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Axel got up, and dressed himself, prepared everything he needed and rode on the way to Treasureoak, both excited and afraid of what might have become of Handy. The poor beaver might have been dead as soon as they left last night. Passing by shopping townsfolk and merchants, he eventually came upon the smithy's shop. Some faint noises were heard inside the shop, particularly the sound of angry goblin noises.

"Me want to go outside and take things!" Demanded a goblin, riling the others up and wanting to go outside, except for the baby goblin who was sweeping the floors with a small broom that Handy made. Handy to his credit, only gave them a stern expression rather than an outright pissed expression. It seemed he was being very patient with these goblins.

"No you can't! The guards will see you, and they will kill you all if they do. Do you want that? And what about Tooth? Would you let him die because of your eagerness to commit atrocities?" Asked Handy, the goblins looked down, they didn't want to bring harm to their fellow goblin. The youngest of their liege. The one who lost his parents to Axel's blade. The last thing they needed was to lose anymore of their species to those that they couldn't match in strength or wits. So for now, they were content (Albeit begrudgingly to their own personal desires) to listen as Handy continued.

"Look Fang, Nail, I want you two to behave, if not for your lives, then for the sake of Tooth here" said Handy, tensing up when he heard a knock on the door.

"Handy open up, it's me Axel" said the wolf, worried for the beaver. Breathing a sigh of relief that it was just Axel and not a town guard, he opened the door and pulled him inside quick.

The goblins who heard the sound of Axel instantly ducked under the table in fear. They knew that only the bunny was the reason they had been spared and granted sanctuary in this smith's shop. They didn't trust Axel in any shape or form and were quite scared of him. Handy looked at them with a slightly shook head as Tooth was the only one who had not moved to hide under the table and was instead hugging onto Axel's leg much to his slight embarrassment. At least one of them is brave and obedient, Handy thought cynically.

"These... Brats have my hands in a bind here. I know you've come here for your promised weapon and armor but could you do one more thing for me?" Handy requested.

"As long as it doesn't take a while then sure." Said Axel, wagging his tail in excitement. The goblins jumped up to grab his tail but to no avail as it wagged too fast for their hands to grab.

"I want you to buy me some fruits, any kind of fruit. I don't think they're ready to eat with plates and utensils, your little monsters have barely any lessons in etiquette! Let alone table manners. I thought that maybe they'll have more luck starting with anything that involves using hands." Said Handy, waving his appendages to emphasize his predicament, and pointing at a coin pouch on the table.

"Yeah sure, sounds easy enough. I know you can't really show them how to eat with hands on your own so I'm more than willing to help you out in such a regard." said Axel, leaving for the door while the goblins subtly hissed at him in anger.

"... Don't push it with the handless thing." Handy muttered to himself as Axel went off and he closed the door.

Axel left for the marketplace, picking out anything easy to eat. Bananas, grapes, strawberries, anything that was easy to chew and can be bitten immediately. Aside from fruits, he bought some bread and a bit of anything that can be put in between them such as cheeses and pieces of sausage. At that moment though, he suddenly felt as though a strange chill had come in the air. When he looked behind him, he saw that a small group of people, people he had seen around town on his last visit to Treasureoak and of high status, gathering around and murmuring to themselves.

"Did you hear about that commotion in the castle a while ago?" asked one particular noble. The others nodded, "The guard came beaten and exhausted, said that the king had gone mad and started executing his soldiers in favor of having a totalitarian government" Said another noble.

"Bah! What do you know! For all we care, this is just false stories spread to mock our highness" Said a merchant who interjected the conversation.

"So says you, the guard himself had come all this way to bring the message to the other guards. Even couriers were dispatched in fear of dying before relaying this message. Perhaps this is the time to supply ourselves and flee the province? The king's fair rule seemed to be too good to be true, maybe I'll pay a visit to one of the neighboring countries and seek shelter there" said one of the townsfolk.

"But there isn't anyone running around shrieking like they saw some atrocity like that. And what could possibly drive the king to some extreme like that?!" A woman objected.

"Perhaps some kind of curse...? Or maybe the king is showing his true colors." The second noble suggested.

This worried Axel hard, were these true? Does Handy even know about this? He deemed that the amount of provisions he had bought were enough and hurriedly ran back to Handy. After hearing the panicked knock, Handy opened the door and Axel hurried inside and laid the food onto the table, which the goblins raided immediately with gusto. Handy considered himself rather sensitive and observant of people's expressions and emotions. So he detected the subtle sweat on Axel's face and the concern in his eyes screamed something that made Handy concerned. Mainly he was concerned for Axel, he didn't think he had anything to worry about. Handy inquired Axel's motives,

"Axel what's the hurry? I mean I love having someone fulfill my requests for a change but you look a bit rattled."

"Handy this is serious, rumors are spreading about Flippy, King Flippy. I recently heard from one of the spoiled nobles that King Flippy had begun executing guards, and the remaining guards who had fled had hurried here to warn everyone. As much as I hate to say it Handy, I think they're right. I think you'll have to close up the shop and leave, unless you wanna risk being ruled under the crown's blade. Same for your goblin friends here" said Axel, wheezing with panic and hidden fright.

Handy stared at Axel bewildered for a good few seconds. Before he smiles and chuckled a bit in amusement. Axel, having been used to this kind of doubtful reaction, pouted somewhat adorably.

"Axel if you are trying to hide something from me with a tall tale like that you'll have to do better than that! Did you have an encounter with the King and was embarrassed about it something? He's been a nice, fair ruler for all my life. Besides, nobles are notorious gossips who could piss off for how little they care about people like me. The moment the king became something worse than them WOULD be the time I pack my bags and leave. I'd have nothing left to stay here for." Handy's jovial tone took a slightly dark and self-loathing tone.

Axel kept the serious look,

"Handy, I'm serious here. Even the merchants and townsfolk are talking about it, everyone says that it was relayed by a guard, they even said the guard had gone all the way here in a hurry."

Peeking through the cracks of the wooden window as if seeking evidence. Axel did start to notice something that was very alarming. Smoke, coming from over the city horizon. And he also started seeing people looking very anxious, concerned, a few of them running for cover or outright screaming. He couldn't hear what words they were making out from their screaming but it didn't look good whatsoever.

"Axel... really?" Handy didn't seem amused anymore and looked cross.

At this point the goblins also seemed mostly dubious of Axel's claim. They had already had to run from their cave home that had been a mainstay for centuries and now their tormentor was trying to get them to move again? Regardless, Axel looked back over to Handy with a much more severe look. It was cross but still very much a bit frightened. Handy felt as though he had to respect that look's intensity and so he slightly softened his expression.

"Uh, Handy. I think you'll need to pack the goblins and as much shit as you can cause I think whatever i just said came true." Urged Axel, giving him a nervous look, and seeing the pouches that the goblins slept in, started stuffing them back inside like the night before despite their complaints.

"Whoa whoa Axel! Where are we going!?" Said Handy, but Axel was already out of there. Handy tried to chase him and when he looked outside he froze, everything was in turmoil. Screams of terror filled the streets, looters took as many supplies from the stands and guards were being killed and battling bandits. These bandits were unusual, bandits were usually few in number but the sheer amount that were pouring into the city was like a militia. Axel had no idea either what had suddenly encouraged such an uprising. Was this what the people were really describing when gossiping about the king going mad? Or was this an action from the king having gone mad...? It didn't spell well for Treasureoak's once pristine reputation though that was for sure. Axel was now starting to feel concerned about Cuddles and Giggles...

Guards from above the walls were occupied as well, the bandits climbed the walls and took them by surprise and sending them falling down to their deaths or their crippled status, their heavy armor not only serving to make them fall harder. Handy panicked, he had always felt safe inside the city, and he certainly never dreamed to be caught in between a bandit raid before.

"A-Axel? W-where are you!?" Cried Handy, wishing he had believed him as soon as he warned him. Heading back inside, he a satchel full of everything he had promised Axel and tried to find the wolf.

But when he looked over, he saw that Axel had fended off a bandit that had clearly tried to strike Axel down while Handy was distracted looking. Axel had stabbed the bandit through the head with his dagger, unflinching in his ferocity. Then he pulled the dagger out, letting the bandit's corpse fall to the floor. Handy looked at Axel with a strange expression. Part of him knew he should be afraid of such a dastardly, ruthless maneuver but... He admired how straight to the point it was. He had no time for pity parties or trying to plead with people who weren't going to understand, Handy was the person who was immediate on everything he did. Refusals, agreements, arguments, actions, choices... Handy would do what needed to be done. And so seeing Axel reawakened a spirit in him that he hadn't felt for quite some time due to all the downtrodden treatment he had been getting. Adventure.

Handy threw the bag with his arms as soon as possible, Axel wasn't going to stand a chance against long-ranged attackers and one shot could mean life and death for him.

