Chapter 11: A God Mother's Wish

~Far, Far Away: Dining Room~

After being lead through the foyer of the mega-sized castle, Kioku and the rest of the party were then being escorted towards the dining room. The guards opened the doors and proceeded to show them all to their seats at a lengthy dinner table. Shrek and the King sat on both ends of the table while everyone else sat on the opposite sides from each other. Servers from the kitchen had come into the dining room, setting a plate of what looked to be several baked snail shells, which were lightly glazed. Silverware was set in front of them as well. Kioku grimaced at his plate and poked at the food with his fork. "Uh..looks good.." He chuckled, darting his eyes around the table. The King looked over at him, presenting a question. "So, er—Kioku was it—how do you know Shrek?"

The teen picked up a snail with his fork, lifting it up. "We took on bad guys together back in a Kingdom called Duloc. We beat up what's-his-face, remember?" Kioku answered as he recalled the events from his previous adventure, elbowing Spongebob in encouragement. The sponge nodded, "Oh yeah! We beat up that pint-sized king, Farquaad! He was a real jerk!"

The Queen turned to them, "I remember hearing of it, But I hadn't known such an unorthodox party had taken down a man as powerful as Lord Farquaad." She said, tilting her head with a strange smile of admiration. Kioku let out a melodic chortle, rubbing the back of his hair as his cheeks burned a bright pink. "Aww, he wasn't so tough!"

Donkey added in, "And to think that midget would've married someone like Fiona!" He shuddered at the thought. "Good thing Dragon had gobbled that fool up like old leftovers!" His ears then descended into sadness. "I miss my baby girl~" He muttered to himself as he sunk his head in comical melancholy. The King's expression shifted into a skeptical one and he munched on a snail. Kioku bit into the shell, the texture ranging from crunchy and gooey soft circulated in his mouth. The taste was salty, yet kind of exotic and he swallowed the crushed bits, leaving him with a unsatisfied look on his face. "These snails are kinda alright.." The teen critiqued immaturely. Spongebob lightly pushed the plate away, "No thank you, I have a loving pet snail to think about." He stated, holding onto his stomach. While Patrick on the other hand, devoured the crunchy snails—indulging in the food this world had to offer. His mouth was covered in crumbs and snail juice, earning disgusted faces from both the King and Queen. A belch had then bellowed from the pit of the starfish's stomach, emitting a foul smell at the table and unhappy looks. Fiona held her face in embarrassment.

Shrek laughed, "Better in than out, I'd say!" the ogre joked, looking around for any chuckles. Kioku picked up a napkin and dabbed at his companion's mouth, sopping up the food from around his mouth. "Excuse Patrick, he can be kinda gross sometimes." He said, apologizing for his friend's behavior.

Multiple servers had then burst out from the kitchen, each of them replacing their snails with a small bowl of water in front of each of them. Kioku leaned down to sniff at the bowl, getting a soapy-alcoholic citrus-esque smell from it. And from watching Fiona and her parents lightly dip their hands into it had told them that it was used to clean their hands. So Kioku followed, lightly dipping his fingertips into his bowl, careful not to get his gloves wet. Soon, his two friends followed in his actions.

While Shrek seemed confused, he picked up his spoon and sipped some of the liquid, must've not knowing it was soap before looking up at everyone else. He gave an embarrassed smile and looked away. The Queen had then cleared her throat to speak, "So Fiona, why don't us tell where you live?" She asked, trying to get conversation between the table going. Fiona hesitated, "Well, you see—Shrek owns his own land. Right, honey?" The princess chattered, smiling at her husband.

Shrek rolled his eyes, "Yeah, it's a magical forest where cute woodland creatures fester about. Such a thriving community." He explained in an convincing tone, only for Patrick and Donkey to start laughing at him. The starfish raised a nub, "You mean your swamp, right?"

The ogre gritted his teeth, "Patrick.."

The King gave a smug chuckle, "An ogre from a swamp, how original." he spoke, as the servers returned with soup for the whole table. As the hot bowl of broth, vegetables and chicken were set down in front of Kioku, he picked up his spoon and had began to eat—as he had not eaten much since he left Valley of Peace. The soup was delicious, and the flavor encouraged the boy to eat a little more. The Queen pursed her lips, looking at her own husband before reverting her gaze back to her unfamiliar looking daughter. "Well, I suppose it would be a fine place to raise the children." The words of the Queen had choked both Shrek and the King, making them cough up their soup involuntarily.

