Fighters of the Hellmouth [BtvS/Cobra Kai]

[cliffc999]

"Hey Harris." the hulking blonde football player sneered down at where Xander was sitting in the school cafeteria. "New boyfriend?" he continued, nodding towards Robby.

"And you must be Larry." Robby answered coolly. "How's your wrist?"

"How'd you know about that?" Larry rounded on Robby as he absent-mindedly rubbed his sore appendage.

"That girl whose ass you tried patting without permission this morning?" Xander snarked. "Robby's her boyfriend."

"How'd you land a chick that hot – even if she is crazy violent – on your first day in school?" Larry asked confusedly.

"We moved here together." Robby answered matter-of-factly. "Oh, and if you're here to ask me if I'm interested in joining the football team, the answer is 'no'. When it comes to sports, I'm more of a karate guy." He smiled confidently.

"Won the regional championship, even." Xander backed him up.

"Whatever." Larry said after a brief pause for thought. "I've got less unpopular people to go talk to, so see you later, losers." And then he moved away in search of easier bullying targets elsewhere.

"You faced him down without even having to get out of your seat." Xander said in awe. "I've never seen Larry back off like that. Hell, I beat him down last year – even if I was under a magic spell at the time – and he still comes around."

"I think Tory did most of the work for me there, honestly." Robby chuckled as they both stood up to carry their empty trays to the dishwasher return. "But he'll probably be the kind who comes back in a less public place than the cafeteria in the middle of lunch hour and tries to find out if I really am a black belt or not – and brings a couple of friends with him. So I'll be glad for your backup if he does."

"Did you not hear the 'magic spell' part?" Xander said sarcastically as they headed out to the quad to use up the remainder of their lunch period outdoors. "I suck at fighting. But hey, you 1v1'ed a vampire and made it look easy so you'll definitely have no problem with the football team."

"Xander, I walked into Sunnydale thinking that I could handle anything and I didn't make it three blocks from the bus station." Robby shook his head. "And you've survived over two years of vampire fighting without any training! If you've got that kind of natural talent then either Larry and his friends all have black belts of their own or you're really holding yourself back at school."

"Natural whatsis?" Xander shot back. "You sure you're not confusing me for someone else?"

"You're a fairly big guy already, and you'll be in a lot better shape once Dad gets you on some proper diet and exercise. And your reaction time and alertness both already being top-tier are the only reasons that Tory isn't dead." Robby said soberly. "If you think I'm some kind of fighting expert then here's my expert opinion – I don't think anybody else on the Scooby Gang except Buffy could have pulled off what you did outside Trick's office. From what Giles described to me, it was that close." Robby exhaled meaningfully as he gave Xander's shoulder a manly clasp. "And speaking of that… thank you for saving the life of the girl I love. Whatever you need from me, you've got a blank check."

"I'll take you up on that the next time somebody tries to stuff me in a locker." Xander joked weakly.

Robby rolled his eyes briefly. "I'm not sure if that's a sense of humor or a confidence problem but whichever one it is, don't bring it into the dojo next week." he advised. "Dad has no sense of humor during training time, that's when you get Drill Sergeant Lawrence. Even if he wasn't actually that kind of sergeant."

"I just-" Xander shook his head. "You're like Cordelia, or Buffy, or Willow, or- well, everybody on the Scooby Gang except me. One of those people who just has their life all together. I've never been that guy."

Robby laughed sympathetically. "Xander, you really think I've always been this way? Seriously, what do you think my background is?"

"Uh… star athlete? Honor roll student? Voted most likely to fast-track to success by the yearbook committee?" Xander answered honestly.

Robby shook his head. "The only reason I don't have the longest criminal record in this school is because the cops where I lived would just call a social worker for anyone under fifteen instead of making an arrest, unless it was maybe murder or something. I was a loser when I was younger. Shoplifting, fighting, massive school cutting…" Robby breathed out and looked down ashamedly. "And the beginnings of what would have been a short and inglorious career as a pot dealer, but that didn't last very long." Robby looked up soberly at Xander. "Seriously, the only place that I used to be on the fast-track to was juvie hall."

"Then how-?!?" Xander jawdropped incredulously, waving his hand inarticulately at Robby's current clean-cut, confident, and mature status.

"How'd I get into that, or how'd I get out of it?" Robby shrugged. "I know it's a hell of a thing to say about the only reason you exist, but Mom and Dad were two people who should never have gotten married. The only reason they did get married is because Dad got her pregnant – entirely unplanned – and they tried to make the best of it. But they didn't even last two years before they divorced."

"Damn." Xander said ."That's the same origin story I've got, except mine are still together." He shook his head. "Even if they've always thought they'd be happier if they weren't."

"Do they drink?" Robby asked knowingly.

"Massively." Xander admitted ashamedly.

