xxxix
╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬
chapter thirty-nine
alyssa actually understands
dungeons & dragons for
once
╚════════════════. .❀.╝
ALYSSA BARELY HAD time to blink when Sam barreled right into her arms.
Her hand got forced out of Eli's, and Alyssa stumbled back a bit. She eventually did practically catch Sam, managing to keep them both on their feet. Alyssa laughed a little from the sudden movement, but nevertheless, she hugged Sam back tightly.
"Hey," Alyssa greeted. "What's this for?"
"Rough night," Sam answered, her voice slightly muffled by Alyssa's shirt. Alyssa frowned and pulled her in a little closer. "And I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for pushing you. I — I really didn't mean it, I just—"
"Sam, I already told you it was fine." Alyssa held onto her tight for another moment before pulling away and looking into her eyes seriously. "I'm okay. I know you didn't mean it. I got in your way and you reacted. That's on me, okay?"
She nodded a little, her voice quiet. "Okay."
"Good," Alyssa responded. Her eyes then caught on the boys further in the yard. "We have bigger things to discuss, though. Come on."
After what Tory had told Sam last night, they obviously had to talk about it. That's why they agreed to meet in Miyagi-Do. Those who were at the party at the time — Alyssa, Eli, Sam, Miguel, and Bert — were more so there to catch Demetri up to speed and to review everything. He had been sort of M.I.A. recently due to his job practically taking over his life. Alyssa smiled at the sight of Demetri and bounded up to him quickly.
Alyssa wrapped her arms around Demetri's neck and hugged him tight. "Hey, you. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."
Demetri chuckled a bit and hugged her back. "You saw me the other day."
"I know, but your summer job is taking up all of your time." Alyssa pulled away. "I wish you were at the tournament."
"I do, too." Demetri reached up and ruffled her hair, causing pink strands to fall in her face. She scowled playfully and pushed his hand away. "I'm proud of you for winning."
After their hug, Sam immediately dove into what she had found out — how Silver paid off the ref at the All Valley to ensure how Cobra Kai won, how Silver beat up Stingray — the older man who used to be in Cobra Kai — to the point where he got put in a coma, how he put Kreese in jail for saying he was the one that beat up Stingray, and how Tory was trying to get Sensei LaRusso to see that everything had been a lie.
So, yeah. Basically a fucking mess.
During it all, though, Eli had slid his hand to rest in the back pocket of Alyssa's jeans. She honestly couldn't talk about or focus on it because she was sure that words would fail her and her face would turn bright red. Alyssa couldn't talk about the mark on her chest or the one on Eli's collarbone for the exact same reason.
"W-W-Wait," Demetri began. "Okay, so, Sensei Targaryen paid off the ref at the All Valley and framed Kreese for a crime he didn't commit?" He looked at Alyssa and Eli seriously. "Never let me miss a house party again."
"Yeah, we need to tell the Senseis," Miguel replied.
"What are they gonna do?" Sam argued. "We all saw what happened to my dad when he tried to confront Silver. I don't want him getting hurt like that again."
"Yeah, besides, if this ref and Stingray are on Silver's payroll, they'll never admit to anything," Demetri responded.
"I'm not so sure about that," Bert admitted.
Alyssa's eyebrows knit in thought and she nodded to him. "What'cha got?"
"I know he's in Cobra Kai and I'm in Eagle Fang, but Stingray's still my friend. He wouldn't lie to me. At least I hope he wouldn't."
"Do you think you can get him to talk?" Eli asked.
Bert nodded.
"Find out where he lives," Sam stated.
"Let's go," Eli said, hitting his hand against Demetri's chest.
Eli then walked forwards, and Alyssa went with him. The two of them, plus Demetri and Bert, made their way towards the front of the house. Alyssa glanced behind her, only to see Miguel and Sam hanging back for a moment. Sam then broke away from Miguel, jogging a bit forwards and falling into step with Alyssa.
They had way too many problems right now, but if they managed to keep their head above water, maybe Sam and Miguel would be okay. At least Alyssa hoped they would be.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
STINGRAY ENDED UP living in a luxury apartment — no doubt the work of Silver trying to keep him quiet. They let Bert go up first as a familiar face for Stingray, and he knocked multiple times.
