• Aria: Whew... ah.
• Aria: Are you okay, Five...?
• Reed: Hold it.
• Reed: Don't get any closer.

End encounter.

• Aria: Oh, wait, wait, umm... I'm real!
• Aria: I can prove that to you, with the disguise...
• Aria: See? I can control yours!
• Five: Whoa... it's true...!
• Reed: Oh. Well, I guess you've kind of already proved it.
• Reed: I don't believe those two would follow and aid a fake around.
• Reed: But you know. Just in case.
• Aria: Oh...!
• Ludwig: Bork.
• Boyfriend: Meow...
• Reed: What do you think, Five?
• Five: Yes...! Aria, is real Aria!
• Five: Spirit, not bring friends with it...
• Five: But Aria never leaves friends alone!
• Aria: ...Wow. I'm glad you can tell.
• Aria: Somehow, that makes me really happy!
• Aria: Boyfriend and Ludwig, they've helped me fight off a few bad spirits!
• Ludwig: Bark!
• Reed: Wait... even Boyfriend?
• Aria: Yes! Even him!
• Aria: He can be quite vicious for a little cat, apparently!

Aria: Comfort Five. This must've been shocking for her.

• Aria: Are you alright, Five?
• Five: Aria... Five is so glad Aria is here.
• Five: It... it was scary...
• Aria: There, there.
• Five: First, Five thought spirit was Aria...
• Five: Then, Five thought spirit really was Nino.
• Five: Spirits, so... s-scary...
• Aria: It's alright now.
• Aria: None of them will get to you with us here.
• Aria: I'll make sure of it!
• Five: ...Five knows.
• Five: Friends, always promise to protect Five...
• Five: But... what if spirits hurt friends instead...?
• Aria: Don't worry.
• Aria: They won't lay a finger on anyone with me around.
• Aria: Ludwig and Boyfriend are here as well!
• Aria: They're very good at telling who's real and who isn't, you know!
• Five: Really?
• Aria: Absolutely! We'll protect each other.
• Aria: Spirits don't stand a chance when we work together.
• Aria: No one's going to fall for their cheap tricks anytime soon.

Pets: Confirm realness of everyone via noses.

• Reed: ...Is that true? That they can tell us apart from the fakes.
• Aria: Ah, yes! Ludwig especially, since he recognizes the scent of a person.
• Aria: Hehe, he's already identified you two as "real" a while ago.
• Five: :ooo !
• Reed: Oh. Glad we spent enough time around him for that to be possible, then.
• Aria: Gosh, Reed, you wouldn't believe it...
• Aria: But I ran into two spirits in a row earlier!
• Aria: The first one looked like you...
• Aria: Then the other one pretended to be Mei.
• Aria: Thankfully, boyfriend could tell right away that it wasn't really her.
• Aria: But it put up quite a fight, so to speak...
• Aria: I even wasted away my old weapon dealing with it,
• Aria: So I discarded it for this axe I found!
• Reed: Well, fuck.
• Reed: We just ran into you and quote-unquote Nino here.
• Aria: Huh...? You fought two spirits too?
• Reed: Mm. They uh... really had it out for us.
• Reed: I couldn't take two steps without these things approaching.
• Reed: The second spirit even pretended to kill the first one to fool us.
• Aria: No way... you ran into spirits that were working together!?
• Aria: And here I was thinking I'd have the craziest spirit story to share...
• Reed: Nope. Got you beat there.
• Aria: Ahh, I don't know what's going on, but it's clearly very dangerous here!
• Reed: Yeah. Looks like the place is full of spirits for whatever reason.
• Reed: For now, we should step away from this mess.

Group: Explain everything that happened up to this point.

• Reed: By the way, you get any injuries in your fights...?
• Aria: Thankfully, no! I was able to tell that they were fakes right away,
• Aria: So the spirits didn't have the chance to try anything.
• Reed: Wait, hold on...
• Reed: What about me here, then? How did you know I'm real?
• Reed: Is it because of Five?
• Aria: Oh... not really.
• Aria: I wouldn't put it past a spirit to try tricking her too.
• Aria: They don't show mercy to anyone, not even a child.
• Aria: But I have a way of confirming you're real for sure!
• Aria: It's the disguise again!
• Aria: I can feel the presence of my ability on you.
• Aria: It's my sure-fire way to confirm who's real and who isn't!
• Reed: Oh.
• Aria: Earlier, with the spirit...
• Aria: It pretended to be you with a disguise on,
• Aria: And yet, I couldn't feel anything from it.
• Aria: So I knew something was off right away!
• Reed: I see...
• Aria: I could also find you quickly, because...
• Aria: When I got close enough, I sensed your disguise nearby.
• Aria: From there, I knew how to track you down!
• Reed: That's really useful.
• Aria: Mhm!
• Reed: And your disguise doesn't disappear, even if we get injured.
• Reed: It's handy.
• Aria: Yes... wait, huh?

