Evolution Geass: Uzumaki of the Retribution

by SoulEmbrace2010

Naruto, Naruko, and Lucienne aim to destroy Britannia, in memory of their departed loved ones. The trio trained and prepared for the future war, but their hands are forced when they got caught up in the Shinjuku incident. In response, they start their campaign early to free Japan, only to find that there's more going on, and the world is at stake. AU, OOC, Naru/Harem, Xovers

10. STAGE 09: Outworlders

Castle: *Scribble-Scribble-Scribble-Scribble-Scribble* Aaaaand, Done! Whew! This was one hell of a job.

Naruto: Just in time for your 30th birthday, dattebayo!

Soul: Yep! And thus, class is in session too. First, I'm going to give credit to Falco for the Cornelia scene, though she's not going to be dealing with Suzaku until much, much later. Secondly, NSG for info about Nick and his powers. Also, massive credit to Castle for writing America's history that leads to the events of the Metal Gear series. Hell, it made for a nice refresher course.

Castle: It was kind of a must. I had to think about explaining things to people whose history was different from our own, and in the Metal Gear series. That meant starting at the beginning and explaining all the changes, specifically the political changes and events in the 20th century.

Soul: Yep. To be honest, it's also like a Reading story, and it is necessary. We're not going to be doing just the scenes from Code Geass as we said. Chapters like this are necessary for the journey ahead for the characters.

Castle: Know your history, and you won't repeat the mistakes of the past. In this case, they learn our lessons so they don't make those mistakes.

NSG: Maybe we'll finally get some reactions to Nick. :P

Castle: I know we'll get some reactions. He's a Cyborg!

Soul: But enough from us, let's get into reviews from the last chapter…

Shirou Emiya1 - It's very possible Claire will have her suit. As for Emilia appearing, maybe as a minor character or a cameo.

- I keep mentioning sex? I think I only mention that once or twice.

XenoBlaze - LMAO

HeroLuffy726 - I'll try my best with the descriptive language.

GunBlade2021 - While Cyborg Ninja sounds awesome, he's actually a Cyborg Samurai.

Raidentensho - Trust me, the reactions to Suzaku being Lancelot's pilot are going to be great.

Soul: And with that, let's get this show on the road! Enjoy this first out of two updates today!

---

Ahem,

Welcome to today's lesson boys and girls. I, B.B., will teach you all you need to know about world history.

Well, not me, but my cute lil' boy toy Nines.

Get your popcorn, piggies, you're in for the long haul!

---

[Viceroy Palace]

Cornelia sat in her office with a partly-written after-action report in front of her and a half-empty bottle of whiskey on her desk. Her Knight Guilford was outside, standing guard as requested. At the moment, the alcohol was for her nerves after the events at Saitama.

In all her years as a General of the Britannian Military, she had never been dealt such a humiliating defeat on the battlefield. Not even Kushina-sensei had demolished her pride so utterly, though she'd come close. It was made even worse by the fact that not only did she get off with a warning, but that damned devil AI BB had immediately shown the world how badly Joker and Cypher had demolished her forces, playing it off as if it was just another walk in the park for them.

Regardless, it was a true defeat.

She also felt ashamed and guilty of all of the soldiers that died, with the survivors lucky enough to be spending the night in the hospital. One of the lucky survivors was Darlton, who was the only survivor of the G1-Base destruction. He managed to escape to get to Cornelia but was blown back due to the force of Kinkaku's attack, resulting in a concussion but surviving by the skin of his teeth. The rest were not so lucky, as they died in the explosion or being in the path of that swordsman's blade.

Her arrogance, ego, and pride had been the cause of the disaster, and she was kicking herself for disregarding Bourne's warnings. Joker. Cypher. They'd proved that they were not the average run-of-the-mill terrorists that had gotten lucky. They were dangerous and proven to be attracting like-minded individuals in the form of that swordsman Kinkaku, who had also run roughshod over her forces.

She sighed and took another swig from her bottle, just as the door burst open.

"I'm sorry milady, they insisted," Guilford began, as Euphemia ran inside, followed by Laila.

"Nelia!" Euphemia scolded her and snatched the bottle away. "I'm glad to see you're okay, but you shouldn't drink yourself to death!"

"I only had…one," Cornelia replied after a pause, trying not to sound sulky. "I 'kin…can hold my liquor. Give it back."

"Sister, I know those superhumans and that hunky guy embarrassed you, but-" she stopped as the others gave her weird looks. "What?"

"Which one is the 'hunky guy?'" Guilford asked slowly, with the air of someone who did not want his question answered.

"I said that?" Laila asked innocently, resulting in sweatdrops from the others.

The awkwardness thankfully ended when Bourne came strolling into the room. He nodded towards the others, before setting some files on her desk.

"Here are the damage reports of your G1 Mobile Base, the tanks, and the Knightmare Frames used in Saitama. There are also the personnel reports of all the officers as well. We only have a few that are lucky to return to active duty after rehabilitation and therapy like Darlton, but the others are either dead, too crippled to come back to the force, and might not survive the night or the next few days." he reported grimly.

"Thank God for small *hic* favors…" Cornelia muttered while eying the bottle Euphemia took away.

"All in all, we lost a quarter of our forces stationed here at Area 11, and I don't think I need to tell you that we kind of needed them should Uzu come calling out of nowhere," Bourne said curtly, increasing the gloom in the room. "And if any of you try to convince me that we'll be fine after what happened, especially after this and the failed invasion of Uzushio, I'm going to lose it…" he added evenly, with everyone flinching since they realized what he was referring to.

William Bourne, age 47, was born into a family of spies and information gathering specialists that immigrated from Euro-Britannia to the Holy Britannian Empire. He was at the top of his classes and training platoons, becoming one of the greatest information and counter-intelligence officers Britannia has to offer. With his skills, he helped Britannia conquer countries before Area 11's existence, making sure that all information flowing to him was vetted with a fine-tooth comb before it could be acted upon.

But he was not unbeatable as Britannia's attempted invasion of Uzushio has proven. While it was his underlings that dealt with the primary information gathering, he vetted it and saw so many errors that weren't his team's fault, seeing that the invasion was nothing but a trap. He personally tried to convince the Emperor himself, only for his pleas to be unsuccessful in the end as many soldiers, as well as a few Knights of the Round, lost their lives before the retreat order was issued.

