Chapter 2 - The Second Hand Unwinds
After retrieving Raimundo's body, the Xiaolin dragons returned to the temple.
The corpse had multiple broken bones (some of which protruded from the skin) and was splattered with dry blood, making for a truly gruesome sight. It was so much so that none of the warriors could stand the thought of watching it the entire ride home, and the unpleasant task of carting it back was left to Dojo.
Each member of the team felt an intense feeling of shame that they could not give their leader the respect he deserved. Yet, this guilt was not powerful enough to overshadow their disgust. Thus, the ride was silent, with each warrior hanging their head in solemn remorse.
Upon their return, the travelers were met by Master Fung. Although his sight had begun to fail him in his old age and did not immediately see the corpse, he was able to sense an aura of misery radiating from the entire party.
Dojo landed, laid Raimundo's lifeless body on the ground gently and shrank down to size.
At this point, Master Fung wheeled himself towards the group, but still did not notice the body, "Welcome back, my young dragons. Were you successful on your quest?"
The members of the group glanced at one another, searching for the best words to describe what had taken place.
Clay was the first to muster up the courage to respond, but did so with few words. He took a deep breath to fill his lungs with a last gasp of clean air and promised himself that he would not let the revolting sight of Raimundo's blooded corpse stop him from doing what needed to be done. The dragon of earth grounded himself and approached the dead body, ignoring the stench with all his might. He then carried the body to his master and placed it down at the old man's feet, "Well, Sir, we were able ta get the last a' the Shen Gong Wu…"
Omi pulled himself together enough to finish his friend's sentence, "But we lost something far more important," his throat cinched and Kimiko began to gasp for breath in agony.
The old man said nothing as he watched his disciples stand in a line before him. Looking down, he was finally able to make out the sight of Raimundo's body and began to shake his head in sorrow, "This is most troubling. We have not lost a life at this temple since our battle with Mala Mala Jong all those years ago," he paused, needing a moment to collect himself as tears began to well up in his eyes.
The sight of their master's emotion revived the storm of sorrow that had been fighting to creep its way back into the dragon's hearts. Each of the Xiaolin now began to let their tears flow freely in mourning for their fallen comrade.
After having time to cry, Master Fung was able to gather himself and instruct the others as to their next course of action, "Could you bring forth the Shen Gong Wu which has led to this unfortunate turn of events? I wish to see it with my own eyes."
The warriors looked down at Dojo, knowing that he was the one in possession of their stock of Wu. The little dragon pulled out a small sack from inside of his ear and followed the same process as Raimundo before him, using the Changing Chopsticks to return the bag of objects to its true size. He then dove into the bag and retrieved the small, black orb.
Beholding the magical object in awe, he could not help but remark, "I've seen Shen Gong Wu strip off people's clothes, make them act like they're on drugs and give them explosive diarrhea. But none scare me quite as much as this one."
The dragon slithered over to Master Fung and placed The End into his wrinkled hands. Afterwards, he slid upward and perched himself on the handles of the elderly man's wheelchair.
As Master Fung lifted the small object to his face, he felt a sense of pure terror strike his old and weak heart. It was such a simple item. Yet, it had the power to bring chaos to the entire world before it was even activated.
A powerful jolt of fear shook the elderly man's body and he lifted his gaze back to the dragons, "We must place this in the vault immediately. It is too horrifying to be exposed out in the open this way," he spun his wheelchair around and headed in the direction of the Shen Gong Wu vault, with Dojo riding on the chair behind him.
The three dragons were flabbergasted at their master's reaction. They had never seen him address a Shen Gong Wu in such a loathsome manner. For a moment, they did not know how to respond. Their master's reaction brought a slew of questions to their minds. What did Master Fung really think about the Wu? Did he really hate all of them, or was it just this new one? And, if he did hate them all, why was that?
Master Fung cast off his usually patient demeanor when he realized that the three of them were not following him, "Quickly! I only want one of you to stay behind with Raimundo. The other two must come with Dojo and I!" He commanded over his shoulder, putting a spring in their steps.
Omi, who had been closest to the bag of Shen Gong Wu at the time, snatched up the sack and hurried his little feet so as to catch up with Master Fung.
Clay and Kimiko looked at each other, debating who would take on which task.
Clay, always the gentleman, spared the young woman the grief of taking care of the corpse by signaling, with a gentle wave of his open hand, for her to join the others. She accepted his gesture, smiling and nodding politely, before dashing off toward the vault.
