A/N: I ended up cramming more into this chapter than I thought was possible. That's phenomenal, especially for an episode that would normally be filler if it weren't for the Chaos Emerald.

Another thing I would like to mention is the potential of branching this story out to other websites. I've put a poll up on my profile page. Do you think I should branch out to other platforms like Archive of Our Own and DeviantArt?

There is one more piece of news I want to tell you before I move on. I'm considering putting this story on a short break after my rewrite of the "Beating Eggman" arc so I can expand my backlog, as well as avoid potential burnout. The Chaos Emerald Saga is going to be considerably harder to write, as well as the later sagas, especially the final episodes of Sonic X, will be brutal to take on. I'm just not a big fan of universe-destroying threats.

Also, during said break, I may continue to go back and refine my earlier chapters by improving dialogue and amending some scenes.

About this chapter: I don't personally know that much about baseball, so bear with me here. Also, while I'm keeping the name Ballios, I'm going to rename the Diamonds baseball team to the Dolphins. Otherwise, it would be like naming a football team the Gridirons, you know?

I want to thank Nightshark774, Dragonshadow97, hyakubigundam, Cyan Quartz, The Suburban Traveller, jdg99star, and SuperTailsFan0812 for favoriting and following since my last chapter!

With that out of our way, let's move on to the reviews and what matters most: the story!


Alexandria Prime

This was just cute! I think Tails should come up with a way so that Chris can defend himself from Eggman when he decides to come and try to kidnap him. I'd probably do the same thing.

Thanks! I do actually kind of have a plan for that in a future chapter.

The Green Seer

So, this review will be rather short because I don't really have much to say about this episode. First things first, that was one of the best disclaimer I've seen in a while! Wow, I really don't know what else to say… Beside a few mistakes with odd sentences and grammar, some double words, nothing much on that front.

"To be honest, this wasn't the mountain was ng this molehill out to be." I think I get the gist of it.

As you said, this was a filler episode, but it was overall well written. There was no awkward dialogue while I was reading and Eggman behaved like Eggman. I didn't really notice anything weird about his fluctuating moods, so great job on that.

So yeah, nice job. I'm waiting for the next chapter!

Thanks! I actually wondered if anyone would notice them :P

Yeah, sorry if there's some incorrect grammar and the like; FFN's spelling and grammar check is not as precise as Google Docs and other sources. Perhaps I should run future chapters through Docs first.

I did originally think Eggman shifted moods too quickly. Maybe it was just me. I had him break the fourth wall because he does so in the show, at least in the Japanese version. The only other characters to exhibit fourth wall breaks seem to be Sonic, Amy, and the Chaotix. Chris doesn't count because he is the narrator in the Japanese version episodes.

SharpDragonKlaw

Even though this was filler episode you did a good job on letting Amy shine in this chapter. Hooray for Sonic for showing real courage by pushing past his fear of water to save Amy.

It wasn't like Sonic had much of a choice there. But no way would he just let events unfold because of selfishness.

Also, a fun fact: I was originally going to have Chris appear in the final scene, and have a brief talk with Sonic concerning the former's safety, but ultimately decided against it; after all, it was an Amy episode, not a Chris episode.

GuardianDragon98

Oh wow, action-packed and well-written as always. I'm curious as to how you'll go about Sonic explaining his six months of imprisonment in Forces to Chris. You can tell that he'll have to tell the kid sooner or later.

It doesn't seem to be a topic Sonic is comfortable talking about, so it may be some time before Chris finally learns of it. I can see Chris finally knowing about it some time in the Shadow Saga, perhaps.

Animation Adventures

I wouldn't exactly call this a 'short' chapter. I think it's still plenty long. Also, it's fine to omit episodes you think are filler. I certainly don't have any objections to the ones you chose to skip over.

I loved this one as a kid. It was one of the episodes that validated my decision to ship Sonic and Amy.

Not much to say this time except the danger Chris, Ella, and Tanaka were put in was more apparent with Eggman's plans to roboticize them, and they're actually seen attempting to escape.

Great job as always. Not much of a baseball fan, but the next one might be interesting if you've got more plot stuff happening. I mean, the original was basically a baseball game over a Chaos Emerald that was found, so I'm curious to know if you're going to make things escalate.

Of the "Season 1" episodes (I prefer to go by sagas), 9 of the 26 episodes are filler, six of which are in the Chaos Emerald Saga. I can somehow try to find ways to make the filler episodes canon somehow, but others may have to be scrapped.

This, as well as 24, 42, 52, 69, and 76 have the biggest SonAmy moments in my opinion. Fortunately I'm going to make Amy more level-headed when I take these on.

I don't understand why they didn't just run in the original episode. In fact, the same thing happened in Episode 27. Maybe it's because, as Cream says in Episode 62, "Danger is our middle name."

I too am not a baseball fan, but I did expand the scenes quite a bit. I'm not sure if there will be more a plot points going on, but there will be some fallout, as you'll see in the next chapter.

Also, a big thank you to kitsune6473 and yugo for their kind reviews, and here's the next chapter!


Disclaimer: Major League Baseball does not own the Station Square Dolphins. If you see a strange light that seems unearthly, contact your local Sonic hotline immediately.


Chapter 10
Episode 10
Three Strikes and You're Out! The Second Chaos Emerald
Home Run


Station SquareThu September 16; 6:52 PM – Third-person POV

Tails was flying solo in the X-Tornado one crisp and cool night. But this was no joy ride. Tonight, he was flying in search of what he thought was the second Chaos Emerald.

It was Thursday, September 15, almost a week after the incident at the Thorndyke Resort and Spa. As far as Eggman went, the time since then had been mostly quiet, and Tails had been mildly surprised he had not seen any activity from Dr. Eggman during the whole week.

It wasn't normally like Tails to just take off without telling anyone else, and he knew it. But things happened so fast, and he got too excited.

Having recently made his Miles Electric compatible with Earth's Internet, he had been idly browsing around online in Chuck's lab, checking out several electronics forums with an interest in Earth's knowledge in technology. But he become aware of the Chaos Emerald glowing in the chamber, and he knew it could only mean one thing.

He immediately leaped off the bed, grabbed the Emerald, and carried it down to the driveway where the X-Tornado was parked. He was so excited about it that he forgot to tell anyone he was leaving!

However, Tails was beginning to have second thoughts about looking for the Chaos Emerald alone. But on the bright side, he was glad he managed to finally iron out all the kinks he could find in the X-Tornado's controls and functions. He even fine-tuned the Chaos Emerald input area, and as a result of all of his hard work, this flight proved to be one of the smoothest flights for any craft the eight-year-old genius had ever built.

Suddenly the Chaos Emerald glowed intensely bright, causing Tails to squint at the green glare it caused, and the whole craft began to experience unprecedented violent turbulence. Tails started to panic. This was supposed to be a cloudless night with calm winds, so why was there turbulence?

Then he began to piece things together in his head. The turbulence started almost immediately after the Emerald started glowing, so this had to be the result of the Emeralds' erratic nature when one of them detected another. That sort of made sense…

Looking down, Tails saw that he was going to fly over a baseball stadium. The signal seemed to be the strongest there, so the fox concluded that the Emerald had to be in there somewhere. So he attempted to land on the turf in the middle of the stadium.

But when he took a closer look, he saw a man below him, probably a groundskeeper, who noticed him and frantically attempted to wave him away. Tails got the message and lifted the X-Tornado back into the sky. He figured he would land in the parking lot outside instead and enter from there, just like anyone else. He was determined to check out the stadium. The Chaos Emerald had to be in there.

Tails touched down in the parking lot, and luckily for him, it was a lot more vacant than the one he landed in at the resort. In fact, there were only one or two cars there at the moment.

As soon as the plane came to a complete stop, he turned off the engine, carefully removed the Emerald, and climbed out.

He looked up at the stadium, trying to judge if he could fly over the wall using his tails. But it was way too high for him, which meant he had to find another way in. So he started walking toward the side doors to the stadium.

He walked up the steps, impressed at how tall they seemed. In fact, he had to lift his short legs higher than usual to climb them. But then again, this world was scaled to humans, not Mobians. Regardless, he was able to climb to the top unassisted.

Next, Tails strode toward the massive sets of double doors in front of him. Sure, the stadium was probably closed and locked up for the night, but since a groundskeeper was in there, Tails thought he still had a chance to get inside.

He pulled on one of the giant doors. It had to be at least three times his height, which meant he had to reach way up to the handles due to his small size. He was surprised to find that the door did indeed open. As he pulled it open, he msurprised at how heavy it felt. But at least he was able to still get inside.

He cautiously entered the dark building and looked around the stadium's lobby. He was amazed at what he saw. It was huge! There were so many paths everywhere, and so much to see, including banners and empty concession stands. It was a little hard for the fox to see due to the fact that only a few overhead lights were on, which spooked Tails a bit. Baseball stadiums were big and empty places at this hour, not to mention he was a little bit nervous in the dark, and every sound he made echoed everywhere. But at least he could see better in the dark than most humans.

Just when he thought he was going to get lost, he spotted one of the entrances to the stadium. He was wondering how the stadium's security had not detected him this whole time. After all, the door was unlocked. Either the groundskeeper forgot to lock the doors, or somehow everyone had enough common sense to not go to the stadium when it wasn't open.

But not Tails. He wasn't factoring in common sense when the second Chaos Emerald was on the line in this huge, unfamiliar world.

At last, the stadium itself came into view. Tails had to squint at the suddenly bright and glaring lights. But when he slowly opened them again, he was struck by the sudden beauty the stadium presented to him.

It was so beautiful! The way the stadium lights shone on the turf made it look like it was glowing! Tails had gone to a baseball game or two with his friends in the past, but he had never been to a stadium as beautiful as this one!

He forced himself to snap out of it. He was supposed to be finding the Chaos Emerald, not sightseeing!

He quickly ran into the stands and down the steep steps toward the railing, being careful not to trip. Once he got close enough, he spun his tails to lift himself over the railing and down to the baseball diamond itself.

As he touched down, he realized that this was his first time ever setting foot inside a baseball diamond. This was a brand new experience for him, and he knew that there was always a first time for everything!

Tails quickly spotted the man he saw earlier tinkering with a riding mower, as if nothing ever happened just ten minutes ago. He knew this was the person he needed to talk to. After all, the Chaos Emerald was glowing the brightest when he was flying over the stadium.

He took a deep breath and cautiously approach the man.

"U-Um… Excuse me… S-Sir…?" he softly called.

