Darkness of Illusion

Chapter 10

Visitation – Apparitions Stalk the Night

The Forest of Magic certainly lived up to its name. Despite the forest fire that had raged through it the previous night, the trees and leaves had regrown by midday. Gensokyo was a magically abundant land, and it was especially concentrated in the forest. The plants fed off this energy as much as they did the sun, the soil, or the water. The fairies of the forest had already returned, much to its other resident's annoyance.

Although the vegetation of the forest could regrow quickly, the buildings built within this land could not. Most of the forests magicians had cast spells protecting their homes from the fire; however, there was one house, which unfortunately did not survive the blaze.

The home of the infamous witch Marisa Kirisame was in ruins. Only one wall was standing, and it looked like it might collapse any minute. Rubble lay strewn about where a proud (if not necessarily clean) house once stood.

However, the house was not devoid of occupants. A group of strange beings hung about the place. A table made of a strange black stone sat in the middle of a circle cleared of wreckage. Sitting at the table was a small woman with long silver hair, shot through with streaks of purple. She sat at the only chair, relaxing. In her hand, she held a glass of wine from which she sipped. She looked up at the sky which completely obscured by dark clouds.

"It looks like rain…" One of the others said. This creature had a gargoyle-like appearance, with black scaly flesh and small wings on its back. It had a tail that ended in a stinger point. Another one of the creatures, called abishai, held in its hand a wine bottle. When Kanna finished her glass. She placed it back on the table. The abishai refilled her glass with the dark red liquid.

Raindrops began falling from the sky. Kanna made an idle gesture with her free hand, and even when the rain became a downpour, not a single drop touched anything in the remains of the house.

After a while Kanna looked around impatiently. "Where is that imp, it should have been back here at least half an hour ago."

"Perhaps it's been delayed due to the rain, milady."

"Perhaps…"

Something moving appeared in the rain. Kanna stood up ready to receive her report, when she saw that it was only a group of fairies. The little creatures were too dumb to realize the danger they were in. In their eyes, they only saw a group of strangers they could have some fun with.

Kanna turned to the abishai and said, "They're all yours."

The abishai smiled and leaped to action. Before the fairies could react, the closest of them was pulled from the air and torn apart. The others tried to flee but the rest of the abishai leaped up and caught them.

Kanna watched in amusement as the fairies were destroyed, screaming all the while. She heard the sound of wings flapping and looked up. Flying towards the burnt out house were four beings. They landed in the middle and looked mildly surprised to find the place untouched by the rain. The one in the lead was covered in dark scales, and had large horns coming out of its head. It stood almost twice as tall as Kanna and its face was set in an almost permanent scowl. Large fangs curved out from its mouth. Two of the bluish insectoid creatures, called gelugons, flanked the scaled being, called a cornugron. However, it was the fourth being that Kanna was most interested in.

The gelugons stood at attention, while the cornugron bowed. "Lady Kanna" It said in a raspy voice. "We have brought the girl, as you requested."

The fourth guest was a girl with long silver hair, and red eyes. She wore a simple white shirt and red pants with suspenders. Her pants were covered in talismans and they were tied through her hair as bows. She had a disinterested expression, and her hands were in her pockets. A cigarette was in her mouth. She looked around at the wreckage, ignoring her host and obviously making an effort to be rude.

Kanna smiled, and set her glass on the table. "Fujiwara no Mokou, I presume? The name's Kanna, pleased to meet you at last. I take it you've gotten my message?"

"I have."

Kanna gestured at the table and a variety of dishes appeared on it. "It must have been a long flight from the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. You must be hungry Miss Fujiwara."

"Just Mokou is fine. And I ain't gonna waste any more time around you freaks then I have to."

"I would think someone who couldn't die would be more patient, but I suppose it is of no matter." Kanna selected an apple from the table and bit into it. She winced at the taste. "Ugh… bad apple…" She tossed it aside, making a mental note to work on her food conjuring skills once she got home. When the apple hit the ground, it dissolved into a cloud of smoke.

"Your proposal was for an alliance between us?"

"Yes. However, you do not look like the kind of person who does work for free. I'm planning-"

"Listen, I don't care what the hell you're planning for Gensokyo. All I want is to see that bitch Reimu dead! I'll make her pay for murdering Keine!"

"Oh… I thought we might have some problems with that." Kanna said. "You are aware of what would happen were Reimu to die without producing an heir?"

"I don't give a damn."

