Twilight Monk Book 1

Secrets of Kung Fulio

By Trent Kaniuga and Chris Krubeck

Artwork by Trent Kaniuga and Danny Kong

All contents are Copyright Trent Kaniuga 2018

Chapter 1 - The New Kid

Chapter 2 - The Big Guy

Chapter 3 - In the Shadow of Titans

Chapter 4 - The Messy Master

Chapter 5 - Master Klu’s Stash

Chapter 6 - Doken The Toad Demon

Chapter 7 - Gunga Lagunga

Chapter 8 - We’re Gonna Need Allies

Chapter 9 - The Fury of Nora Anako

Chapter10 - Between Light and Shadow

Chapter11 - A Test of Skill

Chapter 12 - The Secrets of Kung Fulio

Chapter 13 - Leveling Up Before Down

Chapter 14 - A Dark Path

Chapter 15 - A Chicken, A Carrot, A Showdown

CHAPTER 1 THE NEW KID

Raziel Tenza ripped through the muddy back alleys of Crescent Isle. The taste of blood still in his mouth, he wondered what he’d ever done to deserve this.
This is the LAST time I stick my neck out for someone else! he thought to himself as he quickly gestured to his companion to slide under the low bridge behind him.

Even with a Moonken’s heightened senses, Raz could barely hear their relentless pursuers over the deluge of rainfall and his own heavy breathing. His feet glided treacherously out from under him as he slid around the back of Hamcha’s Barbeque, knocking over an unsuspecting cook on his late evening smoke break.

“Watch it, Moonken!” the rotund old man shouted angrily, waving his fist in the air. There wasn’t time to stop and apologize. Even if he’d made the effort, it wouldn’t change anything. The people in Crescent Isle
already had no love for Raziel, and not much he’d done since he arrived seemed to change their mind about that. Plus, he had more significant problems to consider.

Several paces behind
him, and struggling to keep
up, Rin Torra staggered
clumsily, panting with
exhaustion and shouting
unintelligibly. At first glance,
one would be forgiven for
mistaking the big Moonken
for a chef-in-training rather than a monk under the tutelage of some of the most fearsome warriors in all of Speria. In short, he was not the spitting image of martial arts prowess. On most days, Rin carried his large frame with surprising agility, but he had a knack for screwing up at just the right moments. If bad timing were a talent, Rin would be exceptional.

Seeing an opportunity to put some distance between them and their pursuers, Raz kicked over a trash can and hung a hard right into another narrow corridor, deeper into the alleys and away from the central marketplace. Moments later, a crash and a frustrated yell echoed against the walls behind him. One of them yelled, “Dudes! I think they went this way!”

“These guys don’t quit!” Raz huffed as he pulled at his companion’s arm, darting over a railing and sliding down into the lower street level.

The Celestial Temple loomed over them with mocking indifference as they clumsily sped through the rain-soaked, narrow back alleys. Raz’s muscles threatened to give out on him at any moment. He couldn’t help but wonder what good the six months of training at the monastery had done for him. It hadn’t awakened any kind of hidden Moonken

abilities, as he’d hoped, that was for sure. In fact, after
all that he’d been through to get there, he’d decided that Crescent Isle was none of the things that he always hoped and dreamed of.

Unfamiliar with the more obscure back alleys, he’d inadvertently led them smack-dab into a fork in the road. Rin shouted something inaudibly in a panicked tone from behind him. Without thinking, Raz hung a right.

There was a sickening crunch, a flash of pain,
and suddenly his feet were flying out from under him. Suspended in mid-air, he watched the shining raindrops and the blood from his nose splash together like jewels against the starry sky, reflecting off the giant pointed rock from which Crescent Isle drew its name.

For a brief moment, his view of the enormous crescent stone was quite beautiful, until he abruptly hit the muddy ground with a thud.

Sinister laughter erupted from a point somewhere in front of him. Raz stumbled clumsily to his feet and tried to shake the stars from his eyes.

At the end of the alley stood the blurry shadows of

three figures. Even in silhouette, the iconic curl of Nox’s absurd, yet prized, long pompadour was unmistakable.

“The Red Cobras,” Raz grumbled to himself. “What a stupid name.”

Raz straightened himself up as best he could, wiped the blood from his nose, and resisted the urge to double over in exhaustion. Just behind him, Rin stumbled back a few steps further into the alley as if hoping to hide in Raz’s shadow.

