J.H. White's Puss in Boots: Book I

Part Two: Chapter One

One Year Later

Puss stood in the center of the horrible place that had been the scene of the first battle of the war, deemed "The Day of Destruction." Bodies that were fresh or had been half devoured by maggots from previous battles littered the ground. Puss and his army had just retreated here hours ago failing to fight back Carnage's weaponry. Their casualties had been devastating. Donkey was gone.

He closed his eyes and hooked his hands together in prayer. "Almighty Father, I pray for all of our fallen, in hope that they are safe and well. We have suffered immeasurably, but please guide us on the path to victory. Amen." He sighed.

He trusted in God, but he had lost all of his self trust. He couldn't control the war, but he knew he had to accept that Kitty or his soon to be born kitten could die at any moment. He had led so many people to their deaths in battle; Pinocchio, Toby, they were all gone. Donkey had been the most recent to meet a grisly fate.

He twitched when he thought of all his departed friends; the horrors he had witnessed had given him extreme trauma, and Kitty had found him curled up in a corner gently sobbing more than once. The war had changed everything. Spain was in ruins. Every one of the policía and monarchs had been hunted down and brutally slain. The only word for it was anarchy, and Carnage, the female warlord, had brought it upon them all.

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Carnage stood by her grand throne that she had gained by killing millions. She was maskless for the first time in days; not a living soul had seen her true face, other than her love, but he was gone now. "My Queen," her Sheevra servant said. "El Moco has returned." Her pupils Shrank, making her look like the leader of a Satanic cult. She reached for her mask, and pressed it against her face. It transformed into a full helmet, and she turned to her servant, her metal eyes glowing the color of blood.

"Send him in," she whispered. The sheevra turned into a mercenary and dragged El Moco into the throne room. For a grown man, he looked immensely terrified.

"My apologies, Ms. Carnage. I wasn't able to locate their base." Carnage gave a low growl in response.

"SERVANT!" she cried. "BRING ALL OF OUR OFFICERS IN HERE NOW!" The sheevra went back to her regular form and obeyed. She flew partway down a staircase and found the officers.

"Attention!" she called down. "Report to the throne room immediately." The officers followed directions, but they knew that if Carnage wanted all of them, it couldn't be good.

Several minutes later, all of them were crowded together in front of their queen. "Servant," Carnage asked. "Is this all of them?" The sheevra nodded. "Very well." She turned to the officers. "I have brought you all here to show what happens to failures." She gestured towards El Moco, who had been trapped in The Rope Unbreakable and was bleeding from where carnage had sliced his face with one of her knives.

"Servant," she said quietly. "My Ax." The sheevra retrieved the weapon that was stained with the aftermath of past victims. Carnage looked down at the weapon, and then brandished it as she walked over slowly to El Moco. The only sound in the entire room was her boots clacking on the floor. She brushed the side of his face with the blade, drawing a tiny amount of blood.

"Don't worry," she whispered in his ear, her voice distorted by her respirator. "Your pain won't last long." She saw the fear in his eyes and smiled under the metal. She lifted the axe and brought it down ferociously, and his head flew two feet in the air. Then, there was a squishing sound as it hit the shiny floor. Blood splattered all over the pillars, and the servant got to work instantly starting to clean it off.

Carnage walked over to the head and grabbed it by the hair. Nobody in the crowd dared to breathe. "THIS IS HOW FAILURE IS TOLERATED!" she screamed. All the officers, who were the most vicious in her entire army, cowered in fear as they tried not to look away from the decapitated man's remains; his open mouth and soulless eyes stared them down. "WE DO NOT TOLERATE FAILURES HERE!" she continued. "WE HAVE THE UPPER HAND IN THIS WAR!" She began to walk away to her private suite.

"Let's keep it that way."