"I didn't expect a doppelganger to be that powerful..." Charlotte said quietly as the two sat resting in Vincent's shop.

"We'll just have to be more careful next time," Jonathan stood and said confidently, as he always was. "Next time will be–"

"–no problem, right?" Charlotte finished, a small grin on her face.

"Of course!" the hunter agreed with a smile. "So, let's go, then."

"Wait," Charlotte called, standing as well. "How about we ask Wind for advice? He might know–"

Jonathan shook his head and cut off the mage, having flashbacks of previous attempts to get Wind's help. "No no no, we can do this, just leave it to me."

With that, Jonathan took Charlotte's arm and began pulling her along towards the Nest of Evil, ignoring the curious look he got from the ghost as they passed by.

Just outside the room, Charlotte pulled free of Jonathan's grip. "Jonathan! I can walk by myself, you know!"

"Come on, let's go!" Jonathan said, barely turning and certainly not stopping, seemingly not caring for her remark at all.

Charlotte watched silent as he continued on ahead with a hurried pace. I wonder why he doesn't want to talk to Wind, she thought. She briefly entertained the idea of turning around and asking the spirit directly, but then had a feeling the hunter might get himself killed by enemies if she wasn't there to keep an eye on him.

Surprisingly, Charlotte didn't catch up to Jonathan until she reached the door before the doppelganger's room. "Jonathan," she started, annoyed. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

Jonathan opened his mouth for a moment, but then paused as though considering what to say. "Uh...sorry?" he tried. Charlotte just narrowed her eyes. "Hey, don't be like that–"

The hunter was left rubbing the top of his head after Charlotte smacked him.

"Don't be stupid," she said simply.

Don't be violent, Jonathan countered, but was smart enough not to say it aloud.

"What's so wrong with asking Wind for advice?" Charlotte pressed.

Jonathan's expression changed. "Please...don't ask."

The mage tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, staying silent for a moment. "...Fine," she said finally. "But if this doesn't work we are going to talk to Wind."

"All right then," Jonathan said, sounding a bit relived. "Let's do this."

The two approached the magical blue barrier and entered the chamber as it slid out of the way.

As soon as they entered, the pair could see that the doppelganger had taken Jonathan's form this time. For a few moments, it simply stood there, staring at them with a nonchalant look. Deciding not to waste time, Jonathan began to rush his copy, brandishing the Vampire Killer while Charlotte began a spell chant.

Before Jonathan had gotten even halfway there, the demon suddenly moved, his movements almost turning his arms to a blur. In flash, there were suddenly several paper airplanes flying directly towards them, all flying in single files.

"What the–?" Jonathan started to say, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the veritable attack squadron of folded paper. Managing to get his arms up to help defend against some of the blows, Jonathan tried to step out of the way, but the doppelganger was simply throwing so many that the attempt was futile.

"Jonathan...!" Charlotte called, ducking in the corner, shielding herself with her thick spellbook. "Do something!"

"Wh-What? What am I supposed to do?" Jonathan shouted back, not really in any better position than the mage to block or even attack their opponent. He was silent for a moment. "O-Okay, fine!" the hunter relented, getting an idea. Reaching into his pocket with one hand, he fished around and found the ring he was looking for, continuing to shield his face with his other arm.

The ring on his finger and it's power coursing through his body, Jonathan returned to shield his face from the airplanes while pushing forward towards the source. As he approached, he was able to see the doppelganger was doing something strange as it threw the airplanes; but Jonathan couldn't see particularly well and the moment he tried get closer the demon thrust the Alucard Spear into his chest, knocking the hunter backwards. Immediately, the doppelganger began throwing paper airplanes again, filling the room in an instant.

Just as Jonathan thought he was going to end up dying to a barrage of paper airplanes, and white light from a Magical Ticket consumed the room.

"That was too close..." Jonathan sighed in thought, the two back in Vincent's shop, and looked off to his side. "How did he even throw all those paper airplanes anyway...?"

"Yeah, that was a embarrassing," Charlotte commented, looking down. It was almost like the monster had been making fun of them!

"Yeah! How could he fold them that fast?" Jonathan agreed, clenching his fist. "I should be better than that!"

It took Charlotte a moment to realize what the hunter was talking about. "...You're missing the point," she said, looking at him.

