THE TRIO SAT ON THE COUCH, TENSION THICK IN THE AIR. The drive back had been silent and almost frightening, Phillip holding the wheel in a death grip as he called Flash, telling him he'll be returning his car to him at some time during the day, probably after school. Peter wanted to speak up and ask why, but kept to himself, too afraid to ask. Aurora, who sat in the front seat, just stared at the boy with concern, knowing that he was looking at her from the corner of a his eye behind his sunglasses.

They made their way back into the home, the rest of the city just now starting to wake up, collapsing on the couch, Phillip tossing the candy bars onto the table like they had personally offended him; Aurora wouldn't have been surprised if that wound up being the case.

"Are you sure these are the ones?" Marisol asked, the three women sitting across from the teens who all nodded in agreement.

"If the scroll reveals the next ingredients, we'll know," Peter explained, glancing over to Aurora and Phillip who nodded again, still silent.

Wordlessly, Aurora pulled the scroll from Peter's backpack, careful not to touch his suit as she opened it, watching as the next set of instructions appeared. A sigh of relief escaped the trio, the teens slumping against the couch, all the tension dissipating in a moment.

"What does it say?" Phillip asked, fiddling with the keys he had received from his father; Aurora and Peter were planning on questioning him on that topic later, preferably when he was less upset about it.

ESSENCE OF DREAMS

Instead of a complaint, which had become Phillip's speciality, the boy simply sighed, shifting in his seat, closing his eyes and waiting for one of the other two to figure out what they needed to gather, continuing to fiddle with the keys.

"Please don't do that," Aurora said softly, placing a hand over his own, and he opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow at her. Her gaze darted to Peter involuntarily, the boy ducking his head, his cheeks red; with his heightened senses, it was hard for the boy to think with the sound.

"Sorry," he mumbled, leaning forward, propping his elbows on his legs, "What's the plan?"

"I don't know what the essence of dreams would be," Aurora admitted, "I don't get it. I don't think this is another clever pun anymore, I think this is like the raven one."

"Why do you say that?" Peter asked, shifting around on the couch, hugging a pillow to his chest.

"I don't know," she admitted, shrugging, "I just feel it."

The situation seemed to be the only one where her statement not only seemed understandable, but a valid piece of information, the two boys immediately nodding and believing her theory to be fact, looking over to her godmothers who looked as confused as ever.

"Where would you get that, though?" Phillip asked, "I mean, you'd have to extract part of a dream?"

Aurora bit her lip, glancing around as she thought. She looked towards her godmothers who were using their abilities to bake a cake and cross stitch, habits they had formulated during the years they had been off active duty as X-Men.

Her thoughts immediately flashed to their other powers, all they could do, all they had shown her. Her gaze drifted towards Phillip who was clutching the keys in his hand, her mind shifting to the two cars he now held in his possession, wondering how he could possibly return one and hold onto another.

Then she thought of the portals.

"I know what she wants," she gasped, jumping to her feet, "I need you to open the portal to the place my parents saved for me."

Her godmothers reacted the way she expected: completely unwilling and hysterical.

"Godmothers, please," she called, watching the three begin to pace, shouting over each other, all directed towards Aurora, "Please, we have to."

"She'll find us, what did we say about this?" Rosalee hissed, "Briar, we can't, opening a portal is too dangerous."

"You can throw her off, open a few portals so Phillip can get his car and return Flash's, and in that time I'll get the dreams, then we'll be back before she can figure it out," she said, looking towards Peter and Phillip for help, both boys looking at her like she had grown two heads.

"Multiple portals?" Marisol cried, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Merryweather!" Gazelle snapped, "Don't talk to her like that."

"You agree with me, Fauna," Marisol said the name like poison, taunting the other woman, "If we do this, she'll see the power surge."

"Can't you bounce the power off other places?" Peter asked, looking almost afraid to speak up, "I mean, I know that people bounce off other countries to make sure they're untraceable when they do weird stuff on the internet, Can't you do the same thing?"

