RORY WAS lucky. She knew that. Especially when she lived in Seaford. She had her friends there, her family, her dojo, her life. Seaford was apart of her and she would never let it go, but she knew that she'd been shielded from almost everything.

From the backlash of social media to the bullying at school. She'd been shielded from it because of who she was... because of who her parents were.

It wasn't until she moved to the Valley that she'd been exposed to more. She'd seen more life, she seen heartbreak, loss, and victory. It was something that she wouldn't give back even if it was hard. She never lived her life until she moved here and she was thankful for that.

And soon enough, it would come to an end.

For now, she was still in Barcelona with Miyagi-Do. They had been called down into the lobby of their hotel with the other remaining members of the Sekai Taikai and the eliminated teams for an impromptu meeting.

Rory stood by herself for a moment before her eyes shifted over towards Zara. After their fiasco yesterday, Zara had lost followers, sponsors, and various other things Rory couldn't care less about. People knew the truth and that's all that mattered.

That Zara was a piece of shit "girls girl" who would rather win than support others. She wasn't interested in uplifting anyone—only in tearing them down for her own gain.

Rory finally tore her eyes away from the girl just as Zara turned to face her, her eyes locking onto the girl with a glare she couldn't shake.

For Rory, her eyes were now drawn towards Tory. The blonde girl sat alone with something fidgeting between her fingers.

With a small sigh, Rory slowly approached her. She hadn't spoken to Tory once while she was here and she didn't know if she was avoiding her or if Tory was avoiding her. Possibly both.

It wasn't like the two of them were close, but at some point, they were.

"Hey." Rory softly spoke.

Tory looked up, the small item in her hands was a bottle cap that had been colored purple on the top. She wasn't really expect Rory to approach her, as Robby had been the only one trying to see why she left Miyagi-Do... thought it made sense why she had.

"Hey." Tory said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Congrats."

Rory offered a faint smile, but there was a hesitation behind it, as if she wasn't quite sure what to say next. The silence between them stretched for a moment, and Rory shifted on her feet before glancing toward the bottle cap in Tory's hands.

"Thanks," Rory replied softly. "It... wasn't easy."

Tory let out a small breath, her fingers fidgeting with the cap as she avoided Rory's gaze. "You guys deserve it. You worked hard."

Rory tilted her head slightly, studying Tory's expression. She could see the weight of everything Tory had been carrying—the pressure, the expectations, the constant fight to prove herself. It was all there, etched in the tension in her shoulders and the tightness of her jaw.

"Are you okay?" Rory finally asked, her voice quieter now.

Tory gave a small, humorless laugh and shrugged. "I'll be fine. I always am, right?" She paused for a moment, her eyes flicking up to meet Rory's. "Look, I know we talked before, but... I need to say it again. I'm sorry. For... everything. For the fight, for your scar. For how I treated you when I shouldn't have."

Rory's brows knitted together as she looked at Tory, her chest tightening at the vulnerability in her voice. She hadn't expected this—another apology, especially now.

"Tory..." Rory began, but Tory shook her head, cutting her off.

"No, let me finish," Tory insisted, her grip tightening on the bottle cap. "I know it doesn't change anything, but I need you to know I never meant for things to get that far. I was angry, and I was scared, and I took it out on the wrong people. On you."

Rory let her words sink in, and for a moment, she didn't say anything. Then, she took a small step closer, her tone soft but firm. "We've all made mistakes, Tory. And yeah, it wasn't easy for me to get past it, but I've forgiven you. You've been through a lot too."

Tory looked at her, her eyes searching Rory's face for any hint of insincerity, but there was none. She nodded slowly, her posture softening just slightly. "Thanks. I... I needed to hear that."

Rory offered a faint smile, but as she glanced over her shoulder, she saw her teammates waiting for her. She sighed, turning slightly to leave, but Tory's voice stopped her one last time.

"Hey, Rory?"

Rory turned back, her brows raised in question.

"Good luck," Tory said quietly, a small, genuine smile tugging at her lips. "Finish it."

Rory nodded, her smile growing a bit warmer. "Thanks, Tory. Take care of yourself."

And with that, she turned and headed back toward her team, the weight of the moment lingering in the air.

"Hey, you okay?"

Rory looked up and saw Robby, Miguel, and Sam standing by each other. She gave a curt nod over to Miguel with a small smile.

"Yeah... It's just a lot, you know." Rory answered softly.

Miguel nodded in understanding, his expression softening. "Yeah, it's been a long couple of days for all of us."

Robby stepped closer, his gaze searching her face. "What did Tory say?"

Rory hesitated for a moment, glancing back in the direction she'd come from. "She apologized. Again. I think she just needed to say it one more time."

Sam crossed her arms. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

Rory tilted her head slightly, letting out a small sigh. "I hope so. She's been through a lot, and I don't think anyone's made it easy for her. But she's strong. She'll figure it out."

Robby placed a comforting hand on Rory's shoulder, his touch grounding her. "And what about you? You sure you're good?"