"Axel! Catch!" Directed Handy. Axel caught the bag and knew what it was. Pulling Handy with one hand and slinging the bag with the other, he started suiting himself up with the armor during their escape, they ran past guards who were fighting a hopeless battle, and townsfolk being massacred or in desperate flight from the chaos, they saw the entrance to the town, this was going to be easier than he thought.

He didn't account for the bandit from above the wall, leaping form above and landing on Axel, intending to kill him with a dagger of his own. Clearly these bandits recognized Axel or were just that bloodthirsty, making Axel ever the more curious as to why they showed up so suddenly Axel had grabbed the knife, the bandit wrestling it from his grip and bringing it down slowly, slowly inching toward his eye. Handy was standing in shock, the quick turn of events had been too fast for him to comprehend. He didn't think his lack of arms could get Axel off of the bandit in time.

"Say good night little pup" said the bandit, with a sadistic grin. Axel growled in rage, but no matter what, the fact that he was caught off guard made it hard to resist the bandit, and he was going to die by a common bandit, the kind that he disliked the most.

One of the satchel's opened up and Tooth poked the bandit's eyes with two fingers, making the bandit yowl in pain, Fang and Nail came out as well and started swarming the bandit. For once, Axel was glad that he spared them, grabbing his knife and slitting the bandit's throat who had lost an ear and a finger from the two goblins while Tooth kept kicking him. Handy saw his opportunity to not only join in on helping Axel, but also make sure his new goblin workers were safe and sound. He ran forward and planted a firm kick on the bandit, toppling him to the ground and making him relinquish his grip on Axel as he flailed helplessly from his impending death by blood loss. Axel fell to one knee, feeling ashamed of himself as he tried to catch his breath. But then he realized who had saved him and looked up at his savior.

"Come on Axel!" Said Handy, helping Axel get up with one of his nubs. The goblins, started picking up the crossbow and armor for Axel.

"No, stop that. You'll hurt your...." Handy stopped himself, the goblins started reloading a crossbow bolt and fastening the armor on Axel. Clumsily at first but they seemed to quickly learn just by doing the action. It was amazing, he never heard that goblins had some knowledge of armors and weapons before thought Handy. Guess maybe goblins had only preferred to fight almost naked and with bludgeoning weapons.

"Ok, I'm not going to question how they know this or how you taught them in less than a day. Let's just get the fuck out of here." Commanded Axel, stuffing them back in their satchel and racing to his horse outside of town. It was a miracle that his horse was still there, tied to its stable. The bandits probably thought that they'd take everything once everyone was dead or enslaved. The only solace to all of this was that they probably wouldn't be able to infiltrate the other towns right away if they were spending this much time focusing on Treasureoak. That gave Axel and everyone else in the other three towns time to prepare and be properly warned. Untying his horse, Axel got on his horse and helped Handy up. There was no way he was leaving Handy behind after all.

"Grab on tight, we're not slowing down on anything!" Said Axel, galloping to Bleakburn, maybe he could warn the other towns so that the knights and guardsman could properly defend the town, not like how Treasureoak handled the surprise attack.

"Axel! They're chasing us!" Shouted Handy in panic, Axel looked back, some bandits had apparently took some horses as well and saw them escape.

"Bite on this!" Axel pointed to where he wanted Handy to grab firm onto with his teeth, making the beaver bite the reigns of the rope. Handy flinched at the uneasy gesture but didn't hold back, not wanting to look like a weakling anymore. He pulled hard and got the horse maintaining momentum and direction. Switching places, Axel aimed the crossbow at the bandits giving chase, feeling glad he didn't ask for a bow, otherwise, the arrows would just bounce off the armor that the bandits had looted off of dead knights and the winds would probably change the arrows' direction.

He heard the bolts penetrate the armor of each individual bandit, making them fall off of their horses in pain, leaving the horses to run off somewhere in the plains and leaving behind one lone bandit who had managed to dodge the bolts easily. They seemed to have been used to using weapons while riding on horseback.

"You're dead meat." Said a bandit, Axel shot a bolt in his direction. The bandit in turn deflected the shot, Axel shot again and the bandit repeated the same tactic. These bandits were much more clever than he thought, that particular bandit was getting closer, and if he reached them, it could mean their end.

"I'm going to have my way with you little pup. We both know the reputation that precedes you. Your friend can even join in on the fun. This kingdom is ours now! Pay homage to the king!" Declared the haughty bandit, licking his lips with bloodlust and lust. Axel was really getting tired of people calling him a pup. Or talking like Axel slept with everybody like someone from the brothel. Though he was not worried just yet, there was one more thing he could try. While he did bring some interesting information, Axel would give it attention later and instead focusing on bringing his idea into fruition. Aiming again, this time he shot at the horse, which as a bigger target than the bandit. The horse whinnied in pain and tripped on itself, sending the bandit and the horse behind them.

They had made it to Bleakburn, the town seemed... relatively busy as normal. But he then noticed that from the sky came many messenger crows. Crows were only used in emergencies to deliver quick updates should something of significant note arise in the kingdom. The notes were dropped in a majestic if somewhat ominous display into the confused and surprised townsfolk's hands. They took them and started reading the notes, unwrapping them from their bindings and reading it. Eyes immediately began to widen and suddenly people began to react with great alarm,

"It can't be...! Treasureoak would never fall under siege!"

"How could our majesty...?!"

"Ransacked?! By bandits! B-but the guards...!"

"There's no way they can stand up to all those released criminals!"

"We'll be next!!"

At that point, the crowd that had been reading the notes and those unfortunate enough to hear their morbid cries of fear, began rushing about in hysteria. Fleeing to their homes, a nearby shelter, or wherever they felt the most safe about such a foreboding scenario. Axel, curious and also growing impatient of the pronoun game, grabbed one of the notes that had been dropped and read it.

Citizens of Bleakburn, I hope you're enjoying your peaceful days as of late. Because the rest of the days of your lives will be your last. For on this day, you shall all be subject to some... Interesting guests. Either welcome them into the town and accept this new rulership, or die an agonizing death by their hands. Unless perhaps if you do manage to defend yourselves, maybe you won't have to die. Or give in to their demands like a common whore, then you won't have to worry about another thing except suck cock for criminal scum. Actually, forget about defending yourselves, you will probably not last long enough to even think of doing that without the knights to defend you. Oh, did I mention that these knights of yours are gone from the town by the time you'll all receive this? I assure you, the castle dungeons have also imprisoned those same knights so don't even think about coming up to me and demand to put things back to normal. This is normal, this has always been the normal life that we have had generations ago. Accept it, the strong will prevail over the weak, and the weak will serve the strong. Treasureoak was first... you and the other towns will follow shortly. Hope you're as excited as I am.

Yours truly,

King Fliqpy

Axel crumpled the paper in anger. How could King Flippy suddenly do this to them? And the thought of Pop being imprisoned for some reason, what would happen to Cub?

"Dammit this is bullshit!" Axel shouted out.

"... This HAS to be something else. King Flippy knew my parents... they built his order some of the finest weapons the knight's guard ever used... It's unrealistic that he'd ever go mad like this." Handy seemed distraught as well.

"Well forget the past. This is now! He's gone rogue and we have to beat his ass before our friends get hurt!" Axel bellowed.

"Safety comes first Axel! And we have to find out what exactly happened to him to suddenly address himself as Fliqpy! Heck, we don't even know if it's someone masquerading as King Flippy!"

"Tch... we can argue about this later. I know a place where we should be able to keep your goblins safe and figure out what the hell is going on." Axel muttered bitterly.

Hurrying with Handy in tow, he first hurried towards Nutty's inn, hoping he was faring well. The town was now devoid of any life, completely silent now that the people were hiding, not making a sound in hopes that by doing so, they would not attract any of these interesting guests that the note had described. Perhaps they were being wise for a change, Axel considered.

Nutty's inn was the same as the other buildings, completely silent. Handy opened the door with a gentle kick, getting gasps of fear from the people hiding underneath the tables, fearing that he might be the one of the people sent by King Flippy. Only a few were actually ballsy enough to be sitting at the counter as though they had nothing to fear, perhaps out of a cocky doubt about this. Nutty, who was tending to these people and looked completely uncomfortable practically cried out to Axel.

"A-Axel... t-there's something... I-I don't know... t-the king..." Nutty stuttered, unable to continue and it looked like he was going to break down in tears.

"Nutty it's alright. I'm here, though I don't think hiding here is a good option. It's true what they said, Treasureoak has been sacked by bandits, I doubt that anybody is left alive or free over there. The only other option is to escape, and find out what happened and earn our freedom back or we can stay here and hide hoping this is all a bad dream." Reassured Axel, telling Nutty, and some eavesdropping people the confirmation that the news was correct.

"Well I know what I'm going to be doing... I'm going to fight back...!" Of all people to make such a bold statement, Axel least expected it to be Handy.

