Munetsuchi

[Apollymi]

The torment of Jeanne d'Arc wouldn't be ending any time soon. Even now she was given a choice and it was only the illusion of choice as explained by the Nexus itself. The first of the statements concerned the lack of normalcy in the child itself. That was fine and all but the last thing she wanted to explain to anyone was an immaculate conception. Beyond all of that there was the matter of this child's potential life. Stuck with Anu, used by him for its connection to the Nexus. Of course, after tarnishing Jeanne's name, and telling everyone that she was consorting with demons, it would all come down to him wanting access to the Nexus which he didn't naturally have. Other spoilers came in the form of the idea of another being taken advantage of but it not being a world ending problem. Apparently he could cycle the kid back into the system and another person would suffer instead, but it would leave Jeanne unrooted in the world. He couldn't see all the way around that completely but did have some pointed words about the sort of people who could deal with beasts and those who would be the ones most likely sent to do something about Jeanne. A chuckle came from her then because she knew why that would be the thing misunderstood. She knew her siblings, she knew them well... they'd destroy the whole world before harming her, if her messing with her own fate was a black spot in his vision. Anything that could end in one of the Hoshimi siblings having to kill their youngest sister was... a black hole.

Jeanne was angry and stewing and it wasn't getting any better. It did nothing but build her hatred. She wouldn't be putting her siblings through anything unnecessary, she already knew her current state was distressing enough to them, though none of them would say so. She wouldn't be putting an innocent in harm's way, that wasn't the type of person she was, even now. So the truth of the matter was she wouldn't be getting past this point without having a baby. Did it matter that it would be a precious light in the world? No, she expected nothing less at this point, between her immediate family and her friends, no child would grow up unhappy nor wanting for anything in life. Free to explore, free to be, and become... she imagined a child of hers would be especially free-spirited and likely spoiled to death if the actions of Gilgamesh and Artoria were to be considered the standard. "Going against fate isn't dangerous, allowing someone to be both that powerful and that shitty is the problem..." she stated. "This isn't a choice, even as I am now, I'm not so shitty as a curse a kid to dealing with him. I wouldn't keep them from the life I know they'd have around my family and friends, even if I find it to be particularly annoying to me," she stated. Ah but there was still Charles. He'd do what caused the least harm, she supposed that was like him. He even admitted to mostly sitting on the fence for the last thousand years, so... first she'd address his thoughts. "That one is stuck with the weird time travel people, you know the ones who go back and fix things and end up talking about how some ridiculous shit has to happen for the greater good. You know, like why you can't kill baby Hilter and all that jazz," she scoffed. "Fine. Kid, for us that I am going to figure out how to explain to everyone and hopefully not wreck the rest of my life because some idiot god can't stop being a fuck up," she said. It was the path were the fewest people would be inconvenienced, what was another bit of suffering for herself?

[Bloodedge]

According to Jeanne, rejecting fate was no issue. She claimed the issue was having someone with such terrible intentions be so powerful. She was right, of course, but also very wrong. "That is a problem, but that changes nothing. Going against fate is still dangerous," he reiterated with no additional detail. Leaving Jeanne to a choice, he awaited her answer. She seemed to believe it was no real choice at all, just as he assumed before. That part of her was too deeply ingrained to be lost upon this current form, as Jeanne herself exemplified here today. She'd never doom a child, nor would she risk becoming something that opposed her loved ones. Ah, but she and Charlemagne both lamented the idea of not having a fourth option. Jeanne spoke of time-travelers who enabled ridiculous things for the greater good. How interesting it was that she'd say that. "She's right, but those guys aren't here yet. At this point, I can only speak with them when they come to me, until they first appear on their own timeline," he stated.