However, due to his insolence against the Emperor (despite him meaning well), he was demoted and lost most of his influence until Cornelia came calling and personally assigned him as her personal intelligence operative. He faithfully served her for many years and was a key part of her campaigns, being trusted enough to be one of the first of her loyal soldiers to be sent to Area 11 to find out what the hell happened after the video of the Shinjuku Massacre was released.

"Can you blame the Princess? The terrorists and resistance cells we fought until now were nothing like those Phantom Thieves. The only ones classified as metahumans are located in Uzu. We weren't prepared for the possibility of being more like them outside of Uzu." Guilford said while adjusting his glasses. "And it's not like we could've retreated either. If we Britannians show any signs of weakness, our enemies will take advantage."

"At this point, it doesn't matter if we show weakness or not, for these are not ordinary enemies that we're dealing with now. Just read the damn reports I've brought you. They tore through Knightmare Frames. Knightmares! Our Sutherlands! Your Gloucesters!" Bourne snapped back and took a breath to calm down. "There is no excuse. Britannia has countless resources and we underestimated them. I still maintain that when things got bad, you all should have retreated, regardless of the consequences."

"I don't think even you understand-" Guilford started to say, but his resistance once again angered Bourne to the point of rage.

"Those two women with chains were turning our men to STONE. And let's not forget that that maniac Kinkaku SLICED THE G1-BASE IN HALF! WITH A BLOODY SWORD! Darlton is lucky to be alive right now-!" Bourne loudly shot back before Cornelia raised her hand.

"Enough *hic* e-enough, Guilford. He's…right," the Princess mumbled, grabbing the glass of water from Euphemia and downing it. "I…owe you an apology, Bourne. I should have li-listened to you…when you said to abandon the mission."

"Indeed, My Lady. You were suffering from tunnel vision in your belief that they were nothing but upstart terrorists that just got lucky. But it wasn't a total loss to an extent," Bourne said, much to everyone's surprise. "We now know that these Phantom Thieves are truly better trained and well equipped to tackle any obstacle in their way. And now they have others working for them."

"I'm surprised they didn't use the terrorists hiding in Saitama," Laila said thoughtfully, "But I guess if they were powerful enough to cut Knightmares into pieces while on foot, I guess they didn't need the backup."

"That's the thing, I think they did use them. Rei was nowhere to be found, so I suspect she was living up to her title and coordinating an evacuation of the residents from afar. We didn't see them when Joker and Cypher were destroying your forces." Bourne said flatly, pointing specifically at Guilford's bandaged head. "And speaking of your forces, some of those who were fortunate enough to survive were itching to pull the trigger on the civilians the first chance they got. I suggest a complete psych evaluation for everyone so we'll know who'll follow your orders to the letter."

Cornelia nodded. "I will. It's unfortunate that despite everything, there are those who believe they'll get away with anything in battle, and Clovis did himself no favors in keeping his forces in control. I'll have to fix that. Speaking of Clovis," she cleared her throat. "How far are you in cracking his computer?"

"We're making progress. By my estimation, we'll have access to his computer in a few days' time," Bourne reported, his annoyance still in his voice.

"Good," Cornelia said curtly, looking marginally satisfied for once.

"So what happens now?" Euphemia asked slowly.

"Simple. We locate Joker and his friends before they can cause any more damage to Area 11, and rally others to their group. We have to put them down, but we'll do so carefully and with discretion. The next time we fight them, we'll hit them with anything we've got." Cornelia said and clenched her fist.

Laila looked confused at that. "What about the Knights of the Round? You could easily request their assistance."

Cornelia winced. "No. At least, not right now. Let's just use what we have right now…"

---

Stage 09: Outworlders

---

[Ashford Academy, Underground Bunker]

The resistance crew and their Servants sat around the war table for a meeting that would doubtlessly go well into the night.

Naruto, Naruko, and Lucienne sat at the head of the table, with Medusa and Medusa Alter standing stoically over the twins and Scáthach casually leaning on Lucienne's chair.

Milly had Nero purring on her lap and stroking her head.

Rivalz's lap had Mary Read sitting on it as well, with Anne Bonny leaning over his chair to rest her huge boobs on top of his head.

Akiza's eye was twitching due to Scheherazade hiding behind her chair.

Kallen was gnawing on a protein bar while Artoria was eating a bag of chips.

C.C. was spinning in her chair, with Jeanne laughing nervously and Jalter looking annoyed.

The twins frowned when they held the distant sounds of whirring and clunking all around the bunker. 'Nines…' they thought together. 'He initiated the Security Level Alpha-6 Protocols…'

"So, Nick Ward, what's your story?" Claire asked, with all eyes on the revealed Cyborg Samurai.

The brown-haired young man leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, gazing around at them all, considering how he ought to start. Finally, he began, "For as far as I can remember, I've been reincarnated from one world to the next, in order to live out a new life and to entertain the various gods of the multiverse."

A ripple of surprise and unease went around the room at his words. "What do you mean by entertain?" asked Lucienne, her eyes narrowing.

Nick shrugged. "Do you not consider watching anime or playing to be entertainment? They incarnate me into a world, usually with some form of abilities, and let me go about…being interesting. This time around, my 'bosses'- who are the goddesses of Fortune and Glory -somehow got a god of War to sponsor me. That's why I have my abilities as a Samurai."

C.C., who had stopped spinning to stare at him, raised her question next. "How long has this been happening?"

He gave a hollow laugh. "I dunno. I lost count after fifty…no, wait, was it five hundred?"

"...Years?"

"Lives."

All of the humans' jaws collectively dropped. Even C.C.

"Bloody hell, how are you still sane?" Scathach asked in amazement.

"I second that." Alter perked up.

Nick shrugged. "You're not the first to ask that. Really, when you do it enough times, you start to realize that it's all a cycle. I've been insane before, honestly. No matter how hard I throw myself into each life, there'll still be another one waiting for me afterward. Everyone I've ever befriended, ever loved…left behind. But going crazy only lasts so long before you loop back around into sanity." Then he smiled grimly. "It helps that each life I've lived was a 'copy' of me. When I finish that life, that copy is allowed to go on to whatever afterlife awaits me. I'm just the latest version; a character that the gods can't get enough of for some reason. But that just means that for me, it'll be my turn once this is all done."

"...And I thought our pseudo-immortality was bad. Your gods must be a screw loose if they think what they're doing to you is entertaining. Normal people may think that's a blessing, but it sounds more like a curse." Naruto managed to say.

