CHAPTER 38
"Well… If none of you guys are going to bring it up, I will. Eagle-Fang Karate." Demetri announced. Him and the rest of Miyagi-Do were hanging out at Sam's house after school that day, all of them pretty silent. All of them were thinking about the same thing and yet none of them were wanting to be the one to bring it up. Well, none of them but Demetri.
"What about it?" Sam asked, also still reeling from the shock about the creation of the new dojo. She had heard through the grapevine about what had happened to Miguel's grandmother, but she had assumed that if anything, that would push him into spending longer and longer hours training in the Cobra Kai dojo. She definitely hadn't expected the opposite, and if anything, she was happy. Demetri, on the other hand, wasn't.
"So… why aren't you guys freaking out too? There's another dojo now in the Valley after us!" Demetri exclaimed.
"Eagle-Fang aren't after us. They're going up against Cobra Kai in the tournament, just like us. They're on our side." Sam said, sounding more confident than she felt inside.
"Oh yeah? Because last time I checked, their only students are a deranged ex-Cobra Kai leader and his right-hand lieutenant. Forgive me for not being so welcoming towards them."
"Come on. Miguel's different now." Sam said weakly.
"Demetri's got a point." Chris remarked. "I mean he did just go full Terminator on us less than two weeks ago. How the hell are we supposed to believe he's less tiger, more docile housecat?"
"Because even Miguel can't take on both us and Cobra Kai at the same time. It's in his best interest to co-exist with us." Sam replied.
There was a brief silence that filled the room as they absorbed and understood what Sam said, but that was quickly broken.
"I still call bullshit." Demetri announced. "No way is Miguel a nice guy now. He's still the same piece of shit he's been since August."
"Look… even if he is, what the fuck do you want to do about it?" Sam snapped, annoyed. "You complain and complain and complain, but you know there's not a damn thing any of us can do to change the personality of a person with absolutely no affiliation or emotional ties to Miyagi-Do! Please for the love of God LISTEN TO ME when I tell you that Miguel fighting against Cobra Kai and staying neutral with us is a massive win. Unless of course you want to have your ass kicked every day until the All-Valley, which is what is going to happen to all of us if you keep fighting with him like you did at that Applebees two weeks ago!"
"Okay, what the fuck did you want me to do? I'm sorry but I'm not going to let ANYBODY push me around, not even the person who for some unknown reason, you all seem to be worshipping! I stand up for myself! I fight my own battles!"
"Um… correction, you stand up for yourself when it comes to talking, but when it comes to fighting, you piss off the person so much that they not only fight you but fight us too. And unlike most other people, I think you know that right now, Miguel is the only person in the Valley we can't defend against. Before, we had Robby to fight him for us but he's gone until March so now, if we try and engage in a fight with him, let alone him, his friend and any other person Eagle-Fang recruits, we are GOING to lose! Plain and simple!" Sam shouted.
So what do you want us to do? Start holding hands and singing kum ba yah with him around a campfire?!" Demetri spat back, getting seriously pissed at Sam at this point.
"No! Look, we don't have to be friends with them. We don't even have to like them. But we're going to have to learn how to live with them whether we like it or not."
There was a long silence as the Miyagi-Dos listened to both Sam and Demetri's points of view, internally debating which compelling side they should take.
"Sam's right." Nate eventually admitted. Demetri threw his arms in the air, crying out in annoyance, before storming out of the room in an angry huff.
"Is he okay?" Chris asked as they watched Demetri leave. Sam shrugged and nodded.
"He'll be fine. He just needs to cool off a bit." Sam murmured. The group nodded and all turned to her.
"So what do we do now?" Nate asked. "You know, to make sure Eagle-Fang and us are on the same page?"
