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Season 23, Day 117. The Exhibition Match was over. The Supernova shone brightly in the sky as the Vault players were taken away back to the Vault.
The Rising Stars looked at one another in shock. They could barely process what had just happened.
Agan was sitting on the ground next to the pitchers mound. They looked up to see Abbott Wright walking over to them. She waved at them, smiling.
“Hey Agan…” Abbott greeted, sitting down next to them. “That game couldn’t have been easy on you. I know you knew Clare back then…”
Agan flinched at the mention of that name. They sighed, looking down at their hand, at the ring on their finger. It was true; Clare did mean a lot to them back then. They hated seeing Clare on the opposite team.
“It’s fine, Abbott. I appreciate the concern though,” Agan replied. He looked over at her, smiling. “I just can’t wait to get back to the Hall at this point. This game took a lot out of me.”
“Same here,” another voice interjected. Agan turned around to see Jada Frederick standing behind them. “The Whales are going to be very interested in hearing about this match, ha!”
Abbott laughed as Agan stood up, looking around the stadium. Everyone was heading towards a… portal? A doorway had appeared at the home plate, and the remaining Rising Stars were heading through it.
“Well, time to go,” Jada stated, gesturing to the door. She turned to Abbott and held out her hand. She extended her other hand to Agan as well. “Let’s all go together.”
Agan nodded, grabbing her hand. The trio walked across the field and into the unknown together. Whatever happened next, they would face it head-on.
Agan Espinoza left the Vault
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Things were busier than usual in The Apartment. The Mills were all gathered around, watching the Exhibition Match finish up on the television.
Thomas Dracena stood up and shut the TV off. There was tension in the air; he could feel it. He faced the rest of the team.
“Look, I can sense that you guys are worried about the upcoming season,” he stated. “But we’ll address it when we get there. There’s no use in worrying about it right now.”
“Yea, you’re right,” Andrew Solis replied, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “Can’t blame us for worrying though.” Conrad Vaughn nodded in agreement.
A phone suddenly went off. Patty Fox grabbed her phone from her pocket and pulled it out. “Sorry, always forget to silence it.” She began reading the screen intently. “Oh, it’s a text from Beck.”
“Already? That was fast,” Theodore Cervantes noted, walking over to the kitchen. It grabbed a coffee mug and went over to the coffee maker. “Is she on her way back from the Match?”
“Yep,” Patty replied. “She had to pick up something from Battin’ Island first before she comes back here.” Suddenly, there was frantic knocking at the door. Patty jumped in surprise. “That can’t be Beck. She’s still down at the stadium.”
The knocking continued. Drac sighed and made his way over to the door. The Mills all stared at the door as Drac slowly opened it.
A person was standing on the other side in a Rising Stars uniform. Their black hair was disheveled, eyes wide. They ran their fingers through their hair, revealing the red highlights.
“C-can you guys help me?” they asked nervously, looking around the room. “I-I don’t entirely understand how I ended up here…”
“Hey hey, it’s okay,” Drac replied as a bunch of other Mills quickly approached the door. The person stumbled inside, Drac helping them over to a chair. “What’s going on?”
Patty approached the stranger. “Wait, I recognize them,” she stated. She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of the stranger’s jersey. They didn’t react. “You’re…. Agan Espinoza. But, how can you be here? Shouldn’t you be back in the Hall?”
“That’s what I was expecting too,” Agan replied, taking deep breaths. “But after the Match, when I left, I ended up here, wherever here is.”
Drac put his hand on Agan’s shoulder to comfort them. “Well, you’re in New York City. And we’re the Millenials. We can help you guys.”
Suddenly, Cerv spits out its coffee. It was looking intently at its computer. “I think I know why you’re here,” it stated. “The Splorts websites I follow are lighting up right now. All the Rising Stars are rejoining their team, but those who were once dead are also joining teams. Sutton Picklestein, Gerund Pantheocide, the other dead Pre-History players… Agan included.”
“You’re kidding,” Andrew scoffed, running over to the counter to see the laptop. “They never let players out of the Hall. What’s changed?” No one could answer them.
Suddenly, Agan froze. She looked up and stared at the players in the room. “Wait… D-did you guys say you were the Millenials? Like, the New York Millenials? The same team from back then?”
“Yep, that’s us!” Schneider Bendie said, smiling at Agan. “At least, that’s what I assume. Our team name doesn’t seem like the kind of name you’d have for two teams.”
“And yet there were two Baltimore Crabs,” Greer Gwiffin replied. “Then again, our name is kind of unique.” he laughed as he thought about it more.
