"What did you three say you were again?"

"We're Team Friendship!" The lovable canine happily replied, wagging his tail in excitement. Ever since their quest for the last wish, and Puss' very delicate brush with death, quite literally on his part, the trio stuck together despite the platitudinous name for their group. Kitty and Puss can deny and dislike it as much as they want, but Perrito knows deep down that it's slowly growing on them.

The farmer tilts his head to the side, scratching his chin questioningly at the title. "Team Friendship, huh? Doesn't sound like a good extermination name."

Perrito quickly gasps in disbelief, paws covering his mouth. "Are we here to exterminate someone?!"

"Didn't you read the poster?" Old Macdonald pulls a copy from his back pocket, shoving the piece of paper that heavily spelled out very specific instructions.

!IN NEED OF EXTERMINATION !

!ROGUE ANIMAL ON THE LOOSE!

!CARNIVOROUS AND DEADLY!

!NEED TO BE QUICKLY EXTERMINATED!

LIKE…ASAP!

"Oh, " The dog carefully takes the poster by paw, eyes widening at its meaning. "How could I miss the word 'extermination'? It's in capitals! Twice! I guess we were just so excited for another adventure we completely…misread it?" Perrito lets out a nervous chuckle, to which the farmer responds by hastily grabbing the poster back and rolling it to a scroll.

"Well, are you three here to exterminate it or what? Cause so far, the other two members of your team are too busy chasing butterflies around my farm!"

As if on cue, several chickens flew on top of the knee-high wooden fence that separated them from the side with the goats, a puffy orange and one sleek black cat were running in circles, paws aggressively swatting three butterflies on the chickens' side of the fence.

"Bawk! Bawk! Bawk!"

The chickens were crying, some were even downright mad at the two cats frolicking on their field, but none seemed to jump back bravely enough as they awkwardly stood at the tip of the wooden fence, glaring at the two furry beings.

In the end, it was Puss who accidentally tripped during the chase, bumping into Kitty as the two of them tumbled down clumsily on the grassy field. Softpaws just so happened to end up on top of the orange feline, pinning him on the ground, her tail wagging mischievously. Puss didn't complain one bit.

"Hola lindo, " Kitty baps his nose playfully before resting her folded arms on top of his chest. "You're a very good cushion, Puss. I feel like I can stay here forever."

"Si," Puss replies, quickly throwing over his paws to surround her in an embrace. "I don't mind. I would very much like to be your cushion!"

"Dios mio, " He smirks as Kitty hides her face behind her paws, slightly flustered by his response. A second later, she peeks at him with those beautiful, ocean-sky eyes, and Puss just melts at the sight of it. How on earth could he ever abandon her back in Santa Coloma? He didn't even want to think of the heartbreak he had given Kitty back then.

Despite what she had told him back during their quest for the last wish, Puss had a lingering feeling about her story of abandoning him as well at the altar. Did she really mean it? Did she guess early and decide to cancel the wedding herself? Or did she make up a white lie to tell him so she can spare his feelings?

The possibility of it being true cuts him deeply. He brushes a paw to Kitty's cheek, she leans to it and Puss was sure his heart rate was beating fast because of the affectionate gesture, not that he was having another panic attack. Definitely not that.

"Kitty, about Santa Coloma━"

"I already told you," She rolls her eyes at him, placing her own paw at the back of his. "It's behind me, Puss. Let's just leave it at that."

Puss frowns a bit, slightly disheartened by her avoidance. "But Kitty━"

"Bawk! Bawk! Bawk!"

The two are quickly startled by the chickens maddening on top of the fence. On the other side, it would seem the goats aren't faring well either. Some have frozen, collapsing down on the grass while the other goats were bleating loudly in distress. Not far from them, the horse's stables are causing a ruckus as well. Puss and Kitty quickly get to their feet, the former a hand to his sword as did the latter. They both survey their surroundings with an ounce of apprehension. Outside of the fence, they see Perrito trying to get their attention as well as old Macdonald jogging haughtily behind the canine, a hand pressing his hat in place as the wind pressures him to wrestle it out of his head.

"Puss! Kitty! Are you two alright?!" Perrito asked aloud, paws placed against the fence.

"We're fine, Perrito!" Kitty yells back.

"What's happening?" Puss murmurs from beside Soft Paws, hand itching to draw out his sword. After his encounter with Death, the orange cat is incredibly cautious with uncanny encounters. He couldn't afford to waste his last life away, at least, wasting it stupidly.

"What are you doing?!" It was old Macdonald who caught their attention, dancing awkwardly in panic and arms wildly flailing in the air. "It's right there! Go after it!"

Puss and Kitty followed the direction the old farmer was pointing at, which was towards the horses' stables.

"Hurry up! Before it eats my horses!"

"Did he say…it eats the horses?" Puss shares a questioning glance at Kitty, jogging evenly beside her as they make their way to the dreaded stables.

"Unless your ears defecated, you heard it right." Kitty quips just in time for two stallions to speed past them.

"Look out!" The orange cat cries, pushing Softpaws to the far side as one horse aggressively stomps its hooves in their direction. Kitty recovers with a roll, dashing with insane speed and avoiding another set of hooves perfectly with ease. Puss follows suit, albeit trying to be more cautious in his steps and not recklessly charge with bravado like his older self would do.

"Puss!" Kitty calls out from a safe distance away.

"I'm alright!" He replied, motioning for her to continue. "Keep going! I'm right behind you!" He decides to crawl with all four of his feet to reach Kitty in time. He looks back for a moment, quick enough not to distract him from the hooves coming towards his way until the very second he spots him.

