Samantha LaRusso was alone. With Miguel off in Mexico and Kai in Japan, she was alone. She knew it was wrong but she liked knowing that one of them was there for her. But now both of them had left her and she was by herself. Stuck and powerless as she watched Cobra Kai take over the Valley.

The Valley was changing, and so was Cobra Kai. The once-small dojo had transformed into a powerful, ever-expanding martial arts empire, fuelled by Terry Silver's wealth and ruthless ambition. Cobra Kai dojos were now popping up across the Valley, aggressively advertising Silver's unique brand of "No Mercy" karate. His presence was felt everywhere, drawing students in droves.

Daniel LaRusso knew what was happening and he fully understood what Silver was plotting. He knew that Silver was no ordinary Sensei but a dangerous, manipulative force who would stop at nothing to dominate. Despite the deal he had made to close down Miyagi-Do, he couldn't just sit back and let Terry win. That just wasn't him.

It wouldn't have been what Mr Miyagi wanted.

Chozen had arrived from Okinawa to help, he was an ally now. He understood the severity of the situation and was willing to aid Daniel to take Silver down. Meanwhile Johnny was away, he was in Mexico with Robby trying to find Miguel who had disappeared to find his birth father.

Chozen began covertly infiltrating Cobra Kai's classes, posing as a Sensei to gain Silver's trust. He wanted to fully understand what Silver's plans were and spent his time training Tory. He could see that she was conflicted - ever since the discovery at the end of the All Valley where she found out that Silver had bribed the referee.

She confronted Terry about it and he didn't hide it.

"I paid him off to make sure Cobra Kai won. It was an insurance policy. You still won." he defended.

"But did I?" she retorted.

"Yes," was Silver's firm response, "everyone knows it. LaRusso knows it, I know it, everyone in the Valley knows it. And if you don't know it, well you're the only one."

"So what now? I just go back like nothing happened?"

"Listen Nichols," Terry said, "I'm not like you or Kreese. I never had to scrape or claw for things. But what I do know is how to use every advantage to ensure victory."

"So cheating?"

"Cobra Kai's survival was at threat. The tournament was a matter of survival. If a person steals food to survive is it cheating?"

Silence from Tory, she was conflicted.

Silver continued. "Leave if you want, I won't hold it against you. But if you come back tomorrow, I will make you the future of this dojo."

Chozen's infiltration was seemingly working, he was invited to Silver's home where they shared a meal and spoke of their histories. It was all going to plan, Chozen was going to find his weakness and then he was going to exploit it.

But then it all fell apart. Just one word Chozen uttered as they clinked their drink alerted Silver immediately that Chozen was not who he was claiming to be. So he was surrounded in the dojo, every other Sensei in the Valley was instructed to attack Chozen but he dispatched them all with ease.

"No challenge Miyagi-Do" Chozen breathed.

"Do not come near LaRusso family. You cross line, you will beg for mercy."

With Miguel's return back in the Valley alongside Johnny and Robby, Sam immediately wanted to talk to him. They had a couple phone calls whilst he was in Mexico but they didn't end up well. Sam still felt betrayed that he had left and wasn't there to support her during the final and Miguel was upset at Sam for being so selfish.

They finally met at Sam's house, Sam waiting for him in the garden. She already had a rough idea of what she wanted to say but everything that she was thinking went out her brain when Miguel entered her garden.

"Hey." he greeted.

"Hey..." Sam said trailing off.

Miguel was quick. "I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have abandoned you like that. I was trying to start a new chapter and figure out my past...But I wasn't thinking about you...or us."

Sam stopped him there. "Miguel you don't need to explain. I'm sorry too. I was only thinking about myself. I was just so wrapped up in the tournament. I respect you for taking the time you needed to find yourself."

Miguel smiled, believing that this conversation was going positively.

"But I need that time too." Sam added. "I need to figure out who I am. Ever since my dad opened the Dojo my whole life has been about karate. And then it was all about you, or Kai-"

Miguel groaned. "Is this still about him?"

Sam sighed. "I just need the time to just process everything and figure out who I am. I haven't done that yet. I've been too busy with everything else. I need a little break to figure out who I am outside of karate."

"When you say break what do you mean? A break from karate? A break from whatever the hell we are?"

Sam began to break down. "I'm not ok right now. I just need to take some time to figure out who I am."

Miguel looked at the ground.

"But it doesn't mean we can't still be friends."

He scoffed. "That's what we were anyways. Friends who just occasionally got with each other. Because you never wanted to commit to me because you thought one day Kai would come back."

The tears started rolling down Sam's cheeks. "I know I've done some bad things in the past. This is why I need this. I just need to deal with everything and just have a reset."

He bit his tongue and held his anger within him, there was so much he wanted to say. "Well I guess I'll get going now."

Sam gave him a half-hearted smile as Miguel turned around to leave, finally letting his tears leave his eyes.

The summer heat was relentless as students shuffled into the Valley's largest waterpark, buzzing with excitement. It was supposed to be a day to unwind, to forget about school and fights and all the complicated politics of karate wars. But as Sam, Moon, and Yasmine walked through the gates, they already sensed the tension rippling through the air.