Agan was silent, staring down at their hands. That’s when Drac saw it. Agan was holding something in their hands: A ring. Agan smiled, tears rolling down their face.
“You’re still with me after all this time, aren’t you, Clare?”
The Millenials added a player to their roster.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Millenials were a significant help in getting Agan settled into the ILB, and they were ready to start playing in Season 24.
Day 3. The game had just wrapped up, with the Mills wiping the floor with the Fridays. The players were moving off the field, but Agan was taking longer than usual. Conrad jogged over to help them back to the dugout.
“Yea, we probably should’ve told you ahead of time about Consumers,” Conrad told Agan as they reached the dugout. Sandie Carver ran up to join them, holding rolls of bandages. Conrad helped Agan sit down onto one of the benches.
“Don’t worry about it,” Agan replied, wincing as Carver applied the bandages. “There’s still a lot I’m learning, don’t feel too bad about it.”
Carver looked over at Agan. “If you don’t mind me asking, can you tell us a bit about The Artists? We’ve always been curious about them.” Conrad’s eyes went wide at the question, but Agan seemed unphased. She looked up at Carver and smiled.
“I’d love to talk about them!” She told them. “We all had our own unique artistic talents, it’s why we were called the Artists. I did a lot of painting, and my friend Pemmy did stuff with plants and landscaping. It was always fun to see what everyone could do.” She laughed as she remembered the memories. “Man, do I miss them…”
Carver and Conrad shared a sympathetic glance as Agan stared off into space, fidgeting with their phone. After a few moments, Carver finished wrapping Agan’s arm in bandages.
“Lets get you back to the Apartment. You’ll need some rest after that attack.”
Day 6. Agan sat down at the home plate, staring out into The Big Garage. They barely acknowledged Andrew as he walked up to join them.
“I’m guess that’s the first incineration you’ve seen in a while?” Andrew asked cautiously. Agan sighed and nodded, gesturing for Andrew to sit down next to them.
“It was hard, y’know?” Agan admitted. “My instinct was to go dive in and protect them, but it doesn’t work like that. I can’t protect other teams, and that really sucks when stuff like this happens…” They stare at the second baseline, where only hours before Tot Clark had been standing.
Andrew sighed, putting his hand on Agan’s shoulder. “You’re not alone in these feelings. It always hurts to see incinerations, especially when you’re powerless to stop them. I’ve definitely felt similar before…”
Agan looks over at Andrew. “Oh right, you’re a Fire Eater,” they stated, eyes going wide in realization. Andrew solemnly nodded. “That’s a hard burden. Knowing you can take an incineration, but others cant…”
“Yea it’s not particularly ideal, but I’ve learned to live with it,” Andrew replied, fidgeting with their jersey. “It’s both a blessing and a curse. Something we have to live and deal with. Nothing we can do to change it now.”
“Truer words have never been said.”
Day 11. Many thoughts were looming over the Mills, as they were playing the team that replaced the Breath Mints. But play must continue, so they play on.
Top of the 2nd. Tybal Dotcom of the Oxford Paws is up to bat. Agan stands at third base, preparing for the next pitch. That’s when they see it: a consumer headed right for Evelton “Eve” McBlase II on the pitchers mound.
“WATCH OUT!” Agan called, dropping their glove and heading right for the mound. They shoved Eve out of the way as the Consumer leap into the air. It came down and hit Agan, who staggered back.
Eve ran back over to Agan and helped them back up. “You didn’t have to do that,” she told them, helping them back over to the third base. Mullen Peterson jogged up to join them, holding some bandages.
Agan took the items from Mullen, nodding in thanks. “It’s an old force of habit,” they admitted, looking over at Eve. “It’s hard to see bad things happen to others.”
“Just… try not to do it again,” Mullen added, patting Agan on the back. “You can’t take too many more of those.”
“Yea yea, don’t worry,” Agan replied, shooing Mullen and Eve away. “Lets just get back to the game. They won’t like this interruptions for too long.” Mullen and Eve exchanged a glance but went back to their positions anyways.
Bottom of the 8th. Agan hit a ground out to Umi Furnace. They sighed, handing their bat over to Nandy Fantastic, who stepped up to the plate next. Agan stayed outside the dugout to watch Nandy play.
Ball. 1-0
Strike, looking. 1-1
Ball. 2-1
Suddenly, this feeling of dread came over Agan. They looked around the field frantically before spotting it. Two Consumers, heading right for them. Agan took a deep breath and steeled themselves. They could handle it.
They could hear yelling behind him. They turned their head to see Drac and Patty moving around the dugout, trying to get out and reach them in time.
