- Nino: Um, so, I brought food...
- Nino: Wait, no, that's not important now!
- Nino: You're feeling better already, Mei?
- Meimona: Yup! I'm as good as new!
- Nino: You sure? It's, uh, kind of a quick turnaround.
- Meimona: Yeah, I'm totally fine!
- Meimona: I just needed a nap, really.
- Nino: ...Well, if you say so, then...
- Nino: Anyway, look, there's something urgent.
- Nino: You were asking what took me so long, right?
- Nino: Well... I almost got exposed as a human.
- Meimona: What!? By who?
- Nino: Helios. That's the guy who helped us.
- Meimona: Oh jeez! How'd that happen?
- Nino: It's a long story... we don't have the time to go over it.
- Nino: We need to get the heck out of here fast!
- Nino: That guy could return any second now.
- Nino: And I'm not sure I can slip by again if he does.
- Nino: Since Aria's illusion is broken and everything...
- Nino: So if you're feeling better already, Mei,
- Nino: Let's just take what we need and go, okay?
- Meimona: Ummm... But, Nino...
- Meimona: Your disguise seems just fine to me!
- Nino: What?
Nino: Have Mei confirm the status of your disguise.
--/-->
- Meimona: Hup!
- Nino: Whoa! What are you doing!?
- Meimona: ...Oooh...
- Nino: Don't do that, Mei!
- Nino: It's miraculous enough that it didn't break apart earlier,
- Nino: So don't you dare ruin my disguise deliberately now!
- Meimona: Nonononono, Nino, hold on...
- Nino: No! Get your hands off of my head!
- Nino: I wouldn't be able to escape without this, you idiot!
- Nino: What's gotten into you!?
- Meimona: Nothing! Would you listen for just a second?
- Nino: What, what's so important?
- Meimona: ...Well, you see...
- Meimona: I'm not sure how to say this, but, ermmm...
- Meimona: It... seems like your horn is real?
- Nino: ...What?
--/-->
- Meimona: Yeah! Look, lemme just try that again...
- Meimona: Aaand... boop! Yep, it's still there!
- Meimona: Boop! Boop! Boop, again!
- Nino: Woah, stop that...
- Meimona: It's not going away no matter how hard I poke it!
- Meimona: Hehehe, boopboopboop!
- Nino: Okay, STOP, I get it already!
- Meimona: Wah! Sorry...
- Nino: This thing... it's real?
- Nino: There's no way.
- Meimona: How'd you grow a horn so fast, Nino?
- Nino: I didn't, Mei. That's literally impossible.
- Meimona: Then what are we looking at right now?
- Nino: Well obviously, it's... a disguise?
- Meimona: But I thought those got broken real easy!
- Meimona: Like, if you tried to touch an illusion...
- Meimona: Wouldn't your hands just phase through it?
- Nino: Yeah, that's what should happen.
- Meimona: Right! So then... what is this, Nino?
Nino: Perhaps you're not in as much of a hurry to leave as you thought?
- Nino: Clearly, Mei, it's...
- Nino: This is a... uh...
- Nino: ...
- Meimona: ...
Nino: Might as well go along with it for now.
- Meimona: Boop.
- Nino: ...Thanks. That really helps.
- Meimona: Haha, no problem!
- Nino: I was being sarcastic, Mei.
- Meimona: I knooow, I know...
- Meimona: Gosh, you just came back and you're already so grouchy.
- Nino: I'm afraid for my life, duh!
- Meimona: Why? What's the problem, exactly?
- Meimona: If that guy really touched your horn, but he didn't break it, then...
- Meimona: Wouldn't he just think it's real? Y'know, like I did!
- Nino: I... guess so?
- Meimona: Yeah! You're way too worried, Nino.
- Nino: ...
- Nino: I guess... I am.
- Nino: So I don't have to fear for my life anymore...?
- Nino: But... this doesn't actually make me feel better.
- Nino: Because...
- Nino: Now I have a weird thing I can't identify on top of my head!
- Nino: What the hell is THIS!?
- Meimona: Aaah, there, see?
- Meimona: Now you're starting to worry about the right thing!
- Meimona: It's sooo scary to grow a horn outta nowhere, isn't it?
- Nino: You're telling me...
- Meimona: How terrible for you! Haha!
- Nino: ...
Mei: Are you feeling better?
