Youkai Quest: The Continuing Adventures!

[Kasu]

> "P-Ponga!?"
> Try and focus on the presence that was related to the blur.

[Kyo Tanaka]

>Why would Ponga be here, of all places?

>Well, if we find him, we shouldn't complain.

>Focus on the boss thing guy first.

[Yugian]

>If Ponga's here, then there must be a reason...

>Take Advantage of the temporary distortion of sight! Hide in a spot to ambush, wait until the enemy's defenses are lowered, then hit with a powerful attack!

[Hanzo K.]

> "P-Ponga!?"
> Try and focus on the presence that was related to the blur.

>Why would Ponga be here, of all places?
>Well, if we find him, we shouldn't complain.
>Focus on the boss thing guy first.

>If Ponga's here, then there must be a reason...
>Take Advantage of the temporary distortion of sight! Hide in a spot to ambush, wait until the enemy's defenses are lowered, then hit with a powerful attack!

>You let out a short exclamation, and focus on that blur's presence...
>...N-no way?! That's definitely Ponga! But his Presence is a lot stronger than you remember!
>Well, at least this saves you the effort of going to look for him then?
>You decide to take advantage of the cloud of dust and such, and try to find a spot to hide in...
>Hey, the hole Ponga came out of might be a good one, so you decide to hide in there and wait...
>Sounds like Ponga's really getting into the fight...



Boss: King Frost (Obscured)
Health: ?
Mana Points: ?

Your Status: 75%
Mana Points: 8

~Guest Status~
Chen: ?
Mokou: ?
Rumia: ?
Wriggle: ?

[Kasu]

> "GOOOOOOOO PONGA!"
> Keep huddlin'

[Hanzo K.]

> "GOOOOOOOO PONGA!"
> Keep huddlin'

>You decide to cheer for Ponga, and stay in the hole that was left behind...
>Wonder how deep this hole goes..?


Boss: King Frost
Health: ?
Mana Points: ?

Your Status: 75%
Mana Points: 8

~Guest Status~
Chen: ?
Mokou: ?
Rumia: ?
Wriggle: ?

~Special Guest Status~
Ponga?: ?

[Kasu]

> Try and see if we can see the bottom of the hole.
> If not, descend and see if there's anything interesting in there.

[Hanzo K.]

> Try and see if we can see the bottom of the hole.
> If not, descend and see if there's anything interesting in there.

>You look to see if you can see the bottom...But it looks like this thing is really deep. Maybe you'll just...pop down there for a bit to explore.

=Secret Branch #02 Unlocked!=
A Secret Branch is triggered when you take an alternate path, normally during something important to the story.
As you can see, the one above is #02. But I wonder where #01 is?

~BGM: Fortress Depths~
>After what felt like forever, you finally reach the bottom of of the hole....Just how many floors did you pass by?
>It's a considerable deal colder down here than it was topside. If you were to venture a guess, you'd say you've probably gone all the way to the bottom of the lake.
>It's pretty dark here, only thing helping with that is the fact that you're a Nekomata. Rumia might be helpful here too, what with living in darkness all the time.
>You hear the faint rattling of chains...

[Berzul]

>Do we still have, Some wood, Nya~?

[Kasu]

> Do we still have the Pagoda?  If so, try and use it to get some light in the area.

[Hanzo K.]

>Do we still have, Some wood, Nya~?

>No, it was all burnt up earlier on.

> Do we still have the Pagoda?  If so, try and use it to get some light in the area.

>The pagoda you still have though, but you don't really know how to use it. It really only shone a bit after you tripped over it.
>Maybe holding it up would work?
>The sound of chains seems to be getting closer...

[Kasu]

> Hold it up and stay cautious.
> If we get some light, look in the direction of the chains.

[Hanzo K.]

> Hold it up and stay cautious.
> If we get some light, look in the direction of the chains.

>You decide to pull the pagoda out of one of the many pockets in your cloak while keeping on guard. This thing's pretty handy!
>You hold the pagoda aloft, and it emits a faint glow. But it's not enough to light up the area much more than a foot or two away from you though.
>But you figure it's enough to see a bit better, so you look in the direction that the sound of chains was coming from....Nothing.
>It's still too dark, wherever the chain-rattling thing is, it must be deeper in...Though it does sound like it's slowly getting closer.
>...What's that faint scraping noise? It seems to have joined the sound of rattling chains.
>Whatever is making that noise must be connected to the chain noise too.

[Kasu]

> "Anyone here~ nya?"

[Hanzo K.]

> "Anyone here~ nya?"

>You call out to find out if anyone's there, and you're greeted by a sudden crashing noise!
>But it sounded like it was on the opposite side of the wall...So you decide to take a look that way to satisfy your curiosity.
>Now that you're actually looking at the wall, you can note small cracks forming in it....and a shadowy figure on the other side that you can't even make out properly...
>It looks like the figure's either trying to break through the ice, or it's making a grilled cheese sandwich with a lot of vigor and hotblood and GAR. but it's hard to tell with all that ice in the way.

