A deal

[Zero]

A booming voice could be heard on the island.

"Mercenaries, I have a job for you. If you are up to the challenge of course. To see if you qualify for the job, I will give you a few opponents to face first."

A portal that was definitely by most standards not considered normal opened. Out of it came two creatures, one of which was avian in nature but there was something strange about this creature. For you see, it wss a failed genetic experiment that Ezra had been meaning to destroy, and he decided the mercenaries could destroy it for him all the while learning more about their fighting styles.

"Your first opponent, is a flyer."

[@Pokemon Master Red]

Aaaand it was immediately fired upon by the twin Lance of Dawn emitters used on the Dark Heart, rapid-fire lances of pure light being fired from above as the glassing beam charged up, preparing to fire. Flora had just been stabilized from the coma, true, but once stabilized, she had entered a normal, restful sleep...Which this guy just woke her from. She'd went to the pilot's seat, telling Alycia to start up the ship, and took off upwords when the bird-robot-thing came from the portal. Which, as afore-mentioned, was fired upon.

[Zero]

However the energy of the lance of dawn would be absorbed by the bird-robot thing and used to make it even bigger. Beams of energy and tornadoes would come out of it's wings towards the dark heart pounding on the shield. Energizing it's talons, it attempted to shred the shields of the dark heart when the dark heart grew close enough. It also lashed out with it's spiked tail, sending hundreds of spikes like missiles towards the dark heart.

[Beware Ye Who Enter Here]

Makarov was woken from his slightly restless sleep in the Dark Heart and fell out of his bunk with a cry of 'rampaging tacos!' as he slammed into the floor. He got up groggily and muttered something that sounded like "Theyre comin to take me away..." The ship shook from the weapons fire and his battle instincts immediately drove the thought of the tacos from his mind. He magicked his ZPA armor on and took his o=pulse rifle from his bedside table. He rushed into the bridge of the Dark Heart looking around wildly. 'What's going on?!" He asked angrily, running up to the pilots seat, not expecting Flora. 'Oh, hey, good to see you're awake." He commented.

[@Pokemon Master Red]

"Rather be sleeping right now...THE THINGY WOKE ME UP!" She said, irritably. She armed the missile systems, and fired three cluster missiles, nine high explosive missiles, and three drill missiles. As soon as they were launched, a shield went up around the base itself, to protect the fortress from the explosions. The cluster missile weapons, when they got near enough, opened up the hull, where several other missiles were launched from, each locked on target of the whatever-it-was. Then, the nine high explosives would hit the target, obliterating the creature. In the off chance it survived, the three drill missiles would attack it mercilessly, drilling through its flesh until they burrowed to the other side, and attacking it again until its dead.

[Beware Ye Who Enter Here]

"The thingy?" Makarov mocked playfully. "What thing- OH GOD WHAT IS THAT THING?!" He shouted in surprise as he came to see the odd attacking beast.

[Zero]

"Congrats, you have passed my first foe. But let's see how you handle something your ship is useless for!"

A swirling portal opened on the ground of the island, and out of it came what appeared to be a teenager. The teenager wore a black robe with strange markings on it and unleashed various attacks on the mercenaries and their ship. The weapons he wielded were at first charkrams, then he slammed one of them with a guitar, and then used a scythe, and then a bow and arrow and a sword, and then a spear, and then an axe, and then a trident. His attacks were so fast people would hardly have a chance to see them coming. This like the others was one of the failed genetic experiments.

[@Pokemon Master Red]

Of course, since he was just lashing out with a bunch of random melee weapons while the mercs were either in a bunker or in a corvette-class ship, the flailings did him little good if truly any at all. They simply opened fire from a few machine guns on the outer hull of the ship, firing at him with a barrage of bullets.

[Beware Ye Who Enter Here]

"What did that voice say? Something about a first foe? What the hell... is somebody testing us or something?" Makarov asked grumpily. He hated tests. They were always annoying.

[Orga the Strange]

Sam walked into the DH bridge, slightly annoyed. "What the hel's going on and why is there some asshole talking about tests?"
"I hate math"