Peekaboo

Everyone continued to stare at Jamie. Patrick was gawking at him in shock. Around them the blizzard was dying and the wind had slowed. It was almost like someone had been controlling the weather and had purposefully conjured it up.

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Patrick questioned.

“I mean some woman kidnapped him!”

“What woman?” the blond Blackhawk winger pressed.

“I don’t know. She had jet black hair and...and I tried to save him, but she vanished into the blizzard--into thin air!”

Patrick shook his head. “She must be working for Nemo! Man, I’m sorry Jamie. We should probably continue moving though. And everyone should stay together. No splits from the group. If the weather turns sour again, just grab onto someone.”

“And how exactly can I do that?” Andrew asked, raising his paws up. “Dogs aren’t so good with gripping.”

“Use your teeth!” Sharp suggested.

“Or, I can stay with you,” Brad commented, dramatically putting a paw over his heart, like a human would pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. He bowed slightly. “We can fight together.”

“Alright. Whatever. But no one is alone.” The blond Blackhawk clapped his hands together and started to trudge through the snow toward the outer boundary of the tundra. Luckily with the clarity back, they could see to the end of the frozen land. “Thank God, we’re almost out of the ice and snow and chill!”

The others followed. Jamie trotted alongside Sharp and Adam, while Brad hopped on Andrew’s back and petted him with his paws. Reilly stayed with Torey, and Patrick led with Brandon at his side. They eventually made it to the next territory, which was like some kind of scene from Camelot or Winnie the Pooh. It was a grassy clearing with few trees around.

There was a small hill that lifted up and they were standing on that. Another one was a few feet away too. Across from them was a cloud of mist like that on the lake. It might be the lake that surrounds Avondale, the one that the dragon flew over when he kidnapped Jonathan Toews, or maybe the entrance to Nemo’s land.

Patrick started forward when he halted, spotting a figure moving in the mist. He tensed up and unsheathed Showtime. He relaxed when he recognized who it was and dropped Showtime back to his side.

“Lauren, what are you doing here?” the blond Blackhawk questioned, curiously.

Jamie gasped. “That’s--” But Lauren eyed him fiercely. He looked down at his hooves, nervously. She was a scary woman with that look. And he was unfortunately the only one to see past the beauty and niceness. He knew the real Princess Lauren.

“That’s who, Jamie?” Patrick asked, looking at the Dallas Star Captain.

“Nevermind.”

“I’ve come to warn you!” she called out.

“About what?”

“About a danger!”

“What danger?”

“Nemo, of course! Hang on,” she said, as she came toward them and was soon with them. She had something in her hands.

“What’s that?” Patrick asked.

“It’s something the girls and I whipped up to help you against Nemo.”

Patrick held his hand out and she placed a small bottle in his hands. Inside the bottle was a black liquid. He uncapped it and drank the potion inside. Instantly he was overcome with deep desires and romantic feelings. It was a love potion. (It was different than the other potion that was to be used for “activating” Showtime.)

“Thank you so much and you look very pretty, Lauren.”

“Awe, well aren’t you just the sweetest,” Lauren remarked.

“Hey guys, do you mind giving me some time alone with Lauren?”

Everyone looked at the Blackhawk winger in shock.

“But what about Jonny?” Andrew questioned.

“Yes, we shouldn’t be wasting time here…” Brandon remarked, starting to move forward.

“This isn’t like you, Kaner,” Sharp added on.

“I’ll be a second. Just give me a moment please.”

Jamie looked up. He had to tell Patrick and the others about this woman. He opened his mouth, ready to blurt something out, but the jet haired princess caught him. She gestured behind Patrick’s back, as he faced the group and then snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, Reilly darted away from the group. He had his eyes locked on a small animal. It was the penguin he’d chased earlier. As he skidded to a halt, the penguin was no longer a penguin but a metal cage.

“REILLY!! SMITTY, COME BACK!! STAY WITH THE GROUP!” Torey yowled and took off after him.

Reilly slid into the cage and Lauren snapped her fingers again and the front closed, trapping him inside. He whimpered, his eyes growing wide in shock. “What? Help! Torey!”

“REILLY!! NO!!”

