell. She carefully collected the fruit that had spilled out of the box, brushed it off, and placed it back inside. She closed the box with deliberate and gentle movements before rising and offering it to Keki.

"What kind of pirate is clumsy with their treasure?" she inquired, her tone carrying a mix of amusement and reproach as she handed him the box.

Cautiously, Keki took the box, his gaze filled with uncertainty.

He was at a loss for words, unable to express his gratitude as Hela walked away and vanished into the dimmer places of the Baum. As she disappeared from view, the lights flickered back on, illuminating the baums evenly and leaving Keki with a flood of unanswered questions, and hardly enough theories.