Tails breathed a mental sigh of relief that his voice didn't seem to scare the man too much. However, his presence frightened him, as he ran and cowered behind the mower. The sad thing was, Tails couldn't blame him, as it wasn't every day that people on this planet saw a two-legged, humanlike fox child with two tails.

"Um… S-Sorry about that… Um… I-I won't hurt you, I promise…" continued Tails. "I just wanna to talk to you about something. So… um… I-Is it okay if you can hear me out… please…?"

"Um… O-Okay? Yeah… sure…" the man hesitantly said as he stepped out from behind his mower.

Tails sized him up. He was a clean-shaven older man, probably in his early sixties.

"Hey, wait a minute," he said. "I might be taking a wild swing here, but, uh, was that your plane I saw like… five, ten minutes ago?"

Tails nodded, a small blush of embarrassment forming on his muzzle. He ran his hand through his bangs.

"Um… Y-Yeah, that… that was me. Sorry about scaring you…"

"It's fine," the man shrugged. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"Um… M-Miles Prower," the fox answered, "but, um… everybody calls me Tails, because, uh, well…" He gestured to his namesakes and dropped his voice to a whisper. "…it's kinda obvious…"

The man was silent for a long moment, and Tails started fidgeting nervously.

"…I see," he said. "Well… I'm Albert Butler, and I'm the groundskeeper here at Diamond Stadium. Now, um… What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Um, it's a really big story," Tails replied, "and if I just start telling you it, I'm pretty sure it's not gonna make any sense to you."

"Well, that's all right, I can try to understand," said Albert. "Here, why don't we go sit over in the bleachers and we can talk there?"

"Okay," Tails nodded, and he and Albert walked in the direction of the bleachers.

"So, uh, first off, you heard of Sonic?" Tails asked, looking up at the older man, who nodded. "Okay. So me and Sonic and some of our other friends got here like maybe a month ago, and we're from a distant planet called Mobius… which I guess would make us aliens here, now that I think about it."

"I guess it would," commented Albert.

"Yeah… And also, this mad scientist named Dr. Eggman also got sent here, and he's kind of the reason we're all here to begin with, because he accidentally used the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds to send us here. So now we need to get them all back so we can go back home." He paused when he noticed the very confused look on Albert's face. "Um… Did you understand any of that?"

Albert shrugged. "I think…? Sorry, I know I want to believe you, but… none of it makes sense like you said, it's all… unearthly."

"Yeah…" said Tails, feeling a bit of sympathy. "I can't really imagine being anyone on this planet, like… living a normal life, and then just… suddenly, your planet is filled with lots of stuff and everything from aliens to strange energy to… killer robots."

"You know, I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to it," Albert said. "I just can't. There's already too much going on."

"It's okay," comforted Tails. "We're gonna do everything we can to protect this world from Dr. Eggman. We're not gonna let him win, and that's a fact!"

By now, Tails and his new friend were making themselves comfortable in the bleachers. From where they sat, they had a stellar view of the baseball diamond.

"Um… I just wanna say… this stadium is really beautiful," Tails admitted. "Especially the grass. It looks like it's glowing!"

"I know," Albert smiled. "People from all over say that Diamond Stadium has some of the world's highest-quality baseball turf. In fact, for the past thirty years, I've been personally tending to its quality. It was a great honor."

"Was…?" Tails looked up, puzzled.

Albert looked down. "I'm afraid so," he said with regret. "Saturday is going to be my last day here. It's due in part to both debt and the increasingly demanding cost of upkeep, but the team's manager has already made arrangements to move the entire team to a new stadium, which is an indoor stadium with artificial turf." He said the last part with a hint of distaste.

"I don't know what's going to become of this stadium afterward," he continued, "but to me, moving on is hard. To me, it feels like the end of an era, both for me and the Dolphins."

There was a pause as Tails took in what he had just heard.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" he said quietly. "I hope you can get used to everything…"

"I hope so too," said Albert. "And, uh, speaking of changes, I kinda have a question about your story."

"Sure, go ahead."

"That gemstone that showed up here about a month or so back," he recalled. "Was that a… was that a Chaos Emerald or whatever you called it?"

"Yup," Tails answered encouragingly. "That's… kinda why I'm here, actually." He pulled his green Chaos Emerald out from Hammerspace. "Um… did you see anything like this around here?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Albert replied. Tails almost couldn't control his smile. Another Emerald had been found!

"Wait, really?!" Tails exclaimed, bouncing a little in his seat. "Where? Where?!"

Albert smiled at Tails' enthusiasm. "It was a couple nights ago; I found one behind a dumpster near my house," he continued, "even though it was not the same color as the one you have here. I held onto it ever since, 'cause I have no idea what to do with it. In fact… I don't even know why I decided to bring it with me tonight, but I'm thinking it must be fate. I can take you to it if you want."

Albert stood up and led Tails in the direction of the dugout.

"Every time I touch it, it seems to make my hair stand on end, and… I don't know how to explain it, but… it feels like it makes me more alert to everything," he admitted, "and quite frankly, the thing scares me half to death. I don't know what to do with it."

"Well, you're in luck, because I do," Tails volunteered. "I think that whenever you touched the Chaos Emerald, you were experiencing a fraction of its power. You know, I can tell you lots of stories about what they can do!"

"I, uh, I think I'm good, thanks," the groundskeeper half-chuckled.

They reached the dugout, and Albert walked toward a backpack that was lying on the bench. Tails assumed the Emerald was inside.

"Um… can I please have it?" asked Tails.

Albert nodded as he reached inside the backpack and removed the beautiful cyan Chaos Emerald from within.

"Well, here it is," he said. "I for one am glad to see this thing going into capable hands."

The two left the dugout, and Albert looked across the field at his riding mower.

"I think this Emerald nearly shorted out my mower a few minutes ago, so that's why I haven't started mowing yet. I will admit, the grass could look a bit better."

"It's okay! And if you want, I can take a look at it for you if-"

In that exact moment, both the Chaos Emeralds began to glow brilliantly, forcing Tails and Albert to squint. Tails had almost forgotten he was still holding his Emerald, and he had only just now realized his mistake!

Before anyone could say anything, a massive beacon of light emitted from the Emeralds and ascended into the zenith high above them.


Eggman's baseThu September 16; 7:09 PM – Third-person POV

Eggman was sitting up in his command center, eating a sandwich, while his hench-bots Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun were working on upgrading the EggNet to the latest version. Rather, only Decoe and Bocoe were working. Bokkun was desperately trying to access a webpage, asking the robots over and over how much longer it would be until they were finished making the Internet compatible with the EggNet. Needless to say, it was a long and tedious task, and they had come across several firewalls in the process. Furthermore, several important mechanisms, including the security system, had to be shut down to atone for the massive bandwidth usage. Eggman wasn't one to balk, but he feared the Internet would overload the system if the wrong procedures were taken.

On the beach below, GUN was still surveying the island. Ships would come and go with soldiers and surveillance supplies. Eggman didn't know what they were doing, but he decided not to take action against them. Should the military attack, which was inevitable, they wouldn't be able to get past his new force field surrounding his base anyway.

Just then an indicator began flashing with accompanying beeping.

"Report," Eggman ordered around a mouthful of sandwich.

"You do it," Bocoe told Decoe. "The Internet cannot install itself."

"We are 74% through the sixth firewall," Decoe reported. "If I abandon this project, we may be denied Internet for a prolonged period of time."

"Well, one of you just do it!" Eggman barked, not willing to lose his patience.

"Affirmative," Decoe saluted. "Bokkun, watch the progress in my absence."

Bokkun put down his tablet and flew over to the spot vacated by Decoe. "Who made you second-in-command?" he muttered under his breath.

Decoe approached the monitor and pressed the button that stopped the now-incessant beeping. One look at the screen that appeared told him everything he needed to know.

"Doctor, our scanners have detected a beacon of light originating from the sporting venue known as Diamond Stadium," he reported. "It appears to be Chaos energy."

Eggman's eyebrows raised. "Is it what I think it is…?" he mused.

He put down his sandwich and stood up. "Bokkun, fly out there and investigate this beacon. I need to know if there really are Chaos Emeralds present."

"Aye-aye, Doc!" Bokkun saluted before flying up and out of the fortress through a shaft in the ceiling. Eggman was glad he had installed the vent so Bokkun could easily fly out on occasions like this.

It took three minutes for Bokkun to report back. By then, Eggman had finished his sandwich. As soon as he sat back down, a message appeared on the screen, signaling that Bokkun was trying to contact him. He pressed the Accept button, and the messenger robot appeared. This meant he was using one of his TVs to communicate.

"Doctor, the beacon went away as soon as I got there," he reported, "but I think I'm picking up faint traces of Chaos energy in the air right near where the beacon used to be." He adjusted his grip on his TV. "And I also wanna tell you that Tails is down there with another man, and they both have Chaos Emeralds!"

"Is one of them green?" Eggman suddenly asked.

"Uh… Yeah. Hey, wait, is that the one they found earlier?" Bokkun queried.

"Yes, it is." Eggman folded his hands. "Thank you, Bokkun. You may return."

Once the call ended, Decoe turned to Eggman.

"What is the situation, Doctor?" he asked.

"A Chaos Beacon…" he mused. "I haven't seen one since the days of Chaos' rampage all those years ago." He stroked his elegant mustache. "And to think it took them a whole month to finally discover the second Emerald…"

"Are you suggesting that you knew of this new Chaos Emerald's location the whole time?" asked Decoe.

"Indeed I am," replied Eggman. "As with the first Emerald, I've called dibs on this one in advance as well."

"If that is true, then why have you not claimed it before?" Decoe followed up.

"What, you think I'd just waltz in there and grab it with everyone looking?" scoffed Eggman.

"I do not mean to object, but your previous Chaos Emerald mission involved the use of an E-Series robot in plain sight of the city," Bocoe pointed out.

"Different situations call for different tactics," the doctor explained. "I've had years of experience to learn that. If I am going to collect all the Emeralds without raising any suspicions, then I will have to do it subtly. In fact…" He stood up and wandered toward the doorway. "…being the super genius that I am, I have already formulated a plan to obtain both the Emeralds in one fell swoop."

He left the room and took the elevator down to the first floor. Even though his scanners had initially picked up the second Emerald, Eggman kept this information under wraps just in case any of his hench-bots would leak it. But now that it was unearthed, and with help from the Chaos Beacon, the signal was much stronger than before. Now was the time to claim the Emerald.

So Tails brought his own Chaos Emerald with him, thought Eggman. A foolish move on his part, as he will soon discover.

