Loading User Commands:
[X] Custom

---

Reisen walks closer, a wicked smile upon her lips. A chill runs down his spine.

"Oh my!" she says. "Now, what am I going to do with the naughty human that stepped into my dream? Maybe it's... a naughty dream?"

Grimnír swallows nervously. He can't see or hear anything apart from this girl, and he can only barely feel Shanghai holding him tight. This doesn't look good. He doesn't really understand what's happening around him, but he does know that this situation is very dangerous. This place seems to be completely under her influence. Well, almost. His barrier seems to be holding up for the moment.

"Shanghai," he whispers. "Listen closely..."

He can't see the doll's face, but he can vaguely see her form nod at him. After carefully whispering some instructions, he feels her stand up and fly deep into the darkness behind him. Hopefully, she'll be able to get some help from the others. But for now, he has to deal with the lunarian alone. He quickly turns back to her. Perhaps he can try to buy some time...

"Reisen, what exactly is this dream you are talking about?"

"What is this dream?"

Her smile widens. He doesn't feel much better.

"What a strange question," she says. "You should know better than anyone else, human. This is just another fantasy world that will vanish at the end of the day."

"A fantasy? What are you talking about?"

There is something strange about this darkness and this silence. He can't even hear her footsteps as she walks closer. It is as if something has muffled out every sound besides their voices. He can't even hear his own heartbeat right now.

"What am I talking about? W-what am I talking about? Ahahahahahahaha!"

Suddenly, she vanishes. Grimnír quickly focuses his energy on the barrier, forming a protective shell around him. He doesn't know where she is going to attack from, but this should buy him enough time to -

"What am I talking about, indeed." she whispers darkly.

Reisen is standing right in front of his barrier, smiling. Slowly, she raises her finger and taps it against his shield. A large crack begins to spread along its surface, and in the next moment, the barrier shatters like thin glass. He raises his hand to restore the barrier, but it's already too late.

"Look into my eyes."

It takes him only a moment to realize his mistake. Just for a moment, her calm red eyes suddenly glow a bright crimson. He blinks. Huh? Her eyes have returned to normal, but for some reason, he can't look away from this girl. In fact, he can't move a muscle! His body is no longer responding to his commands. His eyes widen in horror? What did she just do?

"That's much better," says Reisen. "Now the naughty human will play nicely~"

She steps closer toward him, giggling to herself. No, don't panic! Focus! Think! There is always something that he might have overlooked. He needs to distract her while he tries to understand what's happening to him. It takes him an incredible amount of effort to even speak.

"Why..." he whispers. "Why did you... run?"

"Why did I... run?"

"This... nightmare... You don't... want this..."

"..."

"Let me... help you..."

The lunar rabbit pauses at those words. For just a moment, the smile on her face vanishes. He takes this chance to observe his surroundings. She seems to be manipulating the environment somehow. His senses have dulled, and his body barely reacts to his commands. Did she do something to his nerves? But as long as he can still move, then maybe he can do something. He focuses his energy into his left hand. It might not be much, but this could be just enough to -

"Help me?"

Without warning, she pushes him down. She has surprising strength for a person of her size. This is his last thought before the back of his head slams against the ground, hard. His eyes blur as the pain registers in his head. She seems to be standing right on top of him now. He still can't move. He can't resist against her.

"Feeling pity for the lonely little moon bunny?" she cries out. "Well then, why don't you comfort my lonely heart?"

"Gah! W-what are you doing, Reisen!"

She smiles as she starts undoing his robes. Grimnír tries to resist, but he still doesn't have full control of his body. He can barely speak, and he only has partial control of his left hand. Before he realizes it, the rabbit girl manages to expose his chest. She squeals in delight, enjoying the sight.

"T-this isn't funny!" he cries, perfectly aware that his face must be bright red. "Don't joke like that! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

"How cute," she whispers. "Are you the shy type? Don't worry."

Grimnír feels panic rushing in. She can't possibly mean to -

"I'll be gentle~"

Disregarding his demands, she starts pulling at his pants.

"No! Reisen! No!"

This is looking really bad. He needs to calm her down!

[ ] Reach out to her with lies.
[ ] Reach out to her with logic.
[ ] Reach out to her with love.
[ ] Reach out to her with laser.
[ ] Reach out to her with laughter.
[ ] Let her do what she wants.
[ ] Custom

Loading User Commands:
[X] Both
[X] Continue walking forward.

