Chapter 34
Prison Blues
When Mami next awoke, her mind was more clear. She stirred, and managed to open her eyes. The lights weren't as bright now. Either that, or her eyesight was more focused. She took in a deep breath, and then tried to move, only to meet a strange resistance. She looked down, to realize that she was bound in some sort of energy manacles.
"What?!" Mami shot up, and then attempted to struggle against them, but to no avail. She then looked around her location, to realize that she was in a prison cell. There were various other people around the cell too, similarly bound.
"Madoka? Kyoko? Nagisa? Sayaka?" She called out. There was no response. She didn't recognize any of these people.
"Where am I?" She asked, turning to a prisoner near her. "What happened?"
There was no response. The person she asked simply looked away glumly.
Well, it appeared she was on her own.
Mami thought back, trying to figure out how she had arrived her. The last thing she remembered was… the ship! The ship was under attack by Heartless. There was a bright flash of light…
And it must have been shot down. Mami's heart sank at the thought of this. The others might be injured or worse and she had no idea where they were. She had no idea where she was either. Not even what World she was in.
What if they were in danger? What if they were dead? Mami started breathing heavily, as memories of that horrible day resurfaced, the day of the crash. They were dead and…
No!
Not now. She couldn't afford get distracted by that now. Figure out her own situation. Find the others. Then deal with that.
She looked around the cell. There were no bars, instead, there was a glowing forcefield that prevented escape. There weren't any air ducts or ventilations shafts big enough to fit through. And she was bound in some sort of energy manacles, preventing her from using her hands.
Had she been arrested? But for what? After the crash she had blacked out, and woken up here. Unless that was somehow a crime, she had nothing to fear. Sooner or later, someone must show up who she could explain her situation to.
As it turned out, sooner was right. After about 10 minutes of boredom, she saw figure enter, clad in piecemeal armor and carrying a strange looking rifle. What shocked her more was that the figure was clearly not human, having pink skin and large horns.
"Alright scum! On your feet!" He said, brandishing the gun. "Out onto the platform. And no funny business."
The rest of the occupants of the cell complied, and Mami followed along with them. They were led out of what was revealed to be ship of sort. When they emerged into the open air, Mami gasped.
It was like she had stepped into sci-fi film. She was in a massive futuristic looking city, filled with aliens of all kinds. She saw horns, tails, tentacles, eyestalks, and even wings in the distance. She looked up to see spaceships flying through the air.
The entire city wasn't open to the sky however, there was a ceiling making her think it might be built inside a cave or even a space station.
She was on a space station!
"Alright, line up." The guard said, and the prisoners obeyed, stepping onto the platform. Mami followed suit, making sure to maneuver to the front of the crowd before kneeling with the rest of them.
As she looked around, she saw crates and piles of various objects, ranging from weapons, to clothing, to works of art and more.
"Are you sure it's wise to have all this stuff out in the open." One of the guards asked.
"Yeah, he prefers to inspect it personally." Said another. This one looked more human, though covered in tattoos. "And speak of Mephisto..."
Mami heard the sound of an engine and looked up to see a fancy looking ship approaching, to land at the edge of the field. A landing ramp extended, and from it two figures emerged. The first was a red skinned woman in a white dress, followed by a white haired man clad in elegant and expensive looking clothes and a fur cape.
"May I present Tanaleer Tivan, the Collector." The woman said.
One of the guards rushed over to him.
"I'm so glad you could make it on such short notice, sir!" He said.
"I was told you Marauders had a decent offer of collectibles. I expect to not be disappointed." He said coldly.
They were called Marauders. That wasn't exactly a name that inspired confidence.
The Collector first strode over to a set of statues. He calmly looked them over, before slowly approaching and picking up a small stone statue. The piece was intricately carved and painted, depicting a man holding an oar.
"Ah, that's a carving of Njord. That was quite the bit of trouble to obtain, but I just knew that you'd be interested in it. I say it's worth about-"
The Collector shrugged and tossed the priceless work of art over his shoulder, where it shattered on the ground.
