A horrible sight you never ever wanted to see.
- Nino: What the hell is this!?
- Nino: Stop, stop it!
- Meimona: Auh... d-do you believe me now?
- Nino: ...
That's... that's just insane.
Why would Meimona be so desperate to gain your trust? And why use this method out of ALL options? Meimona - the Meimona you know - should really know better than do this!
Regardless if it is or isn't her, this just has to stop now.
Nino: Think back to Helios proving himself with just a small cut to the hand. Look at Mei's wound closely, to verify if she's real.
Maybe what she said earlier explains why that works as proof...
Spirits don't get "injured" like humans do. Their forms appear to fall apart quickly when they're hit, which is a strange and disorienting phenomenon to observe. When spirits "bleed", it's almost like a part of reality distorts right before your eyes.
By comparison, what you're seeing now doesn't look fake at all.
Nino: Heal her. See if you can sense her body while doing so. She's definitely real if it works.
- Nino: That's enough, just stop...
- Nino: You're insane, Mei.
- Meimona: ...Hah... I'm, I'm sorry.
Suddenly, in just one moment, you become aware of everything.
Her torn skin tissue, the deep wounds she'd just inflicted on herself, the exact shape of the inner scarring made from dragging her claws...
You can now perfectly visualize it down to visceral detail.
Then your healing begins to permeate throughout her body, sewing everything up.
And, you feel... warmth. A lot of warmth.
The unmistakable warmth of a real, bleeding body, no doubt.
--/-->
Agh, god. What's wrong with this girl!?
Never would you have ever expected the real Mei to act like this. And yet, whether your like it or not, this really is her in the flesh.
Just what the hell happened for her to behave so out of character?
- Meimona: Whew... that's a lot better.
- Meimona: So you finally trust me again, Nino...
- Meimona: I'm so glad... thank you!
- Nino: I don't want to be thanked now, Mei!
- Nino: Why did you do this!? You really didn't have to go that far!
- Meimona: Auh, I... didn't have any other choice.
- Nino: Yes you did! You seriously overreacted...
- Nino: Just... just stay put and don't do anything anymore, okay?
- Nino: You're obviously not thinking clearly right now.
- Meimona: ...
- Nino: ...Urgh, no, there I go again, dammit!
- Nino: Why do I keep blaming you over and over like an idiot!?
- Nino: It's me who made you do something this horrible.
- Meimona: No! Don't be sorry... it's okay!
- Meimona: A-Anyone would be paranoid after seeing those life-like illusions.
- Meimona: I perfectly understand. It's not your fault, Nino.
- Nino: Mei... I don't want you to even have to think of doing anything like that to yourself again. It's really, really not okay, you know?
- Nino: Please, don't talk like it's all cool and stuff!
- Meimona: Ah... um... okay. I won't do it again, so...
- Meimona: Let's just forget about everything now!
- Nino: ...You can get mad at me, you know.
- Nino: You have every right to.
- Meimona: Huh? Why would I...?
- Nino: I've... hurt you so much in such little time, haven't I?
- Nino: You should be incredibly angry at me right now.
- Meimona: Oh, so that's how you see it...
- Meimona: Don't worry! It's all fine by me.
- Meimona: I don't think you did anything wrong, Nino.
- Nino: ...
Here you are, feeling like the biggest sack of shit around, and despite everything that happened, she's just smiling innocently (and weakly) at you. That's crazy.
It's unbelievable for MEIMONA of all people to have so much patience for you. Hell, she seems even more patient than Aria right now, and that is one high bar to clear!
Only a literal saint could rival Miss Aria "You Can Use Me" Elwyn, you know.
So then... is she just lying about forgiving you?
That's what you'd normally think. But...
Nino: Have her lower eyelids always looked like that? Check just in case.
You did think she might've been putting on a front earlier. And when you got closer to heal her wounds, you noticed the redness under her eyes.
She's been crying. Yet, all of her responses sound pretty genuine.
She truly doesn't hold anything against you?
Well, even if that is true, there's no way it's alright to do.
Nino: She was definitely upset earlier. She may well be putting up a facade.
See, it's not like you want to be yelled at or something. Heck, you were hoping for quick forgiveness - but you never thought it'd be instantaneous!
Isn't it weird for Meimona to not show even a slight bit of anger? That's definitely really weird, right? You think it might even be bad for her wellbeing, too.
