Author's Note: Another round of Facebook saves helped me write this halo. I had been sitting on bits and pieces of ideas for this. It all came together rather nicely. Finally, the tadpoles are taking action and fighting back. I can't wait to see how their courses of action will affect the apocalypse game. Plus, we got a little more information on Sonomi and Yasuke. Next week is going to be the season finale. I have some ideas from my own mind and my Facebook saves. I am going to try to go big or go home. I can't wait to see how this season is going to end. For now, enjoy this week's halo.

Halo Twenty-Nine: Separations:

Meanwhile on the ground, the tadpoles got to work with preparing to fight back. They would have to work with some discretion. The last thing they needed was attention drawn to them. There was an angry god who wanted them dead. Plus, Celty was starting to keep a closer eye on them after the whole mess with Noriko. Still, the tadpoles had to take action.

It was decided that everyone would go out one group at a time.

"How are we going to divide everything up?" Itori asked. Yukio took a moment to think about this.

"We can draw lots," he said. So everyone drew straws and the groups were formed. One group would go out and leave a note. When that group got back, the next one would go and leave a note. This rotation would go on until they were sure that everything was covered.

They were going to have to work as fast as they could before either Celty or the vengeful god could catch on.

Mikado and Michiko

Yasuke was all the way out in Okinawa.

"There he is," Mikado said.

"How were you able to find him like that?" Michiko asked.

"I remembered that Sonomi had a lover when she jumped all the way back in Nobunaga's time," he explained. Michiko made a face.

"That can't be right. He would be dead by now. Are you saying that…" It all started to come together.

"She does have the ability to do that," Mikado answered. "I haven't worked out how she's been able to do that."

"And you think that he will be the key to tracking her down?" Michiko asked.

"It's worth a shot," Mikado said. He rose to his feet.

"Wait. We're going right now?" Michiko asked.

"Yeah," Mikado said. He held out his right hand.

"You're going to have to hold onto me," he said. Michiko reached out and took hold of his wrist. Mikado closed his eyes and pictured Yasuke and Okinawa in his mind. Both of them vanished into thin air.

Out on a beach in Okinawa, a food court was hard at work. A muscled man with dark skin was setting for the day. The grills were fired up and ready to go. He lived a quiet life. Cooking from his truck was more than enough. He lived near the beach alone. Not many people came out to bother him. But the man wasn't lonely. Yasuke had customers every day. He talked with them every day. Other than that, he was alone. This morning was going to be no different.

Yasuke opened the shade to the back of his truck. He saw Mikado and Michiko standing outside, waiting.

"Good morning," Yasuke greeted. "What would you like today?" There was a hint of caution in his tone. Mikado had a stern look on his face.

"We need to talk. Sonomi's back," he said. Yasuke didn't need to ask. He flipped his open sign to "closed" and closed the shade. The man came out of the truck. He looked like a giant compared to the two Japanese people in front of him. The modern look suited him well.

"Where?" he asked.

"That's why we are here," Mikado said.

"What do you need me to do?" Yasuke asked.

"How much time do you have to listen?" the tadpole asked. The other man didn't say anything at first.

"There's a picnic table on the beach," he said.

"That will work," Michiko said. The three of them were going to have an early lunch.

Yoji, Chie, and Madoka

There was a church out in the middle of nowhere. Shingo tried his best to narrow down where it was. He frowned as he looked at his computer. For now, he could get close enough to an empty road in the countryside.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Yoji asked.

"We were really told much," Chie said. He and Madoka looked at each other. They heard there was a small golden temple in the woods.

"So we're hiking?" Madoka asked.

"Pretty much," Chie said. The younger woman walked toward the road. She looked back and forth in silence.

"See anything yet?" Yoji asked.

"No," Madoka said. She closed her eyes and took a listen. A low humming filled her chest. The sight tadpole slowly walked up to the road.

"Madoka-chan?" Chie asked. Madoka kept walking into the highway. Suddenly, she stopped. The tadpole drew open her eyes. The sun was barely even out. Everything was deafly quiet around them. Chie and Yoji held their breaths.

Madoka whipped her head to the right. In the darkness, two bright headlights sped toward her. It felt like everything around her had slowed down. She couldn't hear anything around her. Madoka could feel her heart pounding against her chest. The tadpole couldn't look away. The headlights were speeding toward her closer. What was going to hit her? The woman shut her eyes.

When she opened them again, nothing happened.

Madoka looked around. Chie and Yoji stood at the side of the road, staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Chie asked.

"What did you see?" Yoji asked. Madoka pressed her lips together. She slowly shook her head. Her brain tried to piece together what happened.

Her body felt the low hum again.

"I think I know where we need to look," she said. Madoka turned and ran down the highway. Chie and Yoji had to run after her to keep up.

Sota and Anzu

Sota still wouldn't let the idea go. It was like he became obsessed or something. Why was he so fixated on it anyway? Sota stared at Anzu's back as they walked through the woods. He hadn't had a chance to talk to her privately.

That was until now.

