YOU GUYS ARE NOW GOING TO FINISH THIS THING OFF:
MERCENARY ALIEN
CHARACTERISTICS: SILENT, DETERMINED
LIKES: GUNS, FIRE
FAVORITE QUOTE: N/A

The Black Ball was showing the mugshot of a humanoid creature wearing a full face gas mask made of what appeared to be metal. Instead of two eyepieces for each eye, the mask only had one big eyepiece in the middle that apparently also worked as a flashlight due to its ominous yellow glow. The Mercenary Alien also had strapped to its head what appeared to be a conical hat made out of triangular metal plates welded to each other. As soon as the sphere opened up and revealed its arsenal, Shimmer grabbed a Gib Gun and a Web Gun, then placed them on her thigh holsters, then strapped a Gib Rifle to her back with the help of a belt that she brought with her.

"She can't complain about not having enough guns." Norman commented.

"It's always good to be prepared." Shimmer said. "You never know what you might have to fight."

Once she had everything the Black Ball had to offer, Shimmer moved to one of the side rooms - the one closest to the ball - and placed her hand on the doorknob. Before she had a chance to twist the knob, Midna burst into laughter.

"Wow, what a great veteran you have there, guys. She doesn't even know that all the rooms are lock--"

Shimmer looked at Midna while holding that door open. "You were saying?"

"Wh-What the fuck?"

"After the ball opens up, this door is unlocked. Just a little detail that every true veteran knows." Midna stomped her foot, clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Shimmer simply rolled her eyes as she entered the Secret Room. "Amateurs..."

Save for Treble, Midna and the newcomers, all the others rushed inside the room after Shimmer. It was just a simple room, as bare as any other part of the apartment, but its content is what surprised the Hunters: scattered across the room were several sword hilts, all of them with the blade missing; they were all made of the same black material the guns were made. Sunset whistled at the sight of the two other items that stood out: two massive black wheels, each with a seat in the middle with handlebars, a very advanced-looking engine on the front and another seat on the back, though it was turned around so that whoever sat on it would be facing the other way.

"So this was here all along? Boy, do I feel stupid!" Sunset said as she sat on the seat inside the wheel.

"This is the bike I mentioned last time." Shimmer said as she picked up one of the hilts. "It works just like a normal motorcycle."

"Well, it's a good thing I have a license, then." Sunset placed her hands on the handlebars.

"The heck is this?" Nolan asked while picking up one of the black hilts.

Shimmer swung her own hilt, making the missing blade suddenly materialize; it was just as dark as the other weapons, but still looked very sharp.

"Holy shit, it's a Katana!" Norman said in awe as he picked up a hilt of his own. He tried swinging it but nothing happened. "Mine is broken."

"No, it's not." the veteran explained. "This weapon is not 'press a button and shit happens' like all the others; the Katana depends on your will. You have to wish for the blade to work."

Norman held the hilt with both hands in front of his face and focused his eyes on it. Slowly, the curved tip of the blade started "growing" from the hilt, and that brought a smile to his face. He stopped when the blade was long enough to pass up as a dagger.

"I did it!"

Shimmer nodded. "As you get used to it, you'll be able to make it work faster. And when you truly master the way of the blade..." she pointed her sword forward, suddenly making it grow so lengthy that it was poking the wall on the other end of the room, which was 14 feet away from her position.

Norman, with a sparkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips, looked at Nolan who sighed and contorted his lips into a faint smile.

"Like old times, huh?"

"Old times?" Pearl asked the boys.

Nolan nodded. "Back when we were kids, an old Asian guy moved into the neighborhood. One day he saw us playing on the street with sticks and decided to teach us how to swing them properly."

Norman bowed while holding the dagger with both hands. "We are forever grateful for your teachings, Karasuma-sensei. May your soul rest forever in peace."

Nolan's Katana suddenly grew to an average size and he swung it at Norman, who blocked it with his dagger-sized blade. He smirked at his friend and allowed his own Katana to grow. They were now sword fighting in the middle of the room, but each and every attack was blocked by the other.

"What are you doing? Stop, STOP!" Pearl begged.

