Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material in this episode. This is part one of Enchanted Dominion. Though Sleeping Beauty was not a box office success, it was able to find its way into hearts of audiences over the years.

Episode X (10): Mistress of Evil: Maleficent

Omar continued driving through the portal leading to the Enchanted Dominion of the Sleeping Beauty!

The van continued speeding up to the light at the end!

When Omar saw a stylized forest, he stopped the van!

The heroes unfastened their seatbelts as they stepped out of the van. Zander was turned into the black and white European badger that he was in Snow White's world and Bianca was turned into a golden furred rabbit.

Natius looked around and he asked Toboé, "How come you guys didn't turn into animals?"

Toboé answered, "Vandela, Anakin, and I have been wandering around the Disney Kingdom longer than you guys."

Anakin took out the newly earned Mirror of Recollections and he asked, "How did I get sent to the Disney Kingdom?"

The Mirror of Recollections began to project a small of from the boy's perspective.

(Play Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground by Chikayo Fukuda)

Anakin was awakened by a wailing vocalizing in the air and when he closed the window, only for him to be greeted by a toon anthropomorphic cat with grey fur and golden eyes. She was wearing clothes suitable for a tomboy peasant and a small hat belonging to a wizard.

She grabbed the boy's wrists and she smiled, "I found you!"

Anakin was forcefully dragged off his bed, only for him to feel very tired as he felt his eyes closing without his control and the last thing that he heard was his older sister yelling out the name Arthur! The next thing he knew that he was in the Forbidden Castle, the domain of the four Dark Masters!

Anakin's hand felt numb as he was beginning to remember the abuse that he endured at the hands of the Dark Masters. After the mirror faded back into the glass it was.

Anakin asked, "Who am I?"

Nausicaä answered, "I have a feeling that you might be Artorius Bowen Marshall or as he would prefer the name Arthur, my brother that I have been searching for over the past two long and brutal months."

Anakin had no idea what to tell her about this. He began to think to himself, "Is Arthur Marshall really my true name?"

Nausicaä embraced the boy; their reunion was cut short as they heard a vocalizing in the wind.

Anakin asked Bianca, "Was your ancestress a rabbit sprite?"

Bianca answered feeling insulted, "No, my ancestress was the matriarch of my mother's family. Her descendant, my great grandfather was a drill instructor and was a World War I veteran named Stefan Rosamund. He trained many men to be warriors against those who threaten our nation. His son Eyvind would be drafted in Vietnam at 16 because they assumed he was 18 and witnessed disturbing incidents and had been called a failure by local kids when he returned home a changed man."

Natius stated, "This is not a time to brag of our lineage. Let's find that voice."

The heroes began to follow the trail of the voice, unaware that another was going to investigate it as well.

By the time they found the vocalization, Philip began to sing his part for Once Upon a Dream. This startled Aurora, at first, she had no idea who he was until he said that he met her once in a dream. The two began to dance and fall in love in the forest.

Unfortunately, Aurora had to leave, and she told him to meet him in a cottage at the glen.

The heroes started to follow her to the house that she mentioned; just when they lost their way, they saw a blue and pink aura shooting into the sky they raced to find out the source, and they came across a woodcutter's cottage, inside were three old women one in blue, one in green and, the third was in red.

One of them the third one in red came over to Toboé and asked, "Who might you be young boy?"

The woman in green said, "This is no boy, I can see a wolf beneath that human form."

Toboé asked, "How'd you know I'm not human?"

She responded, "I am Fauna, the fairy of the animals. These are my sisters, Flora the fairy of flowers and Merryweather the fairy of the weathers."

The three fairies explained to the werewolf about the christening of a princess named Aurora and how an evil witch named Maleficent placed a curse on the child and what they did for sixteen years.

Toboé thought for a minute.

Unfortunately, his train of thought was interrupted when Aurora was being heard vocalizing to the door, Toboé along with the fairies hid to surprise due to being her sixteenth birthday.

Meanwhile outside the cottage, Danyal took Bianca to a private part of the forest as she told her, "Your ancestress' story was the last fairy tale adaptation in Walt's lifetime. This was because Sleeping Beauty failed in the initial run back in 1959. In my opinion, the critics were not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. However, it wouldn't be until the 1970s when they re-released it and gained some recognition it deserved. It has since become an iconic movie in the years that followed."

Bianca asked, "Does that mean I'm useless?"

Danyal answered with a simple, but compassionate remark, "No. You are more capable than you realize, and I have a feeling that your ancestral weapon is in a last place you would least suspect. Like a tower, awaiting your little paws."

Bianca was at a loss of words, but her train of thought was interrupted heard the cottage door open. She saw her ancestress Aurora dressed in a blue dress to grace her heritage but is cloaked in a deeper blue as she was being escorted to her father's kingdom. Aurora had learned a revelation that her life was not only a lie, but she was told that she would never see the man that she danced in the forest again.

