Chapter 5: Pray for Mercy

"Face it, Donkey, we're lost!"

Understatement of the bloody century, Holly thought. She and Georgina had been trailing behind Shrek and Donkey for what seemed to be an age. Maybe the reason she was so restless and cynical was because she knew what was coming next and she was quite excited.

"We can't be lost," Donkey said. "We followed the king's instructions exactly." He turned his head to look at Georgina and Holly. "What were his instructions again?"With her friend stuck deep in thought, Georgina took this time to dive into the moment. After all, how many times would she be able to take part in being in a film? "Head to the deepest darkest part of the woods," Georgina said, recalling what the king had said before.

"Aye," Shrek nodded."Then pass those trees with the scary-looking branches," Donkey added.

"Check."Donkey's eyes suddenly lit up and he trotted ahead. "Hey, and there's that bush shaped like Shirley Bassey."Georgina frowned. "Whose Shirley Bassey?" she asked Holly.

Getting out of her train of thought, Holly turned to Georgina, mouthing the words, "No clue.""We passed that bush three times already!" Shrek suddenly shouted.

"Hey, you were the one who didn't want to stop and ask directions!" Donkey whined.

"Great, just great," Shrek muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "My ONE chance to fix things up with Fiona's dad and I end up lost in the woods with you guys!""Okay, okay, there's no need to get huffy with me," Donkey growled. "We were only trying to help."

"I know!" Shrek sighed, anger vanishing. "I know." He glanced down at Donkey. "Look, I'm sorry, alright?"

Donkey gave a slight smile. "Nah, don't worry about it.""I just…" Shrek paused while he tried to search for the right words. Georgina beat him to it, however.

"You just need to make things work with Fiona's father," Georgina gave a nod as she spoke. "I understand. This is important to you.""Yeah," Shrek sighed. "And it's important to Fiona as well."Donkey then butt in. "Hey, sure, we understand," he then began trotting joyfully in front. "Now let's go bond with Daddy."

They continued walking ahead for a bit. Suddenly, Georgina became aware of a purring sound that made her ears twitch. She turned to Holly to see if she heard it. Holly looked up and nodded at Georgina so that they were on the same page.

"You're favourite part of the movie is coming up," Georgina whispered so Shrek and Donkey couldn't hear.

"Yeah," Holly muttered quietly.

"You excited?" Georgina asked, head tilting.

A grin passed over Holly's face. "Shit, yes."

Georgina smiled. Holly had been so quiet while they had walked that Georgina had started to worry. However, now they saw for sure that she was just deep in thought. No worries! However, the two stopped talking when they heard Shrek speak.

"Well, well, well, Donkey," Shrek said, grinning at Donkey. "I know it was a tender moment back there… but the purring?"Donkey frowned. "Hey, what you talking about? I ain't purring.""Oh sure," Shrek rolled his eyes. "What's next, a hug?"

Donkey's eyes hardened. "Hey, Shrek, donkeys don't purr! What you think I am, some sort of ca-?"

Donkey's sentence was cut off however as there was a thud of boots ahead of them. All four of them looked up to see a ginger tabby cat standing in front of them. Holly's eyes passed over him, taking in his appearance. It's him, she thought, excitedly. The cat was dressed in a black hat, oversized boots, a belt, wore a flowing cape and held a small sword in his paws. He scanned over his opponents coldly with his steely green eyes.

"Ah-ha!" The cat said, a Spanish accent in his tone. "Fear me, if you dare!" He gave a hiss and mimed scratching the air."Hey look, a little cat!" Shrek said, ignoring the viciousness in the cat's slitted pupils. Donkey, however, was wiser. "Look out, Shrek, he got a piece!"Shrek rolled his eyes. "It's a CAT, Donkey!" He then turned back to the cat. He smiled and clapped his hands on his knees. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"The cat took of his cape and threw into onto the floor. He then removed his hat and boots and placed his sword on the ground before charging at his enemy."Erm, Shrek," Georgina tried to warn Shrek but the cat had already unsheathed his claws. He was about to pounce onto his enemy and slash at him with his claws.

"Oh god," Shrek muttered, flinching. However, before the cat could reach his target, Holly rugby tackled the cat to the ground to protect Shrek. The two opponents rolled over the ground, fighting against each other. Drawing his claws, the cat slashed across Holly's cheek. In self-defence, the girl took up a natural reflex and flung herself and the cat into a tree. The ginger cat was paralysed for a few moments, allowing Holly to sit up. "Holly, are you okay?" Donkey asked, sounding serious for once."Yeah," Holly muttered with a sharp in-take of breath. She rubbed her sore cheek with the back of her hand and stared at the smear of blood across the back of her fingerless gloves. Mom is going to freak when she sees that, she thought. Her train of thought was interrupted however when she heard a hiss behind her and a shout.

