CHAPTER 1

Okay, so this starts DIRECTLY after the end of Cobra Kai Season 3, which y'all can watch on Netflix if you haven't already

"So, how's this going to work?" Demitri asked, as the two combined dojos stood side-by-side in the Miyagi Do backyard. Their dramatic entrance had worn off, so now they were onto actually sorting stuff out. They had a lot to discuss and compromise on if they wanted this team-up to work. After all, Johnny and Daniel spent decades HATING each others' guts so they weren't about to just bury the hatchet in one day. "Are we like all one happy dojo now, or…"

"Hey, nobody said happy!" Johnny snapped. His head was still spinning from the events of the night before. Not only had Kreese practically waged war on them, but he had recruited Johnny's own son to fight for him. On top of that, Johnny was teaming up with his arch nemesis in this fight that Kreese had declared on them.

"Sensei, shut up." Miguel laughed. "Demitri poses a good point. Are we just going to learn from each other and then split up again, or are we going into the All-Valley and fighting as one combined dojo?"

"Well, what do you guys think?" Daniel asked them. Sam, Demitri, Hawk, Nate, Bert, Mitch and Chris all voted for a permanent team, but surprisingly, the rest of the Miyagi-Dos all voted for a temporary alliance and then split. It was around a 50/50 vote at that point.

"Miguel, what about you? Permanent team, or split?" Demitri asked. Miguel shrugged.

"I mean, I think that teaming up whether it's just for a short while or it's a permanent thing is going to be really beneficial. You are both clearly the best senseis in the Valley, and we'd be stupid not to take advantage of that."

"So, you vote to make a permanent team?" Bert asked. Miguel shook his head.

"At the end of the day, and no disrespect intended, Mr. Larusso as I have no idea what it's like to be your student, but I'm going to be following Sensei Lawrence whichever way he chooses to go." Miguel said. "So, up to you, Sensei."

"Johnny? Can we bury the hatchet and " Daniel asked, secretly hoping that Johnny would stick with them. He knew how dangerous Kreese's Cobras were getting and knew that, especially with Robby, the only chance Johnny and Daniel possibly had of winning the All-Valley was if they worked together. Johnny sighed

"Okay, but if we're going to team up, we can't be 'Miyagi-Do.' There's no way in hell my students and I are joining your form of karate." Johnny stated. Daniel nodded.

"Fine, but we're not joining 'Eagle-Fang' either." Daniel replied.

"This is good. We can build our own dojo and karate style. Together." Sam stated.

"Yeah. Both karate styles have their positive and benefits so we can take the best of both worlds." Miguel agreed. "That already gives us an upper hand against Kreese. He doesn't have that luxury."

"So what are we calling the dojo? How long did it take you to come up with a masterpiece like 'Eagle-Fang.'" Daniel remarked, sarcastically.

"Hey, my dojo names are badass!" Johnny snapped. "Tell him, Miguel!"

"Well, I mean, you did want to originally call Eagle-Fang, KKK so…" Miguel pointed out. Everyone laughed and Johnny glared at Miguel.

"Miguel, shut up." Johnny snapped. Miguel laughed and rolled his eyes.

You know, I think I could get on board with using an animal as the dojo name, but it can't be something ruthless like a cobra." Daniel said. "Any ideas, guys?" He asked the group.

"What about Hawk-Do?" Hawk suggested, grinning. Everyone turned and glared at him, before turning back to Daniel.

"What about Fire-Do?" Mitch suggested.

"Nah, nah, nah. That's too much like Cobra Kai." Chris replied. "How about Ice-Do?"

"Too much like Miyagi-Do." Mitch shot back.

"Well, we could always meet in the middle?" Nate suggested.

"What, like, you mean Puddle-do?" Miguel asked, confused.

"No, not literally." Nate said. "I mean like in between Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do. An animal that doesn't necessarily strike first ruthlessly, but when it does strike, it strikes HARD."