"Well we rather do. We do need the Hakurei shrine maiden alive for my plans to succeed."

Immediately, a massive inferno surrounded Mokou. The abishai scattered while the cornugron and gelugons moved in front of Kanna to protect her.

"If you're not gonna help then you're wastin' my time!" Mokou shouted.

"Whoa, calm down there. I never said this was for nothing. I have an even better offer for you." Kanna smiled. "What would you say if I could bring back your beloved Keine?"

The flames around Mokou died down. "What? You could…"

"As you said, you're not a patient person, so I'm going to cut to the chase, you help us complete our objectives, and then I will bring back your beloved Keine Kamishirasawa." Kanna held out her hand and smiled.

"Are you serious?" Mokou asked.

"Despite what most people believe, death is not an absolute fact of existence. You yourself are evidence of that. Whether through immortality or resurrection, it's quite possible to cheat death. For a person of my powers, bringing a soul back from the dead is a simple matter."

Kanna gestured, and the corpse of a nearby bird levitated and landed on the table. She placed her hand over the body and there was a brief glow. The bird suddenly stood up, and after looking around confused for a second, flew off.

"So... do we have a deal?" Kanna held out her hand.

Mokou hesitated for a moment before she gripped Kanna's hand. "We have a deal." She said, rather unsure. Were Mokou able to see better in the darkness, she would have noticed a small inscription appearing on the palm of her hand. Before she was even aware of it however, the ink sank into the skin and was gone. "What do you need done?"

"As a matter of fact, nothing at the moment. For now return to your home, I'll call upon you when your services are required."

Without another word, Mokou took off.

Kanna sat back down in her chair. The feast on the table disappeared into smoke and once again, the only objects were the wineglass and bottle. The other devils looked at the empty table forlornly, which Kanna ignored.

She was about to bring the wineglass to her lips when she heard the sound of leathery wings flapping. A small creature emerged from the rain and approached Kanna. This creature was about the size of a fairy although it had red skin and bat wings. Tiny horns poked out from its head, and when it opened its mouth, a series of jagged teeth were shown. It gave off the faint scent of something burning.

The imp landed on the table and bowed to Kanna.

"You're late." Kanna said.

"Forgive me, milady." The imp said nervously. "It is difficult enough to find one's way around in this strange land, a difficulty compounded by the heavy rainfall and the-"

"Yes yes, get on with it." Kanna said.

The imp bowed once again and then delivered its report.

Marisa awoke to find someone leaning over her. Her vision was blurry, but she could tell that they were female, with short blond hair.

"Al-Alice?" Marisa said weakly.

Alice gave a small shriek of surprise and hastily stepped back, tripping and falling over in the process. She quickly stood back up and dusted off her blue dress.

Marisa tried to sit up but winced in pain as she did so. She looked down to see that she was wearing only her bloomers. Her upper body was wrapped in bandages however.

"No. You shouldn't be moving." Alice said. She placed her hands on Marisa's shoulder and gently lay her back down on the bed. "After the fire, I found you in the forest. You were in pretty bad shape. I'm not that skilled in healing magic but I did the best I could. The rest will have to heal naturally."

"W-what happened?" It was a struggle to even speak.

Alice gestured and one of her dolls pulled up a chair. "What do you remember?"

"I was working on a new spell when I looked out the window and saw two youkai in front of my house. I stepped outside and tried to chase them off. That's the last thing I remember before now… What happened?"

"Reimu came looking for you along with Remilia, her maid and those two dragons. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I think that Reimu fought off those two strange youkai."

"Reimu…" Marisa frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked.

"No." Marisa changed the subject. "You know, it's rather lucky that I was found by you."

"Lucky? Well I..."

"If there's anyone I would trust to take care of me it would be you! I wouldn't want to end up in some creepy stalkers house, now would I?" Marisa said, laughing, although it hurt to do so.

Alice blushed a deep red, and stuttered.

"What's wrong?" Marisa asked.

"Uh... er… You should probably rest now, its best not to be moving." Alice stepped backwards towards the open door.

"Hey watch out! You're gonna-"

However, it was too late. Grasping for the handle of the door that was already open she fell backwards down the staircase.

"-fall" Marisa finished.

"Don't worry. I'm okay." She heard Alice shout.

Marisa laughed to herself again, it hurt, but laughter was the best medicine, wasn't it?

