So in the comics, the character Korg is part of the Kronan race of aliens from the planet Ria. Though here, Korg is the name of the entire species of Marémon that's modeled after him and the planet they are from is called Kronan instead of Ria (which I'm doing to simplify things a bit). Also, the Valrie I'm introducing in this chapter is based on Jane Foster's incarnation of Valkyrie instead of the original Valkyrie who was the basis for the first Valrie.
Episode 27: The Korg in the Cave!
As Peter slept, he found himself reliving the day Uncle Ben was shot by a thief, who broke into Yortown's Marémon License Center to steal the Marémon used for the battle portion of the tests. Ironically, Peter was taking his Marémon License Test at the facility when it happened, and unintentionally allowed the thief to escape by holding the front door open for him. But his vivid memories were suddenly interrupted by a violent shaking motion from his shoulder.
"Peter, wake up!" MJ said urgently.
"W-What?" Peter responded in a groggy tone.
The fire they had built earlier was blown out, and the light from outside the cave was very dim implying it was early morning.
"Something terrible has happened," MJ frowned. "Our PDBs are missing."
Not believing what MJ said, Peter looked at the PDB holsters around his belt. Sure enough, there were no silver orbs with the glowing downward triangle on them.
"Spidermin is gone too," MJ informed Peter. "And so is Noirstel."
"But where could they have gone?" Peter questioned. "They either went outside, or…."
Peter looked back towards the dark tunnel behind him.
"I looked back there just now, and all I found was a giant rock," Thor said. "You can see it for yourself if you don't believe me."
So Peter got up and walked down the dark tunnel with his flashlight turned on. At the very end was a craggy blue-gray boulder that was wedged into an archway with moss growing along the rim of it. Peter looked at the boulder carefully, and thought he heard a low breathing sound. He held his breath for a moment, yet the breathing noise still continued. It seemed to be coming from the boulder itself, which left Peter confused until a strange idea came to his head. Pointing his card-shaped MarGuide at the boulder, a familiar beeping sound emanated from the guide followed by EDITH's voice.
"Korg, the Stone Marémon," said EDITH. "Originally from the planet Kronan, this Space/Weapon-type is made entirely of a rock-like substance that makes them highly durable and incredibly strong. When they are in a calm state, moss will grow on their backs."
"Thor!" Peter called.
"What?" Thor said as he walked over to where Peter was, followed by MJ.
"This thing's not a boulder," Peter announced. "It's a Korg."
"But that's impossible," Thor claimed. "My father drove the Korgs away when they tried to invade New Asgard Town two years ago, and we haven't seen any since."
"Maybe they retreated into the mountains, and this tunnel is the entrance to their home," MJ speculated. "That would explain why this Korg is standing here."
"Even if that was the case, it doesn't help us figure out where our PDBs and Marémon went," Thor pointed out.
Peter then noticed something on the cave floor partially sticking out from beneath the boulder. Shining his flashlight, he noticed it was a small black spider-shaped item.
"It's Spidermin's Spider Drone," Peter realized.
"He probably left it as a clue to help us find him," MJ concluded. "So the Korgs took our Marémon and PDBs while we were sleeping."
"But why would they do that?" Peter questioned.
"Only one way to find out." Thor pressed his beefy hands against the boulder and pushed hard.
Yet no matter how much strength Thor put into it, the boulder wouldn't budge. So Peter and MJ tried to help, yet their combined strength didn't change anything. Thor got visibly upset, punching the boulder in frustration. As he did, a bolt of lightning shot from his fist and electrified the boulder. Fortunately, Peter and MJ had removed their hands from the boulder before this happened.
"Wait," MJ said in disbelief. "Loki said you weren't born with magical powers."
"It seems he was mistaken," Thor remarked, flexing the fist he hit the boulder with. "But I've never been able to do that before."
"You could be a late bloomer, in a way," Peter suggested.
Just then, the boulder started to move. Its sides became arms, while the bottom-half became legs attached to large feet. Then the whole thing turned, revealing a tall golem-like figure with a partially defined face and a tunic made of leather that became visible in the settling dust.
"Looks like you woke up the sleeping giant," MJ noted. "Now what do we do?"
"Um, run," Peter insisted, backing away.
"Though if MJ is right, the Korgs could be holding our Marémon and PDBs hostage in their home," Thor said. "So we need to get past this Korg in order to get there."
"But how do we deal with this thing?" MJ asked. "We're literally defenseless!"
"Not entirely," Thor insisted and waved his arms at the giant Korg. "Hey, you stupid pile of rocks! Come get me!"
As the moss retreated from the Korg's shoulders, it clenched its rocky fists into tight balls and swung them in Thor's direction. Luckily, he dodged each swing and ran toward the cave entrance. While Peter and MJ got out of the way, the Korg ran after Thor shaking the cave floor as it ran. Then Peter looked at the back of the tunnel where the Korg stood, and there was a visible hole in the archway that showed a sloping path.
"Let's go," Peter insisted. "Before the Korg sees us."
Without questioning him, MJ followed Peter through the hole in the archway and down the sloping path. Because it got darker, Peter turned the flashlight on. Sometime later, they got to the end of the sloping path and saw a floating humanoid female figure up ahead with golden wings wearing a black tight-fitting outfit, a blue cape around its waist, and long brunette hair tied into a single braid.
"I think that's a Valrie, and it's brunette-haired," MJ figured. "Those are less common than blonde-haired ones."
Seeing them, the Valrie let out a loud ear-piercing cry that made Peter and MJ flinch in pain before they passed out from shock.
To be continued…