The heroes began to follow closely behind the quartet, in hopes they would find Bianca's weapon.

When they arrived at Stefan's castle, Aurora was taken to a private chamber and the three fairies created a tiara for Aurora. Unfortunately, Aurora broke down in tears and the heroes had to leave her alone.

As they left right outside the door to the room. Natius began a discussion by exclaiming, "Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

The heroes, each grappling with their own histories and destinies, found themselves in the midst of a tale that was unraveling at the seams. Natius's exclamation echoed the confusion and urgency of the moment.

Toboé, still in his human guise, turned to the group, his eyes reflecting the wisdom of the fairies. "We're caught in a web of fate," he said. "Aurora's story is intertwined with Maleficent's curse, and our paths have crossed with hers for a reason."

Danyal, her voice steady, added, "We're here because we each have a role to play. Bianca's lineage, Anakin's lost memories, Toboé's insight—they're all pieces of a puzzle that's larger than any of us."

Anakin, still reeling from the revelations of his past, nodded. "And if we're to find answers, we must be willing to face the challenges this world throws at us."

Bianca, her spirit bolstered by Danyal's words, spoke up. "My ancestress may have been part of a story that took time to be appreciated, but that doesn't diminish its value as it aged. We must believe in our own worth, just as her tale eventually found its place in the hearts of many."

The group fell silent, contemplating the gravity of their journey. It was clear that each of them carried a burden, a piece of history that shaped their present and would influence the outcome of their quest.

As they stood outside Aurora's chamber, the sound of her weeping a stark reminder of the stakes at hand, they knew that the road ahead would be fraught with peril. But together, they were a force to be reckoned with—a band of heroes drawn from different worlds, united by a common cause.

Bianca went up to the door, being a rabbit she had a heightened hearing and noticed not only an eerie tone, but there was another Aurora was silent as though she was in trance. Natius opened the door and saw Aurora walking into a passage in the fireplace guided by a light that was a green hue as if it was beckoning her.

Mahad muttered, "Damn it!"

Natius seeing this ran to the fireplace, but he did not realize the passage was solid and he hit face on the bricks.

Flora used her wand to reopen the passage and they went out on a frantic search to find the hypnotized princess.

Natius screamed as he saw Aurora walking up the stairs, "Rose! Don't touch anything!"

Aurora heard Natius's yell, but a woman's voice said, "Touch the spindle. Touch it I say!"

Then the princess pricked her finger on the spindle of the spinning wheel and collapsed.

Our heroes and the fairies arrived and saw a woman who was slender with green skin and yellow eyes. She was garbed in flaming black and purple robes and her headdress had horns as if they were from a dragon.

It was Maleficent, and she was the evil fairy that placed the curse on the princess sixteen years earlier.

She said, in a cold cruel voice, "You poor simple fools, you think you can defeat me? Me? The Mistress of all Evil?!"

Bianca said, "Where is the princess, witch?!"

Maleficent answered coldly ignoring the insult; "Well here's your precious princess!"

Maleficent noticed Danyal among the crowd, and she smiled wickedly at Danyal. "Magpie, at last, we meet."

Danyal asked, "Were you the one who turned us into animals?"

"No," Maleficent answered. "You should understand that if I wanted to do something humiliating to you and your friends, it would be something better than turning you into simple animals."

"I suppose," Danyal replied. But if Maleficent wasn't the one who turned the heroes into animals, who was?

"Besides, I don't find anything amusing about a tactic like that," continued Maleficent.

Danyal commented, "Wicked Witch of the West emailed me, she wants her make up back!"

Bianca began laughing at the insult!

Mahad asked Maleficent, "Where's my sister, Dragon Lady?!"

"Your insolence will get you nowhere," Maleficent replied.

Oliver took out a gun from Nausicaä and fired the gun!

Maleficent, with reflexes as sharp as her wit, conjured a magical shield, deflecting the bullet with a flick of her wrist and sending it crashing on the floor. "Foolish kitten" she sneered. "Do you think your weapons can harm me?"

The heroes stood in shock, the gravity of their situation sinking in. They were not just facing a villain; they were facing Maleficent, the embodiment of darkness and power.

Maleficent protected herself with her magic as a brief barrier formed and she said, "I wouldn't do that again if I were you," she warned. "Remember, the younger girl is at my mercy. Try anything and she will suffer dearly."

Mahad raised his voice and asked again, "Where's my sister?!"

Danyal asked, "More importantly, where the hell is Mr. Virgil?!"

"That man is no longer your concern," said Maleficent. "He's now an unwilling servant to the Dark Masters," she looked at Toboé and Vandela and added, "just as we planned to make you into."

Vandela stepped back in fear, not wanting to go back to that evil castle.

Bianca looked at Vandela with concern and she asked, "Are you okay?"

