"Dad!" All three adults looked briefly at the children, who stopped short with shock on their faces as they realized the situation before them. Daniel turned back to Kreese kneeling on the ground before him and breathed hard, suddenly grasping the gravity of what he had been about to do. Recognizing that this was the end of the fight for now, Johnny subconsciously reached to rub his own neck as he stepped through the window to stand beside Daniel.

"You keep your Cobra Kais away from our kids." Daniel's voice was low and unsteady with his panting, but there was no mistaking the threat behind the words.

"It's a free country." Kreese said as he rose to his feet. He kept his eyes on Daniel; a clear indication that he was the only opponent worth his consideration.

"Not for you," Johnny put in. Once Kreese turned to him he said, "Cobra Kai's gotta go." This time Daniel looked at him. "For good."

Kreese wasn't about ready to give up. "Why don't we settle this the old-fashioned way?" he said with a sly expression on his face. Daniel's eyes narrowed at him; hadn't that been what they were just doing? But Kreese wasn't looking at him, instead he had his eyes locked on Johnny as he said, "Tournament."

Johnny and Daniel immediately shared a look. Before, when they had been rivals, the tournament had been used as neutral ground on which to meet. Now hearing it mentioned just brought back all of the old wounds and misunderstandings, just when the two of them had begun to reconcile. Oh, that bastard was good. Divide and conquer.

Kreese looked at Daniel, "If we lose, I go," and then his gaze swung to Johnny and he narrowed his eyes as he said, "If you lose…"

"We won't lose." Daniel looked at Johnny. His voice had been quiet, determined, and as Johnny looked back, there was unspoken camaraderie between them.

The kids seemed to decide that it was now safe to come forward and stand by their senseis and father figures; each keeping a close eye on Kreese. As Miguel approached his teacher he asked, "You ok, Sensei?"

Daniel looked at him; here was this kid, beat half to hell, and he was showing concern for a man that looked more or less fine. He looked to Johnny for his answer, the image of him unconscious with Kreese's hand on his throat arising in his mind's eye. But Johnny didn't say anything, simply nodded and took another breath.

…

Robby watched as his father made his way to the window and stopped. What's happening? When he heard Sam's shout and watched Johnny step out of the window, he decided now was probably the right time to get up. It took him longer than he expected to get upright; his movements were clumsy and slow, but once he was upright, he was able to use the lockers to pull himself to his feet.

His head was pounding, but he made his way toward the window just in time to hear Miguel ask if Johnny was ok. He reached up to the bruise on his forehead as the group outside came into view.

"Robby." His dad moved as if to start walking toward him, but Robby ignored him; locking eyes with Daniel as he moved to stand beside his new sensei.

"Get out of here," Robby said and looked to his father as he added, "all of you."

Daniel was still catching his breath and seemed on the verge of saying something, though the pain in his expression said it all. Johnny on the other hand just looked defeated and cast his eyes downward as he put his hands in his pockets.

Kreese reached out a hand to place it on Robby's shoulder. He once more locked eyes with Johnny as he spoke to Robby, saying, "Come on, son," before ushering him through the door of the dojo. He could see Johnny tensing to react, but he must have thought better of it, because he stayed where he was.

It was over. For now.

tbc