Now that the two Emeralds were together, they had created a Chaos Beacon. Chaos Beacons were created when two or more Emeralds were brought together under the circumstances that the Master Emerald was broken, or, in this case, simply nonexistent. Without the Master Emerald, the Emeralds took on a more… chaotic nature, with free-range, far-reaching power. Now they further lived up to their name.

Once the elevator reached the first floor, he stepped out and walked toward a closet. Inside was everything he needed for this mission - several sets of baseball jerseys, bats, balls, mitts, and caps for both his team and Sonic's team. He was glad for Chris' sake that he had an opportunity to play baseball with his defective E-51 unit. The boy would surely need the experience tonight.

Sonic is going to strike out tonight, Eggman thought in glee. I'll make sure of it.


Thorndyke MansionThu September 16; 7:26 PM – Chris' POV

It was well past seven, and Tails still wasn't home.

Ella had delayed supper to allow Tails some extra time for him to return, but there was still no sign of the fox. In fact, the only way we knew he left was because we heard the X-Tornado leaving. However, after about an hour of waiting for him, we just decided to start supper without him. Sonic didn't seem to be too concerned about Tails at all, since he knew he would eventually return soon.

We were having stir fry tonight, and Ella was teaching my friends about advanced table etiquette. Yes, they already knew how to use knives and forks in a pinch, but they rarely had the opportunity to use three forks, three knives, and various other dinnerware all at the same meal. Ella was showing them which fork was for which course. Sonic seemed to adapt quickly enough, but it became apparent to Ella that he was more of the type to eat and run - much like Matt, strangely.

"When is Mr. Tails going to come back?" Cream asked.

"I honestly don't know," answered a concerned Grandpa. "He didn't tell anyone he was leaving."

"But that's not like him at all," Sonic said after swallowing some stir fry. "I know my bro; he always tells me where he's going when he goes somewhere." He became more determined. "Tell you what. If he's not back by the time we're done eating, I'm gonna go out and look for him."

"I'm guessing it was probably something really important," Amy pointed out.

"You mean like a Chaos Emerald?" I suggested. Amy nodded.

"Yup, exactly."

Just then I heard a small sound coming from somewhere deep in the house. If I had to guess where it was, it was somewhere upstairs, and it was getting louder every second. I couldn't tell exactly what it was yet.

"Hey, uh… do you hear that?" I asked. Cream strained to listen.

"Uhh… No, I don't hear anything," she said.

However, the sound got louder, and we all heard it. It sounded like a small jet engine of some sort.

I paled as I recognized the sound.

Sure enough, Bokkun flew into the room, toting a yellow TV, just like the last time we saw him. However, he was wearing a baseball cap. I immediately recalled my unfortunate last encounter with him.

Tanaka, Sonic, and Amy all instinctively stood up when he entered.

"Not you again!" complained Amy.

"I may not know who you are," Tanaka said, steeling himself for whatever was going to happen, "but you are intruding on the Thorndykes' property!"

"How did you even get in here, anyway?" Grandpa questioned.

"Oh, that was easy," Bokkun shrugged. "Your grandson left his balcony door unlocked. I didn't even have to knock."

Oh no… Was it really that easy for him to get in? The last time he broke in, he covered the whole living room in ash, and it kept Ella busy the whole day with cleaning duties. I made a note to myself to keep the balcony door locked at all times. I hated knowing I had to do it, but as long as Dr. Eggman was at large, I had to do my part to keep myself safe no matter what.

"Anyway, you guys," he continued, "I got a really important message right from Dr. Eggman as usual, but this time, he says it's addressed to the whole family, no exceptions. Dr. Eggman says so."

"You're really rockin' that cap, little guy!" Sonic complimented, although I couldn't tell if it was genuine, seeing as Bokkun was one of the bad guys.

"Thanks. It's actually part of the doctor's plan. Speaking of the doctor's plan, stop stalling for time and let me play the stupid message already!" he suddenly shouted in his shrill voice, causing me to flinch.

Bokkun reached down and pressed the power button on his TV. Dr. Eggman appeared on the screen, although his image was reduced in size to the top left of the screen, kind of like on a Twitch stream. The rest of the screen showed the night sky in Station Square, but there was a strange beam of light reaching into the sky.

"Good evening, Thorndykes and rodents alike," he spoke. "Do you see this beam of light? Can any of you tell me what it is?"

I honestly had no clue what it was, and judging by most of the others' looks, they were just as confused as I was. No natural phenomenon could make a light like that, not even any skyscraper I knew of.

"That's a Chaos Beacon…" Sonic almost whispered in realization.

"Bingo, hedgehog," Eggman replied. "For those of you who don't know what one is, namely, all the rest of you, Chaos Beacons occur when two or more Chaos Emeralds unite whenever the Master Emerald is not able to maintain control of said Emeralds. And since the Master Emerald is not present in this universe, this is an ideal situation for Chaos Beacons to occur. This is their way of adapting to each other."

Eggman zoomed in on the light that seemed to extend into the evening sky forever. I wondered if it was able to be seen from space.

"You see, your friend Tails was foolish enough to bring his Chaos Emerald to the baseball venue known as Diamond Stadium, where a second Chaos Emerald has just been discovered tonight. Now that they are together… Well, you're looking at what's happening."

He changed the screen so that his image took up the whole screen.

"I've been keeping tabs on this Emerald for a while, but now has come the time for us to compete for it."

"I beg your pardon, but what do you mean by 'compete'?" queried Tanaka.

"Isn't it obvious?" Eggman asked.

We all shook our heads, though I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Baseball!" he exclaimed, almost out of exasperation. "We will all play a game of baseball with both Chaos Emeralds at stake. Meet me at Diamond Stadium at 8:00 sharp. Uniforms and gear will be provided for you when you get here."

"Now hold on!" Grandpa retorted, walking toward the TV. "You can't expect us to play against our will. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Dodgers fan, but I'm too old to be doing that sort of thing; not to mention most of us don't even know how to play."

Bokkun was clearly getting a kick out of our reactions, because I saw him trying to hold back a chuckle.

Eggman waved his hand. "Then you have thirty minutes to learn before I come down to the stadium and claim both Emeralds for myself." He peered closer at us. "However, I can show you a little mercy and say your maid doesn't have to play."

Ella looked visibly relieved, and I wondered if Eggman was originally going to actually make her play. No offense to her, but I couldn't picture her running the bases in a million years.

Grandpa was just about to speak again when Eggman beat him to the punch.

"This robot will automatically jumpstart your training session for you."

Bokkun smiled gleefully - a bad sign for us all.

"I hope you're all good batters," he said, "'cuz there may be a couple beanballs if you're not careful."

With that being said, Bokkun somehow made his TV disappear behind his back, and he immediately began throwing baseball after baseball at us at lightning speeds.

Havoc and panic set in right away as glass cases containing some of our valuables were smashed by the flying baseballs, and food was scattered across the table; some of it even landing on the floor.

"Take cover!" Sonic shouted, though of course the warning came too late.

Amy tried to pull Cream to safety under the table, while Tanaka did the same with Ella. I too ducked under the table, while Grandpa dropped to his hands and knees and crawled under the table next to me, using his body as a shield to protect me from the baseballs.

"Wheee! Hammerspace is fun!" Bokkun exclaimed.

"That's my thing!" Amy fired back from her spot under the table with Cream.

The baseballs were really piling up in the dining room by now. It looked like we were in the middle of a hailstorm, and it even sounded like one too. In fact, it was so loud that I was forced to cover my ears. Fortunately, the table offered a lot of support, and only a few baseballs found their way into our hiding spot.

I was not only scared, but I was mad too. This was completely uncalled for. First Eggman was forcing us to play a game of baseball against our will, and now his underling was throwing baseballs that could easily give us concussions!

"I don't see a lot of hitting going on!" Bokkun taunted.

"That can be arranged!" replied Sonic from somewhere in the room. I didn't see where he went when Bokkun started going crazy, but now I could see Sonic jump up and grab the robot, who began protesting when Sonic carried him outside. A few seconds later, he returned to the dining room and surveyed the scene as we cautiously crawled out from under the table.

"Everybody okay?" he asked in concern.

Not all of us escaped without a scratch. Tanaka had taken an unfortunate hit to the head, and a few other rogue balls hit me in the shoulder, as well as Grandpa and Amy's backs. Fortunately, I didn't feel too much pain, and Grandpa and Amy didn't show signs of lasting pain either, which was good. Tanaka held his head, but fortunately, he wasn't bleeding or anything. I hoped he would be okay and he didn't have a concussion.

Grandpa, Amy, Cream, and I slowly got out from under the table and stood up, trying not to slip on the one-foot-high pile of baseballs. Cream was starting to cry, and Amy was gently hugging her and comforting her. I couldn't blame her for crying. This was a very scary experience for all of us.

"Wh-why did he do that…?" I asked, voice shaky.

"Like I said, Bokkun's a practical joker," Sonic explained. "However, I don't think they're really funny. Like, a lot of the time, they can go way too far, like now."

He looked across the room, which must have had as many as three hundred baseballs covering the floor. There was spilled food and broken glass everywhere.

"It's gonna be a long cleanup…" he sighed.

"Well, we're all still alive, and that's all that really matters," Grandpa said, kicking a few balls aside, listening to them rolling on the floor. "But yeah, you're right, we're going to have a long night of cleaning ahead of us."

"I can stay here and clean up while the rest of you go play," Ella volunteered.

"There's no way I'm playing against my will," Grandpa repeated. "I just can't."

Sonic looked like he was both sympathetic and determined at the same time.

"He's not leaving us with much of a choice, is he?" he said. "Well, if this is for the Chaos Emeralds, then I don't think we should let this chance go to waste." He gestured to the stairs. "Tanaka, Chuck, Chris… you guys should probably go get dressed. We gotta be down there ASAP."

The three of us started toward the stairs, but I hung behind because I had a burning question I really wanted to ask.

"Hey Sonic?"

"Hm?"

"Um… Why does Eggman even want us to play baseball? If he really wants the Chaos Emeralds that bad, then how come he doesn't just like… take them?"

Sonic smirked. "I think he just wants to savor his victory and rub it in our faces. He kinda likes to do that sometimes. Now you really need to get going and change," he urged. "Oh, and while you're at it, maybe lock your balcony door? You don't wanna have any other intruders in here, now do we, buddy?"

He ran out the front door, almost blowing me over with his super speed. I assumed he was going to stall Eggman.

The moment he was gone, I ran up the stairs to prepare for the busy athletic night ahead of me. I couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was welling up in me...


