 ( chapter sixty two )
EXTRA LONG TRAINING MONTAGE.

Syd sat in the front lobby of the hotel, seated with Demetri and Eli, the three making guesses as to what exactly training for the final fight would look like. Eli had thrown out the idea of jumping across a lake filled with alligators, but Syd quickly had to add the rule that they were making guesses that she couldn't end up dead or disfigured from.

Every team had been summoned to the lobby by Gunther, but no one knew why yet as the man had yet to show up.

"I mean I'm sure they won't go easy. You guys can't just get out first round, I mean that would be embarrassing." Demetri spoke, facing the couple as they sat across from him, Eli's arm wrapped around Syds shoulders. "Thank you for that." Syd nodded, laughing lightly as she shook her head.

"You're both horrible at this game, you know." Syd added, looking between the two for a moment. "You just can't handle our perspectives." Demetri replied, sassily shrugging his shoulders.

"He said alligator lake and you said something hard so you don't suck. Those don't exactly scream supportive and helpful." Syd noted, giving each boy a look. "You're gonna kill it, babe." Eli tried instead, squeezing the girls shoulders lightly.

"Wow, I'm a new woman." Syd replied, laughing lightly when Eli sent her a look.

"In other news, have you guys noticed the brawl two seconds from taking place across the lobby?" Demetri wondered, including the couple in on what he was seeing. Syds eyes widened, watching Robby and Kwon angrily glaring at each other as they spoke while Tory just sat in the middle of it.

Syd looked at Demetri, "Were you thinking of mentioning this earlier or just when the fists flew out?" Demetri shrugged in response. "I didn't feel like there was a particularly good moment to bring it up."

If Syd was being honest with herself, she was still pissed at the boy for what he'd done to Yasmine. It was technically just dancing, but he knew better than that and really hurt Syds friend. But she also knew that the tournament was almost over and the boy already got what karma he needed with Yasmine dumped him.

She just knew she had to at least keep the peace for the rest of their time in Barcelona and for Eli's sake.

Syds eyes traveled back to Robby and Kwon, now seeing them standing even closer to each other before Robby looked at Tory, walking away from the two. "Yay conflict management skills." Syd lightly cheered, just thankful she wouldn't have to stop any random brawls that day.

Though, her eyes stayed glued at this situation as Tory suddenly shoved Kwon, the two obviously still hating each other just as much as always. She wanted anxiously as Kwon moved to walk right back toward Tory, the boy only stopping when Sensei Kim yelled his way. "Stop!"

"I feel creepy just watching this." Syd spoke, facing forward again. Eli quickly joined her, only moving closer to the girl as she pulled out her phone, watching whatever random videos popped up with her happily.

"You two make me physically ill." Demetri noted, though somehow all three knew it was a compliment. Syd just looked at Eli, smiling lightly as the boy planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, guys." Miguel smiled, Sam and Robby walking with him as they all joined the three. "Hey, man." Eli smiled, taking his arm off Syds shoulders for a moment to dap his friend up before immediately wrapping it around the girl again.

"Anyone know when we'll hear whatever message brought everyone down here?" Sam wondered hopefully, figuring there was a chance. "I wish." Syd sighed, leaning further against Eli as she went back to watching videos on her phone, deciding just to listen to anything else her friends had to say.

"I wonder what it'll be about." Robby spoke aloud, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Maybe he wants to explain how the captain's competition is going to work." Demetri suggested.

"Uh, I don't know. You'd think he'd wait for the other teams to leave before doing that." Sam replied, taking the seat next to Syd as Robby and Miguel sat with Demetri. "Maybe he wants to rub their noses in it." Demetri shrugged in response.

"I'm gonna go with no on that one." Miguel laughed lightly, shaking his head.

"Everyone? Can I get your attention? Come gather around." Gunther spoke, finally showing his face. "Finally." Syd smiled, standing immediately before quickly finding her hand connected with Eli's as the two led the group to all stand together by the large windows in the building.