Everyone in the bar turned to the amputee beaver with incredulousness, naive hope on Nutty's part, and confusion. Then they proceeded to nervously laugh. They probably would've bellowed in laughter had the situation at hand not been so grim. Axel glared at the cowards but Handy stood up for himself.

"I'm serious! I'm ashamed of myself for growing so weak-willed just because I've let the people of Treasureoak let my insecurity and disability consume my ego. I'm more than my lost arms... I'm a blacksmith with ties that go back to this kingdom's foundation! And I won't take crap from some 'King Fliqpy' posing as our good and just ruler, doing something to gain the upper hand, and trying to kill our home kingdom! And maybe I can't fight hand-to-hand but we can get help. Allies. Information. Weapons and armor. Maybe even some bippity boppity boo or whatever to stand up to these threats. Besides... if we just let King Fliqpy walk all over us, the losses of the guards, our brothers and sisters, our families... would be for naught." Handy bit his lip fiercely, resisting the urge to tear up at his own emotionally-packed speech.

Axel watched on with a sense of pride blossoming within him. He didn't think he could have this kind of impact on a person, being the one to vocalize injustice and stand up for what was right and not what society thought was wrong. Regardless, the townsfolk remained very nervous and anxious, murmuring amongst themselves quietly. Nutty looked towards Axel though with slightly more reassured and confident expression, nodding at him as thought it was alright for them to borrow one of the rooms if they needed it in the meantime.

"If you excuse us" Said Axel, leading Handy to one of the upstairs rooms to let him cool off privately. They sat side by side on the bed, Axel letting Handy unwind and think back on what he was feeling. Handy buried his hands in his nubs, he didn't like preaching his beliefs or do any kind of speech in front of strangers who'd probably brush off his speech downstairs but he felt like they needed to grow a backbone.

"I-I'm sorry Axel. God, I looked pathetic down there didn't I? I mean, what can an amputee like me do?" Said Handy, pulling his nubs away and just showing disappointment and slight frustration.

"Hey, you didn't look pathetic at all. You showed those people to grow some balls, instead of hiding like a sissy in an already cramped bar." Assured Axel, patting Handy on his back.

"... That's only because... well, since I met you yesterday and finding out you'd be willing to actually fulfill my requests when no one else could... that I appreciate you. Then you went ahead and didn't panic at the sight of a bandit trying to stab you, you slew him and cut him down without hesitation. I've BEEN hesitating... I let the negativity around me and within myself made me feel like I'm helpless these days. I feel like while this is a shit situation, I can now be helpful and stop hesitating on what needs to be done for me because of you. But... I don't know if it's enough right now to keep this kingdom from going under. We don't even know how it all started." Handy confessed.

"Hey, its alright. Besides, your plan's the best we got. I mean, of course I want to just storm the kingdom if it kills me, it's just that you're right in every way. You actually thought of a good plan, while its true that it's King Flippy we're talking about here, there's still a possibility that he's replaced by a doppelganger or something. I don't know how but we'll get through this..." Admitted Axel, scratching his head.

"... Yeah. Even though I said I'd move out if this kingdom went into chaos because there's nothing left for me here, I was lying. My family's ties are within this kingdom's history. The lineage of blacksmiths serving royalty and the common people may have declined in reputation over time since I'm not even the royal blacksmith, but I knew who King Flippy was. Whatever that note said it was from was not our king. That's why we HAVE to get through this so my home doesn't die. Though I take it you don't really mind if the kingdom goes down huh...?" Handy questioned.

"It's not that I don't like our King himself, it's just that I don't like how everything is so complex. I mean, if a bandit is encountered, why can't we ever have it much more simple? Why arrest them when they'll one day get executed or freed so they'll commit more atrocities among the citizens. Though I do admit King Flippy is a good king, the way he executes justice is that he does not prioritize those who actually need it when they need it the most." Said Axel, opening himself to someone which had been a while since he did that.

"Yeah... locking up all these criminals for instance only for them to be released by the enemy and now becoming our greatest opposition. I'd rather not see ALL of them be executed but those that don't should've just been exiled far away from here. It's funny how much we have in common..." Handy seemed to sense the conversation was lightening up a bit and chuckled a bit. A few moments later, they could hear someone come running up the stairs below them, and opening the door they were currently in.

"Axel, someone's here to see you." Recommended Nutty, a concerned look on his face.

They heard sobbing and crying akin to that of a freshly adolescent child. Turning to the source of those cries, was a 10 year old child, a brownish bear that had his clothes caked in mud. He had longish orange hair, a somewhat richer-looking fabric about his clothes, and wielded a shortsword that was perfectly sized for his build and size. And by the sweaty and wet fur that he had, the child had gone through a great deal to get here. When Axel was close enough, Axel realized that it was Cub.

"Cub..." In a voice that was embarrassingly soft for the scene but genuine in emotion, Axel gasped.

He then ran to Cub and hugged him, making the child drop his sword and hugging him back. Despite the heartwarming reunion, Axel had to know what had happened. The townsfolk, Nutty, and Handy watched the scene, touched. But the townsfolk in particular were curious as to what this child was and why they were so roughed up. Pulling himself back, Axel faced him and asked,

"What happened Cub"

Cub wiped the tears with an arm and presented a parchment to Axel. Axel quickly discovered it was addressed and meant for Cub.

Dear Cub,

I need you to run, get out of the house as you read this and flee! Something is wrong with the King and you are in complete danger while you're in or near our home. Find Axel, the rest of the knights and myself have been locked in the dungeon. Axel will know what to do, he always does. He is the only one we can count on, since I laid him off duty and is the closest to a figure of justice in our society while we're in captivity. I hope you make it through this Cub. Make me proud

Captain and Superdad of the Knights,

Pop

"Something's wrong with the king after all..." Muttered one of the townsfolk.

"T-then it may not be him turning his back on us...!" Nutty pointed out cheerfully.

"And the knights that were in the castle are safe at least..." Said another random civilian.

"But then... what or who did this to him?" Handy questioned in dire confusion.

*That Morning*

Pop had wished he could be feeling better about this morning meeting, given that there had been no reports yesterday which had been the first within several weeks. It was likely due to Axel being stricken off active duty but it just made Pop feel guilty again. Pop concluded that he was also feeling that while he had consciously made the right choice to give Axel time to redeem himself, he wished there was another way to do it. He felt awful about leaving Axel naked and vulnerable like that and potentially disgraced an already harmed victim by addressing his parents and explaining the whole thing. I hope to god Cub never gets involved in anything like that when he's Axel's age, Pop thought, scratching his chin as he rode on horseback.

Pop rode off to the path to Happy Tree, passing by Treasureoak and gaining entry with his subordinate knights. He and the knights briefly exchanged kind greetings before assuming the faces of serious and disciplined knights. The castle was large and shaded in vivid shades of green with golden turrets and rooftops, and was not known by any specific name. King Flippy felt naming the castle something would be overzealous and it should be the kingdom itself remembered for eternity. Pop enjoyed the sight of it tremendously for it's prestige and honor but it only somewhat worked at cheering him up today. Stopping in front of the castle's drawbridge that slowly lowered for them, galloping inside. The people gave nods and greetings of respect to the knights, accepting flowers and compliments fitting for heroes of justice.

Getting off of their horses, they headed inside the castle's court, the guards lifting their spears to let them pass. Dukes, royals, monarchs visiting from other far lands for the day, nobles and royal knights positioned themselves on the sides, and at the end of that carpet, was King Flippy, their great King and a former soldier who restored order to the land long ago. Flippy was a green bear with gentle warmth in his eyes, an impressive physique that suggested years of hard work and pride, a lavish if somewhat pompous brown outfit of a surcoat, a green cravat, rich fur robes, and leather shoes of the finest leather. Walking down the carpet, Pop and his subordinates walked and stopped in front of him, and bowing down to the King. King Flippy smiled at seeing his faithful Captain and addressed him with an earnest but dignified voice,

"Ah, Captain Pop. I was expecting you. I was hoping to discuss a certain matter with you." Pop expected the conversation would eventually turn to Axel and his insubordination which he feared.

"And what is that m'lord?" Asked Pop, putting his head down lower to brace himself for whatever punishment he had in mind for Axel. Sure Pop had told Axel what punishment he would be receiving but King Flippy always held the final say.

"What is your opinion on survival of the fittest?" The king's voice went a pitch lower. Survival of the fittest? That was... unexpected.

"I... I don't know sir to be honest. All I can say is that the strong exist to protect the weak. To be a pillar of strength that will nurture the weak to become strong. And for them to do the same." said Pop, devising his own explanation of the quote.

"Yes yes, but what if the strong were to die? Who would make the weak strong? Who would be there to protect them? Is it not up to them to stand up for themselves?" Flippy played around with the idea, Pop didn't know what this was getting at.