A shadowy fog crept about the Forest of Magic. It weaved its way through trees, and around rocks. It stopped just outside Alice's house, and for a moment took on a humanoid shape. The figure walked over to the window to see Alice sitting at her workbench, focused on one of her dolls. The humanoid shaped cloud then floated up to the second story, where it looked to see Marisa sleeping on a bed.

The shadow fog passed through the window, entering through miniscule holes, after which it reformed. It hovered for a moment over the witch before sinking to engulf her.

Marisa was flying, and she had no idea how she had gotten there. She was riding on her broomstick and wearing her normal clothes, a black witch's hat and black clothes and a white apron. Her previous injuries were gone.

She reached into one of her many pockets to feel the hakkero inside it, along with plenty of other things such a spell cards, potions and a few other things of which she wasn't sure exactly what they did.

Marisa looked around, trying to figure out where she was. The landscape looked like nothing she had seen in Gensokyo. The land had a scorched appearance, and vast portions of it had been dug up in what appeared to be mines, and quarries. There might once have been forests, but the trees had long since been cut down to fuel whatever gluttonous industry dominated this land.

The air was hot and dry, and thick clouds of smoke obscured the sky. What land wasn't scorched, or dug up was covered in soot and ash. The air stank like something burning.

As she flew onwards, the mines and quarries became replaced with factories and mills. The factories however lay in ruins, just like the rest of the area. Warehouses were collapsed, smokestacks crumbled and massive holes had been blasted into the walls.

Marisa flew yet onwards and lit up when she saw a city, however upon arriving closer, she saw that the place was just as collapsed and ruined as everything else she had seen. She decided to land anyways, hoping to find someone or something that could help her.

"Hello?" Marisa called out. "Is anyone here?"

There was no response from the building, just as the last ten. She stepped back outside and looked about. She would never voice it, but she felt fear that grew the longer she remained here. Strange things kept occurring. She would hear laughter echo from around a corner, and would rush there only to see nothing. Every so often, she would hear a scream, but she could not tell what direction it came from. Added to that was the constant scent of brimstone in the air. The entirety of the time she had been in this realm she had the feeling that something was burning in the distance, just out of sight.

Marisa headed down what appeared to be the main street. She looked up to see a large tower, overlooking the rest of the landscape. It leaned to the side and like the rest of the land was in ruins but it would be a good start.

As she made her way down the street, she had the feeling that someone was following her. She heard a raspy breathing behind her, and felt a hot breath on her neck. She swiftly turned, grasping her hakkero, but saw nobody.

She then heard the sound of massive footsteps, like some stomping giant, but turned back towards the tower to see nothing. She began walking faster, and gripped her broomstick with both hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement in an alleyway. Against her better judgment, she decided to see what it was. As soon as she rounded the corner, she saw again nothing. "Anyone there?" She called out, to no response.

She returned to the street to find it in ruins. Carts had been smashed, and entire walls of buildings had been knocked down. Now there were skeletons lying on the ground, partially buried in the dirt as if they had been there for ages.

She turned around to almost collide with something. She looked up to see a hideous creature. Its body was covered in spikes from head to toe, and its eyes glowed red. Marisa jumped back as the monster roared and swiped a claw at her. She looked around to see more monsters crawling out of the wreckage and leaping off the roofs.

She didn't waste any time. As the spiked creature charged again, Marisa sidestepped while forming a sphere of energy in her hand. She fired the blast at the creature before it could turn around and it was sent flying and landed in a heap several yards away.

The creatures began to swarm all around her. Marisa drew a spell card from the pocked of her apron and shouted. "Magic Sign! 'Stardust Reverie!'"

A barrage of star shaped energy blasts burst forth from her hands to explode, engulfing a group of the monsters that was headed straight for her. More still approached. Marisa kept moving back, putting distance between her and the fiends. One of spiked monsters hands glowed for a second before beams of energy shot out. Marisa ducked the shots and returned fire. When more of them began shooting at her, she created a magical barrier before trying to fly away. She managed to get only few feet off the ground before the flying magic faded away and she crashed back to the ground.

"What the hell? I can't fly? What's going on?"

She heard a voice speak in her head. Flying makes things far too easy, let's see you handle the hamatula without air power.

Marisa was surrounded on all sides by the so-called hamatula. "Not a problem!" She drew another spellcard and shouted. "Love Sign!'Non-Directional Laser!'"

