Barbara
Alex would cartwheel towards the princesses. She managed to dodge most of the attack. However she was knocked back towards the princesses. She stood up, now in between the behemoth and the princesses. She would summon Astral Blast, and point it at the beast. "Light!" A beam of light shot from Alex's keyblade striking the behemoth. "Again!" Another beam of light shot out from her keyblade. Alex then fell to her knees. She was exhausted and battered. Her breaths were heavy. "I'll do my best to keep you safe." She said to the princesses. Alex rose to her feet. "Even if I have to die doing it."

HP:402
AP: 35
MP: 65

Phase 2 4/5
Purest light: -15 AP

Cartwheel: 242 damage mitigation.
Nathaniel
"Yeah, no. None of that." *Dado shoots the girl a dirty look as the Behemoth begins dissolving.*

"Heal!" *A green casting circle appears below Alex, and cool, soothing light washes over her.* 

"And of course Fiora ran off. It's not like she's a *Better healer than me* Or anything. Fucking..."

*The cast completes, and Dado sighs.* "You're in no condition to keep fighting. Rest. We don't-" *He shudders, then continues.* "We don't need more death today."

*He turns and looks at the remaining Princesses.* "Who else needs some healing?"

```
Cure (Alex): 50% HP
```
Natasha
*Dado could see 2 of thr princesses on the ground hurt from the fire, while others just have some burns but can move. Aria looks the least damaged out of all of them.*
Melvin
"Thank you... I believe you are... Dado...? I am Master Aria, Ika's teacher before I had to give my power to him. I only really know your name, not too much else. Just some information retained from resting within him is all."

*She looked at Alex*

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are, but thank you for protecting us. That was looking dangerous for a while..."

*And then back to Dado*

"You know Fiora? She had been helping us hold the darkness back but stopped to help that other guy who protected us. She seemed really distraught over Ika... But I could tell something else bothered her.."
Nathaniel
*Dado casts Cure on the two most injured princesses, then hands out Potions to the other four, giving one to Aria last.*

"Master Aria..." *This woman certainly has an aura around her. Her status as a Master checks out. He starts to reach his hand out in a handshake...*

*Only for everything to hit him at once. His face scrunches up, his muscles tense, and the tears start flowing freely.*

*Ika's dead. Dado could've saved him, but didn't. It's his fault he's dead.*

*And he also __killed__ someone. He took a life. He watched her die.*

*Master Mod's overtaken by darkness. She died saving him. If he hadn't been in danger, she wouldn't have died. That's his fault too.*

"I-Ika... And Master Mod... The darkness..."

*No, NO! He has to hold himself together. He has to be ready to protect the princesses if Maleficent comes through the floor. He can't-*

*Dado shivers in place, ugly-crying. His knuckles whiten from his grip against his Keyblade.*
Barbara
Alex would catch her breath. She took a moment to rest before listening in on what's going on. Then she saw it, the look on Dado's face. What sis she miss. One second he's fine then this. 'no.' She took a deep breath, and slowly and calmly approached Dado. A hand would be placed on Dado's shoulder. "Hey Dado?" Alex's voice was soft and soothing, her face full of worry. "Is everything ok?"
Nathaniel
"I- I..." *He shakes, trying to speak.* "Master Mod- she's gone. And Ika too. And he told me to get Fiora... But I can't, I have to stay here. And she left..." 

*A thought occurs to him.* "AND FURO WAS WITHOUT HIS FRIENDS." *He wails out, the greater implication fully dawning on him. Brad and Icidro are probably dead, too.* "My plan got them killed!"
Melvin
*Aria put her hand of Dado's shoulder and looked down at him like a mother would a son. She shook her.*

"I understand how you feel, but listen to me, please. I assume 'Furo' is that other guy with Fiora. He was looking for his friends when he got here and I told him where.I can still feel them where I told him, so they are alive. And Fiora will be okay too. Furo seemed very strong, and she was too."

*Aria knelt down, both hands on Dado's shoulders.*

"You've been holding a lot in this entire time, and sooner or later that will eat away at you until it bursts... Please, take this moment of calm with me and let it out before it it becomes too much and the dam breaks. I'll listen to everything for you. If you yourself are not okay, then you won't be able to make sure others are. Take the time now so you can focus after. Okay?"
Barbara
After hearing what Dado said, the pain she heard in his voice. Alex could only do one thing. She wrapped her arms around him, purely off instinct. The hug felt like a warm blanket of summer light. Alex would let go of Dado after Aria finished speaking. She didn't say anything, just gave him a smile that ||*Literally*|| lit up the room.
Nathaniel
*Dado accepts the hug, slumping his shoulders. Aria's words make sense. She's a Master. Of course she can feel people from far away. And Fiora can take care of herself. Furo, Brad, and Icidro held their own against the Heartless in Agrabah.*

*He's been holding a lot in... Of course he has. This has been the longest week of his life, and it's not even over yet.*

*He takes deep, shaky breaths, then starts trying to explain more calmly.*

"My world died. On my birthday, too. Not that I was getting any presents that year... Ika and-" *And Twilight. And Pinkie. And the orange one, too. Xion, she's down there fighting Maleficent. He left her without a second thought. He had to.*

*Breathe in.* "Ika and... Other people tried to save it. I tried to save one child. I saw a Heartless-" *No, no. Not "A".* "I saw the Heartless take him. Then, I had to mercy kill it."

"Ika and Fiora helped me after that. I trained a bit. I met Master Mod, and she explained stuff like Keyholes and Heartless."

