Hojo looked around the area. "Where is this place?" Hojo turned to look behind him. "A temple?" With a slight gasp, he spotted Sadako hiding behind one of the pillars. "Hey! You! Now you're being transported with me?" Damn it, why can't she leave me alone.

The other players soon arrived close by.

Kondo laughed as he pointed at the priest. "Have you been crying man?"

The priest quickly wiped his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"We didn't see them here the other night, so those two must be the aliens. Right Kei?" Kato said as he turned to face his friend.

Kurono nodded. "Yeah, that's them."

"What the fuck!" Haruya shouted. "You can't tell me those big giant statues are the aliens after what we faced last time!"

Nishi narrowed his eyes as he readied his weapon. "I don't suppose you know how many points one of those is worth?"

Kurono lifted his head in thought. "Well, let's see, last time I had thirty-eight points at the end of the Suzuki mission, and I had a total of forty-six points at the end of this mission. So I guess around four."

Nishi scoffed. "Four points? That's it?"

Kurono nodded. "It doesn't matter. The important thing is that we gotta kill them together. Otherwise they'll learn from the other and it'll be harder to kill."

Tetsuo frowned and approached Kurono. "Just what the hell are you talking about? How do you know how to kill these things?"

Kurono tried to shrug it off. "Oh, well. Just a guess."

Tetsuo shook his head. "No way, that was too specific, and you know how much their score worth is. What else do you know? Something is screwy here."

"We don't have time for anything else right now," Kato said. "We have to beat those two as quickly as possible."

"Stop telling us what to do shithead!" Haruya shouted.

Kurono bared his teeth and looked at Tetsuo. "I don't have time to explain, but if you survive this mission, I'll tell you then, deal?"

Tetsuo scowled for a moment and then gave the teen a small grin. "Yeah, deal."

1:19:45.

Haruya gasped. "Fuck Tetsuo, you're a goddamn pussy these days."

Hojo sighed; he didn't know what was going on either, but he wanted to survive, so he would roll with it for now. "What do we do? How do we beat these things?"

Kato looked up at them. "We'll have to split into two groups and fire at them before they have the chance to attack first."

Nishi grinned. "A pre-emptive strike, I didn't expect that of you, though I'd be willing to bet that wasn't your idea originally." Nishi quickly glanced at Kurono before continuing. "Are you sure you're ready to shoot this time? Because if not, you might as well keep back and pray mindlessly with the fucking priest."

Kato frowned. "No, I'm ready. I – I won't hesitate."

Nishi laughed. "Oh, I'm convinced."

Kishimoto raised her fist in protest. "He's ready, you just wait!"

Kurono stepped between them before any other arguments could follow. "Alright, excluding the priest, the dog and the kid, there's fourteen of us. So seven take on Grumpy, and the other seven will take the Ferocious one." The players exchanged glances before reluctantly separating into two groups of seven.

Grumpy alien: Kurono, Sei, Nishi, Hojo, Sadako, Kayo, and Tetsuo.

Ferocious alien: Kato, Kishimoto, JJ, Kondo, Tomashino, Haruya, and Togo.

"On my mark," Kurono said, smiling as Sei stepped beside him with her gun. "Shoot at both legs and the head."

Nishi raised his gun with an annoyed frown. Why the hell am I even doing this? I don't work with anyone, not since… Nishi glanced at Kurono, and whether he liked it or not, Kei had his respect, and if he bailed on him now, who knows what would happen in the events to come. The cold fact was that Nishi needed to make sure Kurono survived this mission because as much as it grated on Nishi's nerves to admit, but without him, there wasn't a chance in hell. Fuck you Kei, I hate you for this.

Before the players could pull their triggers, the priest ran in front of them and waved his arms. "No, no! You must not shoot at such sacred statues, and not on such sacred grounds. Do not anger the gods!"

Nishi gritted his teeth. I knew I should have just killed him back in the room. Who the hell would care if one pathetic priest died?

"Those aren't sacred statues you ass!" Kurono shouted. "Those things will kill you in a second. Get out of the fucking way dammit!"

