[SEASON THREE: EPISODE ONE]
[PART TWO]

Elizabeth and her mother, Lois decided to go to the hospital to check on Ethan. He lay in bed unconscious, wearing a neck brace and a tube delivered oxygen through his mouth.

"Ethan, it's Mom. I love you so much. Please come back. We're right here with you." She said, carefully grabbing his hand.

"I hope you can hear me."

"He can. Just remind him you're here. Talk about things he loves." The nurse explained to them.

"Hey, buddy. I think the New York Yankees are gonna make the playoffs. Though I guess they'll screw it up as usual." Lois said with a smile as she kissed his hand, hoping he would wake up.

"I love you."

"We love you, Ethan." Elizabeth whispered.

Ethan had stopped running because he was getting tired, chasing this shadow around an imaginary world.

He looked around to see where he was now, standing in front of a headstone, and he knew it was his subconscious in another form.

"Who are you pretending to be now?"

It slowly turned around and made itself looked exactly like his own father, Matthew Williams.

"I don't have time for this crap."

"Yes, you do, son. You have all the time in the world.... literally." He stated, as the boy walked closer towards him.

"No I don't. And how can you just stand there in judgment and accuse me of rejecting my gift? Do you even have any idea of how much, I've learn since I was taught Miyagi-Do, how many people I had to let go, because of my own decisions?"

"Of course we do. You've met countless people." His subconscious said, stepping over to a tombstone.

"And now you're the only thing standing between this world and unspeakable evil. Yet, for all of that, you've never set foot in this place since he passed away."

Williams followed right behind him to a tombstone, and his face widened when he noticed that he was in front of Mr. Miyagi's headstone.

"Why did you bring me back here?" He asked, tears running down his face.

"Mr. Miyagi's death happened to you, Ethan. It made who you are now, but have you accepted it, really accepted losing him?" Matthew questioned, slightly glancing at the tombstone, and the boy didn't answer.

"Maybe that's why you couldn't come here.... cause it would real."

"I know it's real, for sure. Every day I know it. I had a chance to see him one last time. You saw what I chose." Ethan stated, sobbing, his nose running.

"And you're at peace with what you've done?"

"At peace." The boy scoffed in disbelief.

"How could anyone ever be at peace with letting someone close to them die.... Deciding that their life was more important than his?" He asked, and Matthew kneeled down beside his son.

"Do you really think Mr. Miyagi would've wanted you to die for him? Think of all the great people have met you and as a result of that decision, what about them? Do their lives have value too?"

Suddenly the shadow reappeared right in front of them. Ethan immediately looked forward and saw it running away.

"I don't have all day to listen to this. I have to get home. Sam could be in danger."

At the hospital, Johnny stumbled into the waiting room, making his way over to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Ethan Williams." He replied.

"He's in the ICU. Are you family?"

"No, but uh—"

"Only family, emergency contacts, doctors and patients in the ICU."

"Can't you make an exception?" Johnny asked.

"Those are the rules." She answered.

"Can't you, you know.... break the rules?"

"Come on, be a bad girl." He winked at her, in which she looked disgusted.

"Only family, emergency contacts, doctors and patients in the ICU." The nurse repeated her statement.

"You're no fun." He mumbled, turning away from the desk. His eyes scanned the room, landing on white coat that hung over a chair.

Daniel drove in his vehicle that Louie had gave him a location to where they think the missing van is. He got out and held up his phone as it started ringing.

He looked down at the screen, and it showed the whereabouts of where the tracker was.

"Come on, Robby. Where are you?" Mr. LaRusso asked, looking around and stopped at a local park.

He had walked around a bit before noticing a black square-shaped box lying on the ground. He picked it up, flipping it around to show the front side.

The man sighed, knowing it was one of their trackers from when one of the cars got stolen.

"Hey, did you find him?" Amanda asked, from the other end of the phone line.

"I found the GPS, but no van. He must've remembered we track all the trade-ins. Now, I'm back to square one." He answered.

"Is there anywhere nearby that he could've gone?" She suggested.

"There is one another place." Daniel knew exactly what he thought, and that was that Robby could've gone to Miyagi-Do.

