He sat under the tree in the woods, alone, listening to the sounds of owls hooting and crickets chirping in the dark night.

The hat remained upon his head, the sword at his side, and his beloved boots resting on his feet. Puss felt at peace, without fear. A smile sat on his whiskered face, and he stared through the trees, gazing to the stars. Clouds rolled over, blocking the moonlight and the twinkle of the stars. They said no rain tonight; but it would still be cloudy.

Until midnight.

Puss in Boots tipped his hat, and brought out his sword, polishing it with a whistle. He listened to the wind, feeling the breeze through his orange fur. He stood up, and walked through the forest, exploring on his own.

Fearless Puss in Boots had not adventured in a long time, it had been a while since he last saw Shrek and Donkey. He looked up, seeing a glimpse of the stars through the clouds.

The clouds cleared, allowing the stars to shine again, then the clouds moved back in.

An owl hooted in the trees, hooting eight times. And then, a chill rolled through his fur, and Puss could hear an eerie sound in the wind. It sounded ghostly, raspy, and chilly. The trees loomed tall, casting dark shadows all around Puss in Boots. He stood alone in the dark forest, listening to the wind. Leaves crunched, and Puss frowned.

Footsteps were moving in his direction, and he could hear an ominous wind. No, not a wind, a cold and eerie breathing sound. Slowly, he turned, seeing blinking lights as a dark figure came in his direction.

Puss looked up, staring at the newcomer. He knew trouble when he saw it, and this one looked like a lot of trouble.

Black-clad, helmeted, wearing all black with hints of gray, a box with blinking buttons upon his torso, and sporting a cape. The being's helmet reminded Puss of a skull, a very haunting skull, with lifeless eyes. But he could see Puss, with eyes, hidden behind that mask. And Puss had never seen his kind before, but he was tall enough to pass as a human.

'Puss in Boots laughs in the face of death.'

"Whatever it is you want, you won't get it from me..." Puss said, "... bounty hunter from another world."

"Not even a hint of fear." The dark figure spoke, his voice deep and mechanical, "I can sense your emotions, and I can't tell if fear runs in your veins. I stand before you, stronger and more powerful than you can possibly imagine, orange feline. And I am no bounty hunter, you know nothing of the Force, of the powers granted to me by the Dark Side."

Puss muttered in Spanish. "Anyone who comes looking for Puss in Boots is a bounty hunter." He said, "But if not a bounty hunter, then what are you?"

"You speak of a 'Puss in Boots', and I see boots on your feet, and The Force allows me to know your name." The dark figure said, "You have introduced yourself, and I sense no fear, but that will change when I show you my power, the power of Darth Vader."

'Darth Vader... Now we know each other.' Puss thought, "You don't scare the likes of Puss in Boots, Darth." He whipped out his sword, "FEAR ME, IF YOU DARE!"

"Fear is a tool of the Dark Side." Vader said, "It is fear that leads to anger, anger leads to hate, anger and hate are the path to the Dark Side. And it is hate that leads to suffering, your suffering. I have no fear, unlike you, and I have come to make you see the folly of challenging the darkness, Puss in Boots. I will make you see the dark, by my blade."

Vader drew something from his belt, a canister-looking object, and his finger twitched. With a loud eerie thrum, a red bar of energy emerged. Vader raised the weapon, and Puss could see that it had to be a special sword.

"May you feel fear, by the blade of my lightsaber, and the Force." Vader declared.

Puss held his sword firmly, facing the one known as Darth Vader. His eyes narrowed, staring intensely at the dark one, and the dark one stared back at him. Puss moved around the woods, and Vader stepped to the side, staring at him and breathing ominously. Then, with his cape flowing in a chilling breeze, Darth Vader walked towards the cat.

He stared up at him, as if facing the specter of death itself. Puss gripped the handle of his weapon, breathing slowly from the lungs, and then, he ran towards Vader and leaped at him. Puss flew towards the shoulder of his enemy, and swung his blade.

The cat's blade bounced off Vader's shoulder plate as if it was nothing, even as a spark flew. Vader swung his blade, and Puss made a quick maneuver to avoid it. He then leaped at his foe again, and kicked him in the face.

Vader grunted, and clenched his fist. Puss heard a snap, and saw a tree branch suddenly come off from the nearest tree. His foe flicked his wrist, and the branch flew towards him. Puss brought up his sword in defense and sliced the branch in two. He looked up at Vader, who loomed over him. Puss scoffed, and sliced at his legs, only for something to stop the blade in mid-slice.

