Episode 20: Preparing for Battle!

"After I made Thor the official Asgard Realm Champion upon my retirement, I couldn't help but notice his brutal methods," Odin said. "He was beating every single challenger that came to the Realm, and not even giving them a chance to earn the Mind Stone Badge."

"So this isn't the Mind Stone Badge?" Peter asked, looking back at the yellow stone he was still holding in his hand.

Odin shook his head. "It is what the Mind Stone Badge is based on. Now, I considered temporarily revoking Thor's title when I realized Hela overheard a private conversation between me and Frigga concerning Loki. From there, I knew she was going to persuade Loki to use the Mind Stone to make me fall asleep and remove Thor. So I let it happen to have Thor learn a lesson in humility, though I failed to see how much Loki would abuse the Mind Stone's power with Hela encouraging it."

"Well, the title of Asgard Realm Champion should have gone to me!" Hela insisted. "I'm your firstborn child, after all, with an incredibly powerful Marémon by my side."

In response, Elarein stomped her hooves in a proud manner.

"Yes, but you were dangerously ambitious," Odin claimed. "I knew if you weren't restrained in some way, you would do more harm than good which has been proven by your current actions."

"Let's not forget that I was the one in charge, Father," Loki interrupted. "Sure, Hela got the ball rolling but it was I who brainwashed the Warriors Three and ordered the arrests on anyone who opposed me. Because regardless of who started it, she and I both wanted the same thing."

"True, but that doesn't excuse your actions despite my part in letting them happen," Odin argued. "Odinspear, Matter Transport Loki and Hela to the prison they enjoyed sending people to while their Marémon shall go back in their PDBs and be transported out of their reach."

Nodding in agreement, Odinspear slammed the spear down on the floor. This caused Lokeen and Elarein to be sent back to Loki and Hela's PDBs, which disappeared in their hands. Next, Loki and Hela disappeared as well.

"As for you three, I need your help," Odin said urgently to Peter, MJ, and Thor. "Colonies of Svartelm and Kurseed are heading toward New Asgard Town from Vanaheim Forest, and I need every able-bodied Marémon Wielder to stop them."

"We encountered Svartelm and Kurseed in Vanaheim Forest yesterday," MJ admitted. "Are they the same ones?"

"Yes, and they're being led by someone I thought was long dead," Odin replied and turned around to walk through the rainbow vortex with Odinspear following alongside him.

Confused by what Odin meant, Peter, MJ, and Thor followed Odin and Odinspear through the rainbow vortex where they emerged from the Norse-style building that served as the entrance to the Asgard Realm. Then after Peter gave the Mind Stone to Odin, he and the others walked to the town square as the sky was becoming lighter with the coming of dawn. At the town square were many nervous-looking Marémon Wielders with some familiar faces among them.

"Eddie! Sif! Jane!" MJ cried, getting the attention of the goatee-bearded boy with a stiff right arm, the dark-haired girl in a leather jacket, the brunette-haired girl with a white scarf who were standing with their Marémon Hornetech, Shieldsif, and Thorina respectively.

"Quill!" Peter exclaimed, recognizing the chestnut-haired boy with a burgundy jacket, whom he had a match with outside of Yortown not too long ago, that was standing along the edge of the crowd in the town square. "I guess you got here before I did."

"Well, obviously," Quill responded. "Those so-called Asgard Realm Champions didn't show any mercy, and threw me in prison along with my Marémon."

"How many Marémon have you gotten since we last met?" Peter asked.

"About three, not counting Starlure," Quill said in a bragging manner. "Then while I was in prison, I got another Marémon. So that makes four new Marémon in total! What about you, Pete?"

"Besides Spidi, I caught one and was promised another, which I didn't get before taking on Loki and Hela," Peter admitted, feeling ashamed.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't give you Hornetech before, Peter," Eddie apologized, interrupting Peter and Quill. "I was having doubts about whether Hornetech would be good enough to go up against Loki and Hela's Marémon, especially since you decided to catch a Shadusk. Did you get one?"

"Sure did, though I didn't get to use her in battle," Peter said. "Instead, Spidi Matured into Spidermin and managed to hold his own against Loki's Lokeen."

Beside Peter's right leg, Spidermin nodded and reared its forelegs up proudly.

"Oh, wow," Eddie said admirably. "That would've been so cool to see…."

"Listen up, Wielders!" Shouted a woman with long blonde hair and wearing a blue dress under gold-colored armor who stood beside Odin on a raised platform in the town square. "Now is not the time to chat idly! You need to prepare your Marémon for battle. Luckily, Nurse Linda is on standby to heal any Marémon that get injured."

From behind the woman with the blonde hair emerged another woman who had medium black hair tied in a ponytail and wore a white uniform underneath a short black cape.

"While I personally do not endorse large-scale battles between Marémon, this is an exceptionally dangerous situation and I will do everything in my power to help you all," said the woman in the nurse uniform. "If any Marémon need to be healed, come to me right away before joining Frigga and her husband Odin at the town's southern entrance."

This led to Thor, Peter, Quill, Eddie, Sif, and Jane to approach Nurse Linda since their Marémon were never healed during their respective battles. She in turn gave each Marémon a dose of Healing Factor Juice, which made their injuries vanish.

"I wonder if Roughouse is going to join us," Peter wondered.

"No, he won't be," Sif answered. "After chasing away some 'assassin lady,' he went to the prison to check on us when Odinspear appeared and took him out. Then after Odinspear freed us, we tossed him in a cell."

"Roughouse was probably referring to Delilah," MJ guessed, causing Sif to blink in confusion. "She was someone Peter and I ran into on our way to the Asgard Realm, and claimed she was an assassin looking to make a deal with Loki and Hela on behalf of her boss."

"Did she say who her boss was?" Sif asked.

MJ shook her head.

"Guess we'll have to solve that mystery once we've dealt with this situation," Jane said.

"Right." Peter nodded.

So Peter and the others marched toward the town's southern entrance with their fully healed Marémon walking beside them while Odin and Frigga led the way.

To be continued…