Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
July 10, 2017
Late Afternoon

Dru is resting on her bed in her metallic-made bedroom. Her eyes are closed with her hands clasped over his torso with a relaxed expression.

Peeking out by her bedside is Jake, who has wide, worried eyes on her.

“Are you okay, Dru?” he asks gently.

Dru slowly opens her eyes and slides them to the left to spot the goalie. “For the last time, I still am.” She lets out a chuckle. “It’s just a headache. Go back to Flame Wave.”

Jake slowly rises to her feet, revealing his towering height. He nods his head. “Okay.” He then turns around begins shuffling toward the exit.

“But thanks for your care,” he hears Dru calling out to him from behind.

Jake halts in the doorway and whirls around to face her. She spots a smile on her face. “Aw, anytime!” He then joyfully spins around and bounds out of the room.

He sprints down the hallway and into the main room, tracking down his bestie. He notices him in at the main table, engulfed in fixing up his hair.

“Brett!” Jake dashes over to him and throws himself at him from behind, giving him a big hug.

“Whoa-hoh!” Brett’s eyes fly wide as he drops his handheld mirror and brush, begin pressed against the chair. “I was almost done with my hair!”

Jake instantly lets go of him with a guilty expression. “Sorry.”

Brett picks up his handheld mirror and gives it a quick scan for cracks. “It’s alright though.” He then whirls around to face the goalie. “Burnsy’s doing good?”

“Uh-huh!” Jake nods his head vigorously. “She’s just resting.”

“Good thing you saved her.” Brett’s eyes then light up as another thought pops into my mind. “Hey, what happened to your raccoon dog?”

Jake raises his eyebrows. “Zeke? Oh, he left when Hart attacked.” His face drops. “I told him to go back home before he got hurt…”

“Well, at least he’s safe... “ Brett’s voice drifts off as his eyes land on Jake’s left forearm. “Oh my goodness, your arm!” He gingerly grabs Jake’s inner wrist and pulls his arm close to him.

Jake peers down at his forearm, noticing the four red, large scars running diagonally downward. “Oh yeah, Hart scratched me.”

“Scratched you?!” Brett gazes up at him with shock. “He cut you! Badly!” He scrambles up to his feet. “We gotta bandage that!” He then dashes across the main room and into one of the hallways.

Jake slowly takes the seat next to Brett’s empty seat. He places his wounded arm on the table then gazes at Brett’s lonely hair products with sad puppy eyes.

He then senses two people approaching him. He perks up toward the tunnel’s entrance, spotting Tommy and Ed sauntering into the room. The two founders are lowly chatting amongst themselves.

Jake stays quiet as he follows them step past the table with his eyes.

The two founders then spot in front of Jake. They turn to their right to face him.

“Ah, Jake!” Tommy exclaims with raised eyebrows. “Where’s everyone else?”

Jake darts his eyes from side to side, sensing the locations of the other GHP members. “They’re all here…” He peers back up at them. “Just not in this room.”

“Where’s Mr. Clague and Mr. Duke?” Ed asks more specifically, his hands clasped behind his back.

“They’re…” Jake peers up, instantly locating their place. “...in the training room.” He faces the two founders, pointing to his right toward the nearest hallway entrance. “At the end of this hallway.”

Tommy nods his head. “Thank you!” He then begins walking away from him with Ed. “I hope your arm heals up.”

The goalie sadly peers down at the gashes in his arm. “Oh, thank you.”

The two founders enter the hallway and amble down its length. They approach the end of the hallway, where a metallic door is opened. Tommy pushes the door open and steps inside; Ed follows him in.

On the other side is a massive room made out of concrete. There is training equipment from targets to dummies stored against one corner. In the middle, Kale and Reid are having a sword fight against each other.

The two founders stand in front of the doorway as they silently watch the two friends clang their weapons against each other multiple times while shuffling around the room.

Reid brings his sword down at Kale only to be halted by a thick, perpendicular stalk of wheat made out of steel.

Kale presses his weapon against the white blade, attempting to push it away from him.

“YYY-AH!” Reid instantly throws his sword backward, cutting the stalemate short, and thrusts the blade at Kale below his stalk, emitting a zap of golden energy.

“AH!” Kale drops his weapon stumbles back as he senses the frizzy energy shoot up his torso.

