The next day, at East Emerald City College, the women of the Mobian team were engaged in a game of field hockey against Tedesca, whose team was wearing black jerseys and red shorts with yellow stripes. Like soccer and handball, this game not only had both countries' national anthems being played, but also a coin toss to see who would get the ball first. Once again, Tedesca – being the "away" team – got to choose in the coin toss, so they chose "heads". It was "tails", so Amy – the team captain – chose to start with the ball. She managed to get it a fair way down the pitch before being blocked by Evelin Geier and Aloisia Knef, so she attempted to pass it to Marine. Unfortunately for Amy, Kristine Mein caught the ball and pushed it down the pitch. However, Blaze got in her way soon enough and put up a real fight. Even so, Mein passed the ball to Sibylle Gerber, who passed it to Brigitta Neumann, who took a shot at the goal. Honey – serving as the Mobian goalie – attempted to block it, but unfortunately for her, it went through, and Tedesca got ahead 1-0.

However, Mobius wouldn't be behind for long, and after Rouge passed the ball from the center of the field to Amy, Amy juked hard, narrowly avoiding Knef as well as Charlotte Bösch to take a shot at the Tedescan goal, where it went past goalie Verena Salzwedel to tie the game up. If the Mobians thought the Shamarian handball team were hard players, then they clearly hadn't seen nothing yet until they went up against the Tedescans. Partly because of that, and partly because Amy accidentally slammed into Julie Kunkel at one point and gave a free hit to the Tedescans, Mobius was behind 3-1 at halftime. Once again, the team convened to discuss strategy.

"Amy, would you care to tell us how we're gonna win this one?" asked Rouge.

"As a matter of fact, yes," replied Amy. "The way I see it, we're too rigid when it comes to our playing style. This isn't soccer or baseball; we need to switch it up some more. So, if you're used to assisting others, maybe try to score a goal if you have a good opportunity, you know?"

"That's some good oil, Amy!" said Marine. "I reckon we'll have those Tedescans stonkered if we do that!"

"Then it's settled!" said Amy. "Let's get out there and show the world what Mobius is all about!"

"Right!" said everybody else.

When the third quarter began, things still seemed to favor Tedesca, but when Honey blocked a goal attempt from Bösch, that was the beginning of the tide turning in Mobius' favor as Honey passed it to Mina, who took it quite a way down the field before passing it to Wave, who then passed it to Blaze, who took a shot at the goal and scored another point for Mobius. Though the game got even more frantic from there, the Mobians did their damndest to keep up the fight. Finally, just when it seemed like the game might end up going into overtime, Frauke Saller accidentally ran into Amy, thereby earning her a free hit. With all her might and determination, Amy hit the ball, and it went past Salzwedel, thereby putting Mobius ahead 4-3 and earning them another victory.

Later in the day, at Joey's Pizza, Sonic and Tails were having a nice lunch. Sonic had ordered a dozen chili dogs with a Wild Cherry Pepsi, while Tails had ordered a large steak and cheese grinder with seasoned fries and a Crystal Pepsi. Sonic's Hedgehog Sense tingled, and when he turned to see what was causing it to act up, he got a surprise as him and Tails were to be joined by some unlikely guests…

"Excuse me, Sonic, but do you mind if my son and I join you?" asked Bowser.

Sonic shrugged. "I don't see why not. What about you, Tails?"

Tails nodded. "I'm good with it."

Thus, Bowser and Bowser Jr. proceeded to sit down at the table where Sonic and Tails were seated. It was a good thing that Sonic and Tails had chosen to sit at one of the round tables with the movable chairs, otherwise it would've been impossible for Bowser and Bowser Jr. to join them.

"So, what made you cats wanna join us?" asked Sonic.

"Well, I've never really spoken with the great Sonic the Hedgehog or any of his friends, so I decided it might be good to branch out," replied Bowser. "Besides, I'd like to set a better example for Junior."

