"Nice try, Clay," Raimundo sighed as they watched the other team jump up and down in victory once more.

"Yeah, she was a lot stronger than she looked," Kimiko said.

"I believe we have underestimated our opponent once more," Omi moaned.

Clay's eyes were glued to Cinder; something inside him warmed when she smiled.

"I don't know about y'all," he said, touching his hat self-consciously. "But I don't think I underestimated her. I think rather met my expectations."

His friends gave him a strange look as he climbed onto Dojo's back, fixing his hat again.

Only time he fidgets with that this much is when he's nervous... Rai thought, turning and looking back at Cinder. Or sheepish...

He shook the possibility away, but only a little. Clay didn't usually fall for girls, but that didn't mean he hadn't. Cinder saw that they were leaving and separated from the group, running towards Dojo as he ascended.

"Wait, Clay?" she shouted up to him. He looked down, a little shocked that she was near them. "I thought about what you said, about knowing who you're hanging out with."

Jack, Stryker and Entropy felt their stomachs tighten. After all their convincing, would she join the monks instead? She and Clay had been alone for a while; no doubt the cowpoke had taken the time to trash talk them.

"I think you're right. Jack and Stryker and Enny, they are a little crazy."

They all cringed as the monks brightened. Cinder looked back and saw the defeated look on Jack's face, then turned back to Clay.

"But craziness adds character, you know?" she continued, much to the monks' chagrin. "So, I think I'm good on this side. Thanks for the offer."

"Yeah, sure..." Clay mumbled. "Any time..."

She gave him a small smile and stepped back; Dojo shook his head and flew off towards the temple. Entropy ran up and bear-hugged Cinder from behind.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" she cried as the boys joined them. "I knew you wouldn't leave us."

"I thought you would," Stryker admitted; Entropy smacked his arm in response. "Glad you didn't though."

"Did you really mean that though?" Jack asked hesitantly. "I mean, about craziness adding character?"

"Sure," Cinder said with a shrug. "I'm not exactly sane myself, you know? If it doesn't add character, than I'm lost."

"Yay! We're all characters!" Entropy cried. She looked up at the hot sun. "Let's go be characters at Jack's house. It's too hot here."

"Yeah, we probably should go," Stryker agreed, pushing his Mohawk off his forehead and heading to the jet. "I'm driving."

"Oh come on!" Entropy complained, chasing after him. "You always sit in front, it's my turn!"

Jack and Cinder smiled at the cousin's arguing, then followed, side by side.

"You did really good out there," Jack told her, finding himself unable to make eye contact.

"Thanks," Cinder said, smiling at him. "I probably wouldn't have won without that Fist thing."

"Oh, yeah? Glad I could help, you know?"

Stryker saw that they were lagging and put his hand on the horn, then stopped. He recognized that goofy grin on Jack's face, and immediately smirked and sat back in the seat.

"Tell 'em to hurry up," Entropy ordered, trying to see around him.

"Why?"

"'Cause I wanna go ho...are they flirting again?"

Stryker shushed her as Jack finally opened the door and let Cinder in first. Stryker nonchalantly tapped on the wheel as the two settled into the back seats. Entropy pretended to fix her makeup in the mirror, although it was noticeably pointed at her teammates. Cinder saw this and furrowed her brow.

"...What?" she asked.

"Nothing," the cousins answered together.

Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh, sure," he said. "'Cause you guys agree...never."

"I'm just waiting for you two to put your seat belts on," Stryker rationalized.

The two looked down at the straps that went from shoulder to hip.

"...We do have our seat belts on..." Cinder told him.

"Then we can go, can't we," Stryker said, sending a smirk back at Jack as he turned the keys and lifted the jet off.

Jack understood the look and instantly resembled a tomato. He slumped in his seat and hoped that Cinder didn't think he was flirting...even though he probably was...but not consciously. The burning feeling that Entropy was shooting him amused glances as she chatted with Cinder were starting to make him fidgety, and Stryker's smirk wasn't making it any better.

"Don't you think Jack?"

He snapped out of his awkwardness and turned to Cinder, who was gazing at him expectantly.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't you think Goo Zombies 3 has a better story mode than Goo Zombies 4? I always thought the idea of escaping from a prison was much cooler than trying to destroy a computerized zombie virus."

Jack blinked, then tilted his head.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I'm a big computer nerd, and if you think about it in a political sense it means that people should do more things than just sit on the computer and play video games."

Cinder laughed a little.

"Isn't that ironic?" she asked. "Since you have to play the game in order to see that?"

Jack smiled too, finding that, now that he had made eye contact, he couldn't look away at all; Cinder didn't seem to notice as she kept talking to both him and the Youngs. Stryker knew off the bat that he and Entropy were just an afterthought now, and the way Entropy met his gaze and grinned told him that she was aware as well.

This is gonna be fun, they thought.