"What do you have in mind sir?" Pop asked, he felt like he was being toyed with despite this being King Flippy, it was not like him to ask these kinds of questions. Those at the court seemed ok with this line of questioning but Pop knew better of the court's habits. They could hide almost any emotion behind a patient smile. For better or for worse, depending on the individual.

"I'm asking if one of your subordinates were to become... weak. Would it be better to get rid of them? The weak have no right to lead their fellow weak people. The weak will teach the weak to be weak, the strong will teach others to be strong, so is it better to remove these figures from their authority?" Flippy, trying to be more specific with his questions.

"Forgive me your highness, but I don't think it's best to remove an authority of justice, not when they've completed their training and have come so far. I think the best course of action is to reestablish the discipline that they formerly exhibited and hope for the best." Said Pop, thinking this was about Axel.

Flippy held a look of disappointment in the bear, looks like this one was going down with the rest. Pop felt displeased in himself as it seemed he had given the wrong answer. Maybe Flippy wasn't even trying to hint at this discussion being about how Axel was handled by him. But it all seemed a bit of a strange inquiry to begin with so Pop felt he was doing his best to make sense out of it... and unfortunately not succeeding. Pop gazed into his majesty's eyes and strangely... thought he saw a flash of yellow.

"I'm sorry Sir Pop. But tolerating weakness is... Subject to punishment" King Flippy sat up strongly on his throne. Pop's eyes widened, something seemed different. Flippy normally had a lot of patience and kindness behind his questioning but the way he talked and... and seemed like a different person. Fortunately he could tell he was not alone. Some of his longest-lasting knights exchanged perplexed looks and fearful gazes. Even a few of the more honest members of the court looked off-put by the King's hostility and one looked to be debating asking why to the King. Pop was under no jurisdiction to beg pitifully once King Flippy decided how a punishment was to be decreed but he felt he had the jurisdiction to question if he felt something was fishy.

"I'll accept your judgement... but I must make this question. Your highness are you... you right now? I swore I saw something in your eyes just now that I've never seen-" King Flippy stood up from his throne and he held a smile that, what would have been a gentle one that could calm even the worried of souls, now looks that of a murderer. It cut Pop off mid-sentence and laid his vulnerability bare for all to see. At this point there was a collective set of gasps and small whimpers from the court as they were rightfully spooked by such an expression. One of the younger knights drew his blade, hoping to put some sense back into the king and protect his captain.

"Tut tut tut, have you not taught your subordinates any manners captain Pop? So you challenge me to a duel little one? Have at thee then! Guards! Block the exits! Nobody comes out of this room unless I say so and certainly not until I delivered just punishment." Ordered King Flippy, with his arms outstretched and brandishing his own sword, the guards were hesitant and eventually blocked the exits, preventing anybody from entering or leaving. It took every fiber of Pop's being to resist the urge to stand to his two feet and disrespect his king. But he was now concerned his king was not who he had previously been... Indeed, the king's eyes were now fully cast in a yellow, sharpened glow almost like he was incensed with anger.

"Your majesty what entails this treatment?" The questioning member of the court questioned at last.

"We've done nothing wrong, your captain has! Leave us out of this please!" A more snobbish court member complained.

"There's no room for possible... Traitors in this court. That goes for knights as well. Well then young one? I'm giving you this chance to strike first, deal the first blow. Hehehe, let's see how this turns out." King Flippy taunted the young knight.

The young knight looked petrified, his bluff having failed. He was hoping for the King to ultimately stand down and stop acting creepy. It instead led the King to put the court in danger in addition to his Captain.

"N-n-no wait... I didn't mean to r-r-raise a hand to his highness... leave the court o-o-out of this. Punish me instead of Captain Pop if it will make amends and please you...." The knight bowed with as much respect as he could but it came off as desperate and shaky.

"Is that weakness I hear? Tell me, young knight? How is it that a person of your stature has come to gain rank despite displaying such cowardice in front of your King?" said King Flippy, which not helped the youth's situation at all.

Pop had finally enough of this farce. He decided he needed to take a cue from Axel's book and listen to his heart. He stood up in defiance of rules and logic to face the antagonizing ruler.

"Because I do not believe you are our king at the moment. Who are you? Why have you taken King Flippy's visage?" Pop refused to draw his weapon still in fear this was his true ruler but glared menacingly at the one seated upon the throne.

King Flippy turned to Pop, and approached him until they were face to face.

"Because, my captain. I have always been this way. And I think it's about time that this kingdom grew a backbone and had its citizens fight for its freedom like the old days" Propositioned King Flippy, circling around him.

"People only fought one another back in the past, when rules were unformed and fear of the wilds drew them mad. It's because of your bloodline applying rules and preserving harmony that our kingdom has remained glorious because of its backbone. We have not broken its back! And you have certainly not demonstrated such malice. Reveal yourself pretender!" Pop challenged, unafraid of this maneuver.

"That's too bad. I'm giving you one last chance to surrender to me captain Pop. You can kneel before me and ask forgiveness. I might just forgive you and promote you to commander. Commander of my bed that is." Chuckled King Flippy with mocking laughter and lust.

Pop practically lurched back at that statement and the court also expressed repulsion at such vulgar and forward desires. Insults started to fill the air.

"Inconceivable!"

"It'd destroy the bloodline's sanctity for him to mate with his Royal guard!"

"How could he say something like that so freely?!"

"It's obviously some deranged copycat pretending to be our king!"

"King Flippy is more innocent than that!"

"Tch, how fickle. You've sworn loyalty to me for years and with only a few claims you already denounce your loyalty. The audacity. Fine! If you're brave enough, I'll change my mind. I challenge you to a duel. But remember, if you so much as lose, it's off to the dungeons with you, and I'll personally 'punish' you if you choose to do so." Threatened King Flippy.

Pop was now absolutely stunned. He never had been particularly tempted by King Flippy out of respect for his kind heart, duties to the people, and the fact he usually seemed pretty asexual. After all, he had yet to acquire a queen or an heir yet and Flippy had usually said he'd only do so once he deemed it necessary. Whatever this... 'person' was that was using Flippy's body to demean and threaten seemed to be drawn to him and it didn't make Pop feel easy whatsoever. He refused to give his body into someone who was using a mask of someone he loved to do so. Axel would've done the same he felt. Pop grimaced as he felt this was the only choice he had and that this imposter was holding all the cards. He pulled his sword and carefully started to match Flippy's positioning and movements. The court all moved back, clutching the walls for security and distance. The rest of the guard continued to stay put and were secretly rooting for Pop in their hearts.

Flippy and Pop were on different sides of the court, behind his throne Flippy did stand and Pop stood near the other. Both swords unsheathed and wielding it in their hands, their own respective shields raised against each other. While Pop had spent years training squires to their famous combat prowess, Flippy had years of informal training, he had slain monsters, bandits and traitorous knights in the past, Pop hoped that this imposter didn't hold the same skills as the real king did. He thought of everything that made him stronger. The love for his son Cub, wanting Cub to follow in his footsteps, love and faith and trust, the true King Flippy's integrity, and justice. Then the bout began!

Charging at each other, Pop and Flippy clashed swords, sparks flashing between their strikes and shields being bashed upon from the heavy blows of their swords. The whole kingdom's fate was resting on this fight, he had to win this fight, he needed to win.

"What's wrong old man? Give me your all! I can take it" Howled King Flippy, this bloodthirsty imposter was more eager to fight than he seemed to be. Pop pushed him back with his shield, the two combatants sent back against each other. With a battle cry, they both returned to trading blows, abandoning their use of shields and started rapidly swinging their swords at each other. Their swords clashed, their faces with a look of determination to bring the other to heel, "Grrrr" they both said,

"Surrender before your king!" Yelled 'Flippy', Pop glared just glared at him, pushing harder against Flippy's sword.

"You're no king of mine!" Retorted Pop, dodging another swing form Flippy's sword. Flippy started swinging his sword with inhuman speed and power, forcing Pop to stay on the defense, with how fast Flippy was attacking him, he couldn't find an opportunity to retaliate. The situation was looking grim for the captain and he was beginning to wonder how this imposter was so skilled in swordplay.

"What's wrong my 'captain'? Is this all the captain of the knights can do? Stick to being a good house-husband instead!" Taunted Flippy, showing no signs of slowing down. Pop never battled such a skilled foe as this one before, his shield arm was beginning to get exhausted, and with that, Flippy gave a firm kick against one of his legs, making him kneel down and disarming his sword and sending it flying against the stone wall and sending Pop lying down on the ground on his back. The guards roared in anger and rage at what this imposter had done to their guard and a few even looked sad and solemn for it.

The court's spirits died with the loss of the battle and Flippy gave a triumphant smirk at Pop. Pop felt ashamed, he let the people down, not only that, but the rest of the knights were going to suffer for this defeat. This imposter was going to have his way with the kingdom and there was no telling what horror he had planned. Pop tried to get up but noticed a blade aimed at his throat as he saw Flippy kneeling down to him and whispering in a seductive tone,

"I'm giving you one last chance. Surrender, and I might let you live in... 'comfort' with me" Said King Flippy, giving Pop's ear a lick.

