Third District

A portal springs out of the pavement at the bottom of the stairs leading down into the square plaza of the Third District, and as is blows away in a thin trail of smoke, Xiron stood, looking around for their foes.

A second portal springs into life just after, and slightly higher on the steps, the one leaving Xiron behind in the square vanished. As this Corridor dissipated, Xabel crouched low on the steps, looking around, a hand on the pommel of his sword. "Have they shown themselves?"

Xiron leaned back behind the wall and knelt on the lowest step. "I don't see any yet, but they like to hide out. We might have to hunt them down before they show themselves..." He racked his mind for every section of the Third District, thinking about where this one might be hidden.

Joining them Raxen portaled in after Xabel in almost a row up the stairs. "just be patient, they mostly show when going out into the square. We'll catch as many as possible." Just as he said, visible near the Zero District doors came a small bulky vendor, it wobbled lazily around the door. No heart to satisfy it's tastes and definately non sensing any in the three nobodies, it wobbled further. And in nearly the same fashion another came, and another. Slowly they filled up the small square, others through portals of darkness, some from the first district. Why they had come here, they were unsure. But by the time Raxen spoke, " I told you waiting would pay off gentlemen" The square had at least 20 in count, a rare spectacle for such a heartless, completely beyond it's behavior.

Xabel blinked, tilting his head to the left slightly. "What...." he started, trailing off in his sentence before continuing, "....Why are there so many of them here?" He asked, an arching a brow. He stood up from his crouch, and turned his head back towards Raxen.

"It seems to me like they're.......gathering. What say you?"

Xiron stayed still, watching them from around the corner of the wall. "Strange behavior indeed..." he said, after a long pause, "I've never seen them act like that."

Raxen Smirked and nodded, "they'd done this when I was last there, meaning it's easy picking as long as we can capture as many as possible. The rumors were worth it after all" He gazed over to the others and back to the horde. "It seems like there is a large concentration of darkness drawing them in, dont let your guard down"

He nodded, and checked the looseness of his blade, making sure it was ready to be drawn on a moments notice. Satisfied with its holdings, he turned the corner and out into the congregation of Heartless, aiming for the nearest's dispenser.

Xabel shrugged, nodding at the likeliness of a great darkness, and followed Xiron into the horde-filled square, making a Bee-line for one of the Gumball machine Heartless.

"Remember not to kill them until you get the prizes from them!" Raxen shouted as a last reminder as he followed suit. He clutched his hands and seemed to be holding air, and in a flash of silver two hookshaped swords came into view. Raxen gripped them tight by their wood handles and changed at a bulky vendor

Xiron did not need to be told. He charged the nearest Vendor and dove onto it, planting it to the ground and turning the dispenser until its winnings dropped out of its glass head and spilled onto the pavement. He scooped them up as quickly as he could, depositing them into his pockets, and ran for the next one.

Xabel snorted at Raxen's reminder, and, following Xiron's suit, swung low to the ground, knocking one of the Bulk Vendors over with a sweeping kick. He then crouched over the creature, pinning it to the ground with his knee as he twisted the dial for the dispenser until the Heartless spilled its prizes from its face and onto the pavement. He quickly picked them up, shoving them into his bag before moving onto the next creature.

Raxen ran past the others as they were busy collecting from the ones they had,. He tackled one, rolling slightly across the ground with the bulky vendor and grabbed his knob, turning it and unleashing it's prizes which he just as quickly made vanish as if into thin air. He slashed at the remains of the heartless, taking it's heart in tow with it's bounty.

As Xiron collected the prize from one, he tossed the Heartless into another, stunning it and allowing him to tackle another before getting to it, always keeping an eye around the plaza for any other Heartless showing up.

Xabel growl, chuckling as he ran up on another two of the bulk vendors, knocking them both to the ground, and pinning them loosely, turning both dials at once, but slightly slower due to the dual effort. The second the prizes were unleashed, he swept them up, and threw them into his back, tossing one Vendor into the other dismissively as he turned, looking for danger, and his next target.

Xiron stopped his charge and concentrated for a moment standing completely still. Simultaneously, five nearby Bulky Vendors found their dials turning, spewing out their prizes. Xiron shook his head as he finished, and collected all the capsules.

Turning towards some bulky vendors he extended his hand and sword out. The Sword fluidly stretched out and closed the distance between him and the heartless, wrapping around their gumball machine like heads. Raxen let go of the sword and rushed over to them, kneeling in front of each. He claimed his prizes, even more than what he got from the first and put it all away. Standing he grabbed the wooden handle of his sword and pulled, and it's grasp on the vendors tightened to the point that they broke. As their hearts flew upwards aimlessly he moved his sword to his side as it reformed to it's already unusual shape. He looked over towards the other heartless, despite running on instinct, they seemed to know what what to become of them as they began to wobble away in groups. Fear for their lives overpowering the need for whatever this darkness was.