"Holly, behind you!" Georgina shouted.

Holly turned and stumbled rather ungracefully to the side quickly enough to avoid a second scratch from the cat's claws. She then got up onto her knees but was unable to stand as they hurt so much, probably from when she had hit the tree. She searched the ground around her for a weapon to use and found a stick. She quickly grabbed for it as the cat came hurtling towards her once more. She quickly swiped the branch at the cat, knocking him onto the ground on all fours. The cat gave a hiss before lunging at Holly again and biting her arm. She dropped the stick and fell onto her back. The cat then cart-wheeled through the air back to where his sword and clothes were and landed right in his boots. He put his hat back on and retook his sword yet did not put his cape back on. "Now, ye child," the cat said. He lowered his hat over his eyes. "Pray for mercy from…" With his sword, he swiftly cut the letter 'P' into a nearby tree. "PUSS… in boots." The cat, Puss, looked at Holly as she lay on the ground, rubbing the bleeding cheek. "You have fought well," he commented. "But now I shall put you out of your misery!" He pounced at her. Holly flinched away. Oh no, she thought. I'm going to be shredded into smithereens! Puss landed on top of her, sword braced to stab her in the chest. However, as she had flinched so suddenly, the hood of her coat had fallen back, revealing the full appearance of her face. Puss stood still, eyes wide in shock. "You're…" Puss pointed at Holly with his paw. "You're a women…"Holly looked up at Puss, first with surprise and then annoyance. "'Course I'm a damn women. What did you bloody think?"

"Well, Holly, you have to admit," Georgina commented. "With the hood hiding your face and the baggy clothes hiding all your… curves, you do look kind of masculine.""Gee, thanks," Holly muttered sarcastically. She then looked back at Puss who jumped off her. He then took of his hat and bowed to her.

"My apologies, senorita, I did not know," Puss said, apologetically.

That peed off Holly. "Oh, so you won't fight me just because I'm a female? That's damn sexist, that is!" she growled. She then hissed in pain as she sat looked up. "You okay?" he asked."Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm okay," Holly muttered, though she still hurt a bit from when she had hit the tree. Puss moved towards her a bit but was stopped when Shrek picked him up by the scruff.

"What do you think we should do with him?" Shrek asked his friends, glaring at the cat hatefully.

"I say we take the sword and neuter him right here," Donkey growled angrily. "Give him the Bob Barker treatment!"Holly stumbled to her feet but then fell back onto the ground again."Holly!" Georgina yelped, helping her friend to her feet. "You okay?"Holly didn't answer Georgina but instead looked straight up at Shrek. "Don't hurt him," she muttered. "It's not his fault."Shrek and Donkey both looked at Holly as if she was mad. Even Puss looked surprised. "Not his fault?" Shrek frowned as he spoke. "Holly, he tried to kill you!""But he must have had a reason to attack us," Holly explained, rubbing her sore knees."Yes, please Senor, do not hurt me," Puss mewed pitifully. "I was only doing it for my family. My mother is sick and my father lives on the garbage!" The cat put his paws on his cheeks. "The king offered me much in gold and I have a litter of brothers-" he was stopped as Shrek put his finger on his mouth. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Shrek said. "Fiona's father paid you to do this?"Puss blinked, "The rich king?" He then grinned nervously. "Si!"

Shrek paused thoughtfully, as if wondering if the cat was telling the truth or not. It was Holly who spoke next, though.

"Shrek, put him down," Holly said. "If you are gonna be angry with anyone right now, be pissed off at your father in-law. No need to shoot the messenger just because you don't like the message."Shrek looked at Holly, then Puss. He gave a sigh and then the ogre put the cat gently on the ground. "So much for dad's royal blessing," Shrek muttered, walking a few feet away from the cat towards the small nearby stream and sat down on a rock.

"Oh, c'mon Shrek, don't feel bad," Donkey said. "Almost everyone who meets you wants to kill you.""Gee, thanks," Shrek muttered. He looked at his reflection. "Maybe Fiona would have been better off if I were some sort of Prince Charming.""Si," Puss suddenly said, a little too enthusiastically. "That's what the king said." He became quiet when Donkey shot him a glare. "Oh, sorry," Puss muttered, looking at his feet. "I thought that question was directed at me."Donkey shook his head before he, Georgina and Holly walked and sat beside Shrek.