--/-/->

• Aria: Oh my gosh! You're bleeding!
• Aria: You... you actually ARE injured?
• Reed: Yes? I know.
• Reed: It's nothing, though. So-
• Aria: That's not nothing!
• Aria: You need to take care of it right away!
• Reed: Wha... ow. Don't pull.
• Aria: What were you thinking?
• Aria: Don't tell me... that it would just heal on its own?
• Five: Yes! Aria, Reed doesn't want help!
• Five: Reed always telling Five, it's fine...!
• Aria: That's stupid! It's an open wound!
• Aria: It'll leave a mark behind...
• Aria: And it might hurt even worse if it got infected.
• Reed: You talk like this is the end of the world.
• Aria: You mean you'll just walk around bleeding like that?
• Aria: I shudder to think how you've been treating your wounds all this time!
• Aria: I bet you'd leave them to slowly repair by themselves every time...
• Reed: Ha, that's been the case for a while now.
• Reed: Come on, it's fine.
• Reed: Not like I have anything I could use to treat it, anyway.
• Aria: Wow. Nope.
• Aria: Here's the first aid.
• Aria: We're not moving until you fix that nasty thing.
• Reed: ...

--/-/->

• Reed: Hey, what if I told you to quit babying me.
• Aria: Huh...? Medical care is babying?
• Five: Wrong! Reed is wrong!
• Five: Everyone gets ouchies... and everyone must take care of it!
• Five: Not for baby only!
• Aria: Yes, listen to Five!
• Aria: Reed, you need an intervention. Otherwise...
• Aria: I worry you'd tell even a doctor giving you life-saving surgery to "eff off".
• Aria: So call it babying or whatever,
• Aria: I'm still going to ask you to take care of yourself.
• Reed: My life's not in danger, though?
• Aria: Then we can't let it get that bad, can we?
• Aria: No matter how small, don't brush off something that hurts.
• Reed: ...Hahahah.
• Aria: What's so funny?
• Reed: Nothing. I was just thinking...
• Reed: I'm glad that a real person's finally here.
• Aria: Oh... likewise!
• Aria: I'm just about done with the imitations.
• Reed: By the way...
• Reed: Why didn't my disguise disappear, even after getting injured?
• Aria: Because it's me who's using my ability!
• Aria: If I were to get hurt, instead of you...
• Aria: It would disrupt my focus, and both of our disguises would disappear.
• Reed: Oh, huh. That's even handier than I thought.

Reed: Stop to take in the sights.

• Five: The glass is glowing! It's pretty!
• Aria: Hehe, these are called crystals, Five.
• Five: Crystals... not glass?
• Reed: They don't break as easily as glass does.
• Aria: They're also more valuable!
• Aria: Umm, let's see... sparkling accessories, like earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, are sometimes made from precious crystals.
• Aria: Have you seen anything like that before?
• Five: Oh! Yes... like pretty lady wears!
• Aria: Yes yes, exactly!
• Five: Why is there a lot of crystals here?
• Five: Five... never see pretty crystals before!
• Five: Human world has snow like here, but not crystal... why?
• Reed: They form naturally in this place, but not everywhere.
• Reed: It's just like how specific flowers might grow only in a specific place.
• Five: Oh...! Crystal garden, like a flower garden!
• Reed: ...Sure. That's one way to describe it.
• Five: Crystal is so shiny, and Five can see... like mirror...
• Five: Hehe, Boyfriend's face looks funny in the crystal!
• Boyfriend: Meow...?
• Aria: I've often heard that Hyouga dominates the mining industry here.
• Reed: Yeah. This place is famous for its natural crystal veins.
• Reed: Though I'm sure what you could find in underground caves is a lot more valuable than these on the surface.
• Aria: I've also heard plenty about the precious ores excavated here before...
• Aria: But this landscape sure is something else to see in person!
• Reed: ...I think I appreciate that it's less dark out here.
• Aria: True! Earlier, it was so dark that it felt like nightfall had already come.
• Five: It's pretty! Really pretty, but...
• Five: Five wishes everyone could see it together.

Aria: Confront.

• Five: Five is glad, that real Aria and friends are here now...
• Five: But, but, Aria...
• Five: Nino is gone! Mei too!
• Aria: Nino... he went after Mei.
• Reed: Yeah. It looks like we've gotten totally separated from them.
• Aria: ...No. That's not it.
• Aria: You made me abandon him, Reed.
• Aria: I was so close, just a little more and I would've reached him...
• Aria: Why did you stop me...?
• Reed: Bad idea to follow suit.
• Aria: How would you know!?
• Reed: Because you and I remained on the correct path.
• Reed: Those two deviated from it.
• Reed: It's definitely the dangerous thing to go off-course.
• Aria: I... I realize that.
• Aria: But isn't it all the more reason to try and help them?
• Reed: I'd rather not risk it.
• Aria: Then you should've just crossed on your own!
• Reed: ...I'm not talking about risking myself.
• Aria: What...?
• Reed: We have others relying on us here, don't we.
• Reed: I can't only think of what I want to do,
• Reed: And neither can you.
• Aria: ...But...
• Five: Aria, Reed...
• Five: Please don't fight.
• Aria: ...
• Aria: Right. Sorry, Five.
• Five: Aria... what is Aria going to do now?
• Aria: We... we'll look for Nino and Mei, of course!
• Aria: I don't know how, but... we have to find them!
• Aria: Um... I didn't mean to lash out.
• Aria: I'm just really not happy to be separated from Nino again.
• Aria: I know, I really know that you did the reasonable thing, Reed.
• Aria: Now and before, like always. But still, to be honest...
• Aria: You make me so upset sometimes.
• Aria: In some way I never realized I was capable of!
• Reed: ...Likewise. All of you make me realize I care about some stupid things more than I thought I did.
• Aria: ...?

