"How's it going over there, Tails?" Penny called to the two tailed fox as the X Tornado flew in the air.
The fox turned to her with a grin. "The X Tornado seems to be running great since we installed the Chaos Emerald! This has to be just the smoothest flight we've been on!"
"I agree!" Penny grinned. She was about to say something else when her eyes trailed to the Chaos Emerald, which was surprisingly glowing. Her eyes widened. "Tails! The Emerald!"
Tails' eyes widened and he turned to look at it. "I think it's picked up something," he told her, sounding uneasy. "You might wanna..." The plane shook suddenly before Tails and Penny could finish.
Penny let out a startled yelp, clinging to the seat in front of her and squeezing her eyes shut.
"Hang on, Pen!" Tails yelled, trying to control his ship. He narrowed his eyes. "I can't control it!"
"What are we gonna do?!" Penny yelped, shaking.
"I don't know." Tails responded, trying to stay calm as he glanced at the glowing Emerald. "Something's pulling us off course!"
"Tails, look ahead!" Penny suddenly said, and the fox turned to glance at the stadium up ahead, and he mumbled to himself. "I bet it's another Chaos Emerald. Hang on, Penny, this might get rough!"
Penny nodded, quickly clinging to Tails' seat again and squeezing her eyes shut. She let out a startled yelp as Tails moved the plane upwards all of the sudden, and she fell back into her seat. "Ow! Gimme a warning next time, huh?!"
"Sorry," Tails winced. "I was trying to avoid hitting a man."
"A man was down there?!" Penny asked, sweatdropping.
"Yeah." Tails said, looking out the window. "We'd better go down there and make sure he's okay."
"Sounds good to me." Penny said. "I need to get off this plane anyway."
When Tails landed the plane, he helped a shaken up Penny to climb out of the X Tornado and gripped her hand. "Stay close. If you got lost Sonic will never forgive me."
Penny nodded. "Lead the way."
Tails nodded, and the two began walking. Penny glanced around the dark staircase and gulped. "Now I wished I stayed with the plane..."
"Hey, it'll be fine." Tails said reassuringly, pointing ahead. "See? Light!"
Penny glanced at the light and sighed in relief, quickly breaking free from Tails' hold and running to the entrance, sighing in relief when she made it to the light.
"Wait up!" Tails whisper-yelled.
"Sorry." Penny squeaked softly. She was about to say something else when she noticed Tails looking around the place they were in in awe.
"What's up?" She asked.
"Look around, Penny!" Tails grinned. "It's a stadium!"
Penny looked up, and her vision completely cleared and she gasped in surprise.
It was the most amazing place she'd ever seen. Bleachers everywhere, the most brightest lights you've ever seen lit the grass under their feet.
"Wow..." Tails gasped. He used his twin tails to lift himself in the air to get a better look at the sight.
"Wait for me!" Penny cried, running after him. The two walked for a while until the sound of a machine caught their attention. They turned around to see a man working on one of his machines. Tails and Penny glanced at each other, and she nodded. Tails took a deep breath and walked up, Penny following close behind. Tails glanced up happily at the man. "Excuse me, sir!"
The man didn't seem to hear.
Tails tried again. "Hello!"
Again, nothing. The man couldn't hear a thing due to his machine.
"YOU!"
Tails jumped at Penny's sudden outburst, but it got the man to turn to them. He yelped in shock at the sight of two walking talking animals right in front of him. The man quickly hid behind his machine, fright in his eyes. "Keep away!"
Tails shared the same amount of fright as the man and started speaking quickly. "I'm sorry. It's just, Penny and I were in our plane and the Chaos Emerald started glowing and..."
"Tails, you're scaring him even more." Penny hissed.
Tails glanced at the man who was staring at them with wide eyes and winced. "Right. Sorry, Mister. Penny and I won't hurt you."
"Huh?" The man asked, finally edging away from his machine.
After telling the man their story, he hummed. "Sure is some story, little fellas. Never would've guessed that was you two up in that plane up there."
"We're sorry if we frightened you." Penny said sheepishly.
"Nah, don't worry about it, hon." The man said sweetly, causing Penny to blush in embarrassment.
Tails turned to him with a smile. "I've never seen a stadium as pretty as this before."
"Me neither." Penny said with a grin. Tails nodded. "You know, the grass is practically glowing!"
The man smiled at the two. "Thanks for the compliment. Lots of folks say that turf here at Diamond Stadium is the best in the world, which makes me happy because I've been the groundskeeper here at Diamond for 30 years."
