The Eternal Sanctum (Holy Knight Headquarters)

According to Charles it would be most beneficial of Yume was immune to Holy type abilities. Yume gave it a bit of consideration and logged away the rest of his words. Demon powers wouldn't work against the truly specialized, this meant that Charles was likely the best target for figuring out what abilities of hers could work on those types as she created them. "Hai hai, Charlie... you mind being a target while I figure out what kind of magic I can make work with those constraints?" she asked him as if it was a likely scenario. Actually now that she was thinking about it, she was pretty sure she could keep people from wanting to attack her at all which would likely be pretty useful for making sure she didn't catch a random holy blade or anything like that.

Beyond the mentions of Sakura's about her own powers, one of her fathers was present to remind her of a certain thing another one was always talking about. Well, Mugen did see her skills and abilities most often so if he saw the potential of such a thing then it definitely existed. She remembered hearing it, but she never felt the desire to try it at all, perhaps with battle on hand she could think of something like that to use. "It's okay, Otou-chan, Oyajii... says that a lot and while I've never tried it... I also never really had reason to. I'll probably be able to do it," she concluded. In the spirit of keeping peace and other such things, Anais began formulating a plan to keep Astolfo from mentioning this beach episode he wanted so badly, not that she minded it as an idea. "Sa-chan definitely has full CC," these were the words of Yume which made Anais nod. She definitely fully understood several different kinds of things which could be done with the ability to use one's mana on others, especially with her most recent... studies. 'There there, Shishou...' Anais hummed in her own head. Mugen seemed like a super doting parent, but also exactly the kind that would make it hard to share custody of a single child.

Whatever the case, Astolfo would be ignored for the most part at least for a while, as Martha seemed to catch up to the rest of the conversation. "Sorry, I was trying not to have my head explode, a shield or rather highly defensive person, the best option I've seen in a long time is the new guy, Tenjou Yuuya, he's got a barrier that puts even my personal defense to shame..." she gave the option as one to consider. As for damage dealers... "Well, if what you're looking for is damage from here, there are really only two options and they're both sitting in this room..." she mentioned motioning between herself and Siegfried. Sakura looked at both of these individuals for an exceedingly long time and in the manner she did seeming to study things. "Onee-san, should be the one to come with us... something really good will happen if she comes with us," she commented as if that made any sense at all.

It would be best for their selected group to spend time training with one another, so the idea of enabling Yume's testing was appealing to Charlemagne. "That's fine. I've got a few things to figure out as well, so that sort of thing will work for both of us," he said. Based on his own skillset, Charlemagne had a few curiosities regarding this new evolution. With Yume being a demon of some sort, she was on the list of optimal training partners for his new developments.

Sakura did know of her potential for affecting reality. Though she'd been told, she had yet to make an attempt at doing so, as Ailen figured. She expressed belief in her ability to make that particular ability work, though the wording was something Ailen disagreed with. "Probability isn't an issue. You can do it, likely in a more effective way than we imagined," the elf assured.

As for their final two members, Martha suggested a name he wasn't familiar with. The sound of that shield was quite good, as were Martha's suggestions normally. "If it's as strong as you make it sound, that could be useful for setting up camp while we're out. If it's strong enough, we may not have to worry about watch rotations very much. I like the sound of it," he said. Moving on from there, Martha claimed the best damage options were the two individuals sitting in this room. He seemed quite surprised by that, expecting just a bit more from the group's offensive capabilities. Of course, a lot of offensive output did always come from the Round Table. While Charlemagne gave that fact consideration, Sakura suggested Martha. "That would be my personal choice as well," he said for numerous reasons. The group didn't need a potential dragon rampage to worry about, and the return of Jeanne would not be very good if he happened to be absent at the time. Besides... "I don't intend to leave my post," said the Dragon-Knight. "Martha should indeed go."

Apparently Charles was pretty accepting of the idea of being a partner for Yume as she tested and worked on her new abilities. This was considered a good thing by Yume as she still wasn't entirely sure what all she was capable of yet. "Hai hai," she said seemingly pleased. Anais would soon be looking between the two of them and making a light bit of a suggestion. "If you two are going to train together, please be mindful of your beyond human capabilities. While I am a bit more certain of being able to heal your injuries, I'd rather you not stress me into testing the ability," that was all the advice she had to offer on the subject.

