Magi cursed as the wire she held spat out a spark, pulling her hand away just in time. 

 

“Huh, that’s weird,” she mused to herself with a frown, “This is brand new; there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it.”

 

After a few more moments of fiddling, she hopped off of the ladder she was using and stepped back with a proud grin. The last of the Big Garage’s renovations were done: a new sound system that would enhance the Seattle Garages’ concerts — not that they needed any modifications to put on a good show. 

 

She skipped over to the switch to turn the speakers on for a test run, but before she could decide on a song to play, a strange static rang through the stadium.

 

“c-- -o- --ar m-... h----... -cho… -elp…”

 

“Okay, well that’s definitely not normal,” Magi sighed, plopping down onto the floor and pulling her book of notes onto her lap, “Let’s see…”

 

~ ~ ~

 

The team was wolfing down slices of pizza when the door to the green room burst open. 

 

“Magi, there you are!” Layna called, “We were just about to send one of us down to get you; dinner’s almost over— What’s wrong?”

 

“I— I think there might be someone in our new sound system.”

 

A moment of silence passed as the rest of the team processed Magi’s words. Then, the room exploded with sound as everyone’s shock subsided enough for them to formulate questions. 

 

“Alright, alright, everyone, calm down!” Teddy’s voice rang out above the rest, his captaining instincts reemerging despite having retired his title, “Everything’s going to be fine; we’ve dealt with worse before.”

 

As the clamor subsided, he turned to Magi, “What can we do to help?”

 

A grin made its way onto her face.

 

“I’m glad you asked.”

 

An hour later, in front of Magi stood Tot with his bass, Betsy with her drums, and Durham with his keytar. 

 

“Okay,” Magi murmured, taking a deep breath, “Let’s do this.”

 

With practiced ease, the other three band members had quickly learned the song that Magi had scribbled down and were now ready to perform. A sound system was admittedly, their strangest audience yet, but they were ready to give it their all to help whoever’s in there.

 

As the melody flowed from everyone’s fingertips, the sound swirling through the stadium, Magi closed her eyes, feeling the magic of their music coursing through her. Picking up her hammer, she walked up to her tubular bells and struck.

 

The walls trembled. The ground shivered in anticipation. The entire stadium rumbled, preparing for the new arrival. The static from the speakers crescendoed along with the band’s song.

 

Then, silence.

 

“Wyatt?”

 

In front of them stood a figure with the likeness of the famed Wyatt Mason, glitches flickering from xer limbs as xe offered them an awkward smile.

 

“Wyatt,” xer garbled voice repeated.

 

Wyatt Mason X Localized into the Garages’ lineup.

 

By morning, the news had traveled across the entire league: All stadiums that had installed the PsychoAcoustics modification found themselves with a version of Wyatt Mason, adding up to thirteen in total. 

 

The Garages’ Wyatt, Wyatt Mason X, was dubbed MaX.

 

The teams welcomed their Wyatts warmly, used to unexpected additions due to feedback weather. The league reacted to the Wyatts’ ability to echo the modifications of other players with mild surprise but ultimately did not pay it much mind. After all, weirder things have happened in blaseball. Play went on, and everyone was content. 

 

Until the day arrived when two Wyatts played against each other in reverb weather.

 

As waves of sound crashed through the stadium, Wyatt Mason IX and Wyatt Mason XI’s gazes met. 

 

Glitches sparked from their bodies, trying to pull part of the other towards themselves only to stick onto them instead. 

 

Agonized shrieks pierced through the reverb’s din as their limbs slowly detached from their torsos, then abruptly lowered in pitch before being silenced completely, as if they were electronic appliances being unplugged from their power source. 

 

ECHO Wyatt Mason IX STATIC ECHO Wyatt Mason XI STATIC

 

By the end of the season, only two out of the thirteen Wyatt Masons remained: Wyatt Mason IV, “IVy,” and MaX. During the siesta, the Garages spent their time off as they always did, resting, helping each other with personal projects, writing new music… 

 

Throughout this break, MaX spent most of xer time with Magi. Using her knowledge of sound magic, Magi helped xem increase xer vocabulary by connecting xem to the radio, allowing xem to express xemself by assembling words from the various stations. With a better way of communicating than repeating xer conversation partner’s words, MaX quickly began to find a home within the Big Garage, as well as a new identity for xemself outside of Wyatt Mason. 

 

Season 15, Day 37. Soon after returning from a discombobulating journey to Elsewhere, MaX found xemself face to face with NaN, the original Wyatt Mason. In normal circumstances, xe would’ve looked forward to having a conversation with them, but xer interest was surpassed by fear caused by a pressing issue: There was a chance that they could echo each other into static.

 

Before the siesta, MaX had not paid much mind to the thought of losing xemself to the void. Xe saw the haunted look of recognition in everyone’s eyes when they saw xem, xer familiar appearance foreign to them because xe was merely an echo of a real person, someone who mattered. The idea of fading into the void did not faze xem.

 

But now, xe didn’t want to go. Xe had found a family, one that recognized xem for who xe was and not a past that xe could barely recall. Although xe was still lost in this world, xe knew that xe mattered outside of xer connection to NaN. The downside to gaining something worth living for is knowing that xe’d lose it. 

 

But no matter how scared xe was, play must go on. 

 

NaN glanced at MaX. The stadium held its breath. 

 

MaX barely suppressed a scream of pain as the invisible force of echoes sank its claws into xer shoulder, ripping pieces of xem off and adding them to NaN’s form. At the same time, xe felt unfamiliar cells merge with xer own, forcing xem back into xer cohesive form.

 

The moment stretched out by fear and anticipation was shrank back into its place in time, and the entire league let out a faint breath of relief. The danger had passed, and the inevitable had been delayed for a little while longer.

 

Bottom of 9. Ollie finds himself perched upon first base, waiting for an opportunity to get to second base. As Teddy stepped up to bat, a cheer filled with static from the dugout caught his attention. MaX. Xe would be batting again soon, and with that comes… His gaze drifted over to NaN on the pitcher’s mound.

 

One more out was all it would take to stop this now. He knew what he had to do

 

Looking NaN in the eye, he made his way towards second base. And he promptly halted in the middle of first and second. The crowd murmured in confusion. 

 

Without breaking eye contact with NaN, he smiled and took a seat in the dirt.

 

Slowly, NaN approached with the ball, their bewilderment smeared across their expression. They looked to their teammates for answers, only to receive a similarly bewildered shrug. Gently, they touched the ball to Ollie’s shoulder. 

 

Oliver Mueller gets caught stealing second base. 

 

Inning 9 is now an Outing.

 

MaX tackled Ollie in a hug, tears of relief rolling down xer cheeks and staining his shirt. Despite all odds, xe would live to see the wonders and horrors of blaseball, to make a place for xemself within the league. MaX would become a credit to the team.