His catlike irises widened in shock.

"Lobo."

The wolf was back, reappearing in thin air after the horses had passed by. Puss could feel his heartbeat raising ever so slightly.

What was he doing here? It's too soon. Too soon.

It had only been like a month since their last encounter, and he was pretty sure these last couple of weeks he showed zero signs of endangering his life as he did before. Why was the damn wolf hunting him again?

And then he realizes that something was off.

He wasn't whistling his threatening tune nor eyeing him like a predator. Instead, the wolf shook its head at him, as if Puss could understand what he meant. Lobo rests one sickle on top of his shoulder, the blade glinting red in Puss' eyes.

"I'd stay away if I were you, Gato."

And then he was gone.

When Puss had reached Kitty by the entrance of the stables, his breathing sounded slightly worse. Kitty was immediately beside him, paws on his shoulders.

"Puss? What's wrong? You're breathing really fast."

"He's…he's…"

He's right behind me.

He didn't know how long he was having his attack, he tried to shut his eyes to calm down with Kitty's words drifting lightly to his ears. It sounded distant. By the time his senses slowly returned to him, not only was Kitty holding his paw close to her chest, but Perrito was also with them now, his head leaning close to his light orange belly.

"Hey, Puss…" His canine friend spoke slowly. "Take your time. Kitty and I are here for you and we're not going anywhere."

It was new to see Kitty looking at him so worriedly. He wanted to reassure her, but he needed to slow down his heart rate first. It took several more minutes for him to completely recover, and when he finally did the first thing was to thank Perrito by petting him on the head.

"...Thanks again, Perrito." His friend made a content noise, now completely relieved. Kitty was tugging on his paw, and while her overwhelming concern was slightly depleted, she was still looking at him as if he was going to have another panic attack.

"You really scared me there, Gato! How long has this been happening?"

"Ah, I'm alright now," Puss reassures her, but one look from Kitty convinced him that she didn't buy it. Not one bit. "...It takes time for me to get past it, but I really am alright now."

"Was it the horses? Were you close to getting stomped?"

"No…it's…" Puss glances away, shoulders tensing up. Kitty brushes his paw for comfort while Perrito rubs his head against his fur for encouragement.

"You can tell us, Puss. We won't make fun of you!"

The orange cat sighs in defeat. He meets the eyes of his companion with his tired ones. "The wolf. He is back."

Kitty's ears immediately flatten, blue eyes raging in overprotectiveness. Perrito was looking worriedly between the two, no doubt worried as well.

"It's…different this time," Puss tries to argue before one of the two could respond. "He wasn't hunting me as usual. He wasn't as aggressive, at least. He just told me to stay away."

"Stay away?" Both Kitty and Perrito repeated.

"...Si," Puss nods weakly.

"What? From the stables?" Kitty supplies, eyes darting to where the horses were kept. From the sounds the animals were making, they still sound agitated as before. Old Macdonald rushed past them. The trio exchanged uneasy glances with each other when the old farmer collapsed to his knees, grabbing his hat slowly from his head as if mourning.

"Oh my…barn…"

The sight of some of his horses with missing heads and bleeding to the ground was enough to cause a tonal shift in the atmosphere. Now with clear senses, Puss covered his nose in repulsion, so did Kitty, and so did Perrito, who slightly trembled and moved behind the two felines.

"Perhaps this is what Lobo came for," Puss murmurs quietly, backing away.

"Yesterday, it targeted some of my chickens and my goats, and some of my pigs…but now it took some of my horses." The old farmer says softly, mourning over his lost animals. "And that abomination is still out there…"

Kitty shivered. "What exactly did all this?"

"Like I said…a rogue animal."

"What kind ,Señor? " As Puss surveys the stables, it could be a wild bear or some other rogue mythical creature that thirsts for blood.

"If I knew what kind I'd tell you already."

It was grating on his nerves.

From the way, the stag danced too close to him only to be revived at the very last second. It certainly was an unusual phenomenon, even for Death himself.

The creature, who before strictly sticks to eating plants, had quickly lunged towards a squirrel, devouring it despite its vegetarian diet. The wolf whistles his familiar tune, twirling his sickles in the air, creeping in towards the abomination before him. It did sort of irk him to not smell any fear coming from the mutated creature. It ignored him as if he was just a nuance popping in when it was having the meal of its life.

"Qué tenemos aquí? "

The wolf in black tilts his head to the side, inciting a challenge. The stag snapped its head unnaturally like an owl, blood dripping from its lips and a tail sticking out in between its teeth. Death raises a brow curiously. Since when did a stag have such sharp teeth?

"You left me quite a mess back there, monstrou. I know you're having a hearty meal, but you're ruining the balance of life here. "

The stag responded by licking away the blood from its face with its unusually long and slippery tongue. Death quickly stopped in his tracks. White Milky eyes met his blood-red ones.

Empty.

Unchallenged.

Soulless.

The wolf blinks, breathing slowly for a minute, and scratches the back of his ear irritatingly.

"Qué diablos está pasando…"

Then he lunges, sickles slashing everything apart. Instead of meeting flesh, black goo engulfed the stag completely, its once petite jaw enlarging with razor-sharp teeth meant to snap close around the wolf's head.

And thus the dance between death and a certain symbiote begins.

AN:

Content strictly belongs to Dreamwork's Puss in Boots and Marvel's Venom. I'm simply having fun with this crossover using their characters in creative ways! I've actually rendered art pieces for this story and if anyone is interested, follow me on niickiepie on IG and arthdoesart on Twitter. This story has already had several uploads on Ao3 and I just thought expanding here on this platform would be fun for another audience. :)