Author's Note: Welcome back, my dear wastelings! How have you been? I missed you! It feels good to be back! So much happened last season. This season, we are going to be darker. I know that I have been saying that every year, but I mean it this time. I decided to do something a little bit different this season. I will be posting trigger warnings in the author's notes. This season will be longer too. I can't wait to take you through this nightmare world as I plunge the fine folks of Ikebukuro further into the apocalypse game. Next week is even planned out. Okay, I am going to shut up now and let you all enjoy. Sit back and have fun, y'all.

Trigger Warnings: Sexual content

Edge of Wonderland

Halo Zero: Vice:

-Kitano-

The things we do for our children. We give them everything. Time, energy, love, patience, money, support, and everything else they could need. We would do anything for our children.

Which is why it pains me to say that my younger daughter has broken my heart.

I sighed at my desk.

Reverend Murata Kichizo. He's some priest that is running basically a cult. That's basically what it is. He came from Okinawa, I believe. Now usually, I don't focus on those types of people. (I hate religious nutters.) But you can see where this is going. Yeah.

Plus, he could potentially be a problem to the game. Shoko was the one to first bring him to my attention.

"What is this?" I asked.

"You have to look at this," Shoko said. She pulled out her phone and showed me the video. A man in a white suit with black sunglasses and slicked-back hair stood at a podium. The bright lights focused on him. I wrinkled my nose at the footage.

"What is this?" I asked. The man began to speak.

"Brothers and sisters!" he shouted. "We are in the middle of End Times! Repent! So many souls aren't saved! Repent and you will see the Kingdom of Heaven!" His audience cheered and shouted, "Amen!" off-camera. I turned to Shoko.

"Why are you showing me this?" I asked.

"Chisa won't stop talking about him," Shoko said. I stared her dead in the eye. That should've been the first red flag in my… predicament, so to say.

Now, Murata's church has spread from Okinawa to Southern Japan. His next target? Tokyo, of course. By the looks of Ikebukuro itself, he's got his work cut out for him. Sure, there will be some suckers to fall for his pretty words, but the rest are too sharp for that. That being said, I can't take him too lightly.

All of that aside, we still have work to do.

I reached over to my desk drawer and pulled it open. I stuck my hand in and pulled out a small brown bottle of pills. I gently rocked it back and forth in my hand. A small cold smile came across my face.

"We found a way to tackle that nasty to heart problem our pets are having," I said in the tape recorder. "The next experiment can begin." I hit stop on the recorder.

-Mikado-

He couldn't get rid of that chalky taste in his throat. Mikado sat up in his futon, swallowing.

"What's the matter?" Masaomi asked.

"I don't know," Mikado said. "I can't get this bad taste out of my mouth."

"Bad taste?" his friend asked.

"Yes," his friend said. "It's like just stuffed chalk dust down my throat." Mikado swallowed again and rubbed his throat. Masaomi tilted his head.

"You don't think it's another experiment on you, is it?" he asked. Mikado turned his head with wide eyes. His best friend shrugged.

"I mean…" he began to say. Suddenly, Mikado's phone rang. His stomach dropped at the sound.

"Phone!" Hikira shouted. Mikado whipped his head around. He was about to reach over and hang it up when Masaomi grabbed his wrist. The tadpole stared at him in a panic.

"It's okay," his friend said. Mikado shook his head.

"I don't want to hear his voice," he said in a low tone. Masaomi wouldn't let go.

"We can listen together," he said. Mikado paused for a moment. He looked down at this phone as it started ringing again. The tadpole dropped his shoulders.

"Fine," Mikado said. He picked up his phone and answered it.

"Hello?" the tadpole boy asked as he put the phone on speaker.

"Good morning, Chirin," Kitano's voice filled the air. "Did you sleep well last night?" The boys froze. Mikado could pick up on the static sounds in the background.

"It's a recorded message," he whispered.

"Huh?" Masaomi asked.

"Have you noticed anything different lately?" Kitano's message asked. "Maybe an uncomfortable taste in your throat and mouth? Don't worry. It's all part of the new experiment. This one is going to be a little bit different."

"I knew it," Masaomi hissed under his breath.

"This experiment is going to be in two parts," Kitano's message said. "You are in part one right now. This one will last you about… twenty days tops. Anyway, this is nothing to be alarmed about. The taste will slowly fade away in a few days. Think of this as going on a heart regiment. I can't fully explain it at the moment. Just drink plenty of water and don't do anything that will put stress on your bodies. I bid you goodbye for now. We will check in on you in one week's time. Have a good day." The message came to an end. Mikado didn't know whether to scream or cry. Masaomi caught his phone before it hit the ground.