The only comfort that I could have is living with Cub by my side, Pop thought defiantly.

"I'd rather die." Objected Pop, glaring at King Flippy, maintaining a defiant face and spirit from the imposter.

"How disappointing, but, since your appearance... Amuses me. I'll give you a wish. And this wish will be the last voluntary thing I'll grant you..." Teased King Flippy, giving a lustful stare at Pop.

Pop could only think about Cub, he was going to be left alone with nobody to take care of him, or warn him of Flippy's takeover. And he was going to eventually trapped in the dungeons, probably forever. Or worse, as Flippy's plaything. And what of the outside kingdom? They wouldn't know a thing until calamity struck... Pop knew exactly what had to be done in the meantime.

"Please, let me write a letter to my son." Pleaded Pop, he could at least try to save Cub from the imposter's rule.

"Hmph, scribe! Fetch me some quill and paper!" Bellowed King Flippy. A nervous and cowardly scribe from the crowd of the court went about this and soon handed Pop the parchment and writing utensil. Pop started writing down what would probably be his final words to Cub, at the very least Cub would stand a chance to run away. Live on in the future and become a knight strong enough to save the kingdom. Or at least not end up the way his father seemed destined to end up at the moment. The court all started angrily insulting and complaining the King, demanding him to stop this and end this facade or reveal where the true king was. King Flippy silenced them with a vicious snarl.

When Pop was done writing his warning, Flippy snatched it from him and read it.

"Hmmm, is this all?" Asked King Flippy.

"Y-yes, just send it to him as soon as you can...." Pleaded Pop, hoping this imposter had some form of mercy for children at the very least.

"Very well. I will have it sent. Sent by one of the many bandits from the castle dungeon!" Cackled King Flippy, and at that announcement, Pop's eyes widened in horror, there was no way Cub would know, and he was going to send bloodthirsty bandits on his own son.

"Wait you can't do that! No don't please I beg you!" Pleaded Pop, abandoning the notion of maintaining his stoic reputation, and started panicking in front of his own knights in training. King Flippy stepped away from Pop and put his sword back into its sheath, letting Pop crawl desperately towards him in a manner that amused the growing tyrant greatly.

"Guards, take him away to the dungeons! I'll be seeing you much later... My captain." Said Flippy, turning his back on Pop to show how much he didn't care.

The guards angrily objected to this. They knew of Pop's love for his son and they refused to go back on their form of justice by letting criminals who were dangerous and unpredictable flock the streets. They decided they had to rebel now before it was too late.

"We'd never do this to our captain...! You may have beat him one on one combat but you could never stand to all of us combined!" The one who had formerly been cowardly in his defiance spoke up with several men behind him nodding in agreement.

"Well then, seems we have some traitors in our midst. By my decree, you are all charged for treason against your king. Guards, open the doors!" Said King Flippy. Guards from outside the throne room, who had not been allowed to overhear the conversation hesitantly opened the doors, behind it were several other guards who were wondering what was going on.

"Your highness, are you alright? What happened?" Asked one of the unaware guards, the knights realized that this was a setup all along, this trickery was not going to end well for them.

"These knights, including sir Pop here, had raised their swords against me. I want you all to arrest him and his band for treason against their King. I trust the executioners will give a fitting punishment for each one" Said King Flippy, the knights couldn't say anything, the guards were oblivious, and speaking up about what had just happened would sound like a lie.

"The King is an imposter!! Do not let-" But suddenly Pop felt a strange chill crawl up his spine.

The other knights and the members of the court did too. The throne room was cast in a scarlet haze, mysterious and unnerving. Flippy didn't seem deterred and in fact seem rather annoyed as suddenly everyone else in the throne room felt their minds go numb and as though some bizarre enchantment was clouding their minds. None could object, none could think, they could only listen and react. Silence persisted for a few seconds before Flippy issued his command again,

"Like I said, guards! Take Pop and his entourage away...! But leave the punishment for Pop to me. I'll personally see to his punishment" said King Flippy, the guards started hauling Pop and the knights away, and Pop could do nothing about it.

All Pop could do was start to cry, emotions that were very strong being the only thing allowed to be displayed. He whimpered pathetically, unable to vocalize exactly what he wanted to say and have been done. He faded out of the throne room as he and the order of knights he led with such pride and dignity, were taken to jail. Flippy took the letter boldly in his hand and snapped his fingers.

"And while you're at it, release the prisoners, tell them this land is theirs now. The king has finally awoken to the truth, and survival of the fittest is at hand. And have one of the bandits deliver this letter to his son, or better yet, plant it on the child's cold dead body, and I'll reward them handsomely when they get back." Commanded King Flippy.

"Don't forget about my handsome reward either regal bear..." A new and unusually stoic and booming voice suddenly entered the throne room.

The scarlet haze that had coated the room with a strange magic spell flashed powerfully in a surge of light as a new figure, draped in godly robes of gold, bronze, and burgundy with ancient sigils materialized into the throne room. He was a muscular and rather handsome flying squirrel with an otherworldly aura about him and he even dwarfed Flippy by several inches. He carried nothing on him but it was clear he was responsible for the power that had suddenly left the court still standing and staring motionless and unable to act.

"You want to be the one calling the shots and advising me right? Also I never asked for you to babysit my reign." Flippy asked, more angrily.

"You were about to foolishly let the majority of armed warriors cut you down. Even King Flippy would've known better than to rely on threats alone. Regardless... none may leave with the knowledge of what was done within this castle." The squirrel looked towards the court.

With a wave of his hand and the muttering of a small and mysterious incantation, every member of the court found themselves turned into stone statues. A permanent and terrifying state of undeath. King Flippy growled furiously at being refused the satisfaction of simply silencing them violently but the squirrel ushered him with soft words,

"Rest assured, destruction of this kingdom's weakness and glorious power that the world could never stand up to is coming shortly. For now leave the protection of this castle and the information hiding and alliances to me. Focus on creating as much chaos as possible... perhaps fool your people with a different name in your letters, run wild to your heart's content... After all, you did seem interested in that unusually just bear."

King Flippy grinned and laughed, realizing the full extent of his new status, his new power, his new GLORY. Nothing could be refused by him or from him, he had access and power over everyone and everything. This kingdom was to be his first stage, his first conquest and it would be a sight that history would cower at in the records of eternity. The King, perhaps truly not himself anymore, felt a thrill rising in his entire being and nodded in agreement to the flying squirrel's speech.

"Yeah... you're right... I absolutely DO! King Fliqpy is here to stay...! Beware all that oppose me fools...!"

*Back at Pop's house present moment of the morning*

Sounds of playful grunts and a dull thud was heard inside of the home. Cub kept pounding on the dummy with his wooden sword, the dummy released bits of hay with each strike it received, Cub in turn was left sweaty, but that only determined him to last longer and swing the practice weapon harder. If he was going to one day be in a fight, he had to last as long as he can, and attack harder than an adult. He wanted to catch up with Axel and become a knight just like him, and then they could go patrolling and fighting bandits one day, daydreamed Cub while he sparred with the dummy.

And then he heard stomps from outside of his house, and he immediately thought that it was Pop coming to greet him. He excitedly ran to the front door, and leaned on the wall, ready to startle his father. Leaning to see how close he was and peering through the eyehole, he was greeted to the sight of not his father, but a few bandits, brandishing a knife and creeping closer to the house, all wielding knives and wearing bandannas. He didn't even need to be told by his father about the dangers of bandits to recognize how they were clearly unfriendly and ready to break crimes today.

Cub's eyes widened at this, what did these bandits want from them!? Backing away, he had accidentally let go of the wooden sword, causing it to clank on the wooden floor. This prompted Cub to carefully listen in fright and horror before slowly tip-toeing to where his room lay.

"You hear that!? I told you this was the place!" Said a bandit, his bloodshot eyes and bloodthirsty grin were far from being subtle about their intentions.

"Quiet! You wanna scare the kid away? We're here to kill a kid, if he runs away and we lose him, I'm going to kill you instead.'' Threatened another, the three bandits circled the house, one had stood at the front door, the other two looked at each window, seeing nothing inside the house. Cub had managed to reach his bedroom and hid under the bed in terror, wondering as to what he was going to do. He eyed a metal broadsword that had been placed under the bed in case of an assassination attempt.

"Oi you shit head! There's nobody here!" Asked one of them, disappointed and angry.

"Bah! Well, at least whoever was here is gone now. Let's help ourselves to whatever they've had stored in here." Said the leader, Cub shook while hiding in his bed, was this what bandits were like? He had felt that getting rid of bandits was fun, but now that he was facing them... It didn't seem that fun at all. He clutched the metal broadsword his father made for him close, if they had found him, it was going to be his only means of protection.