Moving on there was a fair bit of assurance offered by Ailen to Sakura and it was an interesting thing to observe. For someone like Yume the wholesomeness of Sakura's father was a thing worthy of envy, even while she was being actively doted upon as well. Still no one could get between that girl and her happiness, and they watched as she mulled over his point and nodded her head. "Hai, I'll think about it, and show you what I come up with!" she said seemingly excited by the prospect of sharing such things. Moving on from that point, there was the matter of the shield person or rather a person capable of conjuring a strong barrier. Charles noted it might be good for their decreased watches which had several potential good things associated with it now. "Hai, that would be pretty nice," Anais mentioned, though she knew her own place in doing things like watch rotations she often didn't sleep so it was fine for her anyway. Beyond that point, it would seem that Martha was being volunteered for the last spot in the group. She both expected this and didn't given the less than stellar welcome between Siegfried and Charles. Of course, what she didn't expect was for the initial suggestion of it to come from one of the girl's she didn't know. "I... expected it to be me. But... I didn't expect that kind of choice. I want to question it but I get the feeling I shouldn't... It doesn't matter really though. I don't mind going..." she said seeming somehow confused by the nomination. But since, Siegfried didn't want to leave his post she was fine with that as well.

Anais's warning was expected by Charlemagne. Even he realized his capabilities were nothing like they were even a day before. That battle against Siegfried should have been much more difficult to win, if only by virtue of the Dragon-Knight's defensive power. From what he heard of Yume since her appearance earlier this day, he'd have to put forth a great deal of effort in a training session. It wouldn't be a light sweat kind of day, but putting too much on Anais would do no one any good. "Noted. No stressing the healer," he said. Just then, Ailen chimed in as well. "It really shouldn't be an issue at all. I've already seen numerous herbs that could be used in place of magical healing. Though they will probably be quite bitter..."

While Ailen was being an active part of discussion, there was the matter of Sakura's development. Always quick to accept belief was the young goddess, even now that said belief was in an unprecedented ability. "I'll be looking forward to it. Whenever you do, I'll make your favorite," he said ever so casually. Nevertheless, it seemed this group had their seven. Charlemagne still had to confirm their ability to locate the Holy Grail using his own, but first, Siegfried had something to say. "Charles..."

Ah yes, they hadn't achieved proper closer after that little disagreement earlier. Frankly, Charlemagne would have rather avoided Siegfried entirely, even now. That could sadly not be the case. "What?" he asked. "I'd like an explanation. You're the only one to reportedly see Jeanne since she left for Uruk. Do you have any idea where she might be?" Now that he was being asked directly, Charlemagne leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and wracked his brain. He hadn't thought to ask amid all the hullabaloo. "Good question. I wonder if..." he mused. There was a Skill he hadn't rid himself of yet, acquired from Jeanne herself. "I could ask the angel. . ."

Apparently there was a no stressing the healer mandate in place. A frown came to Yume's face as she stuck out her tongue at Anais. "Mi-chan's always so cautious~" she teased just a bit. Of course she would do but, that didn't matter. Anais was not going to let these two almost kill each other and patch them up at the cost of her own energy, when they could just exercise a touch of moderation. And it seemed that Ailen had a reasonable enough additional idea to contribute, leading to him speaking once more. His suggestion was one which resonated with Anais, "Hm, that would be worth learning... there have to be some things not worth delving into the newest form of my healing ability to fix..." Anais mused. She'd definitely take the time to learn a potion like that. "Ewww, nothing bitter!" that was Yume's immediate response as it always would be. "Show some restraint and you won't have to know how bitter it is a pill to swallow, Ka. gu. ya.- senpai!~" Anais mentioned, but there was something ever so slightly menacing about the way she looked at her friend while saying it, which would be noted by Yume.

Moving on, father and daughter seemed to be having a happy bonding moment. He'd look forward to her doing a thing, and he'd make her favorite when she succeeded at it. Sakura was still quite young and this would become rather obvious, as her favorite meal became her leading motivation for trying to figure out how a reality breaking skill would work. "Hai!~" Sakura's eyes were sparkling. Whatever her favorite was, it was truly her favorite and she'd definitely work hard to get it. It almost seemed all would be well again but, apparently Siegfried still had questions.

His curiosity was obvious. At base his main interest was still what happened to Jeanne d'Arc, and her being missing was rather still a big problem for him. After a less than friendly exchange, Charles thought of asking the 'angel' which sounded strange to all the women present. But he'd easily find himself being answered by that same voice, while Sakura spoke about something else. "I also saw her... but that was within the Nexus," she explained the lost details. Where ever Jeanne actually was, her consciousness had been pulled to the Nexus she was already elsewhere. Where that was though, was a complete mystery.

'Oh? Back so soon? Shouldn't you be busy by now?~' that voice said at the prodding of her consciousness. Of course those same electric blue eyes seemed to be peering into the depths of a pool with no perceivable bottom to view a great deal of information through this particular link.

