AAOOOSC!: Gulls' Adventures!

The harsh, frigid wind is whipping through Brandon’s and Dustin’s hair and burning Brandon’s eyes to a squint as Dustin soars through the early morning sky with him.

Brandon is writhing underneath him, attempting to break his restraint, which is his arms.

"Let go of me, Dustin!" Brandon yells over the howling wind. "Let go!" He gives a tough thrust. "This has gone too far!"

Dustin replies calmly from above him, "Calm, calm, calm down, Brandon—"

"NO!" He twists himself briskly in the opposite direction. "This is not right! You can’t take me away like this!" He wiggles himself some more.

"And what am I doing exactly?" Dustin remarks in a mocking tone.

Brandon doesn’t say a single word: He resorts to attempting to escape by continuing flailing himself between Dustin’s arms and torso. He lets out panicked grunts, his heart beating against his chest as the realization that he cannot escape is seeping in him.

"Hold still—!" Dustin grunts out, notifying Brandon his tossing and turning is giving his captor problems of holding on.

Brandon then throws himself with all the force he can accumulate in a split second, managing to tear the locked arms apart and free fall away from Dustin.

The glacial wind blasts at Brandon’s face as he plummets, billowing through his clothes as the dark, dry, dirt ground quickly rushes up to him.

SLAM!

Brandon hits the ground and rolls downward as the force of the fall keeps up with him. He the slows down to a halt near a tree on his side. He stays still, anticipating pain from the hard fall.

The agony comes, zipping throughout his body. He bares his teeth with scrunched eyebrows and squeezed closed eyes, fighting off the sharp, uncomfortable sensation.

Suddenly, a blast of ice whizzes above Brandon. It hits the tree by him, expanding itself in a circular manner as it frosts the trunks and leaves and creates soft snowfall to form a blanket of snow on the ground. In its ten-foot radius is a winter wonderland in contrast to the dry nature of the canyon.

As snow lightly lands on Brandon, Brandon pushes his shooting pain aside and shakily rises to his hands and knees. He then gains the strength to get up on his feet and turn around to face his enemy.

Dustin is already standing on the ground in a superior manner, bits of snow majestically swirling around him with the tips of his hair frosted with ice. He has his palm open upward with a spiral of icy air revolving above it.

"You wanted me to let go of you," Dustin points out. He then thrusts his hand outward, emitting another streak of ice.

The ice hits the tree again; the snowy environment intensifies and grows with cracks and crackles: The snowfall increases, the frost morphs into ice, encasing the tree and nearby bushes, the winter elements expand, covering more of the canyon.

Brandon shuffles forward as he exhales puffs of warm air. He then whips out a stream of fire before unleashing it at the goalie.

Dustin quickly throws his hands out from his sides, emitting a clear, circular sheet of ice. The ice extinguishes the fire and instantly engulfs the whole canyon into the dark and dangerous winter environment: they sky is ominously grey, the snow is swirling around the two like a blizzard, all the plants are now locked in ice decorated with icicles.

To attack the perilous environment, Brandon holds his hands out from his side, releasing a torrent of fire and spinning it around him at an alarming speed to accumulate more of his powers’ strength. The fire flickers weakly as it fights to stay alive in the unideal condition.

Brandon then gathers the fire between his two palms and pushes it out of his hands, leaning his body forward in the process as an extra boost of energy for the flight of his powers.
Yet the fire instantly vanishes into smoke in midair.

Dustin’s eyebrows shoot up at the pathetic attempt of using a supernatural ability. "Wow, that must’ve been the shortest distance your fire has gone!" He gazes at him. "Did you do that on purpose?"

Brandon ignores his taunts, his palms facing each other as his hands tense in the struggle of creating more fire. All that is coming out are sparks of ember.

"Or is it that the cold is finally bothering you?" Dustin finishes off with a sick smirk.

Brandon's hands begin to shake as he pushes his powers to create at least a gust of fire. Yet the freezing environment is affecting his naturally-warm abilities.

Dustin shakes his head at the defenceman’s hopeless attempt as he clicks his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, poor Monty Muffins, the face of the Gulls." He holds his hands out toward him as another surge of icy air building above his palms. "You are failing your whole team miserably. He then released the ice, smashing it against him.

Right on contact, Brandon flips into the air and crashes to the snowy ground on his stomach. He lies still, struggling to amass his strength due to the searing physical pain he is experiencing internally and externally.

Dustin begins stepping up to him slowly, the soft snow crunching under his heavy-duty boots. "Too bad none of your friends are here," he continues sneering. "Oh, what a pity it is to depend on others." He approaches him. "But thank you, really—" He squats down to him and whispers into his ear deeply, "—you’re making my goal much more easy to achieve."

Brandon lets out a whimper as he attempts to push himself back up to his hands his knees. Yet he continues lying on the snow while shivering.

Dustin simply straightens himself up to his full height. "No worries, I’ll shorten your suffering when I ship you to Buffalo." He conjures a wispy ball of icy air between his hands, ready to fire it at his fallen victim.

Then: "EEEIIII!!!" a familiar, Finnish-accented voice is heard screaming from behind Dustin.

WHACK!

Dustin’s eyes fly open, growing as the size of pucks. He immediately stiffens with his breath held. Then he tips over as if he is a statue, landing on his back.

Behind Dustin is Kalle with wide eyes, filled with trepidation and adrenaline. He has his half-stick held behind his shoulder as if it is a baseball bat.

He flicks his eyes around the frosty surroundings in apprehension, breathing hard. He then darts his eyes down, spotting Brandon lying on the snow.

Kalle lets out a horrified gasp. "Monty!" He tosses his half-stick to the snowy ground and rushes up to his teammate, sliding down on his knees next to him.

He observes Brandon’s position and outer condition with hectic eyes. "Herranen aika, are you okay?"

"C-c-c-cold…," Brandon forces out between his quivering teeth as he shivers.

"Voi voi, let’s get you safe!" Kalle hastily slips his arms underneath Brandon and raises himself to his feet, scooping his freezing teammate with both arms. He then jogs away from the frozen scene, leaving behind an unconscious Dustin and the half-stick.

Notes

E.20 "Ready Or Not
Part 6/10
Episode 20/20