"Could you tell us about the song?" Vivi asked.
"The Song is called the Swaying song," Roba responded.
"Can you sing it?" Marianne asked. She looked intrigued.
Ben nodded. Roba nodded back. "Swaying, sway, sway, sway, swaying. The King of the Sea, the Golden Crown. The white snake's eyes, two moons. The sound of the black wind, feeling lighter. Time to drink up the blue water jug. The lightning that falls on the green forest. Swaying, sway, sway, sway, swaying. The King of the Sea, the Golden Crown," Roba sang.
"It's beautiful," Maya murmured, her eyes shimmered.
"There's meaning behind it," Conis added softly, her gaze fixed on Roba with thoughtful curiosity.
"So… where's the treasure?" Mikita asked bluntly, arms crossed, breaking the quiet moment.
Roba gave a gentle smile. "It's in the song," she defended.
Zala raised an eyebrow, turning to Ben. "Sounds like a made-up story, Captain," she said skeptically.
Robin chuckled under her breath. "Maybe it is, maybe not," she said with a knowing smile.
"I think it's true," Conis spoke up again, her voice clear with conviction.
"I believe it too," Saphir agreed, waving her hand with a calm, confident smile.
Ben smiled. He thought Conis was a musician as well. She might be understanding the meaning behind it. "I think it's true," Ben stated. "We should go and check it out," he added.
"My love thinks there is something there so we will check it out," Alvida said.
"It would be interesting," Raki said. "We always end up in a crazy adventure," Raki added.
"It will be fun," Nojiko said, looking at the turtle log pose.
"We should be getting close," Roba said. The crew looked to see an island with a unique and distinctive topography. It was a dome-shaped mountain with several large, dark, vertical grooves running down its sides, giving it a striped appearance. The lower perimeter of the island was surrounded by a sandy beach and lush greenery. The surrounding water was a bright, clear turquoise which then transitioned to a deeper blue farther out.
"It looks beautiful," Saphir said.
"So this is your home," Vivi said, looking at it.
"What was it called again?" Honey asked.
"Mecha Island," Roba responded.
They all looked to see a town with stone buildings piled together. The stones were white. There were over a dozen houses in a row and it went up the slope. The pathways were created out of stone cobber. There was steam running down the slope. There were people walking and shopping.
Meanwhile, Honki sprinted up the stairs. He raced up like a rocket and opened the door once again. He saw Ratchet tightening a bolt. Honki was panting. "There is a pirate ship approaching us," Honki said while trying to catch his breath.
Ratchet got up and looked at him. "This is interesting. We could try our defences against them," Ratchet responded.
"It is the Love Pirates," Honki added.
Ratchet smiled. "Those fools," Ratchet said. "Let's see how tough they are," he added.
"Sir, should I inform Nipthal?" Honki asked, moving his arms downwards.
"We will inform them once they are sunk by my defences," Ratchet replied.
"Sir," Honki said.
Back on the Miss Love Duck, Mikita walked towards Ben. "Ben we are in open waters, should we go around?" Mikita asked.
"You can park anywhere," Roba responded.
"We are a Pirate Ship with bounties to our names," Robin added.
"It is not a good idea for us to be this open," Zala said.
"I see. You can park on that beach," Roba said, pointing toward the shoreline.
They all turned to look. A long stretch of sandy beach lay ahead. Beyond the shoreline a strange pile of large gears, twisted wires, and scattered metal parts, half-buried in the landscape.
"What is all that?" Marianne asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Looks like junk," Honey said with a frown.
"It's my son's doing," Roba replied with a sigh. "Ever since his father passed away, he's been… different. Obsessed with building traps, machines — just nonstop tinkering. Then a short man crash-landed here not long ago, and things only got worse," she added.
"Short man?" Nojiko asked, raising a brow.
"Yes. He's good with machines too. The two of them together have turned that whole area into some kind of scrapyard fortress," she added.
"There was that one guy we fought before... really good with machines," Alvida said.
"Nipthal," Ben said with a nod, his expression turning serious.
"An old enemy," Robin said.
At that moment, the sand started to rumble and a lid popped up. One by one a figure started to appear from the ground. They saw a machine with toothy grin, large round eyes, and a long nose resembling a clown. The machine was brown with a yellow pad and white gloves. It had a helmet with small feathers sticking out of the top. It had a bow in its hand. There were a dozen of them.
"They look ugly," Marianne said.
"Not appealing to the eye," Saphir agreed.
Ben saw the arrows and thought they could do some damage to the Miss Love Duck. He was about to move when Kalifa took a step ahead. "You don't need to deal with this Captain," Kalifa said as she walked ahead.
The other girls smiled.
A crackling voice echoed from hidden speakers across the shoreline. "Listen up, pirates! You've landed on the wrong island!"
The crew turned their eyes to a man standing on a cliff ledge above. He gripped a microphone tightly. His hair was styled into sharp, fin-like points dyed electric blue, and a glowing purple tattoo coiled around his chest. He wore a green jacket, wide open to reveal his muscular torso, and dark pants strapped with mechanical gear.
"Maji…" Roba muttered.
"Who's that?" Alvida asked, folding her arms.
"My son's friend," Roba replied. "Loudmouthed and full of himself," she added. "But loyalty to him," she said.
Maji's voice boomed again. "Why are you here? Too loot and rob us. Doesn't matter! You won't make it far anyway!" He pointed at them from above. "This island belongs to the great Ratchet-Sir! No one sets foot here without his say-so," he added.
He sneered. "Got it? Now turn that puny ship around—before we rain down a thousand arrows on you!"
Nojiko scoffed, clearly irritated. "I already don't like him, especially for insulting the Miss Love Duck."
"We're only here to return Roba home," Ben called out from the deck of the Miss Love Duck.
High on the cliffs, a sleek, iron-plated train screeched to a halt atop a raised rail platform. Inside, Ratchet peered out the window. His mechanical goggles clicked into focus as he caught sight of Roba near the shoreline.
"…Mother?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes. Then he snapped to his feet.
"Prepare the glider plane!" he barked. Crew members scrambled.
With a hiss of steam and the roar of thrusters, a sleek glider plane—equipped with rotating gear-wings and propeller was wheeled onto a launch ramp. Ratchet jumped into the cockpit, hands gripping the controls.
In seconds, the plane launched off the cliffside, slicing through the air with mechanical grace. It swooped low, engines humming.
Ben and the crew watched as the plane hovered momentarily above the beach.
"Wow, he is flying," Vivi said.
"I want one," Marianne said.
"I would like it as well," Saphir said.
"Both of you have Moonwalk," Nojko remarked.
"My love, we should get a better one of those," Alvida said.
"See Alvida agress," Saphir said.
"It means someone can get to sit on my love`s lap," she teased.
"Should we shoot it down?" Raki asked.
"No need," Ben responded.
The helicopter got close and swooped Roba away.
"He took her," Maya said.
"They are mother and son," Ben said.
Ratchet flew away from the Miss Love Duck. "These pirates. General Maji fire," Ratchet ordered.
"They are a good bunch," Roba responded.
"They are dangerous," he said.
Maji jumped down.