"So, what now?" asked Ryo. They stood in a group, and as if to confirm Nishi's theory, Jiro started to disappear.

The rest of the group tensed until they heard a quick shout, "I'm outside!"

Yoko gasped with a smile, "Really?" Within seconds, Ryo was the next to vanish from the room as he tried to grasp his head before it faded. "Are they really outside," she muttered before she too started to disappear, followed by the dog, then Sora, and finally, Nishi.

Once the initial panic wore off, the group sighed in relief when they realized they were indeed outside; the streets were brightly lit by rows of lamps along the curbs. It was with great relief that they recognized a much more familiar setting, despite not knowing their exact location. The team scattered within close proximity to each other and soon realized they were in a large car park. "Do we like, just go home now?" Sora asked the question, but he didn't know how ridiculous he sounded.

Nishi snorted, "After what the ball showed and provided us, do you really think it's just that simple?" Nishi feared what might happen next, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe they could just go home, and he secretly hoped the rest had the same theory. Each one of them was here for a purpose, and if he had to fight some kind of alien life form to complete that purpose to receive more answers, he would do so.

Jiro turned to the group. "Nishi's right," he said. "It can't be that easy, I should know; there were many times when I was in the trenches that a soldier thought about going home, but they couldn't, they were not given that choice, and I think the same can be said for us, I truly believe what the sphere said was true, our lives, are in its hands."

Nishi didn't respond, but he was grateful that despite the old man's death, which made him sound like a bumbling fool, he had a lot of experience in combat, and his military training more than made up for his senile nature. The boy regarded the others that were with him and thought about what his chances were if he teamed up with them; Ashi was kind of a realist, andwhile Nishi admired that in any other circumstance, the truth was that it wouldn't help when the aliens' attacked and Ashi stood there spluttering facts of denial at them. Sora: Nishi wasn't even sure how the man was dealing with their situation since he didn't say a lot, but the boy didn't trust the man regardless. His instincts could tell there was something very ungainly about him. The boy looked to the girl; she was hardly the athletic type, and he doubted she had the willpower to kill if she really had to; shot by her ex-boyfriend told him that. Honestly, if you're mistreated like that, leave the fuck, or do one better and kill him before he kills you. Nishi's eyes searched the lot; then there was the dog, and who knew where the fuck it went already, the mutt was nowhere to be seen. Nishi sighed. So these are supposed to be my teammates. I'm so screwed.

"So where are these aliens then," Ryo said. "I don't see them anywhere."

Five minutes had passed since they appeared outside, but no signs of a hostile creature; the waiting was nerve-wracking.

Sora finally spoke up, "What about that device, the one that looks like a GPS, maybe it has a signal for them?"

Nishi pulled out his own device and clicked the first button, bringing up what looked to be a map. Well, what do you know, it really is a GPS. Nishi glanced at his 'teammates' and saw them focused on the same thing, and it mildly impressed him, although he suspected they were just following his lead. Nishi clicked another button, and the screen zoomed out.

"It looks like there's a barrier around the perimeter," Yoko commented as she looked at her teammates.

Jiro nodded and pointed at his screen. "I think we're supposed to avoid crossing that."

Ryo frowned; he had never been a fan of boundaries, which might be the reason for his profession. "Maybe that's just the block for the aliens."

Nishi rolled his eyes. "It also appears we have a time limit, it's in the left corner."

Sora gulped and clutched the device. "What happens if the timer runs out?"

Nishi frowned; they were asking him? "Who knows, but I'd prefer not to find out."

Yoko shuddered at the prospect; she didn't want to find out either. "There are yellow dots on the map, is that us?"

Nishi nodded and changed his screen to focus on a specific part of the map. "Yes, which means the red dots must be the aliens." Perhaps I underestimated her survival instincts, he thought before memorizing the map and shoved the device back in his jacket.

"Oh man!" Ryo shrieked, causing them to turn their head. "So then, this really is real, no bullshitting? We've really gotta fight aliens?"

Nishi didn't want to say it was true either; Ryo's reaction was very natural, but now wasn't the time to doubt their situation. He chewed his lip; there was a nagging fear he wouldn't admit to about what would happen to them.