The three women paused, sharing a look as they thought for a moment. They never told Aurora much about their work as X-Men, or, truthfully, anything at all, but she did see their costumes on her birthday. They had begun to whisper softly, Marisol and Rosalee at odds once again, Gazelle there to mediate.

Aurora sat back down between the boys, waiting for her godmothers to finish.

"Are they in a relationship?" Peter asked, leaning towards the both of them, "You know, platonic partners or romantic? I don't know, is that a thing?"

"What are platonic partners?" Aurora asked, looking to both boys who shared a look, Phillip more uneasy than Peter.

"It's where you don't have romantic feelings for them, but you're still in a relationship that's closer than just friends, it's a really close bond kind of...a thing," Peter tried, waving his hands and pausing, looking towards Phillip for help, the other boy shrugging and leaving him to flounder, unsure of how to explain it any better.

"Oh," Aurora said, "So if I wanted to be platonic partners with you, I could? Does that mean I can't have a romantic relationship?"

"Not necessarily," Peter said, caught off guard by her pseudo-request, "I-I mean, if you want to be platonic partners, I-I'd be more than happy to, I mean, Diana would be cool with it, and I'm sure if you dated someone else, they'd be fine with it, I mean—"

"Breathe, Pete," Phillip called out, idly twirling a strand of Aurora's hair around his finger, "And, listen, Briar, at the end of it, it's all about who you want to spend your time with and how they feel about you, you know?"

She nodded carefully, looking between the both of them. "Okay. Peter, do you want to be my platonic partner?"

Peter paused for a moment, then shrugged, giving him a shy smile. "Sure, Briar, I'd love to."

Phillip smiled, letting the strand of hair bounce into the slight curl as it slipped from his finger. "That's really cute, you guys. But, Briar, are your godmothers a thing?"

Aurora looked at the trio for a moment, taking in their bickering with skepticism. Despite their disagreements, she had seen the women work as a singular unit, always together and, at the end of it, they always seemed to make up.

"I wouldn't know," she admitted, leaning back against the both of them, "I don't know what people in a relationship look like? Lots of our classmates keep things really quiet."

"Yeah, like Romeo and blondie," Phillip joked, Peter scoffing and starting at his foot, shaking his head.

"I wish I had a boyfriend," Aurora signed, dropping her head onto her hand, "Wouldn't it be great to have someone who just really liked you?" She addressed her question to Phillip who nodded, also leaning forward, mimicking her pose.

"My godmothers say that if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true, and I've dreamt about having a boyfriend at least three times," Aurora said, motioning with her hand as if to show the ridiculousness of it all, and Phillip nodded seriously in agreement.

"I'm surprised you don't have a boyfriend," Phillip said, pausing when he saw Peter make a face, hiding a smile, "Got something to say, Parker?"

Peter only shrugged, humming as he pulled out his phone and began to text, leaving Aurora to look between both of them with furrowed brows.

"Are you dating anyone?" she asked Phillip, who scoffed, shaking his head.

"Dad tried to set me up with the daughter of this one business partner of his, and that was the last date I ever went on. My mom had this one employee who's son was around all the time, but he graduated last year," he explained, groaning as he leaned back against the couch, Aurora leaning back as well, settling against his arm as he spoke, Peter staring at the both of them with wide eyes, mouthing questions to the ground.

Phillip laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "I get that dream thing, though. I dreamt my parents were still together, I had a really nice boyfriend, the whole thing. I don't know, dreams are only nice when you don't really think about them, huh?"

"I think they give you something to hope for," Aurora countered, and Phillip shrugged, tilting his head to the side.

"But they can also give you some unrealistic expectations," he pointed out, and she pursed her lips, shrugging.

"What about the ones you make for yourself?" Peter pointed out, now sitting far away from the both of them, typing furiously, "You know, aspiration dreams."

"Our dream dreams sound like aspiration dreams," Phillip sighed, tilting his head towards the ceiling and shaking his keys, "God, at least I got the car. Who needs a date when you have a car?"

