Climbing stealthily up the stairs, Puss's head slowly rose above the first step as he peeked toward the lower deck.
There, he saw no one. Narrowing his eyes and confirming once more that the coast was clear, he turned on the stairs and cautiously continued ascending.
Looking toward the open deck, he saw only two pirates standing by the railing, gazing out at the sea and the large mountain nearby.
'They've left,' Puss pondered and quickly descended the stairs.
There, he found Elizabeth, Jack, and Tornado once more.
"They went into the cave and took Will. There are only two men standing guard. I'll lure them down here so they don't scream and alert the others. Then I'll take them down, and you help me tie them up and gag them," Puss explained his plan, and they nodded in agreement.
They quietly climbed up again, grabbing ropes along the way.
Puss reached the bottom of the staircase, placed two fingers in his mouth, and whistled—not too loudly, but loud enough to be heard above.
Phweee!
"Huh?! What was that? Did you hear it?" Puss heard one of the men say, followed by a moment of silence before running footsteps echoed toward the stairs.
Puss hid in the shadows, while his companions also remained hidden nearby.
The two pirates came rushing down with swords in hand, suspecting a stowaway on the ship. And they weren't wrong.
Just as the second pirate stepped off the last stair, right behind the first, a pair of boots struck his face violently, sending him flying into the lower deck.
"AHH!!" The pirate screamed as he found himself being thrown back, alerting his companion in front, who turned around in surprise.
The first pirate, though startled, instinctively swung his sword at the attacker—only to be met with a powerful yet flexible rapier that effortlessly parried the blow.
Puss landed on the floor after the kick and parry, locking eyes with the pirate, who widened his gaze in recognition of the demon cat.
Puss smiled at the pirate and waved at him, leaving the man confused—until a pair of black paws, camouflaged in the shadows, struck him hard in the ribs, launching him toward his friend, who had just started to rise, only to be hit again as they both collapsed.
Jack and Elizabeth emerged from their hiding places behind barrels and nets and rushed toward the disarmed pirates, who were struggling to regain their footing.
Jack tossed one end of the rope in his hand to her, and she immediately caught it. They then ran in a circle, aiming to tie the fallen pirates together in the center.
Elizabeth ducked under the rope as she met Jack again, and upon completing the circle, they both pulled on their ends.
"Agh!!" The pirates cried out as they were suddenly squeezed together by the rope.
In just a few seconds, Jack and Elizabeth finished tying them up and gagging them.
"Jack, Tornado, señorita. I'll go ahead. You three stay here. I'll take care of this," Puss said with a serious expression.
"No."
"I'm going!"
"Whinny!"
All three spoke at once.
Puss looked at them, confused.
"I have a score to settle with Barbossa. I can't stay behind," Jack said with a firm and serious look.
"And I'm not staying behind either!" Elizabeth declared with determination.
"Snort!" Tornado snorted, stomping a hoof on the floor and nodding his head.
Puss looked at them, struggling with the decision.
If it were just a few pirates, he wouldn't object—but this was an entire crew. Bringing them along would only cause trouble instead of helping.
But then, an idea struck him, and his eyes lit up, making him change his mind.
"Alright, compañeros, here's the plan…"
…
Barbossa, at the front of the boat, calmly watched as the cave's mouth drew closer.
Will stood beside him, his teeth clenched into the gag—nervous, but his eyes burned with fury. Though gagged, his arms were tied tightly to his torso, with only his forearms partially free—but even then, his wrists were bound together, making escape impossible.
The pirates continued rowing and entered the cave. Even before reaching the shore, they could already see a great quantity of gold under the water by the edge.
Once the boats landed, dozens of pirates began disembarking, and soon after, even more pirates emerged directly from the water on foot.
As immortals, they had no fear of drowning and walked along the ocean floor without issue. Since the Pearl had only six boats—and one had been left behind in case the two lookouts needed to send an emergency warning—the remaining five weren't enough for the 200+ pirates aboard to reach the island, so they had to come on foot.
As they shoved Will and laughed, they passed pile after pile of treasure—on the ground, on the walls, in crevices, in puddles, everywhere.
These were the spoils of Barbossa and his immortal crew's plundering over ten years. They planned to live like kings, spending this wealth once the curse was lifted and they could enjoy life once more.
They then made their way to the center of the cave, where a small lake surrounded a rock covered in gold. Atop it stood a large stone chest engraved with Aztec symbols and carvings, sealed.