"Shrek, Fiona knows you'll do anything for her," Donkey said.

"Well, it's not like I wouldn't change if I could," Shrek muttered, gesturing to his reflection. "I just…"

"… Want to make her happy?" Georgina finished.

Shrek nodded. "Yeah."Both Georgina and Holly looked down sadly until Georgina had an idea. "Wait a second," Georgina said. Shrek looked at the brunette girl weirdly as she rifled through her pockets and brought out a small card.

Shrek looked at that. "Isn't that the card the fairy god mother gave us?" he asked.

Georgina nodded. "I kept it just in case." She handed it to him

The ogre read the words on the card. "'Happiness'," he read before flipped the card over. "'A tear drop away'…" His eyes widened in realisation. He then turned to Donkey. "Donkey, think of the SADDEST thing that has ever happened to you."

Donkey sighed in exasperation. "Oh man, where do I begin?" He trotted a few feet away from Shrek as he began to speak. "Well, first there was that time that ol' farmer tried to sell me for some magic beans, I ain't never got over that," he then continued. "Then this fool went off and had a party and he had all the guests trying to pin the tail on me. Then they all got DRUNK and started beating me with a stick shouting 'PINATA! PINATA!'" He then turned to Shrek. "What is a piñata anyway!"

Shrek was about to shout something at Donkey but Holly but in. "No, Donkey," Holly said, her tone somewhat annoyed. "We need you to cry.""Well, don't you go projecting on me," Donkey whined, somewhat upset. As he did so, Holly noticed Puss creeping up behind him. "I know you're all feeling miserable," Donkey continued. "But you got to let your own- OW!" He screamed in pain as Puss stood on his foot. A single tear fell down his cheek. "You little hairy litter-licking sack of…" Donkey muttered as Shrek collected the tear on the was a tiny spark from the card as a small bubble floated up from it. The bubble radiated an unusual lilac glow and the face of the Fairy Godmother appeared in it."What, is it on?" the Fairy Godmother said. "Is it on?" she repeated. She then looked through the bubble at them and forced a smile, almost as if she could actually see them. "This is Fairy Godmother. I'm either away from my desk or with a client. But if you come by the office…" the picture inside the bubble changed and became a cottage. "We'll be glad to make you a personal appointment." The Godmother reappeared. "Have a happy ever after," she said, still smiling. The bubble then burst into tiny flecks of pink light that fell to the ground and faded away."Whoa…" Donkey said, eyes glittering in the sparkles' looked at Donkey, Georgina and Holly, a smile on his face. "You up for a little quest, guys?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, that's more like it," Donkey said, grinning. "Shrek and Donkey on another whirlwind adventure." He then began to march and burst into song. "Ain't no stopping us now, whoo!" The gang moved forward with him as he continued singing. "We're on the move~"They then heard Puss' voice behind them. "Stop, senorita!" he said. They all turned round. Puss stood, his hat in his paws. He bowed down to them. "I have misjudged you, all of you." He then looked at Holly. "You in particular.""You're not the first," Shrek muttered, about to turn away.

"No, you're not," Holly echoed but remained looking at the cat.

"On my honour, Senorita, I am obliged to accompany you until I have saved you're life as you have spared me mine," Puss said, bowing again.

Holly's eyes widened. This isn't right, she thought. He's supposed to be in Shrek's debt, not mine. However, she did remember that she had save the cat's life, stopping Shrek from hurting him. She was about to answer Puss when Donkey butted in.

"I'm sorry, but the position of annoying talking animal has already been taken," he said before walking off. "Let's go, guys!" Shrek followed him but Holly and Georgina stayed where they are.

Eek, this is not supposed to happen, Holly thought. She then spoke up. "We shouldn't just leave him here," she said. She then walked over to and Donkey stopped. "Holly?" Donkey said, looking at her confused. Holly walked up to Puss who stared up with wide, puppy-dog eyes. "Holly!" Donkey yelled, annoyed. He looked up at Shrek. "Shrek, tell her.""I don't know, Donkey," Shrek said, also falling for Puss' cute eye trick. "He is kind of cute, in his wee little boots.""Yeah," Georgina said. "How many cats can wear boots? Seriously.""Can we keep him?" Holly asked Shrek. "Please?""Sure," Shrek grinned. "I don't see why not."