"I doubt there would be much learning to it," Ailen stated. "I believe it is mostly information I've already shared with you, just applied as theory. That is... unless I missed some details in that lecture. I suppose that is always possible; I seemed to have developed a habit of hopping around mentally whilst trying to teach. There are some decoctions I could take before lessons to make that less of an issue," the elf rambled.

Charlemagne spoke of some 'angel' in regards to discovering Jeanne's whereabouts. How strange; she once spoke of angels for quite some time. "Angel?" Siegfried questioned. "Yeah. I unlocked some sort of Skill yesterday that lets me uh... sorta acquire Skills at the highest possible rank. I'm not sure what the limitations are, but I got Jeanne's connection to the angels," Charlemagne explained. Though that alone was strange, Siegfried took note of Sakura's words as well. She, too, met Jeanne within the Nexus? He wasn't aware others could be brought along. "And how is it you were there? I don't recognize you or a few of the others; I'd like to know who you are."

Meanwhile, Charlemagne was answered by that same voice he heard within the Nexus. According to her, he should have been busy by now. How ridiculous. 'It's not like I'm just sitting around twiddling my thumbs, is it? This is busy! Anyway, I want to know if you have any idea where Jeanne is right now... and why you don't seem surprised at all that I'm calling again.'

Ailen had much to say concerning the potential of learning this new form of potion. According to him, Anais probably wouldn't need to do much learning just applying her learned knowledge to practice. This was all contingent on the fact that he hadn't actually skipped something during the lessons he'd given. He claimed to have developed a habit of hopping around mentally. He claimed he could take something for that, but... "Iia, Shishou, I don't really mind learning in a more random fashion. Besides I count myself as still learning until I am sure I can do something, whether I understand fully how to do it or not," Anais mentioned. Of course, this didn't seem that odd, to anyone else, except Yume. Yume who heard this conversation and completely understood it and was now sitting sideways staring a hole into the side of Anais's face. "Oh, must be all that exploring... or did you finally find another teacher as full of wayward questions as you?~" Yume asked. "Obviously, you found one as invasive as you!" was the snap. They had previously been in different grades, but Iino Miko was well known for being ever so slightly disruptive when she had a burning or line of questions on her mind. This added with the knowledge of how the girl was 'learning' now, made it a point worth teasing and she watched as Anais's face turned a bright shade of red. "There you are~ " Yume mused seeming to find this easily flustered version of the girl to be more normal.

But the conversation would move on, as it always did. And at this point, Charles was explaining that he had the ability to gain skills from others and gained in seeing Jeanne her ability to connect to the Angels. The explanation itself was a bit open-ended but he seemed to cover the basics. Beyond that Siegfried didn't recognize a few people in this group and wanted to understand how Sakura had been within the Nexus enough to meet Jeanne and who she was. Sakura had no human sense of what could or could not be outlandish to say. She also had no direct desire to hide her understanding of anything so she spoke the truth. "I'm Tohsaka Sakura. My mother is the goddess of Arcane Wisdom and she presides over Munetsuchi were Char-kun and his friends fell. I cleansed Char-kun's grail... and made a different one of my own in the process. Because I cleansed it and I was there when he went the first time and we are connected by the soul. I can go where he goes and the same applies in reverse," she explained of the situation and her being.

There was an interesting conversation happening between Charles and the Angel within his mind once more. And to the angel's credit she seemed to be in quite the good mood. 'Oh? What an interesting change in attitude~' the voice said seeming to find it amusing but she wasn't really judging, far from it in fact. 'I know exactly where Jeanne is... there are very few things that could keep me from knowing that information,' mentioned the voice, as for the lack of her surprise at the ringing of her there were two possible answers. 'Well, I am not surprised. I left the link open on purpose...' she stated rather clearly, leaving out the fact that she was also clairvoyant to more than a small percentage.

"Hmm. That is an excellent way to view the situation, I must agree. Learning is something that never truly stops. Even the foremost expert of something may one day discover a better way of utilizing their knowledge. Wisdom is infinite, after all," Ailen rambled further. With that, there was an odd exchange between Anais and the apprentice of Mugen. It was obvious they were comrades of some sort long before meeting in Munetsuchi. Their relationship seemed rather interesting. "You have such a powerful chemistry between you. Once again, it seems he was right about the next generation," the elf observed in no real detail.

Sakura was quite the mystery to Siegfried, but not for long. He expressed his curiosity in a direct manner, and she answered... somehow in an even more straightforward way. This girl seemed incredibly blunt to be one of Charlemagne's associates, but ah, she was the child of a goddess living in the lower world. Their meeting had presumably been a very recent one which involved being bound to Charlemagne by their very souls. "So it wasn't a simple intrusion that let you in. Understood. I thought there would be another matter, not that you two were... connected," he said, refraining from assuming the nature of their link.