---

Grimnír takes a moment to think about his next move. This situation seems to be getting dangerous, but can he afford to just walk away? He might not have this chance again. Despite the risk, this event just proves that there is an incident here in Eientei. If he can somehow figure it all out, perhaps he can stop something terrible from happening.

"..?"

His thoughts are interrupted by a gentle tug at his robe. Shanghai looks up at him, worried. She seems to be shaking nervously, like a scared little child. He forces a smile and pats her head for a bit. Then, he gently takes the doll in his hands and places it upon his shoulder.

"It's alright. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

The doll gasps silently in surprise, but she doesn't resist. She just sits on his shoulder, fidgeting and glancing at him every now and then. Even in the darkness, he can see that her face is quite red. As they continue moving forward, Grimnír quietly wonders if this behavior is still part of Alice's original design.

"..?'

He feels something pop out of his pocket and into his hand. Eh? It looks like a tiny handwritten note.

> "I knew it. You have a thing for cute little dolls, don't you~"

He immediately crumples the note and pockets it before the doll notices. Then, as he continues walking along the dark corridor, he slowly becomes more and more aware of how soft Shanghai feels on his shoulder. He finds it hard to believe that this girl is an artificial construct. Even through their clothes, he can sense the lifelike texture of her body.

"..."

He quickly shakes away those bad thoughts. Dammit Yukari. He isn't that type of -

"Huh? What the!?"

Grimnír stares in shock as he watches his legs start sinking into the floor. Of course, the floor looks completely normal as he sinks into it, nothing like quicksand or water. That definitely doesn't look right. Nope, not at all. He tries to pull his legs out, but it is no use. A few seconds pass, and he is already knee-deep into the floor. Then, to his surprise, he stops sinking.

"Rabbit stew," whispers a voice into his left ear.

He turns to the left, but no one is there.

"Rabbit stew," whispers a voice into his right ear.

He turns to the right, but no one is there.

"Rabbit stew," whispers a voice right behind him.

He turns around, but no one is there.

"Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew.Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew. Rabbit stew."

The voice seems to come from all directions. It repeats itself again and again, ominously. It is a female voice, he notes. Grimnír quickly prepares a spell barrier around himself and Shanghai. Then suddenly, silence.

"..."

He looks around him. Everything has turned into darkness. He can't even see where he came from, or where he is going. Even the floor has vanished, and he can't see anything around him. Something soft grasps the side of his neck. He can feel Shanghai holding on to him nervously. He carefully feels for her in the darkness and strokes her hair gently to calm her down. This isn't good. He can't see anything. He can't hear anything. What the heck is -

"Looking for Master?" says the voice. "More humans looking for Master and the Princess?"

Something comes into view. A single person. A girl. She walks along the darkness and silence before him. She mutters to herself loudly as she takes each step.

"No... just a bad dream, ha ha ha. Medicine will make it better. Master said that the medicine will make it all go away. We all took it, even she. A cure for nightmares. A cure to help us sleep. Help us all sleep. Eientei is peaceful now. No need to remember such a bad dream... ha ha."

"Reisen?" says Grimnír slowly. "Reisen, is that you?"

The girl looks up at him, confused.

"Oh, you're really here? Then this must be another dream. Did I fall asleep while working again? Master will be displeased. I will have to apologize later. But, oh my! Now what am I going to do with the naughty human that stepped into my dream? Maybe it's... a naughty dream?"

Suddenly, a wild smile forms along her lips. A chill runs down his spine.

[ ] Tell Shanghai to call for help.
[ ] Ask Yukari for some backup.
[ ] Try to break free with your own power.
[ ] Don't resist. Try to calm her down.
[ ] Don't resist. Try to taunt her.
[ ] Don't resist. Stay silent.
[ ] Use item. This option is unavailable right now.
[ ] Custom

Loading User Commands:
[X] Custom

---

"Hey, you!" cries Alice as she turns to Grimnír. "Don't tell me that you didn't have anything to do with -"

"Doesn't add up..."

The dollmaker stops speaking when she sees him. Rubbing his chin with his eyes closed, the Grey Wizard is clearly in deep thought. There is something very wrong about Reisen's reaction. She never acted this way around him until now. And even if he somehow did anything insensitive, she should have shown signs of embarrassment or irritation, which while cute, would be nothing near the look of absolute terror on her face just now.

"It doesn't add up," he says again. "There must be other factors that we haven't considered. Her behavior is most troubling."

Grimnír stares at Alice for a bit. After a few moments, she turns a little pink.

