I Am Puss In Boots

At the port, staring at the tiny dot on the horizon, Elizabeth bit her lips and wiped away a few uncontrollable tears.

Surrounding her were the confused guards, still scratching their heads, unsure why they had even been chasing Puss in the first place.

That was when two loud shouts rang out in unison.

"ELIZABETH!!"

Without even turning her head, she already knew who had arrived.

Pushing through the guards to make a path, Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington rushed to her side.

"My daughter! What happened?! I heard you were chasing that cat!" the governor asked, both confused and anxious.

Norrington also looked at her with furrowed brows, afraid that Puss might have done something terrible to her.

Elizabeth stayed silent for a moment and then, without turning around, spoke softly.

"He stole something very precious from me…" Her gaze remained unfocused on the sea, her voice quiet.

"Damn it, I knew we couldn't trust that damned cat," Norrington gritted his teeth upon hearing that, glaring toward the sea where they had sailed off.

"Elizabeth, what did he steal?" the governor asked, worried for his daughter.

"... my heart," she said it with a small smile curling on her lips.

Both Norrington and the governor's eyes widened at her response.

"Elizabeth! How could you fall for him?! He's just a cat!!" Norrington, feeling his heart shatter, couldn't help but shout at her.

Elizabeth immediately turned her face toward him, glaring with firm, irritated eyes.

"He's not just a cat..."

Her gaze was so intense that Norrington involuntarily took a step back.

She then turned her beautiful face back to the horizon, finishing her sentence with a proud smile as her hair swayed in the sea breeze.

"... he is Puss in Boots!"

…

On the boat, far from Port Royal, the vessel slowly came to a stop and raised its sail on its lone mast.

Puss sat waiting in boredom, while Tornado stood at his side, glancing around in search of Jack.

Neddy, the donkey, stood still, staring at the sea with what—for the first time since Puss had met the animal—seemed like a curious and awed expression.

Will continued softly sobbing in the corner, and the old man, the boat's captain, sat drinking a bottle of rum in boredom.

But suddenly, the old man lifted his head and spotted a dark speck on the horizon.

He squinted, trying to see better, but couldn't make out what it was.

Spyglasses weren't something a poor fisherman like him could afford—they were far too expensive.

So, he had no choice but to rely on his own eyes.

As the dark speck grew closer, he finally saw that it was, in fact, a sinister black ship flying a pirate flag.

The old man's eyes widened, and he screamed in alarm.

"PIRATES!!"

Puss only smiled, leaping onto the railing, grabbing a rope, and letting his body dangle over the side.

"Don't worry, señor fisherman. They're our ride, and they won't harm you," he smiled, reassuring the old man.

Though still anxious, the old man could only gulp and take deep breaths to calm himself—but the fear and alarm in his eyes didn't fade in the slightest.

Will also stood up at that moment, wiping his red eyes and nose.

Then, they all turned to the approaching ship, which was already slowing down from afar before finally stopping near their small boat.

Puss grabbed one oar, while Will took the other, and together they rowed toward the larger vessel.

As they drew near, they slowed their boat by dipping their oars into the water, then steadied it by pushing against the Pearl's side with their feet to avoid a collision.

From above, a rope ladder dropped down, and Gibbs's slightly chubby figure descended.

Reaching the last step, he turned toward them with a grin.

"Do the ladies need help with their luggage?" he joked, flashing his usual friendly smile.

Puss chuckled in amusement at the joke.

But someone wasn't in the mood.

"Carry those swords up yourself—or don't, if you don't want to," Will muttered, his eyes still red and lifeless, as he passed Gibbs and climbed the ladder carrying his things.

"Jesus! What happened to the lad?" Gibbs exclaimed, shocked by Will's miserable state.

Puss shook his head with a sigh of pity.

"Haah… the woman he loves got stolen," he explained with a heavy sigh.

Gibbs was stunned and finally understood Will's gloomy mood.

"Who was the bastard that did that to the poor lad?" he asked, shaking his head and feeling sorry for Will.

"I did..." Puss answered simply as he began climbing the ladder.

"Huh?!" Gibbs froze on the spot.

…

Climbing onto the ship, Puss immediately looked around and saw Jack in a bizarre scene.

"Snort!"

"Good to see you too, Tornado."

Jack was grabbing Tornado's hoof and shaking it up and down.

Beside Tornado stood Neddy, the donkey.

Question marks appeared above Puss's head as he glanced down at the railing, where only the old man and Gibbs were gathering the luggage.

"H-How?!" He scratched his head, confused about how the damn horse had ended up up here.

Approaching Jack, he asked in bewilderment.

"Jack, did you bring Tornado up here?" he asked, stunned that he hadn't noticed.

"Me? Wasn't it you?" Jack also looked stunned, staring at Puss in confusion.

"Uh… if it wasn't you, and it wasn't me, Tornado, how did you get on this ship?" Puss turned his confused gaze toward the horse, asking directly at the source.

"Whinny?" Tornado tilted his head, equally confused.

"What do you mean you just got up here?" Puss looked at him in disbelief.

"Whinny!" Tornado neighed firmly.

"You were over there with Neddy, and you wanted to be here, so you just appeared with him?" Puss scratched his chin, perplexed, staring at the black horse who stared back at him, just as puzzled.

'Could Tornado have teleportation powers? But how? Really, he was the foal of the most expensive breed of horses I could get my hands on—in fact, his price was outrageous. If it weren't for my absurd wealth and me wanting only the best horse, I'd never have bought him. But I've never heard of this kind of horse teleporting… could it be some sort of rare racial talent that only awakens occasionally, and he just happens to be a genius? Ugh… that would be such a horribly bad plot twist, if that's the case.'

Puss analyzed him with a strange look, but then thought having a horse that could teleport would actually be pretty amazing.

'A horse version of a jumper!' Puss's eyes lit up at the idea.

Without hesitation, Puss jumped onto Tornado's back, confusing the horse.

"Tornado, do it again. Take me back to the boat we came from," he said, holding the reins with an eager smile.

"Whinny?" Tornado turned his head to the side, staring at his master in confusion.

"Yes, back to the boat!" Puss nodded.

Tornado nodded back, then turned forward with a concentrated look.

Then he gave a quick gallop forward and jumped.

Puss's eyes widened, excited to see how it worked.

…

Gibbs and the captain of the little fishing boat were climbing the ladder, carrying heavy bundles of swords on their shoulders.

That was when a dark shadow suddenly swooshed past them, falling at full speed.

BOOM — CRACK — SNAP!!

The captain looked down, stunned, and then only saw fragments of wood floating below. He froze.

"MY BOOOOAT!!!"

…

Back on the Pearl, a soaking wet Puss—with his fur, hat, and boots drooping under the weight of the water—glared in irritation at Tornado, who was being hoisted back onto the deck by dozens of men using ropes.

At that moment, Puss understood that Tornado didn't have much control over his powers. In fact, the horse probably didn't even know he had them. So Puss would still need to train him for a long time before he could actively use such a skill.

No matter how intelligent Tornado was, he was still an animal—and could be quite naïve or dumb about certain things.

That made Puss think that maybe Tornado's breed really did have such a skill, but since they never mastered it and only used it occasionally and passively, no one ever truly noticed. People probably just dismissed it as coincidence whenever a horse of that breed suddenly showed up in strange places.

Or it could be a combination of many things.

Either way, Puss was certain Tornado had some sort of teleportation-related ability—which was already a huge benefit.

Shaking his head to push those thoughts aside, he took off his hat and slapped the water out of it while walking toward Jack.