Act 5. The final decision

Clair sprinted through the forest, pushing any branch that blinded her. The leaves that fell off scratched her dirty face but she kept on sprinting. She wasn't sure how long she was running for but she had to get away from whatever it was that was chasing her. Her panting was hitched, and the fear made it feel uneasy to breathe. She heard the roar from behind her. She did not look back as it would only slow her down from her escape. Trees began to tumble behind her one by one, making the ground shake beneath her feet. Clair almost tripped but her hand saved her by pushing off the earth and regaining her balance. As she made her way through the woods, she saw a bright light. Was it her escape? Regardless, any light was better than being trapped in the woods with a creature hunting her.

But just then, a large black malformed hand smacked her off the path she was running, launching her against the tree trunk. Clair felt her head spinning, her vision was warped and could not stay in one place. She had trouble opening her eyes, and she felt something dripping down her face. The Pegasus rider placed her hand on where she was hit, only to feel a lukewarm sensation. Before she could take a look, she saw her attacker. She couldn't tell who it was because of the large misshapen arm that blocked the assailant's appearance. The only thing she could make out behind the giant gaping claw was white flowing hair before a large blue orb swirled and launched at her, engulfing her view with a bright light.

Lisa eyes shot open and looked at her surroundings. She was at her wooden desk, with books and papers scattered along with some pencils and wires. Her laptop was on, with the word document open. Her essay was incomplete, only finishing with the thesis, something about World War II. She then remembered that she was looking up about facts about the war, but she had no idea what to write. Despite looking up the facts, she had wasn't sure how to process the information in her own words. Her clocked was currently 6:46 pm; she napped for 3 hours. Lisa sighed, she had only got one part of it. She saved what she had and went on to Facebook to browse Fire Emblem cosplay.

Lisa loves cosplay, it was almost like dressing up for Halloween except not in October. It's not the usual dressing up as a ghost or a princess that can be bought in stores, the people who wear them put heart and soul into wearing them. Lisa wishes to do it someday, had she not been so preoccupied with school and homework. Her eyes scanned at the people she follows, some of them friends, others she followed for the heck of it, and others she admires. One cosplayer caught her attention. The username was Jennifer Espada Cosplays and the picture consisted of a woman with short pink hair and wearing a white customized bikini with golden accents and holding a large ring with a large ribbon attached to it. She posed as if she was dancing at the beach with the sun setting. The description said, "Danced at the beach today, lots of fun and got some shots in."

Lisa hardly resisted the urge to comment to the photo typing "You look majestic in that photo, love your Olivia cosplay!" She sent it and hit the like button. She then looked at the other comments beneath hers, most of were compliments that have not been already said, and maybe one means about how much of a "slut" she is. This one got criticism by others calling he/she any insult they could throw at them. 'Probably a troll.' She thought. She then clicked on the cosplayers profile and began to browse her uploads. To her, this Jennifer cosplayer was everything special to her. Not only was she a great cosplayer, but she also is a great player, streaming her fighting style on twitch. She dances and twirls while using a blade flawlessly. As she stared at the recent uploads of the stream, she began to think back at Travis's words. 'Should I though?'

She looked back at a photo of her old friends. They were once a team, participating in the tournament they were able to make it to. Despite being able to place 3rd or 4th, their increasingly busy schedule and school made it difficult to get any training in. In the end, the team disbanded, leaving Lisa to choose to leave as well. Ultimately, she opted to stay and keep the club running in their memory. While lonely, it was also peaceful too. Even though she couldn't really get any member into her club, she could at least relax and do her homework there or play some matches. She was also thankful for Mister Banblows uncaring attitude to let her continue to run the club.

Unfortunately, now that peaceful sanctuary is now invaded by three people she hardly knows who want her to join their team. Lisa sighed, knowing that she will have to give Travis an answer tomorrow. She went on to discord and typed to some people who she once knew, asking them to call her if they aren't too busy. After a while, the call came up and 4 screens popped up showing three familiar faces.

"Hey Lisa, what's up?" A boy with a brown beanie greeted.

"Hey, Max, James, Micaila."

"How's school treating ya?" Max asked. "Cuz college is sure a pain in the ass right now for me."

"Max, I thought I tutored you on the subject?" Micaila stated.

"Doesn't mean it's not a struggle to learn math."