At first glance, you’d never know Nox was the leader of Crescent Isle’s most ruthless underaged
gang of thugs. He wasn’t much taller than Raz, hair notwithstanding. What he lacked for in height, he made up for in strength and severity. His squat frame was bound tightly by well-trained muscle, and his square jaw permanently set his mouth into a self-satisfied grin.

He sauntered into the alley, flexing his exposed shoulders from under the torn red and black sleeves
of his robes. Every muscle in Raz’s body tensed. Rin nervously stumbled and fell onto his butt with a splash. He raised his hands over his face as if the blows were already raining down on him. A snicker escaped from Nox’s two cronies.

Suck it up.

Raz prepared for what was coming with a quick reaffirming pep talk.

Push your chest out. Never let ‘em see you get rattled. Never for a moment let ‘em know that they’ve got the upper hand.

He planted both of his feet into the slick mud firmly. He didn’t stand a chance, but he hoped that they didn’t know that.

When everything is stacked against you, and whatever you’re doing isn’t working, that’s when you have to double down.

Raz took a deep breath.

“I think he’s had enough, jerk face,” he growled at three other boys, in the most grumbly, tough-guy tone a fifteen-year-old newbie-monk-with-little-to-no-training- or-fighting-ability-whatsoever could muster.

“Ooooooooohhh!” the Cobras groaned in unison. Instead of laughing, one of them just giggled in a

strangely high pitched voice that almost seemed like a squeal.

Nox chuckled then got in Raz’s face. He was so close that Raz could smell Tomo’s famous Tater stew on his breath. He began eyeballing him up and down. Sniffing. Not a normal sniff, but the weirdo kind. Like he was smelling for something in particular. He tilted his neck from side to side, and flicked his tongue, making snake-like slithering sounds.

“Thwwwwww thwwwww thwwww!”

Despite how uncomfortable he was, Raz did not flinch. It was a test, and he knew it.

“Outta the way, new kid,” Nox whispered forcefully. “This kind of business don’t concern you.”

Raz stood firm. Nox tilted his head curiously. “Come on kid, why even get involved? You could still just... walk away. Yeah?”

Raz glanced back over his shoulder at Rin, who only covered his face, still shivering. “Jeez Rin, get up already. You’re embarrassing me,” he mumbled.

Seeing how scared Rin was, and knowing what
was coming, Raz began to wonder why he’d bothered to stick up for the big guy to begin with. Nox was right; he could’ve just looked the other way. He’d merely picked the wrong alley to pass through on his way to dodging Master Klu’s class again. But it all just didn’t sit right with him. He couldn’t sit back and watch these jerks kick the snot out of another kid who didn’t deserve it, no matter how pathetic he might be.

“Not a chance,” Raz snarled stubbornly. “A couple of pansies like you guys couldn’t be that tough. Not if you need to bring your two boyfriends here to team up on one

kid.”Rin shifted in the mud, growing more uncomfortable with every second, and covered his head.

Nox snarled, and without hesitation, drove his knee into Raz’s groin. A spasm of pain erupted from his balls to the back of his neck. Then, once Raz was on the ground, Nox put a single finger to his nostril and blew, sending a yellowy string of mucus directly onto Raz’s eyelid.

So much for looking tough.

By the time Raz regained his senses, the other
Red Cobras had taken up their positions in the alley to surround the two of them. Diego was first, beady eyes flicking back and forth from Raz to Rin like a hungry fox wondering which defenseless chicken to eat first. His hair, dyed red from the usual Moonken white, was styled into a spiky mohawk, each point filled with enough hair gel to be a deadly weapon.

The third and largest member of Nox’s terror squad was Bolo - bigger than Nox and Diego combined. If one were to cover Bolo’s large frame in a layer of fur, he’d probably be mistaken for a wild ape. For reasons no one knew for sure, a small log was permanently embedded in

the brute’s bangs. No one dared ask him why. He stood like a fourth wall to the alley - a wall that could punch you so hard you’d forget your own name.

“I didn’t know you two were so tight!” Nox proclaimed to his two victims.

“Awww, look at ‘em, Nox! Fatty got himsewf a fwiend,” Diego cooed sardonically. Raz winced, both from the pain and because he hated when bullies did the baby

talk.“More like tubby here squeezed one out,” Nox sneered, scrunching his nose at them like they were another piece of discarded trash.

“Heh, heh. Smells like it,” Bolo laughed in agreement. It wasn’t the first time Raz had heard this joke. He highly doubted it would be the last. The Red Cobras had about half of a brain between all three of them, and most of
their jokes consisted of boogers, farts and crap. Yeah, everything about them was gross.