Shrek beat his chest as he tried to compose himself, "It's a bit early to be thinking about that, yeah?"

"Indeed," The King heaved. "And I had just started eating..." he muttered, causing the Queen to bark at him. "Harold!"

Kioku sipped from his goblet, looking back and forth between King Harold and Shrek. "Oh snap, Shrek, you're just gonna take that?" The teen instigated softly, causing Spongebob to smack the teen in the back of his head with his staff.

"Of course not—What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Shrek asked angrily, offended by King Harold's comment.

Fiona quickly intervened, "Dad, it's great."

In which the King retorted, "For his kind, yes!" referring to Shrek.

"My kind?!" Shrek raised his voice, slamming a fist on the table. Before anyone else could chime into the lovely conversation, the chef and the servers from before had started to swarm out of the kitchen, with a plethora of dishes prepared for them. Ranging from roasted turkey to boiled lobster, the dinner table was crowded with food. The servers took the bowls of soap away and placed empty, glass plates in front of them. "Dinner is served." The chef bowed elegantly. Kioku licked his lips, a dribble of drool hanging from his mouth in hunger. "Oh man, I'm starving!"

"I know you all must be tired from your lengthy trip," The Queen smiled, gesturing at the steaming food at the table. "Please, dig in!"

Kioku, Spongebob, and Patrick grabbed their utensils and had started to grab food and put it on their plates, "You ain't gotta tell me twice!" the teen slurped again. The King pulled a plate of lobster towards himself forcefully, "And what kind of grandchildren can I expect from you—would they be—"

"Ogres." Shrek nodded slowly as he pulled a whole turkey in front of him."—Yes." He added with a growl. The Queen chuckled, "And there isn't anything wrong with that—right, Harold?" She asked, glaring at the immature King, who shook his head whilst grabbing his knife. He stabbed through the harden, red flesh of the lobster with hidden hostility and sliced it open, revealing it's soft, pale meat. "No, nothing at all—that is, assuming you don't eat your own young!" He barked at the ogre.

Fiona gasped at her father's words towards Shrek, "Dad!" she cried.

Shrek grabbed the legs of the turkey and ripped them apart barbarically, arguing back. "We usually prefer the ones locked inside of a tower!" He roared, criticizing the King for locking Fiona away long ago due to her curse. Kioku chimed in, "Shrek, come on man...calm down, will ya?" He plead, shaking the ogre lightly. Fiona turned to Shrek with a narrowed, stern look. "Shrek, please. Listen to Kiok—"

"I only did it because I loved her!" The King retorted, slamming a fist on the table with a loud bang. He had then stood up from his seat and raised his voice. "You wouldn't understand, you're not her father!" He yelled. Suddenly a Soldier had emerged from the air, plopping down in the middle of the table. The presence of the Heartless caused the King and Queen to be startled and back away from the monsters, while the others sprung into action. "Heartless—here in the castle?!" Spongebob gasped.

Kioku summoned his Keyblade in a flash of light and hopped at the Soldier, who was lucky enough to avoid a swing from it to retreat back onto the spacious area, where it had called reinforcements consisting of mainly Shadows and a couple of Archers. Kioku, Spongebob, Shrek and Donkey gathered around the monster and got ready to hop into battle.

"Who said that you guys were invited?" Kioku asked, taunting the invading Heartless as he gripped his Keyblade.

~Battle Theme: Royal Rumpus~

[INFORMATION: Defeat all of the Heartless!]

Shrek charged into an Archer, instantly knocking it towards Kioku, who immediately attacked the nearby target without getting flung back at all. He continued to unleash a powerful finishing combo move and knocked a single Heartless off its feet, vanquishing it. The boy spun around and glided swiftly around Spongebob, who had constructed a ring of Fira flames to swirl around his body and pin two Shadows in place, giving Patrick the chance to inflict damage by whacking the monsters several times with his shields. Donkey did his own thing in battle, running around and donkey kicking the Soldiers into his allies, protecting Fiona and her parents, who watched the party fight off the monsters in shock. Kioku dashed towards a group of closer together enemies and lashed out at them, dancing around the Heartless acrobatically, hitting them whilst dodging their attacks and quickly cast a Thunder spell to summon a bolt of lighting to crackle down and spring them up into the air on impact.