"Hey, Anzu-chan," Sota spoke up.

"What?" she asked. She seemed distracted and annoyed. Sota better make this quick.

"Do you remember that conversation we had on New Year's Eve?" he asked. She didn't respond. Sota gulped.

"Do you?" he asked.

"What conversation?" she asked. Sota paused for a beat.

"Us getting married."

"Huh?" Anzu turned to see Sota with a cheesy grin on his face. God, she wanted to punch him so badly.

"You can't be serious," she said.

"I am!" Sota said. The blood tadpole's right eye started to twitch. Of all the times to…

"What?" he asked. "I mean… The end of the world is coming. We don't know if we are going to live through this or not. We're old enough to get married. I know a good place that will marry us. I saved up enough money for us to get a marriage license. If something does happen, we'll at least have each other. I love you and you love me. You always wanted a family. We're on the same side. After all, we tadpoles have to stick together, you know? And… hm?" Sota noticed the confused look on Anzu's face.

"Are you listening?" he asked. Anzu blinked at him at first.

"Yes, it just takes me a while to process so much stupid at once," she said. The shield tadpole looked like she shot him in the chest.

"Aw! Why is it stupid?" he asked.

"It… It just is!" she blurted out.

"I think it's a great idea."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

"Why?"

Sota cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?" Anzu fought to keep herself from screaming. What was this boy not getting? Can't he take a hint? But she wasn't saying no. A simple no would stop this conversation dead in its tracks. But yet, something inside of her wouldn't let her say it.

They've had this conversation before. Were things already starting to repeat themselves?

"Anzu-chan? Anzu-chan?"

She jerked her head upward. Sota was standing in front of her, waving his hand in front of her face. The other tadpole blinked before she shook her head.

"Never mind!" she said. "Let's just get back to the mission. I want to get this over with and get out of this forest. This place gives me the creeps!"

"So we'll talk later, right?" Sota asked. "Right?" Anzu rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered her breath. That gave her companion a little hope. At least she didn't say no.

Yamato, Erina, and Shuichi

No one trusted Yamato. Can you blame them? Still, Yukio had to give the boy something to do.

"This will at least keep him in our sights," he reasoned. That didn't stop Erina from giving the younger tadpole a cold look.

"What?" Yamato asked. The truth tadpole sneered at him. The boy put up his hands in a shrug.

"Why don't you trust me?" he asked. Erina didn't answer.

"Hey, I didn't kill anyone today!" Yamato shouted.

"What do you want? A gold star?" she asked.

"Enough!" Shuichi yelled in front of them. The other two looked at his back. The tadpole took in a deep breath.

"Quit screwing around. We have work to do," he said. Erina and Yamato went quiet.

"So what are we looking for?" the latter asked. Shuichi cleared his throat.

"We're supposed to be looking for more of those cursed jars," he said. "Also some straw dolls nailed to trees."

"So cursed things then?" Yamato asked.

"Uh-huh," the older tadpole said.

"Right…" the boy said. The tiro slowed down their walk as they looked around. Someone could be following them. Erina held charms in her pocket. Miku was the one who gave them to her.

"What are these for?" Erina asked at work three nights ago. The dancer grabbed her by the sleeve.

"Please… be careful," she said. Miku had a desperate look in her eyes. Erina gave her a little smile.

"I will," she said.

Shuichi stopped in his tracks. He held out his arm. The other two tadpoles stopped in their tracks. Erina's voice came through his head.

What is it?

Shuichi put his finger to his lips. The tadpoles prepared to attack. Yamato pulled out his crossbow. The needle tadpole drew in a breath. He held a needle between his index and middle finger. He chanted something under his breath.

There!

Shuichi threw his needle toward the trees. He and the other two tadpoles watched as a man in his twenties walked out like he was in a daze. Shuichi frowned.

"You, come here!" he commanded. The man walked over to the trio as if in a drunken waltz. Yamato and Erina braced themselves for what was to come next. The man stood within inches of them.

"Start talking," Shuichi commanded. "Who sent you here?"

Haru, Honoka, and Taishi

It's another trip into the woods. This time, Haru is the one taking the lead. Honoka looked around at the trees.

"So what are we looking for?" Taishi asked.

"Hidden signs in the woods," Haru said. It was so dark around here. They started this trip in the morning. It couldn't be any longer than thirty minutes. Taishi squeezed onto Honoka's hand.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. The woman nodded as she kept her eyes on the tall trees. Haru sneered to himself. Why did Taishi have to come with them? Honoka didn't mind. What the hell did she see in him anyway?

Suddenly, his sister paused.

"What is it?" Taishi asked. Honoka pointed upward. The other two tadpoles looked up. Taishi narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?" he whispered. Against the bark was something black pasted down to the sides. Honoka tilted her head to the side. She strained her ears for a listen.

"Babies crying," she said.

"What?" both men asked. They took a moment to listen. The faint sound of crying babies filled the air. Taishi's eyes widened.

"Is that coming from…?" he began to ask. The cries started to get louder. Honoka covered her ears.