"Well," Aurora said, patting his shoulder comfortingly, "At least you have your car. And you have me! We can be alone together."

Peter shoved a throw pillow against his face to muffle his screaming, groaning as he tilted back against the couch, shaking his head.

"Kids," Rosalee called out, catching their attention, raising an eyebrow at their varied expressions and responses.

"Yeah?" Aurora called, shifting away from Phillip.

The woman sighed, reluctantly nodding to the three of them. "We will open the portals."

º º º

It took some preparation on the part of the women, all of them needing to rest and harness as much energy as possible, and planning on the part of the trio, who needed to be in and out of the portals before they were detected, but they were ready.

"Flash knows?" Aurora asked Phillip who just got off the phone with the boy.

"He's super confused, but yeah," the boy replied, nodding to Peter who was going over the plan in his head, "Briar, you know what to do?"

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to get," she said, holding up the vial she had requested from her godmothers, "I hope you get your car. Why is it so important to you?"

Phillip pursed his lips, looking around the room. "I'll tell you later, okay? It's a really long story."

Knowing to leave well enough alone, Aurora walked over to her godmothers who were whispering softly to themselves, hands intertwined as they took deep breaths.

"We're ready," Aurora said, looking at her feet, feeling as though she was intruding.

"Okay," Gazelle sighed, taking a deep breath as she and the other two women held up their hands, "Move quickly. Phillip, Peter?"

"We're ready," the boys called, standing in position, Phillip with the keys in his hand and Peter with his web shooters.

Aurora took a deep breath and watched as the women flicked their wrists, portals appearing one after the other.

Without a second thought, she rushed through the portal that appeared in front of her, falling into the grass.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the pond, avoiding all the alluring plants, chasing the sound of running water.

Looking around, she caught sight of the floating lights making their way towards her in a mass, the same that she had seen before. They hummed in greeting, glowing as they surrounded her, lightly tapping her cheeks.

"Hi," she greeted, pushing past them, "I need to get to the pond. Help me?"

The lights glowed and hummed in affirmation, circling her and pushing her towards the lake, chasing after her as she began to run, continuing to follow the sound of water. She held onto the vial tightly, not wanting to drop it.

She paused at the edge of the pond, looking towards the waterfall that looked the same as it had before. Glancing back to the mass of lights, she nodded, looking down at her reflection.

She was wearing the same brown dress she had the first time, but it was different, now looking like the one Phillip had bought her, though her reflection still wore the blonde headband.

She braced herself as she watched her parents reappear, still unable to see the face of her father, her reflection deviating and smiling up at them, giggling when they each kissed her cheek before disappearing.

She furrowed her brow, watching as Phillip and Peter walked into view, coming to stand on either side of her. Peter smiled and linked their arms while Phillip tossed an arm over her shoulder, tugging her close.

Peter was wearing his Spider-Man suit, she realized with a start, while Phillip was wearing the turtleneck he was wearing that day with the brown shirt and slacks he wore the day previous after being attacked by the birds, a red cap under his other arm.

She watched, curious, as the boys began to move, Peter hugging her tightly before leaving, giving both her and the reflection a wave. Then Phillip turned her reflection around, bending down and kissing her, both hands tangled in her hair.

Aurora only caught a glimpse of the sight before she was being covered with the lights which were glowing and humming loudly.

"Hold on, I need to get the water," she cried, pushing past them as they engulfed her, their humming drowning out all other sounds.

She felt her heart begin to race as they pushed her towards the edge, trapping her between themselves as she inched closer and closer, the humming drowning out her shouts as she futilely tried to fight back.

"Stop it, wait!" she cried, turning to look at one, only to shriek, finding a face looking back.

It was of a woman in her twenties with long, silky black hair and pale skin, her dark eyes staring at her with a feeling Aurora couldn't describe.

Looking around herself, Aurora found herself staring at the same woman inside all of the lights, her scream caught in her throat as the lights pushed her to the edge, her feet slipping, sending her tumbling to the water, vial just barely in hand.