No one in the group spoke a word as they entered the tower. Master Fung jingled five bells in a specific pattern and the stone staircase leading to the Shen Gong Wu vault slid down upon the input of the musical code.
Unfortunately, the vault had not yet been made handicap-accessible. This left Kimiko and Omi to put all the Wu in the proper places, after having accepted The End from Master Fung's hand.
An ominous silence was held between the two as they journeyed deeper into the underground storage area, distributing the magical items to the proper resting places as they went.
When they reached the bottom of the vault, they stared for a moment at the stone drawer reserved for the final Wu.
The silence began to drive Kimiko berserk, and she could no longer hold back the urge to speak, "Omi, are you all right? What happened during that battle? Did you see how Raimundo was…" she could not bring herself to finish her sentence and started a new one, "Are you OK?" She placed a hand softly on the small monk's shoulder to comfort him, even though the question had been asked more for her own satisfaction than for the sake of helping her friend's feelings.
Omi could not stand to look her in the eyes. He twisted his head in the opposite direction of her comforting hand and lifting The End towards its home, "I am sorry Kimiko," he began as he placed the Wu in the drawer and pushed on its front surface lightly, prompting it to slide shut automatically.
The young woman would not accept this for an answer and grasped Omi's shoulder tighter as he attempted to walk back up the stairs, "Wait. Please Omi, just tell me what happened. I, I really need to know," she said no more. However, her voice made it clear that, regardless of her reactions to the gruesome sight of Raimundo's bloody corpse, she felt that she could handle the news of what had happened.
Omi did not want to speak of it, but he knew that he could not deny his stubborn ally. He gazed into her face, racked with remorse and guilt.
She immediately detected his pain. The two of them had a bond, a connection more powerful than that of a simple friendship. One could call it a crush, but their lifestyle as Xiaolin monks prevented anything from growing out of it. In fact, all of the dragon warriors felt kinship with one another that seemed to be beyond that of regular friends. There was an unbreakable bond between their kindred spirits that very few could comprehend.
It hurt Kimiko to press him, but they both knew that the truth must be revealed, "Come on Omi. Please tell me what happened. Rai…Raimundo was…" Her heart began to ache; its wound torn open once again as she picked away the scab that had started to form.
Omi stopped her and brought her into a comforting, friendly embrace. As he hugged her soft face to his chest, he wiped away her tears and stroked her smooth, velvety black hair. She fell to her knees on the stairs and Omi sat next to her without letting go, "I am truly sorry Kimiko. It was my fault."
Kimiko shot her face up at him in shock, "What? W-what do you mean it was 'your fault'? What happened?" She trembled in horror, fearing the worst and unable to accept the startling news.
He swallowed a sticky lump of saliva and proceeded to explain, "Raimundo realized that defeating the leader of the robots would prevent all of the others from coming back to life, but the crowd of drones around us was too dense for him to reach it. He instructed me to sneak through the battle and destroy it, as I am much smaller and swifter.
"But I did not listen. I thought it would be easier for him to use his elemental Shen Gong Wu from a distance, even though it would have used more energy. I snuck over to the robot and used my Kaijin Charm to attack it out of defiance."
Kimiko gasped as Omi continued, "The attack sent broken parts of Jack's robot flying into Raimundo. I should have listened to orders. Because of my foolishness, Raimundo is…" He could not finish before sobs began to choke him and stifle his speech.
Kimiko wrapped her arms around him and the two held each other, crying together, for some time. Nothing had ever been as hard for her to hear as this. And yet, it hurt Omi even more to recall and repeat it. Their sorrow poured out with each salty tear. The fact that the little monk had not even messed up some form of slang during his story only proved the gravity of the situation.
After they had sat together for a while, it struck Kimiko that she needed to say something to help Omi, as well as herself, feel better about what had transpired, "Omi," she leaned out of their hug slightly so that their eyes could meet, "Don't blame yourself. That was not your fault, it was completely by accident. You had no way of knowing that something like that would happen."
He did not listen to her. His mind was set. It was his fault and no one could convince him otherwise, "No. I was at fault. If I had listened to the orders that I was given, none of this would have happened."
Kimiko felt her heart being ripped apart as she heard Omi's words. She wished there was some way to help him and to release him from his prison of guilt. Yet, she knew that his proud spirit was very hard to break and was overwhelmed with remorse when she realized that she could do nothing on her own to assist him.