The teen spun after them and smacked them around in mid-air, ridding them with a powerful finishing combo move that successively attacked all of the airborne Heartless at once and ending the fight. After the Heartless were cleared from the dining room, Kioku and the others turned and saw a sad, disappointed look on Fiona's face just before she stormed out of the room with tearing flooding her face.

"F-Fiona, wait up!" Kioku called after her, about to pursuit her, only to be halted by Patrick. "Kioku—" he said, shaking his head in disapproval to going after her. Shrek looked over at the King, who was shared the same look of guilt as he did and lowered his head in shame. "Damn it."

The Queen approached Kioku and his party, presenting a sympathetic smile. "Fiona will be okay, she's just upset at her father is all." she explained, looking back at King Harold with a nasty look. Her attention turned to Kioku, Spongebob and Patrick. "If you don't mind, I would like a favor from the three of you." The Queen had started. "I would like you three to keep those monsters away from the Royal Ball, your skills in combat can be useful to us."

The teen gasped in excitement, looking over at his two friends who were just as happy. Kioku nodded, "No problem, ma'am! We'll do our best to keep you and your kingdom safe from the Heartless!" he vowed, placing hand over his heart in a heroic gesture. The Queen had then turned to Shrek, who was still sulking, and smiled at him. "Shrek, my husband may not take a liking to you—but that does not change the fact that you are my son-in-law." She said, causing the ogre to look up with bright eyes. "Please, talk to Fiona and cheer her up. I hate to see her so upset in a time where she should be happy."

The five of them nodded at the Queen, with Kioku smiling brightly. "No problem, your majesty." And with that, the five of them had left the dining room and started down the corridor leading to the living quarters.

~Rejoiced Hearts~

After the explosive argument between her husband and the father, in addition to the Heartless making their return in this world, Fiona was overwhelmed by her emotions and had quickly retreated back to her childhood bedroom to seek solace from the chaotic night. Walking around her room, Fiona reminisced about her childhood growing up inside of a lonely tower, with only a ferocious dragon to keep her guarded as she picked up her old dolls, smiling at them warmly. Her wandering heart led her towards the open balcony, where she rested on the railing, overlooking the bright and busy kingdom of Far, Far Away. A kingdom that had rejected her return because of who her heart has chosen to love. The King, her own father, disappointed in her for who her heart had chosen to love. Fiona felt tears welling up in her eyes, as she thought about the kingdom she had let down with her changed appearance. The ogre closed her eyes and let the tears fall down her blushed, green cheeks. A droplet stained the railing, followed by several more as her crying worsened.

Your fallen tears have called to me

So, here comes my sweet remedy

I know what every princess needs

For her to live life happily...

A singing voice had lifted Fiona out of her sadness, the ogre looking up and seeing bubbles floating in the night sky all around her. An elderly woman in an elegant blue dress, with large fairy wings on her back came drifting towards the princess whimsically. As she came closer, Fiona's tears had dried and her face has projected one of curiosity, wondering who it was that she was encountering. The woman produced a skinny wand in a puff of smoke and popped out of the bubble, startling Fiona, with the ogre startling her in return. "Oh my!" The fairy giggled oddly, taking in the appearance of Fiona for the first time. "You're all—er—grown up." She said, waving her wand around Fiona's chest area in a passive manner.

The princess gave the elder fairy a skeptical look, "Who are you?" she asked, making the fairy scoff in shock. "Darling, I'm your Fairy Godmother!" the fairy said, introducing herself eccentrically. "Now, my dear— your tears have spilled, now what can I offer you to make things right?" Fairy Godmother asked, hovering around Fiona gleefully, who backed away skittishly. "Money, a brand new dress perhaps?" The fairy offered persistently.

"That's very nice and all, Fairy Godmother..." Fiona smiled gratefully at the fairy's kindness. "But.."

~Far, Far Away: Corridors~

The five of them had set out to Fiona's room to speak with her and make up for her ruined night. While Kioku, Spongebob, Patrick and Donkey were more than happy to cheer up their friend, Shrek was ready to leave and never come back. "Shrek," Kioku darted his eyes up at the ogre. "You can do the talking, we'll back you up." he suggested.

