Hey everyone.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects to this story.

And now, let's dive in:

Chapter 26: Death Turned Backward

It didn't take long for Puss in Boots and Peter to inform the others what happened. Once they had, everyone hurried over to Edmund. He was lying in the field, right where he had fallen. Small shallow breaths were the only indication to Puss that the boy was still alive. The statue of Humpty was still standing nearby.

Perrito's eyes teared up. "I can't believe this. We've won so much, but now it feels like we've lost."

Puss nodded, taking off his hat. "Some battles are like that, Perrito. It is a terribly sad truth.

The wind picked up, ruffling the animals' fur as they looked on with the Pevensies at Edmund. Puss perked his ears up. There was a peculiar tune to this wind. It ranged in melody, starting at a medium note, then moving in a small crescendo of higher notes, only to fall back down to end on a lower note. The tune would then pause for a second, and repeat itself. Puss frowned. The tune sounded very familiar. Less like a calling of the wind, and more like an ethereal whistle. There was only one individual who made that kind of whistle.

Puss turned around. Walking over at a slow, casual pace was a tall silver wolf, wearing a dark cloak. His eyes were red as rubies, and his teeth as sharp as swords. He was walking on his hind legs like a human. One paw was on a long, curved scythe. The other was tossing a small gold coin in his paw. There was no doubt about it. Death himself had made an appearance.

Death stopped moving, tossing his coin one final time before looking up. "Well, well, well. What have we here?"

Puss noticed as he turned to face Death that only Perrito joined him. The other Pevensies made no indication that they heard the wolf. Either they couldn't see Death, or they were too busy to notice. Puss turned back to Death. "I was about to ask you the same question. What are you doing here?"

"I asked first, you know," Death replied, a small grin on his face. "But since I already know the answer to my question, I'll answer yours. I'm here to collect what's due to me." As he finished saying this, he pointed his scythe at Edmund.

"But it can't be Edmund you're here to collect?" Perrito asked, eyes wide with worry. "The boy's done so much. And he still has a prophecy to fulfill alongside his siblings."

Death shrugged. "Kid, there's always a cost to war. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. No offense meant to any eggs present, of course. Your friend here's already accepted that," he finished, pointing his gaze at Puss.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Puss replied, a rather serious expression on his face.

Death smiled. "Well, I don't answer to you or your opinions. Life's great like that, isn't it? Still, all three of your friends fought well. Shame that they all paid for it with their lives." Death looked back at his coin, a bored expression on his face. "If you're quick, you can say your goodbyes."

Puss' frown deepened. But before he could make a response, a loud roar sounded. The coin, flipping through the air, fell down to the ground. Death looked up, fur standing on end. He turned to see Aslan, walking over towards the group. Death's jaw dropped. He seemed to be at a loss for words. A mixture of disbelief and what seemed like fear were displayed on his face. "H-h-how is this possible? You're supposed to be…"

Aslan turned towards the wolf. A look of righteous anger was on His face. Whatever Death was going to say died in his throat. He could only stare at Aslan, his face slowly turning more and more fearful. Finally, Aslan spoke. "It is not the boy's time. In my name, and my Father's name, begone, and take your lawful prey with you,"

With a whimper, Death crouched to the ground, slinking along towards the Witch's corpse. Puss' eyes widened. The wolf that moments before had said he didn't answer to Puss or the others had submitted and surrendered completely to Aslan. This moment more than anything else drove the point home to Puss. Aslan wasn't a ghost or a being resurrected by someone else. He, and He alone, had conquered Death itself, returning to life. And that was an accomplishment that even Puss in Boots couldn't claim.

The lion strode forward, blocking Puss' view of Death. "Time is running short. Quick, Lucy."

Puss turned to Lucy. She looked up at Aslan, confused about His statement. Then her eyes widened in realization. Reaching to the side, she pulled out a small vial. It was Father Christmas' gift. Without saying another word, she quickly undid the lid and poured a small drop on Edmund's lips. The lips quivered as Edmund gulped down the drink. Nobody said anything, waiting. Father Christmas had said that the juice of the fire-flowers could heal injuries. Puss only hoped that included life-threatening injuries.

"There are others who are wounded," Aslan said.

"Yes, I know. Just wait a moment," Lucy replied, her voice sounding a little impatient.

"Daughter of Eve," Aslan said in a gentle, yet serious voice. "Others are at the point of death. Must more people die for Edmund?"

Lucy's face grew serious. Puss noticed Perrito and Susan's expressions change as well. All three of them looked somberly at each other, as if they were remembering a particularly tragic moment. Puss was curious what was going on, but decided to wait on asking. He put a paw on Lucy's hand. "Go. We will keep an eye on your brother."

Lucy nodded, standing up and following Aslan. Puss turned back to Edmund. It was hard to tell at first if any change occurred. But soon, Edmund's breathing started to ease. His cheeks became less pale, and his face looked more relaxed. Puss smiled. The juice seemed to be working.

