The Mad One: Part One (complete)

Female Main Character x Male Monster/Robot

In the City of Red Tide, far from the Grand Hall, there was a small restaurant in the neighborhood known as the Broken Nails. From the outside, the small establishment looked like any other Broken Nail building, narrow, squat and with a garden growing on the roof. The sign out front advertised it as the ‘Happy Bunny’, with a small cartoon bunny waving eagerly for patrons to come inside.

In the kitchen of the Happy Bunny was a woman who stood a tad over six feet, with a physique to make statues cry and a face like a cherub. Her body was hardened by years of effort, covered by scars, and she had a smile as shining as the sea. It wasn’t her appearance that made her special, although some would beg to differ. No, this business owner was different because of who she was, where she was born, and what would be happening to her.

Her name was Madelyn, but she would punch you if you called her that. She preferred to go by Mad One. Not Maddie, not Lyn, just Mad One. I bet you’re wondering why her charming little eatery was called the ‘Happy Bunny’ when she insisted on being called Mad One. She wasn’t always a cook, but one of the most powerful thaumaturgists of the City of Red Tide. In fact, Mad One was a princess, daughter of the Red Witch, Queen of the Red Tide. Sounds like a lot to cover, so let’s begin.

Mad One was cleaning the kitchen, preparing for the day like always. For the past few years she’d lived in the Broken Nails, establishing her restaurant and distancing herself from the life she knew before. Having once been the next in line for the throne, she was doted on and expected to become even more powerful than her mother. She was said to be blessed by magic, as if she was chosen to be something even more than her mother. But that was what Mad One was trying to forget. She was more focused on the food she cooked, and the few strands of gray hair that appeared on her scalp. Although she fretted over them, her husband assured her that one day a mane of silver hair would suit her.

Mad One was happily married to a LA-Pin Unit, one of a series of automatons that ran on excess magic debris in the air. The LA-Pin Units had their own personalities and a degree of consciousness depending on the amount of debris in the air. Thanks to Mad One’s gifts, her husband was exceptionally special too. His name was Huni Buni, and Huni Buni was supportive of his wife and her efforts to distance herself from their former home. Without him, Mad One would have been lost during her recovery. The restaurant was named after him, out of gratitude for Huni Buni’s love and loyalty.

You see, Huni Buni hadn’t been Mad One’s only partner. As the heir to the throne, Mad One had several partners, as it was expected for the Queens of the Cities to have several husbands or wives to show their power and unity with the other cities. But before Mad One left home, they had all left her.

Mad One was cleaning in the kitchen and worrying about the gray in her hair while Huni Buni came down from their upstairs apartment, dressed in the uniform he made for himself - a small pink dress, a frilly apron, and a hat that wrapped around the base of his ears. Most of his body was a pearly pink, and the front of his head was a visor that often projected images of a pixelated face. He was the same height as his wife with his ears, but his head was level with his wife’s bosom, something he enjoyed immensely. “We’re going to be busy today, I just feel it!” he said, a slight metallic ring in his voice.

“We’re never busy,” Mad One replied simply. “We have our regulars and we’re lucky to have them.” She threw a carafe of water into the coffee maker without looking, and it began to boil immediately.

Huni Buni leaned over the counter to look at her. “You have to have a little hope, my love. Or else what are we even here for?”

Mad One looked at him, not in annoyance, but affection. She smiled slightly, and the scar on her lip pulled down the corner slightly. “You know why. It’s quiet.” She dipped down, kissing the smooth screen of Huni Buni’s face.

Huni Buni sighed softly, images of hearts flickering on his visor. “But if we are busy...”

“That’s a big ‘if’,” Mad One chuckled. “Aside from the others in the Broken Nails, what do you expect to happen today? Some caravan from another City? Thaumaturgists coming to challenge Red Witch?”

“Well,” Huni Buni mumbled under his breath. “I just feel like something is going to happen today!”

Mad One smirked down at him, giving him a wink. “You look very cute today.”

Huni Buni huffed and slapped his chest. “I am always cute.”

“Yes you are,” Mad One giggled. “So why don’t you use that adorableness to lure some unsuspecting customers to my cooking?”

Huni Buni’s tail twitched under his skirt. “Yes, my darling love. I will go and be cute to the masses. Will that make you jealous?”

