Peekaboo

Patrick and the others followed the honey badger through the woods, until they finally came to a dead stop at a fork in the road. There was a tall wooden sign sticking up out of the ground. It had the words, “Hawk Creek”, “Hawk Pass” and “Hawk Woods” on it. All of the Blackhawks shared a look. This place was too freaky; it had a definite Chicago theme to it.

“Me and Tyler’s place is just ahead.” Brad, the honey badger, pointed out at the area just past the sign.

Just beyond the wooden post was a large oak tree. It was similar to the tree in the Animal Kingdom Theme Park at Disney in Orlando, The Tree of Life. Its branches stretched from one side to the other in the total length of at least half a football field. The leaves were in full bloom and it looked almost fake to Patrick, who was used to the animated setting by now. And this tree was HUGE! It definitely stood out if you were looking for it. In the bark, a door was etched out. It looked big enough for a person, but there was also another door etched into the bigger door; it was honey badger sized.

Patrick cocked his head in interest. “You and Tyler room together?”

“Yeah. We like to stay out of trouble. It's life when you’re a couple of thieves like us.”

“Oh.”

“So obviously you two are extremely close and appear to have been here longer than the rest of us have....what’s Tyler’s backstory here?” Brandon asked, intrigued by the new personalities this land had to offer.

Patrick was also curious. What other surprises lay in store for him here in Avondale? “I thought everyone from the NHL came here together and there were no ‘backstories’? I mean, none of us seem to have any...except for Jonny...but I still don’t really know about him.”

Turns out that Brad and Tyler had arrived at the same time, but when they arrived their brains had been partially wiped clean by Lord Nemo. Apparently they didn’t know much about their life in the NHL as much as being here in Avondale. In fact, Brad seemed a little clueless about the league and a few key moments that were brought up by Patrick, Sharp, Andrew, Adam and Brandon. The Bruin pest appeared to know nothing before 2013 season stuff, with the win. He remembered the fight with Andrew and losing the final, but nothing else. He said that it was all a bit fuzzy and he insisted that he was born as a honey badger here, in Avondale.

Patrick deduced that Lord Nemo must have created a backstory for them. He wondered who else was here and had been played by the wicked goalie. And as much as he disliked having to go on a quest to rescue his best friend from a man who had once been his team’s number one goalie, he rather enjoyed the “alternate personalities.” It was quite refreshing to see Adam as a horse and Andrew as a dog. It was perplexing, but a unique look.

And now he was learning that some of the players had been given new backstories and childhood memories.

“Well,” the honey badger began, as they walked up to the giant oak and gathered in a circle for “story time.” “Tyler doesn’t like to bring it up, but he told me that he was once a royal prince in a nearby kingdom called Corona. But he was always a troublesome little teenager. One day when he was about sixteen years old, he was on a mission to steal the princess’s royal tiara, but was instead captured by a group of hunters who abducted him and raised him to be a thief. They would often go out and “steal from the rich and give to the poor.” He hasn’t looked back since then and he’s always out stealing and looting. He’s kind of a Robin Hood character. But he must have done something to upset this Lord Nemo guy?”

“That’s interesting, I would have never thought of Segs like that…” Patrick remarked, scratching his head and running his fingers though his hair.

“You know Segs?”

“Uh, yeah. Oh that’s right, neither of you know. Well, before the 2013 season, in 2012 there was an awful lockout that occurred. It cut the hockey season in half and well I met Tyler in Europe. But he probably doesn’t remember me, given what you told me.” the Blackhawk with bright blue eyes looked downward.

“Maybe Nemo is holding your memories!” Brandon stated. “When we rescue Tazer, we can get them as well!”

“You’d steal them?” the honey badger cocked his hips and head in the same direction. He looked amused that the Disney prince who resemble Eric from Little Mermaid would even suggest something like that.

“Sure, why not?” Patrick exclaimed, flashing a classic clueless grin.

“I’m the thief, not you! Apparently your job is to save your best friend and save the kingdom, not steal memories for a Boston Bruin and Dallas Star!”

“Then how will you get them back? Surely you’ll need some help!” Patrick insisted.

“There’s nothing Tyler and I CAN’T do together!”

“But he got kidnapped?!” Brandon pointed out.

“That’s true, yes and I know that, but if we stage a rescue. He’s got to be with your “Tazer”... uh, Jonathan Toews, so when we save him, we can also get Tyler.”

“Alright, and then you and Tyler can get your memories?!” Patrick questioned, understanding.

“Exactly, ‘cause we are good thieves, you see! We don’t hurt people and we try to remain out of sight and be stealthy. If a robber or bad guy steals a woman’s purse, we are there to get it back.”

“That’s so cool!” Sharp exclaimed. “Imagine if Adam and I were rebellious like that!”

“How do you know that I wasn’t like that already?” The horse shook his head, making his mane whip back and forth in the air like he was trying to impress the lady-horse back at the bar.

“Were you?” Patrick pressed, raising an eyebrow, ready to hear his explanation and idea as to why he classified himself as such.

“Remember your puck from 2010?”