"Well, it doesn't sound like a curse to me," Milly said as everyone rounded on her. "He's with us, so his life is a blessing!" she finished without pause. "And we just need to make sure that this life of yours is more memorable than the others!" she added brightly.

"I think you're forgetting the part where he's lived over FIVE HUNDRED LIVES!" Jalter shouted at her, "AT LEAST!"

"If Nines were here, he'd say that this sounds like a plot to a Japanese anime, and I agree!" Rivalz spoke up. "This has become a science fiction story with us in the starring roles!"

"It already is one, with Knightmares and Metal Gears." Naruto chuckled with eye closed.

"So was your information falsified? I mean, you had to be built since you're a Cyborg. After Euphie told us what happened, I looked you up in our information database." Lucienne told Nick as the latter information popped up in holo-screens on the war table. "You were born to a commoner family back in the homeland, only coming to Ashford here on a scholarship. Here, your good grades and hard work ethic attracted Milly's attention, in which you became our Student Council Treasurer. Care to fill in the blanks here?"

The brown-haired young man frowned thoughtfully. "The only real inaccuracy there is that I was born to them," he answered slowly, "When I was incarnated in this world, I did so as a Samurai. Under Fudou Myo'o, becoming a Samurai involves a physical rebirth of sorts." A small panel slid aside on his cheekbone, exposing a tiny lens, from which shone a light, projecting a holographic image over the table. The image was that of a large stone sphere, with several short, flat-edged mounds protruding from it in random places, and a small, X-shaped marking at the top. "This is a Locker Ball, from which a Samurai is reborn. I can only assume that Fudou Myo'o placed a Locker Ball in this world, which then 'hatched' into me when I was reincarnated. I don't remember what happened shortly after that, but I ended up being found and adopted. My memories returned to me not long after, but, well…"

He sighed, leaning back even as the hologram dispersed and his face returned to normal, "It's been a long time since I've had a life where the most I had to worry about was just going to school. Risk- the goddess of Fortune -never really gives me any guidelines for how I should act in a life, so I didn't really know what I should use these powers for. I mean, you saw for yourself; a Samurai wields power that puts the Britannian Military to total shame. It's not something that I could just wield carelessly and blow up whoever I thought looked 'evil.' I'm not stupid; I've always known that Britannia's foreign policies were repugnant. But I never quite had the…conviction to oppose them. A Samurai must have a personal code to fight by, and someone for whom they grow strong. But…after I saw what Clovis did in Shinjuku- what I, by my inaction, had allowed to happen -I knew that I could not stand by anymore."

"It's better late than ever in your case, Nick. If Akiza, Kallen, and their friend hadn't nearly run Lucy-chan and I off the road, we would've been none the wiser ourselves." Naruto assured him, with the Kozuki sisters bristling at that. "But you and Claire are here now with us because of it. While what happened in Shinjuku is tragic, it produced a miracle in bringing us all together."

Lucienne nodded before snapping her fingers in remembrance. "While that's true, I would like to know exactly how you found out about our little operation. Did you sneak into our bunker as Claire did?"

"Make better hatches…" Claire snidely muttered.

"Oh no, nothing quite so blatant. I suspect that your AI would probably have noticed and notified you if I'd done that," Nick replied, "I just followed Kallen and Akiza when you called them out to Tokyo Tower."

"...I'm going to shoot in the dark and guess that you were one of the guys on a bench with a newspaper," Akiza guessed, her eye twitching as she struggled to think that far back for such a minute detail.

He nodded. "Just so. And before you ask, no, that wasn't me using my powers. That's just the result of several lifetimes' worth of training in the art of infiltration. I may not get to keep powers between lives, but I don't just forget the things I learned. That's also how I managed to get in to swipe the Lancelot data."

"Heh, you and I are going to have to compare notes on spying and infiltration," Naruto suggested. "At least you're on our side instead of the other. We'll have to take you to Uzu. Our mother and the goddess at our island shrine would love to meet you."

"Yeah, but just know Nick that we won't have you showing us up. We have some pretty mean jutsu outside of using Knightmares." Naruko added with a foxy smirk. "And there's a lot more we have to learn."

The other boy smirked back. "Oh really? Well, just so you know, I'm currently on the weaker side as far as Samurai go. Fudou Myo'o left a sizable archive of information on 'em in my head when he gave me my powers, and lemme tell you, fighting a bunch of mechs is just the tip of the iceberg. That being said, until I find my Princess, I'm not gonna be at full strength."

Medusa tilted her head. "You call what you did…weak?"

"I would like to know about Fudou Myo'o when you have the time," Jeanne spoke up with interest. "But what do you mean by your Princess?"

"And how does she tie to your power?" Mary Read inquired. "Will she have some treasure that'll let you know if she's the one?"

"Mm. Well, to start with, a Samurai is functionally immortal. I've got some bullshit regenerative ability, as long as I am not defeated in a battle of ideals or something similar. But, the combination of that and the sheer amount of power that I wield means that it's pretty easy for one to lose one's way. Thus, a Samurai is only considered complete when he has three things. The first is my Key." His head split open once more as he explained, his spine-like black-box popping out, before quickly retracting. "The second is what's called a Key Holder; I'll explain those later. The third, and arguably most important, is the Princess. If a warrior as strong as me was immortal, then it'd be easy to become complacent." His fist clenched tightly. "A Princess provides a reason for a Samurai to keep to his own path and grow stronger, in order to protect her. In exchange, she- or he, I suppose -can magnify the Samurai's stats through prayer. Of course, that all depends on the bond between the two. Most of the time, if a Samurai's princess dies, the mental blow from such a loss would be enough to dissipate him."

"Damn," Lucienne whispered. "Still, it sounds like the Princess could be anyone. It'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but we'll help you."

"It sounds like a bond is already established between Nick and this Princess. Nick Ward, if you'll permit me, I can help you narrow down the candidates to who your Princess can possibly be." Bagley said.

The boy gave a grunt of assent. "Sure, although I might have a bit of an idea on who it might be."

"And we can hope that they have an axe to grind against Britannia…" Akiza added.

"After Shinjuku, a lot. I can say for sure that you're not like any Samurai we know, and we know a lot who would like to test their skill against you back in Uzu. But what do you know, eh? Looks like Code Bearers aren't the only ones who can be Immortals in this world." Naruto said with a cheeky grin at C.C.