"So did mine." Robby shocked Xander. "I mean, Dad never got actually diagnosed as an alcoholic, but he was borderline enough after he got out of the Army that it got to where he couldn't hold a job for more than a few months at a time. And of course he couldn't hold a marriage together, either, especially not when it was an 'accident' in the first place. Mom… wasn't as bad as Dad then, that's how she ended up with custody of me, but after the divorce she sure made up for lost time. By the time I was old enough to be paying attention to what was going on around me, she was already on track to being an addict and I'd be lucky to even see my dad once or twice a year." He sighed. "To be fair, Dad thought Mom was doing a lot better job of taking care of me than he could, because Mom's problems weren't the visible kind then."

"Are you sure you want to be telling me all this?" Xander asked honestly.

"Tory already knows, and who else could I be more afraid of finding out?" Robby shrugged honestly. "But yeah. There I was growing mostly without any guidance at all, and in the poorer parts of the Valley at that, and-" Robby shrugged. "Anyway, late in eighth grade I got caught with drugs in my school locker – to sell, not to use - and since Mom was-" Robby chewed his lip fretfully. "She'd gone off on a bender with her latest boyfriend and left me behind again – 'here's the keys to the apartment, go to school and find a way to feed yourself for a few days', Robby said bitterly. "So while the school didn't call the cops, because they were on this whole 'community care' kick that year, they did call home. And since mom was out of town they called the backup emergency contact, and Dad flipped the hell out when he found out about the drug thing." Robby shook his head. "Next thing I know Dad finds out about the whole 'Mom abandoning me' thing too and really flips out, and I'm living in a crappy little apartment with a drunk guy I barely know and don't respect at all." Robby waved a hand. "We could barely say 'Pass the salt' without turning it into a giant argument, and I didn't remotely take his lectures to clean up my act seriously because his own act was a mess. And then Dad pulled himself out of the beer bottle on sheer willpower, because-" Robby wiped tears from his eyes. "Because I really needed my dad."

Xander just sat there staring, completely unable to believe what he was hearing, as Robby continued. "So yeah, he got clean, and I started to get straightened out, and it was nowhere near as simple or easy as I made it sound but we were both really stubborn people." Robby chuckled. "Anyway, my dad and the school raised enough of a stink that Social Services finally clued in and noticed that my mom had been doing regular child abandonment for years and was addicted to at least two separate things, and so custody got formally switched to my dad and she got rehab-and-probation as a condition of not going to jail." Robby shrugged. "She's actually doing pretty well now, even if we don't see each other much anymore."

"Maybe my folks should get some of that." Xander snorted. "If Sunnydale had any police or social services that could find their own behinds with a guide dog and a map, that is."

"And then towards end of freshman year in high school I met this really awesome girl, and we've been together ever since." Robby smiled.

"When did the karate come in?" Xander asked.

"Early on, when my dad figured out that offering self-defense lessons was about the only way he could get me to sit still and take him seriously for longer than a few minutes at a time. Because even wannabe delinquent me could figure out that knowing how to fight would increase his survivability out there." Robby shrugged. "But you can't learn real martial arts without learning mental discipline, and Dad deliberately used that. Both to help me to learn how to pull my head out, and to help refocus himself. And then later on Tory found out we were into it, and she'd already been into it herself, so she started training with us and next thing we know 'Sensei Lawrence' has himself a school – even if it's just two people. And with a training partner each on our own level we really started to push ourselves, and next thing I know we're on the competition circuit." Robby shrugged. "So yeah, this 'together' dude that you're so impressed with? I wasn't born that way. I made myself that way. With a whole lot of effort, and a good teacher… and people who cared about me." He looked at Xander. "You've got all those same things available yourself, so there's no reason you can't either. And I'll be glad to help you do it."

"Okay, so you were into some bad stuff when you were younger, but you got out of it." Xander said. "But from what you described even at your worst you were always a guy with a lot of willpower, you just aimed it wrong. Me, I've got the willpower of sponge cake."

"So, confidence problem." Robby nodded to himself. "Don't worry, we can work on that."

* * * * *
​

"I cannot believe what my mom did with Mr. Lawrence." Buffy moaned agonizedly.

"I thought that a teenaged Sensei would be more like Robby." Tory agreed, still blushing with embarrassment. "Either how he used to be or how he is now. But no, young Johnny was-"

"A complete himbo of a jock. And kinda a bully, too." Buffy said ."And my mom as a teenager apparently was the…" she trailed off, choking.

"Life of the party?" Tory offered diplomatically.

"That's the nice way to put it." Buffy groaned. "I just hope they used protection. No offense, but while I like you I am really not ready to be stepsisters with you."

"None taken. Not that there's much chance of that, seeing as how they're so embarrassed with what they did under the influence of the magic band candy that they can barely be in the same room with each other now." Tory agreed.

"At least Giles and Mr. Lawrence get along better now." Buffy shook her head confusedly. "Do guys really bond like that over fistfights?"

"I'm not sure." Tory shrugged. "But Mr. Giles must really have run with a rough crowd when he was younger. I didn't know he even could fight that dirty."