“No,” Mad One blew him a kiss. “I like it when people find my husband the cutest LA-Pin unit in the whole City.”

Huni Buni’s visor flashed hues of red and pink. “You’re trying to get a rise out of me! It will work.” He blew a kiss back before stepping out the door to set up the signs.

Mad One’s smile faded slowly as she thought of her mother. Part of her knew being here was the right thing, but she longed for her family like any child would. She adored her life in the Grand Hall, where she had lots of fathers and other mothers who doted on her and lots of siblings to play with. But one sibling in particular… Mad One turned to the griddle to take her mind away from those thoughts, and began frying an egg, if only to focus on making it the most perfect sunny-side-up egg ever.

The door opened and closed with the chiming of bells, and since Mad One expected it was Huni Buni she didn’t look away from her egg. So when a man sat down at the counter, she was quite surprised. She looked up from her griddle, and for a split second her mind short-circuited. The hissing and sizzling of the griddle would have been the exact sound her brain made as she looked at this man. Huni Buni came back in, not having seen anyone enter, and came to a startled stop.

“It's good to see you,” the man said with a nervous smile. “You look well. I’m glad.”

“Dad.” Mad One stood erect, staring down at the man who had the same hair and the same cherubic features. “What are you doing here?”

Her father sighed heavily. His eyes were red and swollen, there was a drawn quality to his skin that suggested lack of sleep. “She’s dead, Mad One.”

Mad One’s eyes opened wide, unblinking. Her jaw dropped, but she quickly picked it up to swallow. “Dad...”

“Father Adlai?” Huni Buni’s visor went completely blank and black.

“No one is aware yet.” He tried to clear his throat. “We’ve kept it secret to protect the Red Tide. But, we need you to come home.”

Mad One shook her head slowly. “I can’t, not after-” She was trying hard to process this. Her mother was dead. “What happened?” she finally asked, unable to confront her reasons for leaving. “Mom was so strong, so healthy. What could have possibly...”

“You sister,” Adlai said simply. “She came back.”

Mad One’s heart could have stopped and she wouldn’t have noticed. “Sasha?” She said this as though long, spindly fingers had wrapped around her lungs and squeezed. Huni Buni came to her side, placing one hand upon her back and gripping her hand with the other.

“She got into a fight with Red Witch over the succession,” Adlai replied, keeping his voice low and quiet. “It turned ugly when Sasha didn’t get the answer she wanted.”

Mad One swallowed something hard in her throat. “Where is she now?”

“It was chaos when Red Witch died. Sasha was able to escape. I’m not sure where, but I suspect she went back to the Island of Corpses, like she did before.”

Mad One looked down at the little egg on the grill, which was becoming more brown and burnt around the edges. She took it quickly off the grill, but her hand was shaking so much that it dropped and splattered on the floor. “Don’t worry about it,” Huni Buni tried to reassure her.

“I know it is a lot to ask of you to come back, but the rest of your parents and siblings agreed you should come home. Even after your defeat, you were still the one Red Witch wanted as her heir.”

Mad One walked around the counter, sitting down beside her father with her head hanging. She missed having long hair to hide her face with. “Sasha beat me. I can’t come back. All I have is Huni Buni.”

Adlai put his hand over his child’s and squeezed tight. “She killed your mother, our Queen. The City of Red Tide has nothing, and your whole family agrees that you are the only one who should rule.”

Mad One’s mind was stuck, repeating the words over and over. “But Sasha took all my partners. How can I rule with only Huni Buni?”

“Just come home,” Adlai urged. “Your family is in danger. Sasha will come back, to try to take us all out. She knows she won’t be accepted like you, so she’ll try to take Red Tide by force.”

“She’ll beat me again.”

“If you let her!” Huni Buni suddenly snapped. “No one said you couldn’t fight her again. No one said you were defeated forever. Only you did!”

“But everyone left me.” Mad One’s voice cracked.

“Because they were faithless morons! Your partners were attracted to the power you let them leech! When you were dying, none of them stayed because they were afraid of losing their comfort. Not you! I was terrified I wouldn’t have my wife and best friend, and they all ran away with Sasha because she was the next big meal ticket!” Huni Buni’s visor flashed red with a frowning black face. “You deserve better than them! And I am tired of you bemoaning them! They didn’t leave because you were unworthy, they left because they were!”