"Doesn't make it any better…" C.C. muttered, with Jeanne putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Or easier."

"No need to be such a debbie-downer. We're making this period of your life more memorable than the others too." Milly told the Witch, making her grin. "And Nick? Don't think you can railroad me here like you do during our Student Council duties. The same does for you, Claire. It's a different world here, and contrary to popular belief, I take this fight with Britannia seriously here. What I do in school helps us all unwind, and balances out our mentalities."

Claire nodded. "I understand, Milly. I have no problem believing you after seeing how you conducted yourself during Operation One Punch."

Nick blinked. "Operation whatnow? And if you're taking this seriously, then we have no problems."

"Operation One Punch. That name was my idea, by the way."

A holoscreen rose up to show Nines, who was grinning.

"Nice to see you lurking, Nines." Naruto greeted him with a sly smile. "Thanks for upping the security measures."

"After the many intrusions you had, you're welcome." Nines replied dryly before turning. "A Cyborg Samurai from multiple worlds, huh? And here I thought I was the only outworlder around these parts. More and more this is looking like my dad's Japanese anime. But enough about that. I'm Nines-"

"Nines?! So you're that notorious hacker?!" Claire exclaimed in shock, not hearing his name before. "People thought- hoped that you weren't working with the Phantom Thieves here. You've caused Britannia as much of a headache as the others here! I mean, you purposely crashed the Britannia Stock Market!"

"Thrice. The first was a test run, the second because I was bored, and the third time…well, I had a bit of…fun with a bet." Nines admitted, with the twins blushed due to knowing what he was referring to. "I've been doing this since the early days of the Phantom Thieves. You could even say that this whole thing started with the death of Marianne vi Britannia." Nines replied and turned back to Nick. "So when can I peek under the hood, if you'll let me? I might be able to make you something that'll bring out more of your power. Hell, I'll even throw in a Gun-Frame."

"Well, as long as you don't try taking me apart, sure, why not?" he answered casually with a shrug, "I might be able to regenerate, but I can still feel pain alright."

"Don't we all?" Rivalz said cheekily.

"I'm not that mad of a scientist…unlike that grandfather of mine…" Nines replied with a bit of sourness, before brightening back up. "But it's nice to know that I'm not alone when it comes to hailing from a different world. The way we came here differs, but nevertheless…"

"You sure attract strange people, you three. The world would think that the both of you," Claire gestured to Nick and Nines. "Were insane and had to be put in an asylum."

Nines shrugged. "Luckily, I had proof of my claims, which came with me in the wormhole I was sucked into. It's crazy to believe that one slight ripple or push would result in alternate events that are different from my own world."

"You're telling me. When he told us of what his world entails, we were amazed and horrified at the same time." Naruto said while scratching his head.

"So many wonderful advancements of their own, evened out by…err, let's just say less than pleasant stuff," Naruko said after choosing her words carefully.

"And we're still curious about everything about Nines' world to this day," Milly said, pointing to herself. "But we've been so busy-"

"Since you all have time now, I can give you a bit of a history lesson of my own about how I came to be." Nines offered. "C'mon, it'll be fun. The twins and Lucienne can attest to it. There were questions, compliments, and nitpicks, but it was pretty engaging nonetheless. Be forewarned, though. It's going to be a long story."

"We don't have the cabinets and the fridge stocked with snacks and drinks for nothing. And I've been dying to know about Nines' world that the twins hinted at many times." Milly said, with the others nodding.

"Thank god it's the weekend!" Rival chuckled.

Nick nodded at that. "I'm also curious as well. Not to mention, snacks?" He got up and made a beeline for the cabinets. "I'm in."

"Alright." Nines said as he leaned back in his chair. "To understand my story, you need to understand some key differences between your world and mine. From what I understand, the main difference is that the two worlds have diverging timelines triggered by different outcomes of key events."

"Different outcomes?" Claire asked for the group.

Nick silently returned while sipping his beverage, his throat a little dry from speaking for so long but listened intently.

"I'll start at the beginning. In this world, Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 45 and 54 B.C. and conquered it. In my world, he invaded but did not stay to conquer it. Instead, he returned to Gaul for the winter without leaving a single soldier. The Romans would not conquer Britain until 43 A.D."

'That would result in a Lostbelt version of Caesar…and me….' Nero thought, thinking as adjusted herself on Milly's lap.

Everyone's eyes, aside from the twins, Lucienne, and Nick's, widened. "So, did that mean Alwin the First never united the tribes?" Rivalz asked.

"Precisely. The Britannia line was never established, and since Elizabeth the First failed to birth any children, the Tudor line ended with her death, eliminating any chance of the current rulers of Britannia from existing."

Lucienne felt a big shiver go up her spine as she was reminded that she would never have come into existence in Nines' world. That thought left her feeling cold. A comforting hand fell on her shoulder, and she gave her blond lover a thankful smile.

"The next divergence comes from the fact that Sakuradite doesn't exist in my world, so it was never discovered as an energy source."

"Bummer," Rivalz said while scratching the back of his head.

Kallen scuffed. "At least it can't be used as an excuse for someone to invade Japan there."

Akiza grimaced. 'Something tells me it's not that simple….'

"Next on the list is a big one. Washington's Rebellion, or as we like to call it, The American Revolutionary War."

"Didn't you mention that Washington succeeded in his rebellion over there, Naruto?" Milly asked her fellow blonde.

"I did, but Nines can give you the details. We learned it from him, after all."

"Wait, when did you say that?" Akiza asked, trying to remember when that came up.

"When Nick was talking about reincarnation, remember? How'd you miss that?"

Akiza laughed nervously. "Sorry, I think I was still having a mental crisis from watching his head split open."

"You're going to have to get used to that," Nick commented with a grin.

"Anyways, as it has been said, George Washington succeeded in his efforts to win independence for the American Colonies by forcing General Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown, with the help of the French Navy summoned by Benjamin Franklin to aid the colonists. Afterward, the Thirteen Colonies established The United States of America under the Constitution of The United States, leading to one of the first modern democracies."

An image of an old document appeared on their screens. "On July 4th, 1776, this Declaration of Independence was written and endorsed by representatives of the colonies. I believe the second paragraph would be of interest to you."

Everyone leaned in and read the part that was highlighted, with Milly reading aloud.

"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'"

Everyone looked at one another as they realized the gravity of that statement.

"It's...completely opposite to Britannia's views," Claire realized as she read the document.