- Nino: I don't understand... why aren't you angry at all, Mei?
- Nino: It really just doesn't make sense to me how calm you are right now!
- Meimona: ...
- Nino: I've been thinking of ways to apologize to you all this time.
- Nino: Because, well, anyone would be mad if they were in your shoes.
- Nino: Mad... at me. For using their pain.
- Nino: Then yelling at and insulting them, on top of that.
- Nino: You did mess up, but it still doesn't justify my short patience.
- Nino: But you'd be unquestionably justified if you're upset at me.
- Meimona: ...Nino, I just... don't wanna be upset at you.
- Meimona: It's weird to ask me to get angry and stuff.
- Meimona: Don't do that, please...
- Nino: But you should get mad! That wouldn't be weird at all!
- Nino: I think that's what a normal reaction would be, in fact!
- Nino: If you've just been holding your anger in...
- Nino: Then you'll probably feel better if you admit it, you know?
- Meimona: ...
- Nino: I really wanted to properly apologize to you when I got back,
- Nino: But now, I don't even know where to begin!
- Nino: You're acting like my apology would only make you feel bad.
- Meimona: ...Sigh.
Nino: Perhaps the pillows thrown across the room was a result of Mei forcing her emotions out, so she could pretend everything's fine when you arrived.
She's never been one to shy away from expressing herself before!
Could it be that Meimona just doesn't know how to deal with anger specifically?
If so, maybe helping her do that would be... an alright thing to do.
--/-->
- Meimona: I wish you'd just believe me when I say I'm okay.
- Meimona: I'm really not lying about that, Nino.
- Nino: ...I know.
- Nino: You always say you're not an angel who tells lies.
- Nino: That part I fully believe, Mei.
- Meimona: ...
- Nino: But you do have your own rules for what counts as a "lie".
- Nino: And I think you've been holding something back here.
- Nino: Which doesn't seem like a good thing to do...
- Meimona: Haha, you're sooooo weird!
- Meimona: In all my time in this world, I didn't ever imagine...
- Meimona: That I'd meet someone who actively asks people to get angry at them.
- Nino: Augh. That does sound weird as hell, doesn't it...
- Nino: Well, whatever! I think getting angry isn't too bad anyways.
- Nino: Not all the time, obviously! But like I said...
- Nino: A little bit of grumbling makes you feel better about things going south.
- Nino: Just try it, Mei! Believe me, it'll help you blow off some steam!
- Meimona: ...Um... I... I don't really want to.
- Nino: Why not? You could yell at me until you feel better!
- Nino: I'm totally cool with that!
- Meimona: W-well... I've never been asked something like this before...
- Meimona: To "get mad", or to ask for an apology from someone.
- Nino: Oh. Do you like, not get how to be angry?
- Meimona: I-I never said I didn't know how to be upset!
- Nino: Hmm, you did get ticked off here and there before...
- Meimona: Yeah! I can express myself just fine, Nino...
- Nino: Go right ahead, then! Complain about me to your heart's content!
- Nino: I really won't mind at all, promise.
- Meimona: ...I can do it, yeah, but...
- Meimona: It's not my place to demand anything from you...
- Meimona: And I just can not be getting mad at you, either.
- Nino: Huh? You've definitely done that before, though!
- Meimona: That was then, and this is now.
- Meimona: I can't... no, I don't want to be angry at you right now.
- Meimona: Doing that would be really ungrateful of me.
- Nino: Ungrateful...? What do you mean?
- Meimona: Well...
- Meimona: You saved my life, you know?
- Meimona: Like, twice.
- Meimona: Nothing you do could make me forget that.
Mei: You have to be more honest.
- Meimona: Anger, is... kind of a weird emotion...
- Meimona: You should only get mad at someone you're equal to, right?
- Meimona: But with you, Nino...
- Meimona: I can't ever think of doing something that rude again!
- Nino: ...Wha...?
- Meimona: Sure, you might make mistakes sometimes...
- Meimona: Ah, well... you often make mistakes lately.
- Meimona: You might misspeak, or act insensitive...
- Meimona: But, in the end, no matter what,
- Meimona: You're the reason I even made it this far.
- Meimona: I'm indebted to you. Big time.
- Meimona: And I'm incredibly lucky to still be here with you!
- Nino: ...
