Chapter 44: Scandal

Third Person POV:

Terry Silver had flown across the country to Massachusetts. He approaches a small, dirty looking house and knocks on the door. A kid eventually opens it. This kid was a tall, well fit guy. However, the bags under his eyes indicate that he hasn't been getting much sleep.

"Can I help you, sir?" The boy asks.

"Yes, are you Tristan Owens?" Terry asks. Tristan sighs.

"Look, if you're some reporter or journalist, you better just leave. I'm not gonna give any more statements." Tristan says.

"I'm not a reporter. However, I have heard of you." Terry says.

"Yeah? You come to tell me I'm a monster? I've already heard it like fifty times." Tristan says.

"I'm not here to discuss your case. I'm here because of your martial arts skills." Terry says. Tristan is surprised.

"My skills? What are you, some tournament official?" Tristan asks.

"No, but I do want to make you an offer." Terry says.

"I'm sticking away from tournaments for a while. Besides, that's not why I started learning martial arts in the first place." Tristan says. Terry just smiles.

"What I'm about to propose is something much bigger than a local tournament." Terry says.

Later…

Emma was in the Cobra Kai dojo. She was determined to record one of the Cobras confessing to stripping James. She had hidden her phone in her gi and was letting it record.

"Emma? What's got you all worked up?" Violet asks.

"Um, it's nothing." Emma says. Violet raises an eyebrow but doesn't press any further. Suddenly, multiple Cobras enter the dojo with pride.

"You will not believe what we did yesterday!" The Cobra with the cast says.

"What?" Violet asks.

"We got James big time! We forced him to eat dog shit." The Cobra with the cast says. Emma's eyes widen. She wanted to vomit.

"You did what?" Tory asks.

"We jumped James and forced him to eat dog shit." The Cobra with the cast repeats. Tory stares at him in shock.

"Tory, you okay?" Devon asks. Emma had only met Devon recently. She joined Cobra Kai and seemed to always want to be around Tory. Tory ignores Devon and walks away. As disgusting as it was to hear, Emma was happy to have the Cobra's confession on recording. After all the students get ready, the new Senseis enter the dojo. These new Senseis arrived only recently. Terry hired them to help run Cobra Kai.

"Everyone, line up!" Sensei Kim shouts.

"Where's Sensei Silver?" Violet asks.

"He's away on business. You'll train with us for now. Fighting stances!" Sensei Kim shouts.

Later…

Steve was on Instagram scrolling though different posts. People would post videos of James nude at the mall but they would be taken down pretty quickly. However, that didn't stop the waves of people questioning why James was nude in the first place. That's when Steve sees a comment that makes him freeze.

"I heard a rumor that Cobra Kai was behind this." A comment says. Steve immediately begins to panic. If Silver found out that he was responsible for ruining Cobra Kai's reputation again, he was screwed. Steve responds quickly.

"That is completely false. I was in the storage closet at the mall. Jame came in and started stripping in front of me. I only had seconds to get out of there before he did something to me." Steve replies to the comment. He didn't realize the severity of the accusation he just made until after he posted the reply.

James's POV:

I'm in my house sitting on the couch. After what Steve did to me, I had zero energy. I decided to log on Instagram to take my mind off of everything. What I don't expect is to have hundreds of DMs from strangers. Out of curiosity, I decided to read some of them.

"So you're the sick pervert who tried to throw himself on another kid. Why don't you go kill youself you disgusting piece of shit."

"It's people like you who make me sick. You don't deserve to be on this earth."

"I can't believe you could do something so evil. Steve was justified in breaking your arm. You deserve to be bullied."

I feel sick. The next thing I know, there's a knock on the door. It startles me, but I quickly get up. I open it and it's Detective Alfonso.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask.

"Steve made some accusations implying that you tried to sexually assult him." Detective Alfonso says.

"You don't believe them, right?" I ask, panicked.

"Of course not! This is clearly a cover for stripping you at the mall. However, I do need to take you to the station to 'question' you. Don't worry, you're not getting arrested." Detective Alfonso says.

"Okay." I say weakly.

"First, I need to tell one of your parents what's going on. I can't just take a minor with me without notice." Detective Alfonso says.

Third Person POV:

Emma was still determined to record a confession of the stripping incident from the Cobras. Training had just finished for the day.

"I have a plan to further hurt Chase." Aaron says. This peaks the interest of Emma. She tries her best to listen in on the conversation. "I have some people that I knew before getting locked in juvie that are willing to help me out. That way, you guys don't have to do the dirty work yourselves." Aaron says. Emma begins panicking. She pulls out her phone and stops the recording. She goes to her contacts and tries to text Chase.

"What are you doing?" Violet asks.

"Nothing!" Emma says rather quickly before hiding her phone screen.

"Did I just see that you were texting Chase?" Violet asks rather aggressively.

"What? No! Why the hell would I still keep in contact with him?" Emma asks.

"Then, I guess you wouldn't mind showing me your phone." Violet asks. Emma goes cold.

"Why…why do you need to see my phone?" Emma asks.

"To see when you last contacted Chase." Violet says.

"Um…okay." Emma says weakly before handing Violet her phone.