"This is it!" Haru shouted over the noise.

"Now what?!" Taishi asked.

"Huh?!"

"What do we do now?!"

Haru didn't have an answer. Yukio didn't give anyone many instructions for what to do next. Suddenly, Honoka whipped around. Her boyfriend was the first one to notice.

"Honoka-chan?" he asked over the crying. She could barely hear his voice. The life tadpole took off running into the woods.

"Honoka-chan!" her brother and boyfriend shouted after her. The men took off after her. Honoka ran faster as if something was leading her further away. Something inside of her started to pick up another force around them.

None of them noticed that someone else was following behind.

Sojiro, Saori, Yukari, and Norio

"Shit, we're gonna die," Sojiro said to no one in particular as they walked down the narrow stone path. His girlfriend looked over her shoulder.

"Now, I don't want to hear that negative attitude," Saori said. "Look on the bright side." Her boyfriend rolled his eyes.

"Yay, we're gonna die! Whoo!" he said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Knock it off," Norio said. The sand tadpole went quiet.

"We have work to do," the doll tadpole said. Sojiro, Saori, and Yukari looked at each other.

"Has he ever said more than five words before?" Sojiro asked.

"Nope," Yukari said.

"He barely says anything at all," Saori added. Norio looked over his shoulder with a stoic look in his eyes. The other three quickly closed their mouths.

So far, everyone had been picking up bits and pieces. Nothing seemed to fit together. Yukio didn't give them an answer.

"So what is the point of all of this?" Yukari asked.

"No idea," Sojiro said. The dream tadpole frowned. How many days have they been doing this? How long were they going to have to keep this up? Something told them that Yukio might not have all of the answers.

Suddenly, Norio stopped in his tracks. He held out his right arm. He put his finger to his lips. The other tadpoles started to look up. Saori was the one to speak through their minds.

What? What is it?

Norio slowly pointed behind them. His team looked over his shoulder. It wasn't what they could see, but they caught it when they took a listen.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Can you sense anything, Saori-san?

The tracking tadpole closed her eyes and took a listen.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Closer.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Saori's eyes shot open.

There!

Yukari and Norio whipped around. The latter pulled out a long stick. He drew in a deep breath.

"We know you're there! Come out and show yourself!" he yelled. They couldn't see who or what was running toward them. Norio raised the stick above his head and took a swing.

Wham!

The tadpoles looked down to see a figure falling to the ground. Yukari had a confused look on his face.

"What the hell?!" he asked. They were all looking down at a figure in black body paint.

Nami and Kohaku

Time to get away from the forest for a change. Nami and Kohaku were sent down to Okinawa. They weren't complaining. Nami stretched from side to side.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Kohaku asked.

"Dunno," the water tadpole admitted. The girls couldn't stand out too much while they were on their mission. All that they knew was there were traces tracked down to the sea.

"Where do we start?" Kohaku asked. Nami was about to speak when something caught her eye.

"What is it?" her friend whispered. The water tadpole slowly pointed forward. Kohaku turned her head and blushed. A man with a long black ponytail stood near the water. He looked like he was about to go for a surf. The tattoos all over his back had a strange hypnotic appeal to them. The dark green swim trunks looked great on him. The man turned and looked over his shoulder. The girls froze. They didn't seem to know what to do.

Hello ladies.

Nami and Kohaku froze. This man wasn't human at all. Nami put up her hands to attack. This beautiful creature in front of them threw back his head in a silent laugh.

I'm not here to hurt you. I want to help you.

Nami cocked her head to the side. "Why? Why should we trust you? Who are you anyway?" The man turned to face them and bowed.

Allow me to introduce myself.

"My name is Kyo. It's nice to meet you."

Nami and Kohaku looked at each other. They hadn't expected this. Now what?

Sonomi

She has a plan to save their worlds.

Sonomi's been trying to keep everything that she cares about together. There is so much that she cares about too. Sonomi loves Mikado. Sonomi loves Yasuke. Sonomi loves Gary. Sonomi loves the living world. She already lost one homeland. She couldn't stand to lose another one.

But that's the problem. Sonomi loves them all a little bit too much. She can't see the damage that she is doing in her mission. That's the part that has Mikado worried. The girl has so much power but she's kind of an idiot. There was no nice way of putting it. That was just the truth. It also doesn't help that she was hard to track down. Sonomi isn't even aware of all of this. She just wants to save everything that she loves.

It would've been better if Sonomi knew what she was doing and still did it maliciously. But she isn't. It doesn't help that all of the time jumping is taking its toll on her body. It started off small at first. But over time, it was breaking her down. Sonomi is aware of the injuries in her body. Her heart was having the worst of it. Still, she keeps going. She won't stop until she finds the moment where everything went wrong. Once Sonomi finds it, she is going to fix it. However, she doesn't know where it is or what she is looking for. Still, the girl won't give up. Sonomi was going to fix everything at the cost of ruining her body and everything around her.

After all…

She has a plan to save their worlds.