That broke the dam, and Mad One began to weep. Her mother was dead, her sister had caused it, and her family wanted her home. She left with Adlai and Huni Buni, who wore a red dress in mourning.

Mad One hadn’t been home in years, but everything was as she remembered it. Her siblings greeted her eagerly, hugging her until every tear was spilt. She kissed her fathers and other mothers before coming to the door of her mother’s chambers. She thought of how many times she had come to these doors seeking her mother, wanting comfort or to sit upon her lap, to watch her mother simply out of the awe and love she had for her.

Mad One opened the door only a crack, and gazed at the bed where her mother was laid out, surrounded by a thick cloud of her magic debris. It hadn’t left her yet. Mad One slowly approached, looking down at her mother who looked so much unlike herself, but was painfully recognizable. “You came home,” the magic debris whispered. “I’m glad.”

Mad One’s eyes filled with tears, and her chest hurt too much to speak.

“I just wish I had been here when you returned.” Laying her head on the bed, Mad One began to weep uncontrollably.

“I’m glad you’re here regardless. I’ll be going soon, out into the world, spreading myself out to all the corners,” the magic debris sighed dreamily. “It will be nice.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mad One wept.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Madelyn. I wish I had reached out sooner. But I know the pride we both hold. It’s all so silly now.” The magic debris shifted, thinning and breaking apart. “I’ve been laughing a lot since I died.”

“You laughed a lot when you were alive,” Mad One whimpered.

“Laughing and crying are similar in a way. Both are healing.” The magic spread through the room. “Madelyn, dear, could you open the window for me?”

Mad One gazed up, slightly terrified. “Now?”

“I know. You will be able to find me everywhere now, my darling. Is Huni Buni still with you?”

Mad One wiped at her eyes. “Please, Mama...”

“You know this is the way. My debris goes out on the wind and brings life into the earth. It keeps magic flowing strong. And let’s face it, there is a lot of me to go around.” The magic debris pressed the window, clouding up the glass. “It’s time, Madelyn, that I repay our ancestors.”

Mad One stood up and stared at the clouded window. “I haven’t been called Madelyn in years.” She undid the latch and opened it wide. The debris floated out into the air, catching a breeze and creating a trail that spiraled up into the sky.

“I was the only one who could.” The voice became thinner and fainter, eventually vanishing as the debris left the room.

Mad One stood gazing up into the sky as the cloud flickered with red lightning. That was it, then. Red Witch was dead, but now she was everywhere. After a period of sitting in the bedroom, Mad One left to find her family gathered in the throne room. They looked at her expectantly, but Mad One could only gaze back at them with uncertainty.  “I don’t know how I can take her seat,” she. “How I can stand where she stood. But you all seem to think I can, so...” She took a deep breath. “I will not take it until Sasha has been dealt with.”

A ripple of murmurs filled the room, and Huni Buni came away from the rest to take her hand. He looked at her, visor blank save for two wide, pink eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“I am going to travel to the Island of One Thousand Corpses and defeat her. I will also find new partners, so when I return my power will be seen before I sit upon the throne of Red Tide.” Mad One tightened her jaw. “I just ask you to wait until I return.”

Adlai separated from the crowd. “Then who will hold Red Tide until then?”

Mad One put on a smile. “I have many sisters. Surely one of you is willing to hold the city up until I can return? Dead Eye? Perhaps even Strawberry?”

A sister stepped away from the others. “How long will you be gone?”

Mad One shook her head. “I can’t say for certain. It could be a long time.” She held her hand out to this sister. “But I promise I will return this time, Dead Eye.”

Dead Eye took Mad One’s hand and glared at her. “You’d best do that, because if Sasha comes back to this door, then Red Tide is doomed.”

“I’m sure she is aware that I will be coming, now that Mom’s debris is in the air.” Mad One smiled and shook Dead Eye’s hand, creating a circle of glyphs around their hands, which spun and spun until they settled on their skin to create and lock the promise.

“It’s your word now,” Dead Eye sniffed.

“It’s our bond. I will leave in the morning. Tonight I would like to see my family and celebrate the life of Red Witch.” Then she walked back into the arms of her family. She didn’t know how long it would be until she saw them again.

As the evening wore on, Mad One sat in the company of some of her parents, discussing which route would be best to go. It was agreed that she would travel to the Neon City where she would try to win favor of the Neon Acolytes and find her first new partner there.