"They're not that far away, shall we go?" Yoko asked, and for some reason, hearing someone else's slightly confident tone pulled Nishi out of it, but he didn't want to rely on them.

Nishi caught her gaze and shrugged but began to walk in the direction he remembered from the map, and once again, they followed his lead; he thought it was strange since he was the youngest among them, and they followed him like lost sheep. The old man surprised him with that because of his background. Ah, gramps, you let me down. He refused to allow them to pin the leadership on him, no matter how quickly he figured out their next move.

The group continued to follow the signal down a quiet street; Yoko stuck close to Nishi, with Jiro on her left side; she glanced at the boy every few seconds and then craned her head to regard the two slightly behind them and thought what an odd bunch of individuals they must look. As if on cue, she looked up ahead and froze, along with the rest of them. Sora was the first to react and bowed his head to two middle-aged women approaching them. "Good evening," he said politely.

Nishi and Yoko didn't react and tried their best to conceal the devices they held, and the two women passed by without a flicker of acknowledgment. Jiro tilted his head in confusion and glanced at Ryo, who looked concerned. "Oh shit," Ryo squeaked. "They - they couldn't see us." Ryo grabbed Jiro's arms to shake him slightly, panic in his voice. "They couldn't see us!"

Jiro smiled at him and pushed his hands gently off. "Now calm down, there must be a reason, maybe they were just ignoring us."

Sora chuckled and scratched his head. "We do look like an odd group."

Yoko gulped and took a step forward. "But we died, what if we're invisible to everyone around us now."

Nishi pondered the notion while keeping his eyes on the device. "It does make sense."

Ryo turned to the boy sharply and reached to grab hold of Nishi's jacket, pulling him close. "How! Exactly how does that make sense to you! How can you be so calm!" Ryo was suddenly pulled away by Jiro.

"Calm down, Ashi, it's not Nishi's fault."

Unbeknown to the others, Nishi's other hand retracted from the gun in his jacket; his first instinct was to reach for it immediately upon Ashi's aggressive actions; it surprised him how easy it was to do so.

"I was sent to that room the same as you," Nishi finally started to reply, retreating back to his calm attitude; he didn't want them to see how it was affecting him, but Ryo's assumptions angered him, so he tried to be subtle with his next words. "How I feel about the situation is really only what you're basing your opinions on. I'm trying to figure things out, just like you." Nishi couldn't help the slight curl of his lips when he said, "Except I'm not pissing my pants."

Ryo's eyes narrowed, and he yanked free from Jiro's loose grip. "Are you fucking kidding me!"

Again, Nishi's hand slipped into his pocket to hold the gun, ready in case Ryo decided to act on impulse and use his own weapon.

"Are you telling me that with everything that's happened so far, you're not the least bit scared?"

Nishi retreated his hand when Ryo backed off, eyes narrowing before glancing away. I'm just not whining about it like a little brat.

Yoko sighed loudly. "Nishi is right, we're all in the same boat here, we need to work together."

Nishi glanced at her and rolled his eyes. "Well, don't put words in my mouth, I didn't say we should be a team."

Yoko smiled at him, and for the first time, he saw confidence. "Yeah, well, we're all you got, so suck it up." She even winked at him, and he wondered if her acting skills were poor or if she really was this confident in reality.

It annoyed Nishi since he had no reply for her, so he just huffed slightly and mumbled, "Whatever," before continuing to follow the signal that would lead them to their task. "We've wasted enough time anyway."

They were silent for most of the way, pondering their own thoughts about why this happened to them.

"Why do you think those two women couldn't see us?" Yoko spoke first as she fell in step with Nishi, the other three close behind.

"It's puzzling, isn't it," Jiro commented softly, as though it didn't faze him.

Ryo sighed, and since he was close to Jiro, he muttered quietly, "You're as calm as the kid." He found it hard to believe that he was the only one afraid.

"Think of it this way," Nishi said, "if no one can see the aliens, what makes you think anyone can see us if we're the ones being sent out to fight them, don't you think that black ball is intelligent enough to make sure we're not discovered the same way. If it's intelligent enough to bring us back, to supply us with suits and weapons, it certainly makes sense that it can make us invisible to non-participants."