“TOREY HELP ME!!”

“I’M COMING REILLY!!”

“Not again! Troublesome bear!” Brad growled, as Andrew launched on and he wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck, to prevent falling off.

They others followed--all but Jamie. He was the only one who’d seen Lauren. And now he knew the truth. He glanced at the poor bear, who was now trapped in the cage and then back at his friend who was hypnotized by the princess. He had to something. He decided to help Patrick out. He trotted forward and lowered his head, pointing his antlers at the woman and nudged her back with them. He gave sharp flicks of his head up and down, stepping toward her.

“Get away from him! You’re the one who kidnapped Val!” Jamie snorted.

“Ah the beloved little reindeer,” Lauren jibed, "innocently."

“That’s Jamie Benn!” the Dallas Star’s Captain continued to back her up, . He stopped when he heard Patrick’s angry voice come behind him.

“Jamie, stop. She’s a friend.”

“She kidnapped my friend!” Jamie stated, looking back at the Blackhawk.

“It must have been someone else. This is a pretty princess.” The blond shoved the reindeer to the side and put his lips onto Lauren’s.

Jamie recovered in time to see the woman wrap her fingers around Showtime and steal it from Patrick’s hand. The Dallas Star reared up and stomped his hooves into the grass. He snorted and charged for Lauren, who pulled back and shoved the Blackhawk at the reindeer.

“Thanks for the sword!” she spat.

She cackled and vanished into a cloud of smoke. Jamie caught Patrick with his anthers. The Blackhawk shook his head and the Dallas Star helped him to get to his feet, by lightly pushing him up. His eyes were wide and he didn’t appear to be in the trance anymore.

“No! Jamie, where’s Showtime?”

“Lauren tricked you! She’s evil and she’s the one who kidnapped Val! It was Lauren!” Jamie remarked.

“No! SHOWTIME!!” Patrick dropped to the grass.

Jamie carefully nuzzled him with his head, brushing against Patrick’s face in comfort. The blond forward reached up and petted his new divisional rival friend.

Torey, meanwhile, had managed to open the cage and he pulled Reilly out. The bear was shaking, but he clutched onto his teammate. “What were you thinking Reilly?”

“I-I thought it was the penguin!”

“You think that a cage looks like a penguin?” Brad asked, standing on Andrew’s back.

“Look, I was tricked.”

“So was I, Reilly,” Patrick said, as he walked over with Jamie. He looked like he’d been crying and Jamie’s head was hung low; something was wrong. “Guys, I have some bad news. Lauren’s evil and Showtime’s gone.”

“What??” Sharp, Brandon, Andrew and Adam gasped. “But...how? She was so nice and she was a princess.”

Patrick shook his head. He glanced down at the reindeer beside him. “She’s a traitor and she’s dangerous.”

“She kidnapped Val and stole Showtime and I’m sure she messed with poor Reilly too,” Jamie stated, keeping his head hung low.

“But--” Andrew protested. “We were with her in Avondale…”

“She’s evil! She’s working with Nemo!” Jamie and Patrick remarked in unison.

Andrew was stunned. He didn’t think that a princess could be so evil and so something so awful. Yet a princess had.

“So what are we going to do?” Adam asked.

“We have to continue on. We have to get Showtime back. My stick-sword is the key to saving the kingdom. I have to get it back! And we have to save Jonny, Tyler, and Val.”

And with that, they all walked toward the mist. Torey carried Reilly, who was still clinging onto him like a kitten would do; he was still shaking. The poor baby bear had been through quite a lot on the journey, but he’d gotten calmer and he wasn’t so mouthy, which was nice.

They headed into the mist, with Patrick Kane in the lead. He was furious and he couldn’t wait to get his hands on his old goaltender and teach him a lesson about messing with him and his friends.

Notes

Oh man, silly little Reilly...
Poor Jamie Benn.
And... OH NO!!!! SHOWTIME!! Showtime's gone, what's gonna happen? What's Patrick gonna do without his weapon?
Is Jonathan doomed?
Read on to find out.
PS: A Shruinger, I added some things and fixed the errors. Let me know what you think, if you find anything else.


Next up: Return of another certain special princess!