Shakily, Raz rose to his feet once more and wiped the ooze off his face.

“Don’t... you’ll only make
it worse,” Rin whispered, gesturing for Raz not to get up. Raz didn’t listen. He gritted
his teeth and shook his head. Outmatched or not, Raz Tenza didn’t lay down and give up for anyone.

“You shoulda stayed down, farm boy!” Nox threatened.

“You don’t scare me, Nox,” Raz growled in return, gritting his teeth defiantly.

“Ooooh, tough guy. Hear that, boys? He ain’t scared!” Nox said, turning to his grinning stooges. He faced Raz again. “I saw you workin’ on your moves behind Klu’s dojo the other day. Very impressive,” Nox teased.

“I think you ACTUALLY managed to HIT the target a few times!”

They all laughed. Raz flushed and averted his gaze. “Just because you had a ten-year head start on your training doesn’t make you better than me,” he grumbled bitterly.

“Hah! You could be trainin’ for a HUNDRED years, and I could still beat you with my hands tied, newbie. You got NO talent.”

Raz grumbled. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh, I know you. I know EXACTLY what you are, country boy. From the second you showed up at the monastery, I had you pegged,” Nox taunted, shoving
his finger into Raz’s chest. “I bet you think you’re pretty special, don’t you? I heard the rumors about you. ‘The Beast of Tuksa’. Now, why in the heck would anyone call you that?” He opened his eyes wide in mock admiration. “Newsflash, butt wipe! There’s NOTHING special about you! No one even WANTS you here! In fact, if you disappeared tomorrow, no one would even notice.”

A pang spread through Raz’s chest. There was some truth there. He’d come to the monastery far later than any of the other students. He’d taken a new name, and washed away the remnants of his old life, just like the others. But he could never wash away what he knew that he truly was. The Masters still seemed to treat him like he was only an inconvenience, the townspeople were indifferent, and the other students mostly ignored him. Everyone thought he was a joke.

“For someone who’s just another student, you sure got a high opinion of yourself,” Raz shot back, dragging himself out of his inner turmoil.

Nox swiveled sideways and rocketed his right foot into Raz’s face, introducing the new student’s backside to the mud once more. The Red Cobras roared with approving laughter.

“WRONG! This is MY island,” Nox proclaimed. “And if you want a future here, you gotta go through

ME.”Raz grimaced, spat out a mouthful of blood, and

attempted to wipe the footprint from his face. Nox slammed his fists across his chest then spread them out wide to either side.

“Red Cobras fricking RULE!” he roared. Diego and Bolo repeated the same idiotic salute with deathly seriousness.

Several stories above them, a window cracked open. An older man in a fishing hat leaned on the windowsill, puffing on a wooden pipe. Old Man Flannagan. He looked down at the wet, bloody Moonken on the wall below him with disinterest then slammed the window shut once more.

Typical.

Raz tried to raise himself off the ground, but Nox’s foot slammed his head back down and held it there, suffocating him in cold, grimy alley water. The leader
of the Red Cobras blew out a big breath and seemingly relaxed, propping his forearms casually on the knee that held Raz’s face under the puddle of water.

“You two ever read The Phantom Kids?” he questioned out of the blue.

“N-No...” Rin stuttered and stiffly shook his head, trying not to agitate him any further but knowing very well he already had. “Nox, listen, we’re sor—”

“Yo. How about you, new kid?” Nox asked, ignoring Rin. He looked down at Raz, who gurgled and thrashed under his foot. “Speak up, new kid! I can’t hear you!”

He eased up on Raz’s head just enough to let him breathe. Raz coughed and gasped for air, figuring he wouldn’t have it for long.

“Man, The Phantom Kids was a great comic! Master Klu used to bring us every issue,” Nox went on casually. “See, the Phantom Kids used their incredible ancient powers to fight off all the evil, gross-looking monsters that invaded their city. It had great art too man! Especially the fight scenes.”

“Yeah, that’s super,” Raz coughed, still fighting for air. “Get to the point.”

“Patience, newbie, patience,” Nox continued. Annoyed at the interruption, he put a bit more weight on Raz’s skull. “Ya see... every issue some new monster

would show up, and the Phantom kids? They would kill the monster and save the day. Every. Single. Time. They didn’t win because of friendship or believing in themselves, or some lame-ass crap like that. That’s what made it such

a believable comic! See, they beat them because they were the strongest. They were WINNERS! Get it? That’s what made ‘em heroes! Just like my boys and me. We ALWAYS

win!“”Now I wonder,” Nox bent down so he was right next to Raz’s ear, “what’s that make you?”