The rest of them gaped in surprise; what Nishi said made a lot of sense; he was particularly smart for a kid of his age.

Nishi noticed their expressions and knew his logic surprised them, and as much as their underestimation amused him, he didn't offer anything else apart from, "It's just a theory, again, I know as much as you."

Ryo snorted quietly. Some fucking theory, damn, the kid's logic was bang on, he's freaking me out.

Finally, they stopped in front of a large building, but it looked abandoned, and anyone close enough could see the burnt exterior; it surprised them that the place hadn't collapsed. Nishi looked at the device to confirm that this was where the aliens were hiding out.

Sora was the first to comment, "Didn't this used to be a food factory?"

Ryo tilted his head and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, I delivered goods here once or twice; apparently due to an electrical fault, there was a fire in the middle of the night, and the whole place was set ablaze, took hours to put the damn thing out."

Nishi regarded the building with a slight frown. "And now it's a home for those goblin aliens," he said.

Yoko glanced at him and pulled out her own device. "You mean, they're inside?"

Nishi nodded and took a step forward. "Appears so."

Jiro soon stood in front of them with a stern expression, stopping Nishi from going any further. "I'll go in first," he said, hoisting his gun with a determined look on his face.

Nishi didn't say anything, he didn't want protection, but he knew that Jiro was reacting to his past military instincts and wasn't doing this to make them feel incapable.

"Wait," Ryo spoke quietly, "I'll go with you."

Nishi snorted. Him, on the other hand, he mused bitterly, knowing Ryo was only following Jiro's example to make himself feel better.

Jiro simply smiled before replying, "Are you sure?"

Ryo nodded. "Someone's gotta watch your back."

"All right, let's go."

Nishi shook his head with a sigh. You'll be safer without him, old man.

While Jiro and Ryo investigated the factory, Nishi, Sora, and Yoko kept their eye on their surroundings outside, guns now in their hands.

Sora whined as his body started to tremble, trying his best to keep calm in front of the two much younger than him. "It's kind of nerve-wracking, isn't it, standing out in the open like this."

Nishi's hand suddenly tightened on his gun, but it wasn't because of Sora's cowardice, his attention focused on something else entirely, though he still replied regardless, "Then why don't you fuck off inside, honestly, I thought Ashi was the coward out of us, but I was wrong."

Sora turned to the boy, but he wasn't angry, just a little ashamed. "You're outside," he said, trying to defend himself.

Nishi frowned and glanced at the device before looking over at a point shown on the map. "Yes, but my reasons are far different than yours, I can assure you."

Yoko noticed Nishi's divided attention and followed his line of sight.

"I just thought," Sora continued without any regard to their concern, "I thought my place was out here, to make sure nothing bad happens to you, I protect kids."

Nishi scoffed lightly at the comment, "Sure you do."

Suddenly, the bottom left side of the building blew up, and they turned their attention to the incident in surprise as another hole blew open on the opposite side, completely forgetting about their other distraction. "What the hell caused that?" Sora ran in front of Nishi and Yoko, who were already prepared to defend themselves. Silence descended for a moment as they waited for something else to happen, for the alien to show itself, or for their other teammates to appear. A scream of agony erupted from the building, and Nishi's hand shook around the grip of the smaller gun.

"Oh god, look!" Yoko shouted, snapping them out of their shock. There it was, in all its horrifying glory, the alien; it looked exactly like the black sphere had shown them, and it became all too real. "It's coming toward us!"

The alien, the goblin, ran at them and jumped high, riveting off the factory walls. The three tensed and regarded it with fear on their faces; no matter how confident they acted, the alien was frightening to see up close. Nishi's breathing became heavy, and while the logic to kill the ascending alien before it killed him was palpable, it was the concept of killing that made him hesitate. He had often thought about killing many of his classmates, but that was just his imagination, and it didn't matter whether it was an alien or a human being, killing someone was still killing; it was at this moment that he realized. I want to live, I don't want to die, not like this...my fate is my decision. The goblin was just a few feet away, and while Nishi wrestled with his decision, he and Yoko moved from its line of attack for a better opportunity to shoot. When they looked back, they realized the alien had its sights on the only other member of their group; Nishi shouted, "Shoot it!"

