The Going Merry groaned, its wood creaking under the immense pressure of the magnetic whirlpool. "The rudder's stuck! We’re being sucked into the center!" Nami shouted, her feet bracing against the deck as the ship tilted dangerously. "Usopp! Chopper! Man the oars!" Sanji yelled, kicking away a falling piece of metallic debris. "Zoro, help me push the mast!" Amia tumbled onto the deck, shifting back into her human form. She was exhausted, her lungs burning from the smoke of the exploding spire, but she saw the terror in Usopp’s eyes and the sweat on Nami’s brow. She couldn't let her new home sink. "The whirlpool... it’s magnetic!" Amia gasped, pointing at the glowing orange core sinking into the sea. "It’s pulling on the metal reinforcements in the hull! We need to create a counter-force!" "A counter-force? With what?" Usopp wailed. "We're a wooden ship with a tiny cannon!" Amia looked at the Albatrosses still circling high above the chaos, unaffected by the magnets. Then she looked at the heavy iron anchors pinning the ship. "Luffy! Break the chains on those anchors! If we lose the metal weight, the ship will be light enough for the wind to carry us out!" "Got it! Gum-Gum... Battle Axe!" Luffy’s leg stretched high into the smoky sky and came crashing down, shattering the Seastone-alloy chains like glass. The Merry leaped forward, suddenly freed from the heaviest metal holding it back. "Now!" Nami steered hard. "Wind, give us a hand! Cyclone Tempo!" With a massive burst of air and the sheer luck of the Grand Line, the Going Merry shot out of the purple mist just as the Iron-Spine Reef collapsed into the ocean with a final, thunderous roar. Silence fell over the deck, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing and the gentle lap of normal blue waves. "We... we made it," Chopper whispered, collapsing onto his back. Amia leaned against the railing, watching the last of the black smoke vanish. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Luffy, his wide grin back in place, though his clothes were singed. "See? I told you," Luffy laughed. "You're a great pirate, Amia!" "I'm a tired pirate," Amia joked, a genuine smile finally reaching her eyes. But as the crew began to cheer and Sanji headed to the kitchen to make "Victory Juice," Robin stayed by the railing, staring back at where the island had been. She knew the World Government didn't stop at one "Retrieval Unit."