Rory gave him a faint but genuine smile, her gaze meeting his. "I'm good. I just needed a moment to clear my head." She looked between the three of them, her smile growing slightly.

"My apologies for summoning you all like this." Gunther spoke, causing everyone in the lobby to turn. "But under the circumstances, it was necessary. The Sekai Taikai had 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."

The different teams muttered different things to themselves and to each other as their eyes danced across the room, trying to figure out who the cheat had been.

"Sensei Ivanov." Gunther called. "Four of your students have tested positive for performance-enchanting drugs. You are hereby eliminated."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sensei Ivanov shouted.

"You're hereby removed from our finalist."

"Bullshit!" He continued. "Why don't you come over here and remove me yourself?"

"Sensei Ivanov!" Gunther shouted. "Consider yourself fortunate that your dojo wasn't banned forever. Continue this behavior, and that could be arranged easily!"

With that, the Udar Tigra team was dismissed and Gunther brought his attention back over to the remaining teams. He explained that the remaining team with the highest total of points would be replacing them... which meant—

"Cobra Kai."

"Of course." Devon muttered.

"And on a more positive note, we'll now announce the draws for our semifinals." Gunther said. "In our girls' bracket, the first semifinal will be Maria Àlvarez versus Zara Malik. And in the second match, that will pit Tory Nichols... and against Samantha LaRusso. In our boys' bracket, our first semifinal match will be Digeo 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."

"Axel the Invincible, and Sam-Tory chapter a billion." Demetri scoffed. "It's less than ideal."

Miyagi-Do gathered on the staircase as their senseis stood before them.

"Screw this horseshit, man." Johnny muttered. "How many times do we have to kill that son of a bitch until he stays dead?"

"Kreese is like a cockroach. But he is not one fighting on mat." Sensei Toguchi explained.

"Sensei Chozen's right." Robby said. "We have the rest of the day to tune up for tomorrow. What's the plan?"

"Knock Kreese's head off his neck for starters." Johnny suggested.

Rory rolled her eyes as she placed her chin in the palm of her hands. One thing Johnny had been right about was that this was growing exhausting, in fact, it was past exhausting.

They were right.

Cobra Kai never dies.

"Dad?" Sam called. "Dad?"

"What?"

"Training? For our final fights?"

"We'll run through the usual stuff."

Rory looked over at him with knitted brows. It was clear that his mind was else where and God knows where that was. He'd been off ever since he went missing for that full day and he hadn't been the same since... and would you be if you were kidnapped?

"Senseis need time to discuss. Go get changed." Sensei Chozen said. "Uh, meet me at gym, hmm."

As the group dispersed, Rory fell into step beside Robby. She noticed the way his shoulders were set, rigid like he was bracing for something. His silence wasn't unusual, but it felt heavier now, weighed down by more than just the upcoming fight.

Rory sighed and stepped in stride with Robby, nudging his arm lightly with her elbow. "Yes, Axel is way taller, but you've got speed, strategy, and, most importantly, you're Robby Keene. You've already taken down tougher guys."

Robby gave her a sideways glance, his lips twitching like he was trying to suppress a smile. "You make it sound easy."

"That's because it is," Rory teased, giving him a light shove. "You're going to crush it, Robby. You always do. Just keep your head in the game."

He shook his head, the faintest smirk pulling at his lips now. "You're way too confident in me."

"Someone has to be." Rory shot back, grinning. "You're going to walk into that match and show Axel that height doesn't win fights. And Robby?"

"Yeah?"

"Try to smile a little more. You're way scarier when you're brooding."

He laughed under his breath, shaking his head again as he headed off. Rory smiled to herself, feeling lighter knowing she'd been able to cut through the tension, even if just for a moment.

EVEN THOUGH the sun shined brightly throughout Barcelona, the mood swayed between everyone as the stood in the arena where the semifinals would take place.

Rory, though not competing, stood in line with Miyagi-Do and watched as Gunther took the center stage.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The Sekai Taikai Tournament of Champions." Gunter announced to a cheering crowd. "Welcome, competitors, to the semifinal round of the Sekai Taikai. Each dojo will retain the points they have accumulated thus far. Each match will consist of three two-minute rounds with unlimited scoring and no stoppages. One point for a hit. Ten for a knockout. And should anyone score a knockout, that's worth twenty. So, it's still anyone's tournament to win. Because at this stage of the tournament, no deficit is too large to overcome. Best of luck and may the best dojo win."

First up, was Diego and Kwon. It was intense and the crowd was loud and it didn't take long for Kwon to score the amount of points plus a knockout for Cobra Kai to move forward.

Next, Axel and Robby.

"This is everything you've been working for." Johnny spoke. "You earned it."

"Breathe, focus, stay centered. Give him everything you got." Daniel reassured.

Chozen nodded. "And then you give him more."

Rory stepped forward an easy smile on her face as she shook his shoulders before he bowed towards his senseis.

Rory rocked back and forth on her feet but tried to remain calm as the fight between the two of them started. And Axel had a great defense on him. He fought hard and wouldn't let up and it was clear that he fought hard, easily earning two points for the Iron Dragons... and the fight wouldn't stop unless one of them knocked out the other.

