Chapter 6: Hades

"Death?" Repeated a frightened Puss. He backed away from the wolf touching his spade with his paw to be prepared in case of a fight.

The wolf noticed Puss' position, which showed that the wolf was already ready for a fight, but this amused him to the surprise of Puss, who did not move. He waited for some kind of move from the wolf.

"Death may be the solution," nodded the wolf. He put one paw under his cloak, holding on to something, Puss couldn't see what it held there secretly from him.

"But I still have nine lives ! Are you still going to chase me?" Puss asked. The wolf did not answer. He lowered his gaze from Puss for a moment and after a moment he pulled an emerald knife from under his coat. A short, ornate knife whose blade was made of emerald and whose shaft the wolf held was made of glass with a carved skull. Puss was perplexed by what the wolf was doing, he guessed that he had not come here to fight it. He approached the cloaked figure with distrust to see the object the Wolf held in his hands.

"Do you know what this is?" Wolf asked. He extended a paw with a knife towards Puss so that he could take the sharp object in his hands. Legend took the object and looked at it closely. It was pristine clean, clear and sharp. Puss could see the reflection of himself and the wolf in the blade, as he ran his claw over the blade he could feel how sharp and dangerous the knife was.

"Unusual is this dagger. " Puss said with admiration.

"Tell me what troubles you, legend? Shouldn't you be enjoying yourself at your friend's wedding?" Asked Wolf pointing with his claw at the town square on the hillside they were on. Puss turned around and noticed people partying and among them Kitty in a white dress who was dancing with her just-husband. The sight nailed him in a negative way, he was clearly unhappy at the sight, he was jealous.

"Why are you not enjoying her wedding? After all...you wanted her to find someone she could be happy with right?" Wolf asked. Puss didn't answer. He sighed heavily shrugging his shoulders and looking at his reflection in the knife. He saw himself in it, but without the energy that usually gushes out of him and fills others around him with good vibes. He felt spoilt just by Kitty's wedding. Resigned, humiliated.

"I wanted to...but only now did I realise that the only person I really cared about was her! I played with her feelings before, failing to see that she loves me, and when I realised that, it's too late! If I could turn back time! " said Puss desperately. Although he didn't want to fester emotionally completely, he couldn't say it without emotion. Internally he felt torn and lost. What will happen now ? After all, he can't forget about her just like that!

"Yes, you can't turn back time, there's no way to do that...but," interrupted Wolf. He took the emerald knife in his hands and pointed it under the moonlight. At the right angle, the knife changed its colour to blood red! Puss, seeing this, was surprised by the sight and slowly began to guess what kind of weapon it was.

"Wait...I've heard of a knife that changes colour under the influence of the moon..." Said Puss quietly with a puzzled look.

"Anyone who has been on an adventure at least once has heard of this knife" prompted Wolf. A moment later, Puss gazed in awe at the glass and emerald weapon, which only now made him gasp in awe.

"Hades' dagger..." Puss muttered. The wolf laughed proudly when he heard the correct answer from the cat's mouth lifting the dagger even higher to make it more visible from this blood-stained side.

"Well, I knew you knew that knife!"

"The one who commits a murder with this knife is never suspected of the act! Where did you get it?" Puss asked.

"I am death after all, it is obvious that I have it! It's the only one left, there's not another one like it." Pointed out Wolf. He gave it into the cat's hands again.

"But why are you showing it to me ? " asked Puss.

"You know, you can't turn back time, there's no way to do that...but you can make someone disappear...such as Chris? " replied Wolf. Puss hearing his words stiffened. Had death really given him such an idea? He turned back towards the wedding party, everyone was still enjoying themselves, and it looked like there was still a long way to go before dawn. Cat looked at the blade, it was an almost radical idea to do this, although on the other hand...

"Killing him will kill Kitty's feelings..." Puss sighed.

"It's your choice, but Remember that death is always the solution," said Wolf, but when Puss turned to return the knife he was gone. He was left alone on the hill looking around to find any trace of him. But he was gone. He was left alone. The idea of murdering Chris to get Kitty back to Puss would most likely end badly, he expected that by doing so he would hurt Kitty even more, but he was so torn up from the inside that he didn't think the idea was crazy. To avoid arousing suspicion the cat decided to return to the wedding. He put the knife in his belt and walked back through the streets of the town.