"I'd rather not do any talking, Kioku." Shrek groaned. "In fact, I'd rather be in me swamp taking a nice, hot mud bath." He said, reminiscing about the swamp again. The teen turned and stopped in front of him, making him come to a stop. "Well this isn't about you, it's about your wife." The teen said sternly. "Y'know, the girl you traveled all the way to Hollow Bastion for—with no vessel mind you." Kioku went on, referring to when he met up with Shrek again unexpectedly in his previous adventure.

"If you love her that much, why run away?" Spongebob asked, causing Shrek to sigh exhaustively. The orge shook his head, "It's not that I'm running away, it's just that I don't like it here. I never wanted to travel 700 miles from my own home, just to come here and be gawked at for being an ogre!" Shrek frowned, shoving Kioku out of the way as he proceeded down the hall, approaching the door that had a sign that read "KEEP OUT!" written in crayon, suggesting that it was Fiona's room.

They all gathered around and listened, hearing Fiona's voice in addition to another one's, sounding like an elder woman. Kioku put a finger to his lips quietly and looked at Shrek, "Regardless, you have every reason to patch things up with Fiona. Don't screw this up." He whispered, lightly tapping his knuckles on the wooden doors. "Hey, it's Kioku and the others. I have Shrek with me—can we come in?" He asked in a friendly tone, hoping that she would accept his offer to talk. Silence set in, and through the door Kioku had heard light whispering. "Yes, please come in." Fiona replied, granting them access.

The teen opened the door and strolled inside, followed by everyone else. Kioku waved, but he had then caught the attention of the elder fairy hovering beside Fiona, his jaw dropping as he recognized her as the woman from the billboard. "No way, you're that woman from the large sign—Fairy Godmother, right?"

Fairy Godmother tittered, winking at the teen. "In the glittery flesh, my sweetie." She said in a harmonic voice. "Fiona, how rude, you didn't introduce to your friends here." Fiona jumped slightly at the fairy, "O-Oh, right." She stuttered in a flustered tone. She smiled and nodded at the party, "Fairy Godmother—meet my close friends—"

"Kioku,' The teen shuffled nervously as the fairy glanced at him, but the boy put on a charming smile.

"—his friends, Spongebob and Patrick," The two sea creatures salute the fairy bravely.

Fiona knelt down to Donkey, petting his mane. "My loyal steed." She said with a chortle. Shrek's face had warmed up when Fiona approached him, before turning to Fairy Godmother. "And this is my husband—Shrek." She said, her own face flushing madly. The fairy recoiled in shock, "Wait, wait—When did this happen?" she asked.

Fiona looked away nervously, "W-Well—Shrek and everyone else here had rescued me." The ogre explained. Fairy Godmother shook her head in disbelief, "No, that can't be right!"

Shrek folded his arms and rolled his eyes, "Great, more relatives." Fiona had then glared at her seemingly ungrateful husband, who was inching towards the door. "Shrek, she's only trying to help!" she said in the fairy's defense.

The ogre raised his voice, "Well maybe she could help us pack," Shrek shouted bluntly. He slapped Kioku on the back before moving towards the door. "Sorry kid, I can't stay here any longer, we're leaving."

Kioku shook his head in surprise, "You're leaving, but you just got here!"

Donkey chimed in, "Yeah Shrek, I like it here!"

Fiona gasped, "When did you decide to leave?" She asked, hurt by Shrek's decision.

"The minute we got here, now let's go." Shrek said, still waiting for Fiona to leave with him. His wife turned to the fairy with an apologetic expression. "I am so sorry..", she apologized, only for the fairy to put her hand up.

"It's okay, I have to get going, actually—" Fairy Godmother sighed. She had then pulled out three cards and handed them to Kioku, Spongebob and Patrick. "Should you ever need me, dearies, happiness is only a teardrop away." The fairy tittered again as she held out a card for Fiona, only for it to be snatched away by Shrek.

"Yeah, yeah, I've already got all of the happiness in the world, thank you very much." Shrek bellowed in a distasteful tone. A flying carriage pulled up near the balcony, implying that it was Fairy Godmother's ride. "So I see, toodle-loo, darlings." The fairy sung as she waved goodbye, retreating to her carriage and riding off into the night, leaving magical pixie dust behind as they took off.

