Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: First Match, First Win (Maybe)

Saturday morning arrived with a burst of chaos—just like the Thunderclap team itself. Marcus sprinted into Tom's Café at 8 a.m., his hair messy, his backpack unzipped, and a textbook tucked under his arm. "I passed the quiz!" he yelled, out of breath. "Got an A-! My professor said I did great. Now I can focus on the tournament. No more studying. Probably."Jesse was already there, sitting in a corner, sipping chamomile tea and rubbing his blue mouse pad nervously. He'd brought his entire "calming kit": the blue towel, three bottles of water, a stress ball shaped like a sniper rifle, and a small jar of candy. "I didn't sleep last night," he admitted, his eyes red. "I kept thinking about missing shots. Or freezing up. Or spilling tea on my keyboard. What if I let you guys down?""You won't," Olivia said, tossing him a protein bar. She was dressed in her defender jersey, her controller in a protective case, and her face set in a serious expression. "But if you do, I'll make you run laps around the gaming center. In flip-flops. With Jesse's stress ball in your pocket."Lena arrived last, of course—this time, only 10 minutes late. She was wearing her neon pink baseball cap backwards, her assault rifle keychain swinging from her backpack, and a grin so big it nearly split her face. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's beat the Blaze Boys! I brought candy. And energy drinks. And my lucky neon pink socks. They make me run faster. In the game. Probably."Elias, who'd been checking their equipment, stood up. His wrist still ached, but the bandage helped. "Everyone ready? Remember the plan: Lena, wait for Jesse's signal before charging. Jesse, stay calm—Marcus will have your back. Olivia, hold the middle, set up your turrets early. Marcus, multitask—heal, trap, communicate. And no matter what happens, don't panic. We're a team."They piled into Old Tom's beat-up van—Lena singing off-key in the front seat, Jesse nervously twisting his stress ball in the back, Marcus reviewing his notes (just in case), and Olivia rolling her eyes at all of them—and headed to the mall's gaming center. When they arrived, the place was packed: teams in matching jerseys, fans cheering, and the Blaze Boys standing near the entrance, looking cocky.The Blaze Boys were four guys in red jerseys, all with spiked hair and smirks. Their leader, a tall guy named Jake, stepped forward when he saw the Thunderclap team. "Well, well, well. The Ghost's new team. A bunch of rookies, a nervous sniper, a chaos gremlin, and a nerd with a textbook. Good luck. You're gonna need it."Lena's face turned red. "Hey! I'm not a chaos gremlin! I'm a strategic assaulter! And we're gonna beat you! Badly!"Jake laughed. "Sure you are. Come on, boys—let's go crush the amateurs."Olivia grabbed Lena's arm before she could charge at Jake. "Ignore him. Let's focus on the game. Anger won't help us win. But beating them will."Elias nodded. "She's right. Let's get to our stations."The gaming center staff led them to their seats—five PCs in a row, monitors glowing, controllers ready. The Blaze Boys were seated across from them, Jake winking at Lena mockingly. The crowd gathered around, whispering—some about the Ghost's return, some about the "messy amateur team.""Welcome to the Nova Arena Amateur Tournament!" the announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. "First match: Thunderclap vs. Blaze Boys! Mode: 5v5, Capture the Hub! Let's play!"The game started. The Thunderclap team spawned as Attackers; the Blaze Boys as Defenders. Lena, true to her word, waited—for all of 10 seconds. Then she charged forward, yelling. "COME GET SOME!""Lena! Wait!" Elias yelled, but it was too late. Lena ran straight into two Blaze Boys, who gunned her down immediately."Lena!" Marcus yelled, typing furiously. "I told you to wait for Jesse's signal!"Lena respawned, groaning. "Oops. My bad. Habit. I'll wait. Promise. Maybe."Jesse, who'd taken a position on the rooftop, took a deep breath. He aimed his sniper rifle at one of the Blaze Boys, his hand shaking a little. "I'm ready. Marcus, can you set a trap near the hub? Just in case.""On it!" Marcus said, dropping a trap near the enemy hub. "Trap set. Jesse left! There's a Blaze Boy behind you!"Jesse spun around, aimed, and