"Indeed. America was a nation that valued freedom, liberty, and justice for all. These values would help elevate it to become one of the world's greatest superpowers by the beginning of the 21st Century. It also was seen as the authority on the mitigation of global crises."

Everyone who was not the twins or Nick sat silently as they imagined such a nation born through such an insignificant moment of chance.

"But, did they use that power to expand as Britannia does?" Rivalz asked the teen, making everyone perk up to her the answer.

Nines smiled. "Not at all. It was the opposite. America acted as a peacekeeping force for the world. It leads a coalition of nations that dedicate themselves to the continued stability of the world. If there is a humanitarian crisis, America sends people and supplies to relieve the people affected. If hostilities arise between nations that could lead to instability in a region, America is at the negotiating table to broker peace." Nines then grinned. "And if a country does try to expand its influence in defiance to the world's wishes, America doesn't hesitate to get into the fight in the name of Liberty. We've dealt with more than a few would-be dictators that thought they could push others around."

Wide eye wonder could be seen on everyone's faces. It was clear that America was the polar opposite of Britannia in every way. A nation that placed equal rights and freedom above anything else.

Kallen clenched her fists as she imagined what the world would be like if America, not Britannia, had existed in her world. Japan would never have been conquered. 'Why couldn't Washington have won his stupid rebellion…?'

"Well, well, Georgie-boy was fighting for a just world after all," C.C. mused, causing everyone to round on her.

"You knew him?!" a baffled Claire asked. "But that was years ago!"

"I'm immortal, girl. And yes, I knew George Washington. I was the one who gave him a Geass that allowed him to increase the morale of his troops. But alas…" C.C. sighed as everyone processed her words, dumbstruck. "Even the power of Geass isn't infallible. Coupled with circumstances outside his control, he and his army fell, with America in this world becoming a forgotten dream…to think that there's a world where he really did it, though…"

Nines nodded in confirmation. "That lines up with what Emmie told me. Now that I've explained what happened in America, I need to explain the events in Europe. As you can imagine, other divergences affected history. A minor one is a small revolution in England that led to the government adopting a 'Parliament over the Crown' constitution, leaving the monarch as an influential figurehead with reserve powers. As a result, most of the country's operations are managed by Parliament."

"That sounds a bit bigger than a 'minor' difference," Kallen commented.

"And a headache," Claire added, rubbing her temples.

"Perhaps, but for what is to come, it can be considered minor." Nines said as he adjusted his glasses. "In other historical news, Napoleon Bonaparte would lose The Battle of Trafalgar and would eventually be defeated at The Battle of Waterloo. His people, wary of his warmongering and ongoing expansion campaigns, turned against him and forced him to abdicate the throne. He was eventually caught by the British and exiled to an island in the South Atlantic where he died of unknown causes."

"Wow, that sounds nothing like the Napolean we all know." Mary Read said while Anne Bonny nodded.

"That's because the man we knew as a Servant was based on his legend." Jeanne clarified.

"So Britain was never conquered," C.C. remarked as she sipped on some coffee. It was well past midnight at that point, and the battle against sleep was in full swing. "Yet another interesting divergence."

"Correct. The areas conquered by Napoleon would be restored to their rightful governments by The Congress of Vienna in 1815. The continent would continue to be subjected to revolutions throughout the 1800s that would see the rise of modern ideologies and the departure of monarchies. By the turn of the 20th century, Europe would see much change to its borders."

A map of Europe appeared, showing the countries as they were in 1900.

"The continent would enjoy stability for the first decade in the new century, but tensions were rising in the Eastern Regions, and a single event would forever change the world."

Akiza had a bad feeling. "What happened?"

"The entire world went to War."

"…What?" Kallen gasped as the room fell silent.

"More specifically, the major superpowers at the time went to war with each other on two sides. It started in 1914 when Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated. This resulted in Austria declaring war on Serbia. Due to both sides possessing military alliances with other countries, other nations either felt honor-bound to respond or had their own reasons to declare war on the other side. After all was said and done, the entire continent was involved, with Austria-Hungary, Germany, and The Ottoman Empire going to war against France, Russia, and Great Britain."

The map changed colors, showing the countries involved in red and blue for their alliances.

"This 'Great War,' as it was known at the time, marked the end of Column and Cavalry Warfare and introduced Full Military Mechanization. Soldiers began using machine guns and chemical warfare. Biplanes were introduced, and full steel warships dominated naval battles. The entire continent became entrenched in a war for four long years that would cost the lives of millions."

The screen changed to images of the war-torn countryside with miles of trenches stretching to the horizon. Barbed wire and craters littered the battlefield, and countless corpses, which made the others besides the usual trio feel sick.

"By the gods…!" Scheherazade breathed out.

C.C. sighed. "I've walked many battlefields like those."

"Germany and the Central Powers were fighting a two-front war, and with the casualties piling up over the years, Germany sought ways to tip the balance of power in their favor. So, three years after the start of the Great War, Germany sent a socialist revolutionary named Vladimir Lenin, who had been exiled from Russia to Switzerland, back to his country with 70 million Deutsche marks to fund a revolution. It took half a year, but in October of 1917, socialist revolutionaries overthrew the government without firing a shot. Lenin would then sign an armistice with Germany to take Russia out of the war."

The image switched back to the map and showed Russia turning into a neutral color.

"With Russia neutralized, Germany turned its full attention to France, sending all its forces to the western front. Germany sought a swift end to the war and knew that to do so, it needed to eliminate the supply lines fueling the allies' war efforts.

During the war, the United States sent supplies and weapons to Europe to support the allies via ship. The U.S. didn't want to get involved in a war on another continent but saw the trouble that would come should the Central Powers win the war.

During the earlier months of the war, Germany had utilized U-boats, submarines to sink supply ships in the Atlantic; this included passenger vessels. In 1915, a U-boat sank the Lusitania, a passenger ship carrying nearly two thousand civilian passengers and over a hundred Americans. This outraged the American people and began the call to war. Despite this event and the continued sinking of American merchant ships, it wasn't until British Intelligence intercepted the Zimmerman Telegram did the U.S. fully commit to war."

"The Zimmerman Telegram?" Milly asked as she continued to stroke Nero's golden locks.

The image on the screen changed to show a map of North America and the northern portion of Central America.

