Chapter 12: The final battle

I stared at an old, familiar face. It had crinkly features and the eagle eyes staring at me made me nervous. I had seen this person before. It had to be the witch Sly had been talking about.

"A- are you Sirene?" I asked. The woman laughed.

"You remember me. I'm flattered. Dear child, I expected you to stay in the other dimension. What are you doing back here?" she asked. I paused.

"I didn't ask to be brought back here." I answered, "It just happened."

"How?"

"I don't know! I was sitting in front of my TV and then I was in the sand of Alabasta!" I cried. The woman frowned.

"You're lying." she said.

"I am not!" I yelled, offended.

"Sing!" Sirene demanded.

"No." I responded. "I only answer to the captain. Luffy." and I crossed my arms. Sirene frowned.

"Sing!"

"No!"

"NOW!"

"NO!" I yelled. Sirene frowned again, her features looking deadly. Her limp white hair suddenly flared up around her. I was slammed back against the cavern wall and lights exploded in front of my eyes before I fell to the ground, darkness taking me.

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When I next woke up, I was lying in the cool grass, under stars.

"You're awake." Sirene's voice said above me. I noticed my hat lying in front of me and reached out to put it on. A foot came down on my fingers and I gasped in pain and looked up to see Zolo glaring down at me.

"Zolo?" I asked, shocked. He glared and then leaned down and pulled my sword from my waist and walked away, finally letting my hand go. I wrapped my other hand around it, wincing in pain as I watched Zolo walk back over to the woman and stand beside her.

Luffy appeared from the darkness, also glaring at me, and Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Robin and even Chopper, who was in his big form.

"Guys? What's going on?" I asked, standing. They never replied and Sirene began to laugh as a final figure walked forward. Sly. They all looked dull, kinda like zombies. The amulet pressed against my chest and I could feel the snake moving.

"What did you do to them?" I asked, shocked. Sirene laughed again.

"Lovely aren't they child? Zombies who would do anything to protect their master and you have no way of breaking the spell." she said. I watched them and my eyes came to rest on Zolo's hard face. His eyes were dull. Luffy's no longer sparkled. Nami's no longer danced with a sarcastic gleam. Robin, who usually looked so smart, was nothing. I sighed and pressed back against the tree behind me.

"You're defenceless, and seeing as you won't stay where I put you, I am going to just erase you completely." Sirene said and then crossed her arms, just like she had so long ago. It looked familiar.

Use me… a voice said. My hand snapped up to grab the amulet. It was the cause of the voice.

"I… can't." I replied. Sirene's eyes began to glow as she glared at me and I tried to push myself back further, to scared to turn and run instead.

Sing the song…

"What song?" I cried, scared out of my mind as the glow spread around Sirene's crossed arms.

Your song… the one I keep trying to remind you of! The amulet was obviously getting desperate.

"My… song?" and I thought. The pirate ballad that kept annoying me in my dreams? Was that it?

Across the sea,

Pirates come for miles,

Seeing nothing but gold,

Silver, and jewels,

The water shines

"Stronger!" the amulet demanded.

Across The Sea!

Pirates Come For Miles!

Seeing Nothing But Gold!

Silver, And Jewels!

The Water Shines!

The Moon Dies!

The Sun Fades As Blood Makes The Sky Red And Dark!

And the amulet around my neck began to glow. I held it away from me.

Point me at the witch! It demanded.

"But, my friends, they'll try and save her!" I whimpered.

We have to. Do you want to die! Hurry, keep singing!

"But…"

NOW!

Planets Align!

Stars Collide!

Time Flees!

Love Is A Magic!

That Cannot Be Undone!

Once You Have Tried!

You Have Failed!

Nothing Can Save you!

And the glow around my own amulet spread down my arms as I pointed the amulet at Sirene. She was watching with wide eyes, her chant dying on her lips.

Again. And, do it as loud as you can.

ACROSS THE SEA!

PIRATES COME FOR MILES!

SEEING NOTHING BUT GOLD!

SILVER, AND JEWELS!

THE WATER SHINES!

THE MOON DIES!

THE SUN FADES AS BLOOD MAKES THE SKY DARK AND RED!

PLANETS ALLIGN!

STARS COLLIDE!

TIME FLEES!

LOVE IS A MAGIC!

THAT CANNOT BE UNDONE!

ONCE YOU HAVE TRIED!

YOU HAVE FAILED!

NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU!

A green light, pierced the night and made the sky glow green as it headed straight for Sirene.

"Why did you need me to yell?" I whispered, my eyes drooping.

More power… she's strong. Are you okay?