They released from their embrace, acknowledging a new sense of tension between them. Omi rose to his feet, making no attempt to ease the mood before leaving his friend alone. He knew that he needed some time to himself. Kimiko chose not to deny him that solitary privilege, and the two went their separate ways after exiting the vault.
News of the grand dragon's death spread throughout the temple like wildfire. By the end of the day, everyone had been told and a funeral service was being planned. A number of monks from surrounded temples were invited to observe the services. The next night, dozens had gathered to pay their respects.
Prior to the proceedings, Raimundo's body was taken to the temple's medical practitioners and treated in a form of temporary mummification.
Firstly, they removed the chunk of metal that had still been lodged in the corpse's stomach.
The dragon warriors had been afraid to do this, for reasons that the operators were forced to deal with. The instant they yanked out the claw, the wound began to spew puss and small pieces of coagulated blood flew into the air like chunks of stone from a volcano. This left a massive gaping hole on the body, exposing many internal organs. Some of the guts had even flown into the air when their newest accessory was torn away, proving that this task was not meant for those without a strong stomach.
As hideous as the sight was, the medical professionals had been trained to deal with it and went about their work. They removed all of the organs and drained the remaining bodily fluids, then proceeded to pour a mixture of salts into the body cavity before sewing the wound shut with simple medical stitches.
After the embalming, the body was sent to some temple artists, who were the most qualified to clean up and decorate the corpse. None of them were professional make-up artists or hair-dressers, but they all worked together and created an end result that would honor any man in his last moments of exposure to the world.
The service plans were simple and conservative, as was traditional for ceremonies held by Xiaolin monks. This was a bit ironic, considering that Raimundo was one who often took an over-the-top approach to life.
A group of musicians was invited to play soothing melodies during the event on traditional Chinese instruments. The body was placed in a custom-made wooden coffin and rested atop a mat similar to the ones used by all of the monks for bedding. The lighting and decorations were kept to a minimum. All of these things signified the belief that only necessities should be used in death as well as life, a value which had long been held by the Xiaolin monks.
Kimiko went out to pick flowers alone, accepting the duty assigned to her as the temple's only female. It had never made her very happy that all of the monks held onto their old-fashioned ways, but at least this tradition gave her some time to herself. The peaceful solitude of collecting small bouquets to be placed around the coffin before burial gave her some time to clear her head.
Yet, her mind was unable to free itself from worry about Omi and his struggles. Poor Omi. I hope he's able to rationalize with himself. Still, I can't believe he would… She cut herself off at the thought and felt ashamed that she would even consider placing any blame on her friend.
When she returned to the temple, Kimiko placed her bouquets intricately around the coffin.
Her time alone had been wasted. She returned feeling worse than when she left and was burdened with a new guilt brought on by doubt swirling around her mind. What if Omi had just listened?
She no longer shunned the thoughts that bubbled up from the darkest corners of her mind. If he hadn't been so stubborn about using his elemental Shen Gong Wu, then Rai would still be alive right now. As much as I don't want to say it, it's true. Sure, accidents happen. But this could have been completely prevented. Why did that little... She cut her thoughts short when she saw Master Fung approaching with Dojo in tow.
"The flower arrangement looks beautiful Kimiko. I am sure Raimundo would have loved to see it. You have done well to honor his memory," the old man smiled warmly at her.
Seeing his kind face and hearing his comforting words put Kimiko at ease and allowed her to shut down the horrible thoughts that she had allowed to escape, "Thank you Master Fung," she responded with a bow and went off to find Clay, hoping that she would get a chance to talk to him.
At the same time, Clay had been given the duty of taking care of Raimundo's sleeping quarters and belongings.
To honor the grand dragon's memory, the space would be left nearly the same way that its owner had arranged it during his lifetime. However, one addition was to be made. A small shrine would be made in the center. It was Clay's duty to assemble this shrine.
It was traditional to utilize the clothes worn at the victim's time of death in the shrine. Therefore, after they had been cleaned, Clay neatly arranged Raimundo's battle garments in the middle of the area.
He distributed incense candles on either side of the pile of clothing, with small potted ferns behind them. He then put an 8 x 10 portrait in a delicately carved wooden frame and positioned it in the middle, directly behind the garments.
The picture was one of the four warriors together after they had achieved dragon status, all grinning madly, with Raimundo standing out front and holding a thumbs-up to the camera. Traditionally, this would have been a painted portrait, but everyone had agreed that, in this modern age, a photo would do just as well and that it was more fitting to the man of honor.
To top off the shrine, Clay placed the pendant that Raimundo had always worn on top of the clothes, curling the chain in an artistic half-circle so that the whole piece resembled a gust of wind.