The man in question then opened the door, his face brightening up at the sight of Bert. Alyssa recognized him from Moon's party when she was trying to get Demetri to stop shit talking Eli, and she recognized him from the hallway of the school when she was fighting Eli. Not the most comforting memories, by the way.
"Bert!" Stingray exclaimed. "What's up, dude? Wanna play some D&D? These, uh . . . oh, there they are." Three older men then brushed past Stingray, leaving his apartment. "These noobs were entering the light and exiting night—"
And that's when they revealed himself. Alyssa stepped up behind Bert, crossing her arms across her chest as her right shoulder blade pressed into Eli's left shoulder. At once, Stingray's face fell.
"Miyagi-Fang's? Oh, this is a trap. Oh, you Admiral Ackbar-ed me. Et tu, Bert-tay?"
"Okay, knock it off," Eli swiftly interrupted. "We know Kreese never hurt you."
"I — according to my testimony in a court of law, he did," Stingray insisted. "So . . . read the transcript."
Sam put her hand on the door, stopping Stingray from shutting them out. "You lied to the court, and you lied to my dad. But you're not going to lie to us."
She then brushed past Stingray and walked straight into her apartment. Alyssa shrugged to herself and followed after her. She sent a scalding glare to Stingray as she passed.
Stingray looked at Bert. "You're just gonna let her — okay, now you're all walking in.
They moved further into the apartment. Alyssa moved some of her pink hair off of her shoulder as they ended up at a table set up for D&D, except this one was Dungeons & Dojos. Some of the tension only got removed from her when Eli put his hand back in the back pocket of her jeans. She glanced over at him for a second, only to see his jaw clenched. Alyssa could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of him.
Stingray took his seat at the head of the table. Alyssa, Eli, and Miguel remained standing while Sam, Demetri, and Bert sat in front of him. Demetri started to coax Stingray, trying to get him to tell them what really happened, but he wouldn't budge.
"Okay, okay, all right," Demetri began. "Let's try this one more time, okay? What happened that night? Who hurt you?"
Stingray's eyes narrowed at Bert. "Hey, Bert, how does it feel?"
"Look. Look at me. Look at me."
"To stab a grown man in the back between his shoulder blades and stare at the blood as it trickles down his back?"
"God, enough!" Eli shouted. He leaned forwards, slamming his free hand against the table. Alyssa blinked in shock, and she felt Eli grip her skin through her jeans. Her eyes widened and she felt her face get extremely warm as she stared at him. "No more games."
Alyssa reached out, putting her hand on his shoulder. Eli relaxed under her touch and stood back up straight. She kept her hand there, rubbing his shoulder gently. Maybe Eli's anger wasn't as red-hot as it was when he was Hawk, but it still kind of jarred her to see it.
"My dad went through a lot of pain because of you and Silver," Sam told Stingray. "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," Stingray replied. "I can't. It's not that easy, you guys."
"Everybody has a choice," Alyssa voiced. "We're counting on you to make the right one."
Stingray straightened up a little at that. "Actually, there . . . um, wait. Okay, so I've been working on this new D&D campaign—"
"I — I don't think we have time for this," Miguel admitted. "Let's—"
"Wait a minute," Eli cut in. "What happens in the campaign, Stingray?"
Stingray took a deep breath. "Okay, so, once upon a time, there was a Dwarven monk, and he was a member of the most badass guild in all the land." He held up a D&D figurine, obviously to represent himself. As for the badass guild, that was Cobra Kai. "Uh, he was banished for a time. You know, typical PC crap. But, um, once he paid his penance, he returned." He set the figurine representing him down on the board. "Only by then, the guild was under new leadership." Stingray placed a new figurine down next to the monk — Kreese. "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." Stingray brought out a new figurine — Silver — and knocked over the figurine representing Kreese with it. "And it was early one morning before any of the warriors had arrived, that the king struck the monk down." He picked up the figurine representing Silver and knocked over the one representing Stingray before hitting it against it multiple times. "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 trailed off before correcting himself. "The Dwarven monk was led back into the guild?"
Eli scoffed, glancing around the apartment. "Yeah, with benefits."
"Aye," Stingray agreed. "With benefits, yeah."
"Okay, so why can't he just tell everyone what really happened?" Miguel questioned.
Sam stood up. "Because he doesn't wanna lose his benefits."