Nino: If she doesn't want to talk about it, then don't force the issue for now.
- Nino: No, no, ugh, god...
- Nino: It's just impossible for this to be real.
- Meimona: You're disputing the existence of something that's right here, you know?
- Meimona: A real solid horn, right in front of my eyes!
- Nino: No... look, I may not be able to tell you what this thing is exactly,
- Nino: But I can tell you what it definitely ISN'T: a real horn!
- Nino: It HAS to be part of the illusion, somehow.
- Meimona: But illusions don't work that way!
- Nino: ...Not as far as we know.
- Nino: It'd be a mistake to assume we have a perfect understanding of them.
- Meimona: Hmm, well...
- Meimona: It's how Aria's illusions work at least, isn't it?
- Meimona: She explained it when she was telling us how the two of you met!
- Nino: Mmmh, that is true...
- Meimona: Soooo, that rules out the possibility of it being an illusion.
- Nino: ...No. It just means it's a different kind of illusion.
- Nino: Maybe something more advanced than Aria's.
- Meimona: Wuh... then where would it have come from?
- Nino: The question would be who, to be more specific.
- Nino: And if it's not Aria's illusion, then...
- Nino: Could it have been a spirit's illusion? Because, besides Aria... those are the only other beings capable of making illusions that I've come in contact with.
- Meimona: What!? No waaay, Nino!
- Meimona: You're pretty much suggesting that a spirit helped you out!
- Meimona: Why would any of them even do that? They have no reason to!
- Nino: Maybe... no, yeah, they definitely don't, actually.
- Nino: So, in that case... could it have been an accident?
- Nino: Some kind of illusion residue was stuck to me.
- Nino: And so, it... combined with Aria's illusion, and made it even better.
- Meimona: Residue!? Ewwwwwww, that sounds all gooey and gross!
- Meimona: Did you really have to word it that way?
- Nino: I dunno! I'm just trying to think this through.
- Meimona: Well, fine, if that's what your theory is...
--/-->
- Meimona: Then, should we confirm it?
- Meimona: There's a really easy way to do that!
- Nino: Huh...?
- Meimona: I just have to use a little bit of force to do it.
And then, in a split second, it suddenly dawns on you what Mei's thinking of doing.
But before you could do anything to stop it...
But before you could do anything to stop it...
--/-->
- Nino: Wait, no, don't-
- Meimona: Hup!
- Nino: !
It ends as soon as it starts.
--/-->
--/-->
- Meimona: ...A tree branch!? Woah!
- Meimona: No waaay! Nino, are you seeing this!?
- Meimona: Someone put this trash on your head!
- Meimona: How'd they get it to stick in place...?
- Meimona: Looks like a buncha hair was tangled with it...
- Meimona: Oh, no, I think a few strands came off, too. D:
- Meimona: Wait, Nino, did it hurt when I removed it!?
- Meimona: I don't think this was like, STABBED into your head...
- Meimona: And I don't see you bleeding, so-
--/-->
--/-->
- Meimona: I'm sooooooooo stupid, you're right!
- Meimona: Whoopsies! I just move without thinking sometimes.
- Meimona: Maybe I can make you a fake one instead?
- Meimona: With paper, bandages, and glue!
- Meimona: You want an arts n' crafts horn?
- Meimona: It'd be good for a temporary camoflage!
- Meimona: I bet it'll hold up much better than a stick tangled up with hair, too!
- Meimona: Besides! All my disguises work, even if they're terrible...
- Meimona: As long as you believe in them!
- Meimona: So lemme do it, Nino!
- Meimona: I'll give it my best shot, promise!
- Nino: No.
- Nino: Don't do anything.
- Nino: Just sit down.
- Nino: I'll think of something.
- Meimona: ...Okay! If you say so!
--/-->
How terrible.
You lost it there for a second.
You lost it there for a second.
To be fair, she did fuck up really, really horribly just now. But calling her an idiot was maybe a bit much. You've also got your fair share of fuckups, haven't you? You're the entire reason why the two of you are stuck in this place, for one.
Well, she does need to know that she fucked up, though.
And it looks like she's taking it all like a champ anyway, so...
You can focus on thinking of a solution to the greater problem at hand now. Everything else can wait... No, it HAS to wait it's turn, until you've secured your escape.
Nino: Why is everything OK now? You're clear of suspicion, Mei's not upset at all... Everything just flipped on a dime.
