Zac wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled. [color=orange]"Whoo,"[/color] he said as he examined the empty lot. It took him longer than he expected, but he had just finished taking out the last Heartless for the time being. However, having been in this situation more than a few times, he knew that it was only a brief respite. More were bound to show up sooner or later. [color=orange]"I'd better take a look around the town,"[/color] he said as he rested Stormcall on his shoulder. [color=orange]"Maybe I can meet up with whoever else made it here."[/color]

He was about to take a step forward when he heard the bell sound out. [i]Bong...bong...bong...[/i] At the sound of the third ring, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Over the years, he had heard rumors about the bell in the Second District, on top of the Gizmo Shop, that something would happen should it ever be rung three times in a row. That "something" varied depending on whoever told the story, but there was one thing everyone was in agreement on: it wasn't anything good. As he cast Haste on himself once more, Zac chuckled. [color=orange]"A hero's work is never done,"[/color] he muttered as he leapt from the ground to the rooftops above.

[hr]
Moving across the rooftops, it took Zac no time at all to reach the Second District, an tiered plaza lined with shops. On one end was the Gizmo Shop, which sat on top of what appeared to be a mansion of some kind. On the roof of the shop was the bell, the wooden barricade that had blocked off the bell nowhere to be seen. On the other end was a fountain, which usually depicted a mural. However, the mural was nowhere to be seen. In it's place, to Zac's surprise, was a keyhole and approaching it was a large Heartless. Armored appendages floated around a central torso, upon which a helmet floated and spun. As it reached out toward the Keyhole, Zac smirked. [color=orange]"So, that's your game, huh?"[/color]

He reached the edge of the rooftop of the clothing shop he was on and dropped straight down before reorienting himself so his feet were against the wall. He launched himself off of the building, cracking the wall under his feet as he shot toward the Heartless, flipping so he crashed into the gauntlet feet-first. He rode the gauntlet like a skateboard before it crashed into the nearby wall, kicking up a cloud of dust as the brick facade crumbled. [color=orange]"Sorry about that,"[/color] he said as he aimed his Keyblade at the main body, [color=orange]"but I already lost one world to you monsters. I'm not about to lose another."[/color]

The gauntlet under his feet twitched before it suddenly lurched, throwing him off. Zac landed on his feet, skidding to a stop, and lifted his head just in time to see the Guard Armor swing a backhand at him with its other gauntlet. Zac held out his hand and caught the strike, stopping it dead in its tracks. Despite the heavy blow, he remained unbudging. [color=orange]"I'm not gonna go down that easily,"[/color] he said with a smirk as he swung Stonecall with his free hand, deflecting the gauntlet. He let out a breath and made ready to destroy the Heartless, but stopped. Then, he smiled.

[color=orange]"Today's your lucky day,"[/color] he told the monster, though he was about 80% sure it couldn't understand him. [color=orange]"I'm gonna play pure defense, so you're gonna live a bit longer. I'm sure my new friends heard that bell, so they'll be here soon. I gotta see if they can handle themselves before they're turned loose on the other worlds."[/color] With that, he raised a wall of stone around the Keyhole and planted the tip of his Keyblade into the ground, resting his hands on the pommel with a confident smirk on his face as he watched the Guard Armor approach.