In Service of the XIIth 

Gavin fumbled with his house key as he struggled to unlock his front door with gloved hands. After several seconds of struggling, punctuated by him dropping the key into the porchbound snowdrift the wind had so graciously left for him to come home to, he relented. As he fished for his key in the soft snow with his left hand, he used his teeth to tug his right glove free. The chill winter winds seized the breach, biting at his exposed wrist. With one smooth motion, he picked up his key, removed the glove, grimaced as the chill lanced his exposed fingers, took the key in his ungloved hand, grimaced as the cold metal chilled his fingers further, and unlocked the door.
The seventeen-year old hastened inside and forced the heavy wooden door closed behind him, blocking out the wind and snow. He stripped off his snow caked coat and scarf, dropping them to the marble floor. He sat in a nearby chair and removed his boots, the snow packed into the grooves already leaving small puddles beneath them. Now in simply black jeans, a bright red hoodie, and white socks, he made his way to the kitchen for an after school snack before heading upstairs to his room.
He’d be the only one home for the next few hours, which made it the perfect time to ignore his homework and surf the internet. After booting up his computer, his first stop was his email. Glancing through the usual list of enhancement pills and unwanted updates about trending forum threads, something caught his eye:
**THE KIND KING NEEDS KNIGHTS. CLICK QUICKLY CURIOUS COURAGEOUS KID**
Though Gavin sneered at being referred to as a child, he let it slide due to the playful alliteration. It was most definitely spam, likely either junk mail trying to sell him something or some new mobile game pretending people were playing it en masse. He decided simply opening the email couldn’t hurt anything, so he clicked the header.
The monitor went dark. 
The young man was understandably surprised, leaning forward slightly as he listened intently for the sounds of loading or streaming that would let him know this was a movie and not some virus or system failure.
He jumped back as colorful confetti cascaded chaotically across his screen. The vibrant visual was joined by the sounds of a midi trumpet playing a bouncy tune that seemed familiar, though he couldn’t quite place it. The display lasted several seconds before once again leaving a dark void for a display. Gavin watched intently, leaning in as he absently brushed confetti from his keyboard.
Realization hit him.
Looking down, he confirmed that the confetti had cascaded into reality. His desk and the floor around it were chromatically covered in bright bits of party paper. Gavin turned back to his monitor just as a trumpet jumped out of the blackness, nearly smacking him in the face. It played the same tune he’d heard before, only much more clearly and loud enough to knock him back. The wheels on his chair caught on the rug and he tumbled back, rolling comically over himself and landing on his gut.
He grumbled in confused pain as he pushed himself from the ground and looked back at his desk. He sat back on his knees, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. On his desk, discarded trumpet at its side, was what looked like a monstrously deformed white cat. It stood on stubby hind legs, had a rather generous stomach, a very stubby tail, dark bat wings, and feline ears on its head. Additionally, sticking out on an unnaturally thin strand of hair in the center of its head was a nearly perfectly round purple-silver orb. It bobbed a bit as the creature cleaned its whiskers a bit before turning back to the monitor.
“T, the hell is that?” Gavin stood up slowly as the creature put a hand through the monitor like an open window. It grabbed hold of something beyond the darkness and pulled, drawing out another creature very much like itself, only with a green bandana around its head and a yellow orb instead of a purple-silver one. They both glanced at him briefly with squinted eyes before turning back to the dimensional void his monitor had become.
Gavin rushed in, determined to stop the pair from becoming a trio. As he reached for them, they pulled back from the void, launching their newest compatriot straight at him. This one had a metal helmet, sword, and shield. The young man was too slow to react, and the creature swung its shield, striking him in the chest. The creature squeaked in triumph as its shield bash knocked him to his back.
He wasn’t sure how long he lay stunned on his floor, but when his head finally cleared enough for him to sit up, he found himself surrounded by the strange creatures, each bobbing in the air in a rough circle around him. In addition to the three he’d already seen, there was also one with a white shepherd’s crook, one with a strangely adorable axe, and one with a bow and arrows. All but two of them were watching him, with the last two pulling a seventh member of their troupe from the screen. This one had a black conical hat and black staff.
“Okay, this is getting stranger and more horrific,” Gavin mumbled as he slowly got to his feet, watching carefully to see if they were going to attack him again. Aside from some absent belly rubbing, odd vocalizations, and the occasional airborne spin, they didn’t seem overly aggressive, or aggressive at all, really. Just as he was starting to relax enough to think through what was happening, the most bizarre thing yet happened.
Music started playing.
All around him.
It wasn’t coming from his speaker or from the feline visitors. It was as though he was inside a movie or video game and listening to a bombastic soundtrack. He recognized it as the song he’d heard earlier, but in a far darker tone. It was something you’d hear on a carousel of nightmares. As the music intensified, the creatures started moving in time with it, dancing about the room in a way that made Gavin doubt their flight was a function of their miniature wings. He turned towards the door, wondering if he could make a dash for the safety of normalcy.
Then the troupe started singing.

Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
Lord of all the land, Kupo!
Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
Rules with iron hand
Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
Leads the brave and true!
The young man’s eyes darted from critter to critter as they sang, both confused by the lyrics and somewhat surprised they were in plain English. He took a few steps towards the door, but the helmeted creature appeared in front of him, pushing against him, bumping rhythmically back to the center of the ring.
Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
Now come along and meet his trusty crew, Kupo!
Kupta Kapa will clip your tuft
Split your hairs and ruffle your fluff
The axe-wielding feline flew in from the side, spinning his axe before bringing it down on Gavin’s head. The young man expected the metal weapon to be brutal, if not deadly, but it was only mildly painful. He heard the sound of a bizarre squeak on impact instead of a metal crash or cracking bones.
As his attacker rejoined the troupe, Gavin felt a tingle wash over his scalp where he’d been struck. Running his hands fearfully through his hair, he found instead a soft mass of matted fur instead of his usually well-kept style.
Kupti Koop will throw you for a loop
Brave a wall of whiskers to find his troupe
The helmeted critter was again in front of Gavin, shield at eye level. The young man’s reflection clear as a mirror in the polished metal. His hair had indeed been replaced with a mass of white fur. As he watched, long whiskers popped out of his cheeks, stretching long and true one by one with each beat of the tune. The shield was pulled away as the helmeted creature flew around him and back into the troupe, causing the transforming young man to spin as he tried to keep his focus on his reflection.
Kupli Kipp is sly yet sweet
He'll tickle your nose then tickle your feet
Gavin stopped spinning when he found himself nose to nose with the moogle carrying the white crook. It quickly wiggled its nose against his, then flew in circles around his body towards the ground. He felt a tickling sensation rush through his face as white fur blossomed over it and it grew out into a stubbly feline muzzle. He felt the same sensation over his feet as the creature rolled its body over them. He stumbled a bit as his feet reshaped and blossomed with fur. He let out a high pitched squeak as he lost balance and dropped forward to his hands and knees.
Jolly Kogi's eye for fun is clear
He'll put an arrow straight in your rear!
Gavin cried out in pain as something stuck him right in the butt. He reached back, finding what looked like a toy arrow sticking out of his rear. It didn’t look like it had actually pierced his flesh, but was still suspended straight and true as though it pierced several inches of flesh. A warm tickling sensation spread through his legs and waist as fur washed over his lower body.
The troupe laughed in merriment as their victim’s legs warped and shrank, dropping him to his gut. His jeans came free of his legs as the limbs were reduced to stubby limbs. He rolled over and looked up at his attackers as they resumed their song.
Pukla Puki plays with fire
Poms a-burning on her pyre
The moogle with the conical hat spun in the air, raising her staff and pointing it at Gavin. Heat built above his head, growing incredibly intense in a matter of beats. Pukla pulled her hands back, releasing an explosion of light and flame. There was no pain, but the superheated space above Gavin’s head created a vacuum that quickly closed in, forcefully sucking in the air around it and tugging sharply at his head. As it did, a glowing gray orb popped from his scalp, connected to his head by a single strand of hair. As it snapped into place he let out an involuntary kupo.
Puksi Piko likes her buddies big
To sing a little song and dance a little jig
The sound of a harp grew in strength against the encompassing music, drawing Gavin’s attention to the moogle bard Puksi. His ears twitched with each plucked string, pulled out and up with each note, moving to the top of his head after a couple of bars. He found himself dancing on his stubby legs as fur washed over his body. He performed a masterful spin and found himself face to face with the moogle wearing a bandana and wielding a dagger.
Pukna Pako shivers and shakes
She'll stick you in the gut and give you bellyaches
With a quick motion, Pukna stuck Gavin in the gut, did a spin, and bounced painlessly off his head with a stylish backflip. He let out a cry of surprise as his body plumped out. He fell to his butt again as his body pushed out against hoodie, the only piece of clothing that had managed to survive his changes. He now looked nearly identical to the troupe that surrounded him, save a few minor features.
And who's behind them, standing tall?
Why, the biggest moogle of them all!
Gavin listened to their lyrics, enraptured as they all turned their attention back to the monitor, the device expanding and bouncing as a giant crown pushed its way through the screen, followed by the giant head of a giant moogle.
Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
Kind and noble lord
“Hear, hear.”
Dark bat-like wings popped out of Gavin’s shoulders one after the other as he joined them in their revelry. He covered his mouth in shock, his new wings flapping sharply as he did. A short tail popped out above his butt completing his transition into a moogle. Desperation overtook him as the giant king continued his extraction from the monitor, arms pushing against the sides of the screen as he tried to get his royal girth through the portal.
Gavin bounced into the air with a surprising amount of competence to protest, but the troupe turned on him quickly.
Nod your noggle nog and mind your gob
Or he'll put you to the sword!
Gavin shrunk back, watching in horror as the king finally pulled his regal behind through the screen, tumbling through the air with the form of an overweight swimmer doing a springboard cannonball before gracefully before coming to a rest in the center of his troupe, eyes on their newest convert.
Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
His judgment you will dread
Good King Moggle Mog, Good King Mog
What do you decree? What do you decree? What do you decree?
The king pointed his scepter at the young man and declared, “Off with their heads!”
The troupe pounced on Gavin and everything went dark.

Kupva rolled to his back slowly, rubbing his belly as the sun warmed him from his slumber. He heard the rest of the troupe waking up as well, their small forms rustling as they moved through the grass and gathered their possessions. The summer sun was beckoning them to adventure, and their fit forms were destined to oblige. The red mage lifted his legs and then rolled forward to his feet, launching himself into the air and doing a graceful spin. He adjusted his brilliantly red hooded cape and flitted to the ground to pick up his rapier and crystal focus. He stomped into a pair of black boots and popped into the air to join his brethren.
As he joined the others to face the day’s duties, the strange dream faded, already a boring memory to be left behind. All that remained was the song. The anthem of their troupe and their tribute to their king.