"Back in the early 1800s, the area that makes up the south-western states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah were claimed by the country of Mexico before the U.S. had made progress in expanding across the continent. The issue was that the Mexican government was heavily centralized and did not allow much freedom. Residents in Texas and immigrants from the States yearned for freedom and declared the territory of Texas as an independent republic. However, Mexico's leader refused to allow the territory to break away and personally lead his forces to retake Texas. This led to the Texas Revolution, which ended in a victory for the revolutionaries and Texas' secession from Mexico. Nine years later, Texas would be annexed into the U.S.

This also led to a brief conflict between the U.S. and Mexico, resulting in even more territory forfeited to the U.S., which gave the country its southern states.

Germany's plot was to provide funding to Mexico to encourage an invasion of the southern states to reclaim the territories Mexico lost to the U.S."

Kallen balked. "What the hell?! Why in the world would they want to start a war like that?!"

"Because reasons," Naruko uttered sarcastically.

"Because they feared that America would join the war for the allies, replacing Russia in the conflict. They wanted to keep the U.S. occupied while they pushed to win the war in Europe. They didn't care if Mexico won or not, just as long as America was kept out of Europe. Ultimately, the plot backfired spectacularly. When Britain intercepted the telegram meant for Mexico, they immediately sent it to the U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C. When the president, Woodrow Wilson, read the telegram, he immediately released it to the public. American Citizens were outraged by the German plot, and shortly after, congress voted unanimously to go to war against Germany.

After months of preparation and construction of a troop fleet, America entered the European Theater and headed straight to the front lines. This became the turning point in the war, as American troops and lightly armored tanks were able to tip the balance in favor of the allies and began pushing the Central Powers back. Within six months, German forces were pushed back into their borders.

Combined with critical victories against Austria-Hungary and The Ottoman Empire, the Central Powers surrendered on November 11, 1918."

"Four years full of death…." Milly whispered, voicing everyone's horror.

"No different from the wars that happened here around the same time," C.C. muttered, remembering the times she ran across the battlefields to deliver and intercept messages, as well as assassinate.

"On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the major hostilities between nations. The treaty forced the German, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman empires to dissolve, and new countries were established in their places. It also forced Germany to pay reparations to the allies, pushing Germany into near poverty. This was further exacerbated by a global economic depression that began in 1929 with the U.S. Stock Market Crash. Global markets fell, and millions were left jobless."

"Ah yes, the Treaty of Versailles," sighed Nick, rubbing his forehead, "If the 'Great War' was the 'War to End All Wars,' then the Treaty can be considered 'The Peace to End All Peace.'"

"Germany felt the effects of the Great Depression the hardest, and its people were desperate for change. This was when one Austrian man took the chance to gain power. His name was Adolf Hitler."

The screen changed to show a man with combed over black hair and a narrow mustache, wearing a brown suit with a red band around his left arm, which bore a black, twisted cross on a white circle.

"Also known as Charles' brother if he was from Germany." Naruto joked with C.C. grimacing. "Only worse."

The appearance of the man caused Rivalz to double over in laughter. "Look at his mustache! He looks like he lost a bet!"

"Hitler served in the German Army during the war as a messenger but was hospitalized from a mustard gas attack that left him temporarily blind and his skin blistered. He was recovering when Germany surrendered and did not take the news of the defeat very well. He refused to accept the defeat and vowed to see Germany return to what he saw as its rightful place in the world.

After the war, Hitler was given an assignment to infiltrate a Worker's Socialist Party Movement that was becoming prominent in the country. While gathering Intel, he found that their ideologies aligned with his own, and he chose to join the movement, and with skill in oration he found he possessed, rose in rank in the party.

Around that time, Italy's government was overthrown by a fascist revolutionary group led by Benito Mussolini, and Hitler decided it was time to do the same. However, the German Government was informed of the attempted coup and met Hitler and his men as they were en route to the Capitol, killing many in a minor skirmish and arresting Hitler. Charged with treason, Hitler was imprisoned for five years, of which he only served nine months."

"Nine months out of five years?!" Akiza and Kallen yelled in shock.

Nero balked. "WHAT?! Only nine months imprisonment for treason?! In my time, a crime like that would see his head removed!"

Artoria shook her head. "There has to be more to that. Such leniency meant that someone found value with him out of jail…."

Naruto grimaced, "If you think that's bad, this is when shit got wild, dattebayo."

"Indeed. While incarcerated, Hitler wrote a book called 'Mein Kampf' or My Plan. It was an autobiography and political ideology manifesto that appealed greatly to the defeated masses in Germany. This greatly influenced the courts. After his release, Hitler resumed his place in the National Socialist German Workers' Party or the Nazi Party as it became known. He quickly rose in the ranks until becoming the party leader as more Germans joined its ranks. Eventually, it became the dominant political party. The German government began to fear his influence and decided to grant him a cabinet position in the Government to appease him while keeping him in check.

Unfortunately, Hitler wanted the Chancellery and saw an opportunity to claim it after the then-current Chancellor resigned. Using his political enemies' actions of contacting foreign heads of state without informing him as an 'act of treason,' Hitler ordered the assassination of over 100 political and military figures to consolidate power in the event that would become known as 'The Night of the Long Knives.'"

Artoria shivered. "And I thought Mordred's betrayal and the Battle of Camlann were bad…."

"Well, well, this man pulled a Charles, who did something similar. But it's one way of seizing power under the people's noses." C.C. said. "Bonus points since his party supports his actions."

"I'm actually nervous about where this is going..." Milly murmured.

"You and me both." Claire agreed.

"With his enemies eliminated, Hitler quickly secured his position as Chancellor of Germany, and with the backing of his party, he reorganized the government into a dictatorship and granted himself the title of 'Fuhrer und Reichskanzler.' From there, Hitler began a campaign of indoctrination for the entire country of Germany, turning the nation to Nazi ideology. Any information in books that did not conform with Nazism was publicly destroyed at the many rallies Hitler organized. At the same time, Nazi propaganda was taught to all levels of society, starting at childhood."

A video played showing a massive rally with tens of thousands in attendance, all chanting in German and saluting Hitler while soldiers marched in file. Huge red banners displaying the Nazi symbol flew in the air. Large piles of books burned in the center of the theater while lines of young children all wearing Nazi uniforms stood in attendance.

"They look more ridiculous than the daily parades Britannia throws," Akiza said, unable to keep a straight face.

"Why are they marching like geese?" Milly wondered.

"Well, it is called the Goose Step," Naruto grumbled, causing some of the others to chortle.

