Okay, so since Balan Wonderworld was created by the same guys that created Sonic and Nights and those that have read my other Balan Wonderworld stories have asked if I would do more or a crossover, well, this idea came into my mind and I couldn't get it out of my head. :)

Balan Wonderworld belongs to Square Enix. Sonic The Hedgehog belongs to SEGA. I only own Rachel.

Speed And Magic

"Hang on, Cream!" Sonic said as he smashed into the controls that worked the glass prison she was in.

"Sonic!" She cried out happily before seeing Cheese there too. "Cheese! You made it!"

When Eggman had first captured them, Cream had managed to get her Chao friend free and told him to go get Sonic. The loyal Chao did so and now the prison opened, allowing her to be free. Cheese flew up and hugged her and she hugged him back. Sonic came up to them. "We gotta jet!" He said, scooping up his friend and running fast. Trusting him, Cream held onto him and her Chao.

"Thank you, Sonic," she said sweetly.

He smiled at the young rabbit who admired him. "You're welcome, Cream," he said. "You didn't think we'd leave you behind with Egghead, did you?"

She giggled. "No," she said. "You're the best hero ever."

"Aw, shucks, Cream. You're going to make me blush!" He said teasingly, making her giggle again.

Just then, explosions sounded behind them and Cream gasped. "Sonic! Look out!" She cried out in warning.

He turned his head to see some Eggbots coming and fiery debris was flying through the air. "Hold on!" He said, running faster, both of them becoming a blur as he ran. A flash of light in front of him surprised him, but before he could try to stop, a circle appeared in front of them like a warp ring would do and Sonic barrelled head long into it, another explosion jarring them and making him lose his grip on Cream.

"Sonic!" She cried out as she and Cheese landed a bit roughly on the floor. The rabbit looked up to see Sonic was struggling to get up and he looked up in time to see the portal closing, but a fiery beam of wood was coming at him fast. Quickly, he ran and picked up speed, slamming into the beam and splintering it before pushing off and falling into the portal just before it closed up completely, but then he fell down and the floor opened up underneath him, swallowing him.

"Sonic!" Cream cried out in horror as she got up and ran to where the floor had swallowed him up. She looked frantically for a trap door, but the floor was solid as if it hadn't moved. "What was that?" She asked, somewhat surprised, but also afraid.

A tall shadow suddenly fell over her and Cheese and they heard a chuckle. "Well, well," said a voice. "Welcome, young ones."

Cream and Cheese turned to find a tall stranger behind them and they watched as he spun around before coming to a stop in front of them. "Hmm, what are you two?" He asked, one hand reaching for the rabbit.

The young Mobian grew afraid and backed up fast. As the stranger took a step forward, she turned and ran. "Cheese! Run!" She cried out.

"Chao! Chao!" He said in agreement, flying as fast as he could.

Balan was surprised by their reaction and deduced that the two must have been through a scary ordeal to be running from him. "Wait!" He called out, racing after them.

The two continued running until suddenly, Cheese flew into a net and cried out as he got tangled up. "Cheese!" Cream called out in worry, seeing some more nets and tried to climb up to him, but the net she was climbing on came loose and she cried out as she landed on another net and the net in her hands fell over her, tangling her up and making it impossible for her to get free.

"Oh, my," came the voice from before and they saw the stranger come in and he chuckled as if amused. "Looks like you two got a bit tangled up."

He moved towards the Chao and reached for him, to which Cheese chirped in fear and tried to get away, but the net held firm. Cream grew afraid for her friend. "Don't hurt him, please!" She pleaded, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

Balan was concerned with how afraid these two were. He managed to lift part of the net and reached in, catching the Chao in his large hand. The little one struggled, but couldn't break free before feeling the hand bring him closer to the tall being, who gently stroked the small creature's head.

Feeling the gentle touch, Cheese looked up at him and saw a warm smile on his captor's face as the being wrapped his arms around the small Chao, cradling him in his arms like a newborn baby. "Hmm, you might not be a Tim, but you're certainly adorable," the tall being said before moving one hand and playfully wiggling a finger into Cheese's stomach.

The little Chao laughed as he was tickled, waving his small arms and kicking his feet a little, but his captor only chuckled in amusement. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo!" He cooed before blowing a raspberry into the small stomach, which made Cheese laugh even harder. The tall being chuckled, letting the small creature up before he turned his gaze to Cream, who was trying to escape the nets that had fallen on her. "My, my, you're in a bit of a pickle, hmm?" He asked, smiling.