Kioku, Spongebob and Patrick peered up at Shrek with an upset look, "Nice going." the teen groaned as he folded his hands behind his head. Shrek argued,Coming here was a bad idea!"

Fiona stomped her foot down, "Well you could've at least gotten along with my father."

"Well I didn't think I needed to get Daddy's blessing—even If I wanted it!" Shrek retorted

"You're acting like an ogre!" Fiona pouted.

"News flash for Fiona," Shrek started. "I AM an ogre, and that won't ever change!"

Fiona had then folded her arms and shoved through everyone to get to the door. "I've made changes for you, so why don't you think about that." She muttered softly, just before storming out of her room. Everyone else just looked at Shrek, letting him take in the fact that he just made everything even worse with his own, childish attitude. Kioku shook his head, "Now look at what you've done." he sighed, disappointed at the result of 'talking it out'. Spongebob and Patrick retained sadden looks on their face as they looked at the door. "Poor Fiona.." Patrick sighed in sympathy.

~Dark Hearts~

King Harold stood on his balcony, clearing his head as he peered over his kingdom, clearing his head from the commotion that took place at dinner. His argument with the ogre, the appearance of the Heartless followed by a rather reckless fight to get rid of them. Harold was most of all upset that his daughter had chosen to marry on ogre rather than the prince they had selected for her, embarrassing himself and his kingdom. Even though he hated to see her upset, he didn't want her married to an ogre.

He yawned, blinking his eyes a few times as he turned to open the balcony doors, before hearing the neighing of a horse and it's galloping shoes, and the presence of a carriage quickly appearing behind him. The door had swung open and two large men had jumped out. "Hello, Harold." Fairy Godmother greeted, seeing the king spin around and jump in surprise. "F-Fairy Godmother, what are you doing here at this hour?"

She peered over her glasses, "Get in, we need to have a talk."

One of the guards shoved Harold forward, basically telling him to climb inside. After he got in, the guards squished themselves in beside him and slammed the door. Sitting beside Fairy Godmother was a tall, blonde, handsome looking man who had looked like he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. King Harold chuckled nervously, "So, what's new?"

"Do you remember my son, Prince Charming?" She asked, pointing to the man next to her. "The one who was supposed to save Fiona?"

The King laughed and greeted Prince Charming, "Ah, how have you been—" A guard had looked down at him, causing him to quiet down. The fairy pointed her wand at him, "We had a deal, Harold. And I assume you don't want me to go back on my word—right?" She asked in a dark, manipulative tone.

The King cowered as Fairy Godmother glared at him, knowing of the deal he made with her long before Fiona's rescue. "Fiona and Prince Charming will be together." The fairy smiled. "The ogre needs to be taken out of the picture, as well as his friends—they seem like the 'meddling' type."

Harold nodded slowly, sighing deeply. "Yes, I understand."

Fairy Godmother gave the King a reassuring look, "Believe me, this is only what's best for Fiona, and your kingdom." She tittered. One of the guards opened the door and pushed Harold back onto the balcony. The king turned to face them, "So what do you want me to do?"

"Whatever you think is best, dear." Fairy Godmother said before taking off into the skies, leaving the king by himself. Harold looked around before asking himself, "Don't tell me she wants me to—"

"Kill the ogre and the Keybearer, why of course." A corridor of darkness opened beside Harold, with a black coat stepping out of it. The hooded figure turned and faced the king, who was startled by their appearance. The black hood bowed, "Greetings."

"And you might be?" The king asked in a skeptical tone.

"Xilom." The hood figure spoke, folding it's arms. "I overheard your problem with the ogre, you could need my assistance."

Harold paused for a second, "You could help me?" He smirked. "Are you interested in any sort of payment?" Xilom shook his head, "All I am interested in is my own goal—now, allow me to assist you, would you really want to let you kingdom down?" The Nobody asked rhetorically

The king looked on in hesitation, but nodded and shook Xilom's gloved hand with a brave face. "I trust that you take care of it, for the kingdom and it's people."

Xilom snickered mischievously, "Yes, the kingdom." he laughed just before disappearing through a portal of darkness. "A kingdom filled with most precious of hearts. all of which can be of service to us."