Moving on, Jeanne made clear her decision. She'd bear the child at risk of having to explain the odd situation, and ideally refrain from having her life ruined due to Anu's constant intervening. "Groovy!" the Nexus said. "I'll even help you out with the explaining. You're all going to want the knowledge that Holy Grails are children. When you get one, it grants your wish... and you grant its wish by letting it be born into the world. This child will be the product of Jeanne's grail, even though she doesn't have it. Well... there's another caveat to that, but I can't tell you that part. Just know that without doing this, Anu could give birth to a real monster capable of wrecking Heroes of even your caliber, and his access to me at this point would end the world as we know it. Nobody wants that."

With that said, there was only one missing link: the child itself. Both parties drank from the grail, and the Nexus was able to interface with their souls at a deeper level, joining the 'spirit' of their loins to produce a transfer from Charlemagne to Jeanne. "Aaaand pop," he said, causing Charlemagne to have a very strange reaction. He gasped, his face contorted, his grip on Jeanne's hand tightened, and he seemed infinitely more embarrassed than before. What happened? It seemed to be an ejaculation that took only a second, yet there was no fluid. Of course, he wouldn't be allowed to question it. "Oh yeah. It's that kind of party," said the Nexus. Conception was a magical thing at its core. Surely he wasn't expecting a more magical variant to be less involved with the loins, right? Wrong. That was exactly his thought process. Luckily for him, that part was already over. Now, it was Jeanne's turn to receive while the Nexus spoke on another random topic. "Oh, and definitely don't go killing baby Hitler. He does some great stuff."

[Apollymi]

Jeanne had made her point, but the Nexus claimed her current type of visage was still dangerous. She scoffed, of course she would, it was only truly dangerous because she was played off to the world as evil. Everything could have been fine, if it didn't accept the longevity of long dead idealism. Idealism she hadn't been raised with given her own actual background as a trained assassin in a world that didn't believe in the afterlife. Whatever, it wasn't really a point worth arguing at all. She could point out that such a nature was always hers, and that she simply chose niceness because it suited her better, because other people enabled that for her. Apparently according to the Nexus the final fantasy trope simply hadn't appeared yet in the world and he couldn't interact with him making her right in her flippant assertion. "Oh great, someone actually doing some shit like that... you know what, can't be any worse than it currently is," she mumbled.

Oh well, at least explaining this situation would become a bit easier. According to the Nexus the Holy Grails were children, they grant your wish and you grant theirs by birthing them into the world. That was weird information to know but she supposed there were odder things to know. "Great Grails are babies, just another weird thing to deal with, whatever my sister is going to be pissed..." she said of Artoria. More spoilers were ahead as well... apparently at this point in time, Anu with access to the Nexus would end the world as they knew it. "Of course, he'd ruin the fucking world. Father god types in all creation myths have three main motifs. They can't keep it in their pants, they can't leave mortal lives well enough alone, and they are always harming the lives of children who did nothing to them, because they're so scared of the next generation they can't imagine not being in control," she scoffed, even after the pop and the tightening of Charlemagne's hand on her own she could almost ignore it, and would... she was still human enough to preserve a friends dignity when she realized it was on display. "I'm actually starting to understand my sister's actions more and more every day," Suddenly mass genocide and letting death sort it out seemed like a grand idea for the most part, between idiot gods and disgusting humans, Jeanne was tried of being on the losing side. She couldn't even be happy in her own decision making because she kept being forced to make ones she wouldn't have made for the greater good. Whatever happened she could be impregnated in a moment like this, but all that would happen would but the cut off of her current speech and the gentle reddening of her face. "She took all that information a lot better than I expected," Sakura murmured. Maybe humans really were weird in a good way.

[Bloodedge]

The Dragon Witch seemed to have a very firm opinion about father god-types. The Nexus's brow rose slightly as he wondered if offense should be taken from that sort of speech. "I'll try not to have my soul crushed by that one," he joked. Regarding her sister's actions, he had something else to add. "That one's actions are always completely acceptable. That says nothing about her mentality, but... what we do is more important in the end," he stated.

