Chapter Twenty-Five
NO MERCY

Mara leaned on the counter as she looked in her bathroom mirror. Her half-dyed hair fell down her back which she had straightened. She wore ripped black jeans with a white long sleeve shirt and a gray cropped t-shirt over it. The outfit wasn't very flashy but it was still stylish enough for her.

     She shut off the lights to her bathroom and bedroom and grabbed her bag that was sitting beside her door. Moon had gone home yesterday since the cops should have cleared out.

     Ryan was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal when she entered the room. She grabbed her own bowl and sat down beside him and for the first time he didn't acknowledge her presence. The twins ate in silence and Mara found herself sneaking glances at her quiet brother.

     It was hard to see him so heartbroken. She couldn't believe Miguel would cheat on him. It didn't seem like it was in his character, but Mara was wrong. She wondered if Tory had already dealt with Sam. The girl hadn't texted her since the party and Mara was worried.

     Ryan's phone went off in his pocket, but the boy kept eating like nothing happened. "Are you going to answer that?"

     Ryan shook his head and stood up to put his bowl in the dishwasher. Mara sighed and did the same. "It might be Miguel."

     "I don't want to talk to him." Ryan grabbed his bag from beside the door and took his keys off the table before walking out of the front door.

Ryan was never a quiet person. No matter what happened to him bad or good he was never this quiet. What Miguel did really took a toll on him for him to be acting this way. Mara was mad at Miguel, yes, but there was one person she couldn't help but be enraged at.

Sam Larusso.

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        Miguel groaned as Ryan's number went to voice mail again. He then checked his messages with Tory and the girl still hadn't answered him either.

"Still nothing from Ryan and Tory," Aisha asked him as she approached.

"No, what about you?"

"They won't text me back. I'm getting kind of worried."

Miguel looked down. "I couldn't even find them after the party. Think they got in trouble with the cops?"

"I don't know. But missing the first day of school is not a good sign. We should try and find Mara. Ryan might be with her."

"Yeah." Aisha pat Miguel on the back and the two walked into the building.

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Gia sat down in her first-period class and sat down. Sam had told her what happened with Miguel and Gia couldn't help but be a little disappointed in the girl. She understood that Sam was drunk but now the girl could've ruined a relationship. If it was ruined already.

Robby came into her class and Gia was more than surprised to see him here. He noticed her and she waved him over to the empty seat beside her. "Hey, I didn't know you were going here this year."

"Yeah, Mr. Larusso had enrolled me."

"How are things with him and Sam? I heard what happened."

"It's safe to say he doesn't want me around anymore. He blames me for Sam getting drunk. The only place I thought of to take her was my dad's."

"You had her best interest at heart Robby. Nothing was your fault. Mr. Larusso is just protective over her that's all."

"How do you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better?"

Gia joust shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I'm just that great."

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     Mara sat next to Moon in their first-period class, Math. Ryan was sitting behind her and he was still silent. She could see him constantly wipe at his eyes and she knew he was trying to keep the tears at bay. Mara balled her hands into fists. She wanted to know when she could teach Sam a lesson. No one hurt her brother and got away with it. Tory told her that she would get her turn but Mara didn't even know where the girl was.

     "Good morning, students and faculty." Mara heard over the intercom. "Welcome to a brand-new year at West Valley High. I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are ready to dive back into the school year."

     Moon leaned closer to Mara. "What's wrong with Ryan?"

     Mara turned to her. "He got cheated on."

     "Miguel cheated on him? With who?"

     "Sam. Little bitch can't keep her hands to herself."

     "Mara, Sam was drunk last night. She probably didn't even know what she was doing."

     "You don't accidentally kiss someone Moon. She wanted to kiss him, she still had feelings for him, so when she was drunk she couldn't control herself and acted on those feelings. She's a bitch. End of discussion."

     Moon frowned at the girl's harsh tone and turned back to the front of the room. "You can also purchase tickets for the fall musical, which will be a production of the global hit, Grease."