Just across the park, students in Cobra Kai shirts were clustered together. One of them was a tall, intimidating figure with dark hair and an intense, almost unsettling gaze. Beside him stood a shorter, younger boy, shuffling nervously and clutching his own arms, clearly uncomfortable.

Hawk's eyes met his as he looked at the taller boy with interest.

"Who's that?" Demetri asked."

"New Cobra Kai kid," Hawk muttered, "Elijah St John. He's got a rep for being...well, fucking dangerous. Apparently, he's been training for a while and since Silver's gotten here he's joined Cobra Kai. He's ruthless."

Demetri's gaze slid over to the smaller boy by Elijah's side. "And who's that?"

"His little brother, Milo," Hawk replied, "word is he gets picked on a lot."

They turned back to their own group, hoping to avoid trouble for the day.

As the day wore on, Anthony LaRusso found himself near the lazy river, watching a group of Cobra Kai students goofing off by the shallow end. Seeing Milo alone nearby, he smirked and decided to make his move. Anthony had a bit of a chip on his shoulder lately - with Kenny fuelled by Cobra Kai, he was no longer a target for Anthony.

Anthony approached Milo, glancing back to see if any of his friends were watching. "What're you doing here by yourself? Shouldn't you be off doing push-ups with your psycho brother?"

Milo shifted uncomfortably, averting his gaze. "I'm just here." he muttered, looking anywhere but at Anthony.

But Anthony wasn't one to let it go so easily. "Just here? You don't look like you belong anywhere. Shouldn't you be following your brother around like a stupid puppy?"

Before Anthony could get another word out, a hand clamped down on his shoulder, hard enough to make him wince. He turned, and his smirk disappeared as he found himself face-to-face with Elijah. The older brother's eyes were cold, a look of barely restrained menace flickering in his gaze.

"I suggest you back off," Elijah said in a low, even tone, each word threatening, "unless you're looking to get beaten the shit out of."

Anthony swallowed, glancing nervously around. Kenny had joined Elijah's side, crossing his arms and giving Anthony a look of smug satisfaction.

"I don't want any trouble." Anthony said.

"Well you should've thought of that before you and your friends went after me." Kenny sneered.

"Look I said I was sorry, ok? And you already got me back. I thought we were cool."

"Oh you thought we were cool?" Kenny said mockingly. "Let me think...are we cool? No."

And with that the other Cobra Kai recruits started piling inflatables over Anthony's head. Elijah looked on emotionless, his arm wrapped protectively around his younger brother.

Hawk witnessed this from the other side of the park and cursed when he saw what was going on. Kenny sent a blowing kick to Anthony sending him flying into the lazy river - the crowd of onlookers bursting into laughter.

"What the hell was that?" Hawk asked, walking up to the group.

"None of your business." Elijah said coldly.

"Maybe he needs another haircut to remember who he's talking to." Kenny said, an evil smirk on his face.

"You want to take on the champ kid?"

"Dude you're only the champ because Diaz got hurt. Robby won as many fights as you did."

"But one was against you," Hawk retorted, "and that wasn't much of a fight."

Kenny was obviously affected by the statement as he began to square up to Hawk. It wasn't until Tory and Robby intervened that he backed off.

"Unless you want your ass kicked, I suggest you stay on your side." Tory said.

Hawk shrugged. "No problems as long as you stay on yours."

The tension continued brewing, there was the beginning of a fight but it was immediately broken off by the lifeguarded who warned them that they were close to getting kicked out.

"Clearly we can't co-exist in peace so let's find a solution," Miguel said, "race down the slides."

"Champ versus champ," said Tory, "winner gets the park."

The race was set. The slide was the tallest in the park and Hawk and Tory took their seats in the inflatable at the top. With a final countdown from Kyler, the two were off.

Tory made it to the bottom first and was greeted by euphoric cheers from Cobra Kai but an angry Hawk followed.

"What the hell! You guys cheated. There was a hole in my tube!" Hawk complained.

Tory looked and felt a pang of guilt. Maybe this was what Silver had taught the Cobra Kai students to be, win-at-all costs cheaters.

"I know this was you." Hawk said furiously, stepping out and walking towards Kenny.

"What are you going to do?"

"Not strike first if that's what you think," Hawk replied, "you don't have the balls to anyway."

Kenny shrugged, feigning walking off before he threw a punch at Hawk who easily dodged it. The tension reached a boiling point and a fight erupted. Without another word, Elijah lunged toward Hawk, fists clenched and pushing him into the water. Robby and Miguel quickly with Miguel hitting Elijah and Robby defending the St John.

"Watch it." Miguel snarled.

The lifeguard's whistle suddenly filled the park as one rushed to separate them all.

"Everyone out now!"

Groans were shared amongst all the students but they could do nothing but walk off. Sam watched from the distance, her face filled with frustration as her day was ruined yet again by karate and the stupid politics.

As everyone walked off Elijah sent a menacing glare towards Miguel. "You tell LaRusso to watch his back."

"He touches my brother again and I'll kill him."