Chapter Thirteen
DECEMBER 19TH

     "I don't know how to say this any plainer. Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do have to work together." Sam looked at everyone in frustration.

     "Even if we wanted to team up, it'd never work," Chris told her. "I was in Cobra Kai. Their style mixes with ours like..."

     "Oil and vinegar," Nathaniel asked.

     "No, not salad dressing. I would say like the British Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation."

     Mitch scoffed and turned to Chris. "They were friends, dipshit."

     "Not a WrestleMania 3, Penis Breath."

     "Ok, you can't call me Penis Breath. Only they can call me Penis Breath."

     "Why are you ok with anyone calling you Penis Breath?"

     Mitch shook his head and stood up. "You know what? Screw this. Come on, let's go."

     "Hey, pussies!" Mitch and Bert both stopped walking at the sound of Demetri's voice. "This is exactly what those assholes at Cobra Kai want. Since you were one of 'em, you're an asshole too. So are you. So was I. Well, at least I wanted to be one. But now Cobra Kai is the worst collection of assholes in the Valley, run by the king of all assholes. So if by merging with Eagle Fang...Weird name, by the way, can keep us all from getting shit on anymore, then we'd all be assholes not to do it. I-I'm sorry for all the assholes. I usually take pride in my grandiloquence, but it's an emotional time."

Mitch and Bert looked at each other before sitting back down. "Now, where do we start?"

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     "We're all in agreement that our new combined dojo should train at Miyagi-Do. But deadlocked on a new name, Gi Design, Post-Training Snacks, and Sensei Dispute Resolution Protocol. Ok, not good, but still, it's a start."

     Sam nodded and looked at the table to see Gia at the end with her head down. Sam frowned at the girl. It was clear she really felt bad about everything and didn't help that whatever was going on between her and Robby was most likely over.

     The sound of a cat meowing drew everyone's attention to the door. "As, I think your cat wants to come in. Here, kitty, kitty." Everyone watched as Bert walked out the door and Miguel turned to Sam in confusion. "I didn't know you had a cat."

     "We don't." Bert came crashing through the window and everyone jumped up.

     "Bert, what happened?" The boy looked up from the floor and groaned in pain. "No cat."

     Hawk walked in followed by Kyler and three other Cobras. Miguel looked at Kyler in fear and Kyler just smirked at him. "It's payback time, Rhea." The group of Cobra started to walk forward and all of Miyagi-Do backed away from them.

     The back door was kicked open and Tory walked in with two Cobras behind her. Sam's eyes widened as the blonde made her way closer to them. "Heard you were throwing a party. Hope you don't mind if we crash."

Another door was opened, the one that led to the patio, and Mara walked through with Dylan. Gia gulped as she noticed the girl's appearance. There was blood on her forehead and the girl was smiling devilishly.

Miguel looked at Tory. "Tory, you don't have to do this," he pleaded.

"It's too late. This ends tonight! No mercy!"

     The Cobras all ran to the group except for Mara and Dylan who stayed back for a second. "What are you going to do," Mara asked Dylan. Mara's voice had a slight rasp to it. As far as she knew the girl didn't even know anyone in Miyagi-Do personally to even hold a grudge against them.

     The short-haired girl smirked and looked around at the fight that was happening. "I'm gonna reign hell." Mara chuckled as she watched the girl run-up to a random Miyagi-Do and grab them.

Mara walked through the fight not even bothering to touch anyone as she made her way towards Gia. The Asian girl was fighting another Cobra and she had knocked them to the floor. Her eyes widened when she noticed Mara coming towards her and she backed up quickly before rushing away.

"Pussy," Mara spat under her breath. One of the Miyagi-Do students came up to her and tried to punch her, but she grabbed their arm with one hand and the back of their head with the other and slammed their face into her knee before using their arm and flipping them over her shoulder. "Light work." She stepped over them and kept walking to find Gia.