The bandits started rummaging through everything they owned as soon as they ventured into the house, stuffing wine into sacks, pillaging all the wealthy heirlooms they could get, anything that was valuable. Cub was cornered, if he came out, he would die, but if they found him, he'd also die. Where was his superdad when he needed him? He hoped that he was alright wherever he was and come and save him with his knights.

"Hey look at this! Looks like the captain's been busy eh?" Said one of the bandits, holding a particular necklace that contained a picture of his parents and him as a baby. Pop always wore it outside of active duty because he wanted to protect the memory of his lost wife from the same battles that had ended with her tragic death but still keep her spirit alive in daily life.

"...!" Cub almost let out a gasp, and covered his mouth. That was their only connection he had to his mother, and they were going to steal that as well.

"Looks like the captain caught quite the catch. Would have pounded her till she screamed my name!" said a bandit, eyeing the picture lustfully.

"Too bad she's dead, I would have filled her with my litter and show her what a real man feels like." Laughed another bandit, mocking Pop and angering Cub. Angry that his father's dignity was being tarnished, he took a deep breath and summoned the courage to come out and swung with all his might. While he didn't understand exactly what the bandits were saying, it was obvious that his mother and father would've punished them the exact same way he planned on doing right now.

The bandit that was holding the necklace had been decapitated in an instant, the 2 bandits caught off guard by the sudden death of their companion. Cub himself looked startled once he saw blood spewed onto the floor and the head bouncing off a dresser and over to his feet but he shook it off. It was do or die right now and he couldn't let his father come home to another tragedy. Not if he had anything to say about it. After retrieving the necklace and placing it in his pocket, he sought his next target with quick eyes and lunged.

"Get hi-" Started the bandit, before being impaled in the stomach by the child, doubling over, not able to say anything as the pain choked him. Cub pulled the sword from the bandit's stomach, leaving him to clutch his wound in pain on the floor, and started to swing again at the last bandit before finding himself being held by his neck against the wall by another bandit.

"You little brat! You think you're hot shit just because you're the captain's son? Well let me tell you this you fuck! Your dad's going to rot in jail, King Fliqpy will overrun the land with people like me. And there's nothing you can do about it!" Ranted the bandit, Cub could feel his face turning blue and his vision started to black out. Knowing that he won't be able to pry the bandit's grip away from his neck, he started flailing his hands, he needed something, anything to save him.

He felt something pointy and small on his hand, he grabbed it and thrust it against the bandit's eye, causing him to fall over and clutch his gouged eye. When Cub looked to see what it was he found it was a corkscrew, part of a dismantled time-measuring device that Pop had meant to get replaced later today.

"Language!" Cub scolded the bandit before reclaiming his weapon and deciding it was time to hightail it out of there. He noticed a parchment dropped by the bandit he killed, proceed to grab it, then narrowly dodged the hands of the bandit he had blinded and ran out of the house. He ran and ran until he was sure he was far enough, and started reading the letter.

He couldn't believe it, why did King Flippy do this? Why imprison Pop along with the knights? And why were these bandits out and about harming the city that he loved the most? He wanted nothing more than to get on his knees and cry, but no, that wasn't what his dad would've wanted. He would want him to follow his orders and find Axel, and he hoped that Pop was correct in him knowing what to do.

Running to Bleakburn, he found the streets deserted, nobody was around including the knights who regularly patrolled the area.

"H-hello? Anyone?" Called Cub out to any signs of life. Silence, everybody was gone. Where were they? He started to think that perhaps he was too late, the bandits had made everyone run away, and if he stayed here, he'll be killed and he won't even be able to do what his dad set him out to do.

He started crying in the middle of the street, he felt hopeless, it was too late. A noticeably lazy-looking eye peeked out from one of the windows of what looked like an inn, widening with concern for the little boy. Opening the door, Nutty ran to the distraught child and whisked him away from the street, and closed the door as soon as he got in. Cub didn't stop crying, the people started comforting him, wondering what a child without its parent was doing without their protection. They also recognized the parchment paper within his hand and could only feel awful about how they were taking the news from King Fliqpy. Not realizing this letter in particular was a special and unique one to him.

Cub remained bawling his eyes out, but Nutty refused to let him wallow in misery. Offering him some shortbread cookies, Nutty started shushing Cub calmly and gently and asked,

"Hey, aren't you that bear's son? I recognize your fur color anywhere! I saw it two days ago! M-my best friend is his colleague."

"I-is his name Axel?" Asked Cub. Nutty nodded rather quickly and almost seemed to swoon... much to a few of the other patron's confusion and skepticism.

"He went upstairs with a handless beaver. Do you want me to fetch him? Like a person not like a dog?" Nutty asked sweetly.

"Y-yes! My dad said I should go to him" said Cub, wiping his tears off with his right arm.

Cub was extremely relieved he had found a place that had what he was looking for and more. He quickly ate the cookies, feeling hungry from the emotions running through his mind and also the endeavours he had to do to survive as Nutty skipped up the stairs.

*Back to Present Day, same afternoon*

"So shit has gone down at the castle and the King's gone evil or has someone replacing him." Axel put it all together.

"W-what should we do...?" Cub asked.

Axel was never one for ideas. He was good at battle, and battle tactics. But fighting a whole army was an entirely different take on the situation.

"I... I don't know. I don't know if we should kill the king, spare him, hell I don't even know what the hell happened. But, what I do know, is that there are still other people out there somewhere. People that won't put up with this and will work with us as comrades. If we're going to fight, we're not going to stand a chance alone, we'll rally other people from other towns within this kingdom, and other lands if we have to." said Axel, inspiring many others inside the inn, including the goblins.

The goblins for that matter had revealed themselves while Axel and Handy were upstairs and had let them know full well of their intentions to protect the town as well. Insincere mostly but it wasn't like they could escape to the woods undetected and it was true that they sympathize a bit with Cub especially at the moment. They would be willing to serve their best strength to the cause so that no more orphans resided in their homelands. Nutty in particular looked giddy, as though fully ready to make a decision on the matter and staring at Axel in awe. Handy simply smiled confidently and nodded.

"I'll travel the land and seek allies, and then when we do, we'll march up to the castle, beat some sense in King Flippy's mind, free Pop and the others, turn everything back to normal. So that we won't have to endure anymore this injustice. Who's with me?!" said Axel, letting everyone know of his plan.

Overall the reception was a resounding 'aye' from most of the people in the inn. Others still seemed to scare to take action but discussion quickly sprout up between various folks on what would be the best courses of action as well as what they could do once Axel and the others were ready.

"Then let me come with you!" said Cub, hugging his waist. Axel kneeled in front of Cub in one knee.

"Cub, no you can't. It's too dangerous, and you're not ready yet. Besides, you're the only knight capable of staying here and exercising justice and order while I'm gone. Can you do that? For your superdad at least?" said Axel, he definitely didn't want to put him in danger, there could be worse things out there than bandits.

"O-of course! Superdad said that I should be brave for the people as a knight" said Cub, remembering the teaching of Pop. Axel smiled, proud of Cub and his bravery and turned to Nutty.

"Nutty, I'm sorry to ask you of this. But can you take care of these people in the meantime?" asked Axel, he was counting on Nutty more than he ever could right now.

"That's right! My inn is free of charge for all victims... I mean um... guests. In the meantime. Hehehe..." Nutty chuckled after making his announcement.

"Are you sure we'll be safe here?" Fang asked, suddenly feeling concerned about the reliability of this squirrel.

"If you three and Cub are here. Plus we're fairly low-key as a building if we close off the outside view of us. The criminal uprising doesn't seem to have come to Bleakburn yet either... Maybe more friends can help defend and join us too!" Nutty was able to coherently speak his mind for a change.

Axel smiled, for once, the people were actually learning to unite and stand up with each other. "Then there's no point in wasting more time than we should have. I'll take my leave then" said Axel, heading to the front door and starting his journey.

"Hold up Axel! You aren't going anywhere without someone to keep track of your weapons. Besides, this kingdom's my home... I have to make sure it's alright alongside you." Handy, who had been very quiet, made his intentions known.

"Handy, it's not that I doubt you and your capabilities. But I don't think I would be able to protect you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you died just because I decided to take you with me." Said Axel voicing his concern for the orange beaver.

To Axel's surprise, Handy gave a frustrated glance and shook his head.

"I don't want to be a dude in distress forever. I'm as hefty with my head and legs as I am with my smithing and I might be able to recognize some folks or weapons being used by the enemy. Please trust me on this Axel. Let me repay you for giving me the courage to stand up to the wrongs. If you go down... someone else needs to be able to get help for you at least." Handy urged strongly.

"Handy... I... You... *sigh* fine, I guess there's no talking you out of this. You better not die on the way" said Axel, giving way for Handy to come with him.