Diamond StadiumThu September 16; 7:30 PM – Third-person POV

By Tails' estimate, it took nearly a full three minutes for the Chaos Beacon to finally fade.

During this time, the Emeralds began to feel warm to the touch, almost to the point of being hot. Tails had to admit, he was scared. He had never been this close to a pair of rogue Emeralds.

Even worse, Tails felt like he was locked in place. He literally couldn't move, and the only things he could do were breathe and stare at the beam of light as it rose for many miles into the sky.

He paled as he realized the whole city probably saw that beacon. That meant that chances were extremely high Dr. Eggman saw it too! Now it was guaranteed that he would come and claim both Emeralds.

When the beacon finally faded, Tails and Albert were completely silent. Neither of them said anything for a long while. They were too shocked.

When Albert finally spoke, fear was evident in his voice.

"T-Tails… Wh-what was that? Wh-what… j-just h-happened?"

"I-I don't know," Tails replied, feeling just as nervous as his friend. "I don't ever remember the Emeralds acting like this before…" He lowered his Emerald. "…at least, not in a very long time…"

Albert lowered his Emerald as well. "Then… if that's true, how are they supposed to act?"

"It's a long story," answered Tails, looking down, "just not like this."

The fox looked in the direction of the stadium entrances, feeling a sudden burst of determination.

"Mr. Albert, we gotta get outta here right now," he said grimly.

Tails sprinted toward the nearest exit, and Albert followed at a brisk walk. From Tails' perspective, the exit was way too far away.

"Why, what's happening?" Albert asked in confusion.

"There's no time to explain!" Tails told him quickly as he ran faster.

"Where do you want us to take these things?" Albert asked.

"I don't know, anywhere but here!" Tails said, turning to face him. "And it's not gonna be easy. You see, Eggman's got the power to track down Chaos Energy, and... and I'm pretty sure he already saw that beacon by now."

"Oh, but I did see that beacon, Tails."

The voice that came from above them was gravelly, forboding, and above all, awfully familiar.

Tails threw a glance up at the night sky. There he was, floating above them in his egg-shaped hovercraft. Decoe also came with him in a sidecar.

"Stand back," Tails told Albert as he stopped, then took up a defensive stance and faced Eggman.

"What do you want?" he demanded, even though he already knew the answer.

"The world," Eggman said, as if it was obvious. "I want the whole world. But tonight, I'm giving you a choice: You can either hand over both Chaos Emeralds now and make things easier for both of us, or you can wait for your friends to show up so we can compete for them in a friendly game of baseball."

Tails deadpanned. "Is that why you're dressed in a baseball jersey?"

"Yes, how'd you guess?" replied Eggman in a somewhat sarcastic manner. "Anyway, I knew the Chaos Emerald was here since a few days ago. The anticipation for the Emerald to reveal itself was simply too much for me to bear."

"That doesn't even make sense, Eggman," Tails pointed out. "If you knew there was a Chaos Emerald here, why didn't you just come and take it?"

Eggman sighed, evidence that he had already been asked that question before.

"Look, even villains need to have their fun, okay?" he said. "Besides, there's no chance I'm being arrested by this city's police force if I just come alone. I'm not about to run any unnecessary risks." He leaned forward. "Now, are you going to hand the Emeralds over, or are you willing to wait for your friends so we can compete in baseball for them?"

Tails shook his head. To him, this seemed like really strange behavior coming from Eggman.

"To be honest, I don't really know how to play baseball except for a couple things I learned here and there, so you can count me out."

"Too bad," Eggman sneered. "We're playing anyway."

"But-"

"Now hold on…" the doctor decided, "On second thought, since your friends don't seem to be coming any time soon, I'm just going to take the Emeralds and run. Either way, it's a win-win for me."

Tails took this as a sign to act fast. He asked himself what Sonic would do in a situation like this.

"Albert, take the Emerald and run," he ordered.

Albert was a little confused at first, but he understood and took off running as fast as his aged body would let him. Tails held his Emerald tighter and ran across the diamond in the opposite direction.

As Albert seemed to be much slower and weaker than Tails, Eggman made him his first target. Eggman extended a claw out of the base of his Eggmobile and advanced it toward him. He was so silent and stealthy that Albert didn't even realize the claw was right behind him until it was too late.

It easily reached him, its highly flexible fingers wrenching the Emerald out of the man's grasp before retracting back toward the Eggmobile. Albert stood there, feeling completely shocked.

"I-I'm sorry, Tails," he called. "My legs are not what they used to be."

Tails had no time to stop; he had to keep running. He saw what happened to Albert, but he couldn't do anything about it without risking the loss of his own Emerald. Not that it mattered much, because the claw was now moving toward him as well.

He reached the edge of the diamond and looked up, debating whether to fly up into the stands and try to lose the claw among the seats. But there were so many seats and stairs up there! And the stairs were so steep for someone as small as he was, so he was forced to rule out running up there.

The claw was dangerously close to him now. Tails quickly turned to his right and ran as fast as he could. Then he spun his namesakes and propelled himself forward even faster; it was something he often did to keep up with Sonic when they were going somewhere fast. It helped that he was slightly levitated off the ground when he did this.

Then he became aware of the sound of metal smashing behind him. He turned around and was both surprised and relieved when he saw Knuckles cockily rubbing his fist from among the carnage he has just made.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No," Eggman butted in before Tails could answer. "Not by a long shot. With my first Chaos Emerald, I now have an edge over him!"

"…Wait, you already found the second Chaos Emerald?" Knuckles asked, despite it being almost a month since they found the first. "Huh, well I guess that explains the Chaos Beacon. Haven't seen one of those in forever."

"I'm the one who found the Emerald," Albert spoke up.

"That doesn't matter," Eggman shot him down. "Actually, Knuckles, you shouldn't even be here, unless you came to play baseball."

Knuckles was confused and absolutely bewildered. "Hold on, what?"

"It takes nine to make a team on the field," explained Eggman, "and it's either you or Ella who will be the last member of your team."

"That's stupid," the echidna scoffed. "Can't we just fight for the Emeralds like we always do?"

Eggman shrugged. "Even I have to admit it, it gets boring after a while."

Knuckles crossed his arms. "…Fine," he half-heartedly replied. "But how long are you gonna make us wait?"

"Hey! I hear you guys found some treasure tonight!" piped up a familiar voice as Sonic ran into the stadium. "Oh hey, Knux!"

"So you've finally decided to show up tonight," said Eggman. "I was getting worried, so I thought I would hold on to one of the Emeralds as collateral to ensure your arrival."

"You know I don't like to disappoint, Eggy," said Sonic, before he whispered to Tails, "Tails, you really shouldn't have run off without telling us. There's no telling what could have happened if you got caught."

"Sorry, Sonic," Tails apologized, blushing a little. "I guess I got too excited."

"It's all good," his big brother replied. "Just try not to do it again, okay?"

Tails nodded.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Sonic?" called Eggman.

"If it's my dignity, then yeah, no, I kinda left that at home," Sonic shrugged. "Sorry about that."

"No, you cactus!" exclaimed an exasperated Eggman. "Your friends! You're supposed to bring your friends with you!"

"Oh yeah, they're on their way over." To Albert, he said, "So, uh, you work here?"

"Yeah, I'm the groundskeeper."

"Okay, good. Mind if you let my friends in as soon as they get here?"

"Sure thing," Albert nodded before walking in the direction of the lobby. He looked very confused about everything, like he was full of questions.

Sonic planted his hands on his hips. "So Eggman… where's your team? 'Cuz last time I checked, one-man baseball is pretty much impossible, 'specially for you."

"I can say the same thing about you, Sonic," retorted Eggman.

"I've done it before," Sonic bragged. "In fact, you probably didn't know I can bat the ball and then run to third base, maybe even home, before you can even hear the crack of the bat. In fact, you can call me the master of unassisted triple plays!"

"And yet you can't run the bases faster than your own mouth," Eggman stated.

Tails and Knuckles looked like they wanted to facepalm. Sonic tended to brag a lot.

"Yeah, we'll see about that, Eggman. But enough tooting my own horn," Sonic said as he gradually became more serious. "There are two Chaos Emeralds on the line right now, and I want you to know that I am gonna give it my all tonight, you hear me?"

"I've heard that before," Eggman said.

It only took less than five minutes for Albert to return to the stadium. With him were Sonic's other friends, who were looking around at the beautifully lit stadium. Especially Chuck, who was trying his best to hold in his inner fangirl despite the tense situation.

"Excellent," Eggman mused upon seeing everyone present. "Now that everyone is here, may I present my own baseball team. All-robot, of course, courtesy of Eggman Industries, not to be reproduced in any way, shape, or form except with express permission from me, and I say no."

Just then the Mobians and Thorndykes became aware of an Egg Dropship coming into view. It began to hover over the diamond, and, in perfect Star Trek style, beamed nine robots into the stadium. With all of them being identical in design, they looked every inch the type of robot that was created to play baseball.

Their design appeared menacing enough to scare Cream, and she clung to Amy.

"Th-They're really scary, Miss Amy…" Cream whimpered.

"It's okay," Amy reassured her, giving her a gentle hug. "They're not gonna hurt us."

"This is my E-21 Ballios team!" Eggman proudly presented. "I mean, there are probably billions of better names out there than 'Ballios'. I hate that name as much as you probably do now, but it was either that or 'Grand Slammer', but that sounds dreadfully violent in my opinion."

The doctor then took a moment to count heads for the opposing team and make sure they were all there. He counted Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Chris, Chuck, and Tanaka.

"Good; there are nine of you," he deducted.

"I beg your pardon, but there are only eight-"

"Cheese counts," Eggman interrupted Tanaka. "Now then, groundskeeper, take them to the locker rooms and get them changed into their jerseys."

After supplying Albert with a large box containing all the jerseys, the groundskeeper motioned for the group to follow him. Knuckles and Sonic carried the box in the direction of the locker rooms. Sonic noticed that Albert looked a bit stressed and worried about everything.

"You okay there?" Sonic asked him.

"This… this is against my will," Albert admitted. "I shouldn't be forced to do this. I mean… I-I saw what Dr. Eggman did on TV. I don't want him destroying the turf or anything else on my last day here."

"Hey, we'll make sure he doesn't do anything that bad," Sonic promised as he looked up at Albert. "We'll make sure it's not gonna be anything more than just a normal baseball game."

"I hope so…" Albert said.

As soon as they entered one of the locker rooms, Amy and Cream opened the box and saw that all the jerseys were tagged with their names in Eggman's handwriting. Amy took a deep breath and pulled her jersey out of the box, and as Cream did the same, they left to go to another locker room.