"What do you suggest, Nate?" Daniel asked, now intrigued.

"How about lions?" Nate replied. "They don't meanlessly start fights, but when they do, they're extremely powerful. They're brave, they're strong, they're smart."

"How about Lionheart dojo?" Miguel suggested, thinking about the awesome Martial Arts movie. "It illustrates bravery, strength, all of it."

"Works for me." Daniel said. "Any objections?"

"It does sound pretty badass." Johnny admitted. Daniel nodded.

"All right. Well, name's out the way." Daniel said, encouragingly.

"Yeah, only took us like half an hour." Demitri remarked.

"This is the problem. Our styles are so different. It's impossible to compromise on even just the name, let alone fighting tactics." Mitch stated. Daniel shook his head.

"No. We will make this work. We have to…"

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"Life isn't always fair. Sometimes the world can be cruel. And that's why you have to learn to be cruel yourselves."

Kreese was standing at the front of the slightly depleted Cobra Kai dojo. They had lost even more members after the lost fight at the Larusso house, and Kreese was NOT happy.

"Weakness is unacceptable. The fight at the Larusso house was an embarrassment!" He shouted. "You lost soldiers and you lost the battle. But you will not lose again. Kyler! Step onto the mat!"

Kyler grinned and jumped onto the mat, hopping from foot to foot and smirking in delight.

"Oooh. Who's about to get their ass kicked?!" Kyler exclaimed, eyeing the group.

"Keene. Step onto the mat." Kreese continued. Kyler's smile quickly faded as a livid looking Robby walked onto the mat and faced him. Anger coursed through Robby's veins. It was the only emotion he had felt since he joined Cobra Kai. But he was fine with that. The rage fueled him. Every day, under Kreese's tutelage, Robby was getting stronger and stronger, preparing himself for his inevitable beatdown against Miguel. Their fight was inevitable, just like that of Tory and Sam, and Hawk and Kyler. But Robby was prepared for it. He was not going to let Miguel go home a winner. Not for a third time.

"Kyler. Is it true that you lost in a fight against a student who could barely use his legs as he was still partially paralysed?" Kreese asked, calmly. Kyler's face went bright red.

"Sensei, you gotta understand. 'Rhea was like a champion, right, so like…" Kyler stammered.

"Yes, Kyler, he was a champion. But then he picked the wrong fight and broke his back. You lost to someone who wasn't even fighting with a quarter of their full capacity."

"Sensei, I'm sorry." Kyler muttered, staring down at the ground in shame.

"Don't apologise. It just means you have… room for learning." Kreese said. He then handed Robby a pair of nunchucks, who grasped them tightly and started prowling towards a retreating Kyler.

"READY… FIGHT!" Kreese shouted, and Robby lunged…

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"So, what did you think of training today?" Sam asked Miguel that night, as they walked out of the Miyagi-Do dojo together. Miguel scoffed.

"What training? Johnny won't let me do any training." Miguel grumbled. Although Miguel was technically a member of the new Lionheart Dojo and he still loved and respected his sensei, the All Valley tournament was a massive bone of contention between them. Johnny had put his foot down and banned Miguel from competing in the All Valley tournament, despite the fact that it was only January and the All Valley was in June. Johnny knew the level of Cobras like Robby, and he knew that Kreese would be training them to fight dirty, so he didn't want to risk Miguel injuring himself further.

"It's for your own good, Miguel." Sam said. "He doesn't want you to get hurt."

Miguel groaned.

"Not you too." Miguel grumbled.

"Miguel, I'm serious!" Sam exclaimed. "The last thing any of us want is for you to be back in that hospital bed."

"The thing is I'm a lot stronger now than I was when Sensei Lawrence first started training me. Hell, not to sound like an ass, but I could probably beat half the kids in the dojo today!" Miguel snapped.

"I mean, Miguel, you can't possibly believe that the level Nate and Bert are fighting at is the same level as Robby and Tory. Robby and Tory… they're not going to stop at the win."