Tails and Penny's eyes widened. "Thirty years?!" they asked in sync.
He nodded. "You bet." His smile turned to a sad one. "Only I'm afraid that today is my last day at the old place. You see, the Diamond's manager wants to build an indoor stadium with artificial turf, so this place is gonna be demolished. I tell ya, leaving this place behind feels like the end of the era. By the way, little fellas, did one of you mention something about an Emerald?"
"Oh, yeah!" Penny said. "Forgot about that. Tails, show him! I think it's okay to tell him."
"Me too." Tails whispered. He took a breath and rummaged through his tails, pulling out a shining green Emerald. "See, I'm looking for an Emerald that looks just like this one."
"Would this be what you're looking for?" The man asked, digging into his pocket and pulling out a bright blue Emerald.
"A CHAOS EMERALD!" Tails and Penny completely flipped out in shock. The man held it next to the green one. "I saw it lying next to the dumpster a couple of nights ago. Wasn't sure what it was."
"Uh, guys..." Penny said. "The Emeralds..."
The three looked down, and were completely shocked when a glowing light emerged. It glowed for a while until it shimmered down.
The man glanced at them in shock. "What just happened there, little fella!?"
"That always happens when Chaos Emeralds come together." Tails said, worry in his blue eyes.
"I hope that the wrong person didn't see it..." Penny gulped.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my foxy high flying friend and that annoying pink hedgehog."
Penny and Tails gasped. They turned around to see Eggman smirking down at them from his mobile, dressed in a baseball outfit and with a bat in his hand.
"Doctor Eggman!" Tails and Penny gasped, and the fox instantly got in front of Penny protectively.
Eggman snickered and glanced around in sudden confusion. "Where's the rest of your team? It's almost game time!"
"Team?" Penny asked, confused. "Game time?"
"Forget it!" Tails hissed. "You want this Chaos Emerald, but I won't give it to you!"
"Could it be that Sonic and his pals are choosing to forfeit?" Eggman asked, ignoring Tails' outburst. "I must say that's very unsporting about them." He gritted his teeth angrily. "IF THERE'S ONE THING I HATE MORE THAN A MEDLING HEDGEHOG IS A QUITTER!"
Tails and Penny glanced at each other, and Tails turned to Eggman. "We don't get it. What are you talking about!?"
Eggman growled. "If they won't play ball with me, I still win." A giant claw came from his machine and lunged for Tails and Penny.
"LOOK OUT!" Penny shrieked, quickly pushing Tails out of the way. Hearing their new friend yelp, Penny turned around and gasped in horror as the claw snagged the Emerald from the man's hand.
"Oh, no!" Tails yelped. "He got the Emerald!"
Eggman snickered as the claw gave him the Emerald. "One down, one to go. Hand it over. I won fair and square. Now give me that second Emerald or I'll have to use a force play."
"I'd like to see you try it!" Tails hissed. He grabbed Penny's hand with his free one. "Let's go, Penny!"
Penny glanced over her shoulders and her eyes widened to see the claw zoom towards them. She quickly grabbed Tails and held on to him, waiting for the claw to grab one of them...
...but nothing happened.
The sound of smashing filled the hedgehog's ears, and she opened her eyes to see Knuckles smashing the claw to bits, glancing at the two in worry. "That was close. Are you two okay?"
"Knuckles!" Penny grinned. "You have no idea how glad we are to see you!"
Knuckles landed on his feet and smirked at Eggman. "Look who it is. I like your costume."
"And what brings you here? Doing Sonic's dirty work?" Eggman asked with a sneer.
Knuckles glanced at Tails and Penny, grabbing the pink and white hedgehog by the arm. "Let's get out of her, you two."
"Right." Tails and Penny nodded.
Before they could make a single move, Penny felt a gush of wind swoop around her, and soon she came face to face with Sonic himself. "Hey. How's it going, Knuckles?"
Knuckles just smirked.
"Well, well, if it isn't Sonic." Eggman snickered, looking down at him. "I thought you weren't going to show up! So I took one of the Chaos Emeralds and I was just finishing collecting the second." He glanced up, noticing Mr. Tanaka, Amy, Chuck, Chris, and Cream joining Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, and Penny. "But now that you're here, maybe we can play ball!"
"All right," Sonic said, glaring at Eggman. "Just give us back that Chaos Emerald!"