--/-/->

• Reed: You're not wrong. We do have to find Nino and Mei.
• Reed: But not in a way that puts us in danger.
• Reed: Nino made a reckless move, but it doesn't mean we have to follow suit.
• Reed: After all, we have someone relying on us staying by her side right here.
• Aria: Oh... I realize that now. I just don't know how you were able to think it through in the heat of the moment like that.
• Aria: My split-second decision was to go after Nino...
• Aria: That means I would've left Five and everyone else behind.
• Aria: I... don't know what that says about me. Sorry.
• Reed: ...It's fine. I don't know what my decision back there means either, but...
• Reed: I don't think it matters now.
• Reed: Nino's a goddamn idiot sometimes...
• Reed: A guy like that needs us to reign him in, not go along with his whims.
• Reed: If anything, I think doing the latter was our first mistake.
• Aria: Looks like you too have a lot to say to him about this entire crossing plan.
• Reed: ...If we find him, that is.
• Aria: We will! I'm not letting him off without a scolding!
• Aria: And neither are you, right?
• Reed: Ha. You bet.
• Reed: For now, let's look around.
• Reed: Maybe Nino and Mei managed to cross just fine...
• Reed: And they simply didn't end up where we did, is all.
• Reed: Hopefully they're somewhere nearby still.
• Reed: Call it... wishful thinking on my part to some degree, I guess.
• Aria: ...No. I don't think they're close at all.
• Aria: I can't feel the presence of my disguise on Nino.
• Aria: And if Nino's not nearby...
• Aria: Then Mei likely wouldn't be either.
• Reed: ...I see. It's reasonable to assume they've ended up near each other if they've crossed together, just like our group here.
• Reed: So the problem is, uh...
• Reed: Where in the world would that be?
• Five: Huh...? I-is Nino, and Mei... really far?
• Five: Reed... can't find them?
• Reed: ...Uh, well...

--/-/->

• Aria: ...Chances are,
• Aria: They're well, but just barely out of reach for me to detect!
• Aria: So let's not lose hope, alright?
• Aria: We'll look around for as long as it takes!
• Five: Oh... okay! Five will help, too!
• Boyfriend: Meoooow...
• Five: Boyfriend, sound so sad...!
• Five: There, there...
• Five: Five will find Mei for Boyfriend, okay?
• Five: So don't worry!
• Boyfriend: Mrrrrooow.
• Five: Awh, don't be sad... :(
• Ludwig: Bark, bork...
• Aria: I-it'll be fine!
• Aria: I'll search for them, no matter what it takes!

Reed, Aria, and Five: Figure out a way to find Mei and Nino.

--/-/->

• Aria: I'm ready to go for it, of course! But, um...
• Aria: I'm not sure how to get started.
• Aria: We don't have any leads to go off of.
• Aria: It feels pretty aimless, like we're just hoping to run into them...
• Aria: Some preparations those were, huh?
• Aria: Everything in Nino's plan went wrong right at the first step.
• Reed: ...No, Aria.
• Reed: There's something that didn't go wrong.
• Reed: It's also a really damn good lead to start off with.
• Aria: Huh?
• Reed: Your disguise.
• Reed: Wouldn't it still be in effect wherever Nino is?
• Aria: Oh...!
• Reed: That is... if a potentially large distance doesn't break it,
• Reed: Because we have no idea how far away we've ended up from him.
• Aria: Well, I've never thought to test for such a thing.
• Aria: I can usually feel where a person is, if they're using my disguise.
• Aria: Right now, if I close my eyes and focus...
• Aria: I can feel a shred of my ability where you're standing,
• Aria: And I can measure the distance between myself and that point.
• Reed: Right. That's how you found us as quickly as you did.
• Aria: Yes! But... I can't feel any similar traces in the area.
• Aria: That means, it's either that Nino is too far away for me to detect my disguise on him, or... there's no disguise anymore.
• Reed: ...Ok, I'm usually not the one to say stuff like this, but...
• Reed: Let's be optimistic.
• Reed: If we move around a bit, you might... pick something up?
• Aria: Um! A-as long as there's even a faint presence,
• Aria: It would be a tremendous clue!

--/-/->

--/-/->

• Aria: Hey, want to take a guess?
• Aria: On whether that's the real deal or not.
• Reed: Way ahead of you.
• Five: ...Fake!
• Five: Because, if real Nino is close...
• Five: Aria would know, right?
• Aria: Very good, Five!
• Aria: Indeed, we've run into a spirit that didn't get the memo.
• Nino?: ...What, I didn't even get to say anything yet!
• Nino?: How boring.

--/-/->