“Oh Bur, that was deduced as Pronger’s crime!” Patrick chuckled at the attempt. “Good try though, buddy.”

“You think being in the crime business is fun and games? We have to be on constant alert. We’ve changed hideouts some four times already and when I find my best friend, we’ll have to move again! I don’t even know how that wicked man discovered our secret tree home!”

“I’m sorry about your struggles, but what about you? How did you and Tyler meet?” Andrew asked, scraping his paw against the dirt of the ground lightly.

Brad faced him. “Tyler was plungering one of the kingdoms looking to help out a group of poor people in a rural town on the edge of the woods. I was just a little badger at the time...a baby. Yeah, yeah, I know get all the “awes” out of your system.”

Everyone “awed,” sure enough, as the honey badger named Brad Marchand rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Anyway, as I remember in my memory, I had been abandoned by my mother, because I was apparently the weakest of the litter. I was separated from my brothers and sisters and left in a hole somewhere near Corona. Tyler somehow heard my cries and found me. He raised me as his partner-in-crime and even taught me how to wear boots and handle a sword. He made me his best friend and together we have remained together since. Occasionally we remembered something about hockey, but it got fuzzier by the minute and now we only know so much. ”

“That’s so incredibly adorable. You were a whiny little runt, weren’t you?” Andrew laughed.

Brad frowned and put his hands on his hips, over his belt. He scowled, emitting a hissing badger noise.

Brandon smacked the dog over the head, gently. “Be nice, Shawzer. You aren’t on the ice, remember. Isn’t he your idol anyway? Don’t you look up to Brad Marchand?”

Brad’s eyes widened and he stopped making the noise. He stared at Andrew, curiously. The dog began to paw the ground once more, this time with more of a nervous nature. He looked down but nodded his head.

“It’s true. I do.”

Suddenly the honey badger froze and began to talk to himself. He punched himself in the face. He looked to be at war with something or someone inside of him. Was he being controlled? Patrick stepped forward, when he toppled over onto all fours and screamed, “Leave me alone! I won’t do it! I’m done. I won’t hurt them!”

Patrick knelt down and reached out toward the tiny creature having a psychotic and demonic episode in front of him, but he seemed to sense his hand and he swiped at it, claws extended. His other paw shot over and he grabbed his furry “wrist,” forcing his arm to his side. He was definitely fighting something.

“I’m so sorry!” Brad wailed, as he slumped backward against the post, apparently free from his torment or whatever.

“What are you talking about Brad?”

“It was Nemo! He kidnapped Tyler! He found our hideout and he barged in. Tyler and I tried to hold him off but those shark men swarmed. They dragged Tyler off in ropes and Nemo used his staff-scepter thing to control me. He sent me to find you and lead you into a trap!”

Patrick gasped, tensing up. He scrambled to his feet and gazed around. “What have you done, Brad?”

“He’s possessed by Lord Nemo! I say we string him up by his badger paws and beat him like a piñata!” Andrew growled, flashing his canines and getting into a threatening stance.

Brad whipped out his tiny sword and pointed it at the Blackhawks’ pest. “You won’t, cause I’ll carve into your fur like a Halloween Pumpkin!”

“I’ll just grab that tiny toothpick thing from your grasp and spit it to the side. It’s harmless!”

“I’ll stab you in the mouth with it!”

“It’s the size of a toothpick, what could it do?”

“Wanna find out?” the black and white badger reached for his weapon.

“Alright, alright, no one is hurting anyone. Obviously you managed to break his control of you. What is this peril or trap?” the blond Blackhawk remarked, stepping in between the two hockey pests.

Brad glared at the dog, who returned the look, but he eventually turned away and removed his head hand from his hip. He gazed at the blond prince character. “I don’t know, he said it was around our tree layer. He told me to bring you all here. I’ve been trying to fight his control for hours, but I’m afraid it might be too late…I’ve doomed you all.”

“No, you haven’t done any such thing,” Patrick attempted to say. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was protecting a honey badger and it was especially weird to be “backing” a Boston Bruin player. Let alone having that player be Brad Marchand. It was the same pest who’d tried to get under his skin on the ice during the finals and chirped him non-stop.

“It’s true Kaner, I’ve doomed you. I may be a pest on the ice, but off the ice I’m really plain old Brad.”

“I understand that,” Andrew stated. “I’m the same way.”

Patrick swore that for a split second he saw both animals smile warmly and friendly at one another.

Notes

So I understand that it seems like the characters all arrive at the same time, but that ISN'T the case. They vanish at the same time, but do NOT arrive at the same time. For instance here with Brad and Tyler they have been here the longest and a few others may appear to be "accustomed" to the kingdom with backstories. This is going to make sense.

As I think about this, I just got a REALLY cool idea. A Shruinger, I'll let you know in the messages.

Anyway, feel free to add anything in. You are welcome to do so. :) I'm going ahead and sticking this up, cause it may be easier to just go ahead and edit on here, since a major of it is ready. :) I hope what I added maybe clarifies what you were confused about and what I have planned.

And next up, Reilly and Torey arrive! It's Aladdin and Koda! :)