Munetsuchi

The voice of the Nexus was apparently familiar with humanity on a closer level than Sakura was. This made sense, she wasn't very old and didn't have a lot of experience, perhaps there was some nuance to this 90/10 thing which she simply wouldn't understand immediately. "I suppose it's worth consideration at least. I'll continue observing," the girl managed. This was about the closest she would get to admitting anything like fault. Though she currently still thought humans to be weird and underdeveloped creatures. Moving on from that point, there was the matter of her father being banished from this realm. Apparently, there was a disagreement with the boss, and it was something odd. "You have a boss?" she murmured. That seemed odd, perhaps that was something worth looking into later, but for now there was the appearance of another.

Oh but the oddities were not to be discounted. No. Jeanne was looking in on a group of relative strangers. The voice of the Nexus was at least something she recognized by sound alone, though his visage was also on recognized it wasn't one she'd had contact with. "Oh? Is that the face you have... haven't seen you before, but fine... Well... fuck that isn't exactly true. I know who you are, weird that you'd call me here for this," she said of the Nexus. Jeanne had no real comments about anything else, well... perhaps she did but they weren't something she could get through with the amount of anger she suffered from. "This isn't a rough greeting. I'm going to skewer him," she stated as if it wasn't obvious enough, her sword rose once more her eyes locked on Charles. He hit her senses as a certain former patron of hers, so... she'd kill him and rid herself a problem she was having. Perhaps this was a present from the Nexus, a thousand years is a long time, but she wasn't one to be picky when it was Christmas. She loved Christmas. But wait, there was something being said now, he asked if she was a demon? He asked what happened? Near maniacal laughter escaped the young woman as she heard these strange questions. "Demon? Hell no... your fucked up senses have nothing to do with me. I'm Dragon Kin, as for what happened..." she paused that laughter taking her over but Sakura looked at her strangely. "I was burned at the fucking stake!" That was it the entire reply. He even had the audacity to keep perpetrating that lie about her demonic influence. The number of grievances she'd experienced were far too high, she couldn't let it go. Sakura for her part in this seemed to have a much better understanding. "She has Oyaji's aspect but... she doesn't feel like him," she said easily making a comparison between Jeanne and her actual demonic father. Ah, but there was something else, she felt like something Sakura hadn't actually sensed before, that was odd. Well, a bit untrue, it felt a bit closer to the girl with the antlers.

Did the Nexus have a boss? Naturally. He was here to oversee, to ensure the 'system' functioned as intended on behalf of those who were fit to rule. "I have two. I'm done being in charge," he said with certainty. Frankly, he never considered himself suited to that sort of thing anyway; it was much more his brother's cup of tea.

Nevertheless, Jeanne recognized him... twice, it seemed. She may have been wrong about why he called her here, but that matter wasn't his to sort out. As such, he sat and smiled, even waving at the woman. "It's always been this face. Nice seeing ya' without just being a voice in a big white box," he greeted more officially. Now then, what would he be seeing unfold? For starters, hearing he was going to be skewered was something Charlemagne figured was worth arming himself over. That new sword of his was unsheathed at long last, its holy aura boasting the light of a rainbow that encased the blade. He wouldn't think of attacking Jeanne d'Arc, but the need to defend himself was becoming obvious.

Jeanne rejected the idea of being a demon. She claimed to be Dragon Kin, which was true based on how similar she was to a certain Dragon Knight, but... that didn't change the facts. Charlemagne came to understand in recent days that 'demon' and 'evil' were not synonymous at all, so his senses on the matter were without the bias they once had. "Well, sure... but you're definitely still a demon. That's demon energy," he insisted, though there was a certain deference in the lad's tone. Sakura compared the feel of Jeanne currently to her demon father in a way; he could agree to that. As for what happened with Jeanne, obviously she was burned at the stake. Did she mean to say that was the reason for this transformation? "That happened. Yeah, that definitely happened. I've been looking into that whole situation recently. This doesn't seem like how you'd respond to that, though. . ."

