(A/N: Ok, so, I finally got around to seeing Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. Wow, what a movie, easily the best in the entire Shrek franchise. And Death, whoo, what a villain, easily one of the greatest ever. But this story doesn't have to do with him, or even the main cast for that matter. No, this story is mostly going to be about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. While watching the movie, I had an idea for what I thought was going to happen towards the end, and, well, I was wrong. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was thinking along these lines, but hey, plot bunnies and all that. They wouldn't leave me alone until I put this to paper. So here we go, an alternate ending to the movie that I thought was going to happen. It's shorter than I would have liked, but I'm pretty satisfied with it. Hope you like it.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"THE JUST RIGHT WISH"
It would be incredibly ironic to survive the literal incarnation of Death itself only to die a few minutes later at the hands of a sociopathic man-child throwing a tantrum. Granted, the man-child in question was Jack Horner after he magically grew to a giant size, but still, to be killed by him after the physical manifestation of Death in the flesh decided to spare you, there was indeed no other word for that than ironic.
But while Death had been after only one of them in particular, Jack Horner was after all of them; Puss In Boots, Kitty Softpaws, the unnamed dog that Puss referred to as "perrito", and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Or, more to the point, he was after the map they had been fighting over, the one that led to the magic wishing star; the very wishing star they were currently standing on, the one that had only a single wish to grant. The wish inside had already been activated, the star floating up into the air as it poured out magical energy.
Currently, Puss, Kitty, and Goldi managed to take hold of the map, each of them with their own wish in mind. Puss wanted to regain the eight lives he had lost, Kitty wanted someone she could truly trust, and Goldi wanted a real family, having lost her human parents long ago and having been taken in by the bear family. As for Jack Horner, he desired to possesses all the magic in the world for himself, something that spelled trouble all around. He had very nearly gotten his wish too, but the map containing the words to be spoken for the wish to be granted had been snatched out of his hands and was now being held by the others.
"Give that to me!" the purple-haired giant thundered as he stormed towards the map holders.
The two cats and human girl looked from Jack to each other, then down at the map they held, before looking at each other again. The two cats glanced at each other, sharing a look that seemed to contain some kind of unspoken communication, then they looked back at Goldi.
"Here," said Kitty as she and Puss both released their hold on the map.
"You make the wish, chica," Puss told her.
Goldi's eyes widened as she stared at the two cats in surprise, then looked down at the map in her hands, seeing the glowing words on it that needed to be spoken in order to make the wishing star work. An angry bellow drew her attention back to Jack though as he charged at her.
"Don't you dare!" he threatened. "That wish is mine!"
He suddenly toppled over though, revealing the three bears on his back, having tackled him to the ground. Goldi let out a gasp as her foster family struggled to keep the giant down.
"Do it, Goldi!" Papa Bear called to her.
"Make your wish!" cried Mama Bear.
"Hurry!" Baby Bear added.
With an angry cry, Jack thrashed around, trying to reach behind him to get the bears off his back. "Get off my, you fleabags, before I turn you into bear-skin rugs!"
Despite the urgency of the situation, Goldi still hesitated, but eventually returned her attention to the map and began to read. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight."
The magic that had been seeping out of the star, creating a wall of color around them, was suddenly draw inward and began swirling around Goldi in a vortex of color.
"No!" Jack shouted, and managed to throw the three bears off him and began to get to his feet. "The wish belongs to me!"
Goldi's eyes had left the map at the sight of her bear family being tossed aside, but then they quickly returned to it. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."
"Stop!" Jack roared, and began closing the distance between them. "I warning you!"
Goldi closed her eyes. "I wish…"
Jack lunged forward, his large hand reaching for her. "No!"
She did not speak her wish out loud, birthday wish rules and all, but within her hands, the map suddenly dissolved into light particles that drifted down and into the crystal-like surface of the wishing star. As it did, the entire star pulsed and flashed with a bright light. Jack's hand had been moments away from wrapping around Goldi, but the pulse of the star caused him to stumble and he recoiled from the blinding flash of light, and he fell forward.
Using her athletic skills, Goldi jumped up and onto Jack's hand, running down the length of his arm and down his back as he skidded across the surface of the crystal ground. The star was beginning to glow brighter and brighter as it rose up higher and higher. Goldi leapt off Jack and rushed towards her bear family.
"Time to go, you lot," she told them.
Not needing to be told twice, the three bears, along with the two cats and dog, all turned to get off the star as Jack rose onto his hands and knees and turned to them, furiously reaching out. He lunged forward to grab anyone within reach, but missed, and he came crashing down again.
"But what about your wish?" Baby Bear cried as he and the others raced for the edge of the still rising star as cracks of light began spreading across it. The walls of magic that had been escaping the star had ceased, giving them a clear path off the star.
"I think it's being granted," Puss replied as they ran along.
The star was now several meters in the air, having left a large star-shaped crater behind in the ground. More glowing cracks had spread across it, and the light emitting from it was almost blinding. Jack struggled to get to his feet as the star began to collapse around him. He began looking around frantically as beams of light began bursting out of the star.