"But one of our allies betrayed us. And Mod knew! And didn't tell us!" *His voice is pained. There's no anger in it; only hurt.*

"She and Maleficent set a trap for us in Agrabah, when we went to protect the princess earlier this week. This Heartless stole all our Keyblades. Including- oh, yeah." *He regains enough snark that, for a moment, his voice sounds normal.* "Apparently, on top of all the other shit, I'm a chosen one." *Kingdom Key materializes in his hand.*

"I- The cave was caving in. I had to kill the Heartless or else the keyblade would be lost. I stayed behind to make sure it died, and- and..." *He shudders, remembering it.* "I was half-alive. Half-dead. I had to dig my way out. I think I was concussed, too..."

"I- the traitor's friends all revealed they knew. They *Knew*. They kept it from us, so... So we wouldn't *Stop* Her. Not even kill her! We wanted to capture her, incapacitate her, whatever if she turned on us! But they knew and almost got us all killed..."
_ _

"And Fiora got kidnapped! And it was their fault! I had to..." *No. He could have stopped. This was a hollow justification at best.*

"I attacked them. Knocked them out to take them to Master Mod. Keep them locked up until she was dealt with. And after we had weakened each other..."

*His pupils shrink and his face pales in horror as he recalls the image.* "The traitor. She killed them ALL. She- she decapitated all of them in front of us. Her own friends! Ika just barely held her off. I still see their eyes. I still see them..."

"Wh-whenever we came here, Maleficent and the traitor blocked our path. I... I *Killed* Her. I *Had* To! But... I *Killed* Her!" *While his tears had slowed down, they pick back up at this.* "She... And then Maleficent called her a PAWN. Her own daughter!"

"And apparently Ika was dead. And then Master Mod came in and saved everyone from an attack, but her darkness took over, and she... Sealed herself away. She's gone now. And we're probably gonna have to fight her."

"And then I saw Ika in my Heart. He told me how I could save him, but I would have to..." *His grip tightens on Kingdom Key, before the turns and hurls it at the wall.*

"Why did the Keyblade choose me?!! I don't understand! Why not Ika! Why not Brad! Or Fiora! Or anyone the fuck else?"

*After the clatter echoes across the hall, Kingdom Key rematerializes in his hand. The tears on his face are no longer running, simply soaking and irritating the skin. His scowl bores into the floor.*
Melvin
*Aria listened to Dado, listened to everything. With pretty much all of it being new to her and a lot of it being shocking. However she didn't change her facial expression, instead just nodding along and listening. When Dado finished, she closed her eyes.*

"I see, you've had quite the difficult journey so far. It may not mean much coming from me, but I'm sorry. I can't change what has happened, I can only give advice and guide you for your next steps."

*She opened her eyes and looked at Kingdom Key.*

"Keyblades can be fickle. Stronger ones, like yours, can even call out to you, to your heart. I believe the Keyblade chose you because you have a strong heart. Despite all those hardships, all the trouble, you never gave up, did you? You nearly died but kept fighting. You had to take a life, something that I would say is one of the hardest things to do. You've seen death up close, but the light in your heart remained strong."

*Aria looked around at the ice that was still around the room from Fiora's episode. Surprisingly the fire hadn't melted it. She held her emotions in to focus on Dado, but she felt horrible about what he had went through and what happened to Mod and Ika.*

"That's what I believe, from what you've told me. I don't believe just anyone could go through what you have gone through and only begin to break now. But if I may, can I ask what it is you currently want? Anything at all?"
Barbara
A tear would roll down Alex's cheek as she listened to what Dado said. She quickly wiped it away, then for a moment she froze. She remembered what happened in Agrabah. The scars on her back began to itch as she remembered. Then he as asked his question, and something hit her. "If you don't mind me asking. Does the reason matter?" She would look Dado in the eye's "Right now that keyblade chose you. And I don't think you should be focused on why. What I think, if you'd humor me. I think It's not why it chose you, and more like what you choose to do with it. You know? Like yeah it could have chosen anyone else sure. But it chose you. There isn't much you can do about it now. But what you can do, is choose what you do with that power. I-" The exhaustion was getting to Alex. Her head started to spin. "I think I'm gonna go check on the princesses." She gave a half hearted smile. Before she walked over to the princesses.
Nathaniel
*What he's going to do with it? That's obvious. He has to seal the Door to Darkness. Otherwise, more people will die. It's not like he has much of a choice with the current stakes.*

*What he currently wants...? He hasn't given that any thought. He needs to seal the Door to Darkness. He wants Ika back. He wants Master Mod to be okay. He wants to make sure Fiora's safe. He wants Verum Rex to come out. But all of those are out of reach.*

"I don't know..."
Barbara
Alex would half walk, half stumble to the princesses. "Hey ladies how are we holding up." She would be using her keyblade as a cane. Her head was still spinning, but she had to keep up appearances. 'Don't want to cause more panic.' She told herself.
Melvin
"I see. You are still so very new to what is going on. You have made great progress, but you could use a proper teacher. Someone who can help you understand more so you can make your own decisions when that time comes. Would you like it if I taught you? I'm not the strongest teacher, but I was mod's first student. I've spent the longest under her."
Natasha
*The princesses were mainly talking amongst themselves as well as just recovering from what happened when Alex approached them. Belle would speak up for them.*

"We're doing alright. Thank you, sir."
Nathaniel
*Dado ponders this, then sighs.* "Yes, please. Master Mod answered questions when I asked, but she kinda just... Pointed me in directions and gave vague instructions. No one's really formally taught me stuff..."
Barbara
"How are your burns doing." Alex would lean on her keyblade more. She would wince in pain, not all of her wounds healed. "If there is anything I can do let me kn-" She cut her self off. One of Belle's sleeves was hanging on by a thread. "Um miss would you like me to fix your dress? I can't do much about the burns. But the tears I'm more than happy to take care of." Alex would pull out her emergency sowing kit. She gave a soft smile, as the room once again lit up slightly.