Yoko's eyes grew wide when the alien opened its mouth as it reached the shaking man, and she ran to his aid. "Tadashi!"

Nishi stayed back because he knew it was pointless. You're too far away to offer help anyway; he's a dead man.

Sora clenched his eyes shut and waited for the pain, but suddenly, the alien stopped, causing Sora to open one eye. The alien's torso began to swell, and to their surprise, the body split in half, and blood gushed from all directions, coating the ground before splashing against Sora's suit, leaving him frozen. "What - what just happened..." He covered his mouth, dropped to his knees, and the gun slipped from his hand with a clatter. "Oh god..."

Nishi looked at his weapon with wide eyes, not with fear, but amazement that these weapons could cause such damage. "Shit."

Yoko stiffened at the gory sight and almost threw up; blood, there was so much blood, and she wondered who was responsible because Sora did not raise his weapon. Yoko turned her attention to Nishi; despite the boy's apparent disgust for the man, she wondered if it was him. "Nishi?"

Nishi glanced at her before lowering his gun. "It wasn't me," he stated calmly, even though his hands were still shaking.

"Then who…"

Nishi exhaled shakily but felt less afraid than he should have, and the lack of courage to shoot his own weapon annoyed him for some reason. Who fired the shot? The boy frowned; judging from the angle, neither he nor Yoko looked to be in range. Nishi looked to his left and finally received his answer when he saw Jiro standing not too far from where Sora knelt, rifle poised in his hands. The old man. While Nishi respected Jiro's ability to act quickly, he knew their intentions were different; Jiro wanted to kill the alien to protect them, whereas Nishi wanted to kill the alien before it killed them. Did that make him a bad person? Why would anyone think of others in a situation - as strange as it was - like this? It wasn't like he owed these people anything, and Nishi knew they wouldn't risk their necks to save him anyway.

"Is everyone okay?" Jiro shouted. Nishi wasn't surprised Jiro was responsible for killing the alien. What surprised him was that he wasn't injured. "The guns have some kind of time lag," Jiro said as he ran to stand with them. Though Jiro appeared without harm, blood matted the little hair he had, and the darker patches indicated some on his suit.

Nishi thought the time lag made sense, considering the delay when the alien swelled, though he wondered that was a downside to using the weapons.

"Where's Ashi?" asked Yoko when she noticed Jiro was alone.

Jiro's eyes betrayed his blank and calm features, and Yoko bowed her head slightly. "Oh."

Jiro sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder. "There wasn't anything I could have done, the strength and speed of the alien caught me off-guard."

Nishi didn't understand why the hell they were mourning someone they just met; they were strangers to one another. "So, the alien is dead, what now," he spoke, interrupting their brief grievance.

Sora, who had been silent for some time, began to stutter, "You killed it, you killed the alien the ball told us about, why is nothing happening?" Sora shuffled over to them, his mind still hazy from the previous events.

Nishi looked at the map, and his eyes grew slightly wider when he realized, but his tone didn't hold the fear that shone in his eyes. "There's another."

Yoko admired his bravery but registered his words and gulped. "Another?" Nishi nodded. "But - but the ball only showed us one!"

Jiro wasn't surprised at the information and stepped forward, gesturing to the alien's remains. "This alien didn't come from the factory, there was more than one, this was the third one."

Yoko glanced at him with surprise.

"There it is!" they heard Sora shout and turned their heads; the alien standing before them looked different, its size much bigger, and when it jumped from the far wall, the ground shook and cracked. The alien raced toward them with incredible speed - considering its size - and they had no time to dodge.

"Fuck!" Nishi's calm demeanor finally collapsed; it was the change of appearance that caused it, he thought, and this time, he didn't hesitate; no time to think of his conscience even if he had one. "Shoot, damn it!" Nishi shouted and hoped he wasn't alone because, for the first time, he wanted their support, and he didn't care what their reasons were, as long as they killed it. To Nishi's relief, Yoko and Jiro stepped beside him and raised their own weapons at the alien now towering over them. Nishi noticed an x-ray monitor at the butt end of the gun and wondered if it acted like a scope for better aim.

"It's not working!" The shout came from Yoko, and Nishi's attention shifted to the alien when it started screaming, causing them to momentarily cover their ears.