Mullen was the loudest of them all. “AGAN, STAY SAFE. AND IF YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR WAY BACK, GO TO CHICAGO! AGAN PLEASE, DON’T GO!”
The Consumers were almost there. Agan looked back at their team, the Millenials, and smiled at them. “I’m sorry…”
In a blink of an eye, the Consumers overtook Agan. When the Consumers left, Agan was gone. Patty ran up to where Agan was standing and sank to her knees, crying. Drac clutched their jacket, tears streaming down his face.
The Mills couldn’t bounce back. It was a somber ride back to the Apartment. No one spoke as they returned. Cerv immediately went down to Agan’s room and was surprised to see a wrapped package out from.
Cerv picked it up and brought it back to the Mills. There was a note applied to the front:
If someone bad were to ever happen to me, and knowing my luck, something probably will, I’ve made this for all of you. You guys helped me at one of my lowest points, and you mean a lot to me, being one of my last connections to Clare. Thank you so much for being my friend.
- Agan
Cerv carefully unwrapped it and laid it out on a table for everyone to see. It was a painting of all the Mills inside Battin’ Island, standing around home plate.
Drac glanced down at the painting, smiling with tears. “We won’t forget you, Agan. Wherever you may go, please be safe.”
CONSUMERS ATTACK AGAN ESPINOZA
______________________________________________________________________________
Darkness, darkness as far as the eye can see. There’s a steady dripping of water somewhere in the distance, the only noise in this endless expanse of a room. The air is thick and dense.
It took them much longer than they wanted, but eventually, Liquid Friend makes their way into the darkness of the Secret Base. It was so familiar yet so foreign to them. They steeled their resolve and started walking through the Darkness.
“Agan?” Liquid calls out, channeling the gold in their body to generate a small amount of light. It’s barely there, but it’s something to fight back the darkness. “Are you out there?”
Silence. All that answers is silence.
Liquid begins frantically searching around. Searching, Observing. Trying to find something, trying to uncover something .
“AGAN? WHERE ARE YOU?” Liquid yells, getting more desperate. They pick up their pace, trying to investigate the Darkness faster. Cmon, cmon, they gotta be here somewhere….
After a few minutes, they eventually find what they were looking for: a body. They find it in a way they didn’t want to: lying still.
“A-agan?” They say hesitantly, bending down to view the body better. They recognize the pink jersey of the Millenials. It’s slightly covered in blood. That’s when they see it: the glowing green tattoos. It’s Agan. Liquid gently places a hand on them. “A-are you okay?”
Agan struggles for a moment, blinking rapidly. She was overwhelmed with pain. She fully opens her eyes and looks over, seeing the slight glow of Liquid.
“Oh, h-h-hey the-ere…” Agan weakly responds, giving Liquid a slight smile. “I-it’s so go-od to see y-you…”
Liquid quickly cradles him. Agan’s body has been through hell, even Liquid can tell. “Agan… y-you’re… you’re okay..” Liquid struggles to hold back some tears. They’re so relieved to see him. “You’re going to be okay. I’m right here. I came to find you! You’re my friend and I… didn’t want you to be alone. You’re okay…”
Agan struggles to focus her vision. Everything hurts. It hurts bad. “How d-d-did you e-end up here?... W-where is h-h-here?”
“I got lost here once too, during my Investivation,” Liquid replied. “I also ended up here. You’re… Redacted.” Liquid gently moves Agan around, trying to get a better look at their wounds. “But you’ll be okay… I got out once, and so will you… I just didn’t want you to be alone…”
Agan struggles a bit, but he slowly starts looking down at the rest of their body. It’s covered in large shark bites. It hurts. They lay back down, staring at the ceiling, or at least what she thinks is the ceiling.
“This s-sucks… I-it hurts…. s-so bad..” Agan cuts off as tears start forming in her eyes, as she starts to remember the events of what happened. “But, my team… The M-Mills… they a-arent?...” He can’t bring himself to finish the question.
“The Mills….” Liquid stares down at Agan, horrified at how she’s so concerned for others over herself. “They’re okay right now. They’ll be okay for now. I’m more concerned about you, ags…” Liquid takes off their jacket and begins ripping off parts of their sleeves. They slowly begin to wrap up some of Agan’s wounds. “Shhh, I’ve got you…”
Agan slowly moves his arm to cover part of her face. She’s crying. “A-all I want-ted w-was to prot-tect another t-team… I-I started to c-care about t-them… a-and now…” Agan begins breathing heavily, panicking. “I-I let them down…”
Liquid stops the wound-care for a moment and sighs. They take Agan’s hand. “Stop it... Uou don’t have to sacrifice yourself at every moment ags... You’re not letting anyone down. It’s not about that…”
“I-it just s-sucks, y’know?” Agan continued. “I f-finally got close with a t-team again. A-and now I’m here…” Agan turns his head to look at Liquid. There’s fear and sadness in her eyes. “I just… I c-cant lose another t-team again…”
Liquid smiles with as much compassion as they can muster as both of them sit in the void. “You.... can’t save the league agan..... No one can. Please don’t put their fate on you, you’ll never forgive yourself. I know it hurts watching them go but.... it’s not on you.”
