The Eternal Sanctum (Holy Knight Headquarters)

[Apollymi]

There was a bombardment of questions and answers surrounding the abilities of Yuuya and his gateway to the other world. Sakura for her part in this conversation was remaining quiet but she was mostly using that to help sort through information for when everything else was ready. Moving on from that point... Anais and Martha both had their questions answered pretty directly. He was still busy trying to explain himself for the time being Anais and Martha both accepted his answers while having a strange amount of thought regarding that information.

At the same time, Yuuya claimed that he didn't teleport to this world, he simply walked through his gate, and he considered going home and to school as a break from the monster killing and intensity of this world. He also claimed that when his door was stationary time was consistent between the two places on the other side. "Sou ka, maybe I am the weird one here..." Yume concluded. Her own personal situation meant to her that with her friends on this side she literally had no reason to even entertain going back to the other world, aside from potentially missing some commodities of home. And with this world working the way it did she could always invent or create those kinds of things. "You're not weird, I understand why you'd make the choice you did regardless," Anais noted. She seemed to be exceedingly contemplative. This whole situation was bringing a possibility to the forefront of her mind that she hadn't considered in quite a while. "Yuuya I am sure your teachers appreciate you showing up to school on a regular basis. I'd be excited to know a student was willing to come back from a magical world," Martha mentiond.

At the same time Charles seemed to be thinking something else. That the adventure could be particularly short if they decided to spend any amount of time on the other side of the world. If they crossed over they could potentially shorten their trip quite a bit. "That's a pretty decent idea... if you didn't want to go on the adventure to its extremes, but there have to be caveats right?" said Yume not sure of everything but sure there were at least a few. "I can think of several... are we going back in the forms we currently have or our previous human forms? And how much time has actually passed for those of us who have been here for longer? Even in videogame time, 300 years is a lot, over a thousand and they could be returning to assumed deaths, empty apartments, cops or anything else..." mentioned Anais. "At the same time, I'd be lying if I didn't say that my first thought wasn't about potentially seeing my parents. And clearing my browser history," Anais confirmed of her own thoughts. "I suppose there is the potential space time problem, like if he's from a time earlier than ours, if we cross back and see ourselves does something weird happen? Do you Back to the Future yourself? Ugh... I am a history teacher not a science nerd," Martha said, her head beginning to hurt from the possibilities. "Still I wouldn't be against going back either."

[Bloodedge]

"I wouldn't quite say that," Charlemagne countered upon hearing Yume's claim. "You've been here for a day, right? After being here for a long time, it's not such a bad thing to just want... a normal day or two. Though everyone has their own situation, so I can't say much. No need to call yourself weird though," he continued. Ah, but she was right; there were surely some caveats to going between worlds. Anais was quick to comment on one in particular, as someone who lived for hundreds of years. For someone like Charlemagne, he'd be lucky to return within the lifetime of his would-be children on Gaia. There was something else, however... something he understood for the oddest reason.

By the time Martha spoke again, Charlemagne was in deep thought. Had he registered her words, he probably would have realized something unrelated, yet incredible. Yuuya's response would reach his ears, but all too late for a separate realization. "I don't think going back in time would be much of an issue. Even if I cross and go right back, it's all forward. Though I guess you all got here differently, and might not even be from the same year as me..." he mused. By then, Charlemagne's deep thought had reached something conclusory. "Temporal Reprieve," he blurted out seemingly at random. "There was a card called Temporal Reprieve that released to counter the time manipulation archetypes that were becoming popular. There was Counterflux Nexus, a rare field that accumulated counters and had a weird mechanic that could basically delete the opponent's next turn if played a certain way. That might all sound unrelated, but... I'm guessing this gate of yours is some sort of big, double-sided door ─ maybe with an owl motif?" he asked of Yuuya, who immediately seemed surprised.

"Eto... yes. That's exactly how I'd describe it," Yuuya said after a few moments of hesitation. With that confirmation given, Charlemagne couldn't be more sure of his thought process. "Then we've got our answer! That's Temporal Reprieve! When the door stays up, it streamlines the time between worlds. I might be guessing, but I'd say Mister Animusphere-god-man-thing up there opened the door in a way that'll end up perfect for us."