“Ah-ha!” Reid swings his sword beside him with a victorious smirk. “The Duker twenty, Kale Chips, zero!”

Kale rolls his eyes as he defeatedly scoops his metallic wheat stale back to his possession. “I guess that’s what happens when you battle against someone who’s skilled in swordsmanship.”

Reid stops his sword’s oscillating and nods his head. “That’s right.”

Kale then catches a flash of cyan-colour in the corner of his right eye, quickly spinning around to the source. He spots Tommy and Ed standing by the doorway with small smiles on their faces.

“Oh! Gorman! Chynoweth!” he exclaims to them; next to him, Reid faces the founders. “I didn’t see you there. How long were you here for?”

Tommy chuckles as he steps up to them. “Oh, just enough to see Reid here gain his twentieth point.” He halts in front of the two and pats Reid’s shoulder.

A big grin appears on Reid’s face.

Ed parks himself next to Tommy. “We have something to discuss with you gentlemen. You’re not in trouble, no worries.”

“Okay.” Kale retracts his wheat stalk into his hand, making it disappear from sight. “What is it?”

Tommy clasps his hands behind his back. “Had you ever heard of ‘companion allegiance’ or, how we usually address it as, the concept of ‘merging’?”

Kale and Reid slide their narrowed eyes to each other with looks of bewilderment.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” the NHL founder concludes.

Kale whirls back to him. “Yeah, no, we’ve never heard of that.” He shakes his head.

“Well,” Ed starts off with a growing smile, “it’s time to get to know about that ability because you two have ‘em.”

Reid’s eyes grow wide with surprise.

Kale gawks at the two. “Whoa, what? I have another power?” He jabs his finger toward his friend. “HE has another power?”

Reid gives him a playful grin as he retracts his sword out of sight in a streak of golden energy. “Ha-ha-hah!”

“Yes, you two do need to possess the power for this to work,” Tommy explains, weighing his hands in front of him.

“So what can this power do?” Kale asks with a curious expression.

Tommy claps his hands together. “It might be challenging to grasp, but follow me here.” he clears his throat. “You two can come together as one to achieve a higher power.”

Reid has his eyes glued to the founders. “So we like become...one…?” He slowly embraces Kale from his side and slides him closer to him.

Kale as a look of shock and tentativeness.

“Literally speaking, this is how it’d go,” Ed starts off: “We designed the ignition of the merge so that Duke falls into Clague. That’s how you guys will achieve ‘oneness,’ so to say.”

“Whoooaaaa-hoh, hoh, hoh.” Kale waves his hands in front of him frantically, shoving Reid off of him. He then drops them, stabbing a finger at his friend. “He’s going into ME?”

“Supernaturally,” Tommy replies calmly. “It’s all supernaturally speaking. It’s alright, it’d work because you two have the abilities.”

Reid has a thrilled expression on his face as he eagerly rubs his hands. “What powers do we get if I go into Kale?”

“Say ‘merged,’ please, Duker!” Kale cries out with a grimace.

Ed and Tommy turn to each other before turning back to the two.

“You’ll see when you merge,” Tommy answers with an excited smile.

Kale is gawking at them. “So we do it now…?”

“YES!” Reid pumps his fists in the air. “This is so awesome!”

Ed nods his head happily. “Yes, indeed!” He throws his index finger in the air. “First, you must know your roles.”

He steps up to Kale, grabbing onto his shoulders. “Mr. Clague, you’re the wielder.” He then guides him to turn ninety degrees, facing Reid. “You wield the powers, dealing the physical aspect of this companion allegiance.”

He then slides over to Reid and places his hands on his shoulder. “Mr. Duke, you are the mentor.” He spins him ninety degrees, having his back face Kale. “You generate and manipulate the powers, choosing which form to use and whatnot.”

He then steps back with his eyes at the two friends in a line. “Does that make sense?”

Kale tilts his head from side-to-side. “Eh, I guess.”

“It’d make much more sense once you two are merged,” Tommy points out with hope.

Reid turns his head to face the founders. “So how do we merge?” He flicks his eyes back to catch a glimpse of Kale.

“You must be relaxed,” Ed tells them gently. “Feel the flow of your powers. Then you, Mr. Duke…” He turns to him. “...will fall into Mr. Clague.” He pauses. “Think of it like a trust fall.”