Jonathan looked back, confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Charlotte shook her head in resignation. "Nevermind." She looked up. "Now let's go speak to Wind about this."Ignoring Jonathan's protests, she led the hunter into the adjoining room and called out to the spirit, explaining the situation.

"Ah, so that's what you were talking about," Wind replied, nodding. "Allow me to teach you something useful." He turned to the hunter. "Jonathan."

"Wh-What?" Jonathan asked, nearly jumping at the spirit's call.

"Begin by folding the paper airplane," the ghost said, producing a piece of paper from his jacket. "As you do so, begin to jump backwards. Then, immediately duck, stand, and begin again."

Jonathan's mouth dropped open. "What? This sounds like another crazy process..."

"Stop complaining." Wind didn't even look at the hunter as he said that. "Watch. I will show it to you slowly. First, the airplane." Wind folded the paper as Jonathan always did and threw it forward, the plane gliding nicely before crashing into the wall.

"Now watch this," the spirit continued. Producing another square of paper, Wind folded the plane, but leapt back as he did so, somehow managing to throw the plane almost instantly.

"Whoa!" Jonathan exclaimed in surprise. "That was almost like–"

"Now consider this," Wind said, cutting off the hunter. The spirit began to jump back, but before he had gone very far, he dropped into a crouch. "And finally..."

"Finally...?" Jonathan said questioningly.

"Combine the techniques." Wind produced another sheet of paper and began folding it, leaping back as he did so. The plane was only just out of the ghost's hand when he dropped to a crouch and stood again. The plane was not even out of his reach and he was ready to throw another! "Now try it yourself, repeating the technique as you reach the end."

Several minutes – and a good pile of airplanes in the corner – later, Jonathan had gotten the hang of the technique and was able to throw his airplanes at the speed the doppelganger had been previously.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Jonathan said, feeling the options the new skill gave him.

"Indeed. The technique is called the 'backdash cancel'," Wind said.

"Wait," Charlotte stepped forward a bit. "How is this supposed to help us defeat the doppelganger?"

"Are you kidding?" Jonathan said in disbelief. "This could help us defeat everything!"

Charlotte shook her head. "But the subweapons will still take mana to use. You'd run out before you could accomplish anything. And besides, based on what I've read it seems unlikely that we would be able to stun the doppelganger effectively like that."

"Actually..." Wind began, taking a thoughtful pose. "For the problem of magic power...I have a ring that constantly draws power from the castle at great speeds. For your purposes, you might consider it infinite."

"What?" Charlotte had never heard of such a thing.

"Really? Why don't you give it to us then – it'd be really useful!" Jonathan said, approaching the ghost's side.

"Hmm, I suppose I could," Wind said. "But you'll need to do some things for me first."

Jonathan suddenly had a feeling of dread. "...What do you want?"

"Jonathan. Acquire and master every subweapon." He turned. "Charlotte. Acquire and master every spell, and while you are at it, defeat Gergoth with a normal book, rather than one of those magic ones you use all the time."

"That's going to take forever!" Jonathan said.

Wind simply shrugged. "I already showed you the 'backdash cancel' for free."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "Okay then. We'll work on that. But what about defeating the doppelganger?"

Wind looked thoughtful. "Tell me, how did it fight? Did it use your weapons against you?"

"Well, yeah," Jonathan replied. "Isn't that the point of a doppelganger?"

"No, that's not it. Not just any weapon. The one's you were using yourself," the spirit clarified.

Jonathan nodded, a curious look on his face. "...Yeah. I still don't see why a doppelganger wouldn't–"

Wind looked up. "I know of a very simple way."

Charlotte's eyebrows went up. "Really?"

The spirit nodded, but closed his eyes and looked down. "However...I imagine you won't be interested in trying it."

"What? Come on, just tell us," Jonathan said, sounding a bit annoyed.

Wind looked at the hunter for a moment before turning his gaze to Charlotte and gesturing for her to come over. When she did, the spirit whispered something into her ear.

Jonathan leaned up against the wall, wondering what the point was. It wasn't like Charlotte wouldn't just tell him what Wind had said, anyway.