After he had assembled the space, Clay shifted into a cross-legged position to admire his work. Hope ya like it Rai. He smiled at the thought, knowing that Raimundo probably wouldn't have cared either way.
A moment later, Clay heard the sound of feet pattering down the hallway and turned to see who was there: Kimiko. He tipped his hat to her as she wondered solemnly into the room, "Howdy there, Kim. You all done with the flower pickin'?"
The young woman nodded, but said nothing. Her silence worried Clay. He stood up and placed one of his giant hands softly on her delicate shoulder, "Hey now, you gonna be all right? I know it's tough, but we gotta be strong."
She shook her head to show him that he had misunderstood, "That's not it. The thing is," she had to avert her gaze, as shame had made her unable to look her kind friend in the face, "I've been doing a lot of thinking."
The cowboy was puzzled, "That there's kinda vague. Thinkin' 'bout what?"
She sighed and sniffled, doing her best to force back the lump that was crawling up her throat, "Well, the thing is, Omi told me what happened to Raimundo. He saw the whole thing," she coughed slightly to keep her voice clear.
Clay was taken aback for a moment, "W-what? Really? Well, why didn't cha say that before? What happened?" He stammered out, placing both hands on her shoulders now.
Kimiko had known that this was the sort of reaction he would have when she brought up the subject. Still, she wished that he had behaved less frantically. Emotionally, she was still not completely prepared to tell the tale. Clay's frantic response only put on more pressure and made her twice as nervous to give details on the grave situation at hand. However, she took in a deep breath and mustered up the courage to explain everything that Omi had revealed to her the day before.
Meanwhile, none other than Omi himself was walking towards the dragons' shared sleeping quarters, planning to pay his respects at the shrine that Clay had been assigned to complete.
Oddly enough, as he approached the room, he overheard a conversation taking place. His keen instincts instantly picked up on the fact that the tone of the exchange was an ominous one. He slid to the side of the doorway silently, unnoticed, and pressed his ear to wall to get a better listen.
His heart fell to his stomach and curled itself into a knot as he began to distinguish the speaking voice. It was Kimiko, telling Clay all of what he had told her in the vault. Even though it was not necessarily a secret, he felt a sense of betrayal that she would go out and tell someone else outright without even asking him if it was okay.
He clenched his hands into fists and his pulse began to quicken. How could she do something like this? His mind raced with anger and he realized that staying there, listening to her talk, was only making it worse.
He fled the hallway, hoping that he could find sanctuary to calm his troubled mind.
Kimiko turned back when she heard a soft pattering noise come from outside the doorway. Clay had been listening so intently to her story that he had not noticed the sound.
"What's wrong Kim?" he inquired curiously.
She remained silent for a moment. She hoped to pick up on the noise again, but it had disappeared, "Nothing. I just thought I heard someone out in the hallway," she turned to face her friend again, "But that's it. Ever since Omi told me all of that, I haven't been able to think straight. I know it's not completely his fault, but something still makes me upset with him. I feel horrible about it," she lowered her head in humiliation.
Clay placed a hand under her chin and lifted it gently, "I reckon I might know why."
She looked up at him with hope in her eyes. She sensed the kindness and understanding that seemed to radiate from him. She was certain that she could trust him and that he was truly a great friend with only the best of intentions.
Yet, this did not make his next words any less difficult to hear.
"I reckon you're thinkin' all them things 'cause you want somebody ta blame for all a this, and tryin' ta put all the fault on Jack just ain't doin' it for ya. Yer not convinced that one man alone could cause all a' this, so yer mind needs somebody else to place some a' the reasonability on. I kin see why ya'd feel that way."
His wisdom was harsh, but it was true, and Kimiko knew it. Everything suddenly made sense and she felt even worse for not realizing it herself, "Y-you're right," the words burned on her tongue, but she knew that it was best to force them out.
Still, something didn't feel right. Even though it took a massive weight off of her shoulders to figure things out and let Clay know the truth, as he obviously deserved to know what had happened, there was an oddly tense atmosphere lingering in the room. Something made her think that it was because of the noise that she had heard. Perhaps they had revealed something to an unwanted eavesdropper. She decided to ignore the thought, convincing herself that it wasn't important.
Simultaneously, Clay was fighting with emotions of his own. After all that Kimiko had shared with him, he began to fear that something had changed. It was if Raimundo had been a force that helped bind their group and, in his absence, their relationship would begin to change.