     Mara pulled out her phone and texted Hawk asking him if he was alright. He texted back quickly telling her he was ok and she didn't need to worry about him.

     "And finally, as we embark upon another academic year, it's important to remember to be tolerant and accepting of all of our peers, regardless of—" There was a loud band over the intercom and Mara sat up. She could hear struggling and everyone looked at each other confused. "Hey, what...You're not supposed to be in here! No! No! Give that back! Ow!" Mara winced at the screeching noise that came from the intercom.

     It went silent for a moment before a new voice started talking. "Samantha Larusso. You know what you did, and now you're gonna pay for it. I'm coming for you, bitch!"

The bell rang Mara smirked quickly getting up. She felt a hand grab her wrist and Mara looked back to see her brother. "Where are you going?"

"To beat a bitch up." She snatched her wrist out of his hand and quickly left the classroom. Ryan looked at Moon with worried eyes and they both quickly ran after Mara.

Mara was already far down the hallway and the two quickly walked to catch up with her. Ryan grabbed Mara again and pulled her to the side so she was standing in front of him and Moon. "Think about this Mara. You don't want to start a fight."

Suddenly a blur of red went past them and they all looked to see Miguel running down the hall. She turned back to her brother. "She messed with Tory, she messed with Cobra Kai, and now she messed with you. She's getting what she deserves."

She walked away from them and the two quickly followed after her again. When they got to the scene they saw Tory and Sam standing in the middle of the hall facing each other. "I saw what you did at the party," Tory said to her. "You kissed Miguel." Sam looked at Robby who was looking at her in shock. "You hurt my best friends and now...you're gonna pay for it."

Tory lunged at her and Sam dodged her punch and tried to run away, but Tory grabbed her by her bag and pulled her back. She kicked Sam in the stomach sending the girl back but Hawk pushed Sam back into the fight. The girls continued to fight and Robby pulled Tory away from Sam pinning her to the lockers.

     "Hey!" Mara and Ryan both looked to see Miguel tackle Robby to the floor.

     "Oh, it is on!" Mara smirked as she watched Hawk start to fight a bunch of Miyagi-Do students. The two Cobras behind him joined.

     Mara went to join the action when both of her wrists were yanked back. She looked behind her to see both Moon and Ryan holding each of her wrists. "Mara please don't," Moon pleaded.

     Mara ripped her hands away from them. "Mercy is for the weak."

Max pushed through the crowd so he could stand beside Ryan and Moon. He smirked at her. "Oh, I want to see this."

She glared at him before turning around and coming face-to-face with Gia. "Back off Mara. If you want to get to Sam you have to go through me."

Mara smirked at her and shrugged her shoulders. "If you insist." She lunged at Gia and the girl ducked under her punch but was met with a knee to the face. Mara grabbed a fistful of her hair and head-butted Gia before throwing her into one of the lockers.

Gia cried out in pain, but Mara wasn't done with her yet. Gia started a fight and Mara was going to finish it. She pinned Gia to the lockers and raised her fist but a sharp kick was sent to her stomach and she fell back into the other row of lockers.

Gia stood up and got into a fighting position. "I told you, Mara. You go through me first."

Mara stood up keeping the same psychotic grin on her face. Gia was terrified of the girl right now, but she wouldn't let it show. Mara went to kick her but Gia moved out of the way causing Mara to kick the lockers instead. Mara then brought the leg that was on the lockers and swung it behind her kicking Gia in the face. Gia fell to the side and touched her mouth which was now bleeding. She looked up at Mara angrily and Mara just smirked at her. "Aww don't be mad at me G. You brought this on yourself. Come on give it another try." Gia angrily went to punch her but Mara dodged it and kicked the side of the Asian girl's leg causing her to fall on one knee. Gia did a back kick at Mara's stomach sending her back a few steps so she could get up.

