- Nino: Look here, Five.
- Nino: I don't really remember what you told me before, alright?
- Nino: I don't know what I promised you, and how I was going to do it...
- Nino: Or If I even had a way of accomplishing it, anyway.
- Nino: So, I'm sorry about that.
- Five: Oh... don't be sad, Nino!
- Five: There there!
- Nino: Um...
- Five: It's okay if Nino forgot!
- Five: Because, Nino didn't know that Nino would forget, right?
- Nino: Yeah, that's right!
- Nino: You understand now!
- Five: So it's okay, if Nino doesn't remember...
- Five: Then Five will just have to remind Nino very well!
- Nino: ...Huh?
Five: Nino and Five drew in the monster world, so it could help Nino remember!
- Five: Watch very very closely now... it's important!
- Five: When Five met Nino... Five drew home for Nino!
- Five: Home, and Five's Friend, Five will show them to Nino again!
- Five: So this time, Nino must watch carefully.
- Nino: Hang on, Five...
- Five: Nino can't forget it again, okay?
- Five: If Nino remembers, then Nino can just bring Five home, right?
- Five: So don't worry, Five will draw it well!
- Nino: U-uh...
Um. Uh.
It looks like you've suddenly gotten roped into some sort of activity.
It looks like you've suddenly gotten roped into some sort of activity.
Wait, drawing! That's it!
If there's a better way to get information than talking, then this is it!
But boy, this kid sure is overwhelming when she's all fired up...
Five: Start drawing with the crayons and invite Nino to join Five.
- Five: First, Five will think about Five's adventure... with Nino!
- Five: Here! Everyone can draw with Five, too!
Five and Aria collaboratively illustrate a collage of things you've (apparently) been through together (with very minimal additions by you), while a certain angel (who is totally divorced from the whole situation) provides much unsolicited commentary.
Though everyone seems rather excited to go over your forgotten journey...
Somehow, you feel a strange desolation watching them go.
Somewhere in your heart, there's a distance.
Even though this involves you, you feel oddly detached from what's unfolding here.
Observe.
Suddenly, you wonder just how much you've let them down. Did you really do so much for the two of them, only to go back on it as soon as your amnesia struck?
And just how is it that, despite your inconsistency, they still chose to treat you with the same kindness as before...?
Well, even if you're unworthy of it...
Is it wrong to feel like you still want to be part of this little warmth?
- Five: And now... Five can show Nino again, umm...
- Five: Five's home, and Five's Friend!
- Five: Nino promised to take Five there.
- Five: So will Nino... listen to this too?
- Nino: ...
If you've made such a promise to Five, to help her find home once more, then forgetting it doesn't invalidate her expectations... even if the amnesia was out of your control. After all, it was you who built up her hopes in the first place.
You'd hate to be someone who goes back on his word.
It would be a disservice to your past self, who must've made that promise for a reason. Following up on it might help reinvigorate your memory, and maybe... taking action is just one way to make amends for letting down the people who relied on you, totally oblivious of what was to come.
Five: Present grand masterpiece of Five's beautiful, colorful home!
- Nino: What... am I looking at.
- Five: It's everyone and Five!
- Five: See, that's Five's Friend!
- Five: Does Nino remember... Friend?
- Nino: ...Emm...
- Aria: Ah, she's shown me the same thing before!
- Aria: Five, these are...
- Aria: Your friend, your sis, the guard, and... the prince, too.
- Five: Yes! Aria remembers!
- Aria: Hehe, don't worry, I won't forget.
- Meimona: I think that's a Nino-only problem, huh.
- Nino: Thanks for rubbing it in...
- Meimona: So uhm, Five has an older sister?
- Aria: Not exactly, she's her nurse!
- Aria: I suppose she looked after her like a big sister.
- Five: Aria is right! Sis is also nurse!
- Five: But sis says that sis is... everyone's big sis!
- Five: Not just Five!
- Meimona: Oooh, sounds like a pretty cool title, actually!
- Nino: Aria, you said that that's the prince here?
- Nino: Prince... Ruit?
- Aria: Yes, it is what she drew before too.
- Aria: Apparently, this was a place that even the prince of your world visited!
- Meimona: Whoa, hang on...
- Meimona: Is that a horn on your friend!?
- Five: Yes!
- Five: Friend has one, just like Five!
- Five: But... different shape?
- Meimona: So APPARENTLY, it's also a place where monsters and humans can be together just like that!?
- Aria: Oh, that too.
- Meimona: Wow, you should have started by mentioning it first...
- Meimona: There's no way a place like this exists!
- Five: It does! This is Five's home!!
- Five: Five's home is real!!!
- Five: And Five's friends are also real!!
- Five: Dummy dumb Mei!
- Meimona: Waaah!
- Meimona: I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!