"Just tired." I replied, watching through lidded eyes as the light hit something, a dark figure, but I couldn't tell whether it was the right person or not. I hoped it was as I fainted to the ground.

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Darkness surrounded me, and suddenly I was floating over something. The sea. It touched my toes, so warm, and nice. But the moon was shining, and the stars were twinkling. It was a warm night. There seemed to be nothing else out there, until something began to appear in front of me, wavering like a ghost until it's body became solid.

"Hello… Stealthy. You did a great job." the man said. He looked like he was dressed like a prince. Only about my age.

"Doing what?" I asked. The man smiled.

"I was the amulet. I was the one who was trapped beneath the sand of Alabasta. You rescued me once. I know you can't remember, and I'm sorry, but I can't restore your memories." he replied. I tilted my head.

"Am I dead?" I asked. The man laughed.

"No, no, you're not dead. Just inside the amulet with me. But, now that the witch is dead, we can be free. I can't wait to meet your friends." he replied excitedly and then reached out to grasp my hand. The black swirled, colours mixing together like a bizarre whirlpool.

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My feet suddenly came in contact with solid ground again and then we were standing on the cliff again. The prince was looking around, studying his hands and body as if he hadn't seen it in a long time. I looked around and saw everyone lying on the ground. I hurried over.

"Zolo," I whispered as I looked down at his inert body. Luffy was lying near him and I stepped over the swordsman to check on him. Both men's chests were moving. They were alive. I sighed and went to check the rest of the crew. The last person I found was Sly. He was lying on his back and I kneeled down beside him. I gasped and stared.

"What's wrong?" the prince asked, obviously having heard me. He hurried over and looked down on Sly's inert body. My lip trembled and I turned away. He was dead. The prince knelt down.

"He… he must have jumped in front of the blast." he said softly before gently moving him to see the witch's dead body underneath him. She was quite obviously dead.

"See you old woman." Prince said before picking her up.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked. Prince shook his head.

"Throw her off the cliff." he replied darkly. "It's no less than she deserves."

"What! You can't!" I cried, tears clinging to my cheeks. Prince stared at me.

"She erased your memories, turned me into an amulet, and then tried to kill you!" he returned. I blinked.

"But we can't just throw her off a cliff. She was a person." I said firmly. Prince sighed.

"Alright, we'll bury her." he sighed and then dropped her body unceremoniously on the ground. I shook my head.

"Do you have a name? I can't just keep thinking of you as Prince." I asked, my eyes wandering to where the crew were stirring.

"Ah, oh, I can't remember it." he replied and then put a finger between his teeth, dark blue eyes searching the ground as he tried to remember. "It was… R something. Re, no, Ra, no, Rif, yeah, Rif… uh, Riffer! That was it!" he cried, obviously happy he had remembered.

"Well, Riffer. You, are going to explain every detail of what happened to me. Over and over again until I understand, how does that sound?" I asked. Riffer paused, and then smiled.

"Sure." he replied. I smiled and then hurried over to Zolo. His eyelids were fluttering.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked softly. Zolo's eyes came to rest on my face.

"Yeah… what the hell happened?" he asked as he sat up. I sighed.

"Well, you were under a spell." I said. He looked at me.

"You serious?" he asked. I laughed and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight. "Hey, come on…" he muttered, blushing a little.

"I'm hungry!" came a cry. I looked around and saw Luffy sitting up, arms stretching. I let go of Zolo and jumped over to him, hugging him as well. "Hey! I got a hug!" Luffy cried, happy to be hugged. I laughed and looked around. Nami, Sanji, Robin, Usopp and Chopper were waking up.

"Who the hell are you?" Zolo asked, staring at the prince with suspicious eyes. Riffer bowed.

"Pri- ah, Riffer. I was a prince, but somehow, I don't think I am anymore." he replied with a small, sad smile. I hugged each one of the crew members. They had really freaked me out. I even hugged Robin. Last to get hugged was Chopper, and he squealed happily as I enfolded him in my arms and when I let him go he danced from foot to foot yelling,

"That doesn't make me happy at all!" and then he scurried over to Luffy with a smile on his furry little face. I turned to look back at Riffer.

"He was the amulet." I said, staring at him. Riffer sighed and nodded.

"Huh?" Luffy asked. I laughed and looked at the captain.

"I'll explain it all to you on the way back to the ship." I said, a grin on my face as the sun began to rise on the horizon.

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We buried Sirene and Sly by the edge of the cliff. The death of Sly had been unexpected, and unwanted, but, it couldn't be changed. I cried silently as I looked down on his grave. He had died needlessly. I looked up, alone on the small outcropping of land.

