A/N: The countdown to the All-Valley continues. The title of this chapter is a reference to something that happens near the end of it. And, people who've watched Cobra Kai (and I'm sure you all have….) know what it's a reference to. Feel free to read and review/leave a comment, especially if you haven't left a review before.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.

Fire

(Just picture it as a training montage set to "It's a long way to the top (If you wanna Rock 'N' Roll)" by AC/DC.)

In different parts of the Valley, three different faces open their eyes as they're woken up by the sound of their alarm.

Jason Kreese gets out of bed and gets dressed. He does sit ups, crunches and push ups before practicing his punches and kicks.

In one apartment, Miguel Diaz finishes a set of sit ups before going to the bathroom.

Robby Keene practices his kata and meditates in another apartment.

They train hard over the next two months or so.

Daniel looks on proudly as Robby stands on a tree and manages to do every kick without falling.

Johnny watches in approval as Jason and Miguel break boards with their hands and feet.

They effortlessly knock away baseballs launched at them by the baseball machine.

Jason and Miguel exchange punches and kicks in their sparring match. Claire, Aisha, Leonard, Hawk and the other Cobra Kai students look on as neither of them are willing to give up.

The sparring match ends with Jason finally managing to get a breakthrough and winning.

Jason and Miguel face each other and bow as their sparring match concludes.

Robby balances on one arm and tries to do the double footed kick at a skate park.

Finally, the three teenagers are doing push ups in different locations.

Robby goes to take a shower when he's finished.

Jason goes to the bathroom when he's finished doing push ups.

Miguel freshens up before getting dressed.

Jason, Miguel, Leonard and Hawk are training at Encino Oaks Country Club.

They cheer each other on as they train, including when Leonard does sets of bench presses.

(The training montage ends.)

Breakfast goes by fairly quickly.

Mom, Yaya and Miguel all clear away the table.

Miguel goes to his room and calls Sam afterwards.

It doesn't take long for Sam to answer.

"Hey, Miguel." Sam says.

Miguel is quick to answer. "Hey, Sam. How are you?"

"I'm good. Do you want to come over for dinner later? My grandma's going to be at the house. In fact, she's over here right now." Sam replies.

Miguel nods. "Yeah."

"You've never met her, and I want you to meet the rest of my family. If that's alright with you, I mean." Sam replies.

Miguel runs a hand through his hair. "It's fine. I probably won't be too busy today, and I'll come over a little bit before dinner."

"That would be great. See you then." Sam hangs up on her end.

Miguel puts his phone back in his pocket.

He has his wallet and his phone as well as a key to the apartment.

Miguel walks out of his room.

He sees Mom sitting at the kitchen table and Yaya sitting on the sofa.

Miguel looks at them. "I'm going to be having dinner with Sam and her family tonight. If that's okay, I mean."

"That's fine, Miggy. It's good that you're spending time with your friends and your girlfriend. Especially because summer is so close. And we may not be around all the time. I've got work, my personal life and your grandmother has her own friends and other things going on." Mom replies.

Miguel smiles. "Great."

"Let me know if you're going to have lunch with us or not." Mom says.

Miguel nods. "I will."

"Will you be having lunch with us?" Mom asks.

Miguel thinks about it. "Probably not. I might have lunch with Jason or something."

"Thanks for letting us know." Mom answers.

Miguel smiles. "You're welcome. I'll just go and see if Sensei is awake yet. I assume that he is. But it probably wouldn't hurt to make sure."

"Okay. You know where we are if you need us." Mom replies.

Miguel walks to the door. "I know."

He opens the door and steps outside before closing it.

The walk to Sensei's apartment is fairly short.

He sees Sensei's Pontiac Firebird parked outside.

Miguel knocks on the door of Sensei's apartment before taking a step backwards.

"Good morning, Miguel. There's no training today. Plus, I'm having lunch with your mom and your grandma. And I've got something to take care of today, too." Sensei opens the door of his apartment.

