After clearing the enemy base and disabling the Access Ark's third leg, the group made their way to the fourth location where the next leg was as the sun began to set. The location of the next leg led the group to a harsh desert that had been overrun with technology. In the dunes, the Haltmann Works Company built giant blenders used for extracting oil, fans that blew clouds of smog, Burner Birds, and forks with spaghetti connecting them.
"Well, at least the sun's starting to set." Klonoa said.
"Yep. That at least makes being here…much more bearable." David said.
"Yes…this heat is dreadful, but thankfully not as much." Homura added.
The group continued to advance, taking note of all the machinery.
"It looks like Haltmann Corps is using this area to extract oil and other resources." Entrapta said.
"Probably for future creations." Al said.
The group soon reached the Enemy Base where the leg was and found Susie at the top. Music was playing, and she appeared to be singing some sort of anthem.
"~Noble Haltmann, we adore him. Noble Haltmann, we adore him! Every day we wish him glory~!" Susie sang.
"Nice theme song. Lemme guess, is that your company anthem?" DW typed, getting Susie's attention as she turned her head to them.
"Why yes it is. That was our company's wonderful theme song, 'The Noble Haltmann.' Sometimes I just find myself singing it out loud. It's so catchy!" Susie said. "At any rate, I must say, how nice to see you all again."
"Kind of you to say that, even if you did try to kill us before." Glimmer said.
"Let me tell you all a story. Not long ago, I met someone who impressed me very much. He was strong and full of confidence… A knight of the highest order. I was so impressed… I gave him a complete remodel! And I hired him as a company security guard." Susie said, directing her arm upward as a familiar knight was lowered down by a set of wires. His mask has a similar shape to his normal self's mask, but with added blue markings and a round pink lens at the center of the visor. The lens seems to move around the visor during certain animations. A blocky pink and gray antenna protrudes from the left side of the mask, his pauldrons are far larger than his normal self's in order to accommodate a pair of large missile launchers on each shoulder. His sabatons, oddly enough, do not fully cover his feet, and his wings appear as mechanical versions, with the addition of thrusters to increase his mobility. "Heehee! I wonder what you all will make of him? Please allow me to present… Model #7110. Mecha Knight…ENGAGE!" she said before pulling out her remote and pressing a button, causing the lens to light up as the golden device in his right hand projected a fiery pink energy blade in the shape of Galaxia.
Remodeled Dream Land Warrior - Mecha Knight
"Oh, Meta Knight… How painful it is to see you like this…" Sectonia said.
Susie simply laughed as she was carried away by her drone.
"Brainwave altering signal detected on enemy unit's mask." 042 said. "Deactivation of this signal is possible, but will require extensive damage to physical receiver."
"So basically, just hit 'em in the mask." ZS clarified.
"Affirmative." 042 said.
"Looks like we don't have a choice then." Roy said.
(Cue- Inner Struggle- Kirby: Planet Robobot)
"And somehow…I doubt he's alone!" Sunset said as two figures jumped down beside him. One was a mechanized warrior with two dragon-like cannons on its shoulders while the other was a warrior in yellow wielding a spear.
Venoctobot
Merican Yo-kai
Tough Tribe
B3-NK1
Brave Tribe
"Well, I think we found Venoct's mechanical twin!" Bow said.
"And he's with B3-NK1…that's bad news for us." X said.
"Why?" 9S asked.
"I'll show you!" B3-NK1 said as he jabbed his spear inside of Axl, removing a golden screw as he suddenly shut down.
"Axl? Axl!" Ace said.
"He cannot hear you. The robot no longer has his golden screw! He will no longer function until it returns to him." B3-NK1 said. "In fact, I have been busy." he said, showing a number of fallen machines and a pair that stood out was a fallen remote in a cape as well as a small child in yellow and black all tied up.
Count Zapaway
Shady Tribe
Signibble
Mysterious Tribe
"Gods… This is just cruel…" David said.
"This isn't like him. He's probably being controlled." Sunset said.
"We're gonna have to knock some sense into him, but no one else synthetic gets close to him." Hope said.
"Got it." Rebecca said.
"Sectonia, You and Kirby handle Meta Knight." Hope said.
"Don't worry, I'll fight with you." Francisca said. "Everyone else, Venoctobot and B3-NK1 are all yours."
"Meta Knight… Prepare yourself!" Sectonia said. "Let's go, everyone."
The battle began as Kirby and the two Brave Adventurers engaged Mecha Knight, the rest of the group dividing into halves to deal with the two Yo-kai.
"Haha!" B3-NK1 said as he clashed with Zan as she was quickly holding him back with ease. "Huh?!"
"You should know better than to invade my friend's homeworld!" Zan said countering him bit for bit before striking him down as he collapsed.
"Impressive as always sis." Flamberge said.
Venoctobot then jumped into the fray, firing its cannons as everyone dodged.
"This thing may not actually be and fight like Venoct, but those cannons are definitely powerful!" Zephyr said, shooting back at the replica.