"All in good time, my speedy little opponent." Eggman chuckled. "But first, let me introduce you to my teammates!"
"Teammates?" Penny mumbled, and her eyes widened when she looked up to see a giant ship above them, shooting out robot players one by one until they formed a team.
"They're scaring me, Penny..." Cream whimpered, clinging to the female hedgehog.
"It's okay.." Penny said, eyeing the robots suspiciously and hugging Cream tight to herself.
Eggman hopped to the ground. "Not too shabby, eh? Now why don't we knock off the pre-game ceremonies and get to the reason why we're all here. It's now game time!"
"PLAY BALL!" Decoe and Bocoe announced, stepping in front of Eggman.
"You can't have your game here!" Tails growled.
"Wait." Chuck said suddenly, stepping in front of Eggman with a smirk. "It just so happens that ol Grandpa Chuck here is a big baseball fan from way back. A nice friendly game of baseball sounds like a great idea to me."
"But...but Chuck..." Tails stuttered.
Eggman chuckled. "Ah, so you're Chuck, are you? Well, it's a great pleasure to finally meet you. A ball game must sound so exciting after being cooped up in that laboratory of yours day after day."
"HEY, IF YOU WANNA HAVE A BALL GAME, THEN YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE! ISN'T ANYBODY LISTENING TO ME?!" Tails yelled.
"Well, Eggman," Chuck said. "If the others are up for it, I would be more than happy to accept your challenge."
"BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR GAME HERE!" Tails continued yelling. "YOU'RE GONNA RUIN ALL THE BEAUTIFUL TURF!"
"What's that loud-mouthed fox getting so bent out of shape about?" Decoe grumbled, glaring at Tails.
"Who knows." Bocoe said.
"HEY!"
The robots yelped as Tails shot at them. "I'll have you know that this stadium means a lot to our friend!"
The man gently bent down and patted Tails on his shoulder. "It's okay, Tails. Only a matter of time before it's demolished anyway."
"Hm? Have I seen you somewhere?" Chuck asked, turning to the man.
"Maybe during the seventh inning stretch. My name's Albert Butler. I'm the head groundskeeper here."
"Ah, I thought you looked familiar! I've seen you on television!" Chuck grinned. "You were good friends with the owner of the Diamonds, Elmer Johnson, right?"
"Wow!" Chris sounded surprised. "You know him?"
Albert looked down. "Elmer and I don't talk much anymore."
Chuck sobbed. "This is such an honor to think that I get to play baseball at the world-famous Diamond Stadium-"
"STOP YOUR BLUBBERING AND LETS' PLAY BASEBALL!" Eggman roared.
"Baseball, huh?" Penny asked.
"How do we play?" Cream asked, holding Cheese tight.
Chuck grinned. "Alright, everybody! Time for the Chaos Emerald baseball playoff!"
Eggman pushed Chuck away. "It's the first annual Eggman Intergalactic Baseball Challenge!"
"This is sad..." Knuckles grumbled.
"And totally embarrassing..." Chris added.
Hearing grunting, Penny and Sonic turned to see Mr. Tanaka doing exercises. "Does he have to be on our team?" Sonic groaned.
"Show some respect." Penny chuckled.
"Amy, do we get to play too?" Cream asked.
"I don't see why not." Amy said.
Chris frowned, studying Eggman. "Grandpa, I'm not sure if this baseball game is a good idea. What if Eggman's got something up his sleeve?"
"Chris, you may be right." Chuck smiled, his arms crossed. "For all we know, that guy could be using a corked bat."
"That's not exactly what I meant..." Chris chuckled.
"Let's decide which team team will be the first to bat." Eggman said, raising his fist. "Rock, paper..." He started doing a rock paper scissors tournament with Chuck when Knuckles interrupted.
"You can't be serious."
Everyone turned to him.
"You do know what will happen if Dr. Eggman wins, don't you?" Knuckles continued, his hands on his hips. "He won't just be wining the game, but the Chaos Emeralds, too. If Eggman wins this game, it'll mean nothing but catastrophy for all of us."
"I'd say that's nothing but stinking thinking." Eggman said.
"Why ruin everyone's fun, huh?" Chuck mumbled.
"C'mon, Knuckles." Amy snickered, popping up. "Don't you wanna play?"
"Don't be chicken!" Cream added.
"Me? Chicken?" Knuckles stuttered.
"Perhaps Mr. Tanaka is simply afraid to play a game of baseball, huh?" Mr. Tanaka smirked.
