J.H. White's Puss in Boots: Book I

Chapter One

Note: This is my first time using Wattpad, so I apologize for any formatting/text errors. Book Two coming Summer/Fall 2023...Enjoy! 

(Contains graphic violence, language, and thematic content - 14+ advised)

Small pieces of dialogue and characters were taken from DreamWorks' "Puss in Boots." I do not own these characters and all OCs are my own.

A cold wind blew through the opening of the cave Puss in Boots found himself in. He wasn't sure exactly why he was here, but he had decided to just stand there and stare. He thought of Dulcinea forlornly; she was dead, it had been his fault. He thought of his mama, Imelda, and how he missed her so. Lastly, he thought of his adoptive brother, Humpty Alexander Dumpty, and gritted his teeth. That backstabbing traitor. Puss would've given anything to run his sword through the deceiving egg right that second, and as though his wish had been granted, a malevolent voice suddenly bounced off the cave walls.

"Hello, Puss," it said. Puss gripped the silver hilt of his sword, and spun around to face Humpty, who was standing at the entrance of the cave, an evil grin spread across his shell. "Where did it all go wrong?" Humpty asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, let's think," Puss said, removing one of his leather gloves and extracting his claws. "When you tricked me, framed me, and forced me to stay on the run almost my whole life!" He launched his sword at Humpty, and the egg ducked just before the sword would've impaled him and splattered yolk all over the place. Puss charged at him, and before he had time to react, the ginger cat delivered a staggering blow to his face. The cracking sound echoed, causing the ceiling to shake, and a moderately large chunk of a stalagmite barely missed Puss.

"You're going to pay for that one," Humpty seethed, drawing a dagger, which he threw, hitting Puss' left eye. Our hero yowled in pain, and a stream of red made its way down his whiskered face. Wincing from the pain, he grabbed hold of the dagger and screamed in anguish as he pried the blade out. Out of his limited vision, he saw the blurred image of Humpty, and he was overwhelmed by a burst of malice. He was usually the merciful type, but the egg deserved nothing but pain and suffering. His one pupil became reduced to a slit, and he slowly got to his feet, retrieving his sword. Humpty saw Puss walking toward him, and realized he now had no weapon. He began to back away to safety, but the boulder he tripped over had other ideas. He stuttered. "W-what do you want? Money? I-I can give you money!" Puss brandished his saber and pointed the tip of the blade in between Humpty's eyes. The words that came out of the cat's mouth next haunted the egg to the core.

"I want revenge."

Puss was about to make the move that would finally end his enemy's life. But then he stared into Humpty's eyes and didn't see a traitor; he saw the egg who stood up for him, his friend. His brother. He dropped the sword and said quietly, "Go."

"But-" Humpty started.

"I said go!" Puss roared, and Humpty obeyed without saying another word. Puss fell to his knees and wept, gazing at the world outside the cave. In that moment, one thought replayed in his head over and over like a broken record: What have I become?

****

San Ricardo, Seven Years Later

Puss stood perched on the tiled roof of a pub, out of sight. As he looked at the thief he was about to take out, he knew it would be almost too easy. Might as well mess with this guy's head, he said to himself. He retrieved a little sack filled with pesetas out of his boot, drew a single coin from the bag, and flicked it onto the street below. It landed with a small clink, which the thief noticed, as expected. "Who's there?!" he called out into the night, still keeping his pistol trained on the poor shop owner he was currently robbing. Puss hid behind the building's massive chimney, snickering to himself through the bandana that obscured the majority of his face. The thief, whose name was Hernan, seized the shop owner and held him high up in the air, strangling him. "Show yourself or this man dies!" Hernan shouted, tightening his grip on the owner's throat. Puss waited until the lowlife's back was turned, and then leapt down from the roof and landed behind the thief's back. He wasted no time in pulling out his sword, ready to assassinate the piece of scum human that Hernan undoubtedly was.

Unfortunately, the thief noticed him before he had the chance to stab the man in the spine.

"Run home, little kitty, or get your brains blown out," Hernan said, chuckling. Puss swung his sword and almost took the thief's head off. The criminal abruptly snapped the shop owner's neck and the sound of crunching bone made Puss' head ache. "Hijo de puta!" he shouted, taking out his gun and trying to shoot Puss in the head. One of the bullets deflected off of the cat's sword and came back to Hernan like a boomerang, ripping through his skull. Puss stood over the dead man's body with utter contempt.

"You messed with the wrong gato, amigo."

Puss realized he hadn't had a drink in days, and so he turned around to enter the conveniently placed pub. He pushed the doors open, and everybody's heads turned. It was a dreary place, dimly lit and smelling faintly of rum. Puss paid no attention to all the people eyeing him; after all, he was aware of the large bounty that the Commandante had placed on his head. He scrambled up to one of the barstools, slid a few coins over to the bartender, and said gruffly, "One leche, por favor." As the bartender prepared the drink, two assassins sat at a nearby table. Dogs; the most shady creatures to walk the earth.

"Hey, Sel," the male of the mutts said, getting the attention of his mate. "Get a load of the cat over there." The female turned her head and noticed Puss.

"Do you know who that is? That's Puss in Boots. There's a bounty for ten thousand on his head."

The male's ears perked up. "Wow. Remember that egg that came in here earlier? He said he was looking for a cat; that could be him. Let's just grab him when that bartender idiota isn't paying attention. We could be the richest murderers in Spain. The question is, how are we going to do it?"

"He seems like a moron. I'll pretend to flirt with him, and while he's distracted, you get him from behind," Selina said. The male didn't like the idea of his fiancee hanging around with a cat, the mortal enemy of their species, but he slowly nodded his head, knowing it would be worth it for the reward. The female left her chair, and walked over to Puss, trying to make herself look as appealing as possible (for a dog, anyway). "Hey," she said, to get his attention. He swigged the last of his leche, and turned around to face her.

"You want to split a drink?" she whispered, her voice dripping with seduction. Puss wasn't sure if he could trust her, but after his recent break-up in Barcelona, he was without a girlfriend once again, so he decided to turn on the charm that had earned him the infamous title of "The Furry Lover."

"Maybe just one," he purred. Just as he was about to ask the bartender for another round, the deceitful creature who had succeeded in conning him hissed the word "Now!" at her partner, who threw a burlap sack over Puss' head and proceeded to quickly drag him outside amidst the feline's muffled obscenities. As soon as they had exited the bar, the male said five simple words.

"Let's go find that egg."