According to the Nexus it had two bosses, it didn't want to be in charge. "Hm, well I suppose that makes sense..." Sakura murmured. It was strange to her that the voice inside the white room didn't want to be in charge. But the Nun inside the black room had called this one her father, so perhaps he'd been in charge for a while. Maybe making the big decisions wasn't at all what he intended. That at least made a reasonable bit of sense. As this conversation progressed apparently the Nexus was pleased to see Jeanne, and if she didn't have a singular person's death on her mind, she would have been fairly pleased to see him. After all, she spent a great deal of time talking to this man over the course of her life, since she got her hands on her Holy Grail. Though her current self didn't commune with him at all, she still had fond memories of doing so. "Yeah that's pretty cool. I didn't think I'd end up talking to you before... well being done," she mentioned. She had a task, and the task would need to be handled before she thought herself capable of communing with the Nexus properly.

As for her current existence, Charles still thought her a demon, but she truly wasn't. Regardless of how her energy felt, it wasn't demonic in nature, well... not evil at all but that wasn't even something she apparently needed to explain. There was a certain amount of deference in Charles, and she realized that even as she prepared to strike. Oh, and he'd gone on to arm himself. Good, no complaints from her sister. That sword in his hand was definitely Anu's sword as well... he wasn't at all doing a good job of making himself seem less connected to the thing she was out to kill. Ah, but Jeanne was left with interesting information. According to Charles he'd been looking into her death by burning and this transformation didn't seem like the kind of response she'd have to it. In this moment the girl looked genuinely surprised. So very surprised. How did he think she was going to respond? "Oh? And what did you expect? Did you expect me to forgive? How much of his bullshit was I supposed to forgive?!" she asked, he claimed to have looked into it, but he couldn't have done it properly if he wondered why she was this?

"I was purposefully... sent on a mission which allowed me to be captured, tortured and raped. I suppose I should forgive that..." she said with strange calmness. "I was imprisoned upon my return and given an ultimatum for cleansing which I under went even though I was the one wronged... I suppose I should forgive that treatment," she gave as supposition. "I was set up to be attacked even while in custody to the point that I had to defend myself... so I should forgive that as well?" she continued her rant. "Or should I forgive the false trial which convicted me?" she asked again. "Or maybe I should forgive actually being burned at the stake no hard feelings?" she said. "Or... should I be forgiving the fact that he did it all to take back the Divine Core he gave me?" she was still rambling with her questions. "Or maybe, just maybe... I should be forgiving him fucking stealing my Holy Grail and dragging my name through the mud?! Tell me Chuck how many of these things am I supposed to fucking forgive? Because I can't forgive any of it!" Sakura listened to this woman's story and understood them all, it seemed that long before broken Charles fell into Munetsuchi... the god known as Anu had wronged someone who used to be really nice. That was why this girl reminded her of her father, she seemed to have chosen the darker path, but not enough to become a demon in the literal sense.

Upon hearing that this version of Jeanne wasn't expecting to meet with him, the man behind the Nexus only smiled silently. Her ability to be here in this form was all thanks to someone else standing in this very space. Ah, but he wouldn't be saying anything about that just yet; that would just spoil a few developmental moments. Things were about to become interesting so long as he kept his mouth shut.

The way Charlemagne saw things, Jeanne had every right to be furious over her own demise in Aincrad. On the other hand, this was a step far for being falsely painted as a heretic. In granting all the missing details of her case, however, Jeanne wondered if forgiveness was expected of her. She was captured, tortured, raped, and then forcibly cleansed upon a subsequent imprisonment. The way it sounded, Father An sent her out for that exact purpose. Even while imprisoned, she'd been tortured. All of that led to the false trial he'd known was such since the previous day. The more Jeanne spoke, the more contorted Charlemagne's face became. Everything accumulated into a single truth: that An did all of that to reclaim a Divine Core, which he'd been the one to grant her initially. The god in disguise had even stolen her Holy Grail, which he also understood now.

With all of that said, what did Charlemagne expect her to forgive? Given the intensity of Jeanne's rant, she may have found his answer surprising. "None of it," he said plainly. By then, Charlemagne was lowering that glowing blade bit by bit. "I didn't say forgive anything! But you're the Queen of Saints, right? You can't just go on a warpath and hate-murder someone. The fact that you raise a weapon to me after a thousand years says it all; you're not in the right state now!"

