*divergent_spn61 assisted me in writing this chapter

****

Meanwhile,

In Syracuse, New York, at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena, Yanni Gourde yells behind him, "C'mon! Let's get this game started!" He steps onto the ice for what feels like the first time in forever and starts to skate around.

The next player to step out onto the ice is Otto Somppi, who looks rather timid and frightened. "Can play on your team?" he quietly asks.

"Sure!" Yanni smiles at his teammate and starts to warm up with Otto, passing the puck back and forth.

Suddenly, a groan is heard from the tunnel, "Aww! It took me three and a half hours to do my hair today! Why did you mess it up?"

"Brett, you can't always have perfect hair. Because of your routine, we're running late to the scrimmage!" another voice replies, sounding annoyed.

Brett Howden and Jonne Tammela emerge from the tunnel, ready to play hockey. Well, except that Brett isn't wearing a helmet (for fear of messing up his hair of course), which is tucked under his arm. Brett turns to Jonne and pulls out his phone to use as a mirror. "So? It's my routine, and you ruined all of my hard work!"

Otto chuckles. "Tammy! Bretty!"

"Somps, don't encourage them!" Yanni then shakes his head and yells at Jonne and Brett, "Are you two ready to play or are you just going to stand there and bicker?" He puts his hands on his hips and eyes the two.

Brett and Jonne skate out onto the ice.

"Let's go play this game! We're going to beat you today Yanni and Somps!" Jonne states with a laugh. "You know, Brett's messy hair and all."

"That won't happen unless you two manage to coexist for longer than thirty seconds!" Yanni scoffs.

Yanni and Otto line up for the faceoff, with Yanni being the center. Brett and Jonne line up on the opposing side of the faceoff line, with Brett taking the faceoff. This game is not meant to be anything serious, but it is just a way for the four teammates to have fun and enjoy playing the sport that they love.

No one keeps score of who actually makes it into the net, but Yanni is paying attention to his teammates. He wants to see what they can do and where they need help in their playing style. Yanni soon discovers that his three teammates can play very well together and yes, Brett and Jonne can coexist without fighting too.

But, as the scrimmage goes on, something feels off to the Captain of the Syracuse Crunch. He looks towards the tunnel and sees a mysterious person standing there watching him. Yanni turns away briefly as Otto tackles Jonne and then looks back at the same spot, but he sees that the person is gone. Yanni shakes his head, thinking that he is just seeing something. Maybe he needs water?

Before he can do anything, Yanni gets shoved a little bit by Brett. He spins around to him and questions, "What was that for?"

Brett smirks. "Stay focused on the game! That's what you always tell me and the rest of the team!"

"But there was someone standing right there! He was watching all of us play! I swear it!" Yanni protests, gesturing toward where the person had been standing. "I'm certain of it...I think...!"

Brett turns towards that area and sees nothing but the blank wall. "There's nothing there, Yanni. You're okay."

"But I swear-"

Brett motions towards the bench. "Here. Why don't we all take a break and get some water? And you can explain what happened to us."

So, Brett, Otto, Tammy, and Yanni all go skating over towards the bench and they sit down. Jonne and Brett, per usual, start bickering about something irrelevant, while Otto watches them argue, kicking his feet back and forth.

Yanni, meanwhile, looks around the arena, deep in thought and on the hunt for proving what he'd seen earlier. After a few minutes, he finds that same person again as he stares down the Zamboni tunnel. "THERE'S THE PERSON! GUYS! COME HERE!"

All three of the other players skate over and look towards where Yanni is looking and see just another blank wall.

Brett looks at Yanni. "You're losing your mind now. There's no one there!"

"You sure you're okay, Yan-Yan?" Jonne calls out. "You're head's more messed up then Brett when I jump on top of -- I mean, wake him up in the morning!"

Otto chuckles. "Tammy, weird."

All Yanni can do is stare at where that person was standing and wonder. Is that person real? Or am I going crazy? And if he is real, what does he want?

He finally turns away, shaking his head and skates over to where the three are gathered. Otto is cross-checked by Jonne. "Tackling me on the ice isn't nice, Somps."

Otto shrugs. "Eh, you deserve it."

Brett and Otto high-five one another. "I told him to do that Tammy. I owed you one!"

"Alright, Next Gen Line, get set. Let's see how well your chemistry is coming along!" Yanni remarks.