Victory?

"No!"

Shrek couldn't breathe as he watched his wife collapsing to the deck of the ship. His first instinct was to run and catch her, but the triplets were clinging onto him. He couldn't leave them, not now. The blanket Fiona used to shield them had fallen to the ground. They could see everything, but Shrek didn't have the capacity to move. He could only hold onto them and watch. He was vaguely aware that Fiona's actions had indeed worked. The magic had quickly bounced back and hit Felix. He let out a strangled yelp, though his voice seemed to separate from the witches a little, her own scream echoing faintly around them. Felix also fell to the deck, though Shrek couldn't bring himself to care. The ogre just about caught Artie's concerned gaze, though Shrek's eyes didn't stray for long. He stared in mute horror as sparks covered Fiona's body. Even the kids were completely silent. Felix was in the same state too, both of their bodies glittered, eventually being consumed by the magic.

"Princess!" Donkey yelped as the ogress's form was engulfed by the sparkles.

Much to the ogre's relief, the magic soon began to subside; her fallen body becoming visible to him once again. Something had happened. Shrek had a feeling he knew what. Though, he still couldn't shake that sick feeling in his stomach.

"What's happening to mommy?" Fergus spoke quietly.

Shrek opened his mouth to respond but couldn't find the words. They should have been sitting with their mother, she wouldn't have let them see anything at all. He'd probably just scarred them for life by letting them watch. It should have been him, Shrek cursed himself for not holding onto the mirror tighter.

The sparks lessened and eventually began to dissipate. Taking a cautious glance to Felix, and seeing him unmoving, the ogre loosened his grip on the children and stood. They looked at him with panicked faces, holding onto him.

"Stay with Uncle Donkey and Puss, okay?" he spoke softly at them.

"What?" he vaguely registered Donkey's yelp, though Puss was quickly by their side. Shrek had nothing to worry about.

Felix was down. They were apparently safe for now. And the ogre was sure he'd rather see what happened to his wife first, before the children had a chance to. Though as he slowly approached, the conclusion was clear to him. He knelt down beside her reduced frame, "Fiona?" he ventured gently. He could feel the many eyes burning into his back. He shuffled himself, trying to shield her from their curious gaze. He hesitantly touched her pale cheek. She was cold, though she seemed to respond to his touch. Her eyes slowly opened, she took a few haggard breaths. "Fiona?" he spoke with a little more urgency. This wasn't like before, back in Duloc. Back then she had gotten straight to her feet.

"Shrek," her voice was weak, she struggled to breathe.

He swallowed back his reaction to her change. He couldn't react, he didn't want to make her panic. "Are you okay?" he tried his best to keep quiet. Glancing intermittently at the children.

"My chest... hurts," she brought her arms up to put a hand to where she felt the pain. Her gaze followed and she suddenly gasped as she saw her pale hand.

Shrek was speechless for a moment as she felt at her ears. "Hey that magic hit you pretty hard," he awkwardly tried to keep the focus away from what alarmed her.

But her eyes were suddenly on him, her brow creased, she looked as if she wanted to cry. She eased herself into a sitting position, looking at her arms, her body. Finally she clasped a hand to her ribcage and frowned at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked again, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. He tried to put her state in the back of his mind. That wasn't important.

"I'm..."

"Fiona?" Artie's voice came from behind them, "You... you're human..."

Husband and wife looked back at him. The relief was strewn over his face. Fiona looked down at herself again, "I am," she smiled unconvincingly.

"I'm not sure I understand but..." he sat up, "Thank you. I-I thought I was gone."

"So did I, kid," Shrek smiled at him.

"And you almost were too," Fiona's hard gaze was on Shrek "If you had run in front of that thing."

"I thought I told you to stop doing stuff for me, Shrek," his voice was chastising, but he smirked at the ogre.

Shrek smiled back. Artie was alive, Fiona was alive, everyone else too. But, so was Felix. He looked over at the unconscious body of their assailant, he was still out. Where the bolt had bounced from the mirror Fiona held, it had hit him full force. He was unsure if the witch would still inhabit his body when he woke. Though, the ogre suddenly realised, the rain had stopped, the sea seemed to have returned to his natural state. He glanced up at the clouds, they were clearing, revealing stars in their wake. If anything at all, it was promising.

His gaze finally landed back on his wife, she was looking at their children. The triplets hadn't moved from where they stood. Shrek could tell they were watching their mother with caution. Sure, they'd been told she used to be human. But at four years old, they probably didn't have the capacity to understand what that really meant. From his touch, Shrek could feel Fiona begin to tremble. Shrek looked back to the triplets. "Hey, come here." They all broke their fixed gaze to glance at each other. Donkey gently nudged Fergus' back to get them moving. Though it soon turned to a small squabble about who should go first.