     Mara was angry now. She sent a series of kicks at Gia and the Asian girl was able to dodge all of them. She thought she was in the clear, but then Mara did a spinning fan-kick that hit Gia in the side of her face. The girl fell to the ground and Mara stepped over top of her and bent down to grab her by the hair. She put Gia in a chokehold and the girl was struggling to get out of it. Gia threw her head back, but Mara refused to let go of her. Even when blood started to drip down her nose Mara kept her hold on the girl. She put her mouth right next to Gia's ear and smirked down at her. "Next time. It would be smarter to run." She pulled the girl up by her hair and held her head before slamming it into the lockers.

     Mara smirked and wiped the blood from under her nose. She looked up at her brother and girlfriend who were looking at her with disbelief and fear evident in their faces. Max was just smirking. He clapped slowly. "Damn Bobby."

     She rolled her eyes and turned around to see the fight moving out into the main lobby. She wasn't going to let Sam get away from her. Not until she got to teach the bitch a lesson.

     She followed the crowd and saw Sam and Tory fighting in the lobby. She approached them and Tory saw her. She smirked and caught one of Sam's kicks. "She's all yours." Sam was pushed backward and Mara caught her and spun her around.

     "Hey princess." Sam looked at her in fear. There was blood under Mara's nose and the girl was looking at her like she was a predator and Sam was her next meal. She did a spinning back kick and hit Sam and just when the girl was getting ready to hit her Mara grabbed her arm and kneed her in the chest twice. She spun her around and kicked her back over to Tory. "Your turn."

     Tory and Sam started to fight again and Mara was ready for her turn when someone yanked on her hair and pulled her down to the ground. Her head hit the floor hard and she cried out in pain as her vision blurred slightly.

She sat up and held the back of her head. Looking up she saw Demetri looking at her with a panicked expression. "Shit, I didn't mean to pull that hard."

Mara didn't care. All she saw was red. She swept his legs from underneath him and the tall boy fell to the ground. She climbed on top of him and pulled him closer by his shirt. She brought her fist back and punched him across the face. She paused for a second watching him groan in pain before punching him again. Every time she would punch him she waited a second so he could feel the pain before punching him again.

     She felt arms wrap themselves underneath her armpits and pull her off of Demetri. She struggled against their hold to try and get back at Demetri. He had hurt Hawk and she wanted to make him pay. The boy got up holding his jaw and looking at his former friend in fear. "Let me go! He deserves it!"

     "I think you should calm down Bobby," Max whispered in her ear. She glared and threw her head back. He let go of her and stumbled back. By now Demetri had already run off and Hawk had chased after him.

Mara turned around slowly to face Max. He held his hands up. "Look, just calm down."

     Mara just shook her head at him. "No mercy. Not even for you." She charged at him and he dodged her punch, barely. He was much bigger than her and hopefully, he had the advantage. Mara knew what he was thinking so when she went to punch him with her other arm and he grabbed it, she brought her knee up and kicked him in the balls.

Max bent over in pain and Mara kicked him in the face sending him to the floor. He was still holding his hand over the area she kicked and she just scoffed at him. "Pathetic. This for bullying me." She brought her foot up and kicked him in the face again.

     She looked up the stairs to see Tory and Sam fighting and Robby and Miguel fighting. She ran up the stairs to get to Tory but someone cut her off. A bloody and bruised Gia stood in front of her. "I told you," Gia breathed heavily. "You have to go through me. I don't want to fight you Mara, but if you don't back off I'll have to."

"That's cute." Mara used the railing to jump and use two feet to kick Gia backward. The girls started to fight again and Mara was starting to get pissed off. Mara was so focused on her anger that she didn't notice the Miyagi-Do student running up to them. He grabbed Mara's arm when she lifted it and she looked back at him not noticing the kick Gia was simultaneously sending at her. It hit Mara in the stomach and sent her tumbling down the stairs.

     She rolled down and hit the floor at the bottom. The girl rolled onto her stomach and held her head in pain. Gia sighed in relief and looked at the Miyagi-Do student that had helped. "Thanks. I don't know if I would've beaten her alone."