"I see you're still sharp, Little Norm." Nolan said with a smile.

"And you still swing with the strength of a bull." Norman grinned and both started to laugh.

Shimmer returned to the main room and walked straight to the Black Ball. She kneeled beside it and stuck her index finger inside the ear of the man curled up in the sphere.

"What are you doing?" Sunset asked as she followed her back there.

She smirked. "Hey, dude. You know the drill; send me first."

The man inside the Black Ball heard her request, and she immediately started to disappear.

"Early bird gets the worm." Shimmer said as she waved at them before her arm also started to be transferred.

* * *

The Mercenary Alien walked down an empty, dark street while carrying his trusty flamethrower. The built-in HUD he had in his mask guided him through the city as he hunted down his targets. He was slowed down by the heavy armor he wore but, considering the extra layers of protection it granted him, it was a fair trade. Besides, creatures from his homeplanet were never very fond of jogging, always prefering to do things at their own pace. He was no different. Red dots on his HUD map started beeping; finally his targets started to show up. A few of them were already on the move, but most decided to stay on the same spot, creating two possibilities:

Possibility number 1: they were trying to ambush him.

Possibility number 2: he was getting paid too much for a rather easy job.

Given the human knowledge he had gathered since he was sent to this backwater planet, the second possibility was most likely to be truth. But even if he was wrong and they were waiting for him so they could team up against him, they would still lose; he wasn't among the "Top 10 Mercenaries Of The Universe", but he had a good reputation.

The Mercenary Alien finally reached his destination, where a small group of natives had gathered. Most of them looked frightened, and only a few of them were wearing the black suit that was mentioned in the job description, but if his HUD has targeted the others, then he would have to dispose of them a well.

Two of the suit-wearing females started shooting at him, but he had crossed paths with that technology before and, even though he came out victorious, the damage was far too great to be ignored. He wasn't the type of person who makes the same mistake twice, and his new armor was equipped to contain explosive damage caused by that particular type of weapon.

It worked. The females looked at each other, unsure of what to do now that it was confirmed that their attacks were not effective against him, when a third human female used a different gun against him, one that wasn't used to cause him damage, but bind him in place. They cheered for a moment, and no longer than a moment, for he had the technology to escape this predicament. Teleportation devices were very expensive, so the one the Mercenary possessed was of a cheaper brand, that only allowed him short-range teleportation, but it was enough. Free from his energy chains, he proceeded with the termination; the suit-wearing people did their best to protect the suitless targets, but his flames were too powerful, reducing most of his targets to a pile of charred corpses.

The survivors - all of them suited up - appeared to be yelling at him. The Mercenary Alien was capable of understanding their language but he chose to ignore the words spoken; they were most likely begging for their lives, shouting profanities at him or trying to persuade him into cancelling his contract - many targets tried that one before, but it never worked; he always finished a job he started.

He tried to shoot flames at them again, but nothing happened. He looked at his equipment and felt disappointment. Not at his targets, but at himself; how could he forget to bring a weapon that was capable of sustaining the same type of damage his armor could? His preference for this type of weapon had put him on a tight spot once again. Of course, the Mercenary Alien was not unprepared and raised his left arm; he lost all of his limbs after his last encounter with the people in black suit, even though he successfully terminated every single one of them, so now what helped him move around were automotive armored prostheses. But since he liked to take advantage of anything he could, he customized his left arm and turned it into a machine gun. He sprayed bullets at the surviving targets, catching most of them by surprise. A few of the survivors among the previous ones had a blue gel-like substance leaking out of their suits, and he knew that meant they were ready to die. Unfortunately for him, he did not had infinite ammo, so he had no more bullets to shoot.

He took a moment to reload his machine gun arm, but he was distracted by a red dot on his HUD map moving to his position at a very high velocity. Unsure of how a native could move at such high speed, he turned around to check with his very own eyes. A vehicle, of course! They finally exploited his lack of mobility and ran over him with a vehicle that possessed one single wheel with enough size to crush him.

"You got him good, Sunset!" he heard one of the people cheer as he laid on the ground.