Meanwhile, the rest of the boys removed their jerseys from the box as well. Chuck held up his jersey, but he did not unfold it yet.

"I may be spry, but I don't think I'm physically active enough to play baseball," he said. "And on top of that, I think Cream and Cheese are too young for this, to play in a big stadium, I mean."

"So that means we're gonna be down three players," Tails said, looking concerned.

"I can take as many spots as you need," volunteered Sonic. "Besides, Chuck, since you're like the biggest fan of baseball I know, you probably know a lot about baseball, so I think you could make a pretty great coach."

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Chuck replied, starting to feel joy.

He looked over at Albert, and he squinted as he thought back.

"I don't know why, but you look familiar to me," Chuck said. "Aren't you the groundskeeper I've seen here sometimes?"

"That's me," he confirmed. "Albert Butler."

"So how are things going with you and Elmer?" Chuck continued. "I heard there was a bit of tension between you two."

"Yeah, there still is; and things aren't looking any better for either of us," Albert said with some regret. "Elmer's still set on moving the Dolphins to a newer stadium."

"I hope things will work out for you soon," Chuck sympathized. "'Cuz I can't imaging the stress that must go into moving an entire baseball team."

"I know," Albert said. "Believe me, I know."

Chuck was a season ticket holder for several consecutive seasons. Since he was mostly retired, he was able to go to most games to root for the Dolphins. He had occasionally caught glimpses of Albert during the fifth and seventh inning stretches. The groundskeeper had been born Alfred Butler, but he had his name legally changed because he didn't want to be called out for having the same name as Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler.

It didn't take long for everyone to get dressed into their jerseys and caps. They had put their regular clothes on the benches; Albert said they could do that, since he knew no one else would be coming to the locker rooms that night.

"Y'know, it was actually kinda considerate for Eggman to make these jerseys that fit everyone," he mused. "Anyone else think that's a little weird…?"

As the boys filed out of the locker room and headed back toward the diamond, Sonic noticed that Tails looked a bit glum.

"Hey, what's wrong, buddy?" Sonic asked.

"A lot of things…" Tails responded in a low voice as he looked down. "But I don't know how to put 'em all in words…"

"It's okay Tails," Sonic encouraged. "Just take your time. I'm right here."

Tails took a deep breath. "Okay… I think I'm feeling kinda stressed… because this is not something Eggman really does. I mean… he should be just coming and taking the Emeralds and leaving. But… he wants to actually play baseball with us. And he's kinda forcing us to do it against our will, and not only that, but it's on really short notice too."

He sighed.

"And also… Me and Albert… he really likes the grass here, and… I like it too, and I don't wanna see Eggman ruin it with his robots…"

"I totally get the first part, Tails," Sonic said, placing his arm on Tails' shoulder. "We're both in the same boat. But Tails… there's been tons of games here before. Besides, they can always take care of the turf again afterward, right?"

"Not if it's burned…" Tails mumbled.

Sonic took a deep breath of the night air and let it out.

"Yeah… Well, knowing Eggman, he's…" Sonic decided not to finish that thought, as he knew that it wouldn't help Tails in the slightest if he told him that Eggman was the type to bring destruction wherever he went. So he simply gave his little brother an easygoing smile.

"We'll just make sure that doesn't happen, okay?" comforted Sonic.

"Okay…"

A moment later, they reunited with Amy and Cream, who were also wearing orange baseball jerseys. Even Cheese had his own tiny little jersey and cap.

One minute later and everyone was back in the diamond. Eggman and Decoe had parked the Eggmobile near the second dugout and were now also standing in the diamond.

"It's good to finally meet you in person, Chuck Thorndyke," Eggman shook the scientist's hand. "You know, I've read of your work on the Internet."

"So I've heard," Chuck said dryly, moving a little closer to Chris.

"Co-founder of Starship Soft, not to mention inventor of the night vision infrared scope with heat sensors and two-way radio… my, you are quite the busy man, Professor!" He spread his arms wide. "But enough gawking, it's game time!"

Chris began to look discouraged and scared as the weight of the situation crashed over the young boy's shoulders, and he started to play with his fingers nervously. Sonic noticed this and approached him.

"You nervous?" he asked softly. Chris nodded.

"Y-yeah… I never played at a big baseball field before…"

Sonic nodded. "So it's just a little bigger than you're used to."

"A-And... The teacher robot made me play like seventeen innings... I don't wanna do that again, Sonic..."

Sonic gently patted Chris' back. "I know, but this time, you got all your free will, and all of us too. And hey, we can totally win this, 'cuz we got the power of teamwork and friendship, and all Eggman's got is a bunch of scrap metal. Besides, if you strike out or something, me and my friends can always make up for it. We've got your back, Chris."

"Thanks, Sonic," Chris said quietly. He was relieved that his grandpa briefed his friends on the basics of baseball on the way over.

"I know I already said this before, but this is stupid!" exclaimed Knuckles. "Why aren't we fighting over the Chaos Emeralds the old-fashioned way?"

"It's always fight first, ask later for you, isn't it?" Amy smirked. "Where's your sense of friendly competition?"

"There's nothing friendly about it!" Knuckles said, completely blowing Amy off, "And also, I can't even begin to tell you how foolish it is to wager two Chaos Emeralds over a baseball game that's probably rigged against us. Can't you see?! If Eggman wins this thing, he's gonna have an edge over us that could easily have been prevented in the first place!"

Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Chris nodded. They were all able to clearly see the echidna's point.

"I never did understand echidna logic," said Eggman. "Your kind was always confusing to me. Nevertheless, we're going to play anyway. I mean, you don't have to, but that would only mean I get both Chaos Emeralds now and all you get is an extra fuel bill for coming all the way out here for nothing. Think, Knuckles. I'm sure you value the Emeralds just as much as-"

"Fine! I'll play!" Knuckles shouted exasperatedly, throwing his hands into the air. "I'm gonna be the best baseball player there is! And we're going to win because losing is not an option!"

Chris could almost see Tails sweatdropping. Sonic gently nudged Chris.

"It's all right, bud," he comforted. "We're with you every step of the way. And even if we lose, there's always gonna be an opportunity to get the Chaos Emeralds back."

"Oh, and since I'm still feeling generous tonight," Eggman announced, "as a handicap, I'm going to allow Team Sonic to go first; but be warned: I certainly won't make it easy for you."

"Oh, that's just gonna make it more fun!" responded Sonic. "At least for me, anyway."

While Eggman's Ballios robots took up their positions around the diamond, both Sonic and Eggman's teams headed toward the dugouts.

"Decoe will serve as tonight's umpire, and we are going to play five innings," continued Eggman. "I don't have enough time for all nine, and three feels too short, so I'm sure five will do."

"That's fine," agreed Chuck.

Team Sonic was busy getting settled into their dugout. They got their bats ready, and Amy picked one up and examined it. She held it to start to get a feel for it, before she lowered it again.

"Um, unpopular opinion, but I think I'll go with my hammer tonight," she said. "I feel way more comfortable with it."

"How long are we going to play?" Cream asked with some worry in her tone. "Will it be a long time?"

"Not really," Sonic reassured her with a wink. "Five innings are actually pretty short compared to nine. It'll be over before you know it. In fact, if everything goes well, you won't even have to bat."

"Guys, I just realized, I feel like this game is a trap," Chris said suddenly.

"I know, I'm fully aware of that," Chuck replied. "Which is why we need to be careful at all times. We don't have room to let our guard down."

Chuck spent the next minute or so deciding his team's batting order while everyone sat nervously on the bench, either looking at all the Ballios on the field or fidgeting with their caps, mitts, or bats.

"Okay, Chris is going first," he decided, much to everyone's surprise, but Chris was shell-shocked!

"Whoa, whoa... Chuck? You sure you know what you're doin' there?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, that's doesn't sound smart," Amy backed Chris up.

"I know," Chuck said. "But the thing is, I don't know if you have baseball on your world, so Chris is going to go first and set an example of how baseball is done."

"We do have baseball on Mobius," Tails confirmed. "I actually went to a couple games, but I don't really follow it too much. And I never played it before. Professionally, I mean."

Shaking and taking deep breaths, Chris nervously made his way to the exit of the dugout.

"Give it your best shot, Chris," Sonic encouraged. "We're right here rooting for you!"

"You got this, Chris!" Amy cheered.

"Good luck, Chris!" Chuck called as his grandson left the dugout and apprehensively took his place at the home plate. Chris' palms felt very sweaty, and he didn't know if he could think straight with this much pressure on him.

From behind him, Decoe gave the signal to begin the game.

"Play ball!"

This was it… now or never… Chris knew for sure that Eggman would play one of his tricks during this game. He wasn't sure what it was yet.

He looked up at the Ballios pitcher. Even though it wasn't designed to attack people, its appearance threatened to unnerve the boy. Chris got his bat ready, physically and mentally preparing himself for the pitch. He had literally no idea what to expect from Eggman's newest series of robots.

The Ballios pitcher raised its arm and pitched the ball toward home plate, except from Chris' perspective, it was flying way too fast! The fastball must have gone at least 200 miles per hour!

Chris actually flinched as the ball came close. Before he knew it, he heard Decoe call out:

"Strike one!"

Chris sighed. If that was how Eggman's team was going to play, then this game was going to be downright impossible!

Even worse, he began to lose hope even more when strikes two and three followed. Super fastballs were also to blame for them. For the last ball, he was able to work up enough courage to swing his bat, but the catcher caught the ball before Chris could even finish swinging his bat.

Chris' head was hanging, and he was filled with frustration as he walked back to the dugout. Eggman laughed from his own dugout.

"Now do you see what you're up against?" he gloated. "I bet none of you were expecting that! If that's how you're going to set an example of how baseball is done, then you disappoint me."

Sonic winced as Chris stepped back inside the dugout. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you did your best out there, Chris," he said. "There was nothing else you could do."

"I hope you do better than me…" Chris said as he sat down. Not only was he very disappointed, but he was shaking from his adrenalin rush.

Chuck looked down at his clipboard before looking up at the rest of his team.

"Okay Tails, you're up next," he announced.

"Go get 'em, buddy," Sonic told the fox as he patted him on the back.

"Okay, I'll do my best," Tails promised as he picked up his bat and ran out to the home plate.

Chuck leaned toward Chris. "I know it looks bad, but the game has only just started, so I promise, there's more than enough time for this thing to turn in our favor," he said.

"I hope so…" Chris sighed.

