Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
July 11, 2017
Night

Later in the day, the GHP members and Toews are now having dinner in Toews’ dining room. The dining room is roomy, yet simple with cream-coloured walls, wooden borders, and wooden furniture with polished silverware. The dinner consists of salmon, vegetables, and rice.

Sidney is sitting at one end of the dining table. He takes a sip of water before peering ahead of him. “Thank you, Tazer, for letting us have dinner with you!”

From the other end of the table, Toews gazes at him. “Of course.” He takes a forkful of asparagus. “You guys are helping me bring the true reality back; this is how I can repay you.” He slips the asparagus into his mouth.

“Shepherding us to the verifiable physical existence is sufficient,” John tells him, sitting nearest, yet perpendicular to him.

Toews swallows. “Well, in the meanwhile.”

From the left side of the table from Toews’ point of view, Ryan, who still has his earplugs on, juts his chin at Toews. “So, when are you gonna master reality manipulation?”

Next to him, Matt perks at Toews with interest. “Yeah, when?”

Toews tilts his head from side-to-side in uncertainty. “I’m not sure, to be honest. I’m getting a better grip on it, but I still need more practice.”

“Not tonight, right?” Emily guesses from the right side of the table, mindlessly pinching at the peas on her place.

He lets out a chortle while shaking his head. “Oh no, not at all. I think maybe one more day, hopefully.”

Next to the small defenceman, Dru lifts her head up from cutting her salmon filet. “So, where are we gonna sleep at tonight?”

“Here!” Toews points to the table with his fork. “You guys are more than welcome to stay here.”

“You seriously have enough room for us?” Brett asks, by Sidney’s left, with his thick eyebrows raised. Next to him, Jake is scarfing down his whole plate.

Toews shrugs. “Yeah. With my powers.” He pauses as tentativeness overcomes his facial. “I can try.”

From the right side of the table, Reid throws Toews a glare.

Next to him and Brett, Kale spots his friend’s expression and purses his lips, attempting to hold back his lashing.

Jake plops down his plate, revealing his elated face. “I can sleep outside!”

Kailer, who is next to John, gapes at him. “You’ll awake as unhygienic as a dog.”

“I do have canine physiology!” The goalie then serves himself another heaping of salmon.

Brett swishes his eyes from the small skater to his bestie and back. “It’s true…”

“We can find some other place to sleep,” Jonathan tells Toews, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Toews peers at him with a slight look of dissatisfaction. “Are you sure?”

Katie holds her wrist up, showing her intercom. “I can seek forage for a locus. It won’t be an inconvenience.”

“I know a good place to hit the sack for a couple of nights,” Connor pipes in, wiping his hands with a hand cloth.

Everyone immediately halts their eating, dropping the room into a still silence. They turn their eyes to Toews’s direction with caution.

Connor himself is sitting perpendicular to Toews’ right side. He promptly places the hand cloth on his clean plate and pulls himself upward in the chair. “Well, it’s about time you guys notice me.”

Sidney furrows his eyes at him with suspicion from the other end of the table. “How long were you here for?”

Connor raises a glass of water toward him with raised eyebrows. “I’ve been here the whole time.” He takes a sip of it.

Down the table, Kale swiftly turns his head to Reid and grasps onto his wrist. “We can merge right now and get outta here,” he whispers to him with a shaky tone. “It’s perfect opportunity.”

Reid stares at him with a growing look of distastefulness.

Toews turns to Connor with a grave expression. “This is my house. I need you to leave.”

“This is my reality.” Connor simply tucks his hands behind his head. “I can do what I like.”

Kale leans away from Reid, his torso facing him, with his arms out from his sides. “Merge with me,” he orders him. “Now.”

“Doesn’t he have some sort of asset entitled to him?” Kailer asks him with a palm out.

Connor furrows his eyebrows at him in disgust. “No. He didn’t make any of this. Why should he?”

Kale gives a quick tremble of his arms before hissing sharply, “Reid, merge, now!”

“No.” Reid briskly flies up to his feet and smacks his hand on the edge of the table.

Everyone quits their rising bickering and slowly turns to the two merging companions.

Horrid shock grows on Kale’s face as he relaxes his position. “What?”

Reid slides out from his seat and begins strolling up toward the other end of the table, breezing past his former teammate. “No.” He halts near the end of the table, standing right next to Connor.

“What harm is Connor doing?” Reid begins to speak, placing a hand on the back of his chair. “He wants to keep the NHL alive. He's not destroying it—"

“He took away our leagues!” Emily cries out, leaning over the table with her feet sticking out behind her.