"They could attack any minute now," Kishimoto said with concern.

Sei looked up at them, still unmoving. "Are you sure about that? They don't even look alive to me."

"Come on, we've wasted enough time here," Kato said, and everyone raised their weapons at their assigned alien.

1:05:36.

The priest stretched his arms wide. "If you shoot them, you will go straight to hell!"

Suddenly, the priest's head bulged and exploded. There were a few yelps of protest as his body soon dropped to the floor in a pool of blood.

"Oh shit," Kurono breathed out before turning to Nishi.

Nishi clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "We were all thinking about it, but the fact that it wasn't me is disappointing."

Tetsuo gasped lightly when Haruya stepped forward, laughing down at the body of the priest. "Oops, looks like I'm going to hell!"

"Haruya! What the fuck did you do that for?"

Haruya turned to face Tetsuo with a grin. "Cause I fucking can! Who the fuck cares! He was a useless asshole anyway, right?"

Hojo glanced over to see Ryota hugging his grandmother tightly around her waist. Damn, this is already out of control.

"If you want to kill something, get the aliens fat ass!" Kurono shouted and lifted his gun to the Grumpy alien's head, and just as he fired three shots, its foot suddenly plowed through the wood. The group quickly moved out of the way as it stomped forward. "Fuck, so much for that plan."

Haruya turned to look up at the statue in horror. "Huh?"

Tetsuo shouted, "Move idiot!"

The Grumpy alien's foot connected with Haruya's body and kicked him flying. The rest of the players watched Haruya fly through the air toward the large bell, shouting, "Fuck you Tetsuo," before landing with a thwack against it.

Nishi laughed. "For a fat fuck, he sure flew further than I expected."

Kurono crouched low, his legs bulging with the suit. "Just shoot it! And get the other one before it moves!" Kurono jumped into the air, heading straight for the alien's shoulder.

Nishi grinned and cocked his gun, using the x-ray to pinpoint Grumpy's limbs. "I'm not letting you have all the fun."

Kurono landed on the alien's shoulder, holding onto nothing but its solid ear with one hand and firing his weapon with the other. Nishi fired multiple shots, holding the trigger for a more powerful build-up before releasing it. Soon enough, Tetsuo, Hojo, Sadako, and Sei followed suit and surrounded it, firing their own weapons.

Kayo bent down to Ryota and lay her hand on his shoulder. "You stay here with Rice and don't move."

Ryota sniffled as he held onto the dog. "But Grandma, I want you with me."

Kayo stood up and took the x-gun from her holdall, holding it the way Kurono and Kato showed her after the Suzuki mission. "Grandma is going to help them defeat those aliens." Kayo jogged over to the battle and began firing the gun at Grumpy's feet, causing Nishi to stare in surprise for a moment.

"Grandma! Come back!"

Kurono balanced himself on the bulky arm and tried to shoot the alien's head, but it swung an arm low, and the force of its weight knocked the players below off their feet, and they hit the ground with a thud but were unharmed. "Die fucker!" Kurono shouted when parts of the alien's body began to blow off due to the delay in the team's attacks. The legs soon blew up at the kneecaps, revealing the cracked bone from the joints, and Grumpy began to fall forward. Kurono jumped off at the last second. "Everybody move!"

The team below quickly got to their feet and spread out a fair distance so they didn't get crushed by the alien.

"Kato!" Kishimoto pushed Kato out of the way before Ferocious could grab for him, and she landed on top of him in the center of the steps.

Kato sat up with her and smiled as they stood up. "Thank you."

Tomashino, Kondo, and JJ continued to fire at its legs. "Hey, when you two are done flashing googly eyes at each other, we'd like a hand!" Kondo shouted.

Kato and Kishimoto chuckled nervously before turning to face the alien after picking up their weapons.

Just like the Grumpy alien, parts of Ferocious's body began to explode. "Alright! Now We're getting somewhere!" Tomashino cheered with a raise of his weapon.

"Keep going!" Kato encouraged as he and Kishimoto began to fire again.