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Ryan and Moon watched as Mara tumbled down the stairs and hit the ground. She rolled over onto her stomach and held her head and Ryan started to go over to her until a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"We need her to stay down," Max told him. He looked between Ryan and Moon. "She's a fighter, but she's dangerous. Let's keep her out of the rest of the fight."

Moon looked at her girlfriend who had stopped moving and was now lying still on the floor. "She's not moving."

Max turned around and watched as an Asian girl rushed down the steps and placed her fingers on Mara's neck. She looked up and in their direction and nodded her head. "She's fine. Just knocked out."

     A commotion came from the stairs and Ryan watched as Sam kicked Tory over a railing. Tory went sliding down the stairs and Sam breathed out. The only people still fighting were Miguel and Robby. Even though Ryan wasn't happy with Miguel he still didn't want him to get hurt.

     The boys continue to fight and Miguel flipped Robby over and held his arm behind his back. He stayed in that position and Ryan shook his head hoping Miguel wouldn't break the boy's arm.

     Ryan sighed in relief when Miguel let go of Robby's arm. Then the unexpected happened. Robby pushed himself up and elbowed Miguel in the face. He then kicked the back of the boy's leg and just as Miguel stood up Robby landed another kick to the boy's stomach.

     Miguel stumbled back against the railing and toppled over it. Time froze and everyone watched as Miguel fell and a sickening crunch was heard as the boy's back hit the railing two stories down. He collapsed to the floor unmoving and Ryan felt his heart stop.

     Ignoring Max's protests he rushed over to Miguel and kneeled beside him. "No-no-no. Please wake up." A tear fell down his cheek and Ryan tried his hardest not to touch the unconscious boy. "Please be ok. Please wake up."

     "Clear the way! Clear the way!" And officer came and pushed Ryan and Tory who was behind him back. "We need an ambulance at West Valley High."

     "Robby, what did you do?" Ryan looked up at the long-haired boy who was looking over the balcony in panic. He looked at Sam and back at Miguel before running off.

     Gia ran after the boy and a bruised Hawk came around the corner to see what the commotion was. He saw Miguel laying on the floor and his gaze hardened, but then he looked further down to see a motionless Mara on the floor with Moon sitting beside her. He rushed over to her and bent down. "What happened?"

     Moon looked up at him and wiped away her tears. "Gia kicked her down the stairs. She's still breathing just unconscious."

     Hawk looked around and saw another officer. "Help!"

     The officer approached the three teenagers and knelt down. He put his fingers to Mara's neck and checked for a pulse which he found. "Correction, we need two ambulances at West Valley High." Hawk looked down at his best friend in fear before looking back up at the officer. The officer already knew what he was going to ask. "She's breathing fine and she doesn't have any injuries from what we could see, but there could be a possible concussion. We need to take her in to check for any other possible injuries."

     Hawk nodded and looked back down at the girl.

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     Gia ran after Robby who was moving way too fast for her to keep up. "Robby, wait!"

     He turned around and glared at her. "I need to leave Gia. Did you see what I just did! I'm a criminal now!"

     "I know I saw. But it was an accident right?"

     Robby nodded. "Of course it was. I didn't mean to kick him over the railing. I was just so angry and I kept fighting even when he stopped."

     Gia nodded. "I think I have a place you can go."

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Mara layer awake in her hospital bed after the doctors did their check-up. She didn't have any serious injuries just a few bruises and cuts and a minor concussion.

She looked up at the door and saw Ryan walking in. "Hey, Mars."

"How's Miguel?"

"Still in a coma." Ryan sat down in a chair beside her bed. "They're not sure if he'll pull through."

Mara placed her hand over her brother's. "He'll be ok. I know he will. He has to be."

Ryan nodded and smiled sadly at her. "Sam's ok too—"

"I don't care. She deserved everything that she got. She and Miyagi- Do will pay for what they did to Miguel."

Ryan sighed and looked down at her words. A knock came at the door and they both looked to see a doctor smiling at them. "You're father doesn't seem to be picking up so we have to call your emergency