[SEASON FIVE: EPISODE TWO]

"When I look around today, I see the future." Terry admitted, as all of his students were in a Junbi stance positioned next to one another. The old man turned his attention to glance at the numerous older men standing right behind him.

"Now, it's no secret that our past has been defective. Sensei Kreese was the victim of his demons."

"But John Kreese is not Cobra Kai. We are. We have already shown that we are champions. But the championship is merely a springboard to new heights. That's why I brought some of the finest senseis in the Valley. Consider this their job interview."

"Let's all give it up. Champ is in the house." Silver declared, applauded mocking, Tory stopped, bowed in respect, and then made her way over to the rest of the students.

"She's allowed to be a little late. Today."

"When are you going to bring your trophy in?" Kenny asked.

"Not today." She said.

"All right, warm up. The Sensei's will instruct you, let's see what they know." The old man announced, and one of them walked towards Nichols.

"So you are champion, eh?" The Japanese Sensei questioned, looking a bit confused.

"Yes, I guess." Tory responded.

"Good." He nodded his head, sternly.

"Then I won't be easy with you."

The Sensei held up a punching pad and she began striking it aggressively. However, the man noticed something was off about her.

"You better than this." Chozen scoffed.

"How would you know?"

"It is obvious. You are troubled. Maybe you don't want to train anymore because you're a champion."

"I don't just fight for a trophy. I wanna be strong, to defend what's is mine."

"Good reasons."

"What about you? Why be a Sensei?"

"Honor."

"Is that all?" Tory asked.

"That is everything."

"I thought I had lost my honor. Eventually, I understood. No one can take honor from you. Only you can take honor from yourself." He explained.

"How's it going here, Sensei..." Sliver started, walking over to them.

"Jokichi Tatsuya." Chozen quickly bowed in response.

"Everyone calls me Joe."

"Sensei Joe. What are you working on with our champion?"

"First train the mind. Then train the body."

"Don't let me interrupt."

"If you want to break free of troubles, you must face them directly."

"Breathe..." He encouraged, holding onto the punching pads.

"Attack!"

She inhaled deeply, then delivered a roundhouse followed by a hook kick to the training pads.

"I need to talk to you." Tory called out as she slowly approached Sliver.

"Nichols, what's on your mind? Excited to take things to the next level?"

"What's the point?" Nichols shrugged.

"You'll just pay me to make me champion again."

"So you know about the ref." Terry stated, glancing around the room to notice that he and his champion were standing alone in the room.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"So you don't deny it?" She shot back.

"Not at all." The old man shook his head.

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

"Did I?"

"Of course you did." He said, in a reassuring manner.

"You're the champion. I know it. LaRusso knows it. The whole Valley knows it. Hell, even Williams knows it. And if you don't believe it, then you're the only person who doesn't."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Just go back to normal and act like nothing happened?" Tory questioned.

"Listen. I'm not Sensei Kreese. I don't have the connection you two had. I never had to scrape and claw my whole life, like you."

"But I do know is how to use every advantage to ensure victory."

"You mean cheating." She stated.

"The tournament was a matter of Cobra Kai's survival. If a person steals food to survive, are they cheating? Or are they doing what they must be done?" Sliver asked, as Tory kept quiet, not even knowing how to respond.

"I want you to be here. And I want you to be you. If you choose to leave, I won't hold it against you. But if you come back tomorrow, I will make you the future of this dojo."

"The decision is yours." Terry said before walking away from her and stepping inside his office.

After Ethan had saved a dog named Ellen, who almost got hit by a car while she was too busy playing with a toy ball, Matthew offered him a guest room to stay for the night and a little dinner, which the boy happily accepted.

He made his way down to the stairs and stopped at the bottom to notice all of the super nice scenery inside his father's house.

"Hey!" The man called out, getting his son's attention as he walked over to the kitchen.

"There you are. You must have been wiped out, right?"

"Yeah, a little bit." Ethan shrugged his shoulders, and looked over at the store to noticed there was something being cooked.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, I am making my famous lasagna dish for me and my wife." Matthew answered.