Jeanne received the fated child with ease, righting a wrong of the timeline in a way yet to be mentioned. In truth, an additional reason for said child was the solidification of the current timeline. With its birth, an anomaly would be righted, effectively helping another pair in keeping them on the right track. It could not be produced immediately, despite the Nexus normally having such ability to speed things along. That was probably something worth warning them about. "And done. Don't worry; it's not going to be a normal human process or anything. It will take some time, though. It will have to root itself in deep and get to the normal you. But, you shouldn't have to worry about giving birth, combat being a danger, or anything like that," the Nexus explained, much to Charlemagne's surprise. "And another weird thing. That one sounds pretty cool, though. Magic convenience is awesome."

Speaking of magic convenience, there was one other thing Charlemagne had surprisingly not taken advantage of. The Nexus sat there wondering if he even considered another possibility, which was frankly even easier than calling Jeanne to this place. Oh well; perhaps he'd be told, or perhaps not. Time would tell.

[Apollymi]

Apparently the Nexus was trying not to have his soul crushed by Jeanne's tirade about father god types and their issues in the world. Jeanne's eyes turned to him and she found herself chuckling once more. "If you thought it might crush your soul, you're probably fine. Those types are also notoriously lacking in self-awareness," she commented seeming to not be trying to ease the potential discomfort much at all, but she also wasn't really wrong in her assertions and given Anu's own actions up to this point he fit the bill she'd described perfectly as one of those types of individuals. As for the bit concerning her sister's actions versus her mentality she could only laugh just a bit in earnest. "Well, that is what the rest of us are for, still having an emergency button to press isn't a negative in this world at all," she stated knowing her sister was far easier to deal with given how she chose to limit herself within the confines of her current lives.

Moving on from this, apparently pregnancy would be no real problem for Jeanne. No human problems to worry about and no negatives to her fighting stats at least, but according to the Nexus it had to root itself rather deeply into her soul and thus it would probably take a while longer than normal. "Finally some goddamn good news," she noted sarcastically. "Yeah, magic is convenient... at least some of the time. Actually, I hadn't been randomly pulled in here since my sister was using it as a hidden meeting room," she stated seeming to have taken a fairly odd approach to it in her current form and feeling oddly nostalgic "Oh? I wouldn't have thought to use it like that..." Sakura mentioned, of course she had no reason to need a magic meeting room. In the same vein she wondered if her parents were being introduced to random human desires while they dealt with their students. Still there was some time to be sitting around and the like, was there anything else she needed to tell Charles before he hopped to whatever weird thing he was going to do?

[Bloodedge]

The Nexus apparently had no cause for concern. Of course, he knew as much, but he did like to have fun and joke about from time to time. The same could not be said of many others who called themselves deities, but he could never really change. Such a nature would persist even as Jeanne mentioned her sister's demeanor, and how she and others were around to manage it. "Is that what the rest of you are for? I wouldn't be too sure it's not the other way around," he theorized. No matter; the time of this group visiting the Nexus was nearing its end. With that being the case, he had to finish explaining more important things.

The child of those two would be of a special variety, both in its natural existence and its method of spawning. "I try to produce as much good news as possible. Glad you're happy with it," he commented. Charlemagne, on the other hand, was shocked alongside Sakura that the Nexus would be used as a meeting room. "That's pretty good, actually. Guaranteed privacy for the most part, nice and peaceful so the discussion can go on without a hitch. I can't really see myself getting involved in one of those meetings, though," he stated while finally loosing Jeanne's hand and rising to his feet. It seemed their time was reaching its natural end, but he had a few more words for the Dragon Witch. "I'll make my way to the HQ, and from there I'll find Aincrad. Thanks for the help and... technically the training. Oh! Did you know you always lead with your left foot?" he wondered finally, recalling the 'angel' and her random advice.

Just then, the Nexus spoke once more. "The Queen of Saints and the King of Faith are officially monarchs over the Cedar Mountain. Jeanne, you're free to wake up whenever you wish. Just remember you're due for a surprise appearance from the child. Someone else has been looking for you both, by the way. I wasn't sure if I should be the one mentioning that, but... yeah, that's about it."