One of the Ferocious's arms came down without warning and smashed into the ground, causing the players to shield themselves from the debris. "Shoot at its head!" Kondo shouted.

00:59:12.

Nishi grinned as he, Kurono, and the other players circled the fallen Grumpy alien, still alive but unable to move. "So, who gets the points?"

Hojo huffed. "Are you kidding me? We could have died fighting this thing."

Nishi looked at Kurono, awaiting an answer after seeing the thoughtful gaze on his face.

Kurono chuckled lightly. "The alien was easier to defeat than last time, I feel like I didn't really earn them."

Sei stared at Kurono, wondering just how long he'd been doing this to take things so lightly.

Nishi shrugged and aimed his weapon for Grumpy's head. "Suit yourself. I don't care who fired the most shots, it's the kill shot that counts." Nishi grinned and pulled the trigger. Blood gushed in several directions when Grumpy's head blew up, causing the others to jump back. Nishi looked up to see Kayo staring at him with either concern or disapproval due to the blood coating his clothing. "You'll get used to it if you live long enough," he told her casually.

"Grandma!" Ryota ran over to the group, and Kayo hugged him tight when he wrapped his arms around her.

"See, grandma told you I'd take care of things."

"Tsk."

"Oh shit, it jumped!" The group turned when they heard Tomashino's voice bellow behind them.

"Kei! It's coming for you," Kato warned.

Kurono's group craned their heads to see Ferocious speeding down upon them from a great height. "No time to shoot, everybody get out of the way!" Kurono grabbed Sei's hand to pull her with him out of harm's way.

Tetsuo cursed loudly and jumped down the steps to run across the street.

Nishi shoved the old woman and child forward, urging them to hurry up as he jumped in the opposite direction, landing on the low roof, and they ran over to the other group.

Hojo was about to run, but the alien seemed extremely close now and wasn't sure he'd have enough time to escape. "Oh shit!"

"Hojo!" Kishimoto shouted with concern.

Kurono turned back once he and Sei were a safe distance away. "Move idiot!"

Hojo felt someone suddenly shove against him, and they both toppled over the low wall just before Ferocious landed with a smash. The drop caused a strong force to follow, and the players held onto the nearest solid object to keep from flying backward.

Hojo sat up in surprise to find Sadako on top of him, looking at him for the first time. "Your face, I can see your face…" Given how much she hid from him in such a creepy way, he had never pictured her to look quite so cute. This has to be really bad timing to finally notice her. Hojo and Sadako stood up, and she ran away from him again.

Before Ferocious could stand up, Nishi jumped from the low roof and landed on its shoulder, mimicking Kei's moves from before.

Kurono's eyes widened. "Oh what the fuck!" Kurono left Sei's side and ran toward the scene, hoping to reach them before the alien stood up. "Nishi!" Kurono jumped forward, and just before the alien stood up, he pushed the younger teen off from its shoulders, and they landed against the steps.

Nishi gritted his teeth angrily and shoved Kurono off him. "Don't interfere, I didn't ask for help!"

Kurono glared at him. "Are you out of your mind, that thing could have grabbed you! Did you not listen to me when I said to stay back from the risks?"

"Just because I took the points for the green one, you think you deserve this one. Aren't you suddenly a hypocrite. Boasting about teamwork and surviving the mission with everyone, but just like me, you just want the score."

Kurono growled. "That isn't true, and you know it! I was trying to keep you from risking your life just for another four points when we still have so many to defeat, so stop putting words in my mouth and-"

"Kei!" Sei called out in warning.

Kurono and Nishi both turn their attention to the warning only to get slammed in the torso with a large foot which sent them crashing through the wooden door of the temple.

"Oh crap!" Kondo shouted. "Even after all that damage, it's still moving!"

00:54:13.

Kato and Kishimoto ran through the rubble of the now open entrance. "Kei, are you both alright?"

"Kurono?"

Kurono groaned and sat up, rubbing his head slightly before getting to his feet, followed by Nishi. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Nishi picked up his fallen gun, thankful it hadn't fallen too far away and was still functional, as was his suit.

Kishimoto looked behind her. "Nishi, are – are you okay?"