"I need you to put in your passcode." Violet says.

"Oh…okay." Emma says before Violet passes her back her phone. However, before Emma can do anything, the Cobra with the cast comes over.

"Violet, we need to talk. It's about Brian." The Cobra says. Violet glares at Emma before walking away. Emma sighs in relief.

James's POV:

I eventually returned home to find my dad sitting on the couch. He looks angry.

"Dad? Why are you not at work?" I ask.

"My boss heard about what happened at the mall and decided to fire me." My dad says.

"What?! He can't just do that!" I say.

"Unfortunately, he can. My boss didn't want to 'hurt the reputation' of the company. It's stupid." My dad says.

"Dad, you don't believe the rumors, right?" I ask.

"Of course not." My dad says.

"I'm sorry this is all happening to you." I say.

"It's not your fault." My dad says.

Third Person POV:

"What did you want to talk about?" Violet asks. The Cobra looks down.

"Um, Brian quit Cobra Kai and attacked us." The Cobra says.

"What?! You're lying." Violet says in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, but it's true." The Cobra says. Violet clenches her fists.

"I'll talk to him about it." She says before walking away. She spots Emma and walks over to her. Emma was just about to send Chase a warning text when Violet snatches her phone out of her hands.

"What the hell?! You were gonna warn Chase about a Cobra Kai attack?!" Violet shouts. Her shouts bring the attention to the other Cobras.

"Violet, it's not what it looks like!" Emma responds. Violet looks through Emma's text history with Chase.

"You never broke up with Chase! You also warned him when we tried to ambush him after his physical therapy!" Violet shouts.

"You didn't even want to attack him!" Emma shouts back.

"That was before I learned that Miyagi-Fang was made up of bullies!" Violet shouts.

"You're a traitor!" Aaron shouts. The other Cobras begin shouting at Emma. Tory and Devon silently stare at her. Emma tries to take her phone back but Violet steps back. Violet walks over to the weights and uses one to destroy Emma's phone. All the evidence Emma had gathered was gone. She was devastated.

"You know what happens to people who betray Cobra Kai." Violet says. Violet then kicks Emma in the face, knocking her down.

"Violet, you don't need to do this." Tory says.

"Oh, I do. She needs to be taught a lesson for going out with that cripple." Violet says. Hearing Violet say this makes Emma realize how much she has changed. Violet was no longer the happy, positive girl that she remembers. Emma gets up and gets in a fighting stance. The Cobras surround the two girls. Violet tries to kick Emma in the chest but Emma steps back and blocks it. Violet then throws a punch to Emma's face which Emma is able to block by putting both her arms up. However, the force of this punch causes Emma to stumble back a bit. Violet then sweeps her legs, causing her to collapse.

"I don't understand what Chase saw in you. You're a pretty pathetic little bitch." Violet says. Emma clenches her fist and punches Violet in the face while standing up. Violet stumbles back a bit and Emma takes the opportunity to deliver a side kick into her chest. Violet responds by throwing a front kick, which Emma is able to catch. However, Violet punches Emma in the face causing Emma to drop Violet's leg. Violet quickly knees Emma in the chest and throws her to the ground. Violet then steps on Emma's chest.

"Finish her!" Aaron shouts.

"Alright, that's enough." Tory says while pulling Violet off of Emma.

"That bitch deserves way worse!" Violet shouts.

"It's not worth it." Tory says before guiding Violet out of the circle. As the two girls leave, Aaron approaches Emma.

"Tell Chase that I'm coming for him. I'm not gonna hold back on you two anymore." He says. Emma gets up and runs out of the dojo.

Later…

"So, you're telling me, you want me and my mom to move halfway across the country so that I can help you enter a global karate tournament that will lead to your dojo becoming the biggest karate dojo in the world?" Tristan asks.

"That's pretty much it." Terry says.

"You do realize how crazy that sounds, right?" Tristan asks.

"I know it's hard to believe, but we need you in this fight. Your skills are beyond impressive." Terry says.

"How do you know so much about my skills?" Tristan asks.

"I've seen the videos. You've won three championships at three different tournaments." Terry says.

"That was a while ago. Ever since…the incident…I don't think I can compete again." Tristan says.

"Do you think you're better than my students?" Terry asks.

"I'm one hundred percent sure I can kick all their asses." Tristan says.

"That's the kind of attitude we need at Cobra Kai. If you agree to join, I promise, you will become one of the best fighters in the world.

"What makes you think I haven't achieved that already?" Tristan asks. Terry chuckles.

"So, are you in?" Terry asks. There is a small pause.

"I'll join, under one condition. With my dad no longer around, my mom needs support. I was wondering if you could support her financially. And just so we're clear, I'm not asking this for me, I'm asking this for her." Tristan says.

"I accept your conditions." Terry says.

"Really? Just like that? No catch?" Tristan asks.

"Yes. That is how important you are to me." Terry says.

Author's Note: Who exactly is Tristan and what role will he play in this story? With Emma exposed as a spy, she now has to continue her training elsewhere to stand a chance against Cobra Kai. Yet another rivalry has been started with Violet and Emma. Steve continues to ruin James's life with false accusations. How will James deal with all of this?