She ducked down as lasers flew out in all directions, striking monsters and blasting holes in buildings. She saw an opening in the crowd and took it. She rushed past the confused fiends and took cover behind a pile of rubble, just in time to avoid the beams of energy they fired. She then cast one of her favorite spells. "Armillary! 'Orreries Universe!'"

Four floating orbs appeared near her and began glowing. They fired into the horde of devils, with an impressive array of stars, lasers, and beams, creating a massive cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, the horde of fiends was scattered and fleeing.

Not a bad show, however it was something Reimu could have done easily.

"What does Reimu have to do with this?" Marisa asked.

Poor Marisa, always second best. Working herself to the bone to barely manage to keep up to a shrine maiden who barely taps into her power at all. A lazy shrine maiden who can perform amazing tasks without even trying. What were to happen if Reimu were to actually start taking more than a passing interest in her own powers? She would leave you behind in the dust, that's what. She'd completely forget about you.

"Are you kidding? Reimu and I are best friends!"

Could have fooled me. From what I've observed, the relationship seems pretty one-sided. Tell me. Has she ever visited you even once in your own home?

"Shut up! Whoever you are!"

Answering like that merely proves that I'm right. Consider this, after the disaster in the forest; has she even bothered to look for you?

"She…" Marisa for once had no response. She leaned back against the wall of a building.

The reason is clear; she has decided that you're just getting in the way.

"Who the hell are you?" Marisa demanded.

You don't remember me? "That hurt's. Truly."

She could hear the voice with her own ears now. She looked up to see someone sitting on a rooftop. She had silver hair shot through with streaks of purple. She had purple bat wings and a tail and she wore a simple black robe.

"You!" Marisa shouted.

"Oh so you do remember me!" Kanna said, with a mocking smile. She disappeared and reappeared standing next to Marisa.

"What the hell do you want?" Marisa demanded. "And what the hell is this place?"

"How uncannily accurate. This place is the Maladomini seventh layer of the Nine Hells of Baator."

"Hell? I know I wasn't the most noble person in life, but…"

"You're not dead, you dolt! I merely brought you here to make a point."

"Well you better speak fast." Marisa reached for her hakkero and pointed it directly at Kanna. "I'm starting to lose my patience! Send me back to Gensokyo!"

Kanna continued speaking at her leisurely pace. She sat down in an armchair that appeared out of nowhere and leaned back. "Marisa Kirisame, the so called, ordinary black magician. The witch who works night and day just to keep up with everyone else. All her so called friends whose powers come naturally."

Kanna held out her hand and a glass of some clear green liquid appeared in her hand. She sipped from the glass and then set it down on a small table that appeared again out of nothing. "Take for example, you so called friend, Reimu Hakurei, Shrine Maiden of Paradise. One of the strongest beings in Gensokyo. Scion of the Hakurei clan, a long line of shrine maidens and priests whose ancestors had a hand in the creation of the Land of Illusion. Watcher of the border between Gensokyo and the outside world. Enforcer of the ancient spell card system, a powerful form of magic formed by her family and Yukari Yakumo to allow for non-lethal duels to solve conflicts. A being of critical importance, if she were to die, the border would collapse, and all the magic in Gensokyo would vanish.

Kanna sipped from her glass again. It might have been Marisa's imagination, but she thought she could hear a faint screaming sound from the glass.

"And here again, we have Marisa Kirisame, who has none of that. You're family disapproved of your practice of magic and so you ran away, hiding from them in the Forest. Your magic is a desperate attempt to make a name for yourself, even going so far as to become the apprentice of the evil spirit Mima. And how do people remember you?"

"Are you kidding? I'm one of the most famous people in Gensokyo!" Marisa boasted, though her voice wavered, and she sounded unsure of herself."

"Sure you are!" Kanna said. She sipped from the glass again and then spoke. "Marisa Kirisame? She's just a runaway!"

Marisa gasped. The voice was a perfect mimicry of her own fathers. Kanna didn't stop but moved on to mimic other people's voices. "Marisa? She's just a common thief!" "Marisa? Doesn't she live with those weird mages in the Forest?" "Isn't she that witch friend of Reimu?" "I know who she is! I think she was that witch who went with Reimu to solve the Scarlet Mist Incident, right?" "That annoying book thief who claims to be only borrowing them. I want my spell books back."

"Enough!" Marisa cried out. "Stop it! And I do have people who actually care about me."

"You see what I mean? Not the best impression you leave behind."

"Do people really say those things about me?" Marisa asked.

"Let's ask another question. What do you want to be remembered as?"

