Trouble
Songfic set to 'Trouble' by Coldplay
Oh no, I see,
The spider web is tangled up with me,
And I lost my head,
The thought of all the stupid things I said…
I couldn't believe all the things I'd said to them. The words didn't seem to come from me, when I replayed them in my mind.
I'm sick of this place! I never should have left Brazil…
Oh yeah. You motivated me right outta here…
Dude, my 'evil ways' are gonna kick your butt, rule the world, and drop me straight into the lap of luxury…
I'm sick of this whole Xiaolin thing! From now on, you can find me on the Heylin side…
Oh no, what's this?
A spider web, and I'm caught in the middle,
So I turned to run,
The thought of all the stupid things I've done…
It was then that I realised the true consequences of what I'd done. The world had become darkened and bleak, all because of me. Just because I didn't get promoted to Xiaolin Apprentice. It wasn't worth destroying the world over something as small as that. I only wish I'd known that before I brought Wuya back to life. Even if I did destroy her, they would never accept me now. I could never be the same as them. I would always be the non-apprentice, the traitor. I never meant to hurt them, but what difference does that make? I still betrayed them.
I never meant to cause you trouble,
And I never meant to do you wrong,
And ah, well if I ever caused you trouble,
Oh no, I never meant to do you harm…
"Crush them!" cried Wuya from beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts. The stone guards that Wuya had created slowly began to crush the Xiaolin Warriors, plus Jack. I may have betrayed the Xiaolin temple, but I couldn't let this happen to the people who had once been my friends.
"Wuya, wait!" I yelled. "You can't squish them like that!" Everyone turned to look at me, including the huge rock-monsters. I wondered what Wuya would do to me now. Perhaps I would share the fate of the Xiaolin Warriors. However, she only smiled evilly and nodded.
"You're quite right, Raimundo." she replied. "No need to make a mess of my throne room." I had thought, for a moment, that she would spare them, but my hopes were crushed with her next words.
"Take them to the dungeon." Wuya continued. "And then crush them." The rock creatures turned to walk away, the Xiaolin dragons crying out as they did so. They begged me to help them. They knew I was good inside. I realised then that I couldn't be evil any longer, even if Kimiko, Omi and Clay would never accept me again. I looked down at the puzzle box I held in my hands. Wuya had given this to me just minutes ago. She had thought she could trust me. She was wrong.
I wrenched open the puzzle box, and a beam of light shone from inside it. It shuddered and shook in my hands, and I fought to control it. A ghostly form appeared in the light, and it took the form of Grand Master Dashi. Unlike Omi, I had only ever seen Dashi in scrolls.
"Dashi!" exclaimed Wuya, her eyes not hiding her fear.
"Wuya!" cried Dashi. "The years have not been kind!" And with that, he flew straight through her, returning her to her ghostly form.
"NO!" she cried. "Nooooo…" I looked at the puzzle box I held, still glowing brightly. I shone the beam directly at Wuya, sucking her back inside the box. It shut with a snap, and I looked up to see Dashi hovering in front of me.
"Well done, Dragon of the Wind…" He said, and gave me a thumbs-up before fading away. I turned to the Xiaolin Apprentices as their captors crumbled into nothing. Kimiko smiled at me tiredly, and I thought that perhaps they could accept me again. I ran down the steps to join them, the palace collapsing around us.
Oh no I see…
A spider web and it's me in the middle,
So I twist and turn,
Here I am in my little bubble…
"Raimundo," said Master Fung, "For riches and glory, you betrayed us all." His words seemed to cut right through me, making me remember the terrible things I had done. I just wanted to forget. Just then, I heard Omi's voice.
"But he saved us all too!" he was saying.
"Yeah, without him, we'd have been Texas toast!" Clay agreed.
"Or worse!" Kimiko continued.
You've got no reason to stick up for me. I thought. I nearly had you killed.
"Guys, guys." I said, turning to face them. "I did a lot of damage. And I've gotta do whatever it takes to make it right again."
"Whatever it takes, Raimundo?" asked Master Fung.
"Yes, Master Fung." I said softly, hanging my head.
Master Fung walked down the steps at the temple gates, with something in his hands. I noticed the other dragons watching him, watching me. He held something out to me, smiling gently.
"What's this?" I asked.
"The sash of a Xiaolin Apprentice." He replied. "It is yours." I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. I reached out to take the sash from him, but then hesitated.
"It's not that I don't want it, Master Fung, but I'm not ready. Not yet." I smiled. "But I will be someday! You know, if Omi helps me."
Singing, I never meant to cause you trouble,
I never meant to do you wrong,
And ah, well if I ever caused you trouble,
Oh no, I never meant to do you harm…
The light was disappearing fast, the sun long gone beneath the distant horizon. I suddenly thought that the sun wouldn't have risen, had I still been on the opposite side of the Xiaolin-Heylin balance. The land would still have been dark, the trees dead and the rivers dry. I quickly banished this thought from my mind. It wasn't going to be easy to forget what had happened.
"You're not going to be able to forget, Rai." came a soft voice from behind me. I whirled around, to see Kimiko standing at the top of the steps. "Forgetting isn't going to work." she continued, leaning against the wall that circled the temple. "You have to face it." She was right, and I knew it. I could never completely erase a part of my life, and pretend it never happened. Kimiko descended the steps and stood next to me. Even with Kimiko here, I felt so alone. I would always be different to the others, just because of one mistake. One mistake that set off another, and another. But at least I knew I could have another chance. Try again. Become an Apprentice, someday. I knew that whatever I did, Kimiko, Omi, and Clay would be there. Ready to give me another chance, should I make another mistake…
They spun a web for me,
They spun a web for me,
They spun a web for me…