"Hitler instilled in Germany the idea that they were descendants of the Aryan Race, and were the Supreme Race of humanity."

"This guy is nuts!" Rivalz exclaimed, no longer amused.

"This man…he's not Britannian…but he could be a shoo-in for one!" Akiza shrieked.

"What does he mean by Aryan Race?" Scathach asked, looking confused.

"A so-called superior type of humanity, supposedly found in the Nordic people of Germany, England, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia," Naruto said. "It was quite a read, reading through those files on Nines' computer. It's part of the Nazi's racial theory."

"Essentially, Aryan good, everyone else, boo." Naruko simplified it.

"With Germany firmly in his grasp, Hitler began to rebuild and modernize an army for his country, violating the Treaty of Versailles. This was done in total secrecy. Factories were built to look like schools, and transportation of goods and materials was only done at night. The plot works, and Germany produces a fighting force even stronger than the one seen during The Great War."

The students and their Servants began to feel dread settle into the pits of their stomachs. They could already see what Hitler intended to do.

"With their army prepared, Hitler sought to create alliances. His first ally came from Fascist Italy, led by Mussolini. The two dictators quickly found common ground and forged their alliance.

With this alliance established, Hitler began to expand his nation, starting with an industrial area in West Germany called the Rhineland that was forfeited to the allies in the Treaty of Versailles, reclaiming it without any resistance. He then annexed Austria and negotiated the inclusion of The Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia before taking the rest of the country less than a year later. Hitler would annex a few smaller countries shortly thereafter before setting his sights on the country of Poland.

Poland refused annexation to Nazi Germany and vowed armed resistance should Germany attempt invasion. To minimize casualties on his troops, and keep a potential thorn in his side away, Hitler reached out to Russia for help.

Russia had been reorganized into a nation called The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or more commonly known as The Soviet Union, which was under the leadership of a man named Joseph Stalin. Just like Hitler, Stalin is a tyrant who eliminated his political enemies to consolidate power. Hitler struck a deal with Stalin to launch a simultaneous attack on Poland for half the country. Stalin agreed to the pact and on September 1, 1939, the two nations launched surprise attacks on the small country. Within thirty-five days, Poland fell to the two armies, and the country became co-occupied by Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia."

The map of Europe showed the country of Poland virtually swallowed by the two larger nations.

"They never stood a chance…" Claire said as she shook her head sadly.

Rivalz grimaced as well. "Damn…"

Kallen clenched her fists in anger. "Why the hell didn't the allies try to stop this before it got this bad? Surely they weren't blind to what this maniac was doing!"

"The allies were still reeling from the Great War. They didn't want to engage in another so soon when the scars were still so fresh. This is why they capitulated when Hitler requested the Sudetenland. The Invasion of Poland, however, was the last straw. The Allies could no longer hope that Hitler would stop his expansion and reluctantly declared war on Germany. The French massed their forces on the border in preparation for conflict. Sadly, they were ill-prepared for Germany's new military doctrine that was developed during the Poland Invasion."

The monitor showed footage of German forces sweeping across the battlefields in tanks, vehicles, and planes while raining destruction down on their enemies.

"Germany had developed the tactic known as 'Blitzkrieg,' or Lightning War. This involved moving troops quickly and attacking enemy command areas swiftly and decisively in order to keep the enemy disoriented and confused long enough for Germany to destroy them. This is a very similar strategy that Britannia employs in its offensives, is it not?"

"It is." Milly nodded grimly, remembering the History classes. "I shudder to think what they could accomplish with Knightmares or worse."

"With such a large-scale battle like that…" Artoria murmured with a thoughtful expression before gasping. "It can't be!"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. World War II, the war that changed everything."

"Naruto is correct. This conflict became known as the Second World War, with the Great War renamed World War I. Unlike the first War, Hitler refused to allow his troops to be bogged down in a protracted trench war. When his forces invaded France in May of 1940, Hitler did in forty-six days what Germany had failed to do in four years. The Nazis captured Paris, and with it, forced France to surrender to German occupation."

"It seems that your people have gotten weak," Jalter said darkly to Jeanne, who bit her lip as the screen showed images and videos of Paris under German occupation. Nazi banners draped over national monuments and tanks, trucks, and infantry on every street corner.

"How unsightly. No elegance at all." Nero said, her eye twitching.

"I admit, if I see a ship with a flag like that, I'll shoot it on sight." Mary Read said with a chuckle.

"With France conquered," Jeanne flinched while Jalter growled. "Hitler prepared to turn his attention to the last ally nation in Europe; Great Britain. The only thing standing between Hitler and Great Britain was the English Channel and the British Navy that controlled it. As Hitler made plans for his invasion, he was approached by delegates from a nation that would become the final member of the Axis Powers."

"Who?" Akiza asked as Nines looked at her and Kallen.

"...The Empire of Japan."

"WHAT?!" The two half-Japanese shrieked, causing Scheherazade to duck down in fright.

"You can't be serious!" Milly gasped in horror, looking from Nines to the twins, who both shook their heads sadly.

"Trust me, we were just as shocked as you," Naruko said with a grimace. "The Empire of Japan was a way different beast than here…"

"During World War I, Japan had fought with the Allies by securing the Pacific and Indian Ocean ship lanes to prevent the Central Powers from using them to attack Allied Nations from the Pacific. After the war, they engaged in negotiations during the Versailles Treaty, hoping to gain territory for their contributions. However, they were virtually ignored during the negotiations and were given neither territory nor monetary compensation. Seeing this as an insult, they left the negotiations and the Emperor vowed to claim what Japan felt was owed to them by force.

During the two decades leading up to the Second World War, Japan built up and modernized its military, constructing a powerful navy. In 1939, Japan began its expansion campaign by taking territory from China and invading smaller countries like Korea and Vietnam while also capturing islands dotting the Pacific."

"What…I…they…"

As the one with the most pride for her Japanese heritage, Kallen was at a loss for words. While she couldn't blame the Japan of that world for taking action after being ignored, she couldn't fathom them working with a madman like Hitler.

"There was one thing that Japan feared, however. The Soviet Union was a much larger nation than theirs and was well within striking distance of the Japanese Mainland. Fearing an invasion, Japan reached out to Germany to form an alliance that would provide defense for one another should the Soviets attack the other.