You can't be wasting time on anything else.
Just let her sit and reflect, that's enough for now.
Don't even think about apologizing, either.
Like she said, she doesn't want things to be awkward.
You'd be doing the right thing by respecting her wishes, yeah?
You don't actually have to waste any brain energy on that stuff!
That's right. She doesn't need it. She isn't even actually mad at you, for one!
For... some reason, she said she isn't.
...Why, though?
Why isn't she mad right now?
Mei: Try sticking the stick back on his head. Why isn't she mad right now?
Mei: Something isn't right with all of this. Tell the truth before things get weirder.
Nino: This feels too good to be true. Make sure the Mei you're talking to isn't secretly another spirit!
Nino: Would Mei really do something that stupid? She can be a bit scatterbrained, sure, but as far as you've known her she's always been extremely competent when it counts.
Nino: What's up with those pillows on the floor?
"Mei": Silly Nino, overthinking everything as usual! Good thing you have this all under control!
Real Mei: Where are you!?
nino: why is the clock broken?
Nino: Ask about the broken clock.
Okay Nino, we can still salvage this. We just have to figure out a way to get sand IN the room. If it were windy out you could just open the window and let sand blow into your mouth... Maybe if you just believe hard enough you can awaken latent weather control powers to achieve this.
Nino: It's almost like Mei is acting as a caricature of herself... or perhaps a bad imitation.
Nino: How did all those pillows get thrown across the room? And since when was the clock on the wall broken? It's almost like there was a struggle here...
Nino: Ask something only Mei could answer in the way she does.
Nino: Ask Mei who her mom is. Trust us on this, just do it.
"Mei": Winged don't have parents, silly.
Nino: That's not the real Mei.
Maybe all the pressure lately had caused Aria to level up, and now her illusions can become tangible as well. Heck it's been over a year since the party split, maybe that explicitly happened at some point and I just forgot.
Though I think we've seen the "tangible illusion anchored to a physical object" thing somewhere before and I guess it was probably from a ghost given the characters bringing them up as a possibility. I guess this is probably meant to be obviously part of one of the deals they've made with ghosts in the past couple pages and I just forgot the specifics of those too.
Avery enhanced Nino's disguise earlier, so that might have something to do with why it didn't dissipate when Solis touched it. I'm honestly not sure whether it being tangible is real, though. Given how suspicious "Mei" is being I think she might be bullshitting in order to convince Nino to stay put long enough for Solis to come back and arrest him.
It didn't need to be tangible, there was an actual stick on his head.
I think that we may have gotten the bad ending, guys. Hopefully the Prosperous can bail us out on this one.
Mei: Try sticking the stick back on his head.
Nino: Are you dreaming?
Nino: Is this an illusion?
Nino: Is this actually Mei?
Nino: Has reality itself changed?Nino: Try to make her mad.
Nino: Look at your reflection in the window.
Nino & Mei: Climb out the window.
Nino: Hey, do you think Helios would believe you if you told him you tripped and broke your horn on the corner of the bed? You're gonna die anyways, so it wouldn't hurt to try!
As long as the illusion on his eyes stays intact, Aria can still find him. Solis might not be back for a while.
Alternatively, Nino could just wait until everyone's asleep and slip out of town. Maybe put the stick back on his head first, it might be just enough to be convincing in the dark.
NINOl tHIS IS NOW A STEALTH MISSION AS SUCH, AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE CONVENIENCE, AND BY THAT I MEAN PREFERABLY AT NIGHT WHEN YOU WON'T BE SPOTTED, RUN AWAY STEALTHILY WITH MEI UNDER NIGHT, WHERE YOU CAN HIDE IN THE DARKNESS. THERE COULD BE ALERT AMONG MONSTERS IF YOU ARE CAUGHT. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT YOU HAVE, TRUST FROM SOLIS FEELING UP YOU'RE "HORN" AND PRETEND YOU WERE TIRED, JUSTIFYING YOUR SEEMING IRRITABILITY, AND HAVE MEIMONA ANSWER IN YOUR PLACE, HOPING HER LUCK PULLS HER THROUGH BY EXPLAINING DETAILS ABOUT YOUR CONVERSATION WITH SOLIS. IF YOU GET TIRED, PERHAPS USE HEALING HANDS TO STAY ALERT.