"Eh? W-why are you looking at me like that? I don't have anything to do with this, either!"

"Nothing at all?"

"Of course not!"

"Ah. Well then, that makes this case a little more complicated..."

He steps closer to the stove and cooking area. Careful examination confirmed that there isn't anything unusual about the kitchen implements that the rabbit girl used. There isn't anything visibly suspicious about the food she prepared, either. Everything looks normal. Everything aside from the plate full of fried eggs. That dish looks like something better made for breakfast.

"Alice, is there anything unusual in these? Some strange ingredient or magical energy, perhaps?"

"Hmm, let me check."

The dollmaker takes a closer look at the eggs. She closes her eyes and mutters a few spell commands. For a moment, her hands start glowing, but it quickly returns to normal. She shakes her head.

"They seem like plain fried eggs with a little salt and oil, but that's it."

Ordinary eggs. For some reason, Grimnír feels like he is missing something here. But that is only a gut feeling. Logically, there isn't enough information to work with for a plausible hypothesis. He frowns as he remembers something back at the Forest of Magic.

> You missed it.

No. He can't make that mistake again. He can't let another clue slip through his fingers! Reisen knows something important. They need to calm her down and question her before something terrible happens.

"We need to find Reisen."

Alice shakes her head. She looks at him sadly.

"I'll go talk to her," she says. "I don't think that she is in any condition to calm herself around you."

~~~

There is one other person who might know about what is happening. Grimnír quickly makes his way to the hospital wing. Reisen mentioned that she told her Master about the strange waves that she sensed. Dr. Yagokoro must have some idea about this case.

Come to think about it, neither of the lunarians have ever mentioned anything about trouble at Eientei. Despite the different events happening all around Gensokyo, he never heard anything about disappearances, youkai attacks, or anything else around here. Did this place have some special protection around it? Or perhaps something did happen, but they kept it secret, somehow.

He wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Yagokoro is involved in this incident. The genius pharmacist couldn't possibly have let all this go unnoticed. If anything else, she seems to know too much, even when he recalls their meetings. Of course, it could also be due to the nature of her profession. Doctors can't release their clients' personal information for the sake of privacy, after all.

"..."

Grimnír stops walking. Something just changed. He looks around the hallways. There isn't anything odd in sight. In fact, the hallways seem a lot longer and lonelier that usual. And dark, for some reason. Even with the lights on, the place seems dimly lit. Huh?

"Why would the lights be on at this time of day?" he asks himself.

He glances at one of the windows uneasily. It is pitch-black outside, and hardly a whisper could be heard. When he looks up, the full moon shines eerily from behind the clouds. There isn't any wind. He doesn't understand it, but based on what he can observe, it is already night time right now.

"That can't be right..."

When he turns back toward the hallway, he realizes that the path toward the hospital wing has suddenly grown dark. The lights that lead toward it have been shut off somehow. However, the path from which he came is still lit.

Grimnír takes a moment to think about his next move.

Who did he take with him again?
[ ] Mini-Yukari
[ ] Shanghai
[ ] Both

This darkness...
[ ] Continue walking forward.
[ ] Retreat back into the light.

Loading User Commands:
[X] Approach Reisen together with Alice.

---

Alice stares at Grimnír suspiciously.

"I don't have anything to do with this," he whispers.

"Are you sure about that? Could you have done something insensitive or perverted?"

"O-of course not! I didn't have time to do anything like that! Er, I mean that I was out all morning, so I couldn't have possibly been involved in this mess. Ahahaha..."

The dollmaker frowns hard at him. She shakes her head in disappointment before walking towards Reisen. The rabbit girl continues sobbing, unaware of their presence. Before he can argue, something pull at him.

"..."

Shanghai gently tugs his side, then gives him a look, as if asking for permission. He smiles at the gesture and nods. The doll smiles brightly as she lands and sits on his shoulder. She really is cute. Having a doll like her would be fine, too.

"E-eh? Miss Alice?"

Reisen quickly wipes away her tears and calms herself. She forces a polite smile and gives the dollmaker a small bow.

"Ah, forgive me. I didn't realize that you came in. Lunch will be served shortly. So please, go ahead and -"

"What's wrong, Reisen?"

"Wrong? N-nothing's wrong, Miss Alice! Something just splashed into my eye while cooking..."

Alice shakes her head.

"Please," she says, her voice both gentle and firm. "Tell me what's wrong. You're among friends here."

Reisen looks at the dollmaker for a moment. Then, she looks away.