"You alright?" he asked. Mikado quickly shook his head. His friend pulled him into his arms. Masaomi ignored the warm chill running through his body.

-Naomi and Megumi-

Naomi sat at her kitchen table with a confused look on her face. "I'm sorry, what happened again?" Megumi had an upset look on her face.

"I told you what happened," she said with clenched teeth.

"Then tell me again," Naomi said in a calm tone. The other tadpole took in a deep breath. It didn't help that that annoying chalky taste in her throat wouldn't go away.

"Fine," Megumi muttered. "Last night, I went out to the club looking for someone to fuck."

"Uh-huh," Naomi said with her hands under her chin. "I got that part." Megumi tried to ignore the judgmental look in her eyes as she picked up another can of beer. She winced at the taste.

"Hey, come on, I was bored," Megumi complained. "I was sick of playing with my vibrators. I had to get laid, damn it! I don't care if my pussy kills people!" Kenji froze with his pen to his sketchbook in the living room.

"I understand that," Naomi said. "I wasn't judging you. Just tell me what happened." Megumi cut a cold glare at her as she muttered something under her breath.

"Excuse me?" the other woman asked. Megumi shook her head.

"Just tell me what happened next," Naomi said. "You went out to the club and then what?" The other tadpole rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine," Megumi said. "So I go up to the bar order a drink. It's kind of funny. I still drink even though I can't get drunk. Booze doesn't taste good anymore. It's just an old habit, I guess. Anyway, I ordered my drink and I waited." She reached over and took a drink from her beer. Megumi tossed the empty can across the room to the trash can. She leaned back in the chair.

"Anyway, this guy walked up to the bar next to me," she said. "Total hottie. I would say that he was a nine. He could've used a haircut, but other than that so hot." The tadpole looked around for another drink. Naomi got up and walked over to the fridge. She came back to the table with a box of orange juice.

"Here," she said.

"Thanks," Megumi said. She stuck in the straw and took a drink.

"Anyway," she said. "Hot dude sat down next to me. How could I not talk to him? It didn't take long for him to fall for me, you know?" Megumi flipped back her shoulder-length brown hair.

"It's so easy that it's boring," she said. "Anyway, he offered to buy me a drink. I said yes. We got to talking and I invited him back to my place. He was more than happy to say yes." The tadpole smirked to herself.

"You should've seen his face," she added. "Such a little puppy. How could I say no? Anyway, I took him back to my place." Her lips curved into a hungry smirk. Memories of the good part danced around in her head for a moment.

"Mmm. He was so good too," Megumi said. But then, she frowned.

"Until that happened," she grumbled.

"That's what I'm trying to understand," Naomi said. "So what exactly happened." Megumi rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"Everything was going great until that point," she said. "He couldn't keep his hands off of me. He started kissing on me in the cab. I had to push him back at my front door." The tadpole took a huge sip of her juice.

"Yeah, we made it all the way to my room. It got hotter with the kissing. We took off each other's clothes and I pushed him down onto my bed. I rode him," Megumi said smirking. "I rode him good too. His face was a wash of ecstasy." She frowned again.

"That's when things got creepy," the tadpole said. Megumi shivered before forcing herself to speak. She lifted her chin.

"My pussy ate him," she said again. Saying that was enough to make her cringe. Kenji stopped drawing and whipped his head around. Naomi stared at her, blinking with wide eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I thought that's what you said," she said. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know!" Megumi said, throwing back her head. "I was so into it I didn't notice until I felt sheets on my legs. When I looked down, he was gone from the waist down. He didn't seem to notice either. The creepy part was his face."

"His face?" Naomi asked.

"He just moaned the whole time. He reached up and touched my cheek." Megumi touched her right cheek. "He kept saying how beautiful I was and how I was a goddess. The look of bliss on his face was so… unnerving." She shivered.

"Did you stop?" Naomi asked. The other tadpole shook her head.

"That's the thing," Megumi said. "I felt strange, warm sensation running through my body. It felt like I was getting high. I couldn't stop. I had to have more." She grabbed onto her arm.

"I ended up eating him up with my pussy," Megumi said. "The scariest part was it felt so… exhilarating. My skin glowing and I felt like a teenage girl again. I felt like I had to have more." She trembled as she looked Naomi in the eyes.

"What is wrong with me?" Megumi asked.