Sunset? Considering the time displayed on native clocks and color of the sky, he was sure this was what they called 'nighttime'. He chose to not focus his thoughts on this and did his best to get up. Another female of the species - this one with fire-colored hair - tried to attack him, but what caught him by surprise was the fact that she wielded a blade. He considered the possibility of them being adepts of melee attacks, but he expected blunt objects or even their fists, and that's why he had metal plates embedded in his armor; he failed to consider the possibility of long blade. This was partially his employers' fault, since they failed to mention this in the list of weapons his targets wield, but he knew it was mostly his fault for not being prepared for this. But what was he supposed to do? If he wore an armor that would protect him from projectiles, explosive damage, physical attacks and precise blade attacks, his mobility would be close to zero. Of all the options, he chose to neglect this one, and what a poor choice that was. He should have chosen projectiles.

The Mercenary Alien was worried about the human in the vehicle, but the driver apparently wasn't trying to attack him anymore. His hypothesis was that as long as there was another human close to him, they would not attempt to harm him in such reckless way in fear of harming one of their own. For now, he would try to keep the female close while blocking her blows with the metal plates on the palm of his hands. He soon regretted another decision, for the human with fire hair appeared to be more skilled than he first assumed, since he was now doing his best to keep up with her swinging speed, and she only seemed to be moving faster as time went by.

"I missed this so much!" he heard her say. Was she a mercenary like him who had just came out of retirement? She sure had the skills to be one.

A burning pain. He knew she had been successful and landed several hits on him already, but this was the first one to hit a spot without metal plating. Was this the result of pure skill or a mere stroke of luck? The female had a wicked grin on her face; not many creatures were capable of turning an otherwise mundane expression into a weapon of fear, but this peculiar creature knew how to do it. The Mercenary Alien was barely fazed by it, since he had encountered far more fearsome creatures in his travels, but he knew a chilling creature when he saw one.

If it wasn't for the tracheal tube the Mercenary Alien had inside his throat, he would have screamed in pain; two blades were sticking out of his body, one protruding from his chest and the other from his gut. The female with fiery hair had a surprised expression on her face covered in specks of his turquoise blue blood, so she was caught off guard as much as he was. He turned his head before the people who attacked him from behind moved their blades and sliced him in three different pieces to try and identify them: they were both native males, one with bright red hair and the other with most of his hair concealed under a greenish headwear.

The Mercenary Alien despised those who couldn't face their enemies and resource to sneak attacks like this one. But the female wasn't like that. She was strong, fierce, intimidating, maybe even beautiful, considering her species. That creature was one he could respect. He wished for her to land the finishing blow, but darkness came to him before her weapon did; his conical hat slid off his head and covered his visor, assuring that the face of that fascinating native with flame hair was the last thing he saw. But still...

The Mercenary Alien had an unsatisfying death.

"Yes. Dead. I guess the challenge was a little too much for him." Dahlia Pinnata was standing on the roof of a building, talking on her cellphone while watching the Hunters being transferred back to their secret headquarters. "It's like I say, if you want a job well done, don't pay people to do it for you. No no no, don't bother with that! I believe the trainees can handle this one. Don't underestimate them, I'm their instructor, remember?"

* * *

"Riding that motorcycle was fun, but I think walking is more my style." Sunset said as they waited for the Black Ball to display their score.

BACKGROUND BOY
20 PTS / TOTAL 28 PTS
ONLY 72 MORE AND YOU'RE DONE

SAINTS BRO
20 PTS / TOTAL 36 PTS
ONLY 64 MORE AND YOU'RE DONE

"We did it, comrade!" Norman said while high-fiving his best friend.

KILLER QUEEN
0 PTS / TOTAL 0 PTS
TOO SLOW

"You shit-eating ball-licking piss-drinking crotch-sniffing splooge-swallowing MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLES!" Shimmer yelled at Norman and Nolan. Sunset covered Hope's ears halfway through Shimmer's cursing session and, once she was done, the room went completely quiet.

"Wow." Treble's eyes widened in both surprise and amazement. "She's got a real mouth on her, eh?"