Daniel drove his car up to the dojo, parked in the front, and headed inside.

He opened the double-screen doors, looking around to see a fast-food bag sitting on the beach.

Mr. LaRusso went farther into the dojo, opening the back door and suddenly saw Sam sitting there on the edge of the platform.

"Sam?"

"Dad? What are you doing here?" She asked, turning around to face him.

"What are you doing here? Is Robby with you?" He asked, stepping down the steps and walking closer to her.

"No. Have you heard from him?"

"I was just out looking for him. Wait, why aren't you in school?" Daniel asked, sounding a little confused.

"I thought I was ready. But then, everybody was staring at me. I just had to leave. So, I came here. Well, In-N-Out, and then here." Sam answered, as her father sat down on the platform.

"I get it. Believe me, I've been in enough fights to know."

"It's different when you're a girl. I mean, even if you win, you're not cool or tough. They think you're crazy." She stated, nervously tapping the side of her milkshake. Then her voice started cracking.

"Then I think about what Ethan and Robby are going through, and I just feel so guilty."

"It's not your fault. All of this started before you and Ethan were even born. If not for me and Johnny, there wouldn't have been a fight in the first place. This is my fault." Daniel said, as he shook his head.

"I thought we were the good guys."

"We are. At least we try to be. That's what's most important."

"But there's one thing I know for sure, and that's you can't run away from your problems. And I can't run from mine." He stated, pulling her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

Johnny thought of a plan to get into the ICU, using a doctor's coat left in the bathroom, but it was no use. Instead he slammed his head into a towel dispenser, and that would get him in there.

The blond man walked through the hallway, passing by different rooms until he found it Williams's room. He took a deep breath before slowly stepping into the room, his eyes taking in every detail.

Ethan's eyes were closed, and his chest was slowly rising up and down. He was hooked to multiple machines and had a brace that wrapped around his back and head. The boy looked peaceful despite all of the equipment.

"Hey, buddy. Sorry, I haven't been here. Your mom doesn't want me around. Can't blame her. I thought I was helping you. You were learning so fast, getting so strong. But I failed you." He apologized, grabbing the boy's hand.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know if you can hear me, kid. But you got it in you to pull through. You just gotta keep fighting. Never give up. You can do this. I know you can."

"Excuse me?" A voice questioned, making Johnny turned around.

"Only family is allowed in here."

"Yeah, yeah. I was just leaving." He replied, taking one last look at Ethan before leaving the room.

Back in the dreamworld, It was nighttime when Ethan followed the shadow back to his childhood home.

He exhaled, walking over to the house. Once inside, he chuckled because he had enough talking to his subconscious or whatever this was.

Then, he saw someone sitting in the dining room table. The boy took a closer look and didn't expect to see his old mentor.

"Mr. Miyagi." Ethan said, in shock.

"Hai."

"You're not him. Why are you doing this to me?" He asked, his eyes started to water.

"We're not doing anything to you, son. You're just tired. Sit, Ethan, sit." Miyagi said, as the boy took a seat in front of him.

"My father were right along. I haven't accepted it not for a second. I don't think I ever will."

"My trustworthy friend. You have to find a way."

"How do I do that exactly?" Ethan asked.

"I don't have an answer for that. But I know this. What you're become, a grateful...."

"Maybe even a miracle, but it won't make bad things stop happening to you. Even Daniel-san can't halt the tragedies the universe is gonna keep sending his way. You have to accept that. And then, you can truly go free." He said, as the boy started crying and his voice broke.

"I know. I just miss him. I miss you so much."

"What if I said to you the he's proud of you? And the man that you've become?"

"Who's telling me this.... my subconscious or Mr. Miyagi?" Ethan asked.

"Both." He replied.

Later in the day, Daniel stepped inside the Cobra Kai dojo and began to walk around, searching for anyone.

"Johnny?" He called out, hoping someone would answer, but got nothing. Then he noticed a plastic picture pop of Kreese in a fighting stance.

"What the hell?"

"We're closed." A voice said, as a person came walking out of the storeroom, revealing it to be Kreese.