"Hey you can't just-"
The Collector calmly turned to him, and he immediately shied away.
"Be grateful that the honored Collector is even giving you a moment of his time." The red skinned woman said.
"Y-yeah."
The Collector than strode over to the platform where Mami and the others were. And this was where Mami's suspicions started to be raised. The way he looked over the crowd made her skin crawl. He was examining them the same way she might inspect produce at the market.
"Ah, we do have a fine collection of specimens for you."
The Collector walked as he looked over the crowd. "I have Aesir and Vanir aplenty."
He paused at Mami. She looked into his eyes, and it hit her. A name like the Marauders? A man called the Collector? This was a slave auction. These people were slavers. These prisoners had been abducted from their homes to be sold as property.
"Terrans as well." He said. He then turned to a pile of weapons and gasped. It was as if he had become a completely different person. He rushed over to the pile.
"Is that what I think it is?" He asked excitedly.
"Yeah! Of course it is! Um… what is it again?"
"An Asgardian energy mace. Part of the arsenal of weapons designed by King Eitri himself. I had despaired at ever having a complete set. But now it's here!"
"Um… yeah. I got it specifically with you in mind." He hastily snapped his fingers and pointed and some more of the Marauders rushed over to the pile of weapons. They carefully extracted the mace from the pile and placed it on a cart, floating it over towards the Collector's ship.
"I am willing to open the offers at 50,000 units."
"Oh, I can assure that it's worth much more than that." Said the Marauder.
As most of the Marauders headed over to observe the haggling, Mami thought.
She looked at the crowd of sullen, miserable people. Even if the Collector wasn't interested in buying them, it wouldn't stop there. The Marauders would simply find another buyer.
She looked around the field. Not counting the Collector and his servant, there were a total of eight Marauders, all wielding guns and most carrying swords or axes at their side. Her hands were bound, and she had no idea how to get the restraints off, but now was clearly the best time to act. Few enemies, and she wasn't in a force field protected cell.
There was currently only one Marauder standing near the platform. Most were distracted, watching the negotiations. She could take them out, then most likely find something among the stolen weapons and items that she could use to break her restraints, and then those of the other prisoners, and then fly the ship out of here. Or at least get one of them to fly the ship...
Alright, she had a plan of action. Time to execute.
Mami took a deep breath, exhaled, and then inhaled again. She then donned her costume. Before the Marauder could react, Mami had sprung up and kicked the gun out of his hands. She then spun, and kicked him in the face, sending him flying.
The other nearby Marauder had started turning at the noise, but it was too late. He shot, but Mami sidestepped as she ran towards him, leaping into the air over another shot, flipping, and bringing down her boot on his head. The Marauder crumpled to the ground.
By now, the others had taken notice and were drawing their weapons. Fortunately, she had moved away from the slave platform so there was no risk of them getting hit in the crossfire.
Mami ducked beneath a plasma shot and at the same time, kicked the gun of the fallen Marauder straight into the face of another, sending him stumbling back into his comrades. With that temporary disruption, Mami leaped behind the one of the piles of looted weapons.
The Marauders had recovered by that point, and opened fire on the pile creating a fiery explosion as various weapons were set ablaze. Fortunately, Mami was already on the move, ducking behind nearby piles, staying out of sight, using the explosion and rain of debris as cover.
"Did we get her?" One of them asked.
No. No you didn't. Mami thought with some satisfaction as she leaped out from behind another pile, catching two more Marauders by surprise. One tried to grab her but she kneed him in the groin, causing him to bend over in agony where she brought her manacled hands down on the back of his head, sending him to the ground. Before the other could shoot, she shoulder charged, tackling him to the ground and leaping on top of him where she then smashed her bound hands down on his face.
As the other Marauders turned and opened fire, Mami rolled off of him, kicking his weapon at them in the same motion. They were ready for that trick this time, but Mami didn't care, they ducked, causing the rifle to slam into a nearby light post, where the voltage ignited it and it exploded and sending the entire field into darkness.