Even Chuck looked a bit unnerved. He was still excited that he was actually getting to coach a baseball game at his all-time favorite team's stadium, but he was still on edge because he was not expecting the Ballios pitchers to pitch that fast.

Tails took his place at home plate. He didn't look or feel as sure as he did before he saw Chris fail. He honestly had no idea that the Ballios would strike Chris out that easily.

So when the Ballios pitcher reared back to start its pitch, Tails fully expected a fastball, just like the one it pitched to Chris. However, when the ball flew toward the catcher, the pitcher's hand was still attached to it. It was simply extending its hand toward the catcher. This caught Tails off guard, and his tails froze in place as he took on a look of confusion.

Once the ball was in range, Tails tried to bat it out of the pitcher's hand, but it quickly raised until it was out of reach, then dropped the ball into the catcher's waiting mitt.

"Strike one," judged Decoe.

Tails tried not to vent his mounting frustration at the level of cheating that Eggman had put into this game so far.

"It is not my fault the pitching unit has long arms," Decoe shrugged.

"But that's cheating!" Tails countered. Decoe did not reply. Instead, he gave the signal to continue the game.

Tails was unfortunately struck out, just like Chris before him. The second strike went the same as the first, but for the third, the pitcher did an underhand pitch extremely high in the air, and it was caught perfectly by the catcher.

"Batter out."

Tails sighed in frustration as he dragged his tails and bat back into the dugout.

"This game is impossible!" he complained.

"Hey," Sonic reassured, "Eggman's bending the rules a little bit, but trust me, we're gonna beat him just like always."

Tails nodded. Karma did seem to be on their side wherever they went.

"All right Amy, you're next," Chuck said.

Amy nodded as she made her way past her teammates on her way out of the dugout. She looked a bit deterred by the previous plays, but she was still determined to at least hit the ball.

"I hope I'm ready…" she said, preparing her Piko Piko Hammer. "Wish me luck."

Amy made her way over to the home plate and held her hammer up in a batting position.

Back in the dugout, Tails turned to look at Chuck.

"Hey Chuck?"

"Yes, Tails?"

Tails took a deep breath. "I know Eggman, and this is not like him at all. He doesn't go out of his way to make people play baseball."

"Mhmm... I never thought I would want a baseball game to end so much," he said with some regret.

"But Grandpa, I thought you liked baseball," Cream recalled.

"Well, that's the thing, Cream; I do like baseball. It's just that… I don't know what I was expecting, but I never thought I would see a game this unusual and unfair. It's kind of like if the Patriots had eleven Tom Bradys on the field."

Just then they heard the crack of the bat - or rather, Amy's hammer in this case.

"She actually got it…" Chris breathed.

Amy seemed just as surprised as Chris was. Seeing that she finally managed to bat the ball, she put away her hammer and ran as fast as she could toward first base. However, the unexpected happened.

The Ballios center fielder ran over toward the right fielder at a speed faster than Amy was running. It lifted up the right fielder and boosted it very high into the air. The right fielder raised its mitt and easily caught the ball before it could leave the diamond. It then threw it down into the waiting mitt of the Ballios first baseman.

"Batter out," Decoe called.

Unlike Tails, Amy made no attempt to hide her anger.

"Hey! That was totally unfair!" she protested. Eggman only laughed in response.

"All is fair in love and war, you know," he stated.

"But-"

"Oh, and now that you have officially run out of chances to score this inning, it's time to switch sides," declared the doctor. "Which means I can show you my potential!"

The team of Ballios left the field, and their positions were soon taken up by Team Sonic. Chuck was the only one who was not on the field. His team was somewhat unnerved at the prospect of Eggman mercilessly scoring on them.

Chuck assigned Tanaka the position of catcher, and upon her request, he made Amy the team's pitcher. She claimed she would make a much better pitcher than batter anyway.

In her first play, Amy pitched the ball, but it "accidentally" flew too far to the right and end up smashing into the Ballios' metallic head, much to the amusement of Team Sonic. It even got a laugh out of Amy.

Eggman, however, was the only one not laughing.

"You did that on purpose," he growled. "I'll have you know that all of my Ballios units are built to withstand beanballs."

"Th-then how come there a big dent in the batter's head?" Amy countered between laughs.

Eggman faltered to find an explanation. "L-look, it's just a fluke, okay? Just ignore it and let's get on with the game!"

A few plays later, Eggman's team managed to land a Ballios on second base. But the play afterward was when things began to get hairy.

Cream noticed the Ballios beginning to sneak toward third base before the play was supposed to start. Even though she didn't have all the baseball rules memorized, she thought this was against the rules. She was about to call it out when Amy pitched the ball.

To Amy's surprise, the batter did not react, and Tanaka caught the ball. Decoe called a strike, surprising everyone on Amy's team.

Now Tanaka noticed the Ballios running toward third base. The play should have ended with that strike, but evidently something was wrong. He had to react.

He threw the ball toward Tails, who was the third-baseman. He caught the ball the moment the Ballios leaped high into the air above Tails. The fox could only stare in surprise and shock as the robot touched down on the base on the other side of Tails.

"Safe," indicated Decoe, much to the astonishment of Sonic's team. This time, Tails could not hold in his anger any longer. He threw his mitt on the ground!

"That's not fair!" he shouted! "A strike means the play is supposed to end! That move shouldn't even count!"

"It's my game, and I say it counts!" Eggman said smugly, crossing his arms.

"It's still cheating!" countered the irate fox. "I saw Tanaka, he caught the ball fair and square!"

"And-and-and the robot began running b-before Miss Amy threw the ball!" Cream pointed out, stuttering.

Eggman chuckled. "Well, 'fair and square' is for losers like you. You're up against the big leagues tonight. Deal with it!"

Tails looked ready to protest some more, but he finally gave up and sighed. Eggman was right; this was his game after all. They had to accept it and move along, even if that last play was a bitter pill to swallow.

It took about five plays later, but Team Sonic had finally managed to get an out on Eggman's team. That was the first major accomplishment they made the whole game this far, and it was the bottom of the first inning.

But in the very next play, a Ballios batter batted the ball with enough force to send it out of the stadium. Sonic saw it soaring through the air, and ran up to the top of the scoreboard to make a successful catch. It was a beautiful catch, but what he didn't count on, though, was Decoe signaling that this was a home run. This surprised the hedgehog, and he leaped back down to the diamond and over to Chuck.

"That wasn't a home run, was it?" Sonic asked in disappointment.

"I'm afraid it wasn't," he said. "You did catch the ball, but not before it flew outside the fences." He straightened his cap. "You did good out there, though, but if you want to catch a home run, you should do it while it's still above the diamond."

"All right, cool. Point taken," Sonic nodded before rushing back to his shortstop spot. He was still annoyed by that new development, though.

"If they're not playing by the rules, then why should we? This isn't even baseball anymore!" he said in frustration. Under his breath, he added. "Do we have to follow the original plot?"

He took that back, though. He was better than that. He was not one to cheat, even against Eggman in this situation. Teamwork always beat cheating no matter what.

Finally, after a lot of team effort and coordination, which took more than a few plays, Team Sonic managed to get a second and third out on Team Eggman, which sent the game into the second inning. Now Team Sonic had a chance to try and score again.

With extra effort, they were able to score a few points, but they were still trailing far behind Eggman.

When it was Amy's turn to bat once again, a smirk was on her face. It was time to have a little more fun with Eggman's robots.

When the ball was pitched, this time at a reasonably normal speed, Amy batted it straight into the pitcher's body, causing a bit of damage to the Ballios' chest plate. Once again, her team laughed.

"You know what? I think that was worth my going out of my way to come here," Knuckles commented as he fiddled with his cap.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Sonic replied. "And that's why you don't mess with her."

"In spite of everything Eggman told us, I don't think these robots are that durable," analyzed Tails.

"And it really shows," added Sonic.

While Chris enjoyed that performance, he was still feeling bad about having been struck out for the second time earlier that inning. He really wanted a chance to redeem himself.

Two plays later, Knuckles hit the ball's sweet spot, sending it far and high into the air. The Ballios fielders attempted to retrieve it using teamwork, and they nearly did so, but they missed, resulting in a home run.

"Up… over… and gone," Sonic said, watching the ball as it sailed over the fence.

"Way to go, Knuckles!" cheered Tails, jumping up and down and fist-pumping as the echidna ran the bases.

However, just a few points later, Eggman quickly redeemed himself. He set Team Sonic up, and made an epic triple play that sent the game to the bottom of the second inning.

Amy, Tanaka, and Chris, the former base holders who got outs, sighed in exasperation as they returned to their dugout. They all shared the same thought.

This game is impossible!


Elmer Johnson's houseThu September 16; 8:32 PM – Third-person POV

Having finished a late dinner with his wife, Elmer Johnson decided to chill. The owner of the Dolphins reclined on the couch and flipped on the TV. Now he could watch some well-earned Dr. Phil.

However, to his surprise, instead of Dr. Phil, he was watching live breaking news covered by Scarlet Garcia. She always broke in during programming to cover breaking stories.

But what shocked Elmer even more was that tonight, she was reporting from Diamond Stadium of all places!

"… directly involving Dr. 'Eggman' Robotnik and Sonic the Hedgehog, along with several other unidentified individuals," Scarlet was saying. "They are likely to be the other aliens that came to Earth along with Sonic. It is also believed that residents of the Thorndyke household are participating as well. We don't know how they entered the stadium, as it is closed to the public at this hour of night, or why they are playing, but there are rumors on Twitter that it appears to be linked to the pillar of light that was seen here about an hour and a half ago. We will bring you more details as they come."

Shocked as he was, as he sat there watching this unfold on the news in front of him… he felt convinced about something.

Even though he had been home for a few hours from overseeing the Dolphins' transition to the new stadium, Elmer was still wearing his work suit. He hadn't bothered to change into his house clothes yet, and it was a wonder his suit wasn't stained at dinner.

The first thing he thought to do was call Albert. He was usually at the stadium at this hour.

Elmer reached for his phone he had set down on the coffee table and speed-dialed Albert's number. Despite the feud, he still had his number on his phone in there, holding out on the thought that Albert might change his mind on the stadium.

A few rings later, the groundskeeper responded.

"Hello?"

"Albert, are you seeing this?"

"Oh, the game?" verified Albert. "Yeah, I'm at the stadium right now. And you might be interested to know that there's quite a crowd gathering outside the doors right now. It looks like they're eager to see the game in person."

"That's incredible…" Elmer breathed. "Okay, I know that this is probably going to break a few rules, but let them in free of charge. Tell them they can sit anywhere they want."

"Uh… Y-Yeah, okay, I'll do that."