She began to sink.

º º º

"Aurora...Aurora..."

Aurora frowned, looking around at the completely white room she was in, unable to find an entrance or exit or wall or ceiling. Everything she found was white.

Turning to her left, she jumped as she saw her reflection and the reflection of Peter talking. They looked older, yet wore the same clothes, oblivious to their surroundings as they spoke, their words sounding muffled like they were underwater.

"You're my second best friend, of course I'll be your man of honor," Peter cried, and his voice was deeper.

Aurora walked towards them, trying to find a way out, only for them to disappear in a puff of green smoke, another puff catching her attention.

There her reflection, the same age as her, stood with the reflection of Phillip, the boy holding her close and grinning down at her, her reflection giggling as she ran her hands through his short hair, happily accepting his kisses as he bent down, capturing her lips in his own.

"Aurora..." the voice called again, the scene disappearing in a puff of smoke, "Aurora..."

"Who's there?" she demanded, forcing herself to sound brave, "Come out."

"I can't do that, Aurora," the voice hummed.

"Please, let me go!" she cried, looking around for the vial that was no longer in her hands, "Please, I need to go."

"Why should I let you?" the voice demanded, "What have you ever done for me?"

"What have I ever done to you?" Aurora countered, "Please, if something happened, tell me, I can help you, but I need to leave."

A puff of smoke appeared and she saw her reflection rushing to hug her parents, Phillip and Peter not that far behind, her godmothers appearing not long after. It was a beautiful scene, all of them hugging, but it left a bitter taste in Aurora's mouth.

"Why are you showing me this?" she demanded, turning away, only to jump back when a scene of her and Peter watching movies and making flower crowns appeared right in front of her.

"Your dreams, Aurora," the voice said, sickly sweet, "I remember what it was like to dream."

"Please," she begged, her heart pounding as she continued to search for the vial, "Let me go!"

She gasped as the lights from before began to appear circling around her, as if examining her. She pulled away, nearly screaming, hiding her face from the prying lights; and she thought they were her friends.

"Your existence is despicable," the voice spat, more hurt than hateful.

Aurora felt her lower lip tremble as the lights closed in, her breathed labored. "I'm sorry! I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry!"

º º º

"I'm sorry!"

Aurora gasped as she woke, sitting up, her fist gripping the vial like it was her last link to life, eyes adjusted as she was slowly lowered back onto the ground, looking up to the faces of the boys and her godmothers, all of them concerned.

"Briar," Peter whispered, looking around, "Where did you come from?"

"What?" she gasped, looking around at her living room, "What do you mean, I was—Where did I—"

"You've been gone for hours," Phillip said, his hand trapped in her own, "We got back and you hadn't arrived. We looked all over for you in that place, but you weren't there. Nothing was there."

"What about the lights?" she demanded, sitting back up, only for him to push her back, but she wouldn't budge.

"What lights?" Rosalee asked, her voice low, "Rory, what do you mean lights?"

"There were these lights and they—" she paused, shrieking as everything began to piece itself together, "Maleficent, she-she saw me back on my birthday, she knew I—She got me!"

"What happened, what do you mean?" Gazelle asked, but Aurora's attention was elsewhere.

"What do you mean hours?" she demanded, looking at the two boys, who shrugged.

"The sun's setting, Briar," Peter said, motioning towards the window, "We lost a lot of time."

"Rory," her godmothers began, but she interrupted them, snapping.

"No!" she cried, jumping to her feet, nearly toppling over, "We need to go! Now!"

Ignoring their protests, she grabbed Peter's bag, tossing them the scroll. She had just seen the face of the woman who had killed her parents, who wanted her dead.

She wasn't backing down. Not now. Forget dreams, it was time to act.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 07.12.18 )

This had a lot in it y'all let me tell you and I can only hope I did a decent job. I'm really excited to show y'all Maleficent's side because I'm kinda drawing from her movie since it's also Disney and it's just gonna be a fun time.

Phillip will end up explaining himself I I promise don't worry about it.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!