Nathan’s POV

The beginning of the game went swimmingly. We made it through the first period and even most of the second period. But come the third period, problems began to happen once more. For this game, I was centering the line of Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay. Though the Avalanche and Stars were tied, thanks to my goal and assist to Gabriel, the Stars had two goals from some Russian rookie kid. His name was Valeri Nichushkin.

This was the line that Coach Roy pinned me against!

I didn’t think it would be much of an issue. And in fact it wasn’t for the most part. I was a natural centre, so I should have been pinned against Tyler Seguin. And Gabriel should have had Valeri and Tanguay should have had Jamie Benn against him. But tonight, because of my hallucinations and crap, I was pinned against Valeri Nichushkin, while Gabriel Landeskog took the centre role and went against Tyler Seguin.

I still could not believe I had been convinced to do this. Gabriel had convinced me that I could do this. I would be fine for the game tonight. Sure, we had been practicing together for fun and I seemed fine, but I couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen. Don’t get me wrong I really wanted to play. I loved playing hockey with the Avalanche, but I couldn’t play with these hallucinations occurring.

For some reason, Sidney Crosby was haunting my thoughts and I had no idea why! When was he going to show up again? Where had he come from? Why was he just now haunting me a week into the season? I wanted answers!

"Relax." Gabriel remarked, giving my helmet and a gentle tap with his gloved hand. He smiled kindly at me and launched onto the ice for the next shift. I followed him, as he hopped around in a full circle on his skates to face me. "You'll be fine. Now come on and get set at the dot, so I can win us a faceoff!"

I nodded and skated off. I wasn’t so sure, but I had to have faith that maybe my Captain was right.

"You really think he's gonna be fine?" Ryan O’Reilly asked with concern. He had been told to anchor the other wing side of Gabriel’s line and mine. Tanguay was demoted (shockingly playing worse than me).

"No way in hell, he's gonna get massacred!" a Dallas Star chirped as he hopped over the boards and sat down in the home bench. The faceoff dot was just to the side. I could hear him laughing at me.

"He can skate pretty well...better than you Rous!" The Colorado Captain smiled as they glared at one another. “Why don’t you focus on scoring, instead of chirping our number one goal scorer!” Gabe wasn’t known as a chirper and in fact he rarely chirped anyone, but when he wanted too he could bite back with an opponent (he was sneaky like that).

The referee signaled for the two teams to get ready. The captains skated to the center and the rest of the team got ready. The referee dropped the puck and the friendly game began. Gabe won the faceoff and sent the puck back to our lead defenseman. He in turn circled around and passed it back up to Gabriel. The Russian Dallas Star dug his stick in and stole the puck away, zooming down the ice into our defensive zone.

He deked past a defenseman and sent a sick saucer pass across the ice to where Tyler Seguin, number 91, was sprinting into an open slot by the net. I got back and watched as the Dallas Star shot at our goalie. But the puck was smothered by our goalie and the play was halted.

“Good job, Varly!” I heard from Gabriel, as he tapped his stick against the pads of the goalie in reassurance. It was followed by the grumbles from the man, as he passed the puck to linesman. He tipped his helmet back and took a drink of water from his bottle, before getting set once more.

We went for a line change just to take a breather and break. But that only lasted about a minute...and then before long, we were back out there on the ice once more, squaring off against the Dynamic Duo Dallas had.

Once again the puck was dropped and play began. Gabriel quickly grabbed the puck and skated hard towards the net, after I was thrown out of the dot. When he got blocked, he passed it to me and braced for the impact of a check that was coming.

"Oh!" I heard the fans gasp as they saw the Colorado Captain fall to the ground. He got up with a laugh and watched as I tried to score on Kari Lehtonen. The goalie scooped the puck out of the air and threw it to his team.

"Go Kinny!" a few from the crowd taunted me, as I was sure that they were watching me skate for the puck.

"Oh!" The American Airlines’ crowd gasped again as I got slammed into the board by a player of the opposite team with the number 43.