[Apollymi]

Charles had some oddly reassuring words for Yume. Though she'd called herself weird for very specific reasons, their group leader had claimed that after living in this world for so long seeking a normal day wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In the same breath however he claimed that even without knowing her exact circumstances he wouldn't call her weird for making the decision to throw herself into life after a single day. Yume looked at the lad most strangely her mouth opening into that little 'o' shape which was silent as she realized what he was like, "Yes, he's always like this. No it isn't just you...' Anais affirmed quietly. Charles was exactly the person he tried to be whether he fully realized it or not.

Moving on, Anais had mentioned several potential problems with moving back and forth between worlds but only one real part of her statement hit the ears of Yume. "You can clear browser history?" she asked as if this was a completely foreign concept to her. Anais for her part in this looked at her friend incredulously. "How Ai-senpai hasn't exploded from frustration I will never understand," she commented absently. Apparently two people here needed their browser history cleared. Soon after that Charles was talking children's card games. Most specifically the one based in AoE. Apparently his understanding of Yuuya's gate ability would come from that and be described in such a way that it could technically be understood by everyone present. Even from Martha's perspective it made a bit a of sense. His general idea being that time would be the same or rather sync'd up properly between both sides of the world as long as Yuuya's gate was open. "Sounds pretty far fetched even for a fantasy," said Yume. "Iia, if Charlie is talking card games.... his expertise isn't to be questioned. If he says it works, I believe him," said Anais. Ah, well that was enough for Yume. Her friend group took the opinion that their most innocent friend had the best opinions, if she spoke strongly about something they belived her. "The Indulstrial Illusions founder also isn't a bad guy according to everything about him... so if he's the who did this, I suppose it's worth at least trying out," said Martha, who knew only what news articles said about the man but, if he was the real god of this world and not actively ruining anyone's life, she could give him a bit of credit.

[Bloodedge]

Amid some odd exchange about browser history, Charlemagne was continuing his train of thought. Yuuya spoke of the door keeping time consistent between worlds. By his own assumption, that door would have only been made after the time of its related trading card and Albertus Animusphere's alleged disappearance. Yuuya mentioned being on vacation for spring as well, which placed him almost perfectly inline with Charlemagne's time, provided he wasn't some years into the future. "Tenjou─" he started, only to be interrupted immediately. "Iia, iia! Yuuya desu!" the lad corrected. "Ah... right, no problem. Yuuya. I think what we all need to know here, is how recent Age of Eternity and all its relevant materials are."

Yuuya took pause, giving the curiosity some proper thought. He didn't really consume any of the related media, but he wasn't entirely ignorant of it. Industrial Illusions as a corporation became known across the entire world shortly after its inception, so Yuuya only had to recall when he first heard of it. "I'm not sure exactly, but I knew about it for less than a year, I think," he stated. "Then there we have it. We're still in the first big year of AoE. If it's during spring break, that means... it's around the same time I came here, give or take some days. Anyone else on weird time?"

[Apollymi]

It would seem that Charles was still busy thinking about the nature of this potential cross over adventure. It didn't however escape anyone's notice how quickly Yuuya stopped Charles from being overly polite with him. Interesting. Many in his position would not be so quick to abandon formalities. Many more than that would have figured out from context that they were the people who could call the shots and more than a few might have tried it. Instead this lad was aiming for friendship which was a fine quality within the minds of both Anais and Yume. Moving on, the question now was about timing and the timing could not have been more fortuitous.

Even after a moment or two of thought, it would seem that... Yuuya was living at least in the same time as this group. And that AoE was a in its first big year. This was all good information to have for everyone present as it would place their disappearances at around the same time. "Spring Break? Yeah, that's the right time for me," Yume said with a nod. After all, her date couldn't have taken place during any other time, and it was the first time she'd felt like she could relax enough in a while. Besides that the rest of her friends were somewhat busy and also easy to access around the same time, and she'd not noticed the complete absence of Iino Miko which meant she was in the same boat. "Spring Break of that year is about right for me too... I didn't get here under the same circumstances, but I was seeing one of the related movies..." Martha mentioned of her own mishaps. Perhaps... they were all about to find themselves potentially back around the time periods they left from, but there was always another question looming in the distance. Who would be leaving and trying it out first?