fired. Headshot. "Yes! I did it! Did you see that?""Great job, Jesse!" Elias said, moving toward the hub. "Olivia, hold the left corridor. Lena, this time—wait for Jesse's next shot. Got it?""Got it!" Lena said, bouncing in her chair. "Wait. Wait. Wait."Jesse took another shot, taking down another Blaze Boy. "Now, Lena! Go!"Lena charged forward, this time not yelling (much), and took down a Blaze Boy who was distracted by Olivia's turret. "Yes! Strategic chaos! Works every time!"The game was back and forth. The Blaze Boys were fast, just like Olivia had said—they kept launching quick attacks, trying to overwhelm the Thunderclap team. But the Thunderclap was ready: Olivia held her position, taking down enemies who tried to sneak around; Marcus kept everyone healed, even pausing to set a trap that caught Jake off guard; Jesse, who'd stopped shaking, took down three more enemies with perfect headshots; and Lena, for once, listened to Elias's instructions, charging only when the time was right.With two minutes left, the score was tied: 4-4. The Blaze Boys had captured the hub once; the Thunderclap had captured it once. Whoever captured it again would win."We need to take the hub now," Elias said, his voice calm. "Jesse, take position on the rooftop—cover us. Marcus, drop a health pack near the hub. Olivia, set up a turret to block their path. Lena, you're our distraction—charge in, draw their fire. I'll capture the hub.""Got it!" everyone yelled.Lena charged forward, yelling at the top of her lungs. "OVER HERE! COME GET ME!" The Blaze Boys turned their attention to her, firing. Jesse took down two of them, his hands steady now. Olivia's turret took down another. Marcus dropped a health pack as Lena's health dropped to 20%."Elias! Go!" Marcus yelled.Elias sprinted toward the hub, his wrist aching as he held the mouse. A Blaze Boy snuck up behind him, but Olivia took him down with a well-timed shot. "Go! I've got your back!"Elias reached the hub, his fingers flying over the keyboard. The capture bar started filling up—10%, 20%, 30%… Jake, the Blaze Boys' leader, respawned and charged at him, firing."Elias! Watch out!" Jesse yelled, aiming at Jake. He fired—but missed. His hand had shaken again.Elias spun around, firing his pistol. He hit Jake in the chest, but Jake kept coming. Elias's health dropped to 10%."Marcus! Health pack!" Elias yelled.Marcus dropped a health pack just in time. Elias dived for it, his wrist throbbing, and fired again. Headshot. Jake collapsed to the ground.The capture bar hit 100%."VICTORY!" the announcer's voice boomed. "THUNDERCLAP WINS!"The crowd cheered. Lena jumped up, yelling, and accidentally knocked over her energy drink—spilling it on Jesse's mouse pad. "Oops! My bad! But we won! WE WON!"Jesse stared at his wet mouse pad, then grinned. "It's okay. I have extras. And we won! We actually won!"Marcus closed his textbook, smiling widely. "I told you we'd do okay! As long as Lena doesn't spill more drinks. And Jesse doesn't panic. And—" Olivia cut him off, grinning. "We won. That's all that matters. And Jake was wrong. We're not amateurs. We're the Thunderclap."Elias stood up, stretching his wrist. It ached, but he didn't care. He looked at his team—Lena covered in energy drink, Jesse holding his wet mouse pad, Marcus smiling, Olivia grinning—and felt pride. Pride he hadn't felt in years."Great job, everyone," he said. "But we're not done yet. There's another match tomorrow. Against the Storm Riders. They're tougher than the Blaze Boys. But we're the Thunderclap. And we win.""WIN!" Lena yelled, jumping up and down. "THUNDERCLAP FOREVER! AND NEON PINK SNIPER RIFLE!"The crowd cheered again. The Blaze Boys walked past them, Jake glaring. "You got lucky. Tomorrow, you're gonna lose."Lena stuck her tongue out. "No, we won't. We're the Thunderclap. And we're awesome."As they left the gaming center, the sun was setting again. Lena was singing off-key, Jesse was talking about buying new mouse pads, Marcus was planning to study (just a little), and Olivia was pretending to be annoyed. Elias walked behind them, smiling.They were messy. They were chaotic. They were far from perfect. But they were his team. And they won. For the first time in three years, the Ghost wasn't just a fallen legend. He was Elias, part of something amazing. And he couldn't wait for tomorrow.