I continued to take a beating from the opposite team as Sergei Gonchar and his partner both took turns slamming into me.

When the second period ended, I skated to the bench with Gabriel and sat down. We exchanged some words together.

"You okay, Kinny?" my captain asked me, wrapping his arm around my neck in comfort.

I nodded. “Could be better. But not complain’!”

"You're not doing that bad, Mac." It was O’Reilly who’d spoken and he smiled.

"Not bad? I'm a human target." I laughed. “But so far so good on the hallucinations and shit!”

"Ah, they're just picking on you 'cause you're our lead goal scorer." Gabriel smiled with a wink.

"Well, I'd rather not get checked so much. I’d like to keep my boyish looks, you know."

"Okay, well wanna play as goalie then?" Tanguay asked with a clever smile. “Varly’s not looking so good out there!”

"Yeah, sure." I joked back with him.

"Alright Nathan! Twenty minutes to go, c'mon. You just have to survive and make it twenty more minutes!" Gabriel stated, putting his helmet on.

I sighed. I pushed the doubt away. I could do this. I was going to make it. For once the hallucinations and Sidney Crosby moments hadn’t occurred and maybe they were done… Perhaps it had just been something I had eaten at a resturant or so? (That had happened about eight times in a row or so.)

Gabriel won the faceoff against Tyler again and launched forward. I received the puck and got into a ready position to slap it into the net, but instead I drew back and pulled a sick spin-o-rama Patrick Kane type style move. I saw the goalie - Kari - get down into ready position for me. All around I could hear and sense the opposing players rushing toward me. I took a deep breath and heard my stick slap against the hard black disk in the blade. The puck sailed through the air and beat Kari right-hand stick side. I rounded the goal ready to celebrate with my teammates, but instead all I saw was a flash of green. I crashed back into the boards, hearing a familiar voice.

“How’s it going MacKinnon? You didn’t think that I would let you get off that easy now, didcha? No, no.”

I snapped my head up and saw the furious but smirking face of Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguin. He had on a Stars uniform with the number 43 on it though.

“You wanna fight me, MacKinnon?”

“Leave me alone Sid. Come on, I just wanna play the game! Please leave me alone and let me be!”

“Not a chance Pretty Boy.”

“What did I do to you?”

“That’s a good. ass. question, MacKinnon!” Sidney snapped, as I found myself rounding him like we were going to drop the gloves and fight. And oh how I wanted to. “Why don’t you drop your gloves there and find out?”

I was so flustered and annoyed that I did it. I flung my gloves and stick to the ice and launched forward. I felt my fingers grip onto the material of the Penguin’s Stars jersey. “I’m going to teach you to leave me the hell alone Sidney Crosby!”


Val’s POV

I lined up across from my new matchup partner who happened to be the wise captain of the Colorado Avalanche. Gabriel Landeskog. Luckily he didn’t chirp. And neither had the Nathan MacKinnon kid, but I had so much respect for the guy and I loved how he didn’t chirp me or try to get under my skin like a lot of other players in the NHL. He just jostled with me at the line and that was all. I covered him and managed to win a majority of my battles.

My linemates commended my efforts and I was glad that I wasn’t hallucinating for once. But that all changed after I was finally feeling my best and had reached my peak at the beginning of the third period. I was making things happen that were good for the team and they were noticing it. I had a pair of goals and was on the verge of earning a hat trick.

But the world could be cruel to me.

As soon as we got into the third period. I saw Nathan MacKinnon score the goal that put the Avalanche ahead of us. I saw him round the net and when he came to stand at the side, it wasn’t him. It was Sergei Gonchar! He was back and he was cackling like a villain. Maria was there too. She was “skating” between Jamie and Tyler.

“Good to know your little pals are still here, eh?” Maria sneered. She strutted around the rink. “They haven’t been hurt or killed...no, they are in perfect health!”

I shook my head and ignored her, turning to my mentor.

“Gotta be quicker on your feet, buddy!” he laughed.