- Aria: I think Reed's rubbing off on her...
Five: Talk about Five's old home and friends in the lab.
- Five: See, Nino...
- Five: In Five's home, everyone is a friend!
- Five: Even though prince, guard, and sis are humans...
- Five: They are all friends with monsters like Five!
- Five: Everyone gets along good!
- Five: Guard is always following Prince...
- Five: Big sis and Friend are always together...
- Five: And sometimes, Friend brings gifts for Five!
- Five: Gifts... from monsters!
- Five: So, Nino...
- Five: Remember Nino's promise to Five now?
- Nino: ...
- Nino: I've got absolutely nothing here.
- Five: Oh...
- Five: Then does Nino mean... no?
- Nino: Yes, Nino means to say no.
- Nino: Sorry, Five.
- Five: ...
- Meimona: Geez, develop some tact already!
- Meimona: What if she cries?
- Five: No... Five won't cry!
- Five: Five is okay!
- Five: But then...
- Five: What about taking Five to home?
Nino: Try to not be awkward with the little lady, but fail to do that.
- Five: If Nino can't remember...
- Five: Then Five will never go home...?
- Aria: No, Five, that's not the case!
- Aria: I promised to help you too, right?
- Aria: Even without Nino's memories, I'll still be here to help, so...
- Aria: Don't give up!
- Nino: And hey, don't worry.
- Nino: I don't actually need my memories to be of help too.
- Nino: All we have to do is just narrow down where this place is.
- Five: Then... Five can still go home?
- Nino: If we can find it, yeah.
- Five: ...!
- Aria: Oh, Nino...!
- Aria: I'm glad you're getting more into this!
You can never give up.
(Scroll!)
- Nino: For starters, I believe we've eliminated the possibility of this place being anywhere in the monster world...
- Nino: A laboratory with more humans than monsters suggests that much.
- Nino: And, there's the fact that the gifts brought to Five were memorabilia of the monster world, and were specifically acquired by another monster.
- Aria: Ah, nice catch! If Five had to stay in the human world...
- Aria: Then, her friend must've wanted to bring her a reminder of her old home.
- Nino: Yeah!
- Nino: There's bound to be some source of info about the laboratory in this world...
- Meimona: Hold on, guys... I get that you wanna help Five and all, but...
- Meimona: Do you seriously think there's any kind of place where humans and monsters can just, fricking... literally... just chill out so casually?
- Meimona: For as long as I've known this world, it's never been accommodating to monsters like that!
- Meimona: How would this even be possible with the barrier in place and all?
Humans and monsters: Fricking, literally, just chill out so casually.
- Aria: Don't be so hasty, Mei.
- Aria: Five wouldn't lie...
- Nino: If we manage to find any of the people Five remembers, it could help.
- Aria: The only one you guys recognize is the human prince, so...
- Nino: Oh, you want me to just break into the royal tower to ask the head honcho all about an illegal monster, huh?
- Aria: Uuuueh, right...!
- Aria: I guess he's practically out of the question...
- Nino: Were there any more notable people in that lab?
- Nino: More bigshots we might recognize, maybe other royals...
- Five: What's a royals?
- Aria: Ah, they're people like the human prince.
- Nino: Yeah. Having notable names on hand might help with narrowing this down.
- Five: Oh! If prince is royals... then that means, yes!
- Five: Long ago, Five saw human princess...
- Five: She is the prince's mama!
- Aria: Oh my...!
- Meimona: What is this, a friendly royal family outing!?
- Aria: It must be a very special place for them to visit personally!
- Five: But Five... saw more royals, too.
- Five: Sometimes, Five saw both there!
- Nino: Both?
- Five: Yeah, both human and monster royals!
Humans and monsters: ...Nevermind.
- Five: There were two princes...
- Five: Monster prince, and human prince!
- Nino: What!? Both of them?
- Aria: I-in one place!?
- Five: Yeah... is it not good if Five sees both together?
- Nino: Err, no, but that's just... really unexpected, to say the least.
- Meimona: How in the world can the two princes be there?
- Meimona: They're enemies!
- Five: Five thinks... Mei is right.
- Five: Human prince doesn't talk nice to monster prince...
- Five: And monster prince is afraid to look at human prince.
- Five: Everyone is happy when only one prince visits.
- Five: But when two princes visit at the same time...
- Five: Princes really don't get along.
- Five: And when it's noisy like that...
- Five: Monster prince's friend and human prince's guard don't look happy.
- Five: But...
- Five: Because sis scolds princes, princes don't fight!
- Five: Princes are really afraid of sis!
- Aria: T-they are!?
- Five: Yeah! When sis gets mad...
- Five: Sis makes everyone reaaaally scared!
- Five: Just like Aria!
- Aria: W-what? Me!?