"You always did manage to think with your muscles than with your head."

"Hey, It got us out of trouble many times hasn't it?"

"Fair enough," she said.

"Alright guys, I don't think we want to trouble Lisa with your love squabble," James said.

Micaila rolled her eyes and Max just snorted at him.

"Anyways," Lisa said. "I am doing okay Max, I've been catching up with my studies like always. What about you guys?"

"Well," the ginger-haired boy said. "I'm majoring in civil engineering like I wanted to, but I might come back to college to maybe major in something else."

"Why would you ever want to go back after?" Max asked. "You already got a major, you're set for life."

"That's not always the case Max." The blonde said curling her hair. "Besides, you never know what may happen if he doesn't get the job."

"Your kidding right Micaila? This is James we're talking about, guy gets like A plus's like he's getting all the chicks!"

"That's...a weird way to describe it."

"It's a lot of work Max. You'd be like me if you weren't "

Lisa gave off a small chuckle. Those three haven't changed one bit. "But anyways, I want your guys' input on what I'm going to say."

The three of them went silent to let their youngest ex-member talk about her situation.

"I was minding my own business and this guy Travis shows up and starts asking me to join his team….but I'm not too sure if I should."

"Travis...Travis." Max thought for a second. "Wait, isn't Travis that prick who kept talking like he was hit shit or something?"

"That's Kenneth...Max." Micaila corrected making the beanie wearer shrug.

"Aside from the strange invite, What's stopping you from accepting it?" James asked.

"It's um…well...I mean…it was so sudden...plus..if I joined..that would mean leaving my old team to start a new one."

"Lisa...were no longer a team, you do realize that."

"She means that she would have to mentally adjust to being on a new team. Even though we disbanded, her heart and soul is still connected to it." The blonde explained.

"Lisa, I understand that we meant a lot for you. But you shouldn't let that hold you back from what you love."

"I know James...but.."

"No buts, you need to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people. This may sound mean, but even after graduating, I don't think We will be able to reunite as a team again. We all have busy lives now as adults. I'm becoming a civil engineer, Micaila is going to be a doctor, and Max might have to move away to another college to complete his calculus major."

Much to her dismay, James was right. All of them started to separate after graduation. It will continue to do so and there isn't much they can do about it.

"However, that shouldn't mean that you have to stop what you love while you're young." He said. "Your main is Clair, right? We have played for a long time and we watched you grow not as a player, but as a person too. Sure it wasn't easy, but you were never the one to back out of the team. Right now, I believe it is time to grow back your wings Lisa, and soar back into the air with your friends."

Lisa flinched at the flying part of his motivational speech, but at the same time, it was also very comforting that her old friends still support her.

"What James said, you should join this new team, and we will support your decision."

"Let us know when you make it to U.S championship, we want to see the faces of those twins when they get wrecked by you." Max then mumbled something under his breath, something about cheaters.

Lisa nodded and prepared to log off. "Thanks, guys...it was also great talking to you three again."

The call ended and then she went back to opening her word document to continue working on her essay with a smile filled with determination.

The bell rang and Lisa immediately headed for the door. She pulled out her note that told her the location of the room. 'Room 2-6, it should be down the hallway.'

Eventually, she saw the numbers and the opened door. Travis was there talking to Ayaka and Stephan. After taking a deep breath, she walked up to him.

"Excuse me?"

Travis turned his attention to her and so did the other two. She was unnerved by Ayaka's glare and Stephan's eye rolling. But Travis looked at her with curiosity like a child waiting for his parents to say yes or no. She exhaled and gave her the final answer. "I thought about it...and I want to join your team….well...unless you have a fourth already…."

'What kind of answer was that' She thought to herself. 'I rehearsed it all morning!'

However, Travis gave a smile while Stephan threw his arms up with disappointment and Ayaka sighed.

"Welcome to the team, Lisa."

"I promise...I-I won't disappoint you."

"Yeah, you won't," Ayaka said to Lisa with a stern look. "Because if you want to be a good fighter, then you better be prepared for the training I will be giving!"

Lisa gave off a scared face. 'What did I get myself into?!'

Travis laughed uneasily as Stephan scoffed.

"A flightless Pegasus and a hot-headed Samurai...What could possibly go wrong." He muttered.