Reid peers behind his shoulder to spot Kale. “You better catch me, Kale Chips. I have trust in you.”

Kale turns to the founder with surprise. “I have to catch him?”

Tommy shakes his head. “No, no, he’ll fall into you. It’s all automatic, there’s no action into it. Just let your powers guide you.”

“Okaaay…” Kale slowly reverts his gaze back at Reid’s back.

Reid crosses his arms into an “X” with his fists by his shoulders. “So we do it now?”

Tommy nods his head. “Yes, you may.” He steps back with Ed. “Pretend we’re not here, if it makes things a bit easier on you.”

“Alright.” Kale nods his head before closing his eyes. He focuses on the warm surge coursing through his body, loosening himself.

He senses the flow of his powers increase, gushing around his arms, chest, and torso as if a force is concentrating it to that certain location. Suddenly, he feels a vibrating force ripple through him, causing him to jolt in his place. Then, the power stream settles down, returning back to its smooth flow.

“Nobooody knows where I am,” he hears Reid singing in his head.

Kale instantly snaps his eyes open in shock, his heart lurching up in a racing rate. He spots the room in front of him, noticing Reid no longer standing in front of him.

“It worked,” he hears Ed stating in awe. “It worked!”

Kale whirls to his right, spotting the founders laughing in glee together. He gawks at the two. “We’re merged?”

“I believe so,” he hears Reid say mentally.

The two founders turn to him.

“Yes!” Tommy exclaims, throwing his hands from his sides. “You are indeed merged, just look at your eyes!”

“Eyes?!” A trepidatious expression flies across Kale’s face. “What’s up with my eyes? I can see fine!”

Ed chuckles as he pulls out a handheld mirror from the inside of his blazer. “Take a look. It’s not bad at all.”

Kale snatches the mirror and holds it up to his face. His eyes widen with shock.

Instead of his usual hazelnut-coloured eyes, he now bears a familiar pair of cerulean-coloured eyes.

“Hey, those are my eyes!” he hears Reid exclaiming with a chuckle. “You have my eyes, Kale Chip.”

“This is so freaky,” Kale breathes out, staring at the new, vibrant colour of his eyes.

“Why didn't you get my hair too?” Reid continues saying. “It's fabulous.”

Kale lowers the mirror with a scoff. “Mine's better, thanks.” He runs his fingers through his thick, voluminous hair.

“So, with that,” Tommy continues on, “Reid is now your mentor and you wield the powers!”

“What powers do we have?” Kale asks them. He hands the mirror back to Ed.

Ed receives his mirror and slips it back inside his blazer. “Mr. Duke should know.”

Kale lifts his eyes up, as if he can see his friend in his head. “Yeah, Duker, what is it—? WHOA!”

Suddenly, Kale’s hands immediately shoot in front of him, throwing themselves away from each other in the air.

Instantly, a wavy ring is conjured in front of him with the texture of rippling energy. Yet the colours it displays appear to be from a blue and white scenery, which is cut off by a circle bearing the training room’s dreary scene, since it’s in the shape of a ring.

Kale gawks at it. “What on earth…?”

He hears Reid laugh with giddiness. “Haha! That is SOOO cool!”

“Wh-wh-what is that?” He eyes it with a hint of fear.

“Portal generation,” Tommy answers from one side of the ring. “That’s actually a portal.” He nods to it.

Kale squints his eyes at it. “Really?” He scrutinizes the churning disc, distinguishing its contents: pure blue skies, purple mountains, and a green meadow dotted with yellow flowers below.

“Whoa, we have an opening to a meadow!” he hears Reid exclaim excitedly.

Kale lifts his eyes to the founder in surprise. “And we can actually go into the meadow?”

“That’s right!” Ed sticks his hand through the curve of the disc, feeling the warm, smooth breeze from the scenery. “Ah, that’s a nice meadow breeze.” He retracts his hand from the portal.

“You can also manipulate the width of the portal,” Tommy tells him.

“Ooo, let me see…,” Kale hears Reid muttering.

Kale’s palms face the ring again, They slowly separate, expanding the ring’s size. They then gradually come together again, narrowing the ring’s size to an oval.

Kale then witnesses as his hands rotate in circular motions. The ring’s surge follows the movements, rotating majestically.