Wizard began barking!

Vandela got on her knees. "I won't go back there. I won't," she whimpered.

Toboé agreed. "You're not taking us back to that castle!"

Maleficent asked, "Who says that I will be taking you?"

Toboé was confused. "You mean you didn't come looking for us to take us back?"

"I have no further use for you," said Maleficent. "I have a new target."

Mahad asked, "Who is the new target this time?"

A wicked smile crossed Maleficent's face. "I could capture you and you could be reunited with your sister. But I'm more interested in your magpie friend," she said, gesturing to Danyal.

"Danyal? Why?" Natius asked.

Danyal took out an arrow and hid it behind her back and she asked, "Of all the potential victims? Why pick me?"

"Why should I explain myself to you?" Maleficent asked.

Natius drew his dagger. "Because if you don't, you'll suffer a fate worse than death."

"You children have no power over me in my realm," she retorted. "But perhaps you would like to see for yourselves why I am a Dark Master?"

Danyal notched an arrow and she commented, "Maybe the power of Christ will compel you!"

She fired the arrow, and a doe spirit began sprinting at the speed of the arrow! Wizard continued barking!

Danyal asked Maleficent, "Where is Mr. Virgil? Why was acting strange in that shrine?"

"I told you, he serves the Dark Masters," Maleficent said again.

Natius asked, "What did he do to deserve to become your little puppet?!"

"He chose to join us at his own free will," the evil fairy lied.

Natius wasn't convinced. "Don't give me that. You tricked him."

Mahad commented, "Knowing you, I have a speculation that you might have hypnotized him over the weekend."

"Hypnosis isn't one of my specialties," said Maleficent.

Mahad corrected himself. "Right. That's Jafar's tactic."

Bianca concluded, "So that Snake hypnotized Mr. Virgil! Tell him to snap Mr. Virgil out of it and send him home!"

Maleficent gave a wry grin. "Do you children ever get tired of jumping to the wrong conclusions? My comrades and I did nothing. And you've all wasted enough of my time. I'm taking the magpie."

Maleficent grabbed Danyal's wrist, but she felt a sharp pain as Danyal stabbed Maleficent's wrist with a hidden arrow!

Wizard was too afraid to go near Maleficent as he was at Danyal's heels backing away in fear.

Maleficent pulled out the arrow and the wound began to heal itself to the point that it was as if the wound never happened.

There was no denying it. Maleficent wasn't like any of the other villains. Of course, that was because the villains the heroes fought before didn't have any magic powers. In addition, Maleficent was a Dark Master.

"Have you children finally come to realize what you're up against?" she asked.

Natius answered, "Yeah, we're dealing with a Wicked Witch of the West wannabe!"

Maleficent had enough. She attacked the heroes with her magic and grabbed Danyal, taking her away.

Natius awoke and he realized that Danyal was gone!

Bianca noticed a small chest and when she opened it up with Zander's assistance and to her surprise, she spinning wheel shaped shurikens and when she picked up one, she changed back into the human girl that she was, and the Three Good Fairies were amazed at the miracle they witnessed.

Flora noticed that Bianca almost resembled Aurora, but with green eyes.

Natius asked with concern in his tone, "Do you know anything about what happened to a man named Simeon Virgil? He's our history teacher who might have been kidnapped and possibly being tortured."

The first fairy, Merryweather, spoke up. "As a matter of fact-,"

"Merryweather," Flora interrupted with a harsh tone. She faced Natius and said, "All we can tell you is he is a prisoner to Maleficent and her cohorts."

Bianca commented, "Hey! You forgot about Danyal."

Natius asked, "Can you at least tell us where he is being held?"

"In a terrible place known as the Forbidden Castle," Flora answered.

"That's the castle we escaped from," said Vandela.

Toboé realizing that Prince Philip was riding into a trap, and he stated, "I'm going to get to Phillip before he suffers a similar fate."

Omar stated, "I'm going with you because you're below the age of eighteen years old."

"Don't do that," Natius cried.

"Why not?" Toboé asked.

"Because Maleficent doesn't plan on taking him to the Dark Masters' castle," he was saying. "But her own castle in the Forbidden Mountain."

Bianca asked, "Is that where Danyal is being held?"

"I don't know," Natius answered. "All I know is Phillip doesn't realize that Briar Rose and Princess Aurora are one and the same."

"He also doesn't realize the trap Maleficent has laid out for him," Toboé said again.

"That doesn't help us find out where Maleficent is keeping Danyal or my sister," said Mahad. "We have to figure out what we're going to do."

Bianca took out a total of 36 shurikens and Flora stated, "Each of us will bless one dozen with a single power."

Toboé commented, "I don't plan to return to the castle."

Bianca asked as she noticed Vandela on her knees shaking, "What's wrong with you and Vandela?"