"It's nothing," whispers the rabbit girl. "It's probably nothing, but..."

The rabbit girl lowers her head sadly.

"I've been seeing strange wave patterns the past few days. Most humans and youkai can't sense it, of course. Even Master has doubts about them, since they haven't triggered any of her instruments. But if things continue like this..."

Reisen suddenly falls silent. Grimnír walks closer as Alice waits for her to continue. The rabbit girl keeps her head down, showing no sign of having noticed his presence.

"Maybe Tewi was right," she whispers. "We're all going to be trapped in that nightmare once more. I should have gone with her when she left for..."

The rabbit girl looks up at them. She blinks in surprise at Grimnír. He gives her an awkward wave. She closes her eyes tightly and shakes her head.

"W-wha? It can't be.. n-no! No! N-not again! Iyaaaaaaah!"

Without warning, she runs out of the kitchen. Her hysterical shrieks could be heard as she dashes unceremoniously along the hallways. Both he and Alice are left in the kitchen, dumbfounded. Grimnír carefully recalls Reisen's face when she recognized him.

It was a look of absolute terror.

[ ] Quickly chase after Reisen. Tell Alice to come with you.
[ ] Quickly chase after Reisen. You need to talk to her alone.
[ ] Stay in the kitchen. Ask if Alice knows anything.
[ ] Stay in the kitchen. Perhaps Reisen left a clue.
[ ] Leave the room. Tell Alice to come with you.
[ ] Leave the room. You need to investigate alone.
[ ] Use item. (Specify)
[ ] Custom

Loading User Commands:
[X] Reisen

---

"Hey, isn't that.. Reisen?"

The rabbit girl stands toward the back of the large kitchen, busying herself in front of one of the stoves, it seems. The sizzling sound of the pan echoes loudly across the room. She stays completely silent as she transfers the cooked food to a few large plates. Then, she takes a moment to stare at her work.

At this point, Grimnír hardly notices anything unusual. In fact, the lunch looks quite appetizing, even from here. There is some kind of meat and vegetable dish, and a generous serving of pasta for each person. A large pot of soup lies beside it, with some salad on the side. In fact, there is only one thing that looks unusual.

Standing out from the rest of the food is a plate full of fried eggs. Reisen stares at it intently, and he can't make out the expression on her face.

"I made them anyway," she whispers. "I didn't even realize it. It's..."

Her eyes widen in horror. Her face turns white.

"I-It's.. happening again!? It's the same! It's all the same..."

Suddenly, her eyes start tearing up. Then, she starts sobbing loudly, clearly unaware that anyone else has stepped inside. Alice looks at Grimnír suspiciously. He quickly shakes her head, mouthing that he doesn't have anything to do with this.

"You sure about that?" whispers the dollmaker. "You didn't do anything insensitive or perverted?"

"O-of course not!" he whispers back.

The dollmaker just shrugs at him and starts walking toward Reisen. The rabbit girl continues sobbing, still oblivious of their presence.

"..."

Something lands on his shoulder. He turns to see Shanghai staring up at him. She looks worried.

[ ] Approach Reisen together with Alice.
[ ] Stay here with Shanghai and observe.
[ ] Carefully sneak out of the kitchen.
[ ] Use item. (Specify)
[ ] Custom

Loading User Commands:
[X] Custom

---

"What's wrong? Looking for something?"

Grimnír shakes his head. No point in being too nosy. Curiosity could kill, after all.

"I was looking for you," he explains. "I happened to smell food, so I figured I'd see if you would like some as well."

"Food?" repeats Alice. "Well, I don't really need to eat, and I'd like to finish that quickly so..."

"I see. Sorry to bother you, then."

He shrugs as he turns toward the kitchen. Suddenly, Alice grabs him by the shoulder.

"W-wait!" she cries. "Where do you think you are going?"

"Eh? But I thought that -"

"Hush! I never said that I wouldn't go with you!"

To his surprise, Alice starts walking ahead of him, straight toward the kitchen. Shanghai floats beside her expressionlessly. He scratches his head, confused. She turns around, her cheeks a bit flushed.

"What is it? I thought that you were hungry?"

"Huh? I don't even -"

The dollmaker folds her arms and frowns at him. Shanghai mirrors her movement, doubling the effect.

"Or perhaps you'd rather have someone else prepare a meal for you?"

A chill runs down his spine. He shakes his head and laughs nervously.

"E-er, of course not!" he manages. "I'd be honored to taste something that Master Alice prepared for me."

Her smile widens at those words.

"Very good. The apprentice understands his place perfectly."

Alice leads the way as they walk along the halls of Eientei. She doesn't turn back even once, maintaining her confident demeanor. However, Shanghai floats near him almost immediately after. The doll circles him a few times before finally landing on his shoulder.

"Well, at least you're a little easier to understand," he whispers to the doll.

Shanghai looks up at him, giggling silently. Unsure of what she means, he shrugs and follows after Alice.

