Chapter 10

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The news spread to all remaining competitors that the tournament was back on, and all fighters were in full prep mode. Robby along with the rest of Miyagi-Do suited up with their gis and went straight into all-round training. Robby specifically wanted to focus on techniques and strategy to take down Axel. His dad and the rest of the Team were great help and encouragement. Robby did feel good being able to fight again. It didn't take long for that adrenaline rush to take over.

Daniel, Amanda and Chozen had taken a trip up north to the Ojai Valley to do wine tasting. The Team was given the opportunity to train alone. Demetri and Eli asked Robby to meet them at the dojo. They didn't say too much, but they said they had a way that would guarantee them to win the Sekai Taikai.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Robby approached Demetri and Eli alongside Miguel.

"Hey, there he is," Eli said, grinning. "The future champion of the Sekai Taikai." He said it trying to imitate Gunther Braun's announcing voice while Miguel fist pumped, cheering him on.

"And with a new do," Demetri added, looking at Robby's hair.

"Last time I saw you like that, was like what? Two years ago? When we fought at the All Valley?" Eli said, also noticing Robby's new haircut.

"Yeah, I felt it was time to cut it," Robby said, running a hand through his hair which kept its volume, but now shorter and slicked back. "Felt like a change."

"Stud," Miguel said, giving him a slap on the back with an amused look.

Robby sighed and said, "Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Nobody scored a point on Axel all tournament."

"Yeah? Well, that's about to change," Eli said, he and Demetri exchanging looks.

"What's all this?" Miguel asked, looking down at the pulley which had two boxes stocked with different kinds of equipment.

"All this is how Miyagi-Do is going to win the Sekai Taikai," Demetri said with confidence. Robby's curiosity now piqued, wondering what his friends concocted.

XX Meanwhile at Tory's apartment XX

Tory turned down the hall toward her apartment with a grocery bag in hand. She stopped when she noticed Sam sitting in front of her apartment door.

"LaRusso?"

"Yeah," Sam said, slinging her mauve duffle bag over her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Tory asked, not expecting to see her.

"The Miyagi-Do boys are training together. And I know we have to fight each other in the semis, but I figured if I'm going to fight the best, I wanna train with the best," Sam said sounding hopeful.

Tory shook her head. "I'm not fighting. I quit." She walked past her and opened the door to her apartment.

"Wait, what?"

"You should be happy. One less person for you to fight."

"Have you talked to anyone about this?"

"I don't need to talk to anyone about anything," Tory said, turning to face Sam. "I'm not putting that Cobra Kai gi on ever again. You're not gonna convince me otherwise."

"That means I advance to the finals," Sam said, while Tory mindlessly put away her groceries. "I have to fight you-know-who."

"Nobody deserves to get their ass kicked more than that bitch," Tory pointedly said. "Only now…there's a new obstacle with that."

Sam shifted uncomfortably, knowing right away what she was referring to. "You're talking about Robby. You think they're still in contact?"

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Tory replied. "Knowing her, she probably still has him wrapped around her diamond-clad little finger. No idea what he sees in that-…" Tory trailed off, not finishing her sentence. She merely continued to put away her groceries.

"Look, if that's what you're worried about. Don't let it get to you. Finish the fight and fight for yourself. Or at least help me train to beat her." Tory looked at Sam still uncertain. "Come on. This could be your last opportunity to try and kick me in the face."

XX Back at Miyagi-Do dojo XX

Robby stood still while Eli strapped him up with a protective vest and arm pads. He felt like he was a human experiment as the Binary Brothers hooked him up to a computer. The receiver went off and lit up in a rainbow of colours.

"We call it Fully Integrated Generative Haptic Technology, or FIGHT," Demetri explained. "It is the most advanced karate training program in the world."

"Okay, but what does it do?" Robby asked.

"Put these on and you'll see," Eli said, handing him a headset that looked like snowboarding goggles.

At first all he could see was Miguel's image and data analyzing and feeding through. But after a second, Miguel was no longer Miguel, he was replaced with Axel. A full-bodied, real life, but virtual Axel. Robby could hardly believe his eyes at what appeared in front of him. It was truly amazing what technology could do and what his friends were able to create.

"Woah," he looked at the figure up and down.

"Is it cool?" Miguel said, moving his arms about and doing hip thrusts.

"This is trippy," Robby said, now pushing the goggles over his eyes. "You weren't lying when you said you had a way to win."

"We uploaded data from Axel's fights to develop an algorithm that could be fed to Miguel's headphones."

"So today, Miguel's Axel. You may increase your odds of winning."

"Okay, what are my odds now?"

The Binary Brothers looked at each other. "Well, the program is still in its infancy."

Robby turned the laptop and looked at the screen. "I only have a twelve percent chance of winning."

"Great odds considering the last person to fight Axel…ended up dead," Demetri said. "Not a bad place to build from."

Robby decided to give it a try if it increased his chances of winning. And this was quite literally the closest he'd get to facing off with the real thing in a couple of days. But unfortunately for Robby, the virtual training wasn't going liked he'd hoped. Even though it was his best friend he was sparring with, AI Axel was just too realistic for him. He stopped and pushed the headset over his head again.

"How am I doing?"

"Uh, the AI is still calibrating," Eli said, looking up from the laptop. Robby started to get annoyed at his friends sugarcoating the truth. He walked off the sparring deck and took another look at the laptop. His succession probability dropped by eight percent.

"Four percent?" Robby tore the velcro off his gloves and shook his head. "How about we just call it like it is. The headset's not the problem." He dropped the goggles on the table and walked off inside the dojo. He paced back and forth trying to gather his thoughts. Was he kidding himself? The training just brought everything back from when he faced Axel on the mat. He couldn't find a breakthrough. If he was having this much trouble now, what chance did he stand winning the tournament?