All the while, there was a discussion happening in Charlemagne's mind. The angel noted his change in attitude, as people kept pointing out. Once more, he couldn't see it the same way; it was a natural development based on everything happening constantly around him. Whatever the case, the angel knew of Jeanne's location. 'Alright, so where is she?' he asked. There also existed the information that this angel kept herself connected to him, for whatever reason she had. 'So you're, what, a stalker angel? You're probably not going to get anything from being connected to me. I don't plan on keeping this Skill either.'

Ailen was an elf of rambling words and quips. "Hai!" Anais mentioned seemingly pleased. Yume paid him a decent amount of attention knowing that he was in the rotation of mentors she'd eventually encounter and knowing that Anais was his apprentice. The truth of that information let her eventually shift her staring eyes away from the girl to take a real look at the elf. Now that she was thinking about it and actively doing so... this man was exactly the type the girl would like. Ridiculously tall, good-looking, clever with a gentle demeanor. Actually, she had a strange mental image of the short girl she knew, bossing this man around and it made her chuckle. "That's great! Wisdom is infinite... I like that~" she mused softly. "Oh and while you're already this way... I should mention that I may or may not have accidentally mentioned your middle school reign of terror aloud so... that Bird Emperor may or may not be really excited to speak with you~" she added knowing that this would both soften the blow and strengthen it quite a bit. "Of course he's right and she and I go way back, also I haven't forgotten you didn't answer my question," she mentioned once more still unhappy with the lack of answer concerning the girl's secret boyfriend. "Why? Why would you do that?! I was under the radar. I could have lived my whole life with no one ever knowing about that!" Anais mentioned seemingly more embarrassed. She wanted to die. No... too extreme she wanted to bury herself beneath her hood and disappear into the floor.

Meanwhile, it seemed that Sakura's bluntness had gotten Siegfried the answers he wanted but that he'd also simply left his curiosities at that. It was odd to Sakura but she didn't find anything wrong with the way she'd phrased her statements. "Iia, i wasn't intruding, I went along..." she said, still her head tilted to the left as she considered the way he spoke. Was he also not talking about something? Hm, well there wasn't anything particularly strange about this humans seemed to not think about things the way way as everyone else. And this man was a dragon and though the dragon probably didn't think in such a withdrawn manner perhaps he wasn't whole yet? "Oh, wait... you did something interesting before but Char-kun stopped it... what was that you were trying to do?" she asked referring to the moment he'd tried to revert his quickly approaching dragon transformation.

At the same time, the conversation Charles was having with the angel in his head was both long and short. It seemed that she'd not immediately answered his question leading him to ask it in a much more direct manner. 'Right just now, she is on the 10th floor of what will eventually be known as the Tower of Babel,' she explained. Ah, but what was this? He asked if she was a stalker angel? And claimed that he would not be keeping the skill that left her linked to him. 'I think you would be surprised at the information someone like me might find useful,' she claimed while chuckling. 'Also you already let me in, you keeping the skill is irrelevant,' she mentioned with something bordering amusement. 'I do not aim to harass or persecute, nor are my thoughts surrounding you... obsessive,' she spoke those words very carefully.

The eyes of Anais's peer were eventually set upon Ailen, as if to appraise him. He knew not the reason for this, but that made little difference. In truth, her being on this journey was a bonus to his own attendance. He was going to be delivering lessons to her as well, so it was best that they become acquainted at some point. She seemed more than learned enough for a first day, so he could consider her an official student of the Myouou as a whole. Qin was also brought into the conversation as one who had a particular interest in Anais's past, as new information had been presented. "I've just come to realize there is another learning opportunity here," he mumbled to himself.

There was no intrusion on Sakura's part. Siegfried had been wondering if there was some sort of workaround to entering the Nexus, but that was clearly not the case. Regardless, Sakura wondered about something he was intending to do during the earlier battle. That was an easy explanation. "It was a last-ditch effort I keep to stop the dragon Fafnir from taking over. The Skill is called Disengage. It has the ability to reset battle conditions to a state of zero," he explained. In hearing this, Ailen cut his eyes toward Sakura. As per usual, she was asking the right questions to have a most favorable end result.

Meanwhile, Charlemagne received his answer. Jeanne d'Arc's current location would eventually be known as the Tower of Babel. More importantly to Charlemagne as an individual, it seemed even ridding himself of the Skill would not loose his connection to this 'angel'. Actually, he found that to be a positive. What if he had use of her guidance in the future, but also needed to acquire a different Skill? 'That's good. Maybe I'll need to call again after I ditch the Skill. You've been helpful so far, so I can't complain. Anything else I need to know before I start ignoring the fact that someone could be watching me at any moment of any day?'