(4,160 words.)

Sunday spent most of her time poking her food during dinner. Y/N was being a huge jerk, and Jack was being a pretty decent person, everything was topsy turvy. She didn't understand it anymore. Maybe it was a prank everyone was playing on her? Sunday looked at Y/N. She sat by herself at the edge of the table, as far away from the others as possible. Or maybe the others just didn't want to sit with her anymore. When they'd heard Sunday crying yesterday, Clay explained everything to them. Sunday wouldn't blame them for being angry with Y/N, she was angry with her sister, too. Luckily, at least Omi, Raimundo and Kimiko seemed to still have some energy left in them.

''Jack was such a weirdo today!'' Kimiko exclaimed, ''Like, more than usual.''

Omi pensively chewed on his chopstick. ''It is rather odd behavior indeed,'' he admitted, ''For Jack to give up his Shen Gong Wu like that.''

''Yeah, they're basically his life support at this point!'' Raimundo exclaimed, ''The guy's nothing without them!''

''Perhaps he is... turning around another leaf?'' Omi offered.

Kimiko burst out in laughter. ''Turning over a new leaf? Jack? Not a chance!''

''But remember what he said,'' Omi continued, ''That more people like you when you're good. Perhaps Y/N's goodness has infected him, after all.''

''If she even has any,'' Kimiko muttered.

''You think this could be a new plan of his?'' Raimundo asked, ''Give us his Shen Gong Wu to make us feel like we can trust him... or something?''

''Perhaps he's got a tracking device in that there Shroud of Shadows,'' Clay proposed.

Kimiko shook her head. ''I've already checked it. The Shroud of Shadows is completely intact. Besides, how would he get that done, anyway? Quickly plant one when he gave it back to Sunday or something?''

''Even then, what was the point of giving back the Shen Gong Wu?'' Raimundo asked again.

''The mind of Jack Spicer contains many mysteries,'' Omi mused.

''Most of which are better left unsolved,'' Raimundo muttered.

When everyone was done with their dinner, Omi jumped up from his seat at the table. ''I bought us all something in preparation for our next victory.'' He shrugged. ''And... I suppose this was kind of a victory, so...'' Omi grabbed a pineapple from behind his back and, with cool chopping martial arts moves, he cut the fruit up into six equal parts. ''Dig out!'' He cheered.

''You mean 'dig in','' Raimundo corrected, ''And I sure as hell will!''

Everyone started eating their pineapple with happy faces, except for Y/N. Sunday watched her sister hesitantly bring the slice to her face. Then, when it was close to her mouth, her face turned a bright red, she covered her mouth, dropped the pineapple, and ran out of the dining room.

Omi looked up, he seemed a bit offended. ''Does Y/N not like pineapple?'' He asked.

''No, she loves pineapple.'' Sunday answered. It had something to do with recent events, she could feel it in her gut. ''Please excuse me.'' She stood up from the table and ran after her sister.

Y/N had gone to her room, where she sat on her sleeping mat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Sunday sighed as she pulled away the curtain and watched her sister sit there for a moment.

''What do you want?'' Y/N muttered.

''What're you still doing here?'' Sunday asked. It'd laid heavily on her mind since Y/N... well... said that. ''Don't you like Jack more? Why won't you join him, if you like him so much?''

''...I shouldn't.''

''You'll have to make a choice, Y/N. You can't just seesaw between Jack and the monks and expect us to trust you!''

''I think I've got it. Just let me stay here, a little longer, and he'll budge. I just know it.''

''Who are you talking about? Jack? He won't budge. You of all people should know that. Jack never budges.''

''Perhaps not. But I'll have to trust him. Just this once.''

Sunday scoffed. ''You can't be serious!'' Had Y/N lost her mind?

''I'll have to. If he betrays me, it'll be my responsibility.'' She raised her head. ''But this is the best thing I can do... it's all-or-nothing, though. I don't like making gambles like that.''

Yes, Y/N might've lost her mind. ''Jack really is a bad influence on you. But I don't know what to do about it at this point.''

''Don't do anything about it. Just wait and see. Again, it's my responsibility, not yours. I'm old enough to make decisions by myself now.''

Sunday shook her head. If she tried giving Y/N heartfelt advice, it'd look like she was baby-ing her little sister, but if she let Y/N go, she'd surely lose her way and do something stupid. There really was no winning in this situation.