"They're scared of me," Fiona's voice was barely a whisper.

Shrek pulled her closer, "Why would they be scared of you?"

"I'm different," she lifted an arm a little, "this isn't their mom."

Shrek clenched his jaw, he knew she was right. They weren't scared of Felix, they had demonstrated that back on the island. "They're scared of Felix," he said it anyway. "Hey," he rose his voice at them. They all snapped their gazes to him. Felicia ended the squabble by pushing Farkle first. They all hurried over, making sure to stand next to their father.

"Is mommy not very well?"

"She's a human, Felicia."

"But why?"

"Because... I don't know."

"The magic did it. Magic does that."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

The parents shared a fleeting, bemused glance. Though Fiona's small smile soon curled under. She took a breath, "Are you okay?" she asked them. They all looked at her, their gazes seemed to soften at her unchanged voice, they nodded. "Good," she took another deep breath.

Shrek nudged them, "Give ye mom a hug," he rolled his eyes.

The three of them did, with barely a hesitation. It was relieving for Shrek, he wasn't sure what would've happened if they had refused. It would have crushed her.

"You're so brave," she spoke softly, as the three of them sat around her. Though they didn't fight to sit on her lap as they usually did, they stayed close to her. It made her smile.

"What happened, mom?" Fergus asked.

"Yeah, you look funny," Farkle added.

Fiona giggled, "I do," she nodded, pushing hair out of Farkle's face. "This is what I looked like before you guys were born and before I married daddy." Her eyes were once again on him. She finally seemed a little more at ease. Though Shrek was far too aware that the threat wasn't completely over yet.

"But I don't remember that."

"You weren't there."

"Wasn't I?"

Shrek moved so he was between the fallen boy and his family, though Felix didn't get up. He was still laying, unmoving in his sodden clothes. An odd sense of worry swept over the ogre. He gingerly moved closer, softly nudging the boy's foot with his own. There was no response. Crossing his brow, he leant down, ignoring the remnants of the broken shell clinking at his feet. "Felix?" Nothing. He couldn't see the boy's face, he couldn't really even tell if he was breathing. Shrek looked back to the gaggle of people, concern on his face. He met his wife's gaze, whose eyes widened in realisation. She quickly told the children to stay away and hurried over, hand firmly secured to her ribcage. She fell to her knees beside the boy, despite whatever pain she felt.

"No, no, no..." she mumbled, touching his arm, "He didn't disappear... he's supposed to be okay."

Shrek tugged his shoulder, pulling him onto his back. Felix took a deep breath in response, wincing, he too throwing a pained hand to his chest. Fiona flinched backwards at his sudden movement, she carefully watched his face. Shrek knew what she was looking for.

"Hey, you okay, kid?" Shrek asked tentatively. His face was pale, lips drained of any colour. The hands he held his chest with shook slightly.

Felix blearily opened his eyes, gasping for another breath. He looked about the sky before meeting Shrek's concerned gaze, the pain bore deep into his eyes. Though this brought the ogre no relief, his wife released the breath she had been holding. She edged a little closer to him. "I'm so sorry," she began to speak quickly, "I didn't mean t-"

"Wait," Felix spoke in a strained voice, taking shallow breaths as his eyes searched Fiona, "What happened?" His eyes widened in panic, he attempted to pull himself up but couldn't, groaning and wincing in the effort, "Did I hurt anyone?" despite the pain, his voice was urgent, "The children?"

"No," Shrek spoke firmly, "Everyone's fine." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, weighing him down and ending his efforts.

Felix relaxed somewhat, though, he squeezed his eyes closed, "So... why...?" he lifted a shaking hand in Fiona's direction.

"You were casting a spell at Artie. I jumped in with a mirror and it bounced back and hit you," Fiona frowned, "I know I haven't..." she sighed, "I just... It wasn't meant for you. It was..."

"To get the witch," he struggled to gather the strength once again to sit.

Shrek put an arm under his shoulders, pulling him a little upright. He held onto him so he could see the ship. The boy was weak against him, it looked difficult for him to even hold up his head, but he did. He coughed, immediately clutching hold of his chest, it didn't stop his gaze darting around the place. He looked to everyone, and then the sky. He blinked, creasing his brow a little in confusion.

"What was the spell?" he asked, looking to Fiona.