Jiro aimed his weapon; he thought of his wife, and his determination soared; he wanted this to end. "My weapon has two triggers!"

Nishi noticed there were also two triggers on his gun. He could have told me that sooner, he thought, but before he had a chance to try again, there was another cry from Yoko when the alien tried to grab them. Nishi, Yoko, and Jiro quickly leaped to the side. Sora, who had been cowering behind them, let out a blood-curdling scream when the alien wrapped its arms around him. Bones cracked under pressure, and Sora's scream pierced the night air as his teammates watched in horror.

"Tadashi!"

Although Jiro raised his gun, there was hesitation, and Nishi knew why; it was obvious to anyone, but he didn't understand. Even if we get him free, he's going to die anyway. Nishi raised his own weapon. I'm probably doing him a favor.

Yoko turned to Nishi when she realized his intentions and said, "You can't shoot now, Tadashi is-"

"Already dead," the boy interrupted bluntly. "I know it, you know it." Nishi noticed their disdainful expressions and gritted his teeth. "Come on, we're all thinking it, don't act like I'm the only one!" Nishi pointed in front of them when Sora's scream filled their ears, and the crunching of more bones was heard. "If we don't shoot now, that's going to be us!" When they continued to hesitate, he lifted his weapon and pulled both triggers. The gun appeared to use compressed energy rather than ammo, and after the delay, the alien screeched when one of its arm's swelled before exploding with a gush of purple blood; the swelling indicated that the energy was absorbed, causing the delay on the target. Sora collapsed when the alien released him. "Damn," Nishi grunted in annoyance, "I missed the head."

The alien turned its attention to Nishi, knowing he was responsible for its missing arm, losing all interest in the broken body below; apparently, one missing limb wasn't enough to slow it down. "Shit," Nishi muttered aloud, and even though Jiro and Yoko retook their positions at his side, fear crept up his spine. "I won't die," Nishi said as he glared up at the alien. Whether he wanted to work as a team was still unclear, but if he didn't end the alien's life right now they would all die. Yoko and Jiro moved in front of him to aim, but the alien quickly knocked them to the ground with one hard swoop of its other arm. Nishi's eyes widened; the alien was still in pursuit of him. Nishi raised his gun and pulled the trigger, not once, but four times. "I won't die!"

Yoko and Jiro jumped to their feet, ignoring their bruised body; the girl reached out a hand as if to pull the boy away, but she was too far. "Nishi!"

Nishi raised his arm in defense when the alien swiped its large arm and threw him off his feet, causing him to land with a thwack before skidding backward, and the gun slipped from his hand. Nishi frantically felt around for the weapon while the goblin raced toward him; even though it was his first time firing a weapon, he was sure his aim wasn't that bad that he missed every time! "Come on, explode already," he said quietly, and soon, the alien towered over him again, and he gasped when it raised his arm to strike.

"Nishi!" The shout came from Jiro as he attempted to reach the boy.

The goblin's arm stopped inches from Nishi's head, and a loud cry escaped its mouth before its head, torso, and one of its legs exploded. Blood splattered in all directions, including Nishi's face and clothing, causing him to flinch.

Yoko stopped and stared in horror at the sight of all the blood; it was like being stuck in a horror movie, the movies she secretly liked to watch. Yoko gulped and looked down at Nishi, at least happy to see the same expression, but she wasn't sure if it was because he killed something or that he nearly died again.

"I'm alive..." Nishi looked up to see a hand in front of him and realized it was Jiro.

"Well done, lad, are you all right?"

Yoko didn't share the old man's commendation. Well done? This shouldn't be a 'congratulations' moment; Nishi isn't one of your soldiers Sugihara, he's a fourteen-year-old kid!

Nishi nodded to Jiro and took the offered hand, trying to control his rapid breathing as he was pulled to his feet.

Yoko's legs buckled as reality set in. What have we done? She fell to her knees and placed her face in her palms. Jiro and Nishi looked over at her, and the kind expression was back on Jiro's face as he made his way to her; she was shaking and looked up at him with blurred vision. "Ashi...and Tadashi..."