>_

[Kasu]

> Headtilt.
> Try to get a better look at the figure.

[Hanzo K.]

> Headtilt.
> Try to get a better look at the figure.

>You headtilt puzzledly as you try to figure out just what the heck is going on on the other side of the wall.
>You try to get a better look at the figure on the other side of the ice...But suddenly you get a feeling that you're not alone down here.....
>It feels...hang on, there's no way that this can be right.
>It feels like...Well, like yourself!
>But that can't be right, Ran taught you that everyone's Presence is different, individual, custom to each and every person or Youkai!



Parser's Note: Not that it's important or anything, but this here's the One-Thousand, Three-Hundred and Thirty-Seventh post I've made here.
1337 for those of you who don't dig the big words.

[Aya Squawkermaru]

>Nya in confusion. That may clear our head.
>Get a good look around. Can we see our impostor?
>Are we good enough at telling presences to know where this presence is?

[Kasu]

> Keep cautious.

[Hanzo K.]

>Nya in confusion. That may clear our head.
>Get a good look around. Can we see our impostor?
>Are we good enough at telling presences to know where this presence is?

> Keep cautious.

>You meow in confusion, this is all so confusing...
>You're able to tell where a Presence is, but it's a pretty limited range right now, not as large as you can feel them at though.
>Thankfully however, the Presence seems to be...Uh-oh.
>It's behind you.
>You decide to look behind you carefully to see whoever, or whatever it is.

~BGM: Flipside of The Coin~

>You see...hang on, there's no way this can be right.
>You see a slender-looking nekomata that looks exactly like you! Right down to the cloak and cap!
>She seems to look rather amused, and just a little bit smug, as her grin can only be described as one of those 'the cat that ate the canary' smiles....Kinda creepy really.
>"Well, took you long enough, eh?" No way...that's your voice too!
>How can this be...she looks like you, feels like you, and even sounds like you?!
>But there's something...off about her, something you can't quite place...

[Kasu]

> "W-who are you, nya?  You cant be me. I'M me..."
> Watch carefully.

[Hanzo K.]

> "W-who are you, nya?  You cant be me. I'M me..."
> Watch carefully.

>You ask the mysterious Nekomata who she is in a rather timid and cautious manner..
>She lifts the brim of the cap to reveal eyes that....oh man. They're a reversal of your own!
>"I'm not you? Oh this is just too rich, of course I'm you!"
>You can hear a faint thudding sound...Sounds like something's hitting something hard.

[Kasu]

> "Well then let me ask you this.  Who did I come here with?"

[Hanzo K.]

> "Well then let me ask you this.  Who did I come here with?"

>You ask her to prove that she's you by asking her who you came with.
>"Heh. Rumia, wriggle, Mokou, and Chen. Dear little Chen...It'd be such a shame if something happened to her. Especially if what's on the other side of that ice got loose topside~ But you've wanted that haven't you? Because then you'd be the only cute one in the house." She says with a none-too pleasant grin.
>Khk...You have felt a little jealous about Chen being a bit more doted-on than you, but she told you that you got your own room sooner than she ever did!

[Kyo Tanaka]

>"N-no...! I would never have wanted that..!"

>Hiss at the cat.

>"Why are you here me?! Are you like the dark side of me!?"

[Berzul]

>"Like talking, Nya? I don't. Join me and let's finish what I have started."

[Aya Squawkermaru]

>"Like talking, Nya? I don't. Join me and let's finish what I have started."

>Don't say this. Out of character. Why would we want to be friends with a weird version of ourselves, nya?

[Hanzo K.]

>"Like talking, Nya? I don't. Join me and let's finish what I have started."

>Don't say this. Out of character. Why would we want to be friends with a weird version of ourselves, nya?

>"N-no...! I would never have wanted that..!"

>Hiss at the cat.

>"Why are you here me?! Are you like the dark side of me!?"

>You have a small internal debate with yourself for a short while. Then decide against what you had initially thought.
>You decide that nothing good can come from teaming up with bizarro-you...or whatever she is.
>Then you promptly refuse the idea of what she said, and hiss at her for good measure. Then you ask her why she's here, and if she's like the dark side of you or something.
>She lets out a short, somewhat derisive-sounding laugh. "Ahahaha, You know just as well as I do on both counts! Because we are one and the same! I am you, and you are me!" She remarks with outspread arms and a rather unsettling grin not unlike that Cheshire Cat from that one story Ran read to you for bedtime a while back.
>You're really starting to think that she's either horribly right on all this, or she's a few Danmaku short of a full Spellcard.

>Meanwhile, it's starting to get easier to hear whatever's on the other side of the ice.
>And whatever it is, it sounds mean.

[Berzul]

>We don't get any despair attacks or things like "What are we fighting for!" ? Then yea... ask the other you about yourself maybe, if you don't want to confront it directly...

>On the other hand, ask the other you "If you are like me, Nya, then why you don't talk like tish, Nya?"

[Kasu]

> Spare a glance at the ice.