Their friendship would not collapse entirely. At least, not that he could see. But he felt that he would never be able to look at his friends the same way again after learning about all that had happened. Kimiko had just revealed something despicable. Omi seemed to have lost all sense courage and self-confidence. Nothing was as it should've been.
Where're we gonna go from here? How can we fix this? He struggled with his thoughts, looking for ways to save the friendship and memories that the band of friends had once cherished. He couldn't let things fall apart this way. They had gone through too much to lose everything over just one incident. He refused to let their years of bonding be broken in such a brief period. Even if he did lose his friends to this conflict, it would not be without a fight.
A loud bell signaled that the funeral processions were about to begin and snapped the minds of both monks back to reality. They nodded to one another in silent comprehension and walked off to join the ceremony.
The funeral was a beautiful service. Each monk in attendance took turns bowing and saying a few words of respect in front of the coffin, which was decorated with incense burners along with the flower arrangements that Kimiko had made.
Master Fung had requested that he, Dojo and the three dragon warriors were to remain at the end of the line. When the three friends discovered this, they instantly became suspicious. Why would Master Fung purposely save them for the end? Knowing that man as well as they did, it was clear that he had something special in store. And, chances are, it would not help their current situation.
Once everyone else had taken their turn, the master wheeled himself up to the coffin with what appeared to be considerable difficulty.
Dojo seemed to be the only one that paid this detail any mind, but Master Fung did not give the little dragon a chance to inquire about it. Without pause, he turned to face the audience of monks before him and began to speak, "My young student, Raimundo, was a courageous and powerful leader. His great legacy will never be forgotten at this temple. I understand that this is a difficult time. However, we all must remember that life is not eternal. Everything in this world begins and ends. We must never deny this truth. At the same time, it is important that we do not forget those who have passed.
"Tonight, we have not gathered to mourn the loss of this great dragon warrior. Rather, we are here to celebrate the life that he lived. To honor his legacy and to cherish the fond memories of him that will remain in our hearts as long as we live. Now, I would like to invite each of the remaining young dragons to come forth and say a few words about their lost leader.
"Omi, if you would please come forward," he gestured for the little monk to join him in front of the crowd.
Omi's brain froze. As he walked forward, he began to feel dizzy with horror. Why me? Why me? He could think of nothing to say and no way to cover himself. Would he be forced to tell what had happened to the entire crowd?
Master Fung smiled as the little monk took a place next to him. The elder placed a wrinkled hand on his student's shoulder, "This is Omi; the youngest of the three remaining dragon warriors. Yet, he is special. He is a diligent learner and a powerful fighter. It has always been that, in Raimundo's absence, this mighty dragon would be the next in line to inherit the title of grand dragon warrior," Master Fung pulled a black cloak and yellow sash from a bag that had been in his lap; an outfit parallel to the one that Raimundo had worn as grand dragon.
Omi's body went numb at the sight.
Kimiko and Clay felt their hearts drop to their feet. Their reactions were partly due to disappointment, but were prevailingly caused by pure shock at how suddenly this was taking place. How could Master Fung be choosing a new leader already? It seemed rather insensitive of him, seeing as how they had just lost their friend in such a hideous accident. They could not begin to comprehend why Master Fung was acting so out of character. His behavior seemed strange and out of place.
When Omi did not take the clothes from Master Fung's hands, the old man immediately knew that the time to reveal his secret was fast approaching. Still, he chose to keep up the charade just a bit longer and prompted Dojo to force the young monk to follow along.
Dojo, who knew what was on Master Fung's mind, slithered inconspicuously onto Omi's shoulders and forced him to lift his arms and accept the gift.
Putting on a smiling mask, Master Fung glanced back up into the crowd and continued, "Now, I invite Omi to say a few words in commemoration of this day and his fallen leader, Raimundo," he then placed a hand on the little monk's shoulder forcefully, giving him the silent order to speak, regardless of whether or not he wanted to.
Holding the robes like a lifeless shell, Omi opened his mouth and began to force words out, hardly knowing what he was saying until hearing it for himself, "H-hello everyone. I would like to thank my master for such an honor as this. I will do my best to lead with strength and courage as…"
He looked over at Clay and Kimiko. Noticing the expression of frustration growing on the young woman's face, Omi realized that the truth needed to be revealed. As much as the words burned traveling up his throat, he forced them into the air, "There is something that you all must know. I am the one responsible for Raimundo's death."