"WHAT?" Charlotte cried out at the top of her lungs, the sudden sound causing Jonathan to nearly lose his balance leaning against the wall. "No no no no no! Never!" Her face was red with anger and embarrassment that Wind would even suggest something like that, and her hands gripped the book in preparation for using it as a blunt weapon. At the last second, though, it seemed she to change her mind and smacked Jonathan across the side of the head, sending the hunter to the ground.

"What did I do?" Jonathan exclaimed from his position on the ground, not understanding the girl's actions at all. Hearing hurried footsteps fading, Jonathan opened one eye carefully and looked about. No Charlotte, so he was probably clear to stand up. "What was that...?" Jonathan asked, more to himself than Wind.

"I apologize," Wind said, though Jonathan sincerely doubted the spirit was actually sorry. "It seems that you are cursed to always end up with...bad results, so to speak."

I sincerely doubt he's actually sorry, Jonathan thought to himself as he got to his feet.

"I suppose you doubt that I'm actually sorry..." Wind approached the hunter. "When you approached the doppelganger, it wielded the Alucard Spear, correct?"

"Huh? Yeah, because I was," Jonathan said, looking at the weapon. While he did so, however, Wind took the spear from him. "Wha–Hey!"

"Stand within striking range," the spirit commanded, readying the spear. Looking at Wind strangely, Jonathan complied after a moment of hesitation. "Now dodge."

A flash of movement and Wind had the spear at Jonathan's chest.

"Hey! I wasn't ready!" Jonathan complained. Wind sighed, pulling the spear back to a ready position.

"Are you ready now?" Wind asked, sounding a bit impatient.

"Yeah, okay."

Wind thrust the Alucard Spear forward again, and Jonathan barely managed to get out of the way of the thrust, almost losing his balance in the process.

"As you can see, at this range, the spear has an advantage. However," Wind stepped up to within arm's reach of Jonathan. "At this position, the spear is at a great disadvantage. Dodge."

At such a close range, Jonathan was easily able to get around the shaft of the spear and avoid getting hit. After few moments of doing this, Wind nodded and pushed the Alucard Spear back into Jonathan's hands.

"Do you see the strategy?" the ghost asked.

"Yeah," Jonathan said, nodding. "Get in close, then use short range attacks, right?" The hunter paused for a moment, his brows furrowing in confusion. "I wonder why Charlotte was so against this."

Wind looked about to reply, but then stopped, looking thoughtful, as though he were considering all the possible options. He then slowly shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Well, anyway, I guess I'd better go catch up to her then." Jonathan nodded to the spirit and headed off towards the entrance to the doppelganger's room, where he correctly assumed Charlotte would be waiting.

"Hey, Charlotte. Are you okay?" Jonathan asked as he approached.

The mage refused to meet his gaze, but nodded. "Yes."

"Okay then, let's do this."

"O-Okay, fine! I'll do it!" Charlotte shouted suddenly, causing Jonathan to take a step back in surprise. "But you have to leave!"

Jonathan stared at the mage in confusion. "Uh...huh?" Not responding to his confused question, Charlotte forcefully shoved the hunter around the nearby corner, where he ordered him to wait while she went back to the doorway.

For a moment, Jonathan simply stood there, trying to figure out what was going on. Charlotte was acting rather strangely; and what did this have to do with defeated the doppelganger?

"Charlotte, I–" Jonathan started as he started around the corner, but froze upon what he saw. "WHY ARE YOU TAKING YOUR CLOTHES OFF?

Ended up being much longer than I expected...

In case it wasn't implied well enough, what Wind told Charlotte was to strip so the doppelganger would have nothing to use against them – the classic strategy PoR players ought to be familiar with. Also managed to get in a reference to backdash canceling!

Anyway, all was according to Wind's plan. He did consider the possible options of things to tell Jonathan:

1. The truth about what he said (too boring)
2. Shrug (potential later!)
3. That Charlotte was too embarrassed to get close to Jonathan (not as good as the above)

Obviously he went with 2, and it played out flawlessly. I'm pretty sure he ships Jonathan x Charlotte.

Also: a bit of the first dialogue in Japanese. The English can't show off Jona-san's katakana English technique.

J: 今度は、
C: ノープロブレムだ、ね？
J: オフコース！じゃ、レッツゴー。