"The Dark Masters did cruel experiments on us," he answered.

Bianca was shocked to hear that, and she asked, "You were kidnapped by the Dark Masters as well?"

"Us and some other children," he answered. "We were able to escape, but for all we know-,"

"Other children?" Mahad asked. He was worried that his sister could also be a prisoner to the Dark Masters. So, he asked, "Did you see a girl with dark skin like mine and brown hair? Please, I need to know."

But Vandela and Toboé vaguely remembered what most of the other children looked like.

Mahad was bummed out by the answer.

Natius asked Flora, "What kind of power are you going to bless your dozen?"

Flora blessed one dozen with the power to summon vines of thorns to not only attack enemies, but to pierce their skin if they should lie. Fauna blessed another dozen with the power to call on animals for help. Merryweather blessed the last dozen with a spell that would put enemies to sleep.

Bianca stated, "We need to think of a plan."

Natius asked, "Who will guard the princess until we get Phillip?"

Mahad stated, "We need to figure out where Danyal and my sister are being held."

The Good Fairies agreed to be the ones to protect the princess.

Natius asked, "Now that the fairies will be guarding Aurora, we need to figure out which castle Danyal and Mana are being held."

Flora asked, "Are you a descendant of the Fairest One that befriended seven dwarfs?"

Natius answered, "My mother's side of the family are descended from the very same maiden who not only befriended the seven dwarfs, but also was the Walt Maiden of Kindness. Are Aurora and Snow White connected with one another?"

"You might say in a sense, the two are friends," said Fauna.

Flora told them the real truth. "They are two of the three Walt Maidens."

Bianca asked, "Who was the third?"

Jeanette answered, "Cinderella was the one you're thinking about."

Anakin asked Flora, "What did Prince Adam Ashman meant when he told me that my mind and soul are imprisoned in the Disney Kingdom?"

Anakin looked at Flora with concern in his eyes.

Flora sighed, thinking she was going to regret telling him, but she also felt he deserved to know the truth. "He meant as he said. You did not come to this world in the same sentient form as your friends and sister."'

"What?" Anakin asked.

"There was a terrible accident," continued Flora. "Because your body was so weak, only your spirit was able to come here. Your body remains in your home world."

But Anakin was having a hard time remembering. "What kind of accident was I in?"

Flora answered, "A catlike figure touched you using an ability to separate the soul from the physical body leaving it comatose."

Anakin asked, "So then, I have to find my physical body?"

"Before you can return to your body, you and your friends must work together as you try to find your way home," said Fauna.

"Who was this cat-like figure?" Bianca asked. "Is it a servant to the Dark Masters?"

Flora answered, "The cat-like figure is a notorious servant of the Dark Masters. No one knows of her identity yet."

Mahad asked, "Which castle should we take?"

Oliver released a small hamster from the cage and Yuki scurried into Nature's pocket.

He asked Oliver, "What happened to her?"

Oliver answered, "Maleficent took her into the Disney Kingdom and hoped to create a potential monster."

"But she wasn't able to perform her experiment because her crow Diaval was always chasing her," Figaro explained.

"I went to the Forbidden Castle and found Yuki scurrying about in fright and was able to rescue her," Oliver added.

Bianca asked, "Did you see any humans in that castle?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes, there were human children. There was a small girl with dark skin and brown hair."

Mahad listened to the description and cried, "That's got to be my sister!"

Bianca commented, "We still don't know where the Forbidden Castle is."

Having been there before, Oliver knew how to get there. "I can take you there," he offered.

"But if we go there, doesn't that mean we'll have to face the other Dark Masters?" Bianca asked.

Oliver answered, "I can guarantee that you are going to be dealing with more than just Maleficent."

Bianca began thinking about what Danyal told her about the reception of Sleeping Beauty and she began to feel like she was having second thoughts about the whole situation.

Oliver asked, "What's bugging you, bunny girl?"

Zander joined in and asked, "Yeah, you're not afraid of the Dark Masters, are you?"

Bianca answered, "No. Danyal told me that Sleeping Beauty was a box office failure. She also said that the movie became a sleeper hit in the 1970s."

"We've got more important things to worry about than a stupid technicality," Natius told her. "Let's just follow Oliver and rescue our friends."

Bianca pulled herself together. "You're right. Let's do this."

Vandela was terrified of the Forbidden Castle, and she confessed, "Anakin, Toboé and I were prisoners of that demonic castle."

"We sort of figured that out during our encounter with Maleficent and how you told her you didn't want to go back with her," said Natius.

Bianca commented, "Those guys are going to pay for what they did to you."

Oliver led the way, and the heroes followed him to the castle, ready to rescue their friends.

Author's Notes: Looks like the heroes are heading for the Forbidden Castle! Will they be able to find Danyal? Tune in next episode! I would like to give special thanks to MillenniumPrincess for help on this episode.