"I bet he's scared of the ball!" Penny added.
"Afraid?!" Knuckles said, sounding irritated. "I'm not afraid of anything!"
Sonic smirked. "Great, so you'll play, huh?"
Knuckles growled, having quite enough of it. "All right, you asked for it! You want a team player, I'll give you a team player! Let's get this game on!"
"That's more like it!" Penny giggled as everyone got to their stations. "Now, this will be some game!"
"Let's play ball!"
Penny narrowed her eyes as she readied her bat, glaring at the pitcher. "Give me everything ya got!"
The pitcher bot threw a fast ball at the pink hedgehog. She swung but stumbled around in a circle, completely shocked about the fast movement. Luckily she straightened herself and she didn't forget to glare at the pitcher.
"Strike one!"
Penny heard Sonic whistle, and she grumbled. She readied her bat and swung again, but still missed the ball.
"Strike two.
Strike three. One out."
Penny moaned as she walked off the stadium, her arms aching from the hard swings. "There's just no way anyone could hit a ball like that super fast..." she moaned as she slumped to the bleachers.
"Loser!"
Penny narrowed her eyes and glared at Eggman. She would've strangled him then and there if Sonic hadn't held her back. Letting out a heavy sigh, the female hedgehog gently pushed Sonic off her and staggered onto the first row of bleachers next to her teammates.
"Okay, boys, send in the next sucker." Eggman called.
Tails walked up to the plate, readying his bat with a determined look in his eyes. "It'll probably be a fast ball."
To his surprise, the robot's arm holding the baseball extended and tossed the ball over the stunned foxes' head into the umpire's glove.
"Strike one!"
Tails glared at the umpire, raising his bat threateningly. "Hey, umpire! That's cheating!"
Decoe glared back. "What do you want? It's not my fault he has long arms!"
Amy walked up to the batter's plate, her hammer in her hands. "Give me your best pitch, ball boy!"
The robot tossed the ball at her, and Amy smashed it into the air.
"I got it-" Amy grunted. She managed to get a direct hit out of the park.
"She's not bad." Penny hummed, watching Amy do her run. Next to her, Knuckles smirked. "We might not lose after all."
Penny hummed in agreement, but quickly regretted it when she turned her attention back to the game. One of the robots catapulted his fellow bot in the air, and caught the ball Amy hit. The robot landed on the ground and lifted the ball proudly in the air.
"She's out!"
Amy stared at the robot in shock. "Huh? But I thought..."
Eggman burst into laughter. There was no way he could lose.
Amy grunted. She snatched the pitcher's glove and stomped up to the pitcher's mound, getting into a pitching position. She glared at the robot in front of her determinedly. "Now I'll show him what I can do. I'm a much better pitcher anyway."
The pink hedgehog tossed the ball, and Penny had to hold back bursts of laughter as she watched the ball smash right into the robot, knocking off its head, arms, and legs, leaving only his body. The robot collected itself and glared at Amy, who sheepishly waved at him. "Sorry about that!"
She pitched the ball again. The robot who was positioned next to Cream took a mad dash for the ball. Mr. Tanaka caught the ball and tossed it to Tails, who caught it and turned around to see the robot running at him at full speed. The kitsune's eyes widened as the robot catapulted himself into the air and landed on the plate behind Tails.
"Safe!"
Tails grumbled. "Losing isn't fun..."
"AND IT'S OUT OF THE PARK!"
That yell from Eggman started Penny. She had been so bored that she almost fell asleep on Knuckles' shoulder (much to his annoyance, though he did his best to keep quiet about it) that she almost missed seeing Sonic zoom up to the score sign, catching it in his baseball glove, staring down at them with a prideful smirk.
"Home run... Home run..." Decoe mumbled flatly, pumping his arm slowly.
Chuck hummed, pretty impressed with Sonic's catch. "You caught it, Sonic, but if it's outside the fence, it doesn't count."
Sonic glared down at Chuck, putting his hands to his hips. "Who said we gotta play by the rules anyway? Cut me some slack!"
Another bot yelped as yet another ball smashed into him. Amy chuckled nervously. "Sorry. That's a hit!"
The robot scowled at her in annoyance.
"Okay, Pen, get off me." Knuckles humphed, pushing the small female hedgehog off him. "It's my turn."
The hedgehog stumbled in surprise at the sudden jerk, but quickly straightened herself. "Go get 'em, Knuckles!"