Handy grinned proudly before turning to the goblins.

"I haven't known you very long I'm afraid but it seems like you got as much guts as I do and can take care of yourselves in an emergency. I'll be back for you guys as soon as we're done exploring the towns. Sound good?" Handy asked.

Fang, Tooth, and Nail all gave a nod of agreement. "We'll be fine boss. You can count on us to defend this town" said Fang, armed with a club of his own.

Handy then turned to Axel and spoke the pivotal words to indicate full on business,

"So, ready to go partner?" Handy asked the wolf.

Axel smiled gently,

"Yeah, more 'hands' are better than one" Laughed Axel at his own pun.

"... I'll let that pain in the ass comment slide since you let me join despite me being a pain in the ass." Handy muttered as he walked out of the inn.

Giving one last look at Cub, Nutty, and the goblins, Axel gave them a reassuring smile and closed the door to the inn, and headed west, heading north towards the castle would be a huge risk, the bandits probably turned it into a fortress, and Treasureoak was one of the biggest cities of Happy Tree and yet conquered so easily. And so they headed west to Lushwood. A residential town of many fine eateries, nearest to the woods that were deemed mostly safe for travel, with a better off environment for living than Bleakburn was known for having. Supplies could likely be attained here, as well as the first possible place for reliable allies given the seedy reputation of the other town... Axel and Handy were sure to find something valuable by going to Lushwood first.

*Meanwhile*

Pop woke up in restrained, his hands and legs were attached to the metal cuffs of the dungeon's walls. He had noticeably been stripped of his armor and weapons, only wearing his underclothes of a long-sleeved shirt and brown plants that usually served as pajamas. He sighed in sadness, his son was probably dead by now, he had lost the only thing he had of his wife, and he couldn't protect him. His only miracle would be if Axel somehow was with Cub or saved him in time but with how he had ousted Axel away from knighthood the chances of that were slim. Tears started streaming down his face, with him cursing Flippy's name over and over in his mind and wanted nothing more than to strangle him. This imposter had took his kind-hearted ruler's form and abused it in such a callous, disrespectful way... Pop dared not think about the still possible idea of King Flippy unveiling his true colors throughout this horrible ordeal as it would be too much for his heart to bear. He heard the repressed screams of his knights, either gagged or suppressing the screams of torture that they were experiencing from rogue bandits crudely assigned as jailkeepers. He only hoped that they would endure their punishments only for a little while. He heard the cracks of whips and... A clapping sound? And that's when he realized they were using a different means of torture other than pain. It disgusted him.

Amongst the tortured grunts the other knights endured in their cells, Pop heard footsteps, given how familiar he was with King Flippy's strut, he knew it was him. Who else could it be that'd arrive to the applause of the criminals? Arriving in front of his cell was King Flippy, no, Fliqpy. He will not acknowledge this man as his king until he found out what had possessed him to do such an evil act. Besides, it seemed to be what he was referring to himself as now.

"Ah Sir Pop, I hope the guards weren't too rough on you. Well, not rough in a way that I've been imagining to do with you." Said Fliqpy in a sickly sweet tone, licking his lips. Pop glared at him, he didn't want his presence anywhere near him, not after what he had done before imprisoning hirm.

"Get the hell away from me. You condemned my son to the cruelty of criminals. Has life truly wronged you in some fashion that you would seek to bring this kingdom to ruin through them and use the king's face to lead?!" Pop demanded.

Fliqpy didn't dignify this with a response. He simply unveiled the keys to the cells, unlocked and entered the cell Pop was in, and locked himself in with him.

"Now now, don't let your emotions get the best of you. After all, it's in the knight's code is it not?" Inquired Fliqpy, pacing left and right repeatedly in front of Pop.

"Fuck the code! You don't even deserve to get imprisoned, whatever you did to the king, the real king, I will personally execute you one day... Mark. My. Words..." Growled Pop, seething in rage.

Fliqpy ignored him again, "Tell me then, are your knights in training just as worth it as your son? What would you do for your loyal knights?" asked Fliqpy. This only served to annoy Pop, he already endangered his son, and now he wants to do that with his squires?

"Why should I tell you? So you'd torture them some more?" Pop sarcastically suggested, resisting the urge to scream.

"Oh, quite the opposite in fact. You see, all their suffering could end with a simple decision. You give your body to me like a common whore would, without any sort of resistance, and maybe I'll give them a moment of respite. All by one simple request sir Pop. Now what say you? Can you show me how you and your wife once consummate your marriage?" said Fliqpy, riling up the widowed bear.

Pop could only give an incredibly disturbed look at not only the kind of language that Fliqpy used but the sheer fact this bastard had used his wife's sacred love. Pop's body was not something to give up freely to just anyone anymore, not that it ever was. What he and his wife shared when making Cub was a treasure and a moment he cherished in his life. He couldn't take this cruel attempt at sweet-talking him into submission anymore. No one could replace his wife at the moment and certainly not a demonspawn masquerading as his king. Pop spat in Fliqpy's face.

"You have NO right to mention my wife. Nor put our night of passion on the same vein as your disgruntled desires." As soon as Pop said that, he felt hands close on his throat, Fliqpy was angry and ran out of patience for his defiant attitude, and then stopped himself, letting go of Pop's neck. Pop ignored the fact his neck had probably been bruised by the sheer strength Fliqpy exhibited. He'd stood his ground and he was proud of that.

"Now look what you've done, your tongue waggled, and my thoughts went out of control. You'd best act properly in front of your king subject." Fliqpy growled and in a moment clearly meant to rattle Pop, tore off the captain's pants.

Pop flinched and suddenly felt very fragile. His member, not hard but of an impressive girth already attributing to his bear species, was exposed for all to see. Criminals watching the scene cackled and gave revolting expressions at the sight of it but Fliqpy to his part remained calm and composed. It was then that Pop noticed Fliqpy's eyes were fully glowing gold now and they seemed to undress his resistance further with fear and lust. Pop's momentum seemed to utterly fade away and he could only watch as Fliqpy in an eerie calm, gave a speech,

"I can make this a lot less agonizing for you and your subordinates. Well, your subordinates at most. They may enjoy the rest of their days, fed and left alone in solitude except for you of course. You'll be servicing me in my bed. Or I can double the lashes and... Sessions that they get. Every. Single. Day. They will experience whipping and be made humiliated, stuck in a pillory, as they have their asses raped in front of a crowd, while the townsfolk may be reluctant, I'm sure the lonely peasants out there would be glad to participate for their own pleasure. Especially knowing I'd spare their lives if they pledge their allegiance to my reign! Final warning Sir Pop. Demote yourself to my whore and maintain respect from those you care about or maintain your status but lose your worthiness of it!"

Pop didn't want his knights to suffer more than they should have, let alone by the hands of the other criminals that they were tossed in with. If it meant sacrificing himself for the last few loyal people he was going to spend it with, it was worth it. Even if Fliqpy turned on this deal like he had done so already with Cub, Pop had to hope that this path would end in the least pain. Axel please do whatever you can if you are out there, he prayed in his head.

"Fine! But you better keep your part of the bargain" said Pop, unable to look at the knights who he had seen grow up and personally trained.

"Don't worry my captain. Or should I say whore. They'll be treated accordingly. Now it's time to reward your decision." Said Fliqpy, undoing Pop's metal bindings and drawing him close for a sloppy kiss.

Pop felt disgusted, he didn't like it at all. He loved to do it with his wife back in the old days of merry youth and romantic expression. But to have a criminal do the same thing that he so reserved his wife for? He did not feel like sharing any sort of romance with this imposter. Fliqpy pulled away, purposefully leaving a line of drool before spitting it back onto Pop's face, forcing Pop to wipe it away.

"Consider us even. Now get on your knees." With a firm hand on Pop's shoulder, Fliqpy forced Pop down onto his knees. Then Fliqpy began to strip off his regal clothes, until he was fully naked, revealing the king's glorious physique with a few scars from battles long ago. And an already nearly hard 7-inch cock of green muscle. Pop instantly knew what this rude gesture meant from Fliqpy and his request. Pop resisted every urge to find it impressive or desirable, anything to not give Fliqpy the pleasure of him liking this.

"Now suck" Said Fliqpy, looking down on Pop's pathetic form.

Pop was now face to face with Fliqpy's own girth, doubting he could fit that in his mouth. Just do it for them, just do it for them, thought Pop, taking the head in his mouth and slowly licking it. When he felt Fliqpy's hands pulled him all the way, forcing him to deepthroat the long appendage, he gagged but that did not save him from it, Fliqpy kept a firm hold on his head.

"I said suck, not lick. Get it right whore" Mocked Fliqpy, even bucking slightly forward to get more of the thrills, more of the pleasure from Pop's measly attempts and releasing his head.