Miguel notices that Sensei's apartment still looks fairly clean.

He looks at Sensei. "Good morning, Sensei."

"You don't need to call me Sensei every time. We've already been over this." Sensei remarks.

Miguel scratches his head. "Whoops."

"There's about a week until the All-Valley, but I don't want to overdo it. You and the other Cobras have trained hard. And that's going to help you guys a lot." Sensei sounds proud.

Miguel agrees. "Yeah. Hopefully one of us wins."

"It doesn't matter. Just as long as you fight well." Sensei says.

Miguel smiles. "We will."

"So, are you having lunch with Jason or something?" Sensei asks.

Miguel nods. "I think so. I'm just waiting for him to call or text. And, I'm having dinner at Sam's house later."

"Good. Well, enjoy the rest of your day. If I don't happen to see you today. Or tomorrow." Sensei closes the door.

Miguel checks his phone and sees a text from Jason.

He decides to call Jason.

It doesn't take long for Jason to pick up the phone.

Miguel is first to speak. "Hey, Jason! Are you going to be picking me up?"

"Hey, Miguel! I'll be over at your place soon." Jason replies.

Miguel grins. "Great. See you then."

The phone call was relatively brief.

Miguel walked back to his apartment.

He used the key to open the door and put the key back in his pocket after the door was opened.

Miguel closes the door behind him.

"Is Johnny awake? And are you going to be having lunch with a friend?" Mom asks.

Miguel nods. "Sensei is awake. And I'm going to be having lunch with Jason. He should be here relatively soon."

"That's good. It's great that you're spending time with your, friends, actually." Mom says.

Miguel smiles. "Well, I didn't have any friends when we moved here. But I've got a lot of friends now. And a girlfriend."

"And we're proud of you. We'll be in the kitchen if you need us." Mom says.

Miguel nods again. "Okay. Jason will be here soon. So, I'll just go and wait."

He walks back to his room and waits for a bit.

Miguel sees a text from Jason saying that he's on his way to the apartment.

He opens the door of the apartment and steps out before closing the door behind him.

It doesn't take too long before Jason arrives at the apartment.

Miguel notices that Jason parks across from his apartment before he steps out of the car.

"Hey, Miguel. Where do you want to go for lunch?" Jason asks.

Miguel thinks about it. "Applebee's? Or we could go to that diner Sensei likes."

"That's a pretty good idea, actually." Jason says.

Miguel smiles. "I'll be having dinner with Sam and her family later, so I'm not looking at anything too complicated. And, I'll be meeting Sam's grandma for the first time. Have you ever met Claire's grandparents?"

"Not yet. I have met Claire's cousins a few times, though. I think meeting at least one grandparent is a relationship goal, or something." Jason replies.

Miguel agrees. "Yeah. And it shows that my relationship with Sam is moving forward, too."

"Exactly." Jason says.

They walk over to the Dodge Viper.

Jason didn't lock it because he was only going to be there for a short amount of time, anyway.

Miguel opens the door to the passenger seat and gets in the car.

Jason gets in the driver's seat.

He starts the car and turns on the radio before driving off.

They were both feeling fairly hungry, and they knew that they'd have a simple but good meal at the diner.

….

Jason parks the Dodge Viper outside the diner.

Miguel and Jason both get out of the car before Jason locks it.

They walk into the diner and a waitress who recognises them guides them to an empty table and places menus in front of them.

Jason and Miguel look through the menus.

The waitress who recognised them walks back over to their table.

"So, what will you be ordering?" The waitress asks.

Jason and Miguel look at the waitress. "We'll order a cheeseburger each, fries and Cokes."

"Great. Your drinks will be coming out to you. Let me know if you need anything else." The waitress says.

Miguel nods. "We'll let you know."

The waitress takes the menus and walks away.

"It's about eight or nine days before the All-Valley. The time has just flown by, hasn't it?" Jason remarks.