“W-will I at least b-be able to get back t-to them?” Agan asked, glancing around the void frantically. “I-I don’t like h-how empty this p-place is… I-I want to get out of h-here…”
Liquids puts their hand on Agan’s shoulder. “Well ags... I need to wrap you up a bit. You’re in really bad shape. Then i can try to help you get out of here. It’s... terribly confusing to navigate. And you might not end up on the same team.... But wherever you do end up, they’ll love you. I promise…”
“I-is it that bad? I haven’t looked b-but it hurts… I-it hurts a lot…” Agan closes their eyes and takes a few deep breaths, trying to manage the pain. After a few moments, they look back over at Liquid. “Wait… D-did you say n-not the same team? I-is it going to be random? I-I can’t do that… N-not again…”
Liquid looks at Agan sympathetically. They consider what to tell Agan. He’s been through so much, they aren’t sure what kind of news she can take. They decide to go with the better truth. “I-it’s not that bad… It could be worse.” They finish wrapping up Agan’s wounds. “It may be random, I’m not entirely sure. There’s some meaning to it… You’ll end up somewhere perfect though, I assure you.”
Agan tries moving around a bit. It’s a bit painful, but at least she’s able to move. He slowly starts to sit up. “I-I’m just not sure if I’m r-ready to go back to playing y-yet… I-I hope my new team is g-good… I barely know a-any of the team anym-more…”
“They’ll love you, Agan,” Liquid reassured. “And no, you won’t start playing again right away. You need rest. You’ll get to rest for a while, okay? You deserve to rest.” Liquid slowly helps Agan up, smiling at him. “You’re going to be okay, I promise. I’m going to help you get out of here… and then you’ll get to rest, okay?”
Agan slowly stands up. She’s a bit unsteady on her feet. He leans against Liquid for some support. “Yea, rest… That sounds nice…”
Liquid stands up with Agan, supporting as much of his weight as Agan needs. “I... can’t follow you though... I’m sorry... just... Just remember that I love you very much agan and I’m so, so proud of you. You did amazing. You did so amazing.” Liquid slowly starts helping Agan walk through the void.
“T-Thank you for the h-help, Liquid,” Agan states. “I-I’m not sure what I’d do w-without you…” The darkness seems endless as the two walk, their footsteps echoing loudly. “H-how will I know w-where the exit is?”
Liquid, as if seeing a clear path before them, Liquid turns a slight left and then a hard right. “You don’t need to thank me. You would... probably still do okay. Because you’re amazing. And don’t worry, I’ve done this plenty of times. You’ll know they exist when you see it.”
Agan smiled. “T-thank you so much for h-helping me, Liquid…” Then, suddenly, Agan spots something out of the corner of her eye. A tiny light source, somewhere in the room. He weakly points to it. “Wait… O-over there…”
Liquid helps Agan cross the room, even if they can’t see it. “You don’t need to thank me… I just want to make sure you’re safe… And maybe I can see you again, when things are okay…”
“Things will be okay,” Agan reassured them. “A-at least I hope s-so…” Agan manages to find the spot. There’s light streaming onto the floor. It seems to be a door. Agan leans against it. She can hear a game being played on the other side. “I-I think this is it…”
“I… okay, good.... I’ll miss you… It was good seeing you this time, as… awful the circumstances are.” Liquid hugs Agan tight, knowing they’ll have to let go soon. “Please be okay…”
Agan hugs Liquid back. “I’ll be okay, I think…. Just… Be safe for me too, okay?” Agan turned around to face the door. He takes a deep breath, finds the handle, and opens the door.
.
.
.
.
Season 24, Day 13. Bottom of the 6th. The Chicago Firefighters are up to bat. Stout Schmitt skipped up the bat, adjusting their sunglasses happily. They immediately got a ball, and walked to first base.
Socks Maybe was up to bat next, trotting happily up to the plate. But, before Nandy Slumps could throw the next pitch, there was a familiar sight. The shadowy door of the Secret Base appeared behind second base.