"Who's that?"

"Athena, she's my girlfriend. We've been together for almost five years now."

"Alright, what about the—"

"Never mind that. Get over here. Let me see those quick reflexes of yours. Tell me where you learned to move like that."

Ethan moved over to the kitchen table, grabbed a knife and started cutting up the meat.

"Okay. I've studied martial arts basically since I was five years old. It's like Karate, I won a championship back home."

"A champion in California? Wow!" His father chuckled in response.

"I'm surprised I never heard of you, before."

"Well, actually, you might have. It's sort of the main reason why I'm here—"

Soon enough, a dog started barking at him. Matthew picked her up and rubbed her because she wanted some attention.

"I've got a great idea. Why don't you come to Phoenix Club with me, yeah?"

"Um...." The boy started.

"Please, come on. You can't leave Canada without a knowing few stories, right?"

"Alright." Williams let out a little laugh before making his way back up to the guest room to change clothes for the event happening later at the fight club that his father was talking about.

He began to pace back and forth before pulling out his phone, dialing his mother's number, and wanting to confront her about the truth of his father.

"Ethan. Oh my God. Are you okay?"

"You lied me about my father. He doesn't even have a clue that I exist."

"I had to. You don't understand how dangerous that man is."

"He's nothing like you said. You were wrong about him. And he's smart, generous. He's respected. He.... He has his own business. All of these things I missed out because of you."

"Ethan, no." Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief.

"Please listen to me."

"Let's go, Ethan!" Matthew called out as he made his way into the guest room.

"I..."

"Don't—"

Before she could finish what she was saying, Ethan immediately ended the call and turned around to notice his father standing right behind him, waiting for him to finish up whatever he was doing.

"What's good?"

"Let's go there," Johnny said when he saw a man use the back door, suggesting they could enter the premises that way.

The disgusting smell of sweat and the scorching heat outside shook them as soon as they entered what looked like a moldy wardrobe.

"Look at this MMA bullshit." He murmured before approaching the first person he saw.

"Matthew Williams, do you know him?

"I don't know who he is."

The two passed by and continued to ask the fighters who were preparing for the fights or recovering after them.

"I'm looking for a man, Matthew Williams."

The man snarled as he threw frontal punches and they walked away with confused looks. Robby and Johnny walked down a corridor, encountering a kind of cage in which some men were fighting each other, illuminated by blue and red lights.

He began to look sideways, holding his stomach with both hands, trying to calm his nerves a little but being unable to.

"And then we'll have the fight of the world! Vicente 'the wolf' González!" He exclaimed through the speakers next to them.

However, Ethan was able to hear Johnny's voice about the loud murmur of the dozens of conversations taking place in the large building.

"Ethan!"

An emptiness appeared on his chest as he felt the weight of a thousand elephants crush his whole heart. Some fighters slowed down their pace with their bodies.

"Move." Sensei demanded.

"You're not going to get close to Matthew." The fighter responded.

Johnny was going to go walk away, but the other man pushed him, which made him very angry. Without hesitation, he punched his opponent in the nose.

The blond man kicked, but the fighter grabbed his leg, and in a matter of seconds, he was on the ground, rolling over to avoid each blow from him.

Robby advanced forward, looking determined, but his father grabbed him by the shoulders.

"No, Robby. I'll take care of it. Stay there."

The fighter grabbed Johnny's shoulder, turning him around started to struggling with him. Finally, Lawrence managed to break free from his grip and landed three kicks against the other man's anatomy.

One of them, enraged, got up and took advantage of the fact that one of his friends had grabbed his opponent to land several punches in his stomach.

He began to look everywhere, searching for something that could help them while Johnny continued to be beaten.

The man turned to Robby abruptly while the fighter strangled the blond man with force. Keene remembered a hot food in his pocket, quickly grabbing it before getting his father's attention.

"Dad!"

He caught the pepper and then squeezed it on the eyes of his opponent, who began to scream in pain.