With a final humiliating shove, Nox released Raz’s head from the water and moved away. Raz rose to his knees and wiped away yet another layer of bloody mud and grime from his face. But with the back of his hand, he only managed to smear it in more.

“I’m not sure what’s worse,” Raz hissed with a smirk. “Getting hit in the balls or listening to you prattle on about your stupid little comic.”

Nox gave Raz a pitying shake of the head. He pulled out a wad of well-chewed gum from his mouth and squeezed it experimentally between two fingers.

“I knew you wouldn’t get it. See, the monastery
used to be strong. WE... used to be strong.” He raised
his elbow and squinted to line up the gum-wad with its intended target, then slowly smashed the sticky, dripping lump of gooey gum into the center of Raz’s forehead and held it there until it stuck firmly. “But we just keep getting stuck,” he continued in a low, exhausted groan, “with weak ass pansies like you two. That’s the whole reason why I had to start the Red Cobras, to separate the winners from the losers. As the strongest student at the monastery, it’s practically my job to take out the garbage... like you

two.”“Your job? Peh! You wouldn’t talk so big if the Masters were here,” Raz fired back.

“Pffft! Do you think I’m scared of the Masters? Those old geezers are pacifists! Besides,” Nox glanced over his shoulder casually, “I don’t see any Masters here anyway, do you?”

Raz was at a loss for any kind of response. The Red

Cobras could probably tear the market to pieces, and the Masters wouldn’t even bat an eye.

“I got BIG plans in the works for Crescent Isle, BIG PLANS. Stuff that’s gonna be legendary,” Nox proclaimed, flexing his muscles. “When we’re done, it’s gonna be the Masters who are scared of us.”

Raz cocked an eyebrow as the Cobras roared with laughter once more. Apparently, they really believed it.

Before he’d arrived at Crescent Isle, everyone talked about it like it was this great place where Moonken all lived in harmony and sang happy songs around a campfire every night. But no matter where he went in Speria, it seemed that someone was always there to look down their nose at him, to make sure people stayed in their lane. Invariably, people with power crushed those weaker than them just because they could.

“You talk a big game, but someday, someone’s gonna take you down and show the world what you REALLY are,” Raz said before his brain had time to stop him. The Red Cobras stopped laughing. Even Rin stopped cowering for a second to look up at him from the ground, eyes full of wonder.

Then, the smile returned to Nox’s face. He cackled loudly, as though Raz had just told the funniest joke in the world.

“Hahaha! Look at the balls on the

new kid; I love it!” he laughed for an instant before the smile disappeared once more. “But I know the truth about you.”

Raz stumbled for a moment. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

Nox grinned back at him. “All

bark and no bite.” He turned his back to

Raz, towards the center of the alley and moved to stand over Rin instead. Bolo and Diego moved in obediently behind him. Rin tried to squirm away but didn’t get far before Nox dug his foot into his back and held him in place.

“I swear, you’re pathetic Rin. Did you really think this worthless loser was going to protect you? What were you thinking? He’s a damn nobody. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t do anything. He’s even more pathetic than you,” Nox finally sighed.

Raz glanced at the opening in the alley where Bolo had been. He could have escaped. They’d given him his chance to run. But in that moment, he wasn’t thinking about Rin, or his training, or how his guts hurt. He wasn’t even thinking about the blood running down his face.

He’s a nobody...

Those words echoed in his mind. His fists curled into tight balls; his jaw clamped down as every instinct in his being urged him to hit Nox between his stupid, beady

eyes.The combined feelings from years of being kicked down formed a pit of rage inside of him. He felt the anger rise for all of the people that had let him down, and for this stupid island that promised everything and gave him nothing, and for every falling star that didn’t land in the ass-end of nowhere. But more than anything, he felt the hatred of every self-righteous bully that had ever thrown a rock at him or poked him with a stick.

He couldn’t do anything...

So many times he’d heard those words before, but this time, coming from Nox, it really hit home.

Raz’s body began tensing up so much that he started to shake. His teeth rattled. His arms began to twitch. Not because he was afraid, he’d never been afraid of anything. No. It was because he knew Nox was right about him. He felt that all those things he said were true.

But not tonight. Tonight, he’d had enough.