The small rabbit was a bit unnerved that he was so close to her, but she began to wonder if he was a bad guy, because his actions from him freeing Cheese and cheering him up were not the actions of a bad person.

Seeing her still a bit frightened, he reached forward. "Hold still," he said gently. "I'll have you free in a moment."

A few minutes later, she was free and being cradled in the tall being's arms as he smiled at her, gently wiping away the tears that had escaped her eyes. "No need for tears, young one," he said soothingly. "I won't hurt you."

"Who are you?" She asked, deciding that he couldn't be working for Eggman. He seemed too nice.

"Maestro Balan, at your service," he said, tipping his hat to her. "You can call me Balan."

She giggled, giving him a shy smile. "I'm Cream," she said. "And this is my Chao friend, Cheese."

"What adorable names for such adorable little ones," he said. "And now, let's get a bigger smile on your face."

That was her only warning before she felt fingers wiggling into her sides and she giggled, clapping her hands over her face to hide her giggles, but she heard Balan chuckle. "Oh, being shy, are you?" He asked teasingly. "Try as you might to hide it, but I can still see that big smile of yours!" He cooed, which made it really hard for Cream to hold in her giggles, but her laughter broke free when she felt fingers gently tickling her ears, which were her tickle spot, a squeal escaping her when she felt him start blowing raspberries into her neck.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHO!" She laughed out.

"Oh, yes," he chuckled in her ear. "Cootchie, cootchie coo! Who's a ticklish little cutie?"

She continued laughing at his teasing words and the tickling until he stopped and she took some deep breaths, feeling him hold her gently and she turned and hugged him, a few leftover giggles slipping out and making him chuckle. "Now then," he said. "What brings you two to my theater?"

Cream gasped as she remembered Sonic had gone missing. "Sonic was rescuing us from Dr. Eggman and a portal opened up here and he managed to stop Eggman, but after he made it though the portal again, the floor ate him," she said.

Balan could see that the little one was getting close to tears. "Hey, hey, shh, no tears, Cream," he said gently. "Your friend is alright."

She perked up. "He is?" She asked. "Where is he?"

He smiled. "Come," he said, holding her in one arm while gently pulling Cheese into the embrace too. The little Chao was content to snuggle with his best friend and be carried by the tall being, who smiled and went through a door where they suddenly heard laughter. "Ah, I was right. He did land here."

Cream looked to find a room that was colorfully decorated and she saw small creatures hopping around happily. She then saw Sonic was on the ground and laughing as the furry creatures nuzzled him and snuggled into his sides and stomach. "Hey, easy!" He laughed out. "That tickles!"

The small rabbit looked curious. "I've never seen Chao like these before," she said.

Balan chuckled. "These are actually Tims, Cream," he said gently. "They're very affectionate creatures and it seems they've taken a shine to your friend."

Sonic, hearing them, managed to lift his head up and looked to see Cream and Cheese were in the arms of a tall person who looked like a ringmaster. He was about to ask who he was when some Tims snuggled deeper into his sides and he let out another laugh, trying to squirm away.

The tall being chuckled. "Alright, let him up," he said gently to the Tims. "Can you welcome these two as well?"

He set Cream and Cheese down and the Tims came over. One jumped into Cream's arms and nuzzled her cheek, making her giggle happily before she kneeled down and they swarmed near her, making her giggle as they nuzzled her. Cheese was chirping happily as he played with some of them too.

Seeing the two were having fun with the Tims, who seemed to be having a lot of fun too, Balan turned to the winded Hedgehog, who was laying on the floor trying to catch his breath. Two Tims were on either side of his head, acting like a pillow for him. The tall being carefully picked him up and Sonic opened his eyes, looking up at him. "Cream told me how you rescued her and Cheese," he said, smiling.

"Wasn't going to let Eggman hurt them," Sonic said before trying to sit up. The tall being kindly helped him and set him down in a chair while Cream came over holding a pink Tim while a blue one rested on her head.

The Hedgehog looked at her. "Cream, are you and Cheese okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Thanks to you and our new friends," she said with a smile.

