From the Sea, the Crooked One Shall Rise

Chapter Two

No one on the Red Force was prepared to be woken up by shrill, bloodcurdling screaming. The screams echoed out through the ship, loud and haunting. Wails mixed with the screaming and Hongo burst into the sick bay. He looked exhausted, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins took care of his exhaustion. "Hey! Hey, it's okay," Hongo gently shook Callie in an attempt to wake her up. "Come on, it's okay. You're safe now."

Callie's eyes snapped open, her hands squeezing Hongo's wrist in an expert hold. The doctor hissed in pain and Callie sat up, eyes wildly looking around. Her eyes met Hongo's and she let go of his wrist, chest heaving. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "for disturbing your sleep." She gleaned at his wrist. "Sorry about that, too." Callie was happy she didn't have her dagger on her. She could have killed him.

Hongo's eyes softened. "Look, kid, it's okay." His head turned back to the door and he gave Beckman, Yasopp, Roo, and Shanks an okay gesture. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, turning his gaze back to Callie.

Callie's gaze hardened, her jaw clenching. "No," she said simply, laying back down. "I don't." Her entire demeanor went from terrified to cold and guarded. Hongo frowned. A child shouldn't have that ability to hide their emotions so easily. 'What have you gone through?' he wondered.

"Alright..." Hongo hesitated, stepping back from Callie. He closed the door to the sick bay. Callie relaxed at the click of the door. Her body shivered despite having three blankets around her. Tears slid down her face. Hiccuping, she grabbed the blanket tightly, her knuckles turning white. She remembered a small leatherbound book and she remembered her five friends. But that also meant she remembered her five friend's tragedies. Three had died, one was exiled, and the other had gotten his happy ending.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed to herself, holding her hands to her heart. "We never should have let him win." Her sobs died down as she drifted off the sleep once more. This time, she dreamed of her other allies, visions of a sun, moon, and stars with a pair of doves filled her dreams. She felt unease as the visions faded to black, cruel laughter echoing out before all she saw was piercing yellow eyes.

Two days had passed before Callie woke up again and was able to comprehend what had happened. They lost the war. She nearly died and woke up in the middle of the ocean, saved by a pirate crew. She ran a hand through her hair and took a shuddering breath. "Okay, Callie, breathe. Everything is fine. You can adapt and get through this." She shuddered and nodded, smiling to herself. "Take things slow, observe, and adapt. Adapt."

Callie firmly nodded and exhaled. She pushed off the blankets and got out of bed, grimacing at the super baggy clothes. She missed her black Victorian style tailcoat jacket, her cream colored leggings and her brown heeled boots. Surprise hit her in the face when she saw her clothes dried on one of the other beds in the sick bay. In her clothes, Callie started to feel like herself again. Slipping on her boots and putting her hair in a high ponytail, Callie left the sick bay.

The young woman vaguely remembered Hongo's words of where everything was. She took deep, shuddering breaths to keep calm before she wandered to the library. Books calmed and grounded her. Callie's love for books probably stemmed from her parents. Both were avid book readers and adventurers. While reading, Callie immersed herself in the story, stopping every little while to close her eyes and imagine herself inside the story, experiencing what the protagonist was feeling for herself. Callie grabbed one of the many history and geographical books and found a quiet corner to study up.

Losing track of time, Callie studied the world maps and history, soaking up each bit of information she could. Her brows furrowed in thought, mind storing everything away. Map after map, and book after book, Callie was lost to the world around her. Words seemed to fly off the pages and into her mind. Books stacked up around her as the ship rocked and rolled in the waves. Callie learned what she could and put the books away.

"Didn't know you were awake," Callie turned her head to look at Hongo. She was used to being sneaked up on. "You should have come to find me so I could check you over to make sure you were alright," the doctor gently chided, giving her a stern look.

Callie's lips twitched, frowning slightly. "I've been through much worse than near hypothermia and drowning. I'm okay," she assured, grabbing a book about devil fruits and haki and a book on the hierarchy of pirates and marines.. If she was going to survive this world, she needed to know how the power systems worked. "Please, don't worry about me. I will be able to handle myself."

Hongo sighed heavily, watching her every move as the girl moved back to her corner of learning. "I can't in good conscience let you go on without making sure you are okay. If you are going to stay on this ship for the time being, I am going to need to check you over." The doctor stood firm in his stance.

Callie glanced up from the books, tense. "Fine," Callie sighed, putting the book down. "What do you want me to do?" she asked, finding it better to go along than argue. Hongo brought her back to the sick bay and did a series of tests on her, from her blood to her blood pressure. Callie sat perfectly still as Hongo did a routine check-up. Her mind wandered back to Lee and Michael running the infirmary at Camp, a wistful smile tugging at her lips.

"All done," Hongo nodded, writing down some notes. "Do you remember anything else?" he asked her as he put his instruments away.

Callie bit her lip. She could lie and keep her cards close to her chest, or she could tell the truth and open a whole new can of worms. "Not much," Callie settled for middle ground. "I don't remember much. Just faces," she said in half-truths. She tapped her thigh, fidgeting. "Can I go back to reading now?"

Hongo looked up at her. "One last thing. We found this on you." He held up a leather bound journal. "I figured you'd want it back." He handed it to her, and Callie eagerly took it, relaxing. She opened it up and flipped through the pages, looking over her old writings and battle plans. She paused, frowning, eyes widening.

"Something wrong?" Hongo asked, watching her face pale once more.

Callie muttered a curse in Ancient Greek. On the page read:

From the sea, the crooked one rises

Six shall heed the call to sea

With a heart of stone, the quest begins

Crimson red will heal the mind

Bound by straw the heroes prevail

Free the chains and the crooked one shall fall.