- Aria: I'm not scary at all, Five!
- Aria: Right, guys...?
- Nino: Um... normally, you're not.
- Nino: But when you're mad, well...
- Reed: Heh.
- Meimona: Oooh, the boys FEAR Aria's wrath!
- Aria: Aaah, is that really how you've been seeing me all along!?
- Five: Aria, it's okay!
- Five: Because, Aria only gets mad when everyone must behave...
- Five: Just like sis!
- Five: Only gets mad when princes need to behave!
- Five: When princes cause trouble, sis must scold them!
- Nino: But, what... what kind of person is she to overpower his highness!?
"Sis": It's the power of friendship...
- Nino: That's the highest authority here!
- Nino: And also like, a war hero, you know!
- Five: Woah, human prince is a hero!?
- Five: But what's a war?
- Nino: That's... err... umm...
- Nino: When two adults have a really heated, really awful argument.
- Five: Oh, okay... so war is bad?
- Nino: Y-yeah? God, it sure is!
- Five: Oooh... Five understands!
- Five: Five will be very careful of war...!
- Aria: (Nino, wow...)
- Meimona: (That's really the best you could come up with?)
- Nino: (Leave me alone! I was put on the spot!)
- Five: Nino, when princes fight... is it a war, too?
- Nino: ...Yeah. It can be.
- Aria: It has been, but...
- Aria: I don't think this is what Five's talking about.
- Meimona: Probably not, huh...
- Aria: Did you see the princes, um, argue a lot?
- Five: Five thinks... sometimes, but not for long time.
- Five: Princes don't really talk to Five... but Five watched princes a little!
- Five: When both princes visit at same time, they don't get along...
- Five: Sometimes, princes fight, but everyone makes them stop!
- Five: And Sis always says to human prince... lab is friendly place!
- Five: In lab, everyone must listen to sis!
- Five: Lab is not, ummm... a "high society", so no being mean!
- Nino: W-why does this make his highness sound like a bully...
- Five: But... princes stopped visiting later.
...A valuable thing desired by most.
- Five: Monster prince stopped coming first...
- Five: And later, human prince stopped coming, too.
- Five: Sis said human prince was just busy studying lots!
- Five: But, monster prince...
- Five: Five thinks, maybe... monster prince was scared.
- Five: That's why monster prince left.
- Nino: Jeez, he was scared of this incredible "big sis" too?
- Five: No... not sis!
- Five: Five thinks, monster prince was scared of everyone else!
- Five: Prince is always alone, and always goes home early...
- Five: And prince... always hides from everyone else!
- Five: Maybe, monster prince is really shy?
- Aria: Aaaah, hold it, w-what in the world!
- Aria: No, he's not any of that at all!
- Five: But it's true!
- Nino: Oh, you're feeling the same dissonance I did, huh...
- Aria: I-I mean, that's Prince Suvillan, you know!?
- Aria: He's so frightening and merciless, I can't imagine this at all...!
- Five: Hmph, but... one time, Five found prince hiding alone!
- Five: So there! Prince is like a baby!
- Aria: N-no way!
- Five: It's true!!! Really, Five doesn't lie!
- Aria: I know, Five, but... but...
- Five: Why doesn't Aria believe Five?
- Aria: Because... that all sounds way too childish to be him!
Nino & Co.: Try to figure this out.
- Nino: Oh... that's it, Aria! You got it!
- Aria: Huh?
- Nino: Five really did see the princes...
- Nino: But this was before they'd taken over the throne.
- Nino: They were young, what with getting scolded to behave and all.
- Aria: Ah... that's why they both sound immature?
- Meimona: Hmmhmm, so you dare propose that even rulers could've once just been awkward teenagers like the rest?
- Nino: Well, to some degree, from the sound of things...
- Meimona: Very bold idea, if you ask me!
- Aria: So the princes never got along, even during peaceful times.
- Aria: But if relations were that peaceful...
- Aria: Then this couldn't have been recent by a long shot.
- Aria: Ummmmh, I'm getting confused by the timeline of events here!
- Nino: I'm trying to figure it out too...
- Nino: But yeah, something doesn't check out.
- Meimona: Well, for it to be possible that monsters and humans were together at all,
- Meimona: This has to be sometime before the barrier's divided 'em.
- Aria: I believe so, but...
- Nino: Hmmm... hey, Five, when did you leave that lab?
- Five: Yesterday!
- Nino: ...P-pardon? What?
- Five: Yesterday, Nino!
- Five: Five remembers very well!
- Meimona: No, uh... the last time there was no barrier...
- Meimona: And there was peace between humans and monsters, is...
- Aria: ...Six years ago.
- Nino: Something absolutely doesn't check out.
- Aria: Five, do you know how old you are..?
- Five: Yes! Five knows!
