CHAPTER THREE

In his defense he really hadn't been trying to steal the Xiaolin Warrior's Shen Gong Wu. He should have known that the 4 monks and the dragon wouldn't have bought that story. They had simply beaten him up once more and then destroyed his hover car. So now here he sat, out side the Xiaolin Temple black and blue, bleeding, and hover car less. The invitations luckily enough had been left unharmed and now sat in his lap as he leaned back against the temple wall. His eyes sliding closed as he tried to come up with some idea on how to get the 4 invites to the 4 monks.

Just as he had relaxed and drifted off to sleep his watch which detected Shen Gong Wu started to flash and beep. Jerking awake he was aware of the sounds around him and quickly covered the watch on his wrist. He watched as the 4 monks ran from the temple and then hop onto Dojo's back as they headed off to find the new Shen Gong Wu. Jack sighed heavily before he ran to his hover car, or what remained of it and dug out his heli-bot. He really never went anywhere without it. He strapped it to his back before activating it and following after Dojo and the monks. If he could get to the Shen Gong Wu before them, maybe he could do a trade with them.

It hadn't taken Jack long to realize the new Shen Gong Wu was located near a Temple of Yevon. It was on the small island called Besaid that his Aunts Yuna and Lulu, Uncles Tidus and Wakka, and cousins Megan and Vidina lived. He quickly landed and while the 4 monks were busy taking to one of the villagers, he ducked into the house closest to him. The home belonged to his Aunt Lulu and Uncle Wakka and it surprised him that the only one home at that moment was in fact his cousin Vidina.

Vidina for his part was sitting in front of a TV watching one of his soccer matches. He looked up only for a moment when he heard Jack enter the house, but then paused the video he was watching and stood up to greet his cousin.

"Jack! Long time no see, ya?" Jack nodded at the tanned red head before him. Vidina wrapped him up in a tight hug before letting him go. "My ma and da aren't here, there was something up over in the ruins and they went there." Jack blinked slightly at his cousin before smirking.

"I actually have to talk to them about something, so I'll head over to the ruins." Vidina just nodded to his cousin and waved as Jack ran back out of the house. Jack glanced over his shoulder to see the monks fighting with one of the villagers. Snorting to himself he ran down the beach towards the entrance of the ancient ruins on the island. When he got there he noticed his Uncle and Aunt glancing down at a small round glowing orb. Jack rolled his eyes before walking over to them. "Aunt Lulu, Uncle Wakka. Thanks for finding the Shen Gong Wu for me." He smiled sweetly up at their shocked faces before grabbing the orb and shoving it into his pocket. When that was done he was swept up in a hug by his Uncle Wakka and kissed on his forehead by his Aunt Lulu.

"We didn't except to see you until this Friday Jonathan. Did you come to make sure we were in fact attending or was it just the orb that brought you here?" Jack smiled up at his Aunt and pushed his Uncle away before laughing.

"Both actually. I didn't know the Wu was going to be here, and I did intend to stop in to make sure you were coming." Jack looked over his shoulder when he heard a shout of his name. Wakka and Lulu stood on guard as the 4 monks and dragon came running over. Jack hid himself behind his Uncle while his hand rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Jack Spicer! We should have known that you'd trick some innocent people into located the Shen Gong Wu for you!" Kimiko's voice was loud and screeching and Jack wondered how any of the other monks could stand to be in the same room with her. He felt his Aunt's hand on his shoulder tighten slightly and he looked up at her with a small smile before stepping out from behind his Uncle.

"Uncle Wakka, I can handle this." Wakka looked back at Jack and then nodded before stepping to the side, he still seemed ready for a fight but seemed a bit more at ease. Jack turned his attention towards the monks and frowned, "Look, I didn't actually know that this was where the Wu was going to be located. And it just turned out that I have family here." He sighed when he got four very dark glares from the monks. Wakka let out a growl and Lulu's eyes narrowed. Jack new that he had to act quickly or else he was going to have a major fight on his hands. "I'll give you the Shan Gong Wu if you promise to actually LISTEN to me!" Jack was not surprised when Omi stepped forward, a soft smile on his face. Omi was always attempting to get Jack to join them in their fight against evil, and Jack really considered the young monk a friend.

"We shall listen Jack Spicer." Those words seemed to relax Wakka, Lulu, and Jack while the other monks tensed. Omi looked over to a large rock and hopped up onto it sitting down and looking to Jack with interest. Jack was surprised when Raimundo joined Omi next, and Clay was soon to follow. Kimiko simply turned her back and huffed. Jack sighed and watched his Aunt and Uncle exchange a look of confusion before he turned back to the monks.

He handed over the orb to Omi and watched as Raimundo attempted to grab at it. The little monk shoved the orb like Wu into his robes and continued to watch Jack. Jack smiled; he knew he could always count on Omi to keep his word.