“There's no hope with reverting reality,” he continues on, clearly ignoring her protest. “You know for sure he's the better guy here. He can wipe” —he slices his hand horizontally through the air— “you guys out right now! And I want to do good for the NHL, remember?” He shrugs. “Now I can, working alongside the NHL owner.”

Connor flashes them a proud beam.

Kale is staring at him in bewilderment and trepidation. “Duker, what on earth are you doing?”

Reid pushes himself away from Connor, now standing perpendicular to the row of chairs. “I'm sorry, Kale—” He flicks his hand, immediately materializing his energized sword into view. His eyes are beginning to glow a calm golden colour. “—but I'm joining the winning team.”

Instantly, Reid grabs the hilt with two hands and yanks at it, swiftly creating another identical sword into view to occupy the other hand. He swings the swords straight at Kale, releasing two powerful torrents of golden energy as he himself glows the magnificent gold.

The energies hit Kale squared in the chest.

“GAAAHHH!!!”

Instantly, he flies across the room and smashes into the wall on the other side. He drops onto the floor on his stomach, motionless for a moment.

A groan is let out as the soreness rips through his body.

Slowly, Kale lifts his head up to see the condition of the others. His eyes grow wide as he spots a noble, yet fear-stricken scene.

Standing in Reid’s place is Crusty, his golden destrier. He is wearing a black, steel grey, gold, and red-coloured barding, which covers his head, neck, chest, and body.

Sitting on his back in all his knightly valour is Reid in a glinting golden knight armour, including the Spartan-style helmet. He possesses the two swords, one in each hand, with a black shield bolted on his left forearm. Golden energy is drifting from the corners of his luminous eyes and in front of his helmet, giving him a powerful mein.

Everyone else stares at the golden knight in pure awe, completely stupefied.

“Connor gave him the access to his super form?” Toews mutters under his breath, not shifting his wide eyes away from Reid.

Connor turns to Reid, who is next to him, in his chair with a growing smirk. “You know exactly what to do. It’s in your mind.”

Reid silently turns to face his former group.

From the other end of the table, Sidney whisks shards of ice from his hands. “Stop!” He releases the ice with a forceful spray of ice at him.

Reid briskly holds his left arm out before him, easily deflecting the ice with his heater shield. He then grabs onto Crusty’s reins and whips them.

“YAAAHHH!!!”

Crusty lets out a thundering neigh as he throws himself onto his hind legs. He then lands and begins rushing across the room as Reid crosses and uncrosses the two swords.

Instantly, a massive wave of golden energy blasts from the blades, streaking through the room.

The energy engulfs the entire room in streaks of golden and white energy, shaking it like an earthquake with its violent force.

In a flash, the energy vanishes, being replaced by the soft drifting of dimming sparks.

The sparks float down toward the dismantled dining room, which is now completely flattened with rubble covering the ground. The clear night sky is completely revealed, letting its frigid winds swirl through the opened area. All of the GHP members are on the ground, lying in the debris, letting out groans while shifting their agonizing bodies.

Sitting untouched on his immaculate chair is Connor. He stares out at the destroyed scene with a pleasant expression.

Crusty obediently trots around the hockey players and approaches Connor, halting beside him.

Reid stares ahead at the destruction he created, utterly apathetic. The glow in his eyes persists as he maintains his super form.

Connor drums his fingers on the chair’s armrest as he flicks his eyes to each partially hidden power player. “You can have every single person alive band up against me, but I will always win.” He halts his drumming. “I have control over this reality— I can do whatever I want with it, including keeping it forever. And that’s what I’m doing. But to make things easier for me, I can bring you guys to a greater disadvantage by taking away your powers.

“Mark my words—” He slices his hand diagonally across his chest. “Tomorrow sharply afternoon, I am going to take away your powers” —he jabs a finger ahead of him toward their direction— “ALL OF YOUR POWERS.” He drops his hand. “The power player system in every single league and every single sport will be gone. Only me, Auston, Carter, Michael, and Reid here will keep our powers.”

A smug smile curls up his face. “Yes, I said Reid.” He peers up to his left, admiring his new assistant. “He’s genuine. And smart. He’s a keeper for me.”

He turns back to his defeated opponents with a grave expression. “On the other hand...you guys should think twice and stop the fighting against me. It’s not worth it. I have it all in my hands and can do anything in a snap. Remember what I said.”

Instantly, Connor and Reid with Crusty disappear without a single trace.

Notes

This is Duker's knight suit and Crusty's attire