Xabel jumped up, and into work. Making a short, sprinting beeline towards the nearest feeling group, jumping into the air and landing, with an energy-coated fist to the ground, in their midst. The energy shot forth from his fist like a shock wave, stunning the creatures just long enough for him to grab the prizes from six of eight before the remaining two began to book it once more.

He growled to himself, and set off after them.

Seeing the Vendors begin to flee, Xiron began to run past them, picking up one as he went and hurtling it toward a wall, shattering its container and releasing its heart. He slid to a halt as he approached the door to the Zero District and stood to face the fleeing Heartless, blocking their path. He dove at the first in line to leave and caught its dial.

Xabel himself took Xiron's example, and made an immediate move for the door to the First District, knocking several of the Bulky Vendors off of their nubby excuses for feet as he went. A small group had barely made it out of the doors by the time he got there, a total of three, but he grabbed the straggler of the group, and plopped it down, turning its dial, and claiming the prizes.

Xab then turned, and crouched low, thankful that the creatures were incapable of jumping, to block their path, and to rush them quickly.

Raxen flicked his hand and the black and white thorns sprouted out in from of the remaining entrances, blocking and hurting the escape attempts of the scared heartless. "That's good, seems like this is all going according to plan" He chuckled to himself smirking, busy as he turned another dial to free the contents from another captive heartless. Seeing all the threats, the vendors did not have much choice, pulling themselves to one spot in the center of the district, unsure of how to avoid complete oblivion.

The darkness seemed to get denser among the activity of the three nobodies and heartless prey.

If Xiron noticed the growing darkness in the square, he payed no mind to it, focusing on his goal of collecting as many capsules as he could from the Vendors. Those he could not get a hold of, he would unleash his blade on, throwing them into the brick walls around, some of their hearts releasing, others simply fading to darkness.

Xabel shuddered a little under the increasing density of the darkness, casting his head over his shoulder every now and then out of paranoia. His blade tore into the empty head of one of the Vendors who had not managed to make it into the safety of the group. The glass head shattered loudly as the blade fell again, severing the body and releasing the heart, letting the glowing, crystalline figure float upwards and away, until it could no longer be seen by the naked eye. The man turned to his comrades, his voice choked under the harshness of the darkness.

"Lets finish this quickly.." he said, quietly, though his hushed voice managed to echo around the square. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting here....not at all..."

Stunned by Xabel's tone of discomfort, not something usually heard from him, especially in battle, Xiron averted his gaze to the growing darkness. He glanced at the Heartless corralling below it, and cast his eyes at the other two. "Tell me the plan, and I'll keep to it!" He turned back to the Heartless, now focusing a little heavier on releasing their hearts than collecting their capsule prizes.

Xabel shrugged at Xiron in response, as a bright, burning energy formed on the calves of his legs, dissipating after a few seconds to reveal grieves, done in the alternating off-white and blended purple that represented the Nobodies.

"Gotta be prepared..." he said with another shrug, before setting to work, kicking in the heads of the Vendors, now following the example of Xiron, and aiming to take their hearts rather than their prizes.

Raxen stared at the group, the darkness seemingly visible in the crowd of surviving heartless. A small purple and black orb pulsated, seemingly grew bigger as it drew Rax's attention enough to completely focus on it. As he squinted his eyes at it , he saw it; a bright pair of yellow eyes slowly growing and staring back at him and the darkness grew and grew. As if it had it's own gravitaional pull, one bulky vendor was pulled into it, and then another. Their wiggling and frantic tries at escape foiled as yet another they stuck and became a cluster, one by one getting ever bigger

Xiron hardly payed attention passed his own target. He only noticed the growing orb as a Vendor he was about to attack flew into the air and into its core. He stopped and stood, watching it grow, staring into the eyes at the center, slowly drawing his short sword, the Defender, from his back. Preparing for what might come.

"Were you expecting this, Rax?"

Xabel blinked, and growled deep in his throat. "What the hell is this darkness?" He asked, getting into a rather animated fighting stance, his arms held in the regular face guard position, but lower, closer to his chest, and extended further out, and he was bouncing slightly, shifting his weight from foot to foot as they waited...

"No, not until now....." He stepped forward warily eyeing the mass. Soon enough every loose Bulky Vendor has become part of the mass, their small stubby legs wiggling for freedom in wild confusion. The darkness only grew and over took them., becoming completely black before taking shape in something very, very large.