"Say what?" Donkey was quite thankful for this. They needed Puss to help them in the story and without him, it would be impossible. She also knew it would make Holly happy.

Holly picked Puss up and put him on her shoulder. "Look, he's purring," she said, smiling.

"Oh, so now's it cute?" Donkey muttered grumpily as he walked ahead, the rest of them following.

"Oh, c'mon Donkey, lighten up!" Shrek joined in.

"Lighten up?" Donkey muttered. "Look whose telling who to lighten up!"

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Fiona lay asleep in her room. Shafts of golden sunlight flickered through the window and onto her skin. Her small Bichon Frise dog licked her nose and Fiona giggled.

"Shrek!" she giggled as she awoke. However, as she opened her eyes, Fiona sat up in surprise, realising that her husband was now gone. "Shrek?" she whispered. She got out of her bed and walked around the room. She looked about before leaving the room. "Shrek!" she called. No answer. I wonder if the others has seen him, she thought. She headed to the spare room to find her friends. However, when she got in, she found that Georgina, Holly and Donkey were all gone. "Guys?" she called. She felt bad intruding in on them but she had to find out what was going on. It was on the table she found it: a note. She picked it up and examined it. The writing was strange in that some of the letters had been joined up while others had not. The note read:

'Fiona, don't panic!

If you wake up and find us all gone, I just want you to know that Shrek went into the forest to calm down after your argument last night so me, Georgina and Donkey went with him to watch him. We should be back later today.

Yours faithfully, Holly.'

Fiona read the note three times over before putting it down and breathing a sigh of relief. So Shrek had just gone out to cool down and he had company. That seem reasonable enough… except for the fact that she had a strange feeling that all was not right. "Fiona, stop being so paranoid," she muttered to herself. She stepped out and returned to her room. She got undressed out of her bed clothes and dressed into her green dress. She decided to go and take walk around the castle ground to calm herself down.

She walked out of her room, down the steps and exited the castle, walking into the bright sunlight. Her copper-coloured hair fell over her face as she took calming breaths.

"Erm, excuse me? Miss?"

Fiona turned round to see three girls, about the same age as Holly and Georgina. They were dressed in similarly styled clothes as well.

The girl who has spoken before spoke up again. "We're looking for someone."The girl next to her, who was blonde, nodded. "Yeah. Two girls, one red-headed who dresses up in black and stuff and taller girl who looks like she's been slapped in the cheeks!" the blonde girl said before the other girl nudged her.

"Quiet, Catherine," the first girl hissed at the blonde, Catherine.

"You mean Holly and Georgina?" Fiona said.

A third girl, who was smaller than the other two, nodded. "Yeah," she said. "That's them!"

"They've gone off somewhere with my husband Shrek and my friend Donkey," Fiona said. She then raised an eyebrow. "Are you friends of theirs?"

The first girl nodded, "Yes. My name's Leah." She motioned to Catherine. "That's Catherine.""Hey," Catherine said, waving.

The first girl, Leah, then motioned to the smaller girl. "And that's Hanna."Hanna nodded at Fiona, smiling smiled at the three girls. "I'm Fiona. Your friends left a note saying they'll be back later today. If you want, you can stay at the castle until they come back."Leah nodded. "Thanks, we appreciate it.""You guys can head to the castle. I need to clear my head," Fiona said. "And if anyone asks, I sent you in."

The three girls nodded and headed into the castle.

Once they were in the castle and out of ear-shot, Leah turned to her friends.

"So Georgina and Holly have gone into the woods with Shrek to meet with Puss In Boots," Leah said, confirming the situation. "That means the movie can advance on with its original plot."Hanna nodded in agreement.

"But what are we supposed to do?" Catherine asked.

"We stay here," Leah answered. "We stay and watch Fiona and make sure nothing bad happens to her."

"And then?" Catherine asked.

Leah shrugged. "We wait for the others to come back when Shrek and Donkey have taken the Happily Ever After potion. We'll discuss with them what to do next."

Hanna butt in. "So we're just supposed to make sure the movie goes the way its supposed to?"

"Pretty much."Hanna bit her lip in thought. "So… are we allowed to explore?" she asked.

Leah grinned. "You bet'cha! We ain't just gonna stand around and let this opportunity pass us by. Make the most of it, guys. Just don't do anything that could change the movie!"

Catherine and Hanna nodded in agreement.

"We'll separate to do whatever we want but we must meet back here by sunset," Leah explained. "Got it?"The three girls nodded and then scattered off in different directions.