THALIA HADN'T expected the fight to be between Sam and Tory. She didn't even think Tory would show up. Especially since she'd been M.I.A. since Thalia had last seen her at Cobra Kai.

"My entire family has suffered because of you!" Sam shouted.

Thalia instinctively stepped forward, positioning herself between them, hands out. "Sam, just—"

Sam shoved her. Hard. The girl bumping into her sister, her caught her my her biceps.

"She's been working with Kreese this whole time," Sam snapped, looking between Miguel and Robby for backup. "And I bet you knew about this too," she added, throwing a pointed glare at Thalia.

Thalia's breath caught in her throat. The accusation stung more than she wanted to admit.

"What?" she asked, voice tight. "Sam, I didn't know anything about this."

"Oh, come on." Sam scoffed, shaking her head. "She's your sister. You expect me to believe you didn't know?"

Thalia's jaw clenched. "Yes, because it's the truth."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Why did you only come forward now? Huh? Because you're a coward."

"Screw you, LaRusso." Tory sighed, breathing heavily as she looked between Thalia, Sam, Miguel, and Robby. "I knew this was a mistake."

Tory marched off and so did Sam in opposite directions. Thalia shut her eyes for a moment before following behind her sister, not daring to look back as she followed her footsteps.

"Tory!" Thalia called. "Tory!" She grabbed her sister's shoulder, turning her around to look at her. "What the hell was that?"

"That?" Tory muttered, her voice sharp but wavering. "That was me trying to keep my shit together."

Tory's eyes flicked back to her sister, and for the first time, Thalia saw something she hadn't expected—fear. Tory was scared. She tried to mask it, but it was there, clear as day.

After a long pause, Tory finally spoke. "You didn't lose the All Valley," she began, her voice low and hesitant.

Thalia's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Tory took a shaky breath, her gaze darting around as if she was making sure no one else was listening. "Silver paid off the ref," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "That's why I won. That's why Cobra Kai won."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Thalia snapped, her voice rising. "You let me think I wasn't good enough? That I didn't deserve to win?"

"I didn't know how to tell you!" Tory shot back, her voice cracking. "Do you think I wanted to keep this from you? I didn't want any of this, Thalia!"

Thalia took a step back, her chest tightening. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Because you deserve to know the truth," Tory said, her voice softer now. "And because I'm done lying. To you, to everyone. Silver's got this whole thing rigged, and I'm done being a part of it."

The weight of the confession settled between them, thick and suffocating. Thalia looked away, her thoughts a whirlwind of anger, betrayal, and something else she couldn't quite place. Finally, she turned back to Tory, her expression unreadable.

"What are you going to do now?" Thalia asked.

Tory hesitated, her jaw tightening. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I'm not staying in Cobra Kai. Not after this."

Thalia nodded slowly, the tension between them easing just slightly. "Good," she said softly. "Because you're better than that, Tory."

"Thanks," Tory muttered. "For not hating me."

"I could never hate you," Thalia said, her voice steady. "But you've got to stop shutting me out. We're in this together, okay?"

Tory nodded, a small, hesitant smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Okay."

     IT HAD been a day since everything went down at the party and though a plan had been brewing on team Miyagi-Do... Thalia didn't want much to do with it. Yes, taking down Cobra Kai would be amazing and would lift a huge weight off of her sister, but she'd be damned if she had to see Samantha LaRusso anytime soon.

Since day one, Sam had no trust or interest in Thalia. The blonde had every right to agree with her sister and be by her side, but Sam didn't even bother giving Thalia a chance ever after she'd apologized... for something she didn't even do.

Thalia wasn't going to do that again. She had no idea about Kreese or Tory working together. All she knew was that she was taking Tory to see Kreese because Tory trusted him. He, for all his faults, had helped the Nichols in various ways and that was the only reason Thalia didn't question Tory on why she wanted to still see him.

Miguel, Eli, Robby, and Demetri had reached out to the girl about the planned the conjured up, but had explicitly told them no and the reason why.

For now, Thalia had been home with her mother while Brandon was out with friends and Tory, for the time being, at Cobra Kai until she figured shit out.

Suddenly there a small knock on the door. It took Thalia out of her train of thought... or lack there of as she stood up, making her way towards the front door. She looked through the peephole and sighed to herself before opening the door.

"I thought I already told you," she said flatly, leaning against the doorframe. "—I'm not getting involved."

"You did," Miguel admitted, stepping closer. "But I wanted to try one more time."

She sighed heavily. "You're persistent, I'll give you that."

"I know you don't want to do this because of Sam—"

"It's not just because of Sam," Thalia interrupted. "It's everything. The whole thing feels like one giant mess, and I don't know where I fit into it. You guys have a plan, you have your team. You don't need me."

Miguel frowned. "We do need you. You're smart, and you know how to talk to people."

Thalia shook her head, frustration bubbling to the surface. "And look where that got me. Sam still doesn't trust me, and now I'm supposed to play nice and pretend that doesn't bother me? I can't keep doing this, Miguel. I'm tired."

"I get it, Thalia. I really do. But this isn't about Sam or proving anything to anyone. This is about stopping Silver, about doing what's right."

Thalia let out a humorless laugh, pulling her arm away. "Doing what's right? Miguel, I've been trying to do what's right since the day since the fight at school, and it's never been enough. Not for Sam, not for anyone."