"Can't we just short it out like we did with the others?" Scorpia asked. "I can volunteer this time if thats alright…"
"We did that trick twice already, don't you think they'll be expecting that now?" Miu asked.
"Correct. Venoctobot and Kyubot were made at a different time. They're immune to high voltage and have powerful energy sources that prevent shorting out." Robonyan said.
"So we can't just cheat at this like with the others." Emo remarked.
"Actually…perhaps we still can." Double D proposed. "Robonyan, what kind of metal is Venoctobot made out of?"
"It is a powerful alloy called Amritanite." Robonyan answered. "It is a material only found in the Yo-kai Realm."
"Does it act like alloys in the Human World?"
"In some ways."
"In that case…Miss Nikos!" Double D called out to Pyrrah.
"Yes!" Pyrrha said as she activated her Semblance as Venoctobot was being drawn right to her.
"Thus, as Zeo would say, the law of victory is set!" Double D proclaimed. "Now, everyone!"
The group quickly ganged up on the robotic Yo-kai, dealing it major damage before it fell on one knee, still showing some form of defiance.
"Stay down already!" Shiki said, using his Ether Gear to shift the gravity down on Venoctobot.
Venoctobot however, rose up, even as the gravity pushed down on it as it slowly walked towards the group.
"What do you want?" Sunset said as it stopped before her.
"Ya…mata….no….Oro…chi…" it uttered before falling to the ground.
"Orochi?" Klonoa asked.
"It's the name people in Japan call Venoct." Sunset said.
"Wait, you're telling me you're friends with Orochi? Like, the Orochi?!" Issei exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah. Of course." Sunset said.
"Okay, Sunset being friends with the hydra of Japan aside, we finally got them both down. How's Team Popstar doing?" Mark asked, turning to see how the fight with Mecha Knight was progressing.
Kirby had become Sword Kirby as he, Sectonia, and Francisca had the mechanized knight on the ropes.
"Almost done here." Sectonia said.
Sword Kirby charged up his blade by holding it above his head before firing a sword beam at Mecha Knight, striking them in the mask, causing it to spark wildy.
"Pod, the receiver is critically damaged." 2B informed 042.
"Confirmed. Deactivating signal." 042 announced as Mecha Knight's movements became less robotic and more lifelike before his mask light turned from pink to yellow. "Brainwashing signal deactivated. Original conscious remerging."
"Ah…my head…" Meta Knight shook, before he looked up. "Kirby…and the Dimensional Heroes?"
"Oh, we go by the Hero Alliance now." Jexi corrected.
"I see…Haltmann seems to have gotten the better of me." Meta Knight observed his robotic parts. "You have my thanks for knocking me back to my senses."
"Uh…yes…I as well. I will return the screws which I had taken." B3-NK1 said after regaining consciousness.
"Thanks. But…why was Signibble here?" Sunset asked.
"Because he can generate electricity, he along with a couple other Yo-kai like him were taken as power sources." B3-NK1 explained.
"So Signiton and Statiking are here too." Sunset said. "There's still some worry about Venoct though. He may have been one of…" she said.
"Hey, Venoctobot is a version of Venoct, right? Maybe he knows something." ZS suggested.
"Great idea, ZS! I just finished reprogramming him!" Entrapta said as Venoctobot was back online, and gave the Dryl princess his medal to boot. "Venoctobot, do you know where the Yo-kai you were based off of is?"
"Location…unknown." Venoctobot declared. "Hypothesis…he has been captured by the Yo-kai Alliance."
"Damn. How many Yo-kai have this group gotten to?" Bardock asked rhetorically.
"Estimation…over one thousand Yo-kai have been captured and corrupted by the Alliance." Venoctobot announced, shocking the group. "However…they are not all beyond saving."
"What do you mean?" Penny asked.
"Yo-kai…Watch…is key. To learn more…find…Lord Enma." Venoctobot said before his voice soon quieted.
"Over one thousand Yo-kai…" Mark muttered. "The Alliance does quick work. And now we have an idea why they're hunting Watch holders."
"Yeah…if only we knew how to use it to fix them. Hopefully, we'll run into Enma eventually." Sunset said.
"We can attempt to get in contact once we're done here. For now, we have one more leg to deal with, do we not?" Asgore stated.
"Yeah..our next destination…Rhythm Route." Jexi said.
As the group prepare to disembark, Sectonia still had something on her mind.
"Still thinking about the possibility of Haltmann cloning you?" Francisca asked.
"Yes. My death by this point has only occured just recently, so I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to find some remains of the Dreamstalk." Sectonia said.
"But even if they did, it's not much of a problem, right? We pretty much know how you fought back then by now." Genis said. "Besides, it's better not to think about that stuff right now. We'll worry about that when we end up getting there, and that is assuming we do."
"Genis is right. If we are lucky, we won't have to worry about fighting your clone at all. So, don't worry about it. Everything is going to work out, I am sure of it." Lloyd said.
"Thanks, Lloyd. And thank you all for the support." Sectonia said.
"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Lloyd asked.