"That's easy! The strongest witch in Gensokyo!"

Kanna burst out laughing. "This from a witch who's reached her limit!"

"What?" Marisa grew angry again.

"I've hit right on the mark, haven't I?" Kanna said. "You have no innate powers of your own. You get by with stealing spells from others. You could become a youkai magician, but then what would Reimu think? It's a pity. No wonder Mima left you. Must have been pretty dumb of her to choose you as an apprentice anyways."

Marisa shouted in rage. "Don't you dare speak of Mima like that!"

She gripped the hakkero and shouted. "Love Sign! 'Master Spark!'"

A massive beam of energy fired out from the Hakkero, tearing up the ground and demolishing a line of houses. When the light faded, there was nothing standing in front of her. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to feel something grip her ankle. She was suddenly yanked off her feet and fell face first to the ground. The hakkero fell to the ground and rolled away. She looked behind her to see Kanna rising up from beneath the ground, an amused smile on her face.

"Now we're getting somewhere! You want to prove your strength, child? Then let's see how you fare against a pit fiend!"

Kanna lifted both hands into the air and began speaking in a strange language that Marisa could not understand. A black circle appeared on the ground beneath Marisa. She hastily stood up and rushed out of it just as a pillar of flame shot up into the air. There was a loud roaring sound and a massive creature, nearly three times taller than Marisa emerged from the fire.

The pit fiend was covered in blood red scales, and it had large bat wings. It had massive claws, and a large spiked tail. Its head was gargoyle like and it had massive horns and razor sharp fangs. It roared again and charged straight at her, swinging a claw.

Marisa rolled to the side to avoid the attack and then let lose a ball of energy from her hand. The attack exploded against the monsters side. However, it had little effect.

The pit fiend formed fire in its hand and hurled the flames directly at Marisa. She hastily formed a magical shield, and the fireball exploded all around her. While the shield was up, Marisa reached into one of the pockets of her apron. When the flames cleared, she immediately hurled a magical grenade at the creature. The explosion made it stumble back, and Marisa reached for a spell card to press the attack. However, the pit fiend recovered quickly, hit her with a backhand blow, and sent Marisa flying into the wall of a building.

Fortunately, the magical shield absorbed the brunt of the impact, although it still left Marisa dazed. She looked up to see the fiend bring down both hands in an attempt to crush her. She rolled to the side only to be smacked by the creature's thick tail. Again, she was thankful for the shield. She flipped in mid-air and landed on her feet. From there, she unleashed a barrage of multicolored star shaped bullets that exploded on impact.

When the light faded, she saw the enemy still standing. It slammed its fist against the ground, and a geyser of black energy engulfed Marisa. She screamed in pain as the darkness passed through her shield and collapsed to her knees.

"You are going to have to try harder than that my little witch!" Kanna taunted.

The pit fiend closed with her and slashed with its claws. Marisa ducked underneath the attack and then leaped up to fire at the devil at close range. She pushed herself away, barely avoiding a bite and landed on the ground. From there she ran down the street, constantly firing shots at the enemy. Once the lights faded, the creature formed flame in its hand and hurled another fireball at her. She rolled to the side to avoid the attack and kept up the barrage of lasers and stars. She ran towards a pile of rubble and ducked for cover as a blast of dark energy shot over her head. From her position of cover, she fired more star shaped bullets. The fiend hurled a sphere of pure darkness that exploded and blasted the rubble away. However, Marisa was ready. She drew a spellcard and shouted "Magic Sign! 'Earthlight Ray!'

Beams of energy burst from the ground underneath the pit fiend's feet, throwing up a cloud of dust and smoke. While the enemy recovered from the spell, Marisa looked around and found her hakkero. She picked up the magical furnace and held it forwards. As soon as the smoke began to clear and she could see her foe, she shouted. "Love Sign! 'Master Spark!'"

Again, the beam of pure white energy blasted across the city, demolishing buildings and tearing a wide trench in the ground. As the spell ended, Marisa gasped. "There's no way!"

The pit fiend's wings had wrapped around its body, and a black aura surrounded it, protecting it from the blast. It unfurled its wings to their full length and then shouted a single word. A black shock wave fired out from its mouth, expanding in all directions. As soon as the shockwave passed through Marisa, she collapsed to her knees as her strength suddenly left her. The creature made motions with its claw as if it was writing in the air. Suddenly a barrier of runes surrounded the witch. She screamed as every nerve in her body was suddenly wracked with pain. The fiend slowly approached her, laughing. Marisa struggled to lift her hand. If Master Spark wouldn't work, there was only one thing left. She had once seen Mima use it, and though she had never tried it herself, she knew she had no choice.

