Chapter 36 — Chaos vs Precision
Noah stepped into the batter's box like a man walking into a battlefield.
Feet too far apart.
Elbows crooked.
Bat angled wrong.
Eyes locked onto the pitcher like Hunter owed him money.
Tyler whispered from the dugout,
"Oh no… it's happening."
Emma nodded grimly.
"Noah Mode."
Blake muttered,
"Chaos energy at 100%."
Zach could feel it through Shared Focus—
Ping.
"Noah Emotions:
• Excited
• Chaotic
• Unpredictable
• Hungry (for nachos?)"
Zach sighed.
Yup.
This was exactly how Noah always felt.
Hunter's Anxiety Spike
Hunter Knox stared at Noah with real confusion.
He had charted Zach.
Analyzed Blake.
Studied Emma.
But Noah?
There was…
no pattern.
No consistency.
No logic.
No plan.
Just raw, uncooked chaos.
Zach even felt it on the opposing link:
Hunter's emotional spike:
"??? confusion ???"
Pitch 1 — Immediate Disaster
Hunter fired a fastball.
Noah…
swung too early.
Like WAY too early.
Like before the ball even left Hunter's hand.
The entire stadium blinked.
Tyler whispered,
"That… was impressive. In a scary way."
The umpire shook his head slowly.
"STRIKE."
Noah nodded confidently.
"As planned."
Emma nearly choked.
"That wasn't planned."
Blake muttered,
"Nothing he does is planned."
Zach felt Noah's emotions:
"Yes. Chaos. This is good."
Zach:
"…Oh no."
Pitch 2 — Chaos Sparks
Hunter pitched again.
Fast.
Accurate.
Noah didn't swing at all.
The ball zipped in.
"STRIKE TWO!"
The crowd murmured.
Hunter smirked.
Easy out.
Except—
Zach saw Noah roll the bat in his hands.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
And the system pinged hard.
PING.
"Warning: Noah entering Improvised State."
"Danger Level: ???"
Zach's eyes widened.
"When Noah improvises," he whispered,
"something insane happens."
Blake nodded seriously.
"I've seen him hit a ball behind his own head before."
Tyler screamed proudly,
"MY BOY IS A NATURAL WEAPON!!"
Pitch 3 — The Impossible Happens
Hunter wanted the strikeout.
He wound up—
coiled—
and threw his hardest pitch yet.
A fastball at the letters.
Perfect.
Noah—
closed his eyes.
Tyler screamed.
Emma gasped.
Coach Ramirez whispered, "Please no."
And then—
CRACK!!!
The ball shot down the third-base line.
FAIR.
The entire stadium erupted into chaos.
Zach sprinted home from third.
Blake tore into second.
Emma sprinted into third.
Noah flew toward first like a missile made of limbs and bad decisions.
Tyler was on the fence screaming,
"HE HIT IT WITH HIS EYES CLOSED!! NOAH IS A PROPHET!! A BEAST!! A LEGEND!!"
Zach slid into home—
SAFE!!!
A RUN.
THE DODGERS SCORE FIRST.
The stadium BOOMED.
Parents screamed.
Kids jumped.
Reporters scrambled for notes.
The Dodgers dugout EXPLODED.
Blake stomped on second yelling, "LET'S GO!!"
Emma fist-pumped at third.
Noah celebrated by doing a cartwheel and falling over.
The system roared:
PINGPINGPING!!!
"RUN SCORED."
"Team Momentum: SURGING."
"Shared Focus Resonance: MAXIMUM."
All stats temporarily boosted."
Hunter's Reaction
Hunter Knox stood frozen on the mound.
No expression.
No anger.
Just shock.
He whispered:
"…He closed his eyes."
The Hawks shortstop called out:
"Dude… how do we defend that?"
The catcher muttered,
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING."
Mason Hayes stepped out of the dugout…
and stared at Noah.
Noah, who was currently trying to high-five the umpire.
Mason blinked slowly.
"…What is he?"
Zach answered from home plate.
"Our teammate."
Mason stared.
Zach stared back.
Mason exhaled.
"Okay.
This just got interesting."
Dodgers Momentum Skyrockets
As Zach jogged back toward the dugout, Tyler launched himself into him like an excited cat.
"ZACH DID YOU SEE IT?! DID YOU SEE THE CHAOS?! HE TRANSCENDED BASEBALL!!"
Zach laughed,
"I saw it."
Blake jogged past Zach, fist bumping him.
"Good run."
Emma nodded from third.
"That was perfectly timed."
Noah shouted from first,
"I DID A THING!!"
Yes.
He definitely did a thing.
Next Up At Bat… Bryan.
The crowd calmed.
The Dodgers cheering settled.
Blake looked to first.
Emma looked to third.
Noah was vibrating with energy.
And Bryan—
their quietest player—
stepped nervously toward the batter's box.
Zach felt his emotions immediately:
"Fear • Pressure • Doubt • Hope."
Zach's eyes softened.
"Come on Bryan…" he whispered.
Tyler yelled,
"BRYAN!! WE BELIEVE IN YOU EVEN IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOU!!"
Bryan nearly dropped his bat.
Emma whispered to Zach,
"This could be big."
Zach nodded.
"Yeah."
Bryan took a shaky breath.
Stepped into the batter's box.
And for the first time—
his eyes held something new:
Determination.
The inning wasn't over.
The Dodgers weren't done.
And neither was the game.