''Why did you do that, you stupid runt?!'' Wuya screamed, ''Why did you give away all the Shen Gong Wu?!''

Jack shrugged as he continued writing code for his robots. ''Like I said: the Xiaolin losers needed a little head start. I've been beating them too much, and I wanted to make sure everything was fair.'' It was disappointing to see that none of them reacted happily to his sacrifice.

''You've never cared about 'playing fair'!'' Wuya fumed,, ''That Y/N really is having a bad influence on you!''

''Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, old witch.''

Jack continued writing code for his robots, when suddenly, something cold shot up his spine. It penetrated his brain and like a malicious case of brain freeze, poked around in his control center. When the sensation finally left his head via his eyes, Jack grabbed his head between his hands and applied pressure to try to soothe the discomfort.

''Jack!'' Wuya gasped, ''Do you want to join the Xiaolin monks?!''

''Argh! Of course not!'' Jack turned around. ''Don't poke around my brain like that! It's private!''

''You want to feel appreciated,'' Wuya continued, with an almost blank stare, ''You want to have friends. You feel happy when you help people, and you want to continue helping people because of that.''

She might've been right. ''So what? Am I not allowed to help people? I can't take over the world on my own, you know! Like Y/N said-''

''Y/N is not on your side.'' Wuya interrupted.

''Who cares? She's clever! If I hadn't taken her advice, I wouldn't even have had any Wu to give away in the first place!''

''And when she realizes you won't join the monks, and that she can't be with you if you're evil, she'll leave you.''

Wuya was right. ''Then- then I'll just join the Xiaolin losers! What've I got to lose?!''

''Do you really think they'll take you in?!'' Wuya fumed, ''After everything you've done to them?! Do you really think they'll trust you?!''

''Omi sure will,'' Jack joked.

''They'll drag you through the dirt and leave you! Even the people on your side leave you, what do you expect from your enemies?!''

Jack looked down at his hands. Wuya was right. Everyone left him.

''Y/N will only be a bad influence on you,'' Wuya continued, ''You should betray her before she betrays you.'' Wuya shook her head. ''It's either her or me! If you choose her, I'll leave you.''

''It's not like it's your first time leaving me,'' Jack said as he turned back to his computer. ''Y/N hasn't left me before, though.''

Wuya huffed. ''Then this is goodbye, Jack. You'll be nothing on your own.''

Jack was nothing with Wuya present, either.

He wanted to continue coding his robots, but he couldn't concentrate. The argument he'd had with Wuya laid too heavily on his mind, so he decided to go to his room and just lay on his bed as he thought. Did he really make the right choice? He found it difficult to imagine, Y/N betraying anyone. She wasn't built on betrayal as some of the other villains Jack had met, which was why she was still hesitating between staying with the monks and joining Jack. She didn't want to betray either party, which was why she tried staying with both of them as much as she could. Could her eventually choosing the monks even be seen as her betraying Jack? If she patiently told him about her feelings and about the many complications, probably not. He knew it was coming. It'd been coming ever since they started their friendship. It was inevitable. Another reason why he was sure Y/N wouldn't betray him... was because he didn't want any incentive to betray her. She was his friend... his girlfriend. He couldn't betray her. Being with her had been so fun up until now, he couldn't afford to lose her. Not now. Not ever. He loved her, perhaps a little more deeply than he was comfortable with. What Y/N said about Jack betraying the Japanese crime boss ghosted through his mind: it'd been stupid to betray him, and it'd be stupid to betray Y/N, too. Maybe his anxious thoughts were incorrect, and Y/N would end up joining Jack instead. She made him happy all the time and she'd be an excellent addition to Jack's forces. Besides, even if she was going to keep hesitating between either side, Jack could still learn so much from Y/N. It'd be stupid to betray her now. Jack had learned that from Y/N, too.

There was a knock on his door, and Y/N poked her head through the doorframe. Jack sat up from his bed, a little discombobulated. ''Y/N?'' He asked.

''Yes, I wanted to visit you. Your mother pointed me to your room.'' She smiled. ''She appears to be happy you have a friend.''

''Villains don't have friends... you're my only exception.'' Jack smiled at her.

Y/N stepped into the room and looked at his TV-screen. ''Aren't you playing video games?''