He only smirked at her and walked over to the pitcher's plate. As expected of the red echidna, he hit it out of the park.
"Sad to say, a home run..." Decoe moaned.
"GO KNUCKLES!" Penny cheered.
Knuckles looked over his shoulder at her as he ran and shot her a smirk.
32 over 35.
Their game had been going so well that they started gaining attention from people everywhere near the stadium. Scarlet Garcia narrowed her eyes as she spoke. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Scarlet Garcia with a live report from Diamond Stadium. There appears to be a most interesting ball game happening right at this moment. The notorious Dr. Eggman and a team of robots are playing a game against Sonic and Friends here at the stadium, the soon-to-be former home of the Diamonds. This is certain to become sports history. This is Scarlet Garcia reporting. Stay tuned to SSTV News for continuing coverage of this amazing game."
Chuck glanced at the score and turned to his team. "We're closing in on 'em. Now let's give it our best shot! Tanaka!"
"Yes, sir!" Tanaka said, giving his master his full attention.
"I'm putting in a pitch hitter for you."
"Huh?"
"It's Cheese."
Cheese chaoed happily and flew over to the plate. The robot scanned how small its victim was, and sweat dropped at the sight of how small Cheese was. The robot heaved a heavy sigh but pitched the ball anyway. Much to Penny's surprise, the little chao didn't even swing the ball...he just kept holding the bat and staring straight at the pitcher.
"Ball one.
Ball two.
Ball three.
Ball four. Take your base."
Cheese chaoed happily, dropping the bat and floating over to the base.
Eggman scowled angrily, causing the pitcher bot to jump. "YOU BIG LOSER! YOU CALL YOURSELF A PITCHER?!"
Penny started laughing.
Cream was next in line. She readied her bat and glanced nervously at the pitcher.
"Play ball!"
The pitcher was about to pitch, when...
"Oh, Mr. Pitcher!"
The pitcher stopped short and stared at Cream. She glanced at him anxiously, her sweetness mixing in. "Could you maybe not throw the ball too hard? I've never played before."
The pitcher stared at her in shock, blushing deeply. This little girl rabbit was so cute... how could he resist her?! Taken by her cuteness, the pitcher never left his throwing position, and the ball slid from his hand. "Balk. Batter takes first place."
"Thank you, Mr. Pitcher!" Cream cried happily, waving at him as she skipped to her position.
Eggman hissed at the robot frustration. "I OUGHTA THROW YOU IN A SCRAP HEAP!"
Penny cheered as she watched Knuckles get another home run.
"All right, Knuckles!" Chuck grinned. "Another home run!"
"That means we're tied!" Amy grinned.
"All right!" Penny cheered. "I KNEW we can do this!"
"Hey, look, everybody!"
At Chris's sudden outburst, Penny, Amy, and the rest of the teams glanced around them. People everywhere were slowly filling in the stadium cheers. Pretty soon, they were full of cheering crowds. Two kids were up in the first row, holding out their baseball gloves. "Hey, you guys, throw a homer this way!"
"Where'd all these people come from..." Penny hummed in curiosity.
Penny gulped nervously. "Well, I guess it's my turn..." She nervously stood up and grabbed her bat, and walked over to the plate. She let out a yelp and braced herself as the robot threw the ball at her in top speed.
"STRIKE ONE!"
Penny moaned. She shakily readied her bat again, but easily cringed.
"STRIKE TWO!"
Sonic frowned. He didn't like what he was seeing. He knew he had to pull some senses into her and fast. He walked over, his arms crossed. "TIME OUT!"
Penny stared at the ground, her eyes shrunk in fear. Sweat dripped from her hands and she felt her knees began to buckle. If this keeps up...
Feeling two hands on her shoulders, she gasped and glanced up at the taller, older hedgehog, who was smiling down at her gently. "Hey, Pen. I know you can get a hit. There's nothing to it, Pen. All you have to do is calm down and concentrate."
The female hedgehog glanced down, tears threatening to spill. "T-that's easy for you to say..."
She let out a small squeak as Sonic pulled her into a comforting hug. "S-Sonic, people are..."
"Who cares if they're watching." The hedgehog smiled gently at her as he continued hugging her. "So he's throwing a few fast balls. You can't let that get you down, pal. Just keep on trying and don't give up."
He gently released her, but kept his hands on her shoulders, giving her full eye contact. "Now get out there and do your best."