[Apollymi]

The Nexus was apparently, only joking around about the status which could have left it with a crushed soul. This was good, Jeanne didn't actually intend to hurt his feelings. He was definitely one of the better entities she'd encountered in her life in this world. She wasn't directly upset with him, her annoyance was pointed directly where sh thought it should be. Moving on from that, there was some discussion of confusion about the placement of Jeanne's big sister in the grand scheme of things... a chuckle left the lass again. "Either way it doesn't matter, we balance each other out most of the time... my current status not withstanding," she said of herself and her sibling group. In truth, she was certain that her big sister wouldn't have rested if she'd wanted to be returned to her normal self and would have wreaked havoc across the entire world if it would have made her happy.

According to the Nexus it tried to produce good news as much as possible and was glad Jeanne was happy, she couldn't help but scoff. "I'm not happy, but I'm not angry which is about the best you can hope to get out of me presently," she added with her nose turned up. Beyond this point it seemed neither Sakura nor Charles had thought of the use of this room beyond this point and the news of Artoria's use of it as a secret meeting space was surprising for both of them. "My sister will call upon whoever is needed and you would do well to answer... she's not exactly the taking no for an answer type, Chuck," Jeanne gave him that bit of warning with no extra context. As for the rest he aimed to thank her for the help and the training and asked her if she knew of her physical combat leanings. Her eyes widened at the statement as, "I mean yeah, aneki mentioned it but, it's hard... to... correct..." she gave pause. The sister she was thinking of wasn't the one she knew him to have had contact with. Her brow rose in the moment as she gave it a bit more thought. "Whatever, yeah, I know... I'm working on it... be nice if you can... I'll have enough explaining to do to Sieg when I get back," she said of his comings and goings. "If you see Gilles, kill him. He's no friend of ours," she added just in case he was still harboring any kindness she didn't know about or rather had no reason to assume the worst.

The King of Faith and the Queen of Saints... interesting. And someone else had been looking for them, Jeanne could leave whenever she wished but if all the information given said there was no reason to worry about when she woke, she'd rather not leave anything undone. "Look man, I don't have 21 questions in me right now. Who... who is looking for me? Or rather for us? If I can meet them now and ease everything up, I'd rather do that and go into my next adventure with a mostly clear conscience," mentioned Jeanne. Strangely Sakura had been quiet for a bit and would come to an odd conclusion. "The other goddess right? She knew you both and she is connected too..." she added seeming to have drawn several short sticks to come to that conclusion.

[Bloodedge]

Most times, those known as the Hoshimi siblings balanced one another. The 'most' part was quite interesting, as it belied a certain understanding of Jeanne's current state. Moving on though, Jeanne claimed she wasn't happy ─ she just wasn't angry. There was something interesting about that particular claim which left the Nexus tapping his temple in thought. "I didn't think you'd be such a... what was it again?" he wondered. Strangely, it would be Charlemagne who completed the thought while stretching his back. "Tsundere," he said.

Regardless of Jeanne's temperament, there was a warning about... her sister's. According to the Dragon Witch, Charlemagne would be wise to take those invitations to Nexus meetings. He disagreed. "Not happening. I wouldn't be important to one of those anyway. I got a grail by chance," he insisted, stretching a bit more and making sure his legs were loosened as well. Those burns were going to be annoying to deal with. What's more, there was apparently another annoyance: Gilles. He had reason to believe that man was suspicious before, but hearing it from Jeanne's mouth was the only confirmation needed. "I didn't want to believe he was so involved in that. I'll keep my eyes open," he assured.