"No!" Stingray protested. "No. I would . . . the — 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've killed him. And why? To get power. So, yeah, the monk fears what that king would do to keep that power. But 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 monk's just scared." Stingray shook his head. "I just can't. I'm sorry."
"That's great," Sam said. "Thanks for nothing."
"Sam," Alyssa stated, going to follow after her as she walked away. "Sam, come on."
Miguel grabbed onto Alyssa's arm. "Wait." He looked down at her seriously. "I got it."
Alyssa hesitated for a moment, but eventually, she nodded. "Okay." She watched as Miguel left for a moment before turning back to Stingray. "The right choice is still in your hands."
She then walked away, leaving the apartment for good. Eli slipped his hand out of the back pocket of her jeans, instead opting to sling an arm around her shoulders. Alyssa sighed in content, her temple resting against the side of his jaw as they made their way back downstairs.
"You okay?" Eli inquired quietly as they walked into the chilly air.
"I'm fine," Alyssa answered. "Just tired, is all."
"Any particular reason why?"
"Wipe that smirk off of your face, you motherfucker."
"How did you even know I was smirking?"
"I can hear it in your voice, you bitch." Alyssa laughed slightly before elbowing his side. "Well, now that that's over, what now?"
Eli paused for a moment before clearing his throat. "Hey, I was thinking, do you want to—"
"Ally," Sam's voice then called.
Alyssa picked her head up, turning around to see Sam walking towards her, nothing short of determination on her face. "Hey. What's up?"
"Will you come with me?" Sam asked. "I need to do something, and I don't really know if I want to do it alone."
"Uh . . ." Alyssa looked up at Eli. "Were you going to ask me to do something?"
Eli shook his head. "It's okay. Go with Sam."
"Are you sure?"
Ha gave her a tight smile. "Positive."
"Okay," Alyssa agreed softly. She pressed up onto her toes and kissed him. It was quick, but it managed to get the point across nonetheless. "I'll see you later."
Eli let her go. Alyssa joined Sam's side, and the two of them started to walk in the direction of her car. She glanced back for a second to see Eli still standing there, probably waiting for Demetri. Alyssa gave him a soft smile, and Eli waved slightly in response.
"So," Alyssa began, opening the passenger side door of Sam's car. "What are we doing?"
Sam sighed. "You'll see."
The drive was quiet. Usually, even if things were tense, there would be something playing. The fact that there was nothing told Alyssa everything. They were going to do something that made Sam nervous, potentially because of how dire the situation at hand was. So Alyssa just let her drive, not saying a thing and watching the scenery go by out the window.
After a little while, Sam pulled up outside of a slightly beat-down apartment complex. Alyssa's eyebrows knit in confusion and she got out of the car, staring up at the buildings. Sam shut her door and started to walk towards an apartment, wringing her hands together. Alyssa shut her door as well and followed after her.
"Where are we?" Alyssa questioned.
"Tory's apartment building," Sam replied, like it was the most casual thing in the world.
Alyssa blinked in shock. "You? Seeing Tory Nichols? Willingly? Is there a shift in the universe? Are you feeling okay?"
Sam sighed. "I know. I don't really want to be here, but . . . she can help us. When Miguel followed me, he said it took a lot for her to admit everything and that it's up to me to do something about it." She looked over at her as they stopped in front of a door. "Are you with me?"
"Always," Alyssa immediately stated. "Right behind you."
Sam then lifted up her fist. She hesitated for a moment, and then rapped her knuckles against the door. After a moment, Tory opened it, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"What are you doing here?" Tory demanded once her eyes set on them.
"I . . ." Sam started to say, but then her eyes turned downwards and they widened. "Oh my God. What happened?"
Alyssa looked down as well, and her eyes also widened. Tory's hand was bruised and bloody, and the way she was holding it told Alyssa that something might've been broken.
"Don't pretend like you care," Tory argued.
"Look, I don't wanna be here," Sam told her. "But if you're having problems with Cobra Kai, I'd be willing to listen."
Tory nodded to Alyssa. "Bubblegum, too?"
"We're sort of a package deal," Alyssa responded. "But Sam's right. We have a common enemy right now, and it's Cobra Kai."
For maybe the first time ever, Alyssa saw Tory start to let her walls fall down. She didn't say anything, but she did walk away from the door, leaving it open. Alyssa took it as an invitation. She shared a quick glance Sam before entering.
