[SEASON FIVE: EPISODE NINE]

"You knew all along that Silver cheated at the All Valley and you did nothing?" Sam asked, shoving her back forcefully.

"You don't know what's it's like in there, what I had to deal with."

Tory pushed the brunette away as she tried to swing at her, then kicked her back into the dumpster as her opponent swiftly moved out of the way.

"My entire family has suffered because of you!" She shouted, before Robby and Ethan jumped in to stop them.

"No! Sam, that's enough!"

"She's been working with Kreese this whole time."

"What?" Keene questioned, turning his head toward Nichols.

"Why did you only come forward now?" She asked, glaring at her.

"Huh? Because you're a coward."

"Screw you, LaRusso. I knew this was a mistake."

"Tory." Robby called out as one of the girls walked away, while Sam did the same thing.

"Sammy."

"Did you know about any of this?"

"No."

"I had no idea." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

The very next morning, Sam called for a mini group meeting at Miyagi Do. They discussed on what actually happened between Sliver and the paid-off referee.

"W-Wait. Okay, so Sensei Targaryen paid off the ref at the All Valley and framed Kreese for a crime he didn't commit? Never let me miss a house party again." Demetri recapped.

"We need to tell the Sensei's." Ethan pointed out.

"What are they gonna do? We all saw what happened to my dad, when he confronted Silver. I don't want them getting hurt like that again."

Bert explained how he could talk to Stingray because the two were still somewhat friends. Now, all they had to do was find his address, and hopefully, they'll get some answers.

"Do you really think this is gonna work?" Williams asked as they stood outside Stingrays front door.

"I don't know what else we can do." She responded, shaking her head, still in a bad mood from the previous night.

"Bert! What's up man! Wanna play some D&D with these...." Stingray started, before all of the middle age man began walking out the door.

"Oh, there they are. These noobs were entering the light and exiting night."

"Miyagi-Fangs?" His eyes cast over to the others.

"Oh, this is a trap. Oh, you Admiral Ackbar-ed me. Et. Bert-ay."

"Knock it off. We know Kreese never hurt you."

"According to my testimony in a court of law, he did."

"Yeah, well you're a liar." Ethan stated.

"Read the transcript." He said, going to shut the door before Sam quickly caught it and keep it open.

"You lied to the court, you lied to my dad. But you're not going to lie to us."

"You're just gonna let her—" Ray started, when the brunette walked in first, as the others behind her.

"Okay, now you're all walking in."

They tried. They really tried to get him to talk. Demetri was patient, but not that patient.

"Okay, let's try this one more time, okay? What happened that night? Who hurt you?"

"Hey, Bert, how does it feel?" Stingray asked, staring at his small friend.

"Look. Look at me. Look at me." The tall boy waved his hand around to grab his attention.

"To stab a grown man in the back between his shoulder blades and stare at the blood as it trickles down his back?"

"My dad went through a lot of pain because of you and Silver." Sam interjected in the conversation.

"And now a lot of other people will too if you just sit back and do nothing."

"But if I tell you what really happened, you know, he-he'll find out." The man shuttered.

"I can't. It's not that easy, you guys."

They were all quiet as Stringray took a moment before inhaling.

"Actually, there...um, wait. Okay, so i've been working on this new D&D campaign—"

"I don't think we have time for this." Ethan said in disbelief, wanting to leave this place.

"What happens in the campaign, Stingray?"

"Okay." He took a deep breath before continuing.

"So, once upon a time, there was a Dwarven monk, and he was a member of the most badass guild in all the land. Uh, he was banished for a time. You know, typical PC crap. But, um, once he paid his penance, he returned."

"Only by then, the guild was under new leadership. And the monk was denied reentry into the guild. And quite unceremoniously, might I add. So, what did the monk do?"

"The monk, he made a pact with a silver-haired king who would usurp the leader. And it was early one morning, before any of the warriors had arrived, that the king struck the monk down. Again, and again, and again."

"It was then that they framed the leader for the assault, and the leader was put in chains, and the silver-haired king took over the guild."

"And you were—" Demetri started.

"The Dwarven monk was let back into the guild."

"Yeah." Eli scoffed in disbelief.

"With benefits."

"Aye. With benefits, yeah." Stingray exhaled.

"So why can't he just tell everyone what really happened to him that day?" Williams questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Because he doesn't want to lose his benefits." Sam pointed out.