Moving on, Jeanne wondered who this mystery person could be. Surely she knew the one person that would be looking for herself and Charlemagne. Charlemagne himself had an idea, but Sakura asked aloud. The Nexus nodded, clapping once and spreading his hands to point toward Sakura thereafter. "Ding ding! Ten points to Wisdom!" he announced with no real meaning. "Now calling up a real mouthful: Luviagelita Angelica Edelfelt Martel! Yowzah!"

[Apollymi]

There was apparently some form of mystery on how to qualify the personality Jeanne d'Arc currently embodied as the kind of being she now was. The Nexus seemed to have a hard time figuring it out. Of course, Charles would eventually come up with a word in their mother tongue, which was fairly accurate but somehow Jeanne still didn't like it. She shot the lad a look that could have been fueled by daggers. "Oi, no one fucking asked you, Chuck!" she exclaimed. She didn't think she was a tsundere but here and now she was definitely exactly that, her attention returned to the Nexus and she pointed at him with righteous indignation. "And you, are on ice!" she exclaimed seemingly cross enough to actually direct some of that fire towards him, her freed hands crossing over her chest.

Beyond this point, Charles claimed he wouldn't be answering a summons and that he'd only gotten his grail accidentally. "Uh, yeah... that isn't a thing. If you got it, you earned it. No more fence sitting," she proclaimed in a manner which could have been deemed encouraging. "Besides, you may not know this, but Artoria Pendragon will just knock on your door sword out, you're better off answering when you're called. I can't actually protect you from her," she gave that bit of advice for dealing with her most commonly in-tow family member. As their conversation progressed it seemed that he didn't want to believe that Gilles was so directly involved. "Incel stalker...." she said as if that would explain the problematic nature of the man as she understood it.

Ah but there were more pleasant things to talk about. Points went to wisdom, in that case Sakura who seemed to be capable of putting together the pieces. The other goddess, Angelica. "Sou ka, I guess you did say you married Jelly, that is one hell of a name regardless," she said as the Nexus went about summoning the girl. Sakura on the other hand seemed to be rather wide eyed and excited, she wanted to meet this girl too! Ah, and boy did she appear. Full blonde curls into blue in a strange mix of Charles own armor pieces and some more adventure friendly clothes. She had wide golden eyes, "What?" she managed seemingly confused. There was Charles, he was safe, good. Relief. There was... someone who she didn't know but that was fine. A man she didn't know also fine. And Jeanne though not the way she remembered her. "I don't understand... what?!" she exclaimed. "Hey, Jelly, long time no see~" mentioned Jeanne who freed of Charles's hand and stood to allow the other girl to come in for a hug. Such was pretty normal between them.

[Bloodedge]

No one asked him about Jeanne's temperament. Of course no one did; who would? Not being asked wasn't going to stop him from speaking the cold truth in such a moment. "Not disproving the point," he mumbled under his breath. Meanwhile, the Nexus was receiving a similar verbal assault. He was on ice, was he? Well... he was also in excellent spirits. "Brrr!" he replied, shivering and laughing.

Jeanne continued to insist that Charlemagne answer the summons of Artoria, and he would continue to neglect the thought. No more fence-sitting, she demanded. It wasn't exactly that he was riding the fence this time around; he was officially a very busy guy. "She can knock if she wants. Maybe when she shows up, she can help me deal with the million things I have going on so I have time to care about something else," he huffed. Moving on, a single utterance answered any questions as to how Gilles was involved. Gilles was always one to make others uncomfortable. Now, it all made sense. "... Oh. I always thought he was weird, but I figured that was just... never mind," he said, deciding to leave the rest in the confines of his own mind.

The Nexus went on to call for Angelica using her full spiritual name as anyone would know it. Given the recent marriage, he even decided to tack on Charlemagne's original surname for general purposes. As one might expect, Angelica was rather confused when called upon, asking only 'what' upon appearing ─ twice even. A strange reunion of a thousand year gap was sure to occur right away, so Charlemagne made no moves toward the lass. He did, however, pause to take in her unusual state of dress. "Is that my armor? What the hell is going on in Aincrad right now?!"