His words were met with gasps from all around. Everyone besides Clay, Kimiko, Dojo and (oddly enough) Master Fung, stared intently at Omi and hoped that there was more to his story.
Master Fung lifted Dojo into his lap and looked down at his disciple, "Well Omi, everyone is waiting. Please continue."
Shocked, Omi glanced into his master's face and did not see the comforting expression for which he had hoped. Instead, he saw a stern face, one which made him immensely uncomfortable.
He shot his gaze back to the crowd and went on with his story, "When we were engaged in battle with the evil Jack Spicer and his robot troupes, Raimundo gave me an order to attack the army's leader.
"I snuck through the crowd, but, instead of simply destroying the head robot as I was told, I used my elemental Shen Gong Wu to attack out of spite. The broken machine was sent flying and its sharp claw was what caused the wound that killed Raimundo."
He looked up at Master Fung once again, "I apologize for not explaining the truth sooner, but I was afraid that you would be angry and punish me. I let my emotions cloud my judgment, and I will accept the rightful consequences," the little monk lifted the robes, prompting his master to take them back.
Yet, Master Fung did not remove the garments from his grasp. Rather, the old man looked down at Omi with pride and smiled, "And it is that honesty and courage that will allow you to become a great leader one day, my young monk. Please, do not fall into the despair that is brought on by guilt."
And, with those final words, the old man collapsed from his chair and flopped to the ground.
For a moment, no one could register what had happened. Why was Omi still holding the robes? Why was Master Fung on the ground? What was going on? After taking a period of silence to absorb everything into their minds, people began to react.
"Master Fung!" Kimiko and Clay dashed up to the old man's body and got on their knees to see what was wrong.
Omi, still in shock, had not been able to move and was still holding the robes into the air. Yet, when his friends approached, he was able to snap his mind back to reality and react. He tossed the outfit aside, knowing that the condition of his master was far more important.
The three students, all keeling now, stared intently at Master Fung's limp body as it rested on the ground. Each one gently shook the lifeless man, trying to get some kind of response.
Dojo, who had moved to the arm of the wheelchair before Master Fung's fall, hopped down and grasped the old man's thin wrist. This was not so much to discover his condition as it was to confirm what the dragon already knew.
Each of the three warriors watched Dojo expectantly, but their hopes were shot down when they witnessed the dragon shaking his head softly from side to side, "He's gone guys," tears began to well up in his eyes, "The Fung is gone."
The rest of the monks present lowered their heads in renewed mourning, not showing the same level of shock that each of the dragon warriors displayed.
"No!" Kimiko shouted as her sorrow took on a new strength, "This can't be real! Please Dojo!" She shuffled closer to the dragon and dropped onto to her hands and knees, begging for everything to be a lie.
Clay did not speak, only hanging his head solemnly and letting the brim of his hat cover the tears that began to drip from his eyes.
Omi placed his hands on Master Fung's inanimate chest and tried pumping it slightly, even though he knew that there was no hope of reviving the breathless old man, "No. Please, Master Fung, do not leave us. We need you! Please!" He lamented in agony as he collapsed atop his fallen master's body.
The three could not understand why all of this was happening. Nothing had ever been this way before. Why was all of this suffering falling upon them at once? What would they do without their best friend? Where would they go without their wise teacher there to guide them? How could they go on without Raimundo and Master Fung?
What happened over the next couple of days was almost completely lost to the trio. Their minds shut down and began simply going through the motions of each passing moment. Only a few things stood out to them, and became trapped in their memories: a body being taken away, another being buried, a new coffin being built, more flowers being picked, another shrine being assembled and finally, more words of respect being presented under a starry night sky.
Not until the day after Master Fung had been buried were their minds able to gradually fight off the initial shock of what had happened and resume normal functions. Dojo found this as reasonable a time as any to tell them what he knew. It turned out that the dragon had known that Master Fung was close to dying, since the old man had shared nearly everything with his scaly companion.
Dojo explained that the news had hurt him as well, and he had hoped for every moment that it was some sort of trick. Still, it had not shocked him to see the death take place; especially after Master Fung's ominous behavior in forcing Omi to take on the leadership role. The dragon explained that he had seen what went on between Omi and Raimundo during the battle, and had revealed the full story to Master Fung upon their return to the temple.
The news did not come as much of a surprise. Master Fung always seemed to have some way of knowing everything, be it inside sources or otherwise. It also explained why he had been so intent on crowning Omi as the new leader. His time to do so had been more limited than they knew.
But it still didn't make the news any easier to hear.