Kenny and Devon joined, Sensei Lawrence, Sensei Toguchi, and Mr. LaRusso all doing the same.

"My apologies for summoning you all like this. But under the circumstances, it was necessary. The Sekai Taikai has a long and honorable tradition. We fight hard, but we fight fair. That's why I'm saddened to announce that one of the dojos here has tarnished that tradition by cheating." Gunther explained angrily.

Syd looked around confused, trying to see if she could spot anyone growing nervous from their spot. She only made eye contact with Tory, the blonde girl shrugging lightly when Syd sent her a curious look. Syd sighed, beginning to look around again as Eli squeezed her hand.

"Who do you think would do something like that?" The boy wondered almost silently, leaning down to the girls ear. "My guess is always Kreese or Silver, but they look just as confused as the rest of us." Syd replied, just as quiet.

"Sensei Ivanov." Gunther suddenly announced, shooting his head toward the Russian Sensei. "Four of your students have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs." Syds eyes went wide at the information, both shocked that it happened and that they were being exposed in front of everyone for it.

She thought they deserved that, but she'd always assumed people would silently be asked to leave over being exposed in front of everyone.

"You are hereby eliminated." Gunther spoke, pointing at the man. "What the hell are you talking about?" The man, Sensei Ivanov, snapped back. "You're hereby removed from our finalists." Gunther reiterated.

"Bullshit!" Ivanov yelled. "Why don't you come over here and remove me yourself?" He then questioned, stepping toward Gunther angrily.

"Sensei Ivanov! Consider yourself fortunate that your dojo wasn't banned forever. Continue this behavior, and that could be arranged easily!" Gunther yelled back, getting right back in Ivanovs face.

Syd watched anxiously, stepping toward Eli as the boy wrapped his arm around her shoulders, keeping their hands intertwined as he did so.

Syd watched as Ivanov nodded silently, stepping away from Gunther and ushering for his team to leave. Syd was just happy the disqualification hadn't amounted to more.

"Replacing Udar Tigra will be the dojo with the next highest point total." Gunther announced. Syd felt like she'd just been punched in the gut, immediately realizing who that would be. "Wait. That means..." Devon realized, eyes moving to Cobra Kai.

"Cobra Kai." Gunther spoke. Syd watched as Torys team began celebrating together, all the boys hugging each other as she just stood before them.

Syd felt like puking. They'd finally beat Cobra Kai in a way they couldn't come back from, and now they were just handed a spot in the finals like it was the universe just trying to spite Miyagi-Do.

She was happy for Tory, but that just meant both Kreese and Silver would be there for the finals. And she didn't trust that one bit.

"Of course." Devon sighed, shaking her head.

"And on a more positive note, we'll now announce the draws for our semifinals." Gunther announced, looking around happily. "See? Told you he'd do it in front of everyone." Demetri noted, looking between the other seniors on the team.

"Shh." Eli replied, squeezing Syds hand lightly as he anxiously waited to see who she'd be against. Syd eyed the pieces of paper handed to Gunther nervously, just hoping it wouldn't be Tory. With the girl being back in again, she wanted to fight her in the finals. She didn't want either of them taken out before that.

"In our girls' bracket, the first semifinal will be Maria Àlvarez versus Zara Malik." Gunther exposed. Syd felt her chest tighten as her eyes sadly moved to Tory, the only pairing she didn't want at this stage.

Tory met her eyes immediately as well, sending back the same sad look. "And in the second match, that will pit Tory Nichols... against Sydney McKinley." Gunther finished.

Syd tried to send Tory a smile, though she just felt like crying. She knew how much Tory wanted this, and she knew how much she'd worked for it. But she also knew how badly she wanted it herself and what she'd overcome to be here she was in that moment and Syd wasn't about to let herself down either.

It was going to be either or now, and Syd felt her heart break a bit at the idea.

"In our boys' bracket, our first semifinal match will be Diego Aguilar versus Kwon Jae-Sung. And our second semifinal match will pit Axel Kovačević against Robby Keene. Good luck to all our semifinalists. And we look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the venue." Gunther finished, bowing toward everyone before swiftly exiting.