Pop coughed after his head had been released, Bastard thought Pop, and returned to servicing this pretender, getting used to the size of the superior bear. It certainly didn't help that each time he had gotten to the base, Fliqpy would always pat him like a dog, making him remember who this was he was pleasuring when in fact he deserved pain. Fliqpy soon began panting quietly and his head had reached it's full 8-inch glory, hard and eager to be used. Fliqpy however gave a disgruntled growl and pulled away from Pop's mouth. Pop was initially relieved though quickly grew nervous as to what Fliqpy had in mind next.

"Stupid whore... you should be enjoying this too. Getting action you haven't had in years... don't you want to embrace your inner bear?!" Fliqpy, with two strong hands, then tore off Pop's shirt. Revealing Pop's much less toned and rounder bear body gave Fliqpy even more intense desire.

"Lay on your back, you need to be taught to be more honest about yourself." Lectured Fliqpy, eyeing Pop's own manhood.

Pop feared that it might come to that. He had no idea how hard Fliqpy was going to take this or how hard the demented bear wanted Pop to be. He didn't want to give into anything that would change his mentality so he steeled himself before calmly laying on cold stone ground. Fliqpy got on all fours and hovered over Pop in an image that felt like a perverted version of a baby Cub crawling over his chest. Then Fliqpy started to lick at and, painfully, bite Pop's nipples and upper torso area and stroked Pop's member at the same time.

Pop tried to think about something, anything that would take his mind off of the ordeal he was facing. He tried to think of Cub, the people who needed him, his dead wife, his true king that he saw yesterday, Axel naked in the inn the day before... Damn it, the thought of Axel only served to make him feel more sensitive. Vibrations of tormented pleasure from the bites along with the straightforward and surprisingly quick strokes of Fliqpy's actions pulsed through his body. Pop made growls of content that he couldn't help as his member began to rise and harden to it's 7-inch glory. Pop was tempted to try to force Fliqpy to stop but as he raised a hand, Fliqpy grabbed it and pinned it down before once more kissing Pop roughly.

Pop felt the vile tongue enter him, and in a moment of need to stop himself from getting aroused, tried to use his own to push it out of his mouth, only succeeding to make it sloppier than he expected. Eventually Fliqpy stopped stroking Pop's cock and did something far worse... he started massaging an area Pop had never imagined being used by anyone. His sensitive anus felt probed by a strong finger and at this point Pop couldn't hold back a strong moan.

"Nghhhh.hh...!

Pulling away, Fliqpy wiped the saliva off of the aftermath of their kiss.

"See!? You do like it!? Hehehe, you're a great kisser, but enough of that, it's time for the main event!" Fliqpy cheerfully exclaimed. Pop could do nothing against this man, he was going to have his way with him eventually.

Fliqpy dragged himself to his feet before also pulling Pop up and shoving him roughly into the cell bars. Obviously he wanted Pop's shame to be exposed to the criminals who of which looked plenty aroused themselves. But Fliqpy hissed at them as he approached Pop who had clung shamefully to the bars with his hard cock twitching,

"This one's MINE! Get your kicks elsewhere!"

The criminals looked disappointed, irritated, and in a very select few cases understanding. They moved further away from the cage as Fliqpy grabbed Pop's shoulder from behind, the former captain now growing pale as he understood what was about to happen. Then with little warning, Fliqpy plowed his cock into Pop's barely prepared hole, a sharp sting of pain came with it.

"Unhnhnnnghhh...!!" Pop hissed.

They were still for a moment, letting Pop adjust to the fleshy rod that entered him. Pop couldn't help breathing hard and clutching the bars for dear life, feeling shameful, humiliated, hurt, and regrettably turned on. Fliqpy grinned and licked Pop's shoulder, delighting in the taste of sweat and Pop's natural skin flavor.

"I may not be able to birth you another son, but I can give you the best time of your life, I bet your wife has never let you feel pleasure like I can." Fliqpy bragged in a low, husky whisper.

"D-don't mention her!" Cried Pop, with what little dignity he had left, before feeling a sharp slap to his ass.

"Don't speak out against your king. Show some respect!" said Fliqpy, emphasizing the warning with another slap. Then it began, Fliqpy began humping his rod fiercely into Pop.

"Aghh!" said Pop, feeling Fliqpy start to thrust once again. The pain was slowly subsiding, replaced with a faint feeling of pleasure. It was strange for the bear, he had never felt anything like it. Having someone else within him like this, asserting their dominance and desire for him like this was a new thrill. Pop could feel himself moaning uncontrollably now, cock bouncing up and down with each of Fliqpy's thrusts, opening himself up to a new line of reasoning that somewhat made this horrible ordeal more bearable.

Pulling Pop down with him, Fliqpy laid down on the cold stone floor, using Pop's arms as leverage and thrusting upwards onto the bear hanging helplessly above him each time he came down on his rod. He loved it! The strong and loyal knight reduced to a cheap whore to be used in the dungeons, and he had him all to himself. Fliqpy's first conquest would perhaps be his personal favorite conquest. He could feel his cock pre-cumming from the intense tightness and pleasurable sensation that came with the father's physique. He could only hope Pop would crack first so that he'd hear his pitiful begging for cock and throw away the ideals of being a knight.

He eventually stopped thrusting, knowing the bear was getting into the role of being a submissive slave for him to use, and still holding him still with his arms.

"W-why'd you stop... *Huff*?" Asked Pop, Fliqpy grinned at him, he was starting to give in to the pleasure.

"You do the work, unless you want to call off our deal. Or you can continue and I'll reward you with more pleasure. Every day you will feel all the pleasure you want. Well, as long as it's with me of course, or anybody I ask you to" said Fliqpy, bringing two hands on the back of his head in full relaxed contentedness.

Pop was genuinely unsure of what to do, feeling some sanity mix with insanity. He wished he knew what Axel would do in these scenarios, he felt his own primal instinct want to say yes but knew that Axel was more well-versed in scenarios of sexual natures. And Fliqpy once again threatened the lives and dignity of his men by mentioning the deal... the choice was obvious. Pop settled his feet onto the ground, sat up, clutched his own cock to start stroking it, and starting forcing himself up and down on Fliqpy's cock.

"Mmmnhn.... Hahh... haaaa..." Pop whimpered in pleasure getting subtle jeers and insults from the criminals who watched them.

Fliqpy laughed at the man's predicament, a strong noble knight, easily able to fend him anytime they were doing this, is leaving himself vulnerable and pathetic.

"See, it's not so hard now wasn't it? It;'s such a shame though, we would have been hahh.... doing this in my bed much sooner if you weren't such a stubborn fool. Instead you preferred it the hard way in the dungeons, like this!" Announced Fliqpy, thrusting up and making Pop moan.

At this point Pop's own cock, through stroking and the renewal of the thrusting began to pre-cum and he felt like he so much on his mind that he couldn't focus on anything but getting off. He plopped himself up and down on Fliqpy's cock faster and harder, matching the thrusts to a point Fliqpy himself was expressing great pleasure in grunts and groans of his own.

"I'm coming... Close. Look at me... Look at me as you edge closer and know that it was I who gave you this much pleasure in your long life. Not your wife, not the kingdom, the knights, or your son. It was me alone...!" Ushered Fliqpy, reminding Pop that it was him he was doing it with.

And with one last thrust, Fliqpy thurst as hard as he can against Pop, who came on Fliqpy's chest and Pop's eyes widened as the anal stimulation from the intense thrust and his current orgasm overwhelmed him and making his eyes roll up from the pleasure.

"Grarrrrahhhhhhhhhh...!" Pop howled in ecstasy.

Fliqpy felt the tightening of the walls cling to his cock and hearing the serenade of Pop's successful submissive orgasm was the final push for Fliqpy's own orgasm to unfold. He clung to Pop tightly as he rode out waves of sperm that surged into Pop's ass, quietly hissing as to sound the more dominant one of the bears. The leakage and sloppiness of the cell reflected a beautiful image for Fliqpy's reign and the criminals who stayed around howled and clapped in deranged appreciation for it. Pop slumped on top of Fliqpy,

Pop felt exhausted, he wanted nothing more than to die after displaying such a shameful act in front of his subordinates and criminals alike. Feeling Fliqpy pull out of him and roll away. Pop didn't bother to cover himself, his clothes were torn and ruined. He heard the bastard dress himself and whistle a tune, satisfied and happy with himself. Pop thought he was finally going to get some peace and quiet, any kind of respite away from this man would have been a blessing to the captain. Well... Former captain.

That thought quickly disappeared when Fliqpy attached something cold and hard against his neck. It was a collar that held a chain, a chain for slaves in particular.

"Get up, you'll serve me as my slave from now on. And don't worry about clothes, you won't be needing them from now on. But first, we're going to groom you into a proper slave. But first, you're going to have a bath. With me... " said Fliqpy, lifting him on his shoulder and taking his new slave to the royal baths. All the while Pop could only whimper, while his men called out to him, begging for his freedom.