"So, what's it like fighting with that thing on?" Miguel asked, entering the dojo.

"It's pretty realistic," Robby said, still pacing back and forth. "Probably a little too realistic."

"It doesn't matter what the numbers say, okay? You can beat Axel."

"I know I'm a good fighter, but clearly, I'm not the best. The numbers prove it."

"Screw the numbers. Bro, you're too hard on yourself."

Robby instantly heard Zara's voice in his head, remembering when she had told him the same thing. But it didn't stop him from still thinking what he was thinking.

"No, I gave it everything I had last time, Miguel. It didn't make a difference."

"So what? You're gonna give up just because Axel scored a few points, and you didn't? What about when I beat you, how come you didn't give up then?" Robby bowed his head at this. "Because you knew how far you've come. Remember what I told you in Barcelona, this was never supposed to be easy! Forget the computer. You're letting your nerves take over because you're seeing his face through a headset? Forget the tech, forget the numbers, numbers are for pussies! All that matters is whether or not you want to win!"

"Of course I do," Robby said, his expression now turning serious.

"Then prove it," Miguel exclaimed. "Get your ass back out there. Training isn't over."

Robby was stunned, looking at his best friend who stood in front of him. "Scary how much you just sounded like my dad."

"We both know Sensei probably failed math. It wasn't a big stretch."

Robby smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better. He was so grateful he had Miguel to give him that shove back in line when he needed it. He straightened his shoulders and stood up tall.

"Okay. Careful what you wish for."

"Alright! Game on!"

A second round of the virtual combat was activated. Robby started off slow but began to find his rhythm and adrenaline with his fighting. Demetri and Eli made sure to increase the complexity of the moves that they fed through to Miguel. Sometimes powerful kicks, other times quick jabs to try to throw Robby off balance. Despite the challenge, Robby thrived with each move, he even started to anticipate the next ones. He mentally took note of each move. With every strike and block, he felt himself growing more confident. Then realized he wasn't just training to fight but preparing to take control.

"You got the technique down!" Eli shouted from the corner.

"You just need to keep honing your strategy!" Demetri yelled out after. The boys were impressed at the increasing numbers of Robby's success rate and continued to give their encouragement.

After the intense round, they paused to catch their breath. Robby pushed the headset over his head. He grinned and Miguel's eyes lit up with pride at his friend's progress. The two high-fived and hugged each other.

"Man, that's beast mode! You got this," Miguel said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Robby stepped off the deck and checked his phone. His eyes rose as he read the text from his dad.

"Dude!" he exclaimed to Miguel. He looked over and noticed Miguel had the same look on his face as he checked his own phone.

A big smile spread across their faces. "My mom's in labour."

"We're gonna be big brothers," Robby said. Him a big brother, he thought to himself. It was finally happening.

The two quickly changed out of their gis and into their clothes and hurried down to the hospital. It turned out Robby was in for more than one surprise. He found his dad dressed in a tuxedo and immediately questioned what was going on. He explained how he had an entire proposal planned up with music, decorations, dinner and the works, but plans changed as he got the call that Carmen was in labour. So, if she couldn't come to his proposal, his proposal would come to her. And that's exactly what Robby walked into when he came into his soon-to-be stepmother's hospital room. It was simple, but sweet. Soft music orchestrated in the background accompanied by himself, Miguel, Chozen, Daniel, and Amanda.

Despite the circumstances that happened a month ago, there was definitely magic in the air. The happiness in the room was contagious as it radiated amongst everyone. Robby smiled big as pastor Bobby recited the vows at his dad and Carmen. The worries and doubt Robby was facing seemed to disappear in the moment.

"Johnny Lawrence, you may now kiss your bride," Bobby happily announced to his long-time friend.

The couple laughed in happiness as they sealed their union with a kiss. Everyone started applauding. But the moment was cut short, when Carmen moaned in pain against her husband's mouth. She grasped his shirt.

"Woo! Baby's coming."

Everyone gasped and looked at each other with excitement and anticipation. Johnny quickly shooed everyone out of the room.

Robby sat in silence outside. He twiddled his fingers, feeling more anxious with every passing minute. Then finally, after long last, his dad came out the room looking tired, emotional, and over the moon at the same time.

"Alright. You guys ready to meet her?"

Everybody got up from their seats and quietly but excitedly entered the room. Robby felt his breath catch in his throat. He felt his heart start to beat faster, almost exploding with happiness as he looked down at the beautiful bundle in Carmen's arms. It was an indescribable feeling.

"Meet baby Laura. She's named after Johnny's mother. And she's perfect."

And that's exactly what she was. She was perfect. Everyone was in awe. There was a new addition to the family. Robby never would've imagined this would be happening. The other day he was a law-fracturing menace to society, angry at the world and literally made an enemy out of nearly everyone who stood in this room. Now he was on the verge of becoming a world karate champion and he was now a big brother. Someone's protector. He had a new reason and motivation to keep fighting.

"Welcome to the Valley, Laura," Johnny whispered, tenderly kissing his newborn daughter on her forehead. "Your brothers and I are going to bring you home a trophy."

Robby exchanged a proud smile with Miguel. He was determined now more than ever to win the Sekai Taikai and bring home that championship.

After a few minutes, Robby felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He tore his eyes away from Laura for the first time. Another smile crept along his face as he saw the text that came up. It read:

Zara Malik: I'm in the Valley!

Looks like little Laura wasn't the only newly arrival to the Valley.