Syd sadly wrapped her arms around Eli's waist, staring forward silently. He quickly hugged back, rubbing the girls back as he sadly looked in her direction.

"Axel the invincible, and Syd-Tory premature rematch. It's less than ideal." Demetri spoke, looking between both Syd and Robby. Syd just bit down on her lip, unwrapping one arm from Eli as she began messing with her necklace anxiously.

"Hey. There's nothing to worry about. You've got it." Sam smiled lightly, walking over to Syd and placing her hand on the girls arm comfortingly. "Thanks." Syd replied, trying to smile.

She just unwrapped from Eli completely, using her now free hand to spin the charms on her bracelet while her other hand stayed glued to her necklace. He just sighed, taking one of her hands in his to try and help the girl let her anxiety out more productively, squeezing her hand lightly.

She kept her free hand on her necklace, but squeezed his back with her other hand.

"Guys, let's all take a seat, okay?" Mr. LaRusso spoke, looking toward the teens. They all listened, loving to sit on the long staircase a bit behind where they'd been stood.

Syd sat beside Eli, Demetri on the boys other side as she leaned against his arm, staring forward at their Senseis.

"Screw this horseshit, man. How many times do we have to kill that son of a bitch until he stays dead?" Sensei Lawrence complained, looking between Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Toguchi as the kids watched. Syd completely agreed with him.

"Kreese is like a cockroach. But he is not one fighting on mat." Sensei Toguchi replied, facing the teens as he did so. "Sensei Chozen's right. We have the rest of the day to tune up for tomorrow." Robby spoke, turning his head back Syds direction at the last part of his statement before looking forward again. "What's the plan?"

"Knock Kreese's head off his neck, for starters." Sensei Lawrence replied. Syd frowned, sighing lightly. Even just by the way Mr. LaRusso stared forward like his head wasn't in the game, Syd could tell they had no idea what to do from here.

It scared her, honestly. She was about to head into one of the biggest fights of her life and needed her Senseis with her for guidance. It was already hard enough fighting her best friend, let alone doing it with no support from those who were meant to teach her.

"Dad? Dad?" Sam wondered nervously, watching her dad too. "What?" Mr. LaRusso replied, seemingly coming back from wherever he'd gone in his mind. "Training? For the final fights?" Sam questioned, frowning lightly.

She wanted Syd and Robby to have the best chance out there, and whatever was happening in front of them all wouldn't give the two that.

"Oh, yeah. We'll run through the usual stuff." Mr. LaRusso replied nonchalantly. Syds frown only grew, heart dropping into her stomach. "Senseis need time to discuss. Go get changed. Uh, meet me at gym, hmm." Senseis Toguchi spoke after a moment, sending both Robby and Syd comforting looks.

Syd just stood, silently walking past her Senseis and following the rest of her team back to their rooms. Hopefully when they came back the adults would actually have something for them.

———————

Syd stood in the gym staring forward, punching the punching bag in front of her without an emotion guiding her. She was exhausted. She was tired of having to beat Cobra Kai over and over again and she was tired of fighting her friends.

This whole trip had just felt like one punch to the gut after another and she couldn't tell if it would even end once the Sekai Taikai was done. She just had a bad feeling about everything to come, one she couldn't shake.

"Sydney. What is wrong? You barely even look at the target as you hit it. Almost like robot." Sensei Toguchi wondered, walking over to the girl and leaving Robby to continue his training.

Syd bit down on her cheeks, frowning as she turned to the man. "I'm fine. Just tired." He sighed, shaking his head. "You must push through exhaustion. Now, what is really going on?" Sensei Toguchi replied, clearly seeing right through her.

"I just— Being told I have to beat Tory is killing me. I mean... I knew if we both made it that it would come to this, but I'd been able to rationalize it when I could hold out hope we wouldn't fight till the finals. Now it just feels like I'm kicking my best friend while she's down and destroying her dreams if I win. But I also know that I need to be on my own team so I can win. It's just all too much." Syd exposed, taking deep breaths a moment later as she realized she hadn't exactly taken a moment to breathe while speaking.