After all she had to say Jeanne was still ready to kill Charles, but that wasn't really something which would immediately happen. Even as her current self, she wasn't exactly like her sisters were or anything. She'd kill those who'd wronged her and those who wronged others. Besides, they were at least acquainted before, so what would he have to say about this? She was the Queen of Saints, she couldn't go on the warpath, she couldn't hate murder someone? "Non." this was what Jeanne had to say about her current state and his ideals about her current desire. "The Queen of Saints and everything good about her burned at the stake..." she reiterated her point. "I'm the Dragon Witch and I can in fact take the warpath and I can absolutely hate-murder the piece of shit who burned the nicest version of me to cinders, for something that same version would have freely given him!" she expressed. "And you feel like him! You're brandishing his weapon... and to me you're the one infected by that which harmed me. So am I wrong for pointing my blade the one place it wants to go more than any other?"

Ah, Sakura understood now. It was this one's strongest desire to kill Anu who had wronged her and reclaim what was hers. With this being what she felt strongest about, her new form was something much like she saw her father Mugen. In fact she could think about how her father would have described it. "Sou ka, Oyaji would describe her as... someone who took Karma into her own hands. Well, at least that is the case if I understand it correctly, you became this to carry out the desire your other form wouldn't have, to murder the man who murdered you. And Char-kun piques your senses like he does... so weapon first questions later," Sakura surmised. She liked this girl and she was sure she'd seen someone like her in her prophetic dreams somewhere. In that moment Jeanne's eyes shifted to the girl in the room, for several reasons not the least of which being she bore a bit of a striking resemblance to some familiar faces. Beyond that she'd read her pretty honestly whether she'd admit it or not.

It was not the Queen of Saints standing before him, but the Dragon Witch, according to the woman herself. Above all else, one thing had become clear. It didn't matter what Charlemagne's beliefs were now, because he'd become one with Father An in a spiritual sense. Jeanne was a different type of being now. She was hellbent on slaying Father An for all he'd done. Since he and Charlemagne were officially synonymous, perhaps there was a loophole? As one who felt like Father An and wielded 'his' weapon, Charlemagne was quickly coming to a decision.

"I almost forgot about that connection until you brought it up," the lad said. Once more, he was lifting his weapon. This time, however, he brandished that blade in a more challenging manner. "But you're right. I am infected. For whatever it's worth, I'm... Father. Come get your revenge, if that's what you're so desperate for." The tone of their interaction had finally become what Jeanne had been pushing it toward since the beginning. He hadn't missed that bit about 'being done' as she declared to the other male, so perhaps this was a way to set things right. He'd fight even the corrupt Queen of Saints if he could find a way to help by doing so.

Of course, there was also the assertion of Sakura, who claimed by the logic of her demon father that Jeanne took Karma into her own hands. That made sense of one thing, at the very least. Whatever the case, there was a task Charlemagne decided to take unto himself as well. Perhaps doing so would even result in righting his own wrong: the negligence that let this problem persist originally. "That's a Witch alright. There are a lot of stories... about those who reverse fate itself, either consciously or accidentally. It doesn't normally end well, from what I hear. I guess I get to find out what one is made of now. Not exactly how I expected it to happen─" he said, ever prepared to combat the darkened Jeanne here and now. All the while, they were being observed by the man who presently beckoned Sakura toward a secondary spawned thrown right next to his own. He saw what was being attempted here, and he became far more interested as a result. "That's the path we're taking, eh? Pretty gnarly, I'll give you that," he commented.

Jeanne was paying very close attention to what was happening within the Nexus. The calm of the man known previously to her as Albertus Animusphere, and the almost alien observation of the girl who'd been talking to Charles who bared strange resemblance to the Ashikaga girl in her brother's care. Yes, this was a strange summoning indeed, but it was more symbolic than anything else. According to Charles, after everything was said and she was still ready for the fight, he'd apparently forgotten his connection to Father An. Truly? What kind of day had he had that such a thing slipped his mind? He claimed that for what it was worth he was 'Father' and she could come and get her revenge if it was what she was desperate for. "It's been a thousand years, I'm hardly desperate. Desperation would have seen a very different outcome to a meeting like this one," she commented as she waited. Jeanne was still a knight, still a respecter of boundaries even as she stood ready to kill a man she wouldn't put another in danger. No...