Someone suddenly appeared in front of them and stood up. "Oh, thank goodness," said a female voice as the person's hood fell away to reveal a familiar face.

"Rach!" Sonic said with a smile.

"Miss Rachel!" Cream cried out happily, running up to her and hugging her. Cheese cheered and nuzzled the young woman's face, making her laugh.

"I'm glad to see you three too," she said with a smile. "When Knuckles told me what happened and that you three hadn't returned yet, Tails got the warp ring out, but just as he did, my Emerald began glowing like crazy and showed me where you were. So I teleported here."

"Aw, I didn't know Knuckles cared," Sonic said with a smirk.

Cream giggled. "He does," she said.

Rachel chuckled. "One of these days, you guys are going to give him a heart attack," she said without heat before seeing a Tim nearby and she gently picked it up. "What's this?" she asked.

"It's called a Tim," the small rabbit said with a smile. "They helped us feel better, along with him."

She gestured to behind the young woman, who turned and she blinked at seeing Balan, her eyes widening as she saw him. "It...It can't be," she said softly before shaking her head rapidly as if trying to get her senses back.

"You okay, Rach?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," she said, sounding a bit dazed. "Sorry, side effect of teleporting."

Just then, a crashing sound was heard and they looked to see Eggman was there with some Eggbots. "Get that Emerald!" He cried out.

Cream and Cheese hid behind Rachel, who gripped her Emerald and quickly aimed. "Chaos Blast!" She cried out.

A beam shot out from the Emerald, hitting the Eggbots and reducing them to scrap. "Sonic?" The blonde-haired girl asked.

"On it!" He said, quickly leaping up into a spin dash, knocking into Eggman's ship hard enough to send him flying.

"NO!" Eggman screamed out as he flew away, but recalled the scrapped robots to him before he vanished completely.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Honestly, he never learns," she said before seeing the damage and looking at her Emerald. Holding it in both hands, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Red energy surrounded the damaged part of the theater and repaired it in a blink, making it look like it had never been damaged. Sonic grinned.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" He asked.

"I've seen Knuckles do it and was hoping it would work with my Emerald too," she said.

Balan came up to them. "Thank you," he said, smiling. "How can we repay you?"

Rachel smiled at him. "You saved my friends," she said. "We're even."

She held out a hand for a handshake and he accepted it with a nod. "You four are welcome here anytime," he said with a smile.

Cheese flew up to him and nuzzled his cheek, making him chuckle as he returned the friendly nuzzle. Cream went up to him and reached her arms up, to which he picked her up and she hugged him. He returned the hug with a smile. "Thank you, Balan," the rabbit said to him.

"You're welcome, Cream," he said fondly before seeing the three Mobians gather around Rachel, who smiled at him.

"Thanks again, Balan," she said before holding up her Emerald. "Everyone hold on tight."

They grabbed onto her and she gripped the Emerald. "Chaos Control!" She cried out.

All four vanished and Balan smiled with a nod before going to get things ready for a show as he had a feeling the two kids he knew would be coming soon.

Rachel opened her eyes to see they had made it back safely and Vanilla came running forward, scooping up her daughter and the little Chao, both of who hugged her back happily.

Knuckles came up to them, dripping wet. "When did your sister learn how to use water to her advantage?" He asked the older girl.

"She hasn't," Rachel said. "At least not that I'm aware of."

A huge splash of water suddenly doused Knuckles again and the older woman jumped back before looking up to see her seven-year-old sister grinning. "Got you, Knuckles!" She laughed out. "Did that cool you off?"

He looked up before a sneaky grin came to his face. "Oh, that's it," he said, turning and running fast. The little girl, seeing him do so, squealed and began running with the Echidna hot on her heels.

Rachel chuckled. "Okay, whoever taught her that manuever is not going to hear about how she mastered it from me," she said, having a good idea who had taught her sister that.

Sonic chuckled. "Going to go save her?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I already know what Knuckles has in mind," she said just as they heard the little girl squeal with giggles as the Echidna caught her and was tickling her in retaliation. "See?"

He chuckled. "Well, at least we gained a new friend," he said. "And gave Eggman the boot."

"That we did," she said, planning to take another trip to the theater to learn more about Balan.

What she hadn't told her friends was that she had had a dream about the entertainer. A dream that included them all and had something to do with the worlds needing help.

This one took off on me. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418