When he returned, Puss in Boots was immediately greeted by Perrito, who looked worried but at the same time overjoyed to have found the cat.

"Puss, where have you been! I was worried about you!" Said the dog thoughtfully.

"Well...I...felt bad and needed to be alone for a while to get some fresh cool air" replied Puss.

"Glad you're feeling better now, there'll be toast and cake in a minute!" Communicated the dog.

"And Kitty asked something about me maybe?" Asked Puss curiously. This question confused the dog, who, with a sour expression on his face, denied it by waving his head from side to side. Puss sighed with disappointment. He tipped his hat forward and moved towards his seat to sit down and prepare for the toast. He was followed, of course, by Perrito, who looked curiously at the bright, slightly green stain that was visible on the hero's cloak.

"Hey, Puss, you probably got dirty," said Perrito. Puss looked at the cloak with confusion and saw that the light of a dagger was piercing through the black material! Puss bent the cloak Twice to make it thicker where the dagger is so that the light emitted without the weapon would not be so visible.

"It's not...I didn't get dirty...eh, never mind" Puss tried to explain, but he didn't want to upset the dog with an encounter with death, so he took a cup in his paw and sipped Leche. Meanwhile, Chris tapped his fork against his cup a few times to get the attention of the guests who had come to the wedding. Everyone stopped talking, sat back in their seats and focused their attention on Chris, who waited until he could speak.

"Dear guests, I would like to thank you all for coming to our wedding! It is appreciated by both myself and Kitty that some of you (Chris looked at Puss, who was looking at the standing bride and groom with a fake smile), have come a really long way to honour us with their presence. This is a really special night for us and I'm glad we can share these moments with you! " said Chris. Everyone started applauding, even Puss, Only that he was staring mainly at Kitty, who was avoiding him visually! When he looked at her and her gaze met his, she immediately broke contact by looking the other way, which frankly surprised Puss!

"Cheers to the young couple! " They all shouted together and made a toast and simultaneously the bride and groom's cake rolled into the middle.

The wedding ended at around 3 a.m.

It was then that the party came to an end and everyone started to disperse to their homes ending a party that had lasted most of the night. The good news was for those who didn't turn up to Kitty and Chris' wedding, who could finally drift off into a deep sleep without fear of being interrupted. As the guests gathered, some were kind enough to help clean up the decorations and rubbish that had been left behind after the wedding and by 3.30 a.m. there was absolutely nothing left in the market square after the festivities that had taken place that night.

Puss in Boots left the wedding the earliest of the guests, for as early as 2.45 a.m. he bade farewell to his closest friends and the bride and groom and marched in solitude to the eastern part of the city, where the tavern in which he was staying for the night was located. As he walked back he thought of Death's words when he spoke to him about solving the problem. The idea was brutal and, as if he didn't look at it, it would certainly have consequences, but on the other hand Puss felt helpless in the situation and had no other idea how to get out of it. Walking home, he pulled the dagger he had received from Wolf from his belt and took another look at it. It was now glowing with a blood red ray emitting from it and it looked as if the dagger itself had bloodlust. Puss knew that with this dagger he could have killed Chris and was not at all suspicious of doing so, but he was worried that it wouldn't fix anything! Puss decided to stop, sat down on the nearest bench he came across and sat on it playing with the dagger. He could still hear voices from the wedding in the distance, people were having a good time even though the end of the event was approaching. Cat wished he could share their humour but he couldn't...for him, the best news was that the wedding was over and he would be able to leave this town and be able to forget about it.

"Well...I don't want to do it, but maybe there's something to it...this Chris...he's so arrogant...he looked at me with pride that he was Kitty's husband and not me!" Puss thought. The longer he stared at the dagger the more convinced he became of the idea. Or was it that the dagger had a specific power that persuaded him to commit murder? The more Puss thought the less he knew, the more his head ached and he felt stupefied.