"In the meantime, I'm coming over there now. Don't go anywhere."

As he hung up, his wife Linda walked in from the other room, and she was astonished to see what was on TV.

"I-Is that Sonic… and Eggman?" she asked. "How did they even get inside the stadium…?"

"I… I don't know, but Scarlet said it might have something to do with the beam of light that was there a while ago," Elmer answered, standing up. "I have no clue what started this game, though, but I want to find out as soon as possible."

"So are you leaving now?" Linda queried.

"Yeah," Elmer nodded. "I need to speak to Albert."

"About what?"

"It's about the move," he said. "I'm not sure, but I feel like might be having second thoughts."

Elmer hadn't planned on driving to the stadium that night, but he wanted to get to the bottom of everything in person, as well as make up with Albert. So he said goodbye to his wife, grabbed his car keys, and drove off to the stadium.


Diamond StadiumThu September 16; 8:36 PM – Third-person POV

Some time later, the game was now at the top of the fourth inning, both teams having scored many points. By this point, the score stood at 35-32 in Eggman's favor. As the official scoreboard was not being used, Chuck himself was keeping score.

"This is an exceptionally high-scoring game," he remarked. "At this rate, it's only going to take us three more runs to catch up to Eggman, but at this rate, we don't have a lot of time to do that."

"Only three runs?" repeated Amy. "Chuck, did you see what Eggman did with that triple play? He could like do another one of those, and then he's gonna ruin our chances of winning even more!"

Chuck was pacing the dugout. "I know," he nodded, "and that's why we need to keep our eyes peeled for trick moves at all times."

"Hey Grandpa, I think it's Mr. Tanaka's turn to bat," Chris said.

"It is…" he thought, "but hold on, I just thought of something. Call me crazy, but I think I'm gonna throw a curveball in Eggman's plans… pun intended."

Chris chucked before he asked, "What are you thinking of doing?"

Chuck looked up, grinning. "I'm going to put Cheese in as a pinch hitter for Tanaka."

Tanaka was surprised, and so were some of the others except for Sonic and Knuckles. There were even a few gasps from the others.

"Chao chao!" the excited Chao squealed as he flitted about the dugout in delight. Cream, however, wasn't as enthusiastic.

"But Grandpa, is that really a good idea?" she asked. "I don't want him to get hurt!"

"He won't," Sonic voiced his confidence. "He's pretty small compared to the Ballios."

Cream looked from Sonic to Chuck, still feeling worried.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Chuck said.

"Okay…" whimpered Cream before she looked down at Cheese and patted him on the head.

"Good luck, Cheese," she wished.

"Chao," Cheese said quietly, smiling at Cream.

Chuck supplied a bat to the Chao, and he flew out to his base and landed on the plate.

The Ballios pitcher appeared flustered. It scanned Cheese and analyzed a tiny strike zone. This was not optimal for victory. Yet the Ballios was determined to strike Cheese out anyway.

Eggman was not pleased to see this delay.

"How hard can this possibly be?!" he fumed. "Just strike him out already!"

However, the Ballios was unable to strike out Cheese, because on the fourth pitch, the ball sailed over the Chao's head, just like the other three times. He didn't flinch as the ball passed a few feet above him. Four balls, all on account of Cheese' height.

"Ball four. That's a walk," declared Decoe with some disappointment.

Cheese happily flew to first base, and most of Team Sonic were surprised at what happened, except Sonic and Chuck.

"He actually… I didn't expect that to happen," Chris said in amazement.

"Neither did I," Cream echoed.

"That was really smart, Chuck!" Sonic flashed the professor a thumbs-up. "And that's why you're the baseball professor!"

Chuck grinned. "It was kind of risky, but I'm glad it paid off in the end."

He then turned to Cream. "Okay, you're next."

Cream looked a bit nervous at this, but she stepped outside the dugout anyway. Chuck followed her, and offered to show her how to properly hold the bat. It took a little practice, and he could sense Eggman glaring impatient daggers at them, but at last Cream was holding the bat right.

"All set?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Thorndyke," she answered. "But I don't want the ball to hit me."

"It's gonna be okay," Chuck comforted. "The pitcher is aiming for the catcher, not you. All you have to do is hit the ball and run as fast as you can to first base."

"Is it okay if I can fly there too?" Cream asked.

"Wait, so it's true you can fly?" Chuck wondered in amazement. "What Sonic says is actually true?"

"Mhmm!" Cream answered with an enthusiastic nod and cute smile.

"Well, in that case… Since Eggman's been pulling every trick in the book on us this game, I don't see any problem with you flying." He motioned to the home plate. "Take care out there, and remember to keep your eyes on the ball."

"Okay, Mr. Thorndyke!" Cream called behind her as she ran to her spot at bat.

The small bunny had to admit, she was nervous. The Ballios was so big, and the ball flew so fast… But then she smiled as she started to get an idea!

"Mr. Pitcher~?" she sweetly called. "Um… Is it okay if you can please, um… go easy on me this time? I never played baseball before and I don't want to get hurt."

Apparently turning on the charm worked, and even Cream was surprised at this. The Ballios did not know how to respond. Even Cream's teammates looked at each other in thorough confusion.

But Cream was not done.

"If you let me go to first base, I promise I'll make you a flower crown~!"

Everyone could swear the robot was blushing furiously as it dropped the ball on the spot. Seizing her opportunity, Cream sprinted toward first base as Cheese flew toward second. By the time the pitcher recovered from the cuteness overload, Cream was already standing on first base.

"How was that even possible?!" Eggman fumed as he threw his baseball cap down onto the floor. "My robots are not programmed with emotional circuitry! And now she just got a walk because of you! Can't you do anything right?!"

Even though she was nervous, Cream giggled at the doctor's misfortune. She was sure there was more where that came from.

"Well, that was… interesting…" Chuck commented.

"You know, Cream is so sweet and nice than no one can refuse a request from her," Amy said, smiling at her friend on first base. "Not even Eggman's robots, apparently." She giggled.

"She's definitely full of surprises," Knuckles commented.

"You're next, Knuckles," Chuck told the echidna, who eagerly picked up his bat.

"Time for another home run!" he said as he ran out of the dugout toward the base.

Sonic shrugged. "And here I thought I was the cocky one…"

True to his word, Knuckles scored a home run during the next play after one strike, and an epic one at that. He, Cream, and Cheese rounded the bases, increasing the score by three and tying the score at 35.

"Wooo! Now we're tied!" Amy exclaimed, jumping up and down! "Only one more and then we'll be in the lead!"

"Listen," Tanaka said, and the dugout became hushed. They began to hear the sound of people cheering as the players were rounding the bases.

"Wait, is that- Are those spectators?" Chuck asked. "But I thought the stadium was closed to the public!"

"I think it's possible they saw the beacon too," speculated Tails.

"I mean, who didn't?" Amy shrugged.

"But now I'm wondering, who let them in?" Chris asked.

Chuck paused. "I'm not sure," he said.

"I do remember the door was unlocked when I got here," Tails recalled.

Eggman, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

"So now we have witnesses to our little sporty skirmish," he mused to himself. "Well, now then can watch me win against Sonic!"

A few more plays later, Sonic batted the ball. Even though he couldn't run to third base before anyone could hear the crack of the bat, as he joked about earlier, he was still able to make it to second right as the Ballios pitcher was calling to receive the ball.

"You were always a showoff," Eggman muttered. "Not surprising in the least. But no matter. If my 300-IQ memory serves me well, Christopher is next to bat, so this next play will be a breeze. In fact, he has yet to even hit a ball."

"Okay, Chris, you're next," Chuck told Chris inside the dugout. The boy picked up his bat and prepared to head out, but he had second thoughts, and he stopped. He knew by experience that he couldn't do it.

"You can do it, Chris," encouraged Tails from his spot near where Chris was.

"I hope I can…" Chris said.

"I know you can, Chris," Amy added. "Just keep your eyes on the ball! You got this!"

"Good luck, Chris," Chuck said as Chris walked out of the dugout and toward the home plate.

Even with his friends' encouraging words, he didn't feel very confident. He was worried, even scared! What if he failed his team yet again? So far this whole game, he had yet to prove himself useful to his team in some way.

Once again, the pitcher threw a fastball, which seemed to be Eggman's favorite way to strike him out and Eggman knew it. Once again, it was a swing and a miss.

Just like I thought, I couldn't do it, Chris thought as Decoe called a strike. There's no way I can ever hit a ball that fast! I can't do it! What if I strike out again? What if I end up letting the whole team down? We could all lose, just because of me! I haven't even hit a single ball this game!

Chris decided to try again, though. The Ballios pitched the ball, and Chris swung his bat. Once again, he was far too late. He sighed.

Is it even worth trying anymore? He thought.

"Time out! Time out!" called Sonic from his spot at second base, putting his hands in a T-formation, before running over to Chris' side.

"You look like you're having problems," he observed.

"Yeah…" Chris said. He didn't really feel like talking much.

"Hey, I know you're struggling, Chris," the hedgehog continued, "but trust me, you can do it. I know you can."

"I know, I tried, but he's pitching so fast!" Anxiety grew in Chris' voice. "I-I… I don't want all of us to lose because of me!"

"Hey, hey," Sonic said in a calming voice. "It's okay. Just take a few deep breaths. I know Eggman's giving you a hard time right now, but I think you should try not to think too hard or too long about hitting the ball. All you need to do is just relax… and act. Think with your hands and feet, if you know what I mean. And this isn't just for baseball. This goes for everything in life. You get what I'm saying?"

Chris nodded. He believed he was beginning to understand.

"So just keep trying and don't give up, okay?"

Again, Chris nodded.

"Just give it your all, Chris," Sonic finished. "And good luck out there!" With that, he ran back to his base.

As play resumed, Chris took a deep breath. Sonic's words really resonated with him, and they seemed to help him get the confidence he needed.

Trust me, you can do it.

Time seemed to slow down for the twelve-year-old as the Ballios pitcher raised its arm to throw the ball…

Just keep trying and don't give up, okay?

The ball flew from the pitcher's grasp…

All you need to do is just relax… and act.

…and sped its way toward Chris…

Think with your hands and feet...

Chris steeled himself, ready to swing the bat.

So just keep trying and don't give up, okay?

He swung the bat with all his might, but this time, something felt different. It was either the pep talk Sonic gave him, or the fact that Decoe didn't call the third strike.

Then he heard it:

"Run, Chris! Run!"