She shrugged, "There were no words, just a bolt of magic," she paused to think, "It was... um..."

Shrek suddenly realised that he too had a lack of recollection, the only thing he remembered was his wife. His attention focused firmly and solely on her.

"It was white," the princess slowly approached them, "maybe a little purple... bright, glowing." She knelt down beside Fiona, staring at Felix, eyes glistening. Artie was trailing behind her, he stood near to them, his gaze transferring from Elena to Felix and back again.

Felix sucked in a breath, wincing, "That-that undoes permanent states," he squeezed his eyes closed once again in thought.

"Well that explains Fiona," Artie knelt too, "But what about me?"

His eyes opened again, raising a brow, "You were nothing before, it would erase you altogether."

Artie's eyes widened, his shoulders relaxed, he opened his mouth to speak his relief but Fiona was faster. "What about you?" she asked in a small voice.

His pained face twitched into a brief smile, "I'm empty," he spoke simply. He lifted a shaking hand into the air above him, with a pointed finger he drew a circle; nothing happened. There was no magic. His grimace changed into a wider smile, "She's not in here anymore," he brought his hand to tap his head before dropping it to his side, "I'm free."

He laughed a little but it made him choke, both hands were on his chest. Shrek couldn't help but watch where his wife held herself with the same pain. Though, she didn't pick up on his concern, she only watched the boy with a sad smile on her face.

He struggled to regain his breath, but he eventually did, his voice hoarse, "Before then, she couldn't control me... I had no power," he concluded to them, he didn't wipe the smile off of his face, "You did it, Princess," he looked to Fiona once again.

Her smile grew into something more genuine, everyone's eyes were on her. Her cheeks flushed a little, she looked down, away from their attention. Shrek watched her, the helpless princess who was put in the tower just saved everyone. The infectious smile even caught him. She met his gaze briefly.

"That means you'll live?" Elena was quietly eager, taking hold of his hand.

"That means the witch is dead?" Artie countered, throwing a brief glance at their hands. Despite his speech having slightly different motivations, he brought the topic back to the most pressing matter. If there was anything more they needed from him, it was confirmation that she was gone. The smiles were wiped from everyone's faces, all aside from Felix.

"She's there," he looked up at the sky, his audience following suit. There was a small cluster of stubborn clouds that didn't move from the otherwise clear night. They all gasped, staring at them in horror. They were dark clouds, almost as if they were about to burst into a storm. Though Felix's soft, washed out chuckle drew their attention back, "She's stuck," he explained himself in brief, "Can't get to me... can't get to the island... too weak to morph the clouds..."

"Stuck," Artie repeated. He picked up a piece of the magical shell, putting it in his pocket.

They all looked back up. Shrek wasn't convinced, he wasn't sure anyone else was either. His attention was brought back down as he felt Felix lay his head against him. His eyes were closed. A knot tied itself in his throat. The ogre gently nudged him, his heavy eyes opened once more. "She ever gonna get out?" he asked.

He flicked his gaze up to the clouds again before closing his eyes. He gave a slight nod, swallowing a few times to find his voice. "Eventually..." he looked to them all again, "Don't worry," a small smile crossed his lips, "She failed again, they'll take much more from her... She'll be..." he struggled to breathe again, "...just a witch."

It wasn't much of an explanation but his breath grew shallower still. The combination of panic and celebrations had used up whatever energy he had left. Still, Shrek recalled that Felix had never told them not to worry before. In fact, his words and actions had been quite the opposite, often encouraging worry, but this was different. The ogre allowed himself to relax, just a little.

"What will-?" Artie didn't come to the same conclusion, though his words were cut off upon noticing Fiona's glare.

She gently held Felix's face, "Thank you for what you did," she spoke softly, "for my children."

"Fer everyone," Shrek added.

His eyes didn't open but a sliver of a smile crossed his lips once again. He took a pained breath, "Was nothing," he breathed, his smile briefly widening at his joke.

Soft chuckles were sent around the group. Though, Fiona's frown deepened, "You didn't deserve this."

He opened his mouth in protest, but couldn't get the words out.

"Ye did everything ya could fer people, kid," Shrek was firm.

"You saved me," Elena spoke in a small voice, "You're not supposed to die." She lifted the hand she still held onto to her face, leaning it against her cheek. She closed her own eyes, "The hero shouldn't die."

The smile crossed his lips again, "Hero," his voice was barely there. He opened his eyes to look at Elena. A tear dropped down her cheek, he moved a finger, catching it.