"No!" he cried in dismay. "No, no, no, no! My wish!"
The six others reached the end of the star and made a jump for it. It was a bit of a drop, but manageable, even though the non-cats not managing to land on their feet, with Mama Bear grabbing hold of Goldi protectively to shield her from the impact of the fall. All the while, the wishing star continued to crumble apart as it rose into the air while more and more beams of light burst forth from it.
"Noooo!" Jack practically wailed as the star continued to collapse around him, and the danger he was in suddenly registered. "What did I do to deserve this?" As if in answer, a massive beam burst up from beneath him, consuming him in its light. "I mean specifically!"
Down on the ground, the others looked up at the star that was now several dozen meters in the air. It finally shattered, like a piece of china crashing to the ground, and a massive burst of light erupted from it, lighting up the whole sky in a multitude of colors. All traces of the star vanished within the explosion of light, as did any sign of Jack, the purple-haired giant seemingly obliterated from the blast.
It was truly a breath-taking sight, the sky lit up by an aurora borealis. The two groups stared up at the colorful lightshow in amazement as the different colored lights began to swirl together to become a kaleidoscope of every color imaginable.
"It's beautiful," Kitty whispered in awe.
Puss came up to stand beside her. "Sí, it truly is."
And then, at the same time, they reached for each other, neither of them taking their eyes off the sky as they held paws.
While it was indeed a beautiful sight, it was, essentially, just a swirl of different shades of gray to the still unnamed dog, yet he appreciated its beauty all the same as he glanced at Goldi with a smile. "So, what did you wish for?"
Goldi didn't answer, but then, she didn't really have a chance, as at that moment, tendrils of multi-colored light suddenly came down from the sky, flying at the group. Puss' eyes widened as the tendrils came at them.
"I think we're about to find out, perrito!" he exclaimed.
They all recoiled as the tendrils flew towards them, but then it was only Goldi that they wrapped around. The force of the tendrils hitting her knocked her off her feet, but she never hit the ground as she began to float higher and higher as they wrapped around her more and more. A gasp escaped her as they continued to coil around her, her arms shooting out and her staff flying from her hand.
"Goldi!" the three bears cried worriedly.
She either didn't answer or couldn't. More and more tendrils wrapped around her until she was surrounded in a cocoon of colorful light, completely obscuring her from view. This went on for several seconds before the cocoon of light burst with a powerful force that knocked the others over and stirred up a large cloud of dust. But the light quickly died down, and the sky returned to normal, all traces of the star and its magic vanishing.
The force that had knocked the others over hadn't been that strong, and Puss, Kitty, and the dog started getting to their feet. The three bears were already up, stumbling almost blindly through the cloud of dust as they called out Goldi's name.
"Goldi!" Papa Bear called worriedly. "Goldi, are you alright?"
"Goldi, please, answer us, love!" Mama Bear called, equally as distressed.
Even Baby Bear was frantically looking around. The dust cloud was beginning to settle, but it was still difficult to see, and there was still no sign of the blonde girl. However, Baby Bear did pause when his foot hit something, and he looked down to see that it was the staff Goldi had dropped.
Eyes widening, Baby Bear picked up the staff. His parents came over to him, and all three stared at the staff in concern before sharing a worried look.
"Goldi!" Baby Bear shouted. "Goldi, where are you? Sis!?"
From further in the dust cloud, the sound of coughing was heard, and a familiar voice called out to them. "I'm here." More coughing. "I'm alright."
Sighs of relief escaped the three bears, and they began to make their way towards the voice. As more of the dust cloud cleared, a silhouette became visible to the bears. Only it was too big to be Goldi, and it was not human-shaped. The three bears came to a sudden stop as the silhouette moved towards them and finally came into view.
"So, how do I look?"
The figure spoke in Goldi's voice, but it wasn't Goldi. Or, rather, it didn't look like Goldi. Instead, it was a bear, a bear that, strangely, had blonde fur, the same color as Goldi's hair, and had the same greenish-blue eyes as well. Goldi's necklace was also present around the bear's neck, and the torn remains of Goldi's clothes slid off the bear's body.
"G-Goldi?" Mama Bear asked hesitantly.
The blonde-furred bear gave her a bashful smile. "Hi, Mama."
"Goldi!" the three bears exclaimed, and rushed at her.
The new bear, slightly smaller than Baby Bear, was nearly knocked over as the three bears practically threw themselves at her, each of them wrapping her in a literal bear-hug.
"Oh, Goldi, dear, you scared us!" Mama Bear somewhat scolded. She then pulled back and examined Goldi's new appearance. "What have you done to yourself?"
"Yes, look at you," Papa Bear replied. "You're a bear."
At his stating of the obvious, Goldi looked down at her paws. "Yes, it looks like I got my wish."
Baby Bear gave her a confused look. "You wished to become a bear? But I don't understand, I thought you were going to wish for a real family."
A guilty look crossed her face, clear regret for having said such a thing. "I was. But… then I realized that… I already had a real family all along. You guys are my family. You always have been, even if I hadn't realized it. And I wanted to truly be a part of it."