That's what she's been thinking this whole time?
Without intending it, you were suddenly raised on a pedestal so high, and you never even realized it yourself. This feels a little... upsetting, somehow
No, actually, it feels very, very upsetting, for some reason.
Nino: What the hell.
It's almost like listening to... an alien, sort of.
Ah, yeah. Isn't that what she actually is, after all?
Meimona's personality tends to make it easy to forget that you are not the same, but that little fact is now much more apparent than ever.
You are a human, witnessing the mentality of a winged at play.
A mind shaped and formed in a society where debt and gratitude control every action. In a place that sees kindness as an illness... where goodwill is an investment that necessitates a return.
What you're seeing now must be the end result of such influence.
How nice.
No matter how much you hurt her, no matter how awful and offended you make her feel, so long as she feels "indebted" to you for a greater kindness...
She would forgive it all. She believes that she has to.
And the greatest kindness of all has to be the act of saving one's life. You've done her a favor so great, she might never ever be able to repay it in full.
For that, you have been rewarded with even more power and control.
Despite your mistakes, you somehow remain the leader.
Isn't it?
To sit on one end of a divide as vast as that between heaven and earth, between winged and humans, so overwhelming wide that it feels impossible to ever bridge.
...At least, according to how Meimona seems to see you now.
A wealth of infinite Fortune had always rested so tantalizingly close by. And before you knew it, it had already completely fallen within your grasp.
Your heart must be dancing with joy.
You raise your head, gazing into the eyes of luck itself.
A little voice creeps into your mind again, its whispers both enticing and revolting. It induces an intense feeling you have recently felt before. Yes, this is just like those words...
"You can use me."
Because, after all... "I'm indebted to you."
How could such beautiful fortune end up seeming this unfortunate?
Nino: What's your next move? You should probably try to find some sort of map to determine which direction to head. After all, if you can get closer to your intended point of exit, you're more likely to find the rest of your party.
Nino: Keep in mind, you probably shouldn't go about town looking for one, considering your broken disguise. You and Mei can probably jump out the window and leg it outta town when you're both ready.
Aria: Did you happen to feel an illusion breaking in any particular direction? Just curious.
Nino: Realize this is crazy talk and you shouldn't want someone to warship you in some way. Everyone should be on an equal level.
Nino: This doesn't feel like the best time to ask but... do you even want that kind of power over her?
Because it doesn't seem like you honestly do.
From the moment you met her, she was honest with you because she was an ally, an equal. You helped her, and her you, but it was always a measurable debt. Yet, in those transactions, something else formed, didn't it? Your relationship evolved from a mere alliance of convenience to something more meaningful: a friendship. You two had become partners in crime in the most literal manner possible.
But now, she is truly forever in your debt. That means she will always follow you from now on. However, it also means you will never be her equal again. And, as she has now shown, she will resist you trying to be. You were placed on a pedestal, and thus, in her eyes, you and her cannot be on a level field, eye to eye.
Do you want to lose that? Do you never want to be able to speak to her as an equal again? Forever as "follower" and "leader"? "Servant" and "master"?
Never just "friends"?
Either way, the ball is in your field, human boy.
Nino: What about all those times that she saved you?
Nino: What would you have to do to get rid of her debt to you?
Nino: If she's so indebted to you, then she should listen when you tell her to be more true to herself in times like these.
Nino: Give her a bunch of trashy romance novels until her opinion of you has gone down enough to be back to normal.
Nino: Summon the spirit of Kaji Pyxis from beyond the barrier and ask him for advice regarding this most Winged-y affair. What fatherly wisdom does he have for you today?
Nino: just eat some sand already
Nino: Formulate a plan.
Nino: Autodefenestrate.
Nino: Just calm dawn and say its cool, whatever that voice says, you have to focus on whats important. Reunite with your friends, regain your memories, and right all wrongs that lie in your way. Tell her that she can make up for the debt by helping your mission.
Nino: But don't you want to be seen this way?
Nino: Feel absolutely high and mighty at this realization.
Nino: Can you cure indebtedness?
Nino: Attempt to find equal footing with her.
Nino: Five. Aria. Now Mei.
Consider how much power you have over them.
Answer as honestly as you can-
Do you want to have this kind of power over them?
If so, what end do you want this power for?
If not, what, exactly, do you want from them?
All else will follow.