“This is weird,” he states hesitantly.

“This is SO cool!” he hears Reid proclaiming.

“But there’s one last part of your abilities that’s the icing on the cake!” Ed states, throwing an index finger in the air. “Extra-Dimensional Energy Generation: the power to utilize energy from portals!”

“Ohhhh yes!” Reid shouts in Kale’s mind. “Let’s see how this goes!”

“This is gonna be interesting,” Kale comments as his arms swing over his shoulders.

Then his hands harshly thrust themselves out in front of him.

The ring goes flying down the room and makes a U-turn to continue its flight. It leaves behind a trail of wind, whipping his hair and clothes, including the founders’. It then dissolves before it touches the other end of the room into sparks of energy.

Kale gawks at the founders as his hair and clothes settle down, completely mind blown.

“EPIC!!!” Kale hears Reid bellow. “Can we like never separate?”

“No, no, no, no.” Kale shakes his head vehemently with fear. “That does not sound good.”

Ed knits his eyes at the defenceman. “What doesn’t sound good?”

Kale peers up at him. “What Duker said—” He halts as a realization cross his mind. “You didn’t hear what he said?”

“Oh, another thing,” Tommy speaks out, “we can’t hear what Reid says. Only you or telepathics, since he’s in your mindscape, so it’s like as if he is your thoughts.”

“Ohhh…” Kale freezes as he processes the disclaimer. “That’s...okay…”

“Whoa…,” he hears Reid breath out. “I’m your thoughts,” he whispers in a haunting manner.

“Okay—” Kale reverts his gaze back at the founders. “How do we separate?” He holds his hands out from his sides.

“The term to separate from merging is called ‘disengage,’” Tommy explains. “To disengage is like the opposite of how you merged: relax and let your powers flow—with the effort of both of you.”

Kale nods his head. “Okay.” He peers upward. “Ready to disengage, Duker?”

“Will we merge again?” he hears Reid ask worriedly.

Kale turns back to the founders. “Duker’s wondering if we can merge again.”

“Why certainly!” Ed exclaims, throwing his hands in the air.

“Yes!” Reid shouts. “Alright, time to disengage!”

With a deep breath, Kale closes his eyes. He senses his powers’ flow increasing its strength as it accumulates to his arms, chest, and torso. Suddenly, he feels himself jolt to the shuddering force before his powers relax again.

He slowly opens his eyes; they immediately widen with happy surprise.

He spots Reid in his human self turning around to face him.

“Oh, Duker!” He grabs onto his shoulders in relief. “It’s good to see you again!”

Reid narrows his eyes at him. “Hey…” He wags his index finger at his face. “...you don’t have my eyes.”

“That’s because that only happens when you two are merged,” Tommy explains from in front of them.

They peer up to face the founders once again.

“Oh, thank you so very much for giving us this ability!” Reid explains, shaking his interlaced fingers at them. “It’s so amazing!”

Ed gives him a closed smile. “We chose you two because of your relationship. You guys are inseparable. That’s the key to having a successful merge.”

Reid flicks his eyes to Kale and holds his fist out at him. “Merging buddies.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Kale bumps his fist with his own fist.

“It is extremely important to keep good ties in between each other to have successful merges,” Tommy urges them. “This is the first time in history to have a merge between two different levels of hockey. We hope this won’t backfire.”

Reid waves his hand in front of him. “No worries, we’ll stick together as birds of a feather!” He wraps his arm around Kale’s shoulder.

“Another reason to still be friends.” Kale makes a toothy grin as he wraps his arm around Reid’s shoulder.

“Great!” Tommy nods his head. “With that—” He takes a quick glance at Ed. “—we’ll let you men be!” He turns around and gives them a wave. “Goodbye for now! If you need me, I’ll be watching horse races!”

Ed follows him, peering at the two from behind his shoulder. “Continue practicing your merging and disengaging. It’s extremely important to master a huge ability—it can come to great use.” He then slips through the doorway after Tommy.

Now it is just the two friends alone in the large training room.

Reid slips his arm off of Kale and gives him a massive smile. He then proceeds to clap excitedly.

Kale holds his palm out at him. “We just got better powers together than our team powers combined.”

“Yes!” Reid smacks Kale’s hand for a high-five.

Notes