And with a hard swing, Axel's fist collided with Robby's cheek and blood spewed out of his mouth.

Rory nervously bit the inside of her cheek, she'd never, ever seen anyone fight this hard. She had never seen that much blood flow out of an opponent.

But Robby didn't fall. He took in a deep breath and continued on. He was able to block Axel's shots, but Axel was able to grab Robby, almost lifting him off the ground as he walked towards the outer ring of the mat.

"Are you going to keep defending, or are you going to fight?" Axel spat.

Once the words left Axel's, he practically threw Robby off of him and towards Cobra Kai, who surprisingly caught him.

But as Robby began to stand upright, Kwon lifted his arm and jabbed Robby right in his side.

"Hey!"

The word leaving the mouths of Rory and Miguel, but the latter half marched forward.

Axel quickly turned and shoved Miguel towards the ground.

This one-sided beef between Miguel and Axel seemingly started after Miguel returned from the Valley. It was strange... what was the reason?

Miguel quickly stood and grabbed Axel by his gi. "What the hell's your problem man?"

As for Robby, he stepped forward. "Cheap shot, bitch. Wanna try it again?"

Things were getting out of hand as the teams slowly gathered onto the mat.

"Stop! Stop this!" Gunther shouted.

Rory pushed her way towards Robby, trying to grab ahold of his arm to pull him away from Kwon, but the sound of a microphone hitting the ground drew her attention away from him.

Gunther hit the ground with a harsh thud as Sensei Ivanov took the stage. All eyes locked on him as he shouted something in Russian with his fist in the air.

Suddenly, all the teams rushed towards the mat and before Rory could even think, a fist collided with her face... hard. She hit the mat hard, but turned to see someone in a yellow gi, standing before her, but they were quickly rushed by someone else in a red gi.

Colors few past Rory as she scrambled to her feet and she watched as people fell to the ground, were body slammed, and how her parents were nowhere to be seen.

As Rory found her balanced she felt a kick towards her back and turned, seeing Zara standing behind her.

Zara held her smirk as she lunged forward with a wild punch. Rory dodged effortlessly, ducking low and spinning behind her, planting her hands on Zara's back to shove her off balance. Zara stumbled forward with a grunt, catching herself just before she hit the ground.

Rory barely had time to react as Zara lunged at her with surprising speed, grabbing her by the arm and twisting her into a harsh lock. Before Rory could regain her footing, Zara swept her leg out from under her, flipping her onto her back with a heavy thud.

The impact knocked the wind out of her, and before she could scramble up, Zara was on top of her, throwing punch after punch. Rory managed to block a few, her arms aching under the force, but a sharp jab to her cheek left her dazed.

"You think you're so tough, don't you?" Zara sneered, her voice cutting through the chaos around them.

Rory gritted her teeth, trying to push Zara off, but the girl was relentless. The sting of each punch blurred her vision, and for a moment, panic flickered in her chest.

Suddenly, just for a second, Rory was able to breathe as the weight of Zara was off of her. She brought her arms down and saw Robby standing between the two of them.

He quickly turned, grabbing Rory's hand and lifting her to her feet.

"You'd really choose her over me?" Zara asked.

"It's not even close."

Before anything else, someone grabbed Rory by the hair, their fingers digging into her scalp as she winced in pain. She grabbed the hands that had latched onto her hair, but couldn't shake the person off until she used her nails to dig into their sink.

She was able to turn and kick the girl in her torso. And everything went by in a blur. It felt like she couldn't see, she couldn't hear. All she could do was fight, but she was growing tired. She could feel her arms burning as people ran past her, as people punched her in the face, as the blood ran from her nose and lip. She could feel it all and nothing at the same time.

And suddenly...

It was ear piercing. It was enough for everyone to stop and turn at the sound.

Everyone gathered around as Kwon's body laid there, he was stiff. Rory had never seen anyone so still in her life.

Daniel gently pushed through the crowd, gently calling out Kwon's name.

He was quiet. Still.

That's when Daniel turned Kwon over and a pile of blood stood by his side, it was so dark it looked black.

The knife was so deep in his abdomen that it was clear. It was so fucking clear.

He was dead.

Rory swallowed hard as she looked at him. Her eyes burning and the sudden tears of shock mixed with the blood that dripped down her nose and lip.

And all she could do was stare at him. At his body.

Robby, who'd stood by her side turned her face away from the body and that's when it hit hurt.

This, all of this, would be with her for the rest of her life. Everything that led up to this moment would stick with her.

The conversations they had, the way they fought. The way his body was frozen in time.

"Cut the feed. Cut the feed!"

— lucy has something to say !!

WHAT

well fellas... i guess ill see in february (allegedly) for the last time and the last act of this story... which means the end... so like what do we do?????

kwon dead... 🤷 that evil ass laugh he does when he sees the knife is CRAZY damn i'd be scared fr 😭

ending inspired by kelly slayyy

bye :))))