"The dojo's going through some renovations. What do you think?" The old man asked, turning around and facing him.

"Where's Johnny?" Daniel repeated, clearly not listening to whatever he just said.

"He's not here right now. But he'll be back. It's a shame what happened at the school. Cause you know what they say, 'there's no such thing as a bad student'." He quoted.

"It must've hurt to see the Miyagi name dragged through the mud. Wish I could see the look on that bastards face." Kreese smirked. An angry Daniel stepped up to him but quickly stopped himself from going any further.

"That little bastard kicked your ass. More than once. You're lucky he taught me true karate. That's why I'm not gonna fight you." He stated, as he turn around, someone stopped him.

"Oh, but you will." The old man said.

"It's inevitable. But this time, Johnny and I will finish it. Once and for all."

"You're not gonna do something, not when I'm around." Daniel said, walking out of the dojo.

The next day, after having a talk with Daniel about what's happening over the last two weeks, with Ethan in a coma and Robby on the run.

Sam stepped inside the school building, as a few security guards checked her bag for metal objects.

"Good to go, thank you."

She placed her bag back on her shoulders, then noticed a group of girls talking quietly to one another.

"You've got something to say? Say it to my face!" She yelled, as they fell silent.

Johnny walked back to his apartment complex, holding a six-pack, while drinking one of them. Daniel was leaning up against a pole, waiting for him to appear.

"Hey, Johnny. Don't you even answer...." He started, then noticed the bruises on his face.

"Oh God. What happened to you?"

"I bumped my head. What do you want?" The blond asked.

"I went to your dojo, and saw your old sensei. What the hell happened? I thought you said he was gone."

"Look, I don't wanna get into it right now. I got a headache. I need some sleep." He said, pulling his keys out of his pocket and went to open the door.

"I got a lead on Robby." Daniel stated, as Johnny stopped and turned back around to face him.

"I've been trying to find him on my own. But I thought you'd like to help. Look, I don't wanna be here any more than you. But I know we both want Robby to be safe. He's out there somewhere and he doesn't have anyone to help him."

In the middle of nowhere, Robby was leaning against a van, counting pens in his hand. He sighed, pulling his hood over his head and stepping away from the car.

Back at the high school, Samantha made her way over to the stairs, griping her hand tightly around it.

"The whole reason these kids got in trouble was because of us."

She quickly pulled off her jacket, looking down at the scar on her arm. Suddenly, she felt confident again and began walking up the stairs with no fear of anything.

"We can't let them suffer because of our issues."

Back in the dreamworld, Ethan and Mr. Miyagi were sitting down on the couch, when the front door swung open widely, and the same shadow from before appeared in front of them.

"You're ready."

He nodded his head, and stands up, closing both his eyes, then caught it when it entered the room.

And to his surprise, he slowly opened his eyes to reveal himself standing there in a white Miyagi-Do gi, smiling at him. And the two came together as one. Then a portal appeared in the dining room in front of them.

"Ethan!" Sam called out, getting his attention.

Williams heard her voice and started walking towards her, as if she were standing there.

"Ethan, it's time to come." She said, as he turned around to face Mr. Miyagi.

"You're great man with a good heart. Now, run free my dear friend."

The boy turned back around, holding his hand out, reaching for Sam. They were both in his subconscious together and reached out for each other until they finally grab each other's hands.

Meanwhile, at West Valley General, a loud beeping started coming from the ECG machine, and the doctors rushed inside Ethan's room to see what was going on with him.

"Code blue. Respiration's spiking."

The nurses and doctors started doing chest compressions, then checked his lungs when the machine flatlined.

"The only way to end this is by working together. What you do say?"

The machine started beeping again when Ethan's eyes flashed opened with a gasp.

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

THEO JAMES

AS

MATTHEW WILLIAMS
(Ethan's Father)

And I promise you guys this won't be the last time, Ethan meets his father for the first time.

(A potential spoiler for season five)

But, also keep in mind the conversation they were having it was all in Ethan's head. So it make seem a little real, to some of you guys. You'll have to wait to see their future interactions with one another.

EDITED; 3/1/2024

SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT ONE!!!!