Nishi scoffed. "I don't need your pretend pity, big tits, just focus on your hypocrite boyfriend and your fling on the side." Nishi glared at them, particularly Kurono, who he was still annoyed with. "I wonder which of you is which," he finished with a small grin.

Sei appeared with a look of concern. "Are you alright Kei?"

Nishi's grin widened. "Oh, I forgot about you. I suppose your love triangle just became a square," he laughed.

Kishimoto huffed in frustration with her hands on her hips. "For your information I wasn't pretending, because some people just care because they're nice, and furthermore, Kato is my boyfriend, and Kurono and I are just friends!"

Kurono groaned inwardly. Ah, she didn't have to say that so quickly. That was really harsh. Kurono looked at Sei and smiled. But I suppose it doesn't matter anyway.

"Run! It's coming this way!" Tomashino shouted as he and the rest of the players came running through the broken entrance.

"Oh shit, let's go!" Kurono shouted.

Nishi, Kato, Kishimoto, and Sei followed Kurono and descended the steps, skipping a few at a time as they jumped.

Kurono smiled confidently. Yeah, this area is way better. I totally remember it now. We can win this! Kurono skidded to a stop and turned to face the alien. Nishi is wrong. I'm not in this for my score, dammit. "Now, everyone shoot together!"

Nishi narrowed his eyes but complied with the request. Hypocrite.

Everyone who still had a weapon to hand, each fired multiple shots, trying their best to keep a safe distance. Just as Ferocious made a move toward them, the lower half of its body bulged and exploded, and the top half crashed to the ground. The players breathed a sigh of relief.

Nishi stepped forward, intending to take the points once more, but before he could act, the head blew up. Nishi frowned at Kurono, who shrugged and shook his head, pointing up to the high roof. Nishi followed his direction and spotted the sniper they'd forgotten about. "Bastard."

"Hey," Kondo called. "So, that's it, right? We got both of the aliens the ball showed us."

Tomashino nodded. "Yeah, we did, so that means it must be over."

Kurono's expression became serious once more. Not by a long shot.

"There are more to defeat," Kato explained.

JJ gasped lightly. "But how? That black ball only showed us these two."

Kishimoto sighed. "Unfortunately, it usually only shows the weaker ones, and there's normally others that follow after. We have to be alert and look for any other aliens that might attack."

Tetsuo walked near to the group. "In other words, if the timer's still running, the game isn't over."

Kurono gazed over at a different building, knowing that soon, an extremely large buddha would crash through its roof. I defeated it once, and I can do it again. Kurono looked down to see Sei's hand link with his.

"I'm not worried if you're here," Sei told him.

Kishimoto stepped close to Kato and rested her head on his arm. "Me either."

Nishi rolled his eyes in disgust. "Give me a break," he muttered.

Almost like déjà vu, Rice began barking loudly, catching everyone's attention, and only Kurono knew what that really meant despite explaining it to Nishi, Kato, and Kishimoto.

"Grandma, look! There's – there's lots of statues coming this way!"

"Holy shit, there's gotta be at least seven of these things!" Hojo shouted.

"Eight," Nishi corrected with a slightly worried look. God fucking dammit, talk about an ambush.

"This is bad," JJ muttered.

Tetsuo took a step back and raised his weapon. "Why do I get the feeling these are going to be tougher than those big ones we just faced."

Hojo gulped. "Well, Nishi, you wanted to score lots of points, so have at it."

Nishi growled. "Fuck you."

Kurono gritted his teeth; he had been hoping to find them before they made their way here. Kurono looked at his controller.

00:45:55.

Looks like the timing's a little off. Crap, I thought we were quicker than last time. But then that means...

A loud crack that sounded an awful lot like wood splintering echoed on the building opposite them. The entire group's attention became momentarily diverted to the sound as the head of a Daibutsu crashed through the rooftop, ascending upward to stand near to seventy feet tall.

Nishi's eyes widened; he had listened to Kurono's attempts to explain what they were up against, but he hadn't pictured the damn thing to be so massive. No fucking way.