Sam looked at all of them, determination glinting in her eyes and a small grin on her face as she responded…
"Well there's only one way we can. We go talk to them…"
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As Demetri stormed into his car, he hit the steering wheel several times in frustration. He was absolutely furious! His friends were so stupid! They were absolutely blind! How could they not see that Miguel was playing them?! This whole Eagle-Fang thing was clearly a ploy for them to lower their guard, probably something Miguel had cooked up with Kreese before he had "left." Such bullshit, Demetri thought to himself. No way in HELL Miguel was suddenly one of the good guys now. NO ONE changed their entire personality that fast! He knew that Miguel's grandma had died and while he was sympathetic, in all honesty, what happened with Miguel's family was none of his concern, and he didn't give a rat's ass about it. What he cared about was the safety of him and his friends and honestly, there was a gut feeling he had that they were being played and the longer they bought the charade that was Eagle-Fang for, the harder the inevitable betrayal and fight would hit them. And he couldn't let that happen. He needed to put a stop to it immediately. Pulling his car out of Sam's driveway, he began to drive, destination in mind…
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Meanwhile, that afternoon, Miguel and George sat together outside Miguel's house in their compound, clinking two beers together and celebrating the creation of Eagle-Fang. With Johnny still out looking for dojo locations and the two of them doing recruiting all day for new students, they were pretty much done with their duties for the dojo for the day so could just relax now. The two sat contentedly side by side, staring up at the afternoon sky and watching the sun desperately trying to peak out from behind the grey December clouds. However, their tranquil, relaxed vibe abruptly came to the end as they saw an unfamiliar car pull up the compound. As the driver got out and Miguel instantly recognised him, he felt his blood boil. It was Demetri…
"Seriously? That fucker wants to go for round 2? Let's do this." Miguel snarled as he shot to his feet. George, despite never having actually met Demetri in a non-fight situation, remembered instantly who he was from the Applebees fight and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw Miguel's face turn stormy. George leapt to his feet and grabbed Miguel, pulling him back from storming towards Demetri.
"Hey, hey, calm down." George murmured to him. "He's not here to fight. Look, he literally came alone. We don't need to fight him."
Miguel eventually groaned in annoyance and nodded, before storming over to Demetri.
"The hell do you want?" Miguel snapped. Demetri scowled at the unwelcoming words from his former friend. Just like Eli, Miguel was another one of his former friends who he believed had gone absolutely mental since Cobra Kai had taken over. But Demetri wasn't fazed by Miguel's menacing approach, and instead stood his ground.
"Miguel, clearly you're still an absolute delight. And Miguel's friend… I feel like you might have told me your name but honestly you seem so irrelevant that it probably went in one ear and out the other." Demetri remarked.
Unlike Miguel, George's patience against insults was practically endless. He was the wise, calm one now between the two of them so he was completely unfazed at the veiled insult thrown his way.
"Look, dude, I don't know you but you seem like a dick so either say what you want to say or leave." George told him tiredly, seeing how agitated Miguel was getting. Miguel had been doing so well at keeping his temper in check recently but he was seemingly close to losing it pretty soon.
"Ah, yes, sorry. I just wanted to tell you and your new 'Eagle-Fang' dojo, a really dumbass by the way."
"Hey, back off, it's badass." Miguel growled. Demetri chuckled.
"Let me guess… Johnny Lawrence came up with that? Figures. Guess the deranged apple doesn't fall far from the deranged tree."
George gulped, expecting this to be the thing that pushed Miguel over the line and caused him to lunge at Demetri, but surprisingly it did the opposite. Hearing Johnny's name made Miguel remember the pact that he had made that day to his yaya in front of Johnny to become a better person. And right now… well, right now if he attacked Demetri, he'd just be stooping back to his old, terrible level. Miguel forced himself to stay calm and instead stood taller, his colossal frame looking more terrifying as he puffed his chest out like a silverback and flexed his muscles slightly.
"Get to your damn point or get out of here." Miguel snapped. Demetri nodded.
"Yeah, I just wanted to tell the both of you that this Eagle-Fang charade you think you're pulling on all of us… I don't buy it."