"It sounds like your power is evolving somehow," Naomi said with an unnerved tone. Both women looked like they wished that they could be talking about something else.

"Can such a thing be possible?" Megumi asked at last. She looked down at her lap.

"They've already taken drinking away from me and now they want to give me another reason to not enjoy sex anymore? Fuck that!" she shouted. Naomi took her by the hand. The other tadpole looked up. Naomi gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You know what you have to do," she said. Megumi wrinkled her nose and frowned.

"I'm not going to subject myself to a vibrator for the rest of my life," she said.

"I'm not talking about that," Naomi said.

"Huh?" the other tadpole asked.

"We have to go and tell Shingen and Shinra about this," the older woman said. "They are going to want to know about this." Megumi frowned as she puffed up her cheeks.

"Do I have to?" she asked. "Shingen gives me the creeps."

"Then I'll go with you," Naomi said. "It's not like he would do anything to you when you're alone with him anyway."

"I know, but still," Megumi said. She noticed the other tadpole staring at him with a gentle smile. The younger woman rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine," she mumbled. "I'll go."

"I'll make the call," Naomi said. She pulled out her phone and began to dial. Megumi sat back in her chair and took another drink of juice. The whole time, Kenji just listened as he drew in the living room.

-Noriko-

I don't know what's been going on with me lately. I can't explain it but I'm not sure if I am in reality at times.

Sometimes, I will wake in a room that I don't recognize but feels familiar. I don't know why I am there. Like last night for example. I found myself standing in what looks like an empty office. There isn't any furniture around. The door is wide open, but I don't dare to go out of it. I don't understand why. I don't know how I got there. Something is compelling me to be there.

I don't know what's going on with me.

I sat up in my bed, rubbing my head. I can't remember the last night I slept that heavily. What time is it now? I looked over at the clock. Three in the morning? It didn't feel like it. I got out of bed and walked down to the kitchen.

The running water did little to help me. My mind floated elsewhere as the glass started to overflow. I cut off the water and took a drink. I closed my eyes for a second. Am I really in my kitchen? I can't tell. I opened my eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

"Is anything here?" I asked. I was greeted by silence. I shook my head. What am I doing? Of course, there's nobody here, right? I finished off my water and set the glass in the sink. I looked at the doorway to the hall. Would I disappear into another dimension if walk through it? I rubbed my forehead. That sort of thing only happens in the movies.

But yet… I can't help but wonder…

I dryly laughed to myself and covered my eyes.

-Kaori and Etsuko-

Kaori sat on Etsuko's bed, frowning. The doctor was packing up her bag for the day. She glanced up to see her "daughter" pouting at her.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Etsuko asked. The girl sighed aloud and flopped back onto the bed.

"When are my siblings coming here?" she asked. "I'm so bored!" Etsuko smiled to herself for a moment.

"Soon, Kaori-chan," she said. "Real soon."

"How soon?" Kaori asked. The doctor walked over to her and patted her on the head.

"Can you feel them right now?" she asked. The girl shook her head. Etsuko drew back her hand.

"Then it's not time for them to come yet," she said. Kaori frowned and flopped back onto the bed. She started to wail aloud. The doctor shook her head.

"Look, I know you are bored," she said. "But the good part is just getting started. You just need to wait a little bit longer." Kaori sat up with a frown on her face.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked.

"Good question," Etsuko said. She and Kitano talked about this last night.

"So what happens now?" the doctor asked. The therapist played with his phone for a bit.

"Now we what for the next act to begin," Kitano said. Etsuko would be lying if she said that she wasn't curious. In present day, the doctor kissed Kaori on the forehead.

"I will see you this evening," Etsuko told her. "I'm not going to tell you how to behave, though. You already know how to do that." Kaori broke into a huge grin.

"Okay!" she said. The doctor turned and walked out of the room to head to work. No sooner had Etsuko left, Kaori sat up with a catlike smile on her face. A warming sensation filled her chest.

"It's finally here!" she said. Which one came here first? It looked like she was going to have to see later this evening.

Itori found Yukio sitting on the couch watching TV. He and his spirit familiar looked fixated by what was on the screen. Curious, Itori walked over for a closer. Yukio turned around as if on cue.

"Yo," he said with a wave and his boyish smile.

"You're up early," Itori said. That felt pointless to say since neither one of them ever slept anymore. Yukio shrugged.

"Not much to do when you don't need to sleep anymore in the early more hours," he said. Itori looked over at the TV on the wall. Murata was preaching a sermon on the screen. She raised her eyebrow.