His eyes moved, taking in the sight of Vader holding out his hand. And Puss realized; Vader was using his power.

Another swing of the red blade, Puss ducked, and the lightsaber burned over his hat. Puss smelled a little burn, and examined his hat quickly. It was only one scratch; his hat was fine. Vader's shadow loomed over, and Puss ran towards a tree, climbed his way up to a branch, and leaped down with outstretched claws.

"THIS LITTLE KITTY HAS CLAWS!" Puss declared.

VRK!

Puss gasped, and clawed at his neck, finding himself floating in midair. He looked at Vader, who held his hand out in a claw-like gesture. Vader stared at him, stepping forward, and he flicked his wrist again. Puss found himself being thrown into a tree, the cat collapsed to the ground, breathing freely again as that force released its grip around his neck.

He stood up, reclaiming his sword, and made one more run towards Vader, whose blade was still drawn. Vader raised his weapon, and Puss attacked with his, yelping in shock and pulling back when he saw the very tip of his weapon glow red hot.

"Your sword is nothing compared to the blade of the lightsaber." Vader intoned.

Puss growled; he was not going to give up. He then tried a different approach. Puss put away his sword, and removed his hat, looking up at his opponent with a pouty goo-goo eyes expression with the hat in hand.

"What is that?" Vader growled, "Do you think that will work on me?"

He continued to stare at the dark figure with the red blade, continuing to stare half-sadly at Vader. And then, in a lightning-fast move, Puss dashed up the dark lord's body and began to scratch him rabidly. He managed to cut into one of his legs, his side torso, and one of his arms, when Vader grabbed him with his... Force power, and threw him on the ground.

"Your efforts are for naught, feline." Vader said, moving towards Puss, "I am stronger than you. Did you truly think you can defeat me? Or, perhaps, did you know that you were never going to defeat me and your efforts were merely... acts of self-defense?"

Puss looked up into the mask of Vader, considering his words. He looked at his blade, he thought of the power Vader had. A hint of fear burned in his heart, beneath all of that courage. Puss backed away, even as his foe continued to advance on him, staring him down. He leaped back when Vader sliced at him again, and again, and again.

'This is a foe I can't defeat; this is that one fight where I don't have a chance.' Puss accepted.

"You are strong, Darth Vader..." Puss said, "Perhaps, I was too arrogant. And it is all the easier for the wise one to walk away, to live to fight another day..."

Puss ran towards the trees, climbing to the branches, and headed deeper into the forest until he could no longer hear the breathing of Vader. Once alone again, he thought it over. Whomever this Darth Vader was, and wherever he came from, he was a force to be reckoned with. While he couldn't beat him in battle, Puss had made a wise choice, and could keep his life...

The End

Vader walked through the dark forest; his weapon deactivated. He was calm and collected, even while his mind thought of that cat. Puss In Boots was quite different from anyone else he'd faced. If he had the Force, the cat could have been a Jedi.

Universes like this were full of surprises, but perhaps it wouldn't matter, once every universe was under the thumb of darkness just as Vader's universe was controlled by the Dark Side.

His master would be quite amused, hearing the story of how Vader went up against a cat, only for the cat to run away. And yet, this was far from the first time that he'd faced a feline creature. Memories of another life returned, memories of an arena, of a large cat-like creature attacking her. Vader swept them away; those memories were nothing of use to him.

And then, he stopped, sensing a presence close by.

"You have been watching?" Vader asked, "The cat ran, I did not pursue. My power instilled enough into him; he will live with the memory of what he faced tonight."

A dark hooded figure stepped out of the shadows, and approached Vader. Vader kneeled before him, obediently, and a portal appeared. The dark figure threw back his hood, revealing the visage of the Dark Overlord Sha'D'Oh Nightmare, galactic conqueror and soon-to-be multiversal dominator.

"I certainly have watched, and I am amused..." Sha'D'Oh Nightmare said, "...especially since that cat knows nothing of what is going on. He will live with the memory of you for the rest of his life, unaware of the true nature behind why you hunted him. And we don't even need him, after all, what purpose would that cat serve in my designs?"

Vader stood, and Sha'D'Oh Nightmare's eyes glinted with villainous glee in the darkness...