As Yoko continued to sob, casting her head down as tears finally fell from her face, Jiro's eyes glanced up when he felt his head tingle. Yoko looked up when she heard a small gasp and saw Jiro start to disappear.

"We're being sent somewhere else," Nishi said as he stepped beside her and picked off a small piece of flesh from his shoulder; Yoko grimaced, and Nishi smiled in amusement. While Yoko noticed his lack of concern for the alien's blood that covered him, his eyes betrayed that same feeling, as he too began to disappear. Yoko clenched her eyes shut as the same fate awaited her, her head tingled, and she hugged herself.

When Yoko opened her eyes, she immediately recognized her surroundings and gasped, "We're back!" Nishi and Jiro stood beside her, and their bodies showed no signs of their previous entanglements with their attackers. "We made it," she breathed out.

"Not all of us," Jiro corrected her with a sad tone.

Yoko looked at the wooden floor, realizing that Jiro was right; they were lucky.

Nishi rolled his eyes and kept quiet for now. The ball started to form four paws into the room, and they realized it was the dog they had forgotten about. Useless mutt, Nishi thought with a frown.

Another person soon started to appear in the room, and Yoko jumped to her feet. "Someone else made it!"

Ryo blinked when he realized he was back in the room and shakily inspected his body. Didn't I lose a leg? Ryo glanced up and saw others with him; Nishi, Yoko, and Jiro regarded him indifferently.

Jiro clapped his hand on Ryo's shoulder. "You made it, I thought you were dead."

Ryo sighed in relief. "Me too."

"It seems like whoever is alive at the end of the mission, is completely healed when they are brought back here," Nishi stated as if it was expected.

Ryo laughed, "Well, hell, I'm not complaining!"

Yoko tilted her head in thought. "Mission?"

Nishi shrugged, "I think it's an accurate description, don't you?" He didn't show it, but he, too, felt relieved.

Yoko looked around because there was still one person missing from their group. "So, Tadashi really died?"

As if to answer her question, the black sphere stopped the timer with a ping, and its screen changed to display other obscure writing.

Okay, here are your scores.

Old man: 6 points.

Total points: 6.

94 more, and you're done.

I'm surprised to see you alive, underestimation on my part.

Ryo snorted in agitation, "What the hell does that mean?"

Nishi frowned and knelt in front of the ball and said, "It's scoring us like we're in some kind of game."

Jiro scratched his head and chuckled, "Six points, not bad for an old guy."

Flat chest: 0 points.

Total points: 0.

Screams too loudly. Spends way too much time looking at Nishi-kun. Haha, Perv!

It didn't matter that the ball insulted her breasts because she paled at the other comment, and Nishi was the first to glare at her. Yoko shook her head. "No...I didn't stare, I'm not like that!"

Nishi stood up with a disturbed look on his face, it surprised him since he assumed Tadashi was the pedophile, but it turned out to be the girl, though he found that it didn't bother him nearly as much because there was a much smaller age gap and she was, in fact, technically a student.

Ryo suddenly burst with laughter, "Flat chest!" He found the first comment much more hilarious; he was hysterical. "That's awesome!"

Yoko hid her face in her hands and grunted, "I'm so embarrassed."

Hippy: 3 points.

Total points: 3.

97 more, and you're done.

You zone out and whine too much.

Ryo gasped, "Hippy!? Just because of the way I talk?" This sucks.

Nishi chuckled, "I think it's pretty accurate."

"Shut up."

Dog: 0 points.

Total points: 0.

Wanders off a lot, do something!

Yoko frowned and stomped her foot. "Just how is a dog supposed to help kill anything!"

Nishi grinned at her, "Ever seen Cujo?"

Yoko looked at him and thought about his question, then she hunched her shoulders. "Oh."

Nishi returned his gaze back to the ball when the screen changed once more, and he waited with anticipation.

Nishi-kun: 10 points.

Total points: 10.

90 more to go, and you're done.

Ryo snorted, "Hey, it didn't make fun of you, that's not fair!"

Nishi rolled his eyes, though he wondered why; maybe the ball respected him? It didn't insult the old man either.

Yoko asked, "If it's scoring us, does that mean we have to do this again?" The ball's information faded and became blank once again. "Do you think we can go home?"

68