It was all of Chris' friends calling to him to run for first base. Without hesitation, he dropped the bat and began running for all he was worth. A quick glance behind him told him he did hit the ball after all, even if it wasn't very far, and that the catcher was running after it. He was mildly surprised that it wasn't a foul ball.

Sonic quickly made it to the home plate without any trouble. Meanwhile, Chris was approaching first base and he practically dove toward it. He touched the plate a split second before the first baseman caught the ball. That was too close. He felt a few scrapes on his hands, stomach, and knees from making that daring slide, but they were worth it.

He breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, dusting the dirt off of his jersey. He saw Sonic standing just outside the dugout. The hedgehog smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as his other friends cheered for him, even jumping up and down in excitement!

Chris beamed in return. Not only had he redeemed himself, but he helped his team to finally surpass Eggman's score.

The score stood at 36 to 35 - one point too many for Dr. Eggman. He rose to his feet.

"You've managed to turn the tables on me," he mused, trying hard to suppress his anger. "I can't allow that."

He picked up a walkie-talkie and pressed the button to address his robot players.

"Activate Play #81," he ordered.

Several mechanical sounds came from the Ballios pitcher, as if several configurements were being made from within. Then came the sound of a rocket thruster, and its head detached and lifted off its body before flying over to Sonic. Before the hedgehog could react, it latched onto its head, fastening itself securely with four claw-like objects.

"Love the massage," he dryly commented, even though it still hurt a bit. "A little more to the right?"

Sonic caught sight of Amy leaping out of the dugout, hammer drawn, and racing toward him.

"Don't move," she instructed. "I'll get that thing off-"

"Don't touch me!" Sonic suddenly said, holding up his hand to stop Amy.

"But-"

"I think Eggman's trying to get us to forfeit, let our guard down while he gets away with the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said quickly. "And I don't know if this thing's gonna explode, but I gotta deal with this myself! Stand back!"

With that, Sonic began to run frantically around the stadium, trying to shake the Ballios' head loose. It proved to be very persistent. Even pulling on it with his hands didn't work.

It wasn't that Sonic didn't want Amy's help. Sure, she could easily destroy the robot, but the hammer would also hit his head and cause even more harm than good.

"You can't expect to do everything yourself!" Knuckles shouted as he too ran from the dugout toward Sonic. "Weren't you the one who started the whole 'super power of teamwork' thing to begin with?"

"Yeah!" Sonic shouted back. "You got a plan?"

"I want you to jump as high as you can!" ordered Knuckles. "I'm gonna knock that thing off of you!"

Sonic shuddered. He knew very well of the echidna's brute strength. He would have to try not to flinch as Knuckles' fist would fly right past his face. One false swing and it would spell an explosive end to Sonic, assuming that was what Eggman was attempting.

At the same time, he had worse scrapes than this, and this wasn't something he hadn't been in before.

Steeling himself, he leaped high into the air, high enough so that the explosion he assumed would happen wouldn't do too much damage. Knuckles followed suit and aimed his body toward Sonic so they were flying feet from each other. He grabbed the Ballios' head and yanked it off of Sonic's own head, causing Sonic to flinch a little, before throwing it even higher into the air. Both heroes landed on the ground just as the head exploded, raining shards of metal harmlessly everywhere.

As the crowd cheered for their heroic antics, Sonic ran straight over to Eggman's dugout and smugly leaned against the railing.

"Y'know, Eggman, I figured you would have some kind of trick up your sleeve tonight," he said. "And I knew there was more to your robots than baseball. So does that mean you give up? You're gonna quit on us when it's just getting' good?"

Eggman was just about to say no when Sonic cut him off, holding up a finger.

"You sure there isn't a chicken inside that egg-shaped body of yours I don't know about?" he sassed.

Eggman yelled in exasperation, causing Sonic to chuckle. Any day the egg cracked was a good day.

"As you may very well know, this ball game was staged all along!" the doctor revealed as he walked out of the dugout. "It was just a way for me to rub my victory in your puny faces. I've known about the cyan Chaos Emerald that was here since a few days ago, and guess who now has it in their possession? Yours truly."

He called Decoe over, and they climbed into the Eggmobile that was parked nearby. But before he left, he turned to look at Team Sonic's dugout… and Chris.

"I may not have the green Emerald that you stole, Christopher, but you may consider our grudge lifted… for now."

As he lifted into the sky, he bragged "Dr. Eggman never quits!" The doctor was soon out of sight, and so was the second Chaos Emerald.

Chris seemed somewhat relieved that his grudge was finally over, but he still felt scared that the doctor was still singling him out after this whole time, and he was worried that his grudge could flare up at any time.

The crowd was still cheering, even while the same Egg Dropship from before abducted the Ballios with its tractor beam and left.

As the Mobians and Thorndykes filed out of the dugout, they saw Albert Butler walking across the diamond toward them. Amazement described the look on his face after all he had witnessed tonight.

"That was… that was absolutely phenomenal," he said. "I think tonight was definitely the highlight of my thirty-two years here." He paused. "I guess I was at the right place at the right time, huh?"

Albert quickly located Tails and walked over to him.

"And Tails… I'm sorry again for losing the Chaos Emerald," he spoke with remorse. "I understand now just how much it means to you."

"It's okay, really," Tails said in a tone optimistic enough to take the older man aback. "As soon as we go back home, we're gonna come up with a plan to get it back from Dr. Eggman. He's not gonna have it for long."

Just then the group became aware that the crowd was growing quiet. Everyone wondered why, until all eyes fell on the source: a new arrival.

Elmer Johnson.

The owner of the Dolphins was approaching them. Chuck wondered how Albert and Elmer would interact, seeing as they were both in a feud.

"Hey, Elmer," Albert greeted politely.

"Hey, Al," Elmer returned the greeting. "Are you aware that this game was on the news?"

"Wait, seriously?" Albert asked in shock.

"I'm not kidding," Elmer replied. "I was watching it at home on the news. I must say, I was shocked, but more than that, I was impressed. That was a very remarkable and… wonderfully-spirited game."

He glanced up at the scoreboard. "So, uh, how did you all keep score?"

"I did," Chuck spoke. "And I imagine Eggman did too somehow."

"He was," confirmed Sonic who had just rejoined. "I caught a homer and happened to notice a few of his robots keeping score."

Elmer nodded. "So what's been bugging me was, what all happened to start this game to begin with?"

"Um, w-well…" Tails started, feeling shy. "I found a Chaos Emerald here, and Eggman came and told me he found it first, and, um… he challenged us to a game," explained Tails. "Sadly… he got away with the Emerald before you came here."

"I'm sorry to hear that, and I hope you'll get it back," Elmer responded. "But I want to tell you that thanks to the game you guys played here, this stadium will continue to live in the hearts of Dolphins fans everywhere, and not only will they remember the 62 years that the Dolphins have been playing here, but they will remember your game tonight."

"Wait, so…" Albert faltered for words. "Does this mean you're changing your mind on the new stadium?"

"Oh no, I'm still moving it; we can't… we can't afford the upkeep here anymore," he said.

Everyone could feel the disappointment radiating from Albert.

"However…"

Albert became more alert.

"I decided I'm going to change my mind about the turf."

Tails also looked up, hope rising in his heart too.

"I know how much you love Diamond Stadium's turf. You've spent so much of your precious time tending to it, making it look the best it can. So I'm thinking of moving the turf to the new stadium, and… I would like to personally invite you to be the new stadium's groundskeeper as well."

"Yaaaay!" cheered Tails as he fist-pumped and jumped up and down, his tails waving in pure joy! He was so happy for his friend!

Words could not describe Albert's joy either.

"Elmer… I don't know what to say… Thank you…"

Elmer couldn't help but smile in return.

As Albert went on to tell Elmer how much Tails loved the turf too, Chuck turned back to the others, leaving the two men to talk. At this point, much of the crowd were filing out the doors now that the excitement was over.

"Well guys, this has been quite an interesting night," Chuck said. "And even though we lost one of the Chaos Emeralds, we still won the game."

Excitement rose in his voice once again. "And I still can't believe we actually got to play a real baseball game here at Diamond Stadium! And I got to be coach!"

"Yeah, that was actually kinda fun," Knuckles admitted.

"Did you hear, Sonic?" Tails squealed in joy. "They're actually gonna move the turf!"

Sonic grinned. "Good to know things worked out in the end! And hey…" He turned to Chris. "You did really good tonight, Chris."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, would I lie to a friend?"

Chris beamed. "I can't believe I actually hit the ball!"

"I knew you would, buddy! All you gotta do is believe in yourself, and you're gonna find that anything is possible," Sonic said.

Cream yawned as the day's events caught up to her. Amy took her hand.

"We're gonna sleep good tonight, Cream," she said. "This was a really busy night for us all."

Cream nodded, and so did Cheese. Sonic turned to look at the night sky.

"Well, we may have won this game 36 to 35," he stated, "but in the big scheme of things, the score is tied at one. We got five more Emeralds left to find."

He turned to look at his friends, both old and new. "Together, we're gonna track down those Emeralds, defeat Eggman, and finally get to go home. We can only win with the power of teamwork. And together, we're all a team."


A/N: And that concludes "Unfair Ball"! This was a slightly intimidating episode to rewrite, especially since I'm not a baseball fan like Grandpa Chuck. But things got smoother as I went on, which is always a good sign.

Also, hopefully my writing quality did not drop mid-chapter; I have a bad habit of not really starting the chapter until about two weeks pass, then I don't make a ton of progress until about four weeks out.

Our major changes this chapter:

- I didn't have Bocoe appear during the majority of the chapter, since he didn't play much of a role at all this chapter. Though, now that I think about it, he could have been Eggman's scorekeeper.
- I added consequences to the scene where Bokkun was throwing baseballs. There is no way that anyone got out of that unhurt, and nothing was damaged. Also, I added more fallout due to Bokkun's home invasion to begin with.
- I greatly extended the quality time between Tails and Albert at the beginning of the chapter, as I felt like it could be longer.
- I added a brand-new scene with Elmer at his home, as I wanted to have his initial reaction to the game.
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I also greatly extended Eggman's scene at the beginning of this chapter.
- Also, now there are more baseball plays, even if it's not too many.

And that about does it for this chapter! If you see anyone who is OOC or any continuity errors, let me know right away. Only with your help can this be the best Sonic X rewrite there is.

Next up is "Fly Spy", and I must tell you, it's going to be a monster. The draft, which is normally 6k-7k words, is over 10k words, even more than "Satellite Swindle". The final chapter could be over 25k words in the end.

Next time is "Fly Spy", where GUN infiltrates Eggman's base with the help of a new extraterrestrial recruit! Don't miss it!