Episode 28: Trapped in Sakaar!

When Peter and MJ woke up, they found themselves in a dimly lit prison cell. Across from them stood a glass case that had rows of PDBs lined up.

"That Valrie used the paralyzing effect of its Battle Cry to knock us out," MJ figured. "But where are we?"

"Either we're in the home of the Korgs, or a Team HYDRA base," Peter guessed.

"You're wrong on both guesses, my boy," said an unfamiliar male voice.

Peter and MJ looked to their left, seeing the winged brunette-haired Valrie floating next to a garishly dressed man. He wore a bright yellow robe over a neon-blue tunic and carried a golden staff in his right hand.

"Normally, stupid Wielders like you would've just assumed your Marémon had run out of the cave and left to look for them," said the garishly dressed man. "But you cleverly figured out that our guardian Korg was disguised as a boulder to make it seem like the cave had a dead-end, when really it didn't. So I must congratulate you, for you're one of the few people who has ever set foot in Sakaar."

"Sakaar?" MJ blinked. "You mean that illegal Realm where Marémon fight each other against their will and the Wielders are forced to work as slaves?"

"I see we have another clever one in our midst," remarked the garishly dressed man as he clasped his hands together. "Good thing I had the Obedience Disks placed on your necks while you were sleeping, or you two might have tried to escape."

Confused, Peter touched his neck and felt a round disk-shaped object. He tried to pry it off, but it wouldn't move. MJ tried to do the same with hers, but it wouldn't move either.

"As you can see, once the Obedience Disks are inserted they cannot be removed unless I allow them to," the garishly dressed man stated, and held up a device shaped like a remote. "But if you disobey me or try to escape anyway, this is what will happen."

The garishly dressed man pushed a button on the remove-shaped device, which made Peter and MJ convulse on the floor from the electrical shockwaves coming from the disks on their necks. A few seconds later, the shockwaves ceased and the two were able to get up again.

"From now on, you will address me as the Grandmaster," the garishly dressed man concluded, giving the remote-shaped device to the brunette-haired Valrie. "Your Marémon are no longer yours, as they shall go to whoever decides to buy them if they survive the intense battles in the Contest of Champions."

Then the Grandmaster walked away laughing to himself, while the brunette-haired Valrie stayed behind. Soon after, the Korg from the cave appeared with Thor slumped over its shoulder. It held Thor up to the brunette-haired Valrie, who briefly opened the prison cell door. Peter and MJ immediately moved out of the way as the Korg tossed Thor into their cell, before the brunette-haired Valrie closed the door. On Thor's neck was the same Obedience Disk MJ and Peter had, which was visibly silver and round with a circular light in the middle. Peter was tempted to examine the disk more closely, but then Thor groggily woke up having a large bruise on his head.

"You don't look too well," MJ remarked.

"Well, that Korg proved to be much smarter than I thought," Thor said. "I got about halfway down the mountain when he lobbed a boulder at me. Don't think I have a concussion, though."

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By the time Peter and MJ explained where they were to Thor, a young woman in a hooded black robe came up to the prison cell causing the brunette-haired Valrie to become excited. She had fair skin, blue eyes, and medium blonde hair tied into braids.

"I am Brunnhilde," said the blonde-haired woman in a melancholic tone. "And I will be showing you life as a slave in Sakaar. Do as I say, and you'll be treated well. Otherwise, you'll be punished with controlled shocks from your Obedience Disks. Now, do you have any questions?"

While Peter and MJ were too upset to say anything, Thor's face was awestruck.

"All right, then let's go." Brunnhilde then unlocked the cell door as the brunette-haired Valrie summoned a mace attached to a chain and waved it in a threatening manner.

Peter took this as a sign not to step out of line as he followed Brunnhilde out of the dimly lit hallway with the prison cell and glass case with the PDBs. MJ and Thor followed behind him, though the latter seemed preoccupied as he kept staring at Brunnhilde. The brunette-haired Valrie noticed this and swung the mace dangerously close to Thor's face. Yet he didn't seem to mind and kept smiling goofily.

"Oh, no," MJ muttered to Peter. "I think Thor is in love."

"Do not talk unless you're permitted to speak!" Brunnhilde snapped. "That is the first rule to being a slave in Sakaar."

At the end of the hallway, they reached a flight of stairs and ascended them. Once they reached the top, they found themselves outside a building that stood on a rise that overlooked a gigantic cavern with towering buildings made from trash and a bright holographic ceiling that resembled an overcast sky.

"This is Sakaar," Brunnhilde announced. "It is a Realm that is constantly moving from place to place to avoid the sanctions imposed by SHIELD on all Marémon Realms. That way, the Grandmaster is able to continue his yearly Contest of Champions tournament in peace. So the Grandmaster decided to make this cavern the new home of Sakaar last year, and removed most of the Korgs that originally lived here. He kept a few, including the one that guards the entrance to this place and steals Marémon from unsuspecting Wielders like ourselves."

"Ourselves?" MJ repeated. "You mean you were caught in the same trap?"

"MJ!" Peter snapped. "We're not supposed to speak, remember?"

"Yes, I was caught in the 'same trap' as you say," Brunnhilde answered.

"But what were you doing out here in the mountains in the first place?" Thor asked.

Brunnhilde frowned. "That I will not answer."

The brunette-haired Valrie then pushed the remote, causing Thor to collapse on the ground from the controlled shock. So Peter and MJ had to help him up as they continued to follow Brunnhilde down into the maze of trash-made buildings below.

To be continued…