The walk in the direction the cat had given felt like it was taking hours, but once Barric had finally made it, the journey felt like it had actually taken almost no time at all. It seemed to him that perhaps time had no meaning in this place, and trying to make sense of it all was something he had the time nor patience to do. He knew he had made it at least somewhere, because in the distance the forest opened up to a field with a rolling hill, home to swaths of neon flowers that all seemed to wiggle in the slightest breeze and light a path up the hill.
At the top of the hill there stood a single tree that sat perfectly below the sharp crescent moon above. The tree gave bloom to large glowing fruit that cast light upon the long table that sat underneath. A few people were seated at the table, but Barric could not make out the details of them quite yet. As he grew closer he would begin to see who all graced the table with conversation.
On one side of the table sat Skrunkus the King of Sqwuck, except he seemed far better groomed than usual and better put together. His clothes were like that of dress clothes and his long usually greasy hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. Most noticeable was his face that seemed to be set up correctly instead of its usual odd arrangement of eyes and nose. Across from him sat the white rabbit Barric had chased here in the first place, and to his horror he now realized she was none other than his own sister Layla. Though like the King and the cat before him, she also had some differences. She had tall white rabbit ears that sprung right from the top of her head and almost comical buck teeth. She wore a white body suit that only really covered her torso and fishnets over her long legs. Barric sighed in disappointment at the whole realization, and did his best not to laugh at her teeth.
Meanwhile at the head of the table sat Sylas the demon, though like the others he too was different from his regular self. He wore tattered clothes, namely a disheveled green jacket that was covered in patches and a huge top hat with a ribbon around it that still had the price tag tucked behind it.
Barric approached the table and took a seat at the opposite end from Sylas as the entire table went silent at his arrival.
Everyone paused and stared down the long table all at once at Barric for an awkward moment before Skrunkus finally broke the silence.
"Well well, look who decided to finally join us." The King of Sqwuck said, taking a sip at his tea.
"I thought you'd never catch me!" The rabbit Layla spoke up. Meanwhile the hatted Sylas remained silent, also sipping his tea.
"Well I didn't know I was supposed to be joining you." Barric admitted, looking down to find a fresh cup of tea waiting right at his spot at the table.
"Well it was inevitable that we would all come together eventually." Sylas finally spoke up.
Barric sat his tea down and stared across the table at him, raising an eyebrow.
"How do you mean?" The King asked.
"Someone has to put a stop to the Demon King's selfish plot. It would seem that we all just happened to fall together to do so. But are you ready to do what you must in order to stop him?" Sylas asked.
Barric hesitated.
"Well yes." The King said.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Sylas asked.
"Whatever it takes I guess, I didn't really plan that far." The King admitted.
"Really? Are you ready to kill him then?" The demon asked.
"I'd prefer not to." Barric replied.
"And what if that is the only way? Are you ready then?" The demon pressed on.
"I would make sure that isn't the only way." Barric assured him.
"You are avoiding the question. Are you ready to kill him as the final resort? Yes or No?" The demon pressed on.
Barric paused for a moment to think.
"I swore to never kill again." The King said.
"So you would let him live? Even if it meant he won in the end?" The demon asked.
"No." Barric replied reluctantly.
"So you are ready to do it if it comes time?" Sylas asked.
"I don't know." Barric replied.
"You need to know. Because when it comes time you have to be sure." Sylas said.
"Barric." Rabbit Layla said.
He turned to look at her.
"Huh?" He asked.
"Barric." She said again.
"What?" He asked, annoyed.
"Siriuhs to Barric." She said.
Barric looked about the table, but the table was gone, replaced with a campfire and the faces of his party all staring at him.
"Barric, you good?" Layla asked.
The King looked around for a moment. He was back where he started, sitting around the campfire as if no time had passed at all.
"Yea… I'm good." He nodded, looking to Sylas who stared hard at him.