"Uh... What?" Nolan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That was my kill!" she said while pointing her sword at them. "And you little bitches stole my kill!"

"You looked like you were in trouble, so we decided to help." Norman explained.

"Help? Help, yes. Do I look like the type of person who needs any kind of help?"

"Well, you are acting like a person who needs serious mental help, I know that much." Nolan pointed out.

She pressed her sword to his throat, but he didn't even flinch. "You watch your mouth, you filthy pig, or I'll gut you where you stand."

Nolan chuckled, grabbed the sword and pressed it to his neck. "I'd love to see you try."

They were all holding their breaths, afraid of what could happen right there in the middle of the room; if they started a fight, who knows what kind of damage they would all suffer? Shimmer looked ready to strike and Nolan looked ready to strike back, when something unexpected drew their attention:

"You are so young
And you are so free
But you're aimless
And I can't help but see
That you don't know what you really need
Are we there yet? A-A-Are we there yet?
You've done it all
From A to Z
Are you trying
To find your destiny?
One day you'll know who you wanna be
Are we there yet? A-A-Are we there yet?"

"Wh-What's going on?" Pearl asked. "I thought the mission was over, whis is it starting over?"

Shimmer smirked as she "sheathed" her Katana.

YOU GUYS ARE NOW GOING TO FINISH THIS THING OFF:

Sunset covered her mouth with both hands to prevent a gasp from escaping, Adagio raised an eyebrow, Nolan North's jaw dropped, Normal Norman pointed at the ball with an expression of disbelief and Hope pulled Sunset's hand.

"Look, Sunset, look! It's the man on the window." she explained.

FLASH SENTRY
CHARACTERISTICS: PLAYS GUITAR, NOT VERY INTERESTING
LIKES: GUITARS AND CARS, TWILIGHTS AND SUNSETS
FAVORITE QUOTE: "Watch the hair, man!"

"Twilights and sunsets? I never knew Flashy was so poetic." Norman said.

"I don't think that's what the ball meant." Nolan told his friend.

"Alright, you heard BB." Shimmer gripped the hilt of the Katana with both hands. "Time to send a peeping tom to the grave!" she moved to the side of the dark sphere and stuck her finger inside the bald man's ear. "You know what to--"

"BB, send me first. Me!"

Shimmer looked up and saw Sunset on the other side of the ball, with her index finger inside the man's other ear. Since she was the first to finish the request, she was also the first to be transferred.

"You are not going to kill Flash Sentry."

* * *

Flash Sentry walked out of the 24-hour fast food restaurant carrying a paper bag. He sat on the front seat of his car and pulled out a burger; nothing too fancy, just something to keep him satisfied during the last stretch of his trip back home. He threw the bag on the trash when he was done eating his burger but, before he could start his car once again, he saw something on the road that caught his attention: a woman with long red and yellow hair wearing a black full body suit and holding what looked like a sword. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that wasn't some hallucination and, as expected, she was gone. Suddenly, sparks appeared in midair right in front of his car, and from those sparks the same woman appeared in a way that reminded him of a chameleon changing colors. He finally recognized her:

"Sunset Shimmer?" he called. "How did you get here? And what's with that outfit? Is... Is that a sword?"

Shimmer was surrounded; all the others were doing their best to block her path and she just stood there with her arms crossed.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

"We are not going to let you kill our friend." Norman said while holding his Katana in a defensive position.

"Do you even know what you're doing? How can you even be sure he's not an alien?"

"Are you joking? We grew up with him. Flash is an ok guy and 100% human!"

"If Sunset wants to protect him, then so will I." Hope said.

"Protect him? What makes you think she didn't just ran ahead to kill him before someone else did?"

"That's not how she is." Pearl said. "Sunset is a good person. She would never kill another human."

"You're a bunch of hypocrites." she said as she looked at Adagio. "And what's your story? I thought you two hated each other."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't care about any of this." she pointed her two Gib Guns at her. "But you sure lack a thing called respect, and someone needs to make you understand that this is a team, not a hierarchy."