Jack shrugged. ''I don't really feel like it. I've got too much on my mind. Wuya and I just had an argument and I was thinking about it.'' Active introspection. Wasn't that something Y/N would do?

''Would you then like to go on a walk with me?'' Y/N asked, ''In my experience, it helps clear the mind. Thoughts get stuffed up and have no way to escape if you stay indoors all the time.''

Jack got up from his bed. ''Did the Fungster tell you that one?'' He joked.

''No, I thought of it myself.''

They both went outside. Jack shivered against the cold.

''It's becoming winter,'' Y/N remarked.

Jack rolled his eyes. ''Ugh, it'll be Christmas time soon!''

''You don't like Christmas?''

Jack pulled his extra jacket closer. ''No, I never got any presents.''

''Because you were being naughty? I can't imagine your parents couldn't afford to buy you anything.''

''Mom and dad were never home during the holidays... they had business things to attend to.'' Jack shuddered. ''Especially my dad... I haven't seen him in a few months.''

''That must be terrible.'' Y/N glanced at him. ''Christmas was always lovely at our household, especially Christmas Eve when we would sing together and watch Home Alone. They were the very few occasions I actually forgot about my issues.''

Jack turned his eyes to the pavement. ''Must be nice.'' It felt as though there was a hole in his chest.

There was a guy-looking figure at the other side of the street, who kept walking up and down the pavement, with a phone in hand. He'd sometimes stop, cuss to himself, then walk the other way. Jack got a bit annoyed with the man's nervous behavior.

''Hey, asshole!'' He shouted to the man from the other side of the street, ''Where do you need to go?!''

The man glanced around feverishly and responded: ''Pingcheng Street...!''

''It's down this road, then to the left!'' Jack pointed where the man needed to go. ''Now scram!''

The man nodded. ''Th- thank you!'' Then ran in the direction Jack had pointed.

Y/N looked at the man as he ran down the street. ''Did you just give that man directions?'' She asked, seemingly a bit confused, ''You didn't give him the wrong directions on purpose, did you?''

Jack shrugged. ''C'mon now, Y/N. I'm not that evil. I have standards, y'know.''

''I believe you,'' She said, ''It's just a bit uncanny, seeing you do something good.''

Jack started walking again. ''More people like you when you're good, remember?''

''I didn't know you cared about whether people liked you or not. However, it's a good development. I certainly encourage this behaviour.''

Jack smiled at her. They kept walking in comfortable silence for some time, before ending up at a nearby park. Jack leaned on a fence that was supposed to keep the clumsy children from falling off of the small cliff. He looked up at the full moon.

''Do you know which side you're choosing?'' Jack asked. It'd probably be the monks, but he had to know, just in case.

''I'm not choosing a side.'' Y/N said. ''Instead, I was hoping you'd choose one.''

Jack turned around. Y/N was smiling at him. It was a genuine smile, although Jack wasn't sure what exactly there was to smile about.

''What do you even mean by that?'' Jack asked.

Y/N extended her hand. ''I'm asking you to come join the Xiaolin monks.''

It was subtle, but Jack could tell her hand was trembling. ''What makes you think the others want me?''

''It's not the mindset of the other monks that's important,'' Y/N said with a trembling voice, ''It's only your mindset. Will you join or not?''

Wuya had left him. He'd chosen Y/N, so the route that made the most sense was to do as she asked, right? ''What makes you think I can do it?''

''You only fail at being good once you turn evil.''

''But I already am evil!''

''But you can try to be good again. You've failed many times and tried again, what makes this time so different?''

Jack listened to the crickets as he thought. ''You guys... are pretty close-knit, right?''

''Yes. Betrayal is rare. The only reason the others dislike me right now... is all due to my own fault.'' She lowered her hand. ''However, there is an indescribable sensation when we battle together. As if our souls merge. As if we can read each other's minds. You'll have to experience it for yourself to understand. It is... slightly addicting.'' She smiled at him.

Jack leaned against the fence. ''That might be true for you guys, but I'll never fit in.''

''You don't know unless you try. 'I always show up at battles I'm certain to lose', that's something you said once, isn't it? Why shouldn't it be true now?''

Jack breathed deeply. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. He didn't want to agree with Y/N's offer and come to regret it later, but he also didn't want to let her go and risk having both Wuya and Y/N leave him on the same day.