Mama Bear's eyes shined with motherly love. "Oh, Goldi, dear you didn't have to change yourself for that." She gently stroked Goldi's cheek. "It never mattered to us that you were human."
"That's right," Papa Bear confirmed. "We always thought of you as our daughter. Our real daughter."
Goldi sniffled. "I know… And deep down, I always thought of you as my real family." She smirked and nudged Baby Bear. "Even you, little brother. I heard you call me 'sis', by the way."
Looking slightly embarrassed, Baby Bear glanced away, trying to appear nonchalant. "Yeah, well, don't read too much into it. I just… got caught up in the moment. And I… I…" His façade suddenly broke as he began sobbing. "You saved my life, Sis. You was gonna make the wish, but you didn't make the wish because you wanted to save your family. And-and I was really scared, and…"
His words faded off into incoherent blubbering. Goldi just smiled at him and reached out, giving him a noogie as best as she could with her new bear paws. "Alright, don't get so blubbery about it," she told him in a teasing voice. "Whose porridge would I eat otherwise? And besides, I did get my wish after all, whether I needed it or not."
Mama Bear placed a paw on Goldi's shoulder. "But are you sure that this is what you wanted, love? You don't need to be a bear to be part of our family. You've always been just right to us."
"Bear, human, you'll always been a member of this family," Papa Bear assured her. "We always saw you as one of us."
"Yes," Goldi agreed, "and now everyone else will see it too. Don't you see, I didn't want us to be Goldilocks and the Three Bears anymore. I just wanted us to be the Four Bears. And now we are, for everyone to see. Finally, everything is just right."
With that, she threw herself into her mother's arms as a happy tear slid down her cheek. Tears welled up in Mama Bear's eyes as well as she hugged her daughter. "Oh, now you've made me cry."
Papa and Baby Bear joined in on the hug, and then Baby Bear jokingly stated, "The blonde fur may still raise some questions though."
"Oh, Baby," Papa Bear grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
"What?" the younger bear asked with a smile, "can't a brother tease his sister a bit?"
Goldi smirked as the hug came to an end. "Just be prepared for the same treatment, little brother."
Baby Bear blinked. "Little brother? But I'm bigger than you."
"Not by much. And besides, I'm still older."
Baby Bear opened his mouth to argue, but then hesitated. "Well, I suppose you got me there. But don't expect to ride on our backs anymore. You're too big for that now. No more free rides for you."
Goldi just smiled at this. "That's fine. I say the payoff was well worth it. I'm more of a bear than you now in every way possible." She glanced up at Mama and Papa Bear. "Come on, you lot, what say we all go home and hibernate? It'll be my first time."
Papa Bear chuckled. "Goldi, you are a chip off the old block, you are."
Goldi shrugged. "Well, what can I say?" She glanced back at the dog. "I won the orphan lottery." She followed this up with a wink at the dog, who winked back, then turned her attention to the two cats. "Softpaws. Boots.
Puss tipped his hat to her in respect and acknowledgement. "Goldi."
Kitty gave a small salute to the others. "Bears."
As the four bears walked off, Goldi glanced at her brother. "Hey, Baby, you got any ideas for our next job?"
The younger bear's face lit up with excitement. "Oh! Remember that pie factory? I suspect that they might be experiencing a leadership vacuum."
Mama Bear giggled eagerly. "Oh, family business! Oh, how exciting!"
At that moment, a certain cricket suddenly flew in and landed on Baby Bear's nose and addressed them. "Now's a good time to talk about ethical business practices."
Baby Bear let out a scream. "There's a talking cockroach on my nose! Get it off! Get it off!"
Goldi raised her paw. "Hold still…"
"W-Wait just a second!" the cricket shrieked, quickly avoiding Goldi's swinging paw.
As the bear family headed off into the distance while trying to swat the pesky cricket, Puss stood beside Kitty and the dog as he waved to their retreating forms. "Adios, bears! I wish you well!"
Next to him, Kitty let out a sigh. "You know, good for them. Can't wait to see how big of a crime family they'll be now as the Four Bears."
The dog tapped his chin. "Yeah, but this seems kind of familiar, doesn't it? Wasn't there some fairytale or another story with someone turning into a bear and getting a bear family. Some sort of… brother bear?"
With a sigh, Puss turned to the dog and placed a paw on his head. "Perrito, let's face it… this wouldn't be the first fairytale that we've done."
THE END
(A/N: And there we go, short, sweet, and to the point. I thought it was fairly obvious that Goldi was going to accept that her bear family was her real family, but I didn't expect her and the others to let the wish go to waste. I thought that she was going to use it to become a bear instead, so that's what I went with. Did anyone else think that was coming? Does anyone else like this ending better? I didn't want to make it seem like Goldi felt like she wasn't one of the family unless she was a bear, which is why I included the dialogue of her instead wanting others to see her as one of them rather than making it seem like she or her family viewed her as different because she was human. I hope I conveyed that properly. In any case, let me know what you think and I'll see you next time.)