"Breathe. Breathe. Sydney, you are taking yourself out of fight before it even begins. Must not give up on your goals when you've worked so hard. I know journey has not been easy, but you must stay on your own team until tournament is over." Sensei Toguchi replied. 

Syd took in another breath, shaking her head. "How am I supposed to look my best friend in the eyes after her mom just died and take this away from her?"

Sensei Toguchi didn't speak for a moment, trying to find a good answer. It was a tricky situation the girl had been put in, and he didn't really have a solution.

"You're not taking it away from anyone, Syd. You and I both know Tory just wants a fair fight. If you don't give her your all just so she can win, she'll see right through you and then you'll both lose. You have to keep the promise I know you two made each other and fight as hard as you can. And whether you win or lose doesn't matter until that final point is counted, don't focus on it before then. Trust me, it's the quickest way to psych yourself out." Robby interjected, looking the girls way as he stood from stretching.

Syd sighed, nodding slightly. She could understand how he was seeing it and it honestly helped a lot. "Thanks. I— I just want this so bad, but I want her back so much more." Syd admitted.

"She's gonna come back either way. I don't think you out of anyone should be worried about losing her. Your relationship is probably the only relationship she fully trusts." Robby replied.

Syd frowned, feeling guilty as she saw the sad look appear in the boys eyes. "Robby." He just shook his head, smiling lightly. "It's okay. We both know Tory would rather lose a fair fight than win a rigged one, you just have to remember that."

"Thanks." Syd spoke again, eyes moving to Sensei Toguchi. "I'm ready."

"Good." The man smiled in return, looking between the two. "Because we are going to push hard for victory."

"Not so fast, Chozen." Mr. LaRusso spoke, smiling as he walked into the gym and Sensei Lawrence and Miguel on his tail. "I've got a new plan to train these two, but we need a few more people to start." Mr. LaRusso finished, smirking.

Syd sent Robby a look, not knowing whether or not to be excited or scared. He just shrugged in return, figuring both would be the best option to go with.

Robby soon realized he had been right when he was running beside Syd, Miguel, Eli, and Sam all running behind them as Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Lawrence chased them in a car through the streets of Barcelona, Sensei Toguchi driving while the other two hung out the sides of the vehicle.

Sam, Eli, and Miguel had quickly agreed to help the two and train with them, all agreeing that it could help them feel more comfortable when supported by their friends. And so that's what happened and Syd found her eyes widening when a can was chucked at her feet. "Jesus!" The girl gasped.

"Let's go!" Sensei Lawrence screamed, grabbing another empty can and chucking it forward toward the two captains. "Come on, keep it up!" Mr. LaRusso yelled as well before Sensei Lawrence shouted something in Spanish. "Miguel, move it!" Sensei Lawrence then screamed, chucking yet another can.

"Where is he getting all of those from?" Syd gasped, eyes widening  as she noticed the vehicle getting closer, only picking up her pace.

"That's it. That's it, Sam!" Mr. LaRusso smiled. "Yeah! Nice speed, McKinley!" Sensei Lawrence yelled next, the two continuing to chase the group another mile before figuring they could move on.

Syd felt like her legs were ready to die as they all got into the car Sensei Toguchi was driving, the man taking them all up to an area that overlooked the city.

Mr. LaRusso ushered the two captains with him, directing them in sharp, technical motions, all standing in a line. Syd smiled lightly as she kicked forward, truly feeling the energy being put out among the group.

Eli just watched the girl, a smile not seeming to possibly leave his face anytime soon. Everything she did was like magic to him, even just a simple kick. It was like he was always watching the most fantastic person in the world, and somehow he got to call her his girlfriend.

Sam and Miguel gave each other small smiles as they watched the mohawked boy just watching his girlfriend. Miguel never saw Eli happier than when he was with Syd, and it truly did show the strength of their relationship for them to be able to come back from so much and survive so much more.