[Bloodedge]

Charlemagne disappeared from their original world during spring break. Yume and Martha confirmed an absence during the same time period, and Astolfo often complained about his own lost spring break oh so long ago. The only missing note from their world was Anais, but he figured she would have said something if things were different in her case. "Is it the same for all of us then? If so, it's worth trying out," said Charlemagne.

There was indeed one thing remaining ─ that being the matter of who would be making the test trip. That wasn't much of a question, though. Charlemagne would undoubtedly be volunteering himself to go, but they would first have to address matters of importance within this world. "All that aside, I should address what I called you all for. Assuming a general rundown has already been given, the goal is to follow the trace of the Holy Grail. I can... sort of feel it in the atmosphere now. There's one that feels really big, and one that feels like it's been fading away more since yesterday. Someone tell me if it sounds wrong, but I made my suggestion earlier thinking the current big signal will start to fade only when a new one appears. We'll basically be chasing spots if I'm right. So... I thought it would be good to cut the time with periodic trips to the other world, once we've gotten to the active spot ─ until the next one is big enough to follow. It wouldn't be good to run into Aincrad's grail expedition if they're using the same method we are, and I doubt they could find us in another world if Ten─... Yuuya's door is barriered. We'd just have to figure out how much time there is between pulses, which we could probably gather on the way to the current one," he rambled.

Whether the others were onboard with his line of thinking or not, Charlemagne found it more imperative to find the first trace of the next Holy Grail. It felt large, yet distant to him. Ah, but they were on an island of Chaldea. Most important of all would be finding their way off this island without requiring more of the Holy Knights. "First we need to get out of here. Annie, can you do your thing?"

[Apollymi]

Was it the case that all of them had gone missing around spring break. "Hai, that seems to be the case..." Anais confirmed her own placement in this. It'd taken quite a while for her to go through her own mind just a bit. Of course, it would be fine for them to go back regardless, if everything worked the way they thought it might. And moving on from this, there were the facts of their coming adventure. Charles would be following a feeling related to the soon to be spawning grail and then find it. Apparently it would also be reasonable for them to avoid people from Aincrad. "Well, avoiding the enemy would be a good thing. So would spying on them... we did a campaign like that once..." Yume mentioned seeming to give it a bit of thought. "As for the timing of the whole thing, you'd probably need about three to get a good feeling for it. And account for variation between the pulses," Martha added. A sample size of preferably an odd number to make sure of frequency.

No one could immediately think of anything to say against the lad's decision and no one had any immediate arguments to his thoughts. Actually, the plan seemed like one anyone would follow with the ability to come back to the magical world and not be stuck in their previously mundane lives. Speaking of the previously mundane, Anais was called upon to do her thing. Scouting was one of her primary uses within the party that they both belonged to, and in this case, she figured she was to find them modes of transportation which would allow them to move from this island to the next, since none of them had a vehicle big enough for all of them. She'd done this sort of thing several times before, though this land was a bit more advanced than others. "Hai hai, just a second..." Anais mentioned. She stood then moving and taking a deep breath. She pulsed her mana outward making use of her sensory abilities to track the animals nearby so that they could find something to help them cross the area. Of course, in using her power this way, she received a much wider range on her abilities than she had originally. The feeling of her mana spreading out like this and bouncing along other things led her to several groups of animals spread out over the entirety of the island. She was marking them mentally, keeping track of their positions relative to where they were currently located... it would take a moment for her to organize the information and all the while Martha would be watching with a raised brow. "And for the uninitiated what exactly is she doing?" she whispered not wanting to interrupt the girl's concentration.

[Bloodedge]

With Anais chiming in, it was confirmed that they could all return to Gaia. Charlemagne nodded, knowing this idea could at least have a great deal of potential behind it. As for Yume's addition, he had but a single qualm. "Spying on them isn't inherently a bad idea. I can't outright agree with it though, because we don't know who we'll be dealing with yet. I'm almost certain there will be Templars in the area at some point. If we happen to find out who's in the group, we might be able to keep tabs on them. There are a lot of potential hard counters for some of us though," he added. With that, there was Martha's addition to the conversation. She suggested that three be used as a sample size for grail signs. Frankly, Charlemagne agreed. "That's solid. We'll keep track until three ─ no messing around with the time part until we've got solid numbers."