''I hate to admit it,'' Y/N continued, ''But you aren't as much of a threat to us as you used to be. Chase Young is a much bigger threat. He'd annihilate you in competition.''

''Thanks... that made me feel really good about myself,'' Jack said sarcastically.

''You can't make a difference in evil, but you can make a difference in good, by tipping our chances slightly in our favour. Your decision matters to us, Jack.''

Jack squeezed the fence. ''And you won't betray me?''

''I'm betting everything I have on your compliance. To betray you would be senseless.''

He gulped. ''...Alright. I'll come join you.''

Y/N was a bit nervous as she brought Jack to the temple. Jack had complied to her plan, but she wasn't sure if the other monks would do the same. It was an insane plan, Y/N knew that, but it was the only way she could get a happy ending for everyone. When she walked onto the temple grounds, Kimiko and Omi were already awake and stretching. Kimiko stopped her exercises when she spotted the two, and took a defensive stance in the middle of the path to the temple.

''Did you finally decide to betray us?'' She asked.

Y/N completely understood her antagonism. ''No. Instead, Jack and I came here to ask if he could become one of the monks training here.'' Y/N bowed to the monk. ''Please.''

''This creep? Not a chance.''

''Do not say 'no' too soon, Kimiko,'' Omi joined in the conversation. ''Like master Fung always says: 'A foe turned a friend is a most powerful ally'.''

''Yeah, but I don't think Jack will be anyone's ally.'' Kimiko protested. ''He's probably here to sneak into the vault and steal all our Shen Gong Wu again.''

''Remember how he gave us back the Sphere of Yun and the Shroud of Shadows?'' Omi asked, ''I believe he is trying to be better.''

''He probably only gave them back because he wanted us to trust him!''

''And what if he didn't? What if he wants to stop being evil? I think we should give him a chance!''

Kimiko burned Y/N with her firey gaze. ''Alright. We'll ask the others what they think. If there's a majority vote, Jack can stay. However, when he betrays us, it'll be Y/N's fault.''

Y/N nodded. ''I take full responsibility for Jack's actions.''

The others were informed about the state of affairs. Of the five people to vote, only Raimundo and Kimiko voted against keeping Jack as one of the monks. Y/N cautiously glanced at her sister. She wondered why Sunday had voted for Jack, after all Y/N had done, Sunday's trust in her had probably taken a big hit. After the voting, Jack was given a spare monk outfit and everyone had breakfast. Since Jack was a newbie, he had to do all the chores for the day, and Y/N joined him in these chores while the others were out training and having fun. After dinner, everyone had some free time. Jack went to bed immediately. Y/N was very proud of him since he hadn't complained about the hard work and the barren food. He was really starting to grow as a person. Y/N figured she had to take after him, and approached Sunday when she sat in the garden, painting the sunset with her watercolours. Y/N sat down next to her on the cold grass.

''I'm... sorry. About what I said... a few days ago.'' She pulled her knees up to her chest.

Sunday asked: ''Do you really hate me? Because you think I'm better than you?''

Y/N buried her face in her knees. ''You don't deserve me. You deserve someone much better... like Clay.'' She shook her head. ''I was jealous of you. Because you could always do everything I couldn't. Because you learned everything much faster than me. Because you were always so much nicer than me.'' Y/N looked up. ''Why... did you vote to have Jack join the monks? You shouldn't trust me, not after what happened.''

Sunday shrugged. ''Because there was something genuine about the situation. If you really wanted to betray us, you would've just said it to our face that you were gonna join the Heylin side. Besides... the look in Jack's eyes. It was the look of someone who wanted to work on himself.''

''I'll do whatever I can to keep him here. That's a promise.''

Sunday shook her head. ''Sometimes... you just can't control someone else's behaviour. Why would you take full responsibility for everything that guy does?''

''Because I know it's reckless. If the others suffer because of me, I want to own up to my mistake.''

Sunday cleaned her brush. ''I hope this works out.'' She grabbed a little bit of red paint. ''That move Jack used on me during the last showdown, it was yours, right? Why did you teach it to him?''

Y/N felt her face go hot. ''Jack practically begged me to teach him something, and because... that move doesn't work on you.'' She frowned. ''Why the heck did it work on you?!'' She exclaimed, ''I don't understand!''

Sunday