"Gah! Fuck!" One shouted.
"Where is that damned dial! Find it!"
"I know I set it down somewhere!"
At that confusion, Mami retreated, ducking behind another pile (this time of non-explosive things) as the Marauders started firing, attempting to hit her, though their shots were wildly off. They had no idea where she had gone. From the shadows, Mami snuck around, and when an opportunity soon presented itself, she leaped out from cover, kicking a Marauder in the back of the head, denting his helmet and crumpling him to the ground.
From there she kicked upwards, knocking the weapon out of the hand of another, and sending him stumbling back to the ground. She then stomped on his face, knocking him out. As others turned, Mami retreated back into cover, quickly moving about as they fired upon where she had been.
However, their numbers had dwindled. Aided further by her efforts when she leaped out from a different position, jumping between two Marauders and performing a split kick. She then hit the ground, rolling beneath another shot and then came up headbutting one of them to knock him back and then kicking him in the chest sending him sprawling to the ground. She then spun towards the other dazed Marauder and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying to crash into a pile of stolen valuables.
As she looked up, she found that she was near the cart on which the energy mace had been placed. With a precise kick she sent the weapon flying towards the Collector, who calmly leaned to the side, while his servant fled and screamed. But she wasn't going to stop with that. She dashed towards him, prepared to take him down like the rest. Then it all went wrong.
Her body exploded in pain and she went tumbling to the ground. She tried to move but her limbs wouldn't respond, it was like her entire body was seizing up. During her convulsions, she saw that the energy manacles were now glowing and crackling with electricity. She tried to speak, but all that could come out was a wimper.
"I'm so sorry! So sorry!" One of the Marauders said. He moved with a limp, but now carried some sort of remote like device in his hand "I had no idea that she would do that!"
"This creature. It's unlike anything I have ever seen before. Fascinating! I must have it!"
"Uh… yeah. I'm glad you enjoyed this demonstration. Let's talk money!" He said enthusiastically as he cranked up the dial.
The pain skyrocketed and Mami screamed in that brief agonizing moment before she blacked out.
Though the place burned brightly, it's flame had gone out long ago. The cloaked figure observed the ruins of the kingdom of Muspelheim as it strode through the burning caves. There was barely anything left. There hadn't been before, when Asgards armies laid waste to this world out of fear.
Ragnarok. The prophecy that would annihilate an empire. The King of Flames plunging his sword into the soil of Asgard, burning it to ashes. Odin had feared that prophecy and had made war upon Muspelheim, with the pretense of unification. A unification that led to a near genocide. Asgard was so glorious, wasn't it?
Unfortunately, as it was discovered, Surtr was protected by fate. He could not be killed for he must fufill Ragnarok. So Asgard laid waste to their civilization, and stole from them their source of power, the Eternal Flame that they could never rise up to threaten them. And so Muspelheim became a broken world.
And it seemed even that was not allowed, for this fight had been reignited. He could sense it. The Thunder God had been here, and had taken the king himself prisoner.
The cloaked figure turned as they heard shuffling nearby. Out of a cloud of smoke staggered creatures seemingly made of cinders and flame. Fire Demons. They were less actual creatures, and more expressions of Surtr's power. And with Surtr removed from his realm, that power was waning. The figure watched as the Demons stumbled to the ground, beginning to fall apart.
There was little to see here, they realized. In the end, they were just killing time. The Demons were no threat, and there were few if any Fire Giants left. This was a dead world, another broken by the empire of Asgard. But they would fall. Asgard would be brought low by their own arrogance. The seeds of it's destruction had already been planted, long, long, ago, and now, they were finally sprouting.
The cloaked figure made ready to leave. All the pieces were coming together, and it wouldn't do to be late. Not when it's prize, the Reality Stone, awaited.
The cloaked figure made ready to depart, only for the ground to shake beneath their feet. They turned as they heard roaring, to see the fire dragon stalking towards them. The figure grinned as a blade emerged from the cloak. Well, perhaps they could take a little time...
Thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!
~Dragonexx