- Five: Hehe... it's funny, because...
- Five: Five is five!
- Five: Five, is five years old! Hehehe!
- Nino: Wait, what?
- Aria: H-huh? That's not possible!
- Aria: Nino, her earliest memories are of the laboratory!
- Aria: How can she be born after the barrier's creation, and still have seen such a peaceful scene?
- Meimona: She also doesn't look that young...
- Five: But... but it's really true!
- Five: Why does everyone not believe five?
- Aria: No, Five, it's not like that...
- Aria: We just think that this... this really doesn't fit!
- Reed: Hold that thought.
- Reed: Can I take a look at the kid's drawings.
- Meimona: Whoa... you want to see it?
- Nino: Since when were you listening?
- Aria: I thought this wouldn't interest you...
- Reed: Never mind all that. Just show me the papers.
- Nino: ...Here you go.
Reed: Since you're the only human with any real knowledge of the human world, does any of that ring a bell?
Reed: 1, 2, 3, ...
- Reed: You can answer my questions just fine by yourself, can't you?
- Five: Umm... Five can try!
- Reed: Then that's more than good enough.
- Reed: You're the only source of information I'm looking for here.
- Reed: First of all.
- Reed: I want you to always keep this in mind.
- Reed: If you don't like thinking about a question I ask you,
- Reed: Then you don't need to answer it.
- Reed: Got it?
- Five: Oh... okay!
Somehow, it feels like...
Reed is being so uncharacteristically careful.
Reed is being so uncharacteristically careful.
Did you get the wrong idea about him, or is this a topic that requires such consideration, even from someone like him?
Regardless, for now, you opt to carefully watch this unfold.
- Reed: Do your remember if that lab had adults dressed in white coats?
- Reed: Maybe some who were called scientists, doctors, nurses, or...
- Reed: Professors.
Finally, the shitpost doodles have made it into the story proper.
Reed: Ask Five about her last memories before meeting Nino, how did she leave the lab? Were there cryogenics involved?
Five: Describe the Professor and how he acted.
Reed: Realize what this means for your investigation.
(Reed: Regale your hidden backstory and your quest to find your long lost father.)
I'll answer for several different directions this could go.
Five: Recall a "Professor."
Reed: Ask about any other units at the lab. Perhaps she wasn't the only one.
Five: Recall.
Reed: Ask of what they were testing.
Five: You don't want to answer this. You don't want to think of this. You don't want to know this. You don't.
Reed: Reach a conclusion. Ponder how to best explain it, if you should at all. Five deserves to know, no matter how much it will hurt.
Everyone: Realize the implications.
Someone: Interrupt. That's enough for now.
Just in case, because I'm certain it'll be relevant at some point in the near future
Five: Try desperately not to cry. Cry anyways.
At this point I am fully convinced Reed is Zachary L. and Anise L.'s son. This next update may just confirm that theory.
I really like how the drawings eventually turned into a timeline.
Reed's almost definitely on the right track here.
Everybody else: Observe whatever Reed is doing.
Nino: Stay calm. Don't get locked in a daze for too long of a time. Pay attention.
Aria: (Quietly so the Rude One won't hear!) Profess to Mei quietly about how humans & monsters were at peace in the past if you can. As memory recalls, you told that to Nino too, so try nursing his memories through quiet retaining and recollection. Could Five have some sort of amnesia like how Nino forgot his past?
Back in "Observe.", (presumably) Nino (Because of the coloration and the "Nah" being fitting) made Kotori look rather intimidating. https://oceanfalls.net/p/1313 Also Nino (if Nino's the one who drew the green) seems to have improved.
Unrelated to everything above, but back in "You can never give up." I wonder how many of the terms brought up in "Dia's numbers" are based off real things, since I know cryo and precipitate are things that mean something, (to my knowledge) G isn't an element on the periodic table so NHIG is either not a chemical formula or the periodic table is different in this webcomic, or it's something else that may or may not exist in real life. Adraxone sounds like a medication.
Every term written on the numbers board is real.
NHIG = Normal Human Immunoglobulin.
Ah, neat.
idk, I think it's possible that Nino IS in fact mostly bad at art, but he just knows how to draw people because he took tips from an anime drawing guide (or from copying faces off of Selene's manga, that too.)
You might want to check the tumblr. You were right!
Mmmmmm Five mysteries
five is a better artist than me 😔
You’re not alone there 😥
We're about to see something happen, something deep, something intense, something that will make our hearts beat like the loudest drums of the world in unison.
This is going to be epic.
They're all so talented c,:
Things are not going to turn Josef Mengele tier dark right....
inb4 Reed: Accidentally say Fives "code word" Five: re-enact that scene from elfen lied
Fives not weapon right its just some monster illness right......
Mei’s nice to Five, which is good.