"Excuse me?" Miguel asked, genuinely confused and taken aback.
"You heard me. I don't buy that you suddenly changed sides. I think you're both still with Kreese and all of this is a plan to get into our head and get us to not expect an attack from you. Well let me warn you, I'm onto whatever you guys think you're planning and I'm not going to let anything happen to my friends."
"You're wrong there, my friend." George remarked. "We did leave Cobra Kai. For good."
"Bullshit." Demetri stated. "You know what happens when a snake sheds its skin? You know what's under it? A new layer of snakeskin! You guys might think you have fooled us by shedding your Cobra skin, but underneath, there's just another later. Both of you, you're Cobras to the core. That's all you'll ever be. And I'm not going to let my friends get hurt because they trust you and you stab them in the back."
"Oh yeah?" Miguel chuckled, prowling closer to Demetri and squaring up to him, the massive size difference visible more than ever as Miguel stood over him. "Well even if I was trying to pull something on you guys, which by the way I'M NOT, the fuck are you going to do about it? You gonna fight me?"
Demetri scowled daggers at Miguel for several moments, Miguel eagerly waiting for Demetri to ignite the fight and give him the opportunity to go and slap the face off the skinny teenager once again, but unfortunately that match was never lit. Demetri remained motionless and Miguel chuckled.
"Exactly. So shut your fucking mouth. You'll do nothing. You'll do fucking nothing." Miguel growled. "Now get the fuck out of here."
Miguel started to turn around and walk away, but as Demetri watched him leave, he glared at him, before sending one last insult his way.
"I love how protective you are about this compound." Demetri started. "It's good, given that while the rest of us do great things in life, you'll probably still be rotting here. Hey, another thing you and your batshit crazy sensei have in common!"
Upon hearing this, Miguel slowly turned around, his wall that deflects verbal insults against him had been pierced. That was a step too far from Demetri, and he needed to pay.
"Alright that's it! Clearly last time wasn't enough! You need to learn some fucking respect!" Miguel snapped, storming back towards him. Demetri's heart dropped and he got into a shaky fighting stance as Miguel charged towards him, only just being held back by George. Miguel, however, quickly slipped himself out of George's grip and was about to lunge at the quickly retreating Demetri, until he saw a very familiar car pulling up to the compound. Sure enough, Sam stepped out of the car moments later, closely followed by almost all of Miyagi-Do behind her. When she saw Demetri and the events that were unfolding outside, her eyes widened and she sprinted over, pulling Demetri out of harm's way and turning to him, shocked.
"Demetri, what the hell are you doing here?!" Sam asked, astonished to see Demetri at Miguel's compound of all places.
"I'll tell you why he's here. He's here to get his ass whooped again!" Miguel growled.
"I came here to call Eagle-Fang out on their bullshit. They're not quitting Cobra Kai. This is all a trap they've set." Demetri stated.
"Ah, yes, because I'm the one full of shit. Here you are talking shit. Come back it up. Come back it up. Come on. Come fight me." Miguel goaded him, spreading his arms wide in invitation. "See, you'll do absolutely fucking nothing. Too much of a bitch to face me like a real man."
At this point, Sam stepped in between them, momentarily shutting the two guys up.
"The hell are you doing here anyways?" Miguel asked, finally turning away from Demetri and towards her. Sam looked at him properly up close for the first time since he had supposedly quit Cobra Kai, and as she looked into his chestnut eyes, she instantly realised that Demetri was wrong. Miguel was telling the truth about quitting Cobra Kai. She knew because unlike when she saw him during the arcade fight or the Applebees fight, now he had a sparkle in his eye that she hadn't seen since the school fight. Miguel was finally fighting for a side he truly believed in again, just like he did in the original Cobra Kai. Sam took a deep breath. She knew that tensions between Miguel and Miyagi-Do were at the lowest they had ever been and for the sake of defeating Cobra Kai, that needed to change. And for that to happen, she needed to pick and choose exactly the right words to say. She took a deep breath before beginning to speak.