Barbossa took the lead and grabbed Will's arm, dragging him toward the chest along a narrow path of partially submerged stones.
Will jerked his shoulder, struggling to free himself from Barbossa's grip, his face full of anger. But Barbossa's hold was firm, and his expression remained indifferent, as if he paid no mind to the boyish resistance.
As they climbed, the pirates brought more treasure and tossed it onto the rock where the chest rested, making it gleam even more brilliantly with the color of gold, adding to the ritualistic atmosphere.
Barbossa then reached the treasure with Will and looked seriously at his men, who slowly stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to him, falling silent.
"Gentlemen, the time has come! Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near at end," Barbossa began his speech, extending his right hand grandly while his left hand held Will tightly, preventing any escape.
"Yeah!" the pirates shouted in firm agreement.
"For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man jack of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over..."
"Yeah!" the pirates shouted again.
"… and a hundred times again!"
"YEAAAH!!!" they roared even louder.
"Suffered, I have," said Ragetti, the skinny pirate with a glass eye, complaining about the 'injustice' he had endured.
"Punished, we were. The lot of us – disproportionate to our crimes!" Barbossa widened his eyes and declared with fury.
The pirates below nodded in agreement, also enraged, as if they truly were victims, forgetting all the lives they had ruined over the last ten years.
"Here it is…" Barbossa placed his foot on the lid of the treasure chest and kicked it open, revealing the hundreds of cursed Aztec gold coins, "... the cursed treasure of Cortés himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned… save for this." He then pulled the golden necklace with the last Aztec coin from his pocket and held it up, revealing the sinister skull carved into the coin for all to see.
He looked each of his men in the eyes.
"Who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?" he asked firmly.
"Us!" the pirates responded.
"And whose blood must yet be paid?" he asked with a wicked grin.
"HIS!" the pirates shouted excitedly, pointing at Will with knives, swords, and slicing gestures at their throats, cruelly.
Will began struggling fiercely when he saw this, fear taking over. He didn't want to die. But Barbossa kept a firm grip and smiled.
"You know the first thing I'm goin' to do after the curse is lifted? Eat a whole bushel of apples," he joked, then roughly grabbed Will's tied hands and pulled out a knife from his belt, making Will break into a cold sweat and grit his teeth against the gag.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!" the pirates cried out in excitement and savagery.
"Begun by blood... by blood undone," Barbossa said, a rare lightness in his voice. He forced Will's hand open, placed the coin in his palm, and sliced his skin, letting blood drip onto the gold. Then he pressed Will's fingers closed around the coin, coating it in red.
Will stared in shock at his palm, then at Barbossa—stunned that all it took was such a small cut.
"Waste not!" Barbossa noticed the look and joked maliciously before focusing once more on the coin.
The pirates fell silent as they watched, eyes wide, not wanting to miss a thing.
After a few moments, Barbossa grabbed Will's fingers and forced his hand open, dropping the coin into the pile with the others.
He then released Will's hand and shoved him back roughly, knocking him off the rock so he wouldn't meddle with the treasure.
Finally, he raised his arms, closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply, the pirates below mimicking his actions.
In their bodies, which they had not even been able to feel the existence of before, sensations began to return.
The sense of touch, as they felt the friction of their clothes, the itchiness on their skin, the wind on their faces, their own existence in this world.
In taste, their own saliva in their mouths, the taste of their rotten teeth.
In smell, the scent of the sea breeze, the foul odor of their own bodies, which at that moment was like the sweetest perfume to them after ten years of feeling nothing.
Barbossa opened his yellowed eyes and smiled softly. He then stretched his arms wider and grinned at his men.
"Ha ha! We are—"
THUD!
SPLASH!
Barbossa, who was speaking excitedly, was suddenly kicked in the back and sent flying forward—right into the small lake below the rock.
"CAPTAIN!" the pirates cried out, stunned by the sudden turn of events, and instinctively looked toward where the captain had been.
There, on top of the chest, they saw an orange cat wearing a musketeer hat, a sword at his side, and boots on his feet, smiling at them.
"The demon cat!" some pirates trembled and pointed at the cat in fear, recognizing him.
"Ha! Ha! I am Puss in Boots, but if you want to call me demon cat…"
Puss smiled at them and introduced himself, before suddenly stepping onto the Aztec coins in the chest and kicking one into the air, catching it mid-flight.
"… then call me the immortal demon cat."
He finished, grinning slyly—causing several pirates to widen their eyes and gape in disbelief.