"Yeah, you're so cool, Sonic!" said Bowser Jr. "Can I get your autograph?"

"Sure thing, kid!"

Sonic whipped out a pen and an 8x10" color glossy headshot of himself. He then proceeded to write: "To Bowser Jr.: Don't just sit there and waste your precious time! Be solid; take action! –Sonic the Hedgehog". He then handed it to Bowser Jr.

"Thanks!" said Bowser Jr.

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "You're welcome!"

"So Sonic, what do you and your friends like to do when you're not out saving the world?" asked Bowser.

"Well, Tails and I are part of a rock band with Espio, Vector and Charmy!"

"Sonic plays lead guitar and sings," said Tails. "I'm the bassist and one of the backing singers."

"Interesting!" said Bowser. "I love good heavy metal! Your band should come play in the Mushroom Kingdom someday!"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Maybe we will! Once all this Olympics business cools off, we'll definitely make an attempt to come there, won't we, Tails?"

"Yeah!"

"All right!" said Bowser Jr.

"Say Bowser, while you're here, I hope ya don't mind me askin' ya a question…" said Sonic.

Bowser nodded. "Go ahead."

"How come all your evil plots are about kidnappin' Princess Peach? Don't ya ever get tired of that?"

Bowser frowned. "Actually…I have to tell you a secret…"

Sonic put a hand over his heart and raised his other one. "I promise I won't tell, and I ain't gonna judge!"

Bowser leaned closer to Sonic and Tails.

"I have a crush on Princess Peach," said Bowser. "Also, Jeanette died giving birth to Junior."

Seeing Bowser forming tears in his eyes, Sonic gasped and put his hands over his heart. He'd heard about Bowser's acts of villainy before, but knowing that he'd lost the love of his life put the Koopa king in a different light for the Blue Blur. Not knowing what else to do, Sonic did what he felt was best…

He got up from his seat, went over to Bowser and offered him a hug.

Without question, Bowser picked up Sonic and hugged him as he cried. Though not ordinarily one to show emotion, Bowser nevertheless felt a sense of relief from doing so, especially considering he'd spent years of his life hiding his sadness and loneliness behind the front of an iron villain. What made this moment even more meaningful for him was that not only had his own son joined in the hug, but Tails had joined in as well. Bowser didn't even care that a few people in the restaurant were looking at him as he cried. All that mattered was that Sonic was there to comfort him.

Though he felt rather weird being picked up by the most notorious villain in the Mario universe, Sonic also felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that he was there to comfort somebody in genuine need of it. On the other hand, he also felt his own tinge of sadness thinking about Bowser's late wife and wondered if his own mother had also died giving birth to him. Gripped by the pain of not knowing what it was like to have a real mother, Sonic tightened his grip on Bowser. Still, there was something special about being picked up and embraced by an 8'7" fire-breathing turtle with a spiked shell that made Ol' Blue feel as though he were a kid again. As a matter of fact, he also sort of felt like a favorite stuffed toy of Bowser's. Even after he'd stopped crying, Bowser continued to hold on to Sonic for quite a bit before letting go.

"Thanks, Sonic," said Bowser. "I…I don't know how I can repay you."

"Hey, ya don't have to give an arm and a leg, man!" said Sonic. "Just promise me that you'll treat your kid the way you'd wanna be treated, ya dig?"

Bowser raised his hand. "I promise!"

"And here, dry your nose…"

Sonic handed Bowser a bunch of Kleenexes, and Bowser wasted no time in blowing his nose, not caring that he nearly caused a hurricane in the restaurant when he did so.

"Also, if ya ever need to talk about anything, anything at all, here's my number." Sonic pulled out a sticky note with his phone number written on it. "You got a phone, right?"

"Yes, of course…" Bowser took Sonic's phone number. "May I borrow your pen and sticky notes?"

"Sure thing!"

Sonic handed his sticky notes and pen to Bowser, who wrote his own phone number on one and handed it to Big Blue.