Miguel agrees. "Yeah. I think that everybody in the dojo is ready for the tournament. Including us."

"I was at last year's All-Valley, but I was just one of the spectators. Competing in it is going to be completely different. Especially because it's my first time competing in any tournament at all, let alone the All-Valley." Jason replies.

Miguel understands. "Yeah. It's definitely going to be a different vibe, for sure."

"And who knows? Maybe one of us will win?" Jason wonders aloud.

Miguel's face lights up. "You really think so?"

The waitress brings over their sodas and places the glasses on the table just as Jason is about to say something.

They watch as the waitress walks away before the conversation resumes.

"As I was saying…. Anyone competing in the All-Valley could potentially win it. Besides, none of the Senseis of the other dojos put their students through the training that Sensei put us through. We got baseballs launched at us. And we got chased by dogs in a goddamn junkyard. We can do anything." Jason continues.

Miguel looks happy. "Hell yeah!"

"We're still going to be friends no matter what happens. Opponents for a tournament, Skeleton Bros for life!" Jason extends his arm and holds a fist out.

Miguel returns the gesture and fist bumps Jason. "Skeleton Bros for life!"

They do a bro handshake as well.

"You know it!" Jason exclaims.

Miguel smiles. "Damn right."

"You're always going to be my friend. No matter what happens in the tournament. I guess I should have led with that, huh?" Jason looks a little embarrassed.

Miguel shrugs. "Maybe. But I know what you were trying to say. We'll still be friends no matter what happens at the tournament."

"Of course we will." Jason says.

Miguel is happy with this particular statement. "That's great. And I really mean that."

"No problem." Jason replies.

Miguel continues. "I had a few friends in Riverside before we moved. And I didn't really have any friends in the Valley until I joined Cobra Kai. But look at me now. I've got some really great friends and I've got a girlfriend. I guess I've got Sensei to thank for that."

"I think Sensei might have helped. But it wasn't just him. A lot of it came from you. If that makes any sense." Jason adds.

Miguel thinks about it. "I think you're right. Sensei saw my hidden potential and brought it out. So, I've got him to thank for that."

"Well, here's to realising our potential." Jason holds up his glass.

Miguel takes his glass and gently clinks it against Jason's. "To realising our potential."

They each take a few sips of their sodas.

Their conversation continues until their food arrives.

They eat, talk and gradually finish their sodas before Jason pays for their meal.

Jason leaves a tip for the waitress before they leave the diner.

It's a pretty short walk to the car.

And their conversation continues.

The plan is to drive Miguel home so he can get ready for dinner at Sam's house.

Miguel had dinner at Sam's house before, but this time would be fairly important because Sam's grandmother would be there. And Miguel wanted to make a good first impression.

….

Miguel has time to freshen up before riding his bike over to Sam's house.

When he gets there, he sees Amanda's car in the driveway but not Daniel's.

He finds somewhere to put his bike before knocking on the door.

The door opens and he sees Anthony standing in front of him.

"Oh. It's you. Mom and Grandma are in the kitchen and Sam's outside." Anthony says.

Miguel nods. "Thanks."

"Whatever." Anthony heads back upstairs.

Miguel walks through the house.

He stops by the kitchen and sees Amanda and an older woman with white hair that he doesn't recognise.

Miguel stands a short distance away from them. "Hi, Mrs LaRusso. I mean, Amanda. And you must be Sam's grandma. I'm Miguel. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Lucille. Sam's told me a lot of good things about you. But I wanted to meet you in person. Just to make sure." Lucille looks pleased to see Miguel.

Miguel smiles. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Lucille replies.

Miguel scratches his head. "Well, I'll head outside."

"Alright. It was nice meeting you." Lucille remarks.

Miguel walks outside and sees Sam sitting at a table near the pool.

He walks over to her and pulls out a chair before sitting down. "Hey, Sam."

"Hey. I think you've already met Grandma. And it must have gone well. Because you're still here." Sam answers.