Sakura moved very easy between the pair to join the Nexus taking a seat in the throne to his right. She sat with dignity and watched with wide and non-judgemental eyes. "Gambatte!" she said encouraging both of these people. She understood that Charles felt responsible for something related to this situation. She also understood the wrathful response of Jeanne d'Arc given the weight of the bad things that had happened to her, undeserved for all intents and purposes. The gnarly attribute given to this seemed to make her curious and she was content to speak with the Nexus about all of this. "I don't know... a couple of my fathers fight as method of communication. I understand in that way why this is about to happen but... not how the winner is to be determined. It seems much more emotional than I would have expected," Sakura stated seemingly confused by the whole of the interaction as far as its emotional depth was concerned. She had taken responsibility for Charles emotional status during this adventure she was accompanying him on, so she did need to understand his feelings in this moment.

All the while, Jeanne waited for clearance and as she did she took a deep breath her eyes closing. That rapier was solidly black made of a metal that most couldn't have worked with forged at her birth from the trauma of the event that had her needing to be respawned. As such it burned with fires related directly to the idea of retribution, but to her they didn't feel particularly hot. Instead as she concentrated the gentle chiming of manacle chains occurred as they were part of this particular manifestation. When her golden eyes opened, when there were none in her way, she took her first step forward and it was swift. Her ideal of skewering this man made itself known again as her blackened blade was aimed in a series of jabs towards Charles head and torso. If unimpeded he'd find himself with several shallow wounds from contact.

A thousand year-old grudge was beyond anything Charlemagne could perceive. Alas, Jeanne claimed she wasn't desperate for vengeance. If she meant that... then it had to be something even deeper ─ as if it was simply her life's purpose to find retribution, and this was only a step in the journey. That had to be stopped. Charlemagne could feel that she was following a one-way path to her own destruction, never again to be that glistening radiance known as the Queen of Saints if she took the final leap at the end. She still held her core principles close, though. He was her target, but she did not move an inch while Sakura remained in the line of fire. Yes! If that was a sign, there was still hope! "Jeanne. I'm going to set you right, even if it kills me. I promise," he declared as a golden light settled over his body. There would soon be a battle, but Charlemagne had a single goal that had nothing to do with combat itself. As always, he would accept death if it became a necessity that would better the lives of others. Perhaps, though, there was a better way. . .

While Jeanne waited and Charlemagne mulled over his thoughts, Sakura took the throne she'd been offered. The Nexus, once known as Albertus, thought such a seat suited her nicely. "Eh? You're made for a throne, y'know?" he chirped. As for her confusion, there were several answers based on what he saw in those two. He'd do his best to clear things up for the studious young goddess. "For some, a battle is just a conversation. My brother and I used to be that way. All those emotions... anger going outward and inward on both sides, remorse, self-loathing, and... wow, he's got way too many coming from just him. Take care of the kid, yeah?" Just then, he paused and sighed. Some people needed to relax a bit more; Charlemagne was such a person. Oh well; moving on. "Anyway, it's not always about someone winning and someone losing. Sometimes, everyone wins just to lose later. And sometimes... everyone loses just so everyone can win. . ."

Just then, Jeanne's assault began. Charlemagne held firm, but her first attack was... something unusual. 'Fast!' he thought. It took less than a moment to realize she was truly out for blood. Worse yet, she didn't aim a singular strike his way. Charlemagne was immediately on his heels, stepping back while parrying a menagerie of strikes. This was far from the reunion he wanted, but somehow... he just about cracked a smile. "You're really trying to kill me, aren't you? Still... I can't help but be happy to see you again after all this time. Even if you're on a rampage," he commented. Regardless, he'd have to figure out something. Jeanne had some new abilities as evident by the scorching flames encasing her blade. Charlemagne's own light attribute covering the nameless holy sword he held managed to balance the magical force behind her weapon, but judging by the heat he felt already, he'd have to be very mindful of that fire gaining more purpose. What to do?

The truth of the destruction of the Queen of Saints was something acknowledged by all. Artoria Pendragon, Gilgamesh and even Vivian knew the truth of the darkness of their once happiest sibling. In the moment they were getting ready to fight and she was waiting for the path to her target to be clear of obstacles. Whatever Charles took from her willingness to keep innocents out of the line of fire, she did not care but his promise seemed to be something accepted magically. "There is only one thing that will set me right, and you don't have the fucking luxury of making me a promise like that..." she griped. Ah, but much like her sister the harshness of her words were perhaps belying some unknown emotion.