Miguel stepped closer again, his voice earnest. "It's enough for me."

She froze, his words catching her off guard. For a moment, the weight of his gaze and the sincerity in his tone left her speechless.

Miguel took a deep breath, his hands resting at his sides. "I don't care what Sam or anyone else thinks, Thalia. You've already proven yourself to me, over and over again. And if you don't want to do this, fine. But don't let anyone else make you feel like you're not enough."

Thalia's throat tightened, and she looked down at the floor, her fingers gripping the hem of her sweatshirt. "You really mean that?" she asked quietly.

"I hate that you have to ask."

Thalia blinked, her chest tightening at his words. Why does he always know what to say? She thought, her mind racing. She had spent so much time convincing herself that she didn't need validation from anyone, that she could handle everything on her own, but here Miguel was, breaking down walls she didn't even know she'd built.

She glanced up at him, and for the first time, she allowed herself to really look at him—his warm, dark eyes, the slight furrow in his brow as he waited for her response, the way he always leaned in just a little when he talked to her, like what she had to say actually mattered. Her fingers tightened on her sweatshirt, her heart doing this annoying fluttering thing that she'd been ignoring for weeks.

It's Miguel.

The realization was both thrilling and terrifying.

"I..." Thalia started, her voice catching. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to focus. "You... You and others talk to that guy and let me know what happens. I'll talk to Tory and we'll figure things. We can regroup and figure this Cobra Kai thing together."

Miguel nodded, his smile softening. "That's all I'm asking."

Thalia returned the soft smile as Miguel turned to make his way to the others with the news from her.

When the door finally shut, she let out a long breath, her heart pounding in her chest. She had no idea what she was going to do about the plan, about Sam, about any of it.

But one thing was clear—Miguel made her feel seen, and that was something she wasn't sure she could walk away from.

    THALIA PATIENTLY waited for Tory to finish with practice at Cobra Kai to talk to about what was next and how she could leave the place once and for all.

She glanced over and saw Tory coming towards the rather quickly. With furrowed brows, Thalia unlocked the car door and Tory quickly got into the car, shutting the door behind her with a harsh pull as she hissed.

"You okay?" Thalia asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She muttered under her breath.

Thalia didn't believe her but nodded anyway. As she turned her head, she glanced down at the gearshift and saw Tory's hand. Blood sat on top of her knuckles as she tried to place her jacket gently above it.

"Tory, what the hell?" Thalia removed the jacket, Tory's knuckles on full display. "We have to go to the hospital! It could be broken."

"Thalia, no." Tory said, her voice not raised, but lined with exhaustion. "They're pushing me on purpose. I know that, but until we come up with a plan... I don't know what to do."

Thalia heavily sighed, cautiously reaching over to grab Tory's hand. Blood sat on top of her knuckles and she could only imagine the pain that seeped through it.

"They have a plan, I guess." Thalia spoke. "Something to take down Cobra Kai with." She let go of Tory's hand. "I told Miguel that I'd talk to you first before anything. You've been in Cobra Kai longer than any of them. You know the ins and outs. I'm in this with you Tory."

Tory nodded, an almost sigh of relief leaving her. Tory was exhausted and she held it in for so long. She was done.

Cobra Kai would die.

     THE SISTERS finally made it home. Tory sat on the couch as Thalia made a beeline towards the kitchen. She grabbed a bag of ice and passed it over to Tory. The eldest girl hissed through teeth as she tried finding a spot to place the bag.

There was a gently knock on the door and Thalia stood. She made her way over, peeking through the peephole, and furrowed her brows.

"Who is it?" Tory asked.

"Sam." Thalia muttered.

Tory stood, stepping in front of Thalia, and opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I..." Sam paused, glancing down at Tory's bloody knuckles. "Oh my God! What happened?"

Tory scoffed. "Don't pretend like you care."

"Look," she sighed. "I don't wanna be here. But if you're having problems with Cobra Kai, I'd be willing to listen."

Thalia looked over at Tory. The eldest girl keeping her eyes on Sam as she stepped aside, allowing the girl into the apartment.

Thalia followed suit, sitting down next to her sister as Sam stood. Sam's eyes viewed the room. The door to their mother's bedroom had been opened and Sam could see the end of her bed, the oxygen tank louder than the silence that rang through the room.

"I wanted to win the All Valley more than anything." Tory began. "After my match with Thalia, when they handed me that trophy... I was proud. She'd worked hard and I knew that, but then I saw Silver and that ref, and it just killed me. I felt like a fraud. And 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 and I've dragged Thalia into it."

"I didn't know what you guys were going through." Sam muttered. "But now that I do... maybe we can help each other." She paused, catching her breath before continuing. "I 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 to the police."

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

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

The weight of their decision settled over the room, but for the first time in a long time, there was a glimmer of hope. Thalia didn't know what the next steps would bring, but she knew one thing for sure: they were in this fight now, and they weren't backing down.

— lucy has something to say !!

i got a different job but that ain't gonna stop me from writing fanfic

anyway can we clap for this be published on a thursday... the original update day...

"my entire family as suffered because of you" sam i love you but anthony did that shit to himself

thalia sitting there as sam and tory talk about shit she knows nothing about 🤷

bye :))))