Ch 3
Puss noticed their ogre friend was getting weak as they walked through the forest. Shrek was having terrible head aches.
"Charming I'm here now, you got what you wanted.
I… Love you.
Who could love a beast so hideous and ugly?" the ogre boy heard as he gritted his teeth as his head ached in agony.
"Why do they keep talking in my head?" he asked through tears.
Suddenly as they came into a forest of snow, Shrek fainted. "Oh no! This is bad!" Puss said as somebody landed beside them.
It looked like a yeti in white armour wearing a ninja head band with an icicle on it. He had green eyes and looked slender. He also wore a black ninja style wrap around him. "Who're you?" Puss growled angrily.
"Relax. I'm Snowgre." The ninja replied.
Puss watched as Snowgre took off his huge black scarf and wrapped it around Shrek. "He isn't well. We've got to get him to my cave. There he'll be safe. You're his friends right?" he told them as he picked Shrek up gently and walked on with them.
Donkey and Puss wondered why this guy was helping them. If they only knew…
Snow watched as Merlin appeared. He'd seen what Charming had done to both Shrek and Fiona. He wanted to do something about it.
"Can you help her?" Snow asked him. "Yes but why would it matter to you? You're always at their throats." Merlin replied as he cracked his knuckles. He then recited a spell. Magic surrounded Fiona as she returned to her normal age.
"Yes! You did it! Thank you!" Doris and the others said happily. "Wait! What about Shrek? Surely you can do the same, right?" Fiona asked him.
There was a grim look on his face.
"I think we could be too late. The engulfing process has begun where his adult self will begin to fade until… the ten year old is left. It'll mean he'll never grow up." Merlin explained sadly.
Fiona felt tears well up in her eyes but wouldn't let them fall. Snow knew how hard it was for her trying to be strong in a situation that seemed hopeless. Deep within himself, Shrek's ten year old self was with his adult self but was worried as his hand went transparent.
"W-What's going on? Don't leave me!" the boy said worried.
"Don't worry. Our friends are trying to help even Snowgre." His adult self told him. Shrek pouted at that. His adult self laughed at that.
"I know he's a pain in the butt but he's ohana. Ohana means family. A family never leaves anyone behind even if they're hurting or in trouble. I want you to promise me something. If we can't fix this, I want you to look after Fiona and the kids for me. They're all I left in the world now.
Do you promise?" his adult self told him.
"Yes I do. I'll take care of all your family." He told him as he heard Snowgre's voice calling him and he floated up into the bright light…
Donkey and Puss watched as Shrek's eyes opened. "Welcome back. You had us scared there for a while. Remember me?" Snowgre said kneeling by his side. The ten year old looked at his ninja headband. "Snowgre, you became a ninja didn't you?" he replied.
"Yep. The best in the Forest of Snow. I… missed you. I know the others and I… left you behind but I didn't mean for it. I've been doing fine with some help from two old friends of ours." He told Shrek.
The ogre boy nodded as he coughed slightly.
"He has ogre flu, doesn't he?" a voice said. Puss smiled. It was Leah. She'd became Queen of Far, Far Away after marrying Artie. "It's great to see you guys again. I heard what happened to Shrek and Fiona from Artie. I want to help. Another friend of mine is in danger. Charming has her in his dungeon.
I'm worried, okay? I never should've left her alone." She told them as Snowgre hugged her. Shrek smiled at her. He remembered some of the things and friends he has as his normal self because Snowgre had put a seal in him that would freeze the course of the spell so his adult self was still safe until they could get him back to normal. An image of a girl with short black and red hair, slender with red and black glasses flash in his mind. "She's in danger isn't she? We have to go save Carley!" he told them coughing and sneezing slightly.
He pulled up a sleeve and saw something. It was a Kanji od friendship. His friends had the same mark on their arm except for Carley.
Hers was within her. "I've gotta help! She's like me." he replied. Leah understood but was nervous. "This must be a trap to lure him to Charming. We'd better be careful. Leah, Snowgre stay with Shrek. I'm going to find her. If I don't come back, come get me." Puss told them as he set off..
Charming cackled as he watched this. "This is perfect! Everything is falling into place!" he cackled as the human girl felt him touch her face, She then slapped him using her chains along with her symbol cane. He growled at that... Nothing would stand in his way... The human teen's eyes glowed with magic. Something odd was happening.
"I know your little family secret. You're scared aren't you? You think your so called friends will love you when they see your true form? I don't think so. They'll just run away like before." he told her cackling in her misery...