"My eyes!"

Johnny seized the opportunity to deliver a tornado kick, sending the fighter to the ground once and for all.

The audience started cheering a nickname that was given to him in the last five minutes, but he ignored it and approached the man who was still groaning on the ground.

"Where is Matthew?"

The night had already fallen, Matthew unlocked the shop door, allowing himself and Ethan in, before quickly locking the door behind them. He proceeded to the counter, grabbed a bottle of tequila, and set it down on the table.

"You know we should probably get you home. I could—"

"No, no. We gotta lay low for a few days. Maybe two week or so." The man interrupted, pouring himself a glass of tequila.

"But what about all those other things?" Williams asked.

"They'll be fine."

"Okay, why would you say that?" Ethan questioned, but his father didn't reply and pressed a button on the cash register, causing the drawer to pop open, then the man take a wad of money and shoved it into his pocket.

"Do you know anything about Icarus?" His father asked, as his son kept quiet not knowing how to respond.

"My father used to tell me all of these great stories about when he was in the military. 'You fly too close to the sun, you'll burn your wings right off'."

"What you don't learn till you get older is that the sun is the government, it's women. You'll fly too high, they come and.... Bring you down. People in your life will always come after what's important to you."

Matthew took a swig of the tequila and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a pistol. He then placed it down on the counter, causing his son to swallow nervously.

"They even wanted him to sleep with one eye. I can't even go back to my home in New Jersey. Can you imagine that?" He yelled angrily, catching Ethan's attention, making him look up.

"What happened in New Jersey?" The boy asked with his eyes widened.

"Success. Success happened. You remember that woman I told you about? I was practically your age when we got married. Hey. Don't ever make that mistake. She couldn't stand me ruining my father's business. And her mother? Was even worse."

"They tried to fuck with me, a successful business man! Those corrupted sons of bitches Canada, they did the same! And you know what I regret? Nothing at all." He shrugged his shoulders, before taking another swig of tequila.

"Nothing like seriously?"

"That is the cost of doing business. That is the only cost!" The man yelled, tapping both his hands on the countertop. His son remained silent, tears welling up in his eyes. His mother had been right about him; he was terrible man. Even Sam was right about his mother having a pretty good reason for Ethan not to meet his father.

"Sorry." Matthew exhaled, rubbing his temples.

"I got myself all worked up. I know what we need. You want some tequila?"

"No. I don't really drink." The boy shook his head in response. He couldn't move, or even speak. It's almost like he felt paralyzed again.

"I'm not hungry. I should probably get going anyway."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But there's one thing I should tell you before I go."

"I'm your son. See you later, Dad...."

Ethan gave his father one last glance and turned to the door. As he walked out of the store, he hoped to never see his father again.

As soon as the door closed behind him, the boy felt tears he had been holding back fall onto his cheeks. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, his hands shaking as he dialed his mother's number.

"Ethan?" Elizabeth asked, her voice filled with relief upon hearing her son's voice.

"Hey, mom. I'm really sorry all this. You were right about him."

"Please tell me you're okay, Ethan?" She questioned, anxiously, hoping her ex-husband hadn't harmed her son in any way.

"I don't—"

"Ethan!"

Williams immediately turned around to see Johnny standing there, wearing an FBI shirt but was ripped, with a bloody nose and bruises covering his face.

"Ethan?"

"I'm okay. I'm coming home, mom." He said, before hanging up the phone and approaching Sensei, who squeezed him tightly in his arms while thick tears streamed down Ethan's eyes.

The man's shoulder provided a comforting cushion for the sobbing boy, who closed his eyes, allowing himself to be enveloped by the sense of security that Johnny offered him. However, he opened his eyes when he heard the sound of a door car opening.

His eyes immediately landed on Robby, and a wave of confusion washed over him when he saw the empathetic expression on his face. Then, they had let go of one another.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE AND LEAVE ANY FEEDBACK YOU GUYS HAVE :)

EDITED: 3/20/2024

SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT ONE!!!!