"Foolish fools spouting foolish foolishness, just as expected from a foolish foolhardy group of fools such as this one." she muttered as she shook her head. "Do you nitwits even know what happens if the timer counts down to zero and there are still targets left alive? Well, then allow me to explain: WE DIE!"

"No, we don't." Treble interrupted. "Don't listen to her, she's lying. If an alien survives the hunt, our score goes back to zero and that's it."

"A very steep price to pay, but I'd do anything to see you lose your cool again." Midna said with a smirk.

"So that's what this is about, huh? You're siding with them because you want to give me a hard time?"

"You mess with us, we mess with you." Treble said.

"And how convenient, you ommited the best part of what happens when we fail a mission." Shimmer said. "Sure, I lied, our points do go back to zero, but you know what happens next? Those who failed the previous mission must face a penalty. What kind of penalty? We must receive a certain amount of points the next mission, and if you can't make it, then you die. And I know what you're going to say next: 'we'll just do our best to get all the points we need to survive', correct? But we don't know how many points each alien is worth. What if you get injuried and can't fight anymore? Also, what makes you so sure that the next mission will have enough aliens for everybody to get all the points we all need? Sure, a few of us can make it, but will all of you survive the mission? Are you ready to call that bet?"

The Hunters looked at each other in confusion, uncertain of which path was the correct path. Roll then pointed his Gib Rifle at Nolan North's head.

"Fuck it, I changed my mind." he said. "Saving one asshole isn't worth risking my life for."

Shimmer clapped her hands. "Now that's a good boy."

Following suit, Treble pointed his own Gib Rifle at Pearl and Midna pointed hers at Adagio, who immediately pointed her guns back.

"This is going to be fun." Shimmer said as she turned invisible.

"I-I just can't understand." Flash said. He was still inside his car, but now Sunset was sitting on the passenger seat. "So you're telling me that you're part of this secret group that kills aliens at night, but this black thing that gives you the mission wants me dead for no apparent reason?"

Sunset nodded. "Pretty much, yes."

"But if you can't tell other people, why are you telling me this now?"

"I just assumed that now that you're part of the mission, maybe BB wouldn't punish me for telling you the truth. It was a shot in the dark, really!"

"Ok, let's say I buy that. What do you want me to do?"

"Don't trust anyone." she ordered. "If you see someone wearing a suit like mine, you run. We just have to survive for one hour and you'll be safe. Stay close to me at all costs, I can protect you."

"Why?"

"Pardon me?"

"Why are you doing this for me?"

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Because you're my friend, Flash. Besides, if I let you die, Princess Twilight would be so sad. I don't want to see her sad!"

"Heh! You're making me wonder which one of us likes her more."

Sunset crossed her arms and looked away, blushing. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I-I'm not into that sort of thing, ok?" she then peered out the window. "Strange. I thought at least someone would have found us by now. Can... Can you drive around for a bit? I'm getting worried about someone."

"Sure thing!" Flash Sentry finally started the car.

Only five Hunters were left standing: Adagio and Pearl for the Pro-Sunset team, with Hope hiding behind them, and Roll and Midna representing the Anti-Flash team - none of them had a still-working suit anymore.

"Not bad." Midna said while panting. "You're a natural at this, Adagio Dazzle."

"Yes, my mentor wasn't half bad." she said.

"Why are you doing this, Roll?" Pearl asked, tears streaming down her eyes. "We were friends from the get-go. Why are you trying to hurt us?"

"I'm not a gambler. I don't want to let luck decide if I survive the next mission or not. In this place, is kill or be killed. Forgive me for this, Pearl."

She shook her head. "No, I can't. I can't forgive you, Roll."

"I liked you, Pearls. I really, really liked you."

She looked down. "Sorry, Roll, but I couldn't possibly like someone like you..."

"Then forget what I said, I'm not sorry." he said as he pulled both triggers of his Rifle.

Author's Note

Here's a picture of the Gantz Bike:

And for the heck of it, here's the Katana:

And holy shit, I wasn't planning on making the Mercenary Alien Mission to be from the perspective of the alien himself, but I was glad I did it. It was so fucking fun!

Now, do you want Flash Sentry to live or to die? Not that it really matters, the next chapter is almost done anyway.