[SEASON THREE: EPISODE SIX]
[PART ONE]

Seated at the kitchen table, Johnny stared at the computer screen, processing the shocking news from the previous night. His old girlfriend's lengthy Facebook message awaited his attention, and he began reading it.

"Hey, Johnny. It really has been a long time. I don't even want to think about how many years it been. But I'm still glad we went to high school in the '80s. No question, we had the best music."

"Hell yeah!" He chuckled before delving back into the message, continuing to read with a mix of amusement and anticipation.

"Life has taken me in all kinds of directions since then. I've been blessed with my family and career. And I could probably still kick your ass at air hockey. It's crazy how things have change. I remember we used to see each other every day. Now I don't know the first thing about you. Your profile is pretty bare. What are you up to these days?"

Almost touching the keyboard, the man halted, resting his head in his hands, exhaling a sigh of disbelief.

Returning from his Okinawa trip, Daniel entered the LaRusso house carrying his luggage and a pink bag for his daughter, signaling a homecoming filled with memories and gifts.

"I'm home! The conquering hero has returned." He shouted, stepping into the kitchen. Amanda, while heading to the fridge, also noticed her husband's presence, a mix of surprise and joy in her expression.

"Hey, wait till I tell you what happened over there. It was truly amazing."

Setting his belongings down, he approached his wife and pulled her into a heartwarming kiss, a tangible reunion of affection after his return.

"I come bearing gifts. I got this randoseru bag for Sam and these crazy Kit-Kats for Anthony. And I thought next weekend we could go to wine country. Just you and I."

"Hey, guys. Come down."

"Uh, the kids are at your mother's." She said, leaving Daniel visibly confused by the unexpected information.

"Oh. My mother's? Why, what happened?"

"John Kresse."

The Cobra Kai students gathered at the dojo, celebrating their significant victory over Miyagi-Do, who had been taken by surprise at the old laser tag factory.

"Man, it was so sick! Tory was just kicking ass. I took care of Chris. And Hawk got that beta Demetri in an arm bar like Chris Jericho and just...." Mitch started, accompanying his words with a mimed sound of a bone cracking.

"Cold-blooded."

"Way to go, Hawk." Red complained him, patting him on the shoulder. Tory made her way over to Hawk.

"I didn't think you were actually gonna do it."

"They got what they deserved for what they did to Ethan." He stated firmly, his conviction evident in his words.

"Still haven't seen him yet, have you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

The front door swung open, revealing a group of new recruits, including Kyler and Brucks, entering. Hawk's gaze shifted forward, and he was taken aback to see familiar bullies among the newcomers.

"Class." Kresse shouted.

"Welcome our new students."

The kids cast glances at the new students, a hint of curiosity and wariness in their expressions. Mitch stepped over towards them, breaking the initial awkward silence.

"I'm gonna call you guys.... Chodenose and Taintbreath."

"What the hell did you just say?" Kyler questioned, walking over to him, his tone carrying a confrontational edge.

"Oh, uh, nothing. It's just this thing we do around here sometimes."

"Sensei, I don't think these guys are Cobra Kai material." Hawk stated.

"Weren't you the one saying that we should get new recruits?" Sensei asked, raising an eyebrow
Inquisitively.

"Well, yeah." The boy nodded his head.

"But.... Look, I know some of these guys and they're—"

"Natural athletes. Which is exactly what's been missing in our dojo."

"Everyone, fall in." Kresse instructed, and they promptly took their designated spots.

"Joining Cobra Kai is a privilege. It's not a gift. Which is why our recruits must their position in this dojo."

"Prepare yourselves for combat. Only the strong will survive."

"Are you ready or what?" Johnny asked, hands tightly gripping a rope. He had a peculiar contraption and had strapped Ethan into it, explaining that it could assist in helping him get accustomed to using his legs.

"I really hate this. It's ridiculous." Williams complained, glancing down at the straps securing his waist.

"What's ridiculous about it?"

"Oh, come on. I look like a big baby!"

"The way you're whining and not walking, you might as well be a baby."

"You think tapping your foot at a concert makes you ready for badass training?" Sensei asked.

"I mean, well, yeah. Kind of."

The man counted to three before releasing the rope. Ethan tumbled to the floor, lying there motionless.

"All right. Better fall that time. Let's take five." He said, strolling over to his fridge. The boy unclipped himself from the rope, crawling over to the coffee table, where Johnny's laptop sat, displaying a very long paragraph.