A minute later, Edmund opened his eyes. He looked around. "Puss. Peter. Susan. Perrito. Did we win?"

Puss paused for a moment, then mustered a straight face. "I'm afraid we have all passed on, Edmund. The Witch has won the battle. Welcome to the afterlife."

Edmund's eyes widened. "What?!" It was then he noticed Puss laughing. "That's not funny, Puss."

"Maybe not, but it did get you for a second," Puss replied.

Peter and Susan leaned in to embrace Edmund. "We're alright, Ed," Susan said.

"We're all alright," came a voice behind them all.

Puss turned around to see Kitty Softpaws come walking towards them. Puss' eyes widened. "Kitty! You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive. Did you think a little stone could stop me?" Kitty asked.

"But how…?"

"Thanks to Aslan. He freed me, the same way he's freeing him," Kitty said, pointing to her left. Puss turned to see Aslan breathe on the statue of Humpty. A few seconds later, the egg opened his eyes, taking long deep breaths. Puss ran forward, pulling the egg in an embrace. He was soon joined by Kitty and Perrito, sharing their own group hug alongside the Pevensies.

Kitty's face turned serious. "Puss, before we continue anything else, there's something I need to ask."

Puss nodded. "Ok. What is it, Kitty."

"What was the final score for the battle?"

Puss sighed. "Kitty, you were turned to stone in the last few minutes. It would be unfair to compare results now."

"Just tell me, Puss. I can take it," Kitty replied.

"Fine," Puss said. "I got sixty-five."

Kitty's eyes widened for a second, before looking down. Puss put his paw on hers. "I told you not to ask. We can cancel the competition, if you would-"

"No," Kitty interrupted. "I suggested the competition, so it's only fair I hold to it." She looked up. "Especially since I got sixty-six."

Puss did a double take. "How many did you get before we retreated?"

"Forty-five. I got the remainder afterwards."

Puss frowned. "I got forty-five too. So our numbers were the same. How did you get one extra?" Then his eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute. I was fighting one enemy and almost beat him when something hit him on the head and knocked him unconscious. Since I didn't fight anyone else besides the Witch after that, my total stayed at sixty-five."

Humpty smiled sheepishly. "That might have been me, Puss. I knocked out the foe you were fighting on my way to the Witch."

A small smirk flashed on Kitty's face. "So, it looks like I win, then, Puss."

Puss cleared his throat. "Well, Kitty, since I fought the Witch, that should give me two points, since she was the leader of the army."

"Ah, but did you beat her?"

"Well, I fought her to a standstill. My own sword was pointed at an opponent by the end of it."

"I thought the Witch had you pinned down, Puss," Perrito interjected. "With your own sword pointed at you."

Puss looked away as Kitty and Humpty chuckled. Humpty coughed a little, trying to look serious. "Well, Puss, upon reviewing the facts of the matter, I think that Kitty is the clear winner."

"Et tu, Humpty?" Puss asked, frowning in mock outrage. "I thought we were brothers."

"We are, Puss," Humpty replied. "In all matters except contests. Judges must be unbiased, you know."

"If it helps," Peter said, making his way over alongside his siblings. "We agree with Kitty and Humpty. The judgment seems fair."

"Accepting your upcoming role on the throne, already?" Puss asked, smiling.

"We have to start somewhere," Peter replied. "Why not with impartial decisions?"

"You call that impartial?!" Puss exclaimed, waving his paws. "I feel like that decision was very partial."

"King's ruling, Puss," Kitty interjected. "You can't argue with that."

Puss shook his head, smiling. "Well, since everyone is against me, I will agree to this outrageous decision."

Everyone chuckled at the conclusion of the discussion. An additional chuckle sounded behind the group. Everyone turned to see Aslan coming forward, chuckling along at the joke. "Well done, everyone," Aslan said. "You have all fought well, and protected Narnia." Pevensies and fairy-tale creatures nodded, appreciating the sentiment.

"It is great to see you are alive and well, Aslan," Puss in Boots said. "Though I am curious to ask how you are standing here before us."

"That is a story your friends here can tell you," Aslan said, looking at Lucy, Susan, and Perrito. "But perhaps it should be done another time, when Humpty has better writing tools than that piece of stone he's contemplating carving on."

Humpty nodded, looking away from the rocks around him and putting away his daggerd. "Yes, sir. That would probably be best."

"Now," Aslan said. "There is one last part of the prophecy that must be fulfilled. Come, everyone. On to Cair Paravel."

Well, nothing like a good reunion after some tense scenes. And speaking of tense scenes, originally, I didn't have much on Death in this story (instead, we would have gone straight to Edmund's healing). However, I rewatched The Last Wish film while I was writing this story, and realized that this scene and the Stone Table scene were the perfect places to include the character. Also seemed like a good spot to make it clear who is in charge of whom when it comes to Aslan and Death (much like a certain Savior in the real world). I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

As always, please rate and review.