Upon request, Anais went about scanning the vicinity for creatures. She'd been proving invaluable for that ability, especially on their most recent expedition from Aincrad. Ah, but Martha spoke while her scan was being performed. She was not a member of their group, and thus had no knowledge of the 'thing' Anais did. Charlemagne had no issues explaining for a comrade. "She's scanning for creatures. We wouldn't want to ask if you guys have ships or anything, since there's a chance of it being destroyed when we're out. So, she's checking for any flying creatures we might use to get to other lands up here," he explained casually.

[Apollymi]

According to Charles, spying on the enemy wasn't a bad idea. Though he did claim that some might have a few hard counters to them as a group. Well that was better in the thoughts of someone like Yume who thought that knowing what was coming up would make it potentially that much easier to deal with. Besides that if they can keep ahead of their competition they could control the flow of the upcoming interactions a bit better. "Sou ka, I'll keep it in mind..." mentioned Yume as she figured she'd likely be at least a little involved with such a task if it came up. Beyond that there was the idea put forth by Martha which entailed three points of tracking before deciding officially on timing, and that was also called solid and accepted. It was good to have such a smooth planning session. Martha would nod to that before her final question was answered. Apparently the lass who'd introduced herself properly this morning as Anais, was scanning the area for creatures they could use as transport. As far as skills went that one seemed a bit specialized for someone who was a healer. "So, she's like an animal whisperer/scout and a healer?" she said seeming to find the mix odd but, she supposed having a varied set of abilities was likely good for adventuring as someone like Charles would have undertaken it.

"Scout huh? I could see that..." Yume mentioned seemingly amused by the comparison. After that speech hand ended Anais opened her eyes and seemed to be gathering her thoughts. "That was a bit wider range than I expected," she murmured softly. "I... scanned the whole island and there are a few griffins to the west," she commented. "Some wyverns nesting by the mountain," she added while pointing. And then...she turn looked towards the southeast of the mountain directly... "There is something winged and equine gathered up over there. I'm not sure what it is, but there are multiples," she added having come to her own conclusions about that. The wildlife of this place was rather varied but as far as flying creatures that could be used as mounts were concerned, those flying horses were likely their best bet.

[Bloodedge]

What Martha gathered of Anais's overall ability was rather spot-on, yet also far from the whole truth. Since he was already on a roll with card game references, Charlemagne found it surprisingly easy to make a more accurate claim for the Twelve Peers' resident elafia. "Among other things, yeah. I'd rather say... a staple. One that probably needs a nerf, but one that'll still be played even if they absolutely nerf it into the ground," he countered. Some cards were unfair. If his own group became a series of trading cards, any deck variant he had would surely feature Anais and all associated spells as a core engine. Actually... now that he thought about it, he did intend to do something about creating trading cards in this world, as per an earlier conversation with Angelica. Maybe he now had some inspiration.

Once Anais completed her scan, she made clear the fact that it was more powerful than it was previously. Charlemagne stared at the elafia, sporting a deadpan expression with a glint of understanding in his eye... and something else. "Yeah. You should be nerfed," he said absently. As for what she found, the first mention was particularly interesting. A griffin would be an incredible familiar and support creature, but taming even one was nigh impossible. "Ugh. One the right size would carry three people, but... the problem would be taming even one. Astolfo and Martha are the only ones with confirmed ability to ride draconian species, so I guess our best bet is the... err... I want to assume pegasus, but I don't think they group up like that."

While the discussion neared its end, Ailen decided to insert himself. He'd been sitting on a nearby bench while the others discussed their upcoming journey. Quite a few things had his interest, but he seemed bent on fiddling with a few weeds and twigs taken from the nearby area. Finally, he had something to add. "It is likely a form of pegasus most closely connected to darkness. There are some heavy traces of demonic activity in the area, so these creatures were surely attracted to it ─ as that breed would be attracted to each other."