     Mara chuckled when she noticed the girl had left the entire house. She walked outside, knowing exactly where the girl had run off to. She walked out to their dojo that only had a single punching bag in the yard.

"Gia come out come out where ever you are!" Mara licked her lips and smirked as she waited for the girl to come out. She knew exactly where she was, but where was the fun in that?

Gia snuck behind Mara and tried to punch her and Mara stepped out of the way and grabbed her arm. "Hey there cutie. Wanna have a little fun?"

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     Gia stared up at Mara in fear and attempted to headbutt her, but it only ended in Mara having a bloody nose and Gia falling to the floor. Mara dropped the girl's arm as she fell and she squatted down beside her. "It's hilarious how you thought that would do anything."

She wrapped a hand around Gia's neck and lifted the girl up. Gia was surprised by Mara's strength, but that didn't stop her from trying to fight back. Gia grabbed Mara's wrist with one hand and held her elbow with the other before twisting Mara's arm around and kicking her in the face.

     Gia let go of Mara as the girl backed up and held her nose that was gushing blood for the second time that day. Mara stood up and looked at Gia. Tilting her head she smiled at the girl and started to laugh.

     Gia backed up slightly as the girl doubled over in laughter. She felt like she was in a horror movie. This would probably be the part where she ran, but she was glued to her spot.

Mara stood up and shook her head. "You probably shouldn't have done that when you're standing next to a giant boulder. Gia's eyes widened and she looked behind her to see she was standing right in front of one of the giant rocks in the yard.

She turned back to Mara who was now right in front of her and she had no time to react as Mara kicked her in the stomach and her back hit the rock. Mara then flipped Gia over and pulled her up slightly. "I won't make the same mistake this time." She pulled Gia's head back and slammed it into the rock.

     Gia cried out in pain as she felt the blood start to trickle down her forehead. Mara brought the girl's head back again and slammed it back into the rock.
Gia went limp from the pain and Mara threw her to the ground and watched as she shakily got up and stumbled as she tried to walk away.

Mara walked over to her and kicked her in the back and Gia fell again. Mara laughed and flipped the girl over before straddling her lap. "Any last words?"

"G-get off."

Mara looked up and shook her head. "Nope that's a little boring, don't you think?"

     Gia reached to the side and reached around and all she could feel was a small stone. She brought her hand up and hit it against Mara's head and the girl fell to the side as she held her forehead.

Gia got up and ran as fast as she could, but Mara was able to easily catch up with her. Mara grabbed the girl and threw her into the side of the house and then pinned her there. Gia was dizzy and she could see two of Mara at this point, but she still tried her hardest to stand up straight. "Mara. Mara, I'm sorry. I was a bitch to you and I regret all of it. Please, I'm sorry."

     Mara's grip on the girl loosened and she backed up. "You're sorry? You mean it?"

     Gia nodded and took a deep breath now that Mara wasn't pinning her down. "I am. I realized how insensitive I was being and how I was the privileged one. You don't have a good life."

     Mara tilted her head and nodded. "Ok, I'm sorry too. I'll stop."

     Gia smiled. "I knew you would understand."

     Mara's smile dropped into a glare. "Then you're more stupid than I thought." Mara kicked Gia in the stomach and then turned and did a spinning kick to her face.

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      Gia heaved and coughed as she crawled on the floor. Mara looked over her, her bloodstained face sporting a sickening smile at watching the Asian girl cry in pain. Now she knew how Mara felt every day. How she laid on the ground bleeding, waiting for someone, anyone to find her and help her. Ultimately she had to help herself. Like she always did.

She slowly walked behind Gia as the girl crawled slowly towards the door to the dojo. She had been punched and kicked by Mara continuously and Gia couldn't count how many times her head had been bashed into some hard surface.

"There's nowhere to go, Gia. Honestly, I thought you would put up more of a fight."

She walked to the side of the girl and kicked her stomach, rolling her over. Mara started to lean down to finish the job when footsteps came closer to her.