From the dugout, Gabriel Griffith raised an eyebrow. “Huh, I could’ve sworn no one had entered the base yet this game,” they stated, confused. He looked over at Gita Sparrow, who shrugged in response.
Geepa Beanpot’s eyes went wide. “Wait… i-is it a Redacted player?” The players stared at the secret base as murmurs started to grow amongst the crowd. Who would be the player who exited?
After a few moments, a body came tumbling out onto second base. They struggled to stand, staring out into the field. They wore a pink Millenials jersey, and they were covered not only in green tattoos but also in blood-soaked bandages.
“Holy shit, it’s Agan Espinoza,” Swamuel Mora stated, putting their hand over their mouth in shock. Alston England quickly ran over to the other side of the dugout, grabbing the phone on the wall and dialing quickly.
Socks Maybe hit a flyout to Gunter O’Brian. One out.
“Declan?” They asked, breathing heavily. “Hey, it’s Alston. Get some folks and an ambulance at the ready. We might need it.”
Baby Triumphant went up to the plate next. Stout could see the bad shape Agan was in and desperately wanted to help. In order to speed things up and to try and convince Baby to do it, they hopped onto the Grind Rail. They do a Ticker Scroll, and land an Over Over at third base. Agan stares at them, blinking.
Ball, 1-0.
Then, with a well-placed pitcher, Baby hits the ball deep into center field. Agan, finally realizing that the game is happening, starts stumbling towards third base.
Instead of immediately running home, Stout sprints towards Agan to help them. “Hey hey, it’s going to be okay,” they told him, trying to reassure the player. “We’ve got you, you’re going to be fine.”
Agan looks over at Stout and smiles. “T-thank you…” it takes the duo a few moments, but eventually, they reach home plate. Baby stands at second base, sighing with relief.
Lou Roseheart sprints from the dugout, holding fresh bandages. “We’re gonna take care of you, okay? Hang in there.”
“Shit, they’ve lost a lot a blood,” Stout added, glancing at the makeshift bandages on Agan. They helped Agan into the actual dugout, where the other Firefighters ran over.
Agan stared blankly at the players. “H-had some help from a f-friend in the-ere…” they said, faltering. The world started to slowly fade, the voices growing distant.
“Hey, stay with us Agan!” Gabriel asked, holding Agan’s hand. “You’re going to be okay, we promise. Help is on the way, okay? Hang in there!”
Agan weakly smiled and squeezed Gabriel’s hand. “Thank you…” A few moments later, the darkness overtook them, and Agan passed out.
Agan Espinoza exits the Secret Base to Second Base!
The Firefighters Attracted Agan Espinoza!
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Justice Spoon was sitting in a chair in the Station, silent. She was sitting in a corner of the medical bay, across the room from where Agan was. They were sleeping peacefully, as least as far as Justice could tell.
Caleb Alvarado was standing next to the bed, talking with Declan and Stout, presumably about Agan. When Caleb spotted Justice, he excused himself and walked over to join her. Declan and Stout left the room shortly afterward
Justice looked up at Caleb. “How’s Agan doing?” She asked, glancing back over at them. They were covered in more bandages, and Justice could still see the blood covering their jersey.
“They’re better, that’s for sure,” Caleb replied. “Declan and Stout patched them up, that’s what I was talking with them about. A lot of stitches were needed.”
“I can imagine… God, they had three attacks in a single game. That must’ve been so bad…” Justice looks away, pity and sadness overtaking them.
“They really need rest,” Caleb added. “They aren’t at all ready to do anything for a while, and I doubt they would want to do anything. They really need to rest…”
Caleb and Justice stared at each other as Caleb’s words sank in. They both knew, silently, why they wanted Agan to rest so bad. A silent understandment formed between then.
Justice broke the silence. “Do you think….” she faltered, but continued. “Do you think Agan joined us because… because she influenced them to come here?”
Caleb froze, eyes wide. They hadn’t even considered the possibility. The possibility that Mx. Chicago could’ve influence what had happened during today’s game.
“She better have not,” Caleb snapped, anger filling them. “Agan has been through so much in such a short amount of time. I don’t care if she thought it was necessary to bring them here, we could’ve handled ourselves.”
They fell silent, staring at Agan, who was still sleeping peacefully. They got up and walked over, placing a hand on Agan’s shoulder.
“Get some rest, my friend. You need it… Whenever you’re ready, we’re here for you, we promise.”
A few hours later, Agan slowly woke up. They blinked rapidly, staring at a blank ceiling. They slowly started looking around, taking in their surroundings. Next to their bed was a table, full of flowers and other items. A single card was propped up on it.
Welcome to Chicago
Agan Espinoza entered the Shadows