Sam was just happy Syd found herself someone who looked at her the way the boy did. She wouldn't expect anything less when it came to how anyone dating her friend should see her.

Next Sensei Lawrence took over, the movements going from slow and sharp to quick and aggressive as Syd and Robby practiced any offensive moves they could. Syd wanted everything on her mind for the fight, any and all moves she'd ever done before needing to soak back into her body so she'd be ready.

The group soon moved into the building they'd been working outside of, Sensei Lawrence taking over first as he fought both teens at once. Syd swung a punch his way, the older man quickly blocking it before blocking when Robby did the same.

They worked like that for a while, just each practicing their blows on a moving target and turning that into full on two vs. one sparring before it was Mr. LaRussos turn again, the man leading the teens through a kata exercise.

Syd swung her hands down to meet in front of her stomach, staring forward as she continued to follow every motion Mr. LaRusso demonstrated.

After that they moved back outside, each teen being handed a bow staff as the two looked toward each other, bowing. Syd was the first to strike, swinging the bow staff toward Robby as the boy blocked the hit last minute.

She then swung it down, forcing Robby to jump over the attack and stumble back slightly. He tried to take over, swinging his bow staff right back at her but Syd quickly blocked, spinning the staff around and pinning Robby's down. She smirked lightly as her eyes met the boys, taking hers back before spinning around herself and sending a powerful swing his way.

Robby dodged, stopping the momentum with his bow staff and continuing to practice his defense on the girls never ending attacks.

Their next activity was in a much more crowded area, each teen passing a melon between each other and squatting when it got to them. Mr. LaRusso had purchased a melon, handing it to Eli to start it off.

He quickly did as told, passing it to Miguel, who passed to Sam, who sent it toward Syd, before Syd handed it to Robby and the order reversed until Mr. LaRusso decided they could be done.

The final part of their training was a run around different parts of the city, basically just going and following Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Lawrence until she said done.

Syd felt the way her legs burned from the constant exercise, yet it was only getting her more and more focused for what was to come. She was actually feeling confident again, ready to win the whole fucking thing.

They all ran over a bridge, Syd looking around at the beautiful sight and wishing she could stop for a moment just to appreciate it. But instead the group kept going, running until they found their way back to the building they'd been training in, Sensei Lawrence and Mr. LaRusso speeding ahead of the kids to be at the top of the stairs once they made it.

Syd looked to Robby beside her, nodding to the boy. He just smiled back, the two facing forward again and running up the stairs to end it all.

Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Lawrence immediately stood before the two, offering them both high-fives before giving the same praise to the other three who'd stuck through to help out.

Syd smiled as she turned to Robby, the two quickly high-fiving before low-fiving, the girl exhaustedly wrapping her arms around her friend happily. He was quick to hug back, both teens just happy to be fighting this together.

Syd pulled away, bending over herself as she felt her back crack and pop in a few random places. "Good job, babe. You crushed it." Eli smiled, walking over to the girl and offering her some water.

Syd smiled back, rolling back up and taking the offer. "Thanks." She replied, taking a few sips before placing the bottle at her feet. "You know, I really appreciate you coming with us. All three of you." Syd spoke, looking between Eli, Miguel, and Sam.

"Yeah, seriously. You guys didn't have to do that." Robby agreed, moving to stand a bit closer to the group. "Gotta keep you guys honest, am I right?" Miguel joked, patting Robby on the chest before taking a step toward Sam happily.

"Well, now it all comes down to one last day of fighting. And then we go home." Syd spoke, smiling lightly as Eli pulled her closer to him, happy for the windy breeze blowing past them. "One more day. What could go wrong?" Robby joked, everyone smiling.

It was all almost over, and Syd was just happy to have her friends by her side as it all came to an end.

AUTHORS NOTE!
see but what if I cried because only one more (insane) chapter left until we only get five more new episodes of cobra kai... ever

my favorite shows ending should actually be illegal like idc how bad or insane it gets I want this show forever