"Mara! Stop!" She stood up and looked to the side to see Demetri, Miguel, Sam, Hawk, and Tory staring at her. What caught her attention was how Hawk was staring at her in fear and Tory was smiling at Gia who was laying on the ground, her eyes barely open.

     "Why should I? She deserves everything she's getting."

     Demetri stepped forward. "Mara this isn't you. Look at what you did to her!"

     Mara looked behind her at Gia who was completely covered in blood and passed out on the floor. She turned back to Demetri and shrugged. "She's fine. She's just taking a nap."

     "I don't want to see you go down this path, Mara. Leave Cobra Kai and join our dojo. Eli did."

     Mara's head snapped towards Hawk and he looked at her sadly. "Mara, please. I love you, ok? We all do."

     "We're still your friends, Mara. Your best friends," Demetri told her.

     Mara looked between them and Sam gave the girl a pleading look. She then looked at Tory who shook her head. "They're not your friends, M. They just want to make you weak like them. Just like Kreese said they would."

Mara glared at them. "You're not my friends. You're traitors." She looked at Hawk who had tears in his eyes and she stepped up to him. "I'm done chasing after you. You're a hypocrite. You talk about Johnny going soft, but you're doing the same thing." She looked at the rest of them. "I'm not a follower and I never will be."

Looking back at Hawk her glare faltered at the heartbroken look on his face. Tory cleared her throat and Mara snapped out of it and glared at Hawk. "Have fun with the enemy."

Miguel grabbed Mara's arm and she snatched it out of his hold. "Mara, it's Kreese. He's got into your head. He's using you and you're connection! You're not even acting like yourself. This isn't the Mara I met on the first day of school."

"You don't know him like I do. Kreese is the only one who hasn't betrayed me. He's stuck with me through everything. I won't betray him."

Mara turned back to look at Gia and she walked over to the girl and took the bracelet off her wrist. "Robby wants this back by the way."

Mara walked past the group and made sure to hit Hawk's shoulder as she did. Tory smirked at them and followed after her.

Sam rushed over to Gia and Miguel turned to the rest of the group. "The moment Kreese came to the dojo he had his eyes on Mara. This is what he wanted. To turn her against all of us. It's going to be hard, but we'll get her back. I know we will."

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Ryan stood in Miguel's living room with Carmen as they waited for the boy to get home. Ryan checked the time again and sighed. "You don't think something happened do you? He wouldn't be late for our second first date."

Carmen shook her head and rubbed her hands on her knees. " I don't know."

The door opened and a bloody Miguel walked through. Ryan immediately rushed towards him. "Miguel? What happened?"

The boy's eye was swollen and he looked between the two. "I was at Sam's house...trying to combine our dojos and Cobra Kai attacked us."

Ryan shook his head. Mara couldn't have done this. "There's no way. Was Mara there? She would never go that far."

Miguel nodded. "She was there. Beat Gia unconscious. She was covered in blood when we got there."

Carmen took Miguel from Ryan's arms and went to find something to help him while Ryan ran his hand through his hair. "That's. That can't be true. Mara wouldn't try and kill someone."

Carmen put a tissue to Miguel's blood nose and have him an ice pack to hold. "I thought Mara was your friend, Miggy?"

"She was. Until Kreese came to town."

A knock came at the door and Carmen went to answer it. The door opened to reveal Johnny and his smile turned into a frown as he noticed the look on Carmen's face. She opened the door farther to reveal Miguel and Johnny clenched his jaw.

"What happened?"

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     "Mara?"

     Mara looked up from her spot on the floor to see Tory looking at her. Tory frowned at the tears running down the girl's face and she rushed over and kneeled beside her. When the two had got back to Mara's house, Mara had taken a shower to get rid of all of the blood and then sat down in the corner.

     "It hurts," Mara cried.

     "I know it does, M." She rubbed the girl's back. "You did the right thing. He's a traitor and he'll realize he made the wrong choice. This is Miyagi-Do's fault. They did this. We won't let them get away with this."