Miguel nods. "Of course. I thought she was going to be more hostile because I'm in Cobra Kai."

"I did kind of mention it. But I didn't mention it too much. Mainly because you're more than just someone in a dojo." Sam says.

Miguel smiles. "Thanks for the kind words."

"I mean it. You're a great person. And, my parents really like you. Which does help." Sam adds.

Miguel nods. "I think it does. And, I'm happy that your grandma approves of me."

"Me too. So, how is training for the All-Valley going?" Sam changes the subject.

Miguel runs a hand through his hair. "It's going pretty well. Sensei thinks that Jason and I are probably the most likely people out of Cobra Kai to win the All-Valley. So, we've kind of been doing some additional training in addition to the training we've been doing."

"Isn't that a little bit too much?" Sam asks.

Miguel shakes his head. "Sensei knows what he's doing. And I trust his judgment. Besides, he's not going to put us through more training than we can handle."

"Alright. Also, Robby's been training for the All-Valley as well. He's been here a couple of times, actually." Sam remarks.

Miguel nods. "Cool."

"How are you feeling about the PSATs?" Sam asks.

Miguel sort of shrugs. "I'm feeling pretty confident. Then again, it's just a practice test."

"Yeah. Hopefully it goes well. Even if it's not all that important." Sam says.

Miguel nods. "The real SATs are going to be a lot more important than just a practice test."

"Yeah. It's a good thing that we don't have to do the SATs yet." Sam answers.

Miguel leans back in his chair. "Didn't your dad turn the pool house into a home dojo or something?"

"He did. You want to take a look?" Sam offers.

Miguel grins. "Definitely."

"Let's go." Sam pushes back her chair and stands up.

Miguel does the same.

They walk over to the former pool house.

The door is closed.

And it doesn't seem to be locked.

Sam opens the door and steps into the former pool house.

Miguel follows her inside.

The former pool house looks like a smaller version of a karate dojo.

In fact, that's exactly what it is.

Miguel looks around and sees various objects including trophies, weapons and a picture of a man who was in his sixties when the picture was taken.

He turns his attention back to Sam. "Is that Mr Miyagi? I know you've mentioned him before, and I wasn't really sure what he looked like. I do know that he trained your dad and everything."

"Yeah. You know, I've been thinking about doing karate again seeing as Dad has been getting back into it by training Robby." Sam replies.

Miguel looks a little surprised. "Oh. Well, if that's what you want. I certainly wouldn't stand in your way."

"Good. I knew you wouldn't." Sam smiles.

Miguel nods. "Yeah. I'll support you no matter what."

"Thank you." Sam says.

Miguel takes another look around the former pool house. "You're welcome."

"We should probably go. Dad and Robby will be back soon, if they're not back already." Sam gets Miguel's attention again.

Miguel agrees. "That would be a good idea. I might have gotten to know your family over the past few months, but I'm not sure if I'm at the "hanging out in a home dojo" level yet. But I'd like to be. Obviously."

He watches as Sam walks over to the door of the former pool house and opens it before walking back outside.

Miguel quickly follows her.

He remembers to close the door behind him.

It's a short walk back to the table near the pool.

Sam sits down in the chair she was sitting in earlier.

Miguel sits directly across from her.

They hear the sound of a car pulling into the driveway and, slightly later, the sound of footsteps followed by the doorbell ringing.

The doorbell stops and the door is opened.

Eventually, they see someone walking outside.

"Hey, Robby." Sam says.

Miguel looks over at Robby. "What's up?"

"Hi, guys. Mr LaRusso took me to the woods again to train. He had me balancing on a fallen tree to practice my kicks. And, I worked on my punches as well. I think I'm in a good place in terms of my preparation for the All-Valley." Robby replies.

Miguel's face lights up. "So, you're competing, too? That's great! Who knows, maybe we might even face each other at the tournament."

"Yeah. It's almost hard to believe that I'll be competing. I wasn't sure if I was ready at first, but I think I'm ready now. Actually, I know I'm ready." Robby sounds confident.