Alyssa's heart instantly sunk as she looked around inside. The apartment was a mess — takeout containers, cereal boxes, and used plates littered the kitchen. Trash was overflowing in the can, and in the very back room, she saw a hospital bed, followed by the sound of labored breathing. Alyssa moved to stand in front of the coffee table next to Sam, watching as Tory placed a bag of ice on her injured hand.
"I wanted to win the All Valley more than anything," Tory explained. "After our match, when they handed me that trophy . . . that was the best moment of my life. But then I saw Silver and that ref, and it just killed me. I felt like a fraud." She shook her head. "And I wanted to get back at Silver so bad, and that's why I listened to Kreese, but then I just got caught up in more lies. And now my life is a living hell."
"I didn't know what you were going through," Sam admitted. "But now that I do . . . maybe we can help each other. Ally and 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."
"Problem is we can't prove it."
Tory then looked at them. "Well, if it happened at the old dojo, maybe we can."
"Okay, hold on, before we do anything, we should probably take care of your hand," Alyssa interjected. "Do you have any medical supplies?"
Tory blinked in shock for a moment. "Uh . . . yeah. In the bathroom."
Alyssa glanced over at Sam. "Can you go get them?"
Sam nodded and walked off. Alyssa walked around the coffee table and gingerly sat next to Tory on the couch. It felt a little strange, sitting on a couch next to Tory, but she brushed it off.
"Okay, let me see." Alyssa gave her a look when Tory hesitated. "My mom's a nurse. I know a thing or two about patching injuries up."
Tory extended her hand to her. Alyssa gently took it, lifting it up to her eyes to get a better look. It was even worse up close.
"Jeez, what did you hit, a brick wall?" Alyssa inquired, her eyebrows knit in concern as she studied Tory's bruised hand. "I mean, my brand is bruised knuckles, but this is some next level shit."
Tory paused for a second. "You're not far off."
Alyssa looked up and immediately frowned. She had seen Tory's tough facade for over a year now. It was a little strange seeing her so . . . vulnerable. But Tory trusted her enough to let Alyssa see her in that state.
"Tory, I don't know what Cobra Kai has done to you, but you have to get out," Alyssa told her gently. "You don't have to stay there anymore after this if we do it right."
Sam then came back, holding a bunch of medical supplies. Their conversation dropped, and Alyssa went back to focusing on fixing her hand the best she could.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
AFTER PATCHING UP Tory's hand, the three made their way over to Miguel's apartment. They had told Eli, Miguel, Robby, and Demetri to meet them there, and for Demetri to bring his computer stuff. Apparently, there were security cameras in the old dojo, and if they went about it right, they could access the footage.
It must've been a sight to see — Alyssa, Sam, and Tory walking calmly together. Sure, there was still tension — obviously — but they seemed to ignore that for now. Alyssa's eyes, as always, immediately latched onto Eli's figure when she got closer. However, unlike the last time she saw him, his hair was dyed a bright shade of blue. It made her heart race impossibly fast.
"Tory?" Eli asked.
Miguel looked hopelessly confused. "What's, uh . . . what's up? Hi."
Robby looked at Tory's hand. "What happened to your hand?"
"Uh, training accident," Tory answered. "I'm okay."
Alyssa couldn't look away from her boyfriend, and she pointed up at his hair with a wide grin on her face. "Hey, I love the blue. Oh my God, when'd you do that?"
"Ally," Sam lightly scolded.
She cleared her throat. "Right. Sorry."
"We think we have a way to prove that it was Silver who assaulted Stingray."
"If the attack happened at the old dojo, then it would've been after Silver installed the new security cameras," Tory added.
"So maybe it's all caught on tape," Miguel realized.
"No, but that place was cleaned out," Robby protested.
"That might not matter," Demetri revealed. "I mean, the systems that we sell at TechTown all save the footage to a central server. When Silver moved out, he probably took the whole system with him."
"I think he did," Tory replied. "There is a server in his office at the flagship dojo."
"If we get access to it, we can definitely find that footage," Eli said. "We could even post that Stingray clip to their YouTube channel."
"Get a hold of everyone else," Sam ordered. "Let them know that we're taking down Cobra Kai . . . tonight."
•─•°•❀•°•─•
ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT OF THIS PART HOW WE FEELING BESTIES
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