     Mara cried harder and the sobs coming from the girl broke Tory's heart. "I-I don't care a-about Miyagi-Do. I care about how Hawk."

     "He left you, Mara. He chose the enemy over you."

     "But I love him. What am I supposed to do without him?"

     "He was holding you back, Mara. Do you realize how dependent you were on him being here? The first time you had an addiction because you couldn't handle it and I'm not letting you go down that path again. Love is weakness. He's making you weak. What did Sensei say about being weak?"

     "A winner isn't weak. And we're all winners."

     "Exactly. Do you want some applesauce?"

     Another sob came from Mara and Tory flinched. "Hawk used to buy my applesauce."

     "Ok, get up." Tory pulled Mara up and sat the girl down on her bed. "You are better than this, M. You're a bad bitch. You don't cry over boys. Repeat after me. I'm a winner."

     "I-I'm a winner."

     "Say it like you mean it! I'm a winner!"

     "I'm a winner!"

     "I'm not weak!"

     "I'm not weak!"

     "Say it again."

     "I'm not weak!"

     "Good. Now wash your face and forget about the traitors at Miyagi-Do. You're fucking Mara Abrams! You don't need anyone. Find some way, that doesn't involve alcohol, and dry those tears up so you don't see them again. I'll see you tomorrow, ok? Call me if you need anything."

     Tory got up and closed the girl's door before leaving the house. On the way down the driveway, she noticed Hawk walking up towards the house. "She doesn't want to see you."

     Hawk glared at her. "Did she tell you that?"

     "She did. She also says she's breaking up with you. I would go home and save yourself the trouble."

     Hawk watched the girl leave and he looked up at Mara's window to see the light on. Backing up he walked back over to his house and quickly went back to his room. Slamming the door shut, he collapsed onto his bed and let the tears fall.

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Ryan got home and immediately went to Mara's room. He opened the door and found her looking in the mirror with a candle beside her. The flame was glowing bright and Mara pulled her finger away from it.

"Mara are you ok?"

Mara turned around and smiled at him. "I'm fine."

"I heard about the fight. Gia's fine by the way. She didn't have to go to the hospital or anything."

Mara's smile dropped. "Damn it."

Ryan shook his head. "You were actually trying to kill her?"

"No. I was just trying to get close."

Ryan sighed and approached his sister. "Look, Mara. I'm sorry for everything. For bullying you and standing by while dad hurt you. For dumping all of my problems on you. For making you feel like you couldn't trust me with your own. For everything. Your my sister and I love you and I promise I only want what's best for you."

"It's too late, Ryan. You're telling me it took you a year to apologize to me? Even after you knew that's all I wanted, you waited months. At least Max knew he wasn't actually sorry." She walked past him and Ryan groaned.

"Mara! I am sorry!"

She turned to him and glared. "If you were, you would've apologized a long time ago. Kreese said you all would do this. Apologize the moment things started to look bad for you. You see me as a threat and that's the only reason you're apologizing now. If I would've never joined Cobra Kai and learned to stand up for myself this moment wouldn't even be happening. You would never have apologized."

She turned back around and kept walking and all Ryan could do was stare. His sister was gone and he had no idea who had taken her place.

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So I foreshadowed this ending a lot and I don't know if anyone caught it but I also foreshadowed Mara and Hawk's breakup. When the picture of them on Mara's plaque cracked down the middle, separating them. Now I want to point out that Mara didn't tell Tory or Hawk that her and Hawk were broken up. Tory made that up and she did call Mara and tell her that Hawk said the same thing.

I love them with my whole heart and it really hurt me to write, but it had to happen. It just made sense that after everything Kreese put in Mara's head, she would stay with him. I also didn't want to give her the same redemption arc as Hawk at the same time if that makes sense, but she will get hers.

There is one more chapter which is a bonus/season 4 sneak peek. It's not much of what's going to actually happen but hopefully it will give you all some idea.

As always if you liked this chapter make sure to vote and leave a comment.