"Thanks, man!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Stay solid!"

"And best of luck to you and everybody else in the Mushroom Kingdom!" said Tails.

"You too!" Bowser smiled.

By this time, a waitress – a gray cat with black stripes – came over with Sonic, Tails, Bowser and Bowser Jr's food. Bowser had ordered 48 plain chicken wings, a large roast beef grinder with no lettuce and a Sierra Mist, while Bowser Jr. had ordered ten chicken fingers with fries and a Mug root beer.

"All right, guys, let's eat up!" said Sonic.

Everyone dug in, not wholly aware that Shadow – who was seated in a far corner eating a small BBQ chicken and bacon pizza – was observing the exchange.

(How can this be? How can Sonic be on such friendly terms with a guy like Bowser and yet I still hate that Faker's guts? Do I REALLY need to keep up appearances with the general public?)

However, Shadow's musing was interrupted by his Hedgehog Sense, which drew his attention to a table in the corner. Here, four White male humans in dark blue Adidas tracksuits were discussing something. He couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but he could tell that they weren't speaking English, and he could also tell that their intentions weren't 100% honorable. However, he decided to stay his tongue for now. Besides, who was going to believe an über-powerful hedgehog who'd been incarcerated for 50 years?

Meanwhile, at the Emerald City Convention Center, a most interesting competition was unfolding: fencing. More precisely, one of the men's individual sabre events was taking place, with Espio facing off against Marion Harris of the Hadrian Kingdom. When it came to swords, Espio was more accustomed to the katana, but he'd had quite the interest in fencing for a while. Anyways, after they'd checked their equipment, Espio and Harris retreated to their respective en-garde lines. They then saluted the referee as well as each other. To do so, with their masks off, they stood upright, faced the object of their salutes and raised their sabres in front of them in a vertical position, guards just below face level.

After the salutes, the referee – a male human with black hair – called out "En garde!"

Espio and Harris put on their masks and readied their sabres.

"Prêts?" asked the referee.

Both fencers were indeed ready.

"Allez!"

With that, the two fencers thrust into action. While Harris was no chicken, Espio moved in quite aggressively, albeit with a degree of caution as per his ninja training. Harris also proved to be quite the defender, but with a quarte and a seconde, Espio subsequently scored a hit against Harris, thereby activating a two-second electronic buzzer, and both sabreurs returned to their en-garde lines. In comparison to other forms of fencing, sabre fencing was quite frantic, but being the "Speed" member of the Chaotix, this was nothing that Espio was a stranger to.

"En garde!"

Again, Espio and Harris prepared for the next round.

"Prêts?"

Both sabreurs were.

"Allez!"

Once again, both of them really went at it, but it was Espio's aggressive footwork and calculated moves that earned him another point as well as the next couple of points. In one instance, Harris attempted to anticipate Espio's aggressiveness and did indeed succeed at crossing the halfway line to close in on Espio. However, with some precisely-timed parries, including a graceful quinte, the Purple Phantom held out to score yet another point. Granted, there was an instance where Harris took advantage of Espio's aggressiveness to score a point on him, but overall, by the time the first period was over, Espio was ahead 9-1. In the second period, it appeared that Harris would have the upper hand against Espio, managing to somehow score a few more points. However, Espio decided to try a different strategy: hang back a bit and try to draw Harris into making a mistake. It seemed to work, as by the time the blades stopped clanging, Espio had won 15-9.

After the fencing competition, Espio was accosted by a familiar face…

"Espio, you were hittin' on all eight out there!" said Vector. "How'd ya do that?"

"The explanation is quite simple, my dear Vector: not only did I acquire a great degree of discipline via my ninja training, but I was able to be flexible when the situation called for it. Had I merely relied on pure aggression, Harris would have defeated me for sure."

"Well, whatever you're doin', keep it up!" Vector gave a thumbs up.

Espio nodded. "Most certainly."

And thus, another day of the Olympics passed on into history.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.