Despite this, he knew one thing. When he thought about Chris he felt upset and humiliated at the same time, which put him into even more negative emotions. Looking at him in Kitty's husband's eyes he saw a kind of pride that he was actually Kitty's husband and not Puss! He doesn't know her past, Puss has known her much longer than he has! What right did he have to dare look with such eyes at the legend that is Puss in Boots!

"Do it... do it..." In his head, Puss heard a voice urging him to do it.

"Okay. I'll go there " acknowledged the cat eventually. He tucked the dagger into his belt and set off towards the market.

In the market square the lamps were already out and it was already quiet. Lamps were burning in individual windows, emitting warm light outside the flats. The cat must have been in a hurry because the sky was already slowly brightening and the stars were already beginning to hide. The sun was slowly advancing on the horizon and the moon was hiding. Puss knew that Kitty, Perrito and Chris were renting flats in a hotel in the market square (Perrito had told him this), he also knew that he couldn't just walk in through the entrance! He had to find some other entrance. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was most likely already asleep, or preparing to sleep, he entered the motel area where his friends and potential victim were sleeping. Puss made his way through the tables set up outside being careful not to fall into the hedge standing just outside and walked around the back of the motel. Luckily for him, the building at the back was overgrown with ivy, allowing him to climb up!

"Bingo! Now all we need to do is locate where they are sleeping" thought Puss. The building was 2 storeys high and he could see 3 open windows on the wall where the decorative vines were hanging. Without thinking any longer Puss grabbed onto the vines and as quietly as he could he climbed slowly upwards trying not to create any unnecessary noise. This was not easy, as the vines were rocked from side to side by the weight of the cat and he had to strain his muscles to be pressed as hard as possible against the wall so that his foot did not accidentally slip on the wall.

When he climbed up to the first floor he could see a couple of people sleeping through an open window, he knew immediately that he did not want to go in there, next to them he could see that the room was empty, but the window was closed, so there was no way to go in there. It wasn't until he was on the second floor that he noticed two open windows that allowed him to go inside the motel. He headed first to the window that was on the right. Walking sideways on the wall gave him some difficulty, mainly with his dagger dangling on his belt and he feared the weapon would fall out, but fortunately he managed to climb under the window.

At first he leaned over the windowsill to look around the room. He immediately spotted Kitty, who was standing by the mirror combing her fur after a bath, the slightly panicked cat immediately ducked down from behind the windowsill so that no one could see him, much less Chris or Kitty.

"It was a very successful wedding, wasn't it?" Chris asked. From under the sill, Puss had the perfect position to eavesdrop on the potential conversation that was already going on, so he ducked his head slightly so that his ear was facing the open window and selected a more comfortable position on the wall.

"Yeah, I honestly didn't expect it to be this successful! I mean...I knew it would be fun, but not this much! I'm really happy!" Replied an overjoyed Kitty. Puss sighed heavily. He wondered , did she even pay attention to him during the party! It seemed to him that she hadn't, but he believed otherwise.

"Kitty, can I ask you one thing?" Chris asked.

"Go ahead and ask!" Answered Kitty eagerly.

"That Puss in Boots...is he always like that?" Asked Chris.

Puss hearing his words further focused. It seemed to have come at the right time in the conversation.

"You mean like what?" Asked a confused Kitty.

"Closed in on himself...today he looked so closed, sad. I inferred that from talking to him. I chatted a bit, but he looked like he wasn't willing to talk to anyone...except Perrito, he talked to him a lot, I think all the time." Chris remarked. Kitty sighed upon hearing Chris. Puss's greed forced him to look at them both. Puss knocked his hat off his head and lifted himself gently from behind the windowsill to see the two of them. Despite the prevailing darkness, he could see their eyes, especially Kitty's icy, beautiful eyes. Kitty moved away from the mirror and sat down on the bed next to Chris and began to play with his chest fur with her hand.

"He usually isn't. I've also seen that he's not in his best mood, he's usually bursting with energy, cheering everyone up...today he wasn't like that..." Kitty sighed heavily.

"Did you two ever have anything in common? Puss mentioned something about your bonding past" Chris asked quickly.

