Like A Phoenix ➳ Cobra Kai

Two Birds, One Throne (53)

After the concert, Kat gets a call from Sam, who is flustered over the phone.

Sam says, "Cobra Kai has done it again. They bullied Chris at 'Golf and Stuff.' They stole tickets from some kid and tried to get some toy, and I guess they stole a bunch of crap, and they are in some abandoned laser tag place right now."

Kat sighs. She runs a hand through her short blond hair and squeezes her phone tight. She grunts, saying, "Fine. I'm coming. Don't do anything stupid without me."

Kat jumps in her car and drives to the place. She hops out and sees Sam and a few other kids from Miyagi-Do standing outside the building.

She walks up to them and says, "This is stupid. Why can't we just call the police and tell them Cobra Kai students broke an entry and committed a bunch of other crimes?"

Sam shakes her head. She sighs, saying, "No, the police won't help us. We have to take matters into our own hands."

Demetri says, "Y'know, Kat might have a point..."

Another boy perks up saying, "Cobra Kai is outnumbered."

The boy continued, saying, "We have Kat and Sam. We'll be fine with fighting."

Kat rolled her eyes, saying, "I don't want to fight them. We're not in a dojo. This is real life. Okay? There are laws, and I can't go to jail."

Sam scoffed, "Fine! Go wait in your car then. Whatever happens to us is on you, Kat."

Kat narrowed her eyes as she thought about it. She reluctantly agreed to join them, saying, "I don't want to feel liable for something that happens to you guys if I'm not there. I'll go."

They nodded and then kicked down the door of the abandoned laser tag building.

Hawk scoffed and said, "What the hell do you want?"

Sam remarked, "Payback."

Cobra Kai students began fighting Miyagi-Do students, and kids were sent flying across the room.

Kat watched with slight annoyance before her ex, Hawk, stepped in front of her. He said impatiently, "What are you doing here, princess?"

Kat pursed her lips as she said, "This whole bad boy act has gone on for too long, Eli. You've crossed the line."

He smirked, shaking his head. Hawk said, "Oh, you haven't seen me cross the line yet."

"Listen to yourself, Eli," Kat urged, her voice cracked. "This isn't you. This isn't what we learned at the dojo. We were supposed to be better than this."

Hawk's smirk widened, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. "Better than what, Kat? Better than standing up for ourselves? Better than showing them that we won't be pushed around anymore?"

Her heart sank as she realized how far he had fallen, how deeply the Cobra Kai philosophy had twisted his sense of honor. "This isn't about standing up for yourself, Eli. This is about hurting others. Sensei Lawrence may have taught you to strike first, strike hard, but he never meant for you to become a bully."

The chaos of the fight raged around them, but in that moment, they were locked in a silent struggle of their own. Hawk's fists clenched at his sides, torn between the loyalty to his newfound Cobra Kai family and the memories of the bond he once shared with Kat.

"Stay out of this, Kat," he growled, his voice strained. "I don't want to hurt you."

Her gaze softened, filled with grief for the friend she had lost. "Then don't. Remember who you are, Eli. Remember who you used to be."