Speaking of emotions, as the battle began the Nexus had words to share. Sakura according to him was made for a throne and she could do nothing but smile. "You think so? I was thinking of making one. I've seen my sister sitting in chairs like this and it always looks like she's having a really good time," she said. Her previous night spent dreaming let her see some rather interesting things of the other child of wisdom. Ah, but there was the matter of her study of battle which she'd undertake with the same vigor as anything else. The Nexus apparently used to fight as a form of communication with his brother, and went on to list various feelings coming off of Charles upon which he decided to tell Sakura to take care of him. "Hai hai, I already agreed to it. Char-kun's emotional stability is quite low for him to be as old as he is... I noticed when we spoke with your daughter yesterday, and while he was speaking to the deer girl... he feels a great amount of remorse for things that aren't caused by him..." she said seeming to have a pretty good understanding of Charles' base emotional state. As they moved on from that apparently winning and losing weren't always the point and sometimes the order of a win or a loss determined the goodness of the situation. "Ah? Sou ka..." the girl murmured. She was left soon after watching and wondering what kind of order this particular fight would be taking.

Charles would be found stepping backwards from Jeanne's onslaught parrying strikes and avoiding being overtaken. This would of course be impressive if she wasn't simply trying to kill him. Actually, it was impressive even given that, but she wouldn't allow the simplicity of her attacks to let him off the hook. "Burning Stake..." her sword's flames would condense at the naming of the skill, but it's immediate effects would only be seen in a moment. Those jabs became two slashes which would drop behind the lad two large stakes the the ones she was burned upon in cross formation, cutting off his line of exit before she aimed to jab at him again if he happened to back into them. He'd find himself experiencing the heat of the stakes and if he stopped against them the incoming strikes she was still launching but what of his words. She was trying to kill him? Yes. But according to the man himself he was still happy to see her. "Yes, that is sort of the whole point," she said of the murder, as for him being happy to see her she had little to say. "You sound like a fucking battle junkie," she expressed, though whether or not she was actually displeased was up in the air. At least, he was growing steadily after all this time, as one of the few she fought with earlier in her life, she could at least be pleased about his progress, whether she'd say that or not.

Apparently, Charlemagne didn't have the luxury of making such promises. That officially didn't matter, as he'd already made the Sacred Oath. Jeanne had reason to know about the first Skill he took in this world. Until that oath was fulfilled, he would be held to it firmly. In keeping with a promise, Charlemagne became more powerful... though going against it at all would hinder his strength. "Sorry, Jeanne. You can't tell me what sort of promises I can make," he asserted.

As he deflected one strike after another, Charlemagne considered his next method of making an impact. Sadly, Jeanne was really hellbent on striking him down. A single Skill called out implied precisely what he meant to avoid: the fires that shrouded her rapier. Charlemagne's eyes were drawn immediately to the sword, but... the heat was at his back? Yes it was. With one additional parry, the lad found himself pressed against a pair of flaming rods that would immediately brand his back. Reeling in only the first few moments of battle, he couldn't manage any immediate escape. Both hands gripped tightly the hilt of his sword for one additional parry of that stabbing rapier. He couldn't let himself stay pinned like that, so he kept pushing against her sword, letting it grind against his own during a forward charge. It became Charlemagne's intention to charge forward with his shoulder, potentially knocking against Jeanne's arm while throwing himself past her. By the end, he'd be turning about to face the Dragon Witch once more. "Argh! I'm not a battle junkie!" he insisted. "I'm guessing the same doesn't apply to you then. When was the last time you were happy?"

All the while, the Nexus was having a rather casual chat with Sakura. She knew the intensity of Charlemagne's emotional baggage, and even that he held it for things completely unrelated to him. Good; her knowing that would serve them all well. "I think it's an awesome trait," he said in passing. Ah, but he'd skipped over their mention of a throne and how Sakura was suited to one. It seemed she'd already considered making one after having visions of her sister, who apparently enjoyed them. "They're pretty radical. Oh, you should go for a tall one! Small girl, big throne, big statement! You could really own something like that!" he exclaimed as if there wasn't an entire death battle occurring before them.