Miguel grins. "Awesome."

"Yeah. And, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to win." Robby says.

Miguel understands the sentiment. "Same here. Winning the All-Valley would be a pretty big deal, regardless of who wins."

"Hopefully it'll be one of us." Robby replies.

Miguel nods. "Yeah. That would be pretty cool."

"Anything could happen in a tournament." Robby points out.

Miguel is about to say something, but is interrupted by Anthony emerging from the house.

He sees Daniel following close behind him.

Anthony takes a seat on the far side of the table.

Daniel sits down next to Robby.

Which means that Amanda and Lucille are still in the kitchen.

And, dinner would have to be ready by now.

Miguel had told Mom and Yaya that he would be having dinner at Sam's house earlier today, so they knew where he was.

The rest of the evening was going to go well. Especially because there was an absence at the table that hadn't been commented on yet.

….

Johnny sat down at the table in his apartment with a legal pad and a pen in front of him.

He picked up the pen and started to write.

"Dear Robby,"

"I know you refuse to answer my calls, and I refuse to text or email. So, I decided to go old school and write you a letter instead. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I realised that I really screwed up my life. My biggest mistake is not being there for you as often as I should have, or at all. I know that I can't change the past but if you just give me the chance-"

The sound of voices, shattering glass and metal hitting metal caused him to look up from the letter he was writing and rise to his feet.

Johnny looks out the window and can see three men viciously attacking his Pontiac Firebird.

He grabs his keys and runs out the door just as one of the men poured gasoline all over the car.

There were two bikers currently destroying what remained of the Firebird.

The third man looked vaguely familiar, but Johnny couldn't quite figure out why.

"You were supposed to send him a message! Not trash his fucking car!" The third man was loudly remonstrating with the other two men.

One of the men is bald and the other man is wearing a bandana. The bald man is wielding a crowbar.

The bald man was about to say something.

Before Johnny interrupted them. "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing? People live here, you know!"

"Consider this a message from Daniel LaRusso!" The third man smashes the back taillights and the window with a baseball bat.

The bald man laughs. "What are you going to do about it?"

Johnny lands a front kick on the man in the bandana.

The bald man runs at him and tries to attack him with the crowbar.

Johnny disarms the bald man and kicks the crowbar away.

The man in the bandana tries to grab him from behind and gets an elbow to the face for his trouble.

Johnny lands a kick on the bald man, sending him sprawling.

That just left the third man.

The third man was holding a baseball bat for dear life.

"Hey! Back up! I got a bat, man!" The third man takes a step back.

Johnny evades a swing of the bat and takes it away from him.

The third man raises his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Things kind of got out of hand, okay?!"

Johnny grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulls back a fist.

"Please don't hit me!" The third man practically begs.

Johnny looks at him. "Where does Daniel LaRusso live?"

"This whole thing has got nothing to do with him! I made all that shit up! If you want to hit me, then do it! Alright?" The third man is still begging.

The man in the bandana flicks open a lighter and throws it into the broken sunroof of the Firebird. "Hey, asshole! Your car can burn in Hell!"

Johnny watches as the wrecked Pontiac Firebird goes up in flames.

The bald man and the man in the bandana run away, leaving their motorbikes behind. Which is something that Johnny just notices.

"Holy shit!" The third man exclaims, looking at the burning car.

Johnny tightens his grip on the third man's shirt. "I'm only going to ask you this one more time. Where does Daniel LaRusso live?"

"Encino Hills! Escalon Drive!" The third man gives the address without hesitation.

Johnny lets the man go and watches as he runs away into the night.

He walks back to his apartment when the man gets out of sight.

There was no point in going to Daniel's house at this time of night.

Johnny needed to come up with a plan, and he needed to get a good night's sleep in order to do that.

He walks back to his apartment, leaving the wrecked Pontiac Firebird smouldering in the night.