"So, what's the novel?"

"Oh. No, it's a Facebook message."

"That big thing? To who?" He asked.

"I, uh.... Babe from high school. Ali."

"Ali? Like, the Ali Mills?" Ethan questioned, and the grown man nodded with a smile.

"Wow. This is huge!"

"This is so.... But I mean, you're not gonna send that, right?" The boy asked, and Johnny looked at him with confusion.

"You cannot send her that long message."

"Why not?"

"Because, dude. It looks like you wrote about 80 pages. In all caps, by the way." He replied, squinting his eyes at the message.

"I have 35 years' worth of stuff to say, all right?"

"Okay. But shorter than large messages is way cooler. Like, this just looks too desperate. And a little bit creepy."

"Sending her this message would be.... Like if you liked all of her photos." Ethan laughed, while Johnny stared at him wide-eyed.

"Oh, no. Please, don't tell me you did exactly that?"

"What the hell, man? I enjoyed the photos! And there's a button for exactly that, why would I not click it?"

"Because genius, she can see it."

"All right, I got amped-up, Okay? Look, she put a smiley face. It's even got little red cheeks. Is she getting hot? Feeling hot? What am I supposed to do with that?" Sensei asked.

"I think it's just a smiley face. Let's see." The boy stated, grabbing the laptop, reading the message, and then looking back at him.

"Okay, she says she wants to know what you've been up to. This is really good. Because we can salvage this message. And make you a kick-ass profile. Then, you'll be sending a message from a position of pure strength."

"Um.... First we need to get some pictures. You have any photos?"

"Yeah, don't move." The grown man said, rising from the couch.

"I said 'don't move'."

Daniel and Amanda were sitting down at the family table. She was explaining to him what happened in the fight that lead up to Demetri getting his arm broken and how much it affected their daughter.

"I can't believe you went over to that dojo. Are you okay? I mean, is Sam okay,"

"She's shaken up." She answered.

"How could she not be? Honestly, I'm a little shaken up too with a Cape Fear level karate psycho terrorizing the neighborhood."

"You see? It sounds crazy when you say it out loud." He stated.

"No. Sounds crazy when other people said it. But I'm saying it."

"Look, the man is sick. He's got weapons on his walls. And his students broke Demetri's arm."

"Wait, wait, wait. They did what?" Daniel exclaimed, expressing surprise and concern.

"I'm going over there."

"What are you gonna do? Hit him? Look, it's that kind of insanity got us into this mess. And sanity will get us out, okay? We're gonna stop him. We have to." Amanda demanded.

"But we're gonna do it my way."

"Well, what's your way?" He asked.

"Going to the police."

Back at the Cobra Kai dojo, Kreese had ordered them to spar with each other, putting the new recruits to the test see if any of them had what it takes to apart of Cobra Kai.

Everyone stood among the outer square of the mat, awaiting for a command from their teacher. Kyler stepped over to Hawk, noticing a familiar face on him.

"Holy shit! You remember? Look, it's the kid with the lip!"

"Oh, shit. You're right! Right." Brucks stated, nodding his head in agreement.

"All right, class. Let the games begin." Sensei announced, eyeing some of the weaker kids as he walked around.

"You." He pointed at Kyler, then turned around and pointed straight at Mitch, laughing.

"You."

The two boys stepped onto the mat, with Kreese positioned between them. They bowed to each other before assuming fighting stances.

"Ready? Ai!"

Mitch lunged forward, delivering a swift kick to his opponent's face. Stepping back, the Asian boy checked for any signs of blood and created some distance between them.

"Now you're dead."

The boy threw a couple of punches, with Kyler dodging one and blocking the other. Swiftly, The boy executed a roundhouse kick, but his opponent went down underneath, grabbing him, and bringing both of them to the ground.

Then, he gripped his right arm, pulling it around his neck, and Mitch began tapping down on the mat. One of them stood back up, while the other remained seated.

"Finish him." The old man ordered. Kyler grabbed the bottom of his shirt before delivering a final blow to the face. He then walked over to his spot.

"Where are you going?" He questioned, noticing Mitch returning to his own spot.

"To my spot."

"You lost to an untrained fighter. He's going to take your spot on the team."

"Sensei, Assface has been loyal to the dojo." Hawk stated, stepping in to support his friend.

"I'm afraid he's not.... Cobra Kai material. I told you, only the strong will survive."

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SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT ONE!!!!

EDITED; 3/7/2024