She held the hakkero forwards and it glowed brighter than ever. The light became bigger and brighter and even her enemy slowed down. She struggled to speak through the pain and shouted as loud as she could.

"Magicannon! 'Twilight Spark!'"

The light became brighter and brighter and the pit fiend put its hand in front of it in a desperate attempt to shield it's self. Marisa smiled as her victory was assured.

But then it all went horribly wrong. The hakkero suddenly cracked and began to shake uncontrollable. The cracks grew and deepened. Then the hakkero tore itself apart. There was a massive explosion and Marisa was sent flying backwards. Her magical shield was shattered and she smashed into a building.

She looked at herself. Her left hand had been blown off and her entire right forearm was missing. She was in agonizing pain as her entire body had been burnt. The pit fiend approached her and lifted its shadow-engulfed claws.

She heard Kanna's voice. "Yes. Just as I thought." Then the claws tore into her.

Alice sat at her workbench, surrounded by dolls. Some floated around her, and handed her tools when she gestured. The workbench it's self was covered in doll parts, along with spare blocks of wood and pieces of cloth. The doll she was currently working served no purpose other than an appearance. On the other end of the table sat several other unfinished projects. As she worked on one of the delicate limbs, her fingers slipped and the dolls arm snapped in half. Angrily, Alice tossed the doll aside. She cleared a space, and then lay her head down on the worktable, and sighed.

She couldn't focus on her craft as her mind was still thinking about Marisa. She made a few motions with her hands and one of the dolls spoke. "Is something wrong, milady?"

"It's nothing, Shanghai," Alice answered. She moved her fingers again, in intricate and specific patterns.

"Are you sure? You look upset."

"Trust me, it's nothing."

"It certainly doesn't look like nothing." Shanghai answered. "Is it about Marisa?"

Alice sighed again. "What business is it of yours?"

"Isn't it the duty of a servant to ensure their mistress' well being?" Shanghai asked.

"But…" Alice moved her other hand and another doll spoke.

"She's right, you know. Besides, how long have we all known each other?"

"I guess you're right, Hourai."

"So what's the problem?" They both asked.

"Pushy as always." Alice gave a slight smile. "Marisa, as usual. What does she really think of me?"

"What do you mean? What happened?" Hourai asked.

"You just want to hear so you can gossip with your friends. You almost as bad as that tengu reporter."

"You know me too well, mistress." Hourai said.

"Heh, but I'll tell you anyways, I guess I do need someone to talk to it about." Alice said. "Marisa and I are both friends, but I like her so much more than that. Do you think she loves me to? I want to ask her, but every time I try, the words get stuck in my mouth."

"Why wouldn't she?" Shanghai asked. "You're charming, smart, caring…"

"Charismatic, funny, clever, beautiful…" Hourai added.

Alice smiled. "You guys are-"

Alice was cut off by a knocking at the door. Shanghai and Hourai fell back onto the table, lifeless. Alice stood up from her workbench and looked over at the doorway.

"Who could that be at this time of night?" She stared at the door, and the person at the door knocked again. Alice gestured with her hands, and more dolls flew off the shelves, these dolls carried miniature lances and swords, while others had the scent of gunpowder. After the previous night's events, she wasn't going to be caught unarmed.

Alice carefully strode over to the door as the person knocked a third time. It was probably Reimu, no need to worry.

She opened the door and once she saw the guest, all her dolls fell to the ground, and Alice's mouth hung wide open in shock. "M-Mom?"

Team Shanghai Alice. Now there's a pretty misleading name. It's not a team, it's one guy. It's from Japan, not Shanghai, and ZUN's name isn't Alice.

On another note, I apologize for the long time it took me to get this up. I was working on it when suddenly ninjas burst into my window. I killed a bunch of them but the survivors managed to steal my computer. They took off in a helicopter but I managed to grab on just before it left. I don't know for how long I hung on but soon a managed to get inside, there was a fight and the helicopter crashed. I managed to escape with my laptop just in time. I am now in the middle of some sort of desert. Surprisingly I still had internet connection, so I decided to finish my posting. Will search for civilization soon.

Thanks for reading, please leave a review and tell me what think.

~Dragonexx