~~~

"Hey Grim," says the dollmaker. "What sort of food would you like to eat?"

He jumps a bit in surprise. Her sudden question interrupted his thoughts. Alice turns around and stares at him for a few moments. Then, she shakes her head.

"W-well, it's not like I'm saying that I'd go out of the way to make something like that. It would just be more convenient if I could make sure that you would eat what I could prepare. I don't really know that many recipes, and it would be difficult if you forced yourself to eat something you hate...."

Grimnír blinks a few times as a response. He doesn't get it.

"Huh?"

Alice blushes bright red at this. She turns around quickly with an irritated expression on her face. As she pushes open the door to the kitchen, she glances at him.

"N-never you mind," she adds. "I'll just cook something quick and easy! Don't blame me if -"

The dollmaker stops in her tracks. Something seems to have gotten her attention. Grimnír leans forward to examine the room. The kitchen is large, but for the most part it is empty. That is, empty aside from one other person.

"Hey, isn't that..."

[ ] Marisa
[ ] Reisen
[ ] Dr. Yagokoro
[ ] ______

Loading User Commands:
[X] Carefully wake Alice. Offer to walk with her.

---

After a moment of thought, Grimnír gently pats the dollmaker's shoulders. He whispers her name a few times until she groans irritably.

"Ugh, I can find that book later, lemme 'lone..."

"Alice?"

Without warning, she raises her hand and slams it hard on the armrest with a bang. She opens her eyes sleepily and frowns at him.

"Dammit Marisa!" she cries. "I told you to wait till I -"

Alice stops speaking and stares blankly at him. He smiles at her nervously. She blinks again. An awkward silence passes between them.

"A-ah! Grim? I-I didn't know, I'm sorry, I just -"

"Don't mention it. My fault for waking you."

She nervously starts brushing at her hair with her hands, as if to make it neater. Honestly, he thinks that her golden hair is already quite lovely as it is, but he takes the prudent step not to say that out loud.

"Well, I thought that I'd offer to take a walk with you, but it seems that you're a bit busy right now."

"Busy? What do you mean?"

He nods at the materials and designs scattered beside her. Alice takes a glance at the table, then back at him. Suddenly, her eyes widen in horror. Her face turns white and her lips start quivering.

"Iyaaaah!"

"Huh?

"Shanghai, go!"

"What the, MMPH!"

Grimnír gasps in surprise as the doll hops up and hugs his face. The tiny doll's grip tightens as he cries, 'Mmph' a few more times. Shanghai seems intent on blocking his vision, and he can feel no intimacy from her hug. Well, maybe he can feel a little. Despite her grip, the doll seems to be taking extreme care not to injure him. From the side of his eye, he can see a worried expression upon her face. After a moment, he calms down and stops struggling. There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger.

"Hurry! Take that one too!"

He perks up his ears to listen. From the sounds nearby, several things are being quickly moved away. Then, a couple of minutes later, he hears Alice sigh in relief.

"Ah, s-sorry about that," she says. "It was just so messy that I had to clean up and -"

She pauses for moment.

"Shanghai! Didn't I say you could let him go?"

The doll reluctantly pulls away from him. Then, Shanghai does something surprising. She gives him a little wink. Then, she turns around and bows obediently to Alice. The doll floats to her side with a seemingly solemn expression.

"That's better!" she says. "Sorry, I don't know what got into her right now."

Grimnír looks around curiously. All traces of her work have vanished from the area. He frowns for a moment. What would she be hiding?

"What's wrong, Grim? Looking for something?"

He turns to Alice. She smiles nervously as she waits for him to respond.

[ ] "Not really. I must be seeing things."
[ ] "Not really, since I already found you."
[ ] "Not really. But did anything happen earlier?"
[ ] "Yes. I am in search of food."
[ ] "Yes. Where is Marisa?"
[ ] "Yes. What are you hiding?"
[ ] Custom