"Look, I know we haven't always gotten along. All of us. But Cobra Kai is the bigger threat now. To all of us." She said, glancing over at Miguel. She knew that Miguel knew that he was now target number 1 of Cobra Kai, and if Cobra Kai managed to ambush him at some point, he was just as susceptible to getting pounded by them than any of the Miyagi-Dos - more likely in fact due to his betrayal of the dojo. "We'd stand a better chance against them if we worked together."
"You… want us to team up?" Demetri stammered. George looked at him disdainfully.
"Yeah, forgive me for not skipping up and down with joy either at the prospect of training under whatever sensei mentored that douche." He remarked.
"Hey! Mr. Larusso is a great man!" Demetri exclaimed in anger.
"Hmm… let's see… you, Robby, the rest of your weak-ass dojo that a single Cobra managed to single handedly destroy. Yeah, clearly the man's nailing it." George commented sarcastically. Miguel, who stood shoulder to shoulder with his friend, snickered in laughter as they stared down the Miyagi-Dos, itching for another fight. Despite having quit Cobra Kai, neither had lost their edge. Although neither would be the ones to throw the first punch anymore, that didn't mean that they wouldn't do whatever it took to finish it. However, Miyagi-Do reiterated their stance of not being there to fight, as Sam kept talking.
"Guys, I'm not suggesting we join dojos or anything. Not yet at least." She said. "But what I am suggesting is that we stop targeting each other and instead turn our crosshairs to the real threat: Cobra Kai. Because despite the two of you leaving, they are undeniably going to soon be back just as strong, if not stronger than before. Look, I know we've all done shitty things to each other. But this is our last chance to make things right. To keep the future generations in the Valley safe from Cobra Kai. Alone we're nothing."
"Actually, alone I'm the All-Valley champ. And the only person with an undefeated win record since beginning training karate a year and a half ago. So…" Miguel chimed in unhelpfully, in an almost joking manner that wasn't to insult, but was to just bug Sam. It worked. Sam glared at him and ignored him before continuing…
"Alone we're nothing. But if we fight side by side and not against each other, we have a shot. If we can't get over the past, the fighting will never end and we'll tire each other out before the All-Valley even starts, giving Cobra Kai the opportunity to easily walk through us and win. We need to call a truce, at least until the All-Valley's over. What do you say?"
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"So…" George remarked. Miyagi-Do had just left moments before and Miguel and his friend had finally returned to their seats on the bench.
"So… no more attacks on Miyagi-Do. Now thinking about it, that kind of sucks. Thinking about beating up Demetri again was half the reason I got out of bed every morning." Miguel said drily. George chuckled.
"That's… sad." George replied. "But honestly I can now see why that guy ticks you off so much. What a bitch, eh? Talks like he's frickin Mohammed Ali but can't back it up for shit."
"Yeah, I know right?! Eh, Sam was probably right about us needing to channel our energy on Cobra Kai if we want to beat them comfortably in the All-Valley." Miguel said.
"True. So what now then?" George asked. Miguel shrugged.
"We wait for students." Miguel replied. George looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Um… shouldn't we be recruiting then?" He asked. Miguel shook his head, before sitting back in his chair and sighing contentedly.
"We already did that. Now all we can do is wait for the world to provide."
And sure enough, the world did. Not very generously, but it did. Because almost as soon as Miguel said that, him and George looked up to see yet another unfamiliar car pulling up to the compound. None other than Mitch, Bert and other former Cobras stepped out of the car and walked towards them. While Miguel and George were originally on edge, gearing up for a fight, they quickly relaxed as they knew that if Cobra Kai were genuinely trying to fight them, this wouldn't be the team they sent out to get the job done.
"What do you guys want?" George asked.
"We heard about your new dojo." Mitch said. "We want to join…"