“Buddy?” I snarled, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Oh, I’m sorry Valeri, were you under the impression that you were going to get off scott free? HAHAHAHA!! You’re a foolish, silly little man!”

“Sergei, go away!” I shouted, launching toward him. I rammed into him and sent him into the boards.

Then I flung my gloves down to the ice, with my stick. I glared at the ghost of Maria and Sergei Gonchar. Both were back to haunt me and I wanted nothing to do with them. I raised my fists up into the ready position, as I saw Maria take a seat on the bench between Cody Eakin and Trevor Daley. She appeared to put her arms around their necks, enjoying herself. I didn’t like it, but I had to deal with Sergei, as he let out a strange-sounding cry and raced for me.

His fists were up at his face and I had myself ready. I spat to the ice at the side. “Bring it old man!” I chirped him. Okay, I had been watching a little too much of Tyler’s old teammate Shawn Thornton. We were playing his new team the Florida Panthers after the Avs, but I didn’t think the game footage and study would hinder my brain tonight.

Boy, was I wrong. So wrong.

I threw my hand out and seized his jersey in my fingers.

****

Valeri Nichushkin swung at Nathan MacKinnon, who he thought was Sergei Gonchar back to terrorize him. “Sergei” taunted him with his hands and gestures. Nathan clutched onto Valeri, who he thought was Sidney Crosby. They tied one another up and grabbed each other’s jerseys.

In Val’s face, Nathan saw Sidney. In Nathan’s face, Val saw Sergei.

Val landed the first blow to Nathan’s head. He glimpsed that he had hit his cheek, but he knew it wasn’t that powerful. Maria and Sergei continued to taunt and mock him, egging him on. The Avalanche player snapped his head to the side and growled a battle cry. He heard Sidney taunting him and his fighting capabilities. It was enough to make him draw back a fist and get ready. He came back and tried to swing, but instead they danced around in a circle, over and over, gripping each others jerseys. They couldn’t find the courage to let go and swing.

“What are you waiting for, the Princess Ball?” Sidney taunted Nathan, who screamed.

“I don’t want to hate you Sid! Stop tormenting me!”

“What’s the matter, Nichy? You’re fighting like a little girl!” Sergei’s sly hissing voice chirped. “Surely I’ve taught you better than that!”

Val screamed. “Go away Sergei! Уходи. Оставь меня одного! (Go away. Leave me alone!)”

They danced around a little more, spinning in a circle, unable to fight anymore. All of the outside noise was swallowed by their hallucinating minds. They could hear nothing but the wicked sneers from their mental holograms. They couldn’t hear the refs telling them to “wrap it up” or give them a signal with which to proceed to break up the scuffle. They just scowled at one another.

They finally tore apart, instantly snapping back to reality and stared at one another, freezing in shock. Tyler and Jamie grabbed Val, pulling him backward. Gabriel and Tanguay grabbed Nathan and pulled him back. No pleasantries were exchanged, only jabs and chirps.

“Keep your liney under control, Seggy! Can’t have him injuring our star now!” Tanguay snarled, stepping before Nathan and Gabriel.

“Tangs!” the Colorado Captain scolded.

“I could say the same to you!” Jamie snapped back, patting Val’s head.

“Yeah, don’t tell our team what to do! You aren’t our coach!” Tyler added on.

And on and on. It wasn’t necessarily the most intense war of words or in fact the best chirping session, but everyone was frustrated. Val watched Sergei and Maria high-five one another and disappear. Meanwhile, Nathan saw Sidney give him a wicked smirk and wink and vanish. They both slumped in the arms of their teammates and cried.

“Sergei!” Val wailed.

“Sidney!” Nathan whined.

Notes

Sorry this took like forever to get up, but I have been super busy!!! I was also trying to figure out how to do this....I still feel like it is too rushed....oh well, you all would tell me if it is, right?
Of course you would!!!!
Poor baby blue-eyed blondies...don't worry things get better. I think there is one more intense hallucination and then the truth!!!!

Next up: Kinny Meet Nichy, Nichy Meet Kinny (Mirror Images) :D