"No! No!" He shouted.

"I would.... The monk would give it all back if he could, but the-the silver-haired king, you know, he.... He almost killed the monk. He could have killed him. And why? To get power. So, yeah, the monk fears what that king would do to keep that power."

"I think the monk just.... The monk just wanted reentry into the guild because he thought that he could be like a.... Like a proud and noble warrior."

"Just like you, Hawk, Samantha, all you guys. But he's neither proud nor noble. Definitely not a warrior. He just sits around playing with them all day. The monks just scared. I just can't. I'm sorry."

"That's great. Thanks for nothing." Sam said in disbelief before storming out of the room. Ethan watched her go, immediately following behind the brunette.

"Sammy, wait up."

"I know that it really sucks, not getting the answers we want—"

"A lot sucks right now, Ethan." She interrupted him.

"I'm s-sorry about last night." The boy apologized quickly.

"I.... I just met that girl and I wanted nothing to do with them."

"You don't have to apologize. We broke up. You're allowed to do whatever you want."

"Well, you just seemed upset, so...." Williams shrugged.

"I guess I'm trying to understand the situation, Sam. First, you mentioned that you wanted to quit karate and be friends, and that's completely fine with me."

"But now you're participating in a world karate tournament and, it seems like you're not comfortable with someone else being around me."

"This summer, I just.... Wanted everything to go back to normal. But.... Everything was based on a lie. If I knew the tournament was rigged, then maybe my dad wouldn't have had to shut down Miyagi-Do, maybe I wouldn't have thought about quitting and maybe I would've, We wouldn't have...."

"Yeah." Ethan affirmed with a nod.

"This is all Tory's fault."

"Look, Sammy, I know that you really dislike Tory. And you have plenty of reasons to."

"But.... You have no idea what it's like to be in Cobra Kai. I do. And it must have been so difficult for her to admit what she knew. Now, should she have said it sooner? Yeah, definitely. The fact of the matter is that she did admit it."

"And now.... It's up to you to decide what to do about the situation."

"How about we go to her apartment and see what she has to say about this whole thing?" He suggested.

"Sure." She replied.

When the two left to go to the apartment complex where Nichols lived in, all Williams could hope was that this would work out in their favor.

Sam seemed hesitant about the fact that it had to be Tory of all people, but he led the way to her apartment door. He knocked on it, glancing back at the brunette as they waited for an answer.

A few seconds passed before the door opened, and there stood Tory, knitting her eyebrows together as she processed the fact that Ethan and Sam were at her home right now.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Holy crap." The boy breathed out when he saw how swollen and red her knuckles.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"Don't pretend like you care." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Look, Tory. We just came here to talk. If you're having problems with Cobra Kai, you can tell us. We didn't come for a fight." He reassured her.

The blonde girl looked at him for a second, then back at Sam, and then a sigh left Tory's lips as she opened the door wider and motioned for them to come in.

He looked back to share a glance with Sam, who nodded as if to convey they needed to do this. So, he walked into her home, with the brunette following closely behind him.

As Williams made his way into the living room after Tory, who sat on the couch, placing a bag full of ice on her hand, he didn't pay too much attention to the inside of her home.

However, Sam seemed to take note of everything her eyes landed on, from the dining table that was full of old Chinese food boxes to the hospital bed visible down the hall with her mother laying in it. And in that moment, she regretted never considering what Nichols has gone through.

She was hesitant to talk about what was on her mind, but eventually, she built up enough courage to do so.

"I wanted to win the All Valley more than anything. When they handed me that trophy. That was the best moment of my life." Tory explained before glaring up at the two.

"But then I saw Silver and that ref, and it just killed me. I felt like a fraud. I wanted to get back at Silver so bad. That's why I listened to Kreese, but then I got caught up in more lies. And now my life is a living hell."

"I didn't know what you were going through. But now that I do.... we can help each other."

"We tried to talk to Stingray. He basically admitted it was Silver who assaulted him in the old dojo. But he's too afraid to go the police."

Her words made Tory sit up a little with furrowed eyebrows.

"I knew Silver was involved, but.... I had no idea he did it with his own hands." She replied.

"Yeah, but the problem is we can't prove it." Ethan stated.

It was quiet for a second before the blonde girl immediately lifted her head up from looking at her injured hand.

"If it happened at the old dojo, maybe we can."

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EDITED; 3/24/2024

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