"Still got his butt whooped, though." Buffy shrugged. "But that is your sensei's specialty. And speaking of, how's Robby dealing with his dad's revisiting his youth?" Buffy asked.

"How do you think?" Tory chuckled. "I thought the poor guy would spontaneously combust. Or implode."

"I'm ready to join him." Buffy chuckled. "But really, I think we're just going to have to invoke Vegas rules for this one."

"What happened under the band candy stays under the band candy." Tory agreed.

* * * * *
​

Sensei Lawrence looked around the large open space in the rented storefront where he'd set up his new dojo and gazed levelly at his first class of students. Robby stood at the very front of the class proudly wearing his black belt, as much of an assistant instructor as a lead student. Everybody else was drawn up in two loose rows standing abreast. Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and a very nervous-looking Willow hiding in the back row next to an equally nervous Jonathan Levinson were visible among the fourteen Sunnydale High students who'd been curious enough to attend the Cobra Kai dojo's grand opening.

"So, here you are, all fired up and wanting to learn how to fight. After all, who doesn't want to be badass, right?" Johnny grinned.

Several of the kids there started to reply, only to immediately fall silent at Johnny's barked "QUIET! You're not here to chitchat, you're here to learn! So mouth shut, ears open, and pay attention!

He pointed at the words clearly stenciled behind him on the wall; Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy.

"Those principles right there are the heart of Cobra Kai. I learned them from the man who taught me almost everything I knew about martial arts." Johnny began. "And they're words you can live by. But later on I learned that if you live by them too much, then you'll turn into an asshole." He gave an amused snort. "When I was in the Army, the motto of my unit was 'All The Way!' Because when you jump out of an airplane to go land on top of people who are trying to kill you, then when you're halfway down is too late to change your mind! But by the same token, if you're stupid and jump in over your head all you've done is get yourself killed, and maybe a whole lot of other people with you! So before we start, I'm going to explain what these words mean."

He pointed decisively at the first line. "Strike First. It means don't sit on your ass waiting for things to change for you. If you don't like where you're at now, then it's on you to get up and move! Nothing's going to happen unless you take action to make it happen!"

He pointed again. "Strike Hard. It means that everything you do should get your maximum effort. If it's worth doing at all, then it's worth doing right. And if you think it's too hard to live that way, then all that means is you need to work on your stamina more!"

He pointed at the final line. "No Mercy. It's the hardest one to understand. It doesn't mean you go around stomping on people after they're already down or having fun attacking the weak! You make your whole life about doing that kind of crap and you'll probably end up as some kind of war criminal! It does mean that if you choose to fight at all, then you go all-in on winning a decisive victory. Because if it's not important enough for you to fight to win, then why the hell were you even fighting? You don't put your hands up without a need, but if there is a need then you commit to it! Once the fight's already started then it's too late to be Mr. Nice Guy. You try doing that once you're already in the thick of it and the other guy's just going to walk all over you."

"I've trained two tournament champions in my dojo, but before they started with me both of them were a hot mess!" Johnny barked, as Robby briefly rolled his eyes. "Kinda like this kid right here!" he cocked a thumb in Xander's direction. "Well, maybe not quite as bad. But the fact is, martial arts helped turned both of them from confused young people into total badasses. So it doesn't matter what kind of a loser you might be right now! Give it enough effort and I'll make a champion out of you! All that matters is that you stop being spoiled little crybabies and start being the strongest versions of yourselves! Can you do that?"

"Yes, sensei." The class mumbled.

"What was that?!?" Johnny barked.

"Yes, sensei!" the class replied more forcefully.

"I can't hear you!" Johnny roared.

"YES, SENSEI!" they shouted.

Johnny smiled.

---

Author's Note: Just a few random scenes as to how people are settling in. Because while I still can't or won't write an entire AU series, I can at least get the drabbles out of my head.

You get to see the start of Robby and Xander's bromance, as well as hear Robby's origin story from his own POV and some of Johnny's story as well. (And his canon one on the 'Cobra Kai' show is different from this one, but it's heavily based on some common elements.)

For those who haven't watched Buffy, the episode 'Band Candy' involved a dark wizard's plot to magically distract the entire town from something else by enchanting the high school candy sale so that anybody who ate the candy would revert to the emotional maturity of a teenager (and judging from appearances, intoxicated teenagers at that). In the canon episode Joyce's drunken teenaged fling was with Giles, and Buffy didn't find out about it until episodes later. You can see how it went in this timeline. *g*

As to where Buffy and Tory are in the dojo scene, the answer is that they don't get much training value out of sparring with normal people so they are being trained separately. And while Tory at least is as qualified as Robby is to be an instructor's assistant, the class size is such that Johnny doesn't need both of them. And yes, his speech at the end is a rewritten and expanded version of his speech in the Cobra Kai series finale to the new entering class (with adjustments to allow for this Johnny's military background), for those who thought it sounded familiar.

(add) Edited slightly when I realized that there was no way teenaged Ripper and teenaged Johnny would avoid getting in a brawl with each other.