Before he could even think, his arm spun out from his side. Every ounce of rage he had was riding on that fist. It contained all of the vengeance for every injustice,

against every bully that ever spat on him, spiraling at full speed right towards Nox’s nose. It wasn’t just a punch. It was old-school justice. Pure, old school justice for every downtrodden bum that ever got kicked around.

The fist flung through the air at tremendous speed but never hit its target. Nox caught it in mid-air and held it there. It was almost as if he knew what was going to happen before it did.

Crap.

Without a word, Nox studied Raz’s fist with both surprise and amusement. Then, he burst into laughter, followed by the rest of his goons.

“So PATHETIC! Hah hah! You can’t even throw a decent punch!”

Holding Raz’s fist in his hand, he started twisting. A sting of pain shot all the way up Raz’s arm and down his neck. The pain was unbearable. His arm felt like it was going to snap. To ease the strain, his body buckled automatically to the ground, smacking his face into the

mud.By now, a few more humans, Barrakewdos, Parpaks and every other kind of creature that had migrated from all over Speria to Crescent Isle had poked their heads out of the surrounding windows or around the corner above the alley to get a front-row seat to the Moonken brawl.

Nox fumed and looked around at the new spectators, his breath puffing out of his nose like an enraged bull.
He made eye contact with Bolo and Diego and shook his head. They dropped Rin into the muddy water with a thud right beside Raz. They laid so firmly together, their noses almost touched.

“Alright, enough messin’ around,” Nox announced. Flexing, he inspecting his own muscles proudly as he stood over the two of them. “I’m the garbage man, and you’re the garbage.” Clapping his hands together, he squatted down until he was hovering just above his helpless victims. “Listen up, losers!” He knelt down and slapped Rin across the cheek. “I already told you ONCE to get off my island tubby. But you don’t seem to hear so good. And seeing you tonight only proves to me, that you’re even more useless

than I thought.”
Rin’s words unintelligibly caught in his throat.

Overwhelmed with fear, all he managed to do was to shake his head in the mud.

“Oh, stop squirmin’, lil’ piggy. Truth be told, I was kinda worried about you out there all by your lonesome in the big open world, but now it looks like you’re gonna have your new pal to keep you company out there,” he said then glanced over at Raz. “I gotta admit... I actually kinda like your spirit new kid! Stupid, but gutsy. It takes an awful lot to impress me, so I’m gonna cut you both a little slack.”

“Which... means...?” Raz gasped between painful breaths.

“I’m glad you asked,” Nox said with a grin. He shoved a finger into the air. “One more day. I’ll give you both until sundown tomorrow to get off Crescent Isle and out of my sight, for good.”

“Leave Crescent Isle...?” Rin asked in a stupor. “And go where? This is our home!”

Nox chuckled with amusement. “I don’t give a damn where you go. Go cuddle up to a tree or camp in the woods for all I care, as long as you’re off my island.”

“What if we don’t go?” Raz knew that asking questions now wasn’t going to help his situation and that even

opening his mouth was asking for more pain, but the way he saw it, he couldn’t be in more pain than he already was.

A sickening smile spread across Nox’s lips.

“Well, then today’s little session will be a nice memory compared to what we do to you next time.”

“Gee. Thanks,” Raz mumbled into the mud.

In one fluid motion, Nox grabbed Raz and tossed him across the alley and into an open trash can. His limbs contorted painfully as he was wedged inside the narrow space.

“Perfect shot, boss,” Bolo grunted with approval.
The world went dark as the large Moonken slammed the lid shut on top of Raz. His body cried out in aching protest as Diego gave the can one last savage kick.

“Consider today a warning, new kid. But the next time you feel like being a tough guy, remember this: little crybaby wannabees who get in my way don’t have a future on Crescent Isle. Especially if they’re as weak and frail
as you two. Let’s go, Cobras. These losers have got some packing to do,” Nox concluded by snapping his fingers. The Red Cobras pushed through the crowd that had formed as they marched out of the alley.

Moments later, light-flooded Raz’s eyes as the trash can lid

finally lifted once more. “Raz! You

alright?” Rin’s fuzzy face doubled and swirled in circles

above him.
“Yeah, feelin’ fine... hey, quit

spinnin’ around s’ much,” Raz slurred, barely holding on to consciousness. As the sounds of the world got tinny and distant and his head swam with stars, Raz could hear the laughter of the Red Cobras

fading away into the distance. black. Then, everything went