AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!

Welcome back guys to the next chapter of the Hot Corners Dynasty here on the site. Last time we finished up year four with a loss in the first round of the playoffs once again. We also saw the last OG member of our team depart in free agency which gave us entirely new blood as we also released some fan favorite team members as well. Would this lead us to success, I can tell you it didn't. We would start hot in the next year going 5 – 1, but would lose all momentum and finish at 8 – 8 missing the playoffs by a game. I got three quarters of the way through the next season as the team was 2 – 11 and I just gave up. The file for the team has been deleted and as such we'll move in a different direction with one of the other expansion teams. That being said, which one and how can I pull of a realistic ending to the story as it is? Well… just wait and see.

Chapter 25: Déjà Vu

== Unknown Time and Date ==

Buck was stirred from his slumber by a ringing alarm as he noticed it was 8:00 in the morning on a normal Monday. He yawned and stretched as he exited his bed and looked at his phone to check the date. He nearly dropped his phone on the hardwood floor of his bedroom as he saw it was late march of 2020. There was one problem with that, that date was five years ago!

'Okay Buck, don't panic I'm sure you're just imagining things. Turn on the television and things will be okay.'

He hurriedly scurried to the living room, awakening his black lab with a start as he nearly stepped on the dog's head en route to the couch. He quickly grabbed the remote from in between the seat cushions and tuned to ESPN to check on the highlights of the sporting world. The dog wandered over to him and nuzzled against his left leg as Buck was frozen looking at the screen not even registering the dog was there.

'Looking forward to the first action of the Super Mega League today, it'll be interesting to see how the young manager Buck Wing will do. This is his first game as the head man of the Sand Cats and many want to see if the spark he brought to the Blowfish was legit or just a fluke of good luck. The team is going to suffer with inexperienced pitching, but should make up for it with great defense and speed…..'

The announcer continued on, but Buck didn't register a word. He flopped down on the couch and dropped the remote in shock as he started aimlessly petting his dog. The revelation was startling to say the least.

'Okay WTF! I've somehow been teleported to the past five years ago, and I'm now in charge of the Sand Cats! How the fuck did this happen! Do I even look the same?!'

He thought to himself as he hurried to the mirror as the dog followed and sat behind him waiting for him to feed him. Buck examined himself in the mirror and saw that he'd been de-aged as well. He lacked the gray hair that was forming near the end of his tenure with the Hot Corners, and the bags under his eyes were nonexistent. He'd spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out why the team wasn't doing any better and it'd wreaked havoc on his body.

'Okay this is starting to get freaky! What the fuck is going on.'

Buck was interrupted by a ding from his phone. He looked down and saw a text come through from an unknown number.

'Like what we did for you? ' the text read as Buck stared at it before slowly typing a response back.

'Who is this?! What is going on?!'

'We sent you back to the past obviously. We were getting fed up with how the organization was turning out so we threw you a bone and teleported you back to the beginning.'

'What? How? Why?'

'Not important at this time. Just know, we're always watching and looking out for you Buck. Goodbye.'

And before Buck could screenshot the texts, they automatically deleted themselves from his phone. He set it down as he thought about his new predicament out loud as he turned to his dog.

"Well Hunter, this is a fine mess we've somehow managed to land ourselves in. No way of going back, and no way to prove this even happened. What do we do now?" he asked as Hunter wagged his tail at him while his tongue lolled out the left side of his mouth. He jumped up on his midsection with his front paws and licked Buck's face as he started laughing at the action.

"Stop it! That tickles!" he shouted as he couldn't help but laugh. After getting Hunter some food, he sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee.

"So I'm really in the past and have knowledge of the future. Well, let's change the future by making the Sand Cats a winning team! The owner may not know a thing about baseball, but this team can be lead to the playoffs. It'll just take some time." he said with determination as he glanced at his phone seeing it was 9:00.

"Well time to get going, the first game is later today and I need to meet the team and get the lineup together." he said as he put his cup in the sink and headed off to the shower.

'Maybe this whole thing is a blessing in disguise. Near the end there I was really second guessing my abilities as a leader. This is my second chance to make my original second chance worth it! Whoever you are, thank you I swear not to mess this up.'

With that last thought, he turned on the shower and let the hot water wash over him as he got ready for a brand new season, with a brand new team, and a brand new story waiting to be written. It was time to make the Sand Cats a winning team.

AN: And that's a wrap on this chapter. I know this seems like an enormous unbelievable leap and it is in all fairness. But I felt it was time to actually start winning consistently and the Hot Corners weren't making that happen any time soon, so it's time for a new team to take the lead. Can Buck accomplish more with the Sand Cats, or will it come down crashing around him? Tune in next time as we bring you the first chapter of the third story in this trilogy! Later!

#TheNastyOne