"Look, I completely get that." Miguel said. "But I also know that Robby and Kyler are never going to stop hunting after me, and I need to be allowed to train if I ever want to be able to face them again!"

"That's why you have us, though. We've got your back. Someone tries to hurt you, I'll kick their ass!" Sam declared. Miguel chuckled and kissed his girlfriend.

"My hero." He laughed as he kissed her. "But that's not the point. Point is I can't have other people fighting my battles for the rest of my life. The world isn't always going to be fair, or merciful, but it's what I do to combat it that matters. Sensei Lawrence is the one who taught me that, for God Sake! And now he's banning me from even training with contact, let alone fighting! Look, I'm sorry I'm talking your ear off. It just sucks, that's all."

Sam took his hands in her own and kissed him.

"Babe, I'm always here for you." She said. "And hey, if I have to fight Robby or Kyler in the All Valley, I'll make sure to give them an extra punch or kick from you."

Miguel laughed.

"Thanks. Anyways, see you tomorrow morning." He said, before getting on his bike and taking off towards his house. Once he was gone, Johnny stepped out from the trees he was hiding behind. He heard everything Miguel said to Sam, and he clenched his jaw. He knew, despite his better judgement, that Miguel needed to start training again. If he didn't restart now, he probably never would again…

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"Sensei, can I talk to you?" Robby asked, as he knocked on the door to Sensei Kreese's office.

"Come in, my son." Kreese said, and Robby stepped inside. "What can I do for you? The first aid kit is behind the lockers if Kyler needs it."

"No, that's not it. I mean, he does definitely need it. There's a lot of blood. But that's not what I'm talking about." Robby said.

"Oh, then what?" Kreese asked, speaking in a tone that was different to how Johnny and Daniel spoke to Robby. It was almost… kind. Like he didn't care more about the karate rivalry than about him, which was what mainly drove him away from Johnny multiple times.

"I have some… friends of mine who I could convince into joining Cobra Kai." Robby said. Kreese raised an eyebrow.

"Really? And are these the same friends who gave you the black eye in juvie?" Kreese asked, understanding Robby instantly. Another thing about Kreese that Robby liked more than both Johnny and Daniel. Kreese understood him in a way that neither of the two other men could understand.

"Yes, yes they are. Recently out of juvie." Robby nodded.

"Well, what makes you think they'd be good potential Cobras?" Kreese asked. Robby took a deep breath.

"Because they understand pain. And anger. And misery. They know how cruel the world can be in a way that the Diaz cunt, the Larusso bitch, hell any of the Miyagi-Do students, would never understand. They all live in their bubble, while me, Tory and these other guys are stuck eating shit. With the right training, I know that they would be the key to taking down Miyagi-Do once and for all."

Kreese looked at Robby and his face broke out in an evil grin.

"You what I like about you, Keene?" Kreese said. "You see the world in a way that no one else your age sees it. You don't see roads, and cars, and buildings, and house. You see a battlefield, and that makes you the only one not blind enough to avoid the landmines. You would make an excellent soldier, Mr. Keene."

"Thank you, Sensei." Robby said, smiling faintly. Once again, genuine praise was something that Robby had not gotten from Johnny or Daniel. Whenever Daniel praised him, it was always that 'we're one step closer to taking down Cobra Kai.' But when Kreese complimented him, even if his endgame was to take down Miyagi-Do, it was actually genuine.

"Call your friends." Kreese said. "Tell them they are welcome to come by the dojo and train tomorrow afternoon. In fact, I have a… special friend of mine coming too, hopefully to become Co-Sensei. Big changes, Keene my dear boy. Are you ready?"

"Damn right, I am." Robby replied, clenching his jaw and then leaving the office. Once he was out, he pulled out his mobile phone and dialled a number.

"Hello?" The person said as he answered the phone.

"Shawn. It's Robby." Robby said as he answered the phone. "I have a proposition for you…"