The pink and white hedgehog sniffed, took a few deep breaths, and opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Ready."
Sonic smiled back, patting her on her back. "There she is."
She giggled, grabbing her bat tightly in her small fists and walked up to the plate.
"Sonic's right. I just need to be brave and..."
Her thoughts were interupted when the robot tossed the ball at her in top speed, and she nearly jumped back in fright. She swung her bat and tripped while doing so, falling on her face. She groaned.
"Strike three."
Even though she was on the ground, she smiled softly. "At least I did my best..."
"PENNY, RUN!"
At Chris's cry, the female hedgehog glanced up to see the ball bouncing away with the robot running after it. She panicked and quickly pushed herself to her feet and took a mad dash to the plate, once again falling on her stomach.
Feeling someone hoist her in their arms, she opened her brown eyes to see Sonic smiling gently at her. She grinned up at him. "I DID it!" She said happily. "I got to first base!"
Sonic shot her a wink.
36 over 35.
Eggman scowled angrily, and Sonic placed Penny down and gently pushed her behind him.
"Oh, yeah?!" Eggman growled. "Those bumbling clowns, they won't make a fool out of me!"
Bocoe walked up and handed the doctor a remote, and he pressed a button. The robot's head flew in the air, and a second later Penny felt something attach to her head.
"Uh, Sonic...what is it?" She asked, noticing the hedgehog's horrified look.
"Oh, dear!" Eggman cried from the sidelines. "It's malfunctioning. It will explode any minute now! Grab Penny and run, Sonic! Run away!"
"Wh-wh-what now?!" Penny stuttered, terrified of all the commotion. She felt Sonic grab her in his arms, tightening his grip on her body. "He's trying to get us to forfeit the game! I gotta get rid of this thing fast!"
Penny let out a shriek as she clung to the hedgehog, trying to ignore the pinching claws of the robot on her head. No matter how fast Sonic ran, the robot didn't budge.
Sonic took one glance down at the robot on Penny's head and frowned. "Wow, you're really hanging on!"
"SONIC!"
Sonic glanced over and saw Knuckles, his fists at ready. "JUMP, SONIC! HURRY!"
"Hang on, Pen!" Sonic yelled, gripping onto the female hedgehog tighter. Penny shrieked as he hopped high into the air, and a second later, Knuckles joined their side, his fist rolled back into a punching stance. She felt Sonic grip her tighter. "HEY, WATCH IT, WILL YA?!"
She squeezed her eyes shut as Knuckles lunged for her head, and the robot clinging to her smashed to bits.
Sonic sighed in relief, glancing over Penny's head at Knuckles. "Thanks, you're a life saver."
The two landed safely on the ground, and Sonic glanced at Penny, who was in his arms. "Hey, Pen, you can open your eyes."
"No, I'm not ready..." she squeaked, shuddering in his hold.
Hearing Eggman laughing, everyone turned to him. "You may have beaten me at baseball, but with this shiny blue Chaos Emerald snugged ever so safely in my pocket, I'm the real winner after all, aren't I?"
He let out one last laugh and flew off.
"Jerk..." Penny mumbled.
"Now he has both Chaos Emeralds..." Amy mumbled in worry.
Hearing the crowds cheer, Penny finally opened her eyes and turned to the crowd. Hundreds of people were cheering.
"As you can see, there's been quite a turn for this event. The game was, of course, the last to be played here at the stadium. " Scarlet announced. Something caught her eye, and she turned around. "Could it be...?"
Penny turned around and saw a man walk towards them, a serious expression on his face.
Chris's eyes widened. "Hey, look, it's Elmer Johnson."
Mr. Johnson walked up to Albert with a smile. "I was watching at home, I must say it was quite a remarkable game. It's all thanks to you, Al, and I...Well, Al, I can't help but say thank you for how much you've done for the Diamonds over the years and what a great friend you've been."
"Th-thank you." Was all Albert could stutter out.
"I'm thinking of moving the Diamond turf over to the new stadium intact. I sure could use your help." Elmer said, holding out his hand to Albert.
Albert smiled, clutching Elmer's hand. "Sure thing!"
Penny smiled as she walked up to Chuck and the others. "An amazing game today, everyone!"
Chuck nodded in agreement. "Well, we may have lost the Chaos Emeralds, but I think we've learned an important lesson about working together. And I'm sure you'll all agree, we'll be even stronger next time we beat Eggman."
Penny smiled. "Agreed, Chuck. Agreed."