Though, when the ogre looked back down to Felix, his eyes were shut once again. Shrek held onto him a little tighter, Fiona stroked his face and Elena clung onto his hand. They had fallen into silence, listening to his raspy breaths.

Shrek became aware of Artie, sat a little further away than their close huddle. "Y'should tell the captain t'move," the ogre told the young king quietly. Artie nodded, rising and walking away. Shrek lowered his gaze back to Felix. He felt sick, trying to swallow the knot that was growing larger in his throat.

"Mommy, what's happening?"

Fiona sniffed, looking up urgently, "Nothing," she spoke quickly, "Stay over there," she instructed. Shrek heard Donkey and Puss lead the children away, distracting them. Fiona then apologised to the boy who didn't respond. "I'm sorry," she apologised again in a whisper. Shrek realised she was apologising for more than just the interruption.

The three of them sat around him for a small while until his breaths grew silent.


Shrek watched as a storm was flashing in the distance, he could vaguely hear the thunder. They were well on their way home now. The sky was even starting to get brighter with the indications of morning.

"The witch looks pretty mad," Artie was stood with him, watching the same storm. The young king looked exhausted. Though the ogre supposed everyone did.

"Aye," Shrek nodded, "We've just gotta trust him," the ogre took a deep breath.

"Even if she'll just be a normal witch when she gets unstuck, surely she'd come for revenge or something," Artie was staring at the storm, brow knitted. He was thinking like a king, all he had done was put other people first.

"Ye'll think of something," Shrek watched him, "Yer the king, get someone to find her, prison her, banishment didn't work so well before."

Artie nodded, he finally met Shrek's gaze. He smiled awkwardly, "What?"

Shrek chuckled, "I'm proud of ya, kid," he told him. Perhaps being a father had softened him up to the sentimental feelings.

The king smiled, he shrugged, brushing it off.

"Yeah Artie!" Donkey was suddenly behind them, making them jump, "That was incredible! That witch would've blasted you out of existence."

"Convenient magic," Puss pounced up onto the railing beside them, "She wouldn't have any traces or evidence," he mumbled to himself, fiddling with his whiskers.

"We're all alive because of you, Artie!" Donkey exclaimed, "And of course the princess too. We're a good team!"

"You were hiding, burro," Puss corrected him, shaking his head.

"Is... Is Fiona gonna be okay?" Artie asked hesitantly. Shrek followed his gaze, she was watching the children. They had made a little makeshift bed for the three of them allowing them to sleep properly. Fiona had stayed with them, singing to them until they drifted off. She had one hand held to her ribs and the other on her ear. She looked troubled. Shrek didn't really know the answer to Artie's question, at least not yet.

"The princess saved everyone," Donkey grinned, "We'd be celebrating if, yanno, the kids weren't here. Ain't that right, Shrek?"

The ogre continued watching his wife, he wasn't sure if Donkey was right at all. No one was in a particularly celebratory mood, especially not Fiona. Shrek left them all without a word, not acknowledging Donkey's protest, walking over to her. His friends were fine, unharmed, unchanged. The kids were now sleeping. It was Fiona's turn to be her husband's priority.

As he approached her, she looked at him. She smiled wirily but it faded quickly. She sighed, though it made her wince a little. The hand that was holding her torso stiffened.

"Are you hurt?" Shrek asked her as he sat beside her. If the magic blast was fatal for Felix, Fiona only had a mirror as protection.

She shrugged, "It hurts a little to breathe," she didn't react to his sudden look of concern, "I'm alive... we're alive... they're alive," she gestured to the sleeping triplets, "That's what's important."

Her words were true, but it still didn't shake the worry the ogre felt. Felix had trouble breathing and had spent the whole time clutching at his chest where the magic had hit him. It wasn't reassuring. Fiona leant against him, eyes softly closing.

"Hey," Shrek nudged her, "Ye not dying on me, are ya?"

She smiled, "No, just tired," she shrugged, "Who knows if it was the magic that killed him anyway." The ogre nodded, she had a point. "She recruited him after she lost Far Far Away. That was at least five years before I was born. He's likely to have been in his sixties..." she hesitated in thought before continuing, "And who knows how dependent his existence was on her and her magic."

"Maybe it's everything," Shrek caught onto what she was doing. If something else was the reason he died, then she-

"The magic was probably the final blow," her face creased up.

"Fiona, ye didn't kill him," Shrek spoke flatly, he put his arms around her. She was tiny in comparison to him, it felt alien to his body.


AN: I feel like I'm hurtling into the dark side with this fic, oops. Need something happy to counteract everything... My decision with Felix was very last minute too. I'm already regretting it. Ugh.