"May the wind always be at your back Sly." I said softly. I hadn't known him well, but, he had said he used to be my partner.

"I'm sure it will." a voice said and I turned to see Zolo standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. He walked forward and looked down at the grave of Sly.

"He tried to protect us you know." he began. I watched him, the sash around my hat blowing in the wind. "Warned us that Sirene was coming, but it was too late."

"Yeah…" I replied softly. "God, I feel like such an idiot!" I exploded suddenly, surprising the swordsman. He blinked at me.

"Why? You would have died had you not done it, and the only person who should fit the blame, is Sirene." Zolo said. I sighed.

"I know you're right but, I can't help but feel that this is all my fault." I said, hugging myself. Arms circled my shoulders and then I was pulled back against a hard chest. My eyes widened and I turned to look up at Zolo.

"Well, it's not. And I'll fight tooth and nail to prove that it wasn't." he said with a smile. I returned the smile.

"Thanks Zolo." I said softly and closed my eyes and just leaned against him, the salty air whipping around us as we stood on that peak.

"But Riffer! I still don't get it!" a voice cried from the slope of the hill behind us. I pulled away from Zolo and looked around.

"Luffy! For the last damn time! I was the amulet that Stealthy was wearing! That witch put a curse on me and I was trapped inside it." Riffer explained as he appeared on the hill. Luffy paused a moment, blinking in confusion.

"How did she trap you inside the amulet?" he asked innocently. Riffer shrugged.

"How the hell do I know?"

"Well you should know." Luffy said stubbornly. Riffer stopped at the sight of Zolo and I together.

"Nami says to get your asses back to the ship. We're setting sail." he said, pushing his hands into his pockets.

"You know, for a prince, you're quite rude. And I also figured out that you were lying to me." I said as I walked past. Riffer shrugged as he turned to walk beside me. Zolo walked on the other side, and Luffy was still trying to figure everything out.

"How do you figure?" Riffer asked. I smiled.

"You told me that Sirene was worth a heap of money, and you knew that I would go after her because I was a bounty hunter. You were lying." I said slyly. Riffer paused.

"Oh, you remember that but nothing else?" he asked sarcastically. I stopped and craned my neck over my shoulder to look back at Luffy.

"Coming captain?" I called. Luffy's eyes snapped up and he grinned.

"Absolutely!" and he ran after us.

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Well, that's my story. Well, one of my stories, but I'm not going to bore you with other stories about my adventures with the One Piece crew. As it turned out, I had belonged in that world all the time. My memories of the other dimension were pretty much completely erased, and the ones from my real life in the one piece universe slowly returned. Not that the other dimension had been my real life anyway. And that, was What happened when I got sucked into One Piece.

End

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------STEALTHY-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow. Well, that was the last chappie of Whwiwsiop. To think, I have been working on that for over a month... wow. And it didn't turn out that bad after all. I thought it was going to be horrible when I first started. I was a bad person for killing off Sly, but, Riffer had to join the crew cos' he had no where else to go. He was trapped in that amulet for at least four years dude!

Now, special calls out to some people.

Thomas Drovin: Thankyou for always reviewing and supporting my story! You were my second reviewer and you reviewed the whole way through. Thankyou so much, and it's cool to see a fello Aussie here. Way to go mate! -winks-

RoseBeloved: You were my first reviewer, and mate, were you right when you said there was gonna be some ZoloxOC fluff. wow. didn't realise it would get this bad. Hope you enjoyed the story!

Blizzardrake: Hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for reviewing!

Pirates.R.Kewl: Chicky, I hope you enjoyed this, even though it lost a bit of it's comedy at the end. XD That was accidental, because there was really nothing to be comical about. -shrugs- hope you enjoyed it anyhow!

Senile Old Man: Thanks for drawing the pictures of Stealthy for me! You rock! Hope the story was to your liking and that you don't regret drawing those piccies.

Mirathin: Hope you enjoyed the story too chicky!

Kagatsu Kuro Kyohaku Bara, and Save the Green Planet: Hope you learned enough about the characters, and I hoped the sugar highness was enough for you Kagatsu. XD

Before I go, I just want to ask, I have another story in the making where there is an Other character. It's alright, but I'm not sure if I will post it. So, tell me, did you like this story, and would you like me to post this new story in? (Mirathin, it's the one I sent you.) It's about a bounty hunter, and she invites herself onto the Merry Go. If you would like me to post it, just say so in your review. Ok? Groovy.

Now, for my final, and last, comment. Reviews make Stealthy and myself very happy people -nudge nudge, wink wink- ah forget it... XD