"Huh? I never took you as the religious type. This something new?" Itori asked. Yukio turned his head to the screen.

"Oh, that?" he asked. "Yeah, no. I am trying to look at something." Itori gave him a curious look as she walked over to the couch.

"Okay, I was channel surfing out of boredom last night and I came across this program," Yukio explained. "I was about to change the channel when someone caught my eye." The camera turned to the people behind the minister. To the left stood a woman with a stoic look on her pale face. Her long red hair came down to her waist. Her dark blue cheongsam hugged her curves with her long black coat hiding in her body. Yukio pointed at the woman on the screen before the camera cut back to Murata. Itori frowned.

"Really?" she asked.

"No, no, no. Hear me out," her boyfriend said. "Hear me out." Itori frowned. The other tadpole took a breath.

"Okay," he said. "I think we have seen this woman before." His girlfriend looked confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't really know," he said. "I keep trying to place her, but it keeps coming up blank."

"One of your former girlfriends?" Itori asked with acid in her tone.

"No," Yukio said, shaking his head. "I would remember if she was." His girlfriend's face softened.

"Do you think…?" she began to ask. Yukio shrugged.

"I can't really tell," he said. "You can't sense it through the TV, can you?" Itori just sat down next to him on the couch. The couple stared at the screen as they tried to place where they might have seen the redheaded woman before.

They are called the Asahara. Or the Church of Light. They had a strong hold in Okinawa. It was time to go to the mainland. The church had Southern Japan in its grasp. But they just had to aim bigger. As in, Tokyo-bigger.

However, not everyone is on board with this.

Sure, there will always be the naysayers. Comes with the territory after all. Murata Kichizo knows this. He's just going to have to win them over with his charm and wit.

Kitano sneered at his computer screen. Murata was on YouTube preaching another one of his sermons. The likes and dislikes balanced each other out. The comments ranged from praise to trash talk. The therapist shook his head.

"What utter garbage," he mumbled to himself. Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Yeah?" Kitano asked. The message didn't last long, but he broke into a huge smirk.

"Excellent," he said. "Now we can really begin. That is all." The therapist's mood turned around as he hung up. Not even a corrupt priest could ruin his day.

Around noon, Masaomi's phone rang.

"Hello?" the Yellow Scarves shogun asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Wait… Slow down, slow down," he said. "What are you saying?" The color drained from his face when he heard the news. The boy turned and ran out of Mikado's apartment.

"Kida-kun?" Mikado asked. The tadpole got up and ran after his friend. He caught up to Masaomi and grabbed him by the shoulder. The blonde boy whipped around. He and his friend didn't speak at first. Mikado could see the pain in Masaomi's eyes. They both already put two and two together.

"They're all dead, aren't they?" Mikado finally asked. Masaomi pressed his lips together at first.

"Yes," he said. "Yatabe made the call." The shogun sank down to the ground trembling.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Mikado asked. Masaomi looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, please," he said, panting. Mikado quickly drew back his hand.

"Alright," the tadpole boy said. He helped his friend to his feet and pulled him along with him.

"Did Yatabe say where to meet him?" the tadpole asked. Masaomi nodded.

"Right," Mikado said. The boys began to walk down the street. It wouldn't be long before it made the news. The power of cell phones made it spread faster. This was all the first step, really. It came rather easily too.

Now, all that needed to be done was for her to grace this world with her presence.

"Thank you for your hard work," Daichi at the doorway. He bowed and headed down to the elevator. The man breathed out as the doors slid closed. This season was going to be busier than the summer. He was used to it by now.

"Think we'll finally get the fourth player?" one of their interns asked. Daichi shrugged.

"Probably," he said. "There has to be work to be done for that to happen." Ah, yes. There was a ritual to creating players for their game. Kitano told Daichi about this one afternoon in the previous cycles. It seemed that the therapist had made his decision.

Daichi rubbed his forehead and breathed out. Right now, he just needed to decompress. Fall was coming up and that meant they were going be away from their homes more often. Daichi figured that he was going to have to pack a couple of bags for that. He had already started packing before the summer ended. He would have to start packing in the morning as well. Good thing he had the morning off tomorrow.

He shook his head. Stop thinking about work. All Daichi wanted to do now was to go home, have dinner, shower, and go to sleep. He pushed the button for the ground floor. The doors slid closed, and the cab began its descendent.

The doors opened when the elevator reached its destination. Daichi looked out and found himself in for a big surprise. He paused for a moment before he smiled.

"Oh, fancy seeing you here," the man said. "Have you been waiting long, my princess?"