"I can tell you for today that we have recently drifted apart in a not so good atmosphere...but so what. I've got you now Chris and you know it I love you" said Kitty. She lay down on the bed and put her head on his chest squeezing him like a teddy bear.

"You'll tell me tomorrow won't you?" Chris asked.

"Of course, but now let's go to bed. I'm exhausted..." Replied an already sleepy Kitty. She snuggled tighter into Chris and before she fell asleep she said: "I love you Chris."

Puss was moved by this conversation. He realised that killing Chris would only make things worse and was not a good solution. He was sad, destroyed from the inside. He knew he had lost. There is nothing he can change now, all he can do is forget. Preferably about everything. This subject is now closed.

Puss descended the vines resignedly, he was already stepping without any effort to be quiet, he wanted to be on the ground already and finish everything. Once down he put his hat on his head and pulled the dagger he got from Death from his belt.

"It's not Chris who should die," said Puss after which he used the dagger.

First thing in the morning Kitty woke up after a night of partying in her honour. She had trouble sleeping, she couldn't sleep well, she was constantly disturbed by something, she woke up 3 times during the night. When she woke up the second time she thought she saw someone! She couldn't describe exactly what or who, but in size this someone was not much bigger than her. There was a hat on his head. She immediately related the spectre to Puss in Boots, but that was impossible! He was probably already on his way to some story, or to some tavern to have a drink with his companions.

As she opened her eyes wider she noticed an envelope on her bedside table that was covered in traces of blood, which scared her slightly, but she could see on the envelope that the contents were addressed to her. She turned towards Chris - he was still in a deep sleep, so she could read the contents of the envelope in solitude. She opened the taped envelope and pulled out the piece of paper that was inside. The slightly yellowish, blood-stained card concealed a letter.

"Kitty!

I'm writing this letter to clear everything up once and for all, because I've been hiding it inside me for too long and I feel that even if you most likely won't take it seriously I'll feel lighter about it.

I'm glad you found someone you can trust, actually trust. On the other hand...it hurts me. I hurt that I wasn't the person, I regretted not taking the opportunity I had to be the lucky one! When we were in the church and kissed, it only now came to me how much I regret that I chickened out in Santa Coloma and pretended everything was fine! I can't fathom that I only now realised that the only person I really cared about was you, Kitty Softpaws!

However, it's too late...you've already gotten married and even though I was given the opportunity to destroy it I didn't do it because I don't want to hurt you anymore, I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore for your sake. I'm afraid of destroying you again, your trust in others.

I love you Kitty Softpaws, I will think of you all the time, but I have a request. Don't think about me. You have loving Chris by your side, loyal Perrito, enjoy your life, you are free! Don't look for me. I will wander around Spain to have Adventures and not think about you, but I beg you, don't look for me by force, live your life, it will be the best solution.

Puss in Boots "

The entire letter was written in ink, except for the signature, which was written in the hero's blood. You can see by the letters that his hand was twitching, he was under such emotion that he probably couldn't write his words calmly, which affected the sensitive Kitty heavily, who almost cried when reading it! She felt so sorry for Puss, tears were escaping from her icy eyes, although she tried to hold them back, she couldn't manage it. She didn't know that she meant anything to the cat, and he loved her all the time, he just couldn't appreciate it! It was so sad, now that she's married there's nothing she can do about it anymore...and she would so love to talk to Puss at this point to clear it up. In addition, looking deeper into the envelope she found a yellow pen, the same one Puss had on his hat! Leaning out of bed, she noticed traces of blood on the floor that led to the window. She got out of bed and walked over to it and saw a red sheen on the vines, most likely from the blood. Puss had most likely broken into their flat to drop off the letter, but she didn't mind. She didn't care about it at all. She was moved by Puss's words and the fact that he had let go. He had given up. He had accepted and accepted that he had lost.

"I hope you find someone in your life Puss," Kitty said. Moments later Chris woke up and greeted his wife with sleepy eyes.

"Are you all right darling?" Chris asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah...I'm fine," replied Kitty trying to sound emotionless.

THE END

Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to check out my other stories and my future stories (maybe a new PiB story?) See you there!