"Now earlier I came to the temple to give you four invitations to my 16th birthday party. I wasn't interested in your stupid Shan Gong Wu at the time and just wanted to deliver the invites like my mom and dad wanted." He removed the four invites and handed them over to Raimundo who passed them out to the other monks, Kimiko simply shoving hers into her back pocket. Jack watched as the three boys opened the invites and read them over. Dojo jumped up onto Omi's head and read over his shoulder and then looked back up to Jack while sad little dragon eyes. Wakka burst out laughing seeing it and Jack rolled his eyes. "You're welcome to come too Dojo." The dragon cheered up at hearing that and then turned his puppy dog style dragon eyes towards the other Xiaolin warriors.

"How do we know this isn't some kind of plan to just get us away from the temple so he can get our Wu?" Kimiko voiced as she headed over to stand next to Raimundo. Raimundo for his part had never taken his eyes off of Wakka who was certainly being sternly talked to by Lulu for laughing at others. Jack rolled his eyes at the two and then looked to Clay and Omi. Clay nodded his head and neatly folded the invite and placed it into his pocket safely. Omi looked up at Jack with glowing eyes and nodded his head happily.

"I will be most happy to attend Jack Spicer. I have never been to a birthday party before." Raimundo looked over towards Omi and blinked at the little monk before bursting out laughing.

"You've never been to a birthday party? That's rich Omi!" Clay pushed Rai over and watched as the Dragon of Wind fell off of the rock. Kimiko bent down and helped Raimundo up and started to fuse over his dirty clothes. Rai ignored her and looked back to Jack. "You bet we'll be there. Anyone who can give out silk invitation with gold and silver ink has to throw one hell of a party." Jack felt his face heat up and was glad at the hand that once again found it's way to his shoulder. He looked up to see his Aunt Lulu there.

"I assure you four will find that the Spicer family take birthday parties very seriously. And I am also sure that if any of you are in need of a ride to the Djose Temple for the party, we could have one of our family members fetch you." Lulu gave each of the monks a smile before she bent down and kissed Jack's forehead once more, making Jack relax almost instantly. "As for you Jonathan, we will see you Friday. Try to stay out of trouble." With that Lulu headed back towards town, Wakka stayed back and looked over each of the dragons with a wary eye. He then turned to Jack and smiled brightly.

"Take care, ya? Wouldn't want your ma in my face for you getting' your self hurt, ya know?" Jack nodded and let his Uncle pull him into a one armed hug. When that was done Wakka headed the way Lulu went leaving Jack alone with the 4 monks. He shifted on his feet and debated just leaving or staying.

"Look Spicer, this doesn't mean that we are your friend or anything. We are just going cause it's our duty as Xiaolin Dragons to keep an eye on any and all evil." Kimiko sneered at Jack making him take a step back. He didn't like the Dragon of Fire one bit, she reminded him too much of Wuya. Once Kimiko was done talking she grabbed Dojo from Omi's shoulder and marched off. Clay sighed heavily before jumping off of the rock he was sitting on and walking up to Jack. Jack backed away from the taller teen and swallowed hard. Clay simply smiled down at Jack and held out a hand to him.

"Thank ya kindly for the invite Jack." Jack blinked slightly before he held out his hand and took Clay's in a small handshake. When Clay let go of his hand Jack watched him walk off with Omi jumping excitedly after him asking Clay what birthday parties were like and what he should wear. Jack sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair, he briefly wondered if he should strip his hair that night or re dye it the Sunset Red color. Because of this he didn't notice that one of the dragons had not left yet and was in fact watching Jack.

"You look good Spicer. You should dress normally more often." Jack's face heated up and he knew he was as red as he had been earlier with Chase. Raimundo didn't seem to mind and walked forward to run his hand through Jack's red hair. A frown was on the Brazilian's face as he looked at Jack's hair. "It's not natural is it?" Jack blinked a bit before shaking his head. Raimundo frown deepened before he leaned forward and whispered softly into Jack's ear. "I'd love to see your natural color Jonathan." Jack felt as if he might faint and knew that he would if Raimundo hadn't taken a step away from him. Raimundo smiled at him and Jack shook his head to clear it. "Need a lift home?" Jack blinked slightly before shaking his head.

"No that won't be necessary, I'll just get a lift with my Aunt and Uncle when they head out. Or get my parents to send someone for me." Jack knew his face was still a bright red but Raimundo didn't seem to mind or notice as he shrugged and turned and walked off to meet up with his fellow monks. When he was out of side Jack sunk to the ground and wrapped his arms around him body. He heard quiet laughter behind him and looked up to see his Uncle Tidus they're leaning against one of the rocks. He was holding a backpack full of clothes.

"Now that was just the cutest thing I have ever seen. Little Jack's got himself a boyfriend!" Jack felt his face heat up once more and jumped to his feet to face his Uncle. Tidus shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Jack to follow him. "Come on kiddo, let's get you home before your mother sends the National Guard to look for you." Jack smiled towards his Uncle and followed after him. Jack didn't know exactly why he had acted the way he did with Raimundo. What he did know was that his birthday party was turning out to be a bit more bearable.