Both Germany and Japan continued their campaigns. Hoping to avoid naval battles that could prolong the war as well as hearing the Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill declared that Britain would never surrender, Hitler launched a massive bombing campaign on Britain. For eight months, German bombers dropped ordinance on the entire island, targeting industrial centers, towns, and cities. Still, Britain endured the destruction. Eventually, Hitler launched a continuous day-and-night bombing attack on London, hoping to drive England into surrender through terror."

Images of a demolished London appeared on the screens, along with pictures of people taking shelter in subway tunnels and underground bomb shelters.

"Good thing my Alter self isn't here," Artoria muttered. "Her Excalibur Morgan would go flying in here. Still, Britain couldn't have fallen so easily from overwhelming odds…right?"

Lucienne smirked. "No, they didn't."

"Despite all his efforts, Hitler's air force failed to force Britain to surrender, and with the introduction of new fighter aircraft, The British eventually forced Germany's air force into retreat. This would mark Hitler's first major defeat.

Hitler had been denied Great Britain, but he still controlled the vast majority of Europe, so he spent time fortifying the coastal defenses along the English Channel to stop any attempt from Britain to land troops and gain a beachhead. This placed Great Britain and Germany in a stalemate.

Despite his defeat over England, Hitler still believed he was virtually unstoppable. His early victories in the war had inflated his ego. So much so he thought he was an invincible master tactician and leader. This is believed to be the reason for his next move. Since Germany could no longer move further to the west, Hitler turned his attention to the east; The Soviet Union."

Nick snorted. "But no one is invincible. His ego would be his undoing."

"True, but at the same time, it's a great motivator. But it's also a lesson on how not to be a man or a strategist like Hitler." Lucienne commented.

"In the summer of 1941, Hitler ordered the majority of the German Army into Russia. The Soviets were caught by surprise and suffered heavy losses of men and territory. By the time Stalin organized his forces, a quarter of Russia had been taken by Hitler and the Germans were still pushing forward.

At the same time, America, which had remained out of the conflict, grew concerned over Japan's conquest of the Pacific and began to act to slow and hopefully stop Japan. Reluctant to use military force on Japan, instead, Theodore Roosevelt, the President at the time, instituted economic sanctions on the country, including a complete embargo of the crude oil that fueled Japan. This brought their economy crashing down and threatened to starve Japan's war machines.

Japan's Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, sent diplomats to America to negotiate the end of the embargo. The U.S. was pleased to see Japan was willing to negotiate.

They had no clue Tojo was making plans to attack the American Fleet in order to knock America out of the Pacific."

"No no no," Akiza whispered as she watched the images. "Don't do it, don't do it…"

"That's exactly what we said when we first heard about this," Naruto admitted with a grimace, "They should've just gone into the negotiations in good faith instead of doing what they're about to do."

"On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. Pacific Naval Fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers attacked the battleships and destroyers anchored in the port. Nineteen ships were either destroyed or were significantly damaged to be rendered inoperable. Dive Bombers and fighters also bombed and strafed the nearby airfield, destroying parked aircraft so they could not retaliate."

Images of the attack played on the screens, with propeller planes bearing the Rising Sun emblem clearly visible.

"One day after the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor and the American controlled Philippine Islands, America declared war on Japan."

"I hate to say this, but it's to be expected after what they pulled," Claire said sadly.

"Any capable leader, like myself, would've done the same thing," Nero said with a knowing look towards Artoria, who sighed.

"Indeed." she nodded.

"While the attack was considered a military success, the Japanese failed to achieve their primary objective. The intended primary target of the attack was the American aircraft carriers that were supposed to have arrived the night before. However, poor weather and fuel shortages delayed the carriers for a full day. They were 200 miles to the north when Japan attacked and were left completely undamaged, thus allowing the U.S. to reorganize the remainder of their fleet into a carrier operation-based force. The remaining naval forces were immediately mobilized to combat Japan.

Meanwhile, news of America's entry into the war reached Hitler, and in a move that was considered to be motivated by ego, declared war on the United States in return."

Lucienne scoffed. "More like arrogance."

"Hitler had plans to conquer America after his conquest of Europe, but his defeat in England stalled those plans. His current focus was on Russia. By the fall of 1943, Nazi Germany had taken half of the country and was within striking distance of Moscow, the capital of Russia. Hitler's generals advised for an all-out assault on the capital, but once more, Hitler's ego came into play. Instead of Moscow, Hitler ordered an attack on an industrial city to the south named Stalingrad."

"Wow, and here I thought this man was another Charles in the making, but I was wrong. Charles had an ego, but he was much smarter than this Hitler boy. It's the reason Britannia's the dominant power here." C.C. said, her interest in this other world still peaking. "It's like Nick said, he won't last long."

"The initial assault succeeded in capturing the west side of the city before the Soviets dug in. It became a battle of attrition as Soviet soldiers and civilians fought to keep the Germans from taking another inch of their land.

This stalemate finally broke upon the onset of winter, which was harsh in Russia. At this point, The Germans were so spread out across the Eastern Front, their supply lines could not adequately keep up. Many German units were ill-prepared for the freezing cold, and both machines and men froze.

The Soviets, on the other hand, were perfectly adapted to the cold. Stalin even had battalions that operated in the frozen tundra of Siberia. These winterized troops and tanks were mobilized against the Germans, pushing them back and causing massive casualties.

When Hitler learned of this, he immediately ordered mass reinforcements into the battle, ignoring his generals advising a retreat. This move would cost the battle, as the reinforcements were cut down and in the end, the German armies surrendered to the Soviets in Stalingrad. This loss marked the turning point in the war as the Soviets capitalized on their victory to begin pushing back and reclaiming the lands lost to Germany."

"Is it just me, or is Hilter a dumbass?" Rivalz wondered rhetorically. "He had all that momentum and he wasted it away. What's the point of having Generals and advisors if you don't listen to them on matters like this?"

Naruto laughed. "Don't worry, it's not just you. Any commander worth their salt would've issued a full retreat. One has to be careful when fighting an enemy on their home turf."

"His moronic decisions make for good lessons," Lucienne said mockingly and proudly.

"While the Soviets were pushing back against Germany, America was also beginning to gain momentum against Japan, starting with the Battle of Midway. American code crackers were able to break the Japanese communications code and determine their next move. Using this information, The U.S. was able to ambush a fleet of four Japanese carriers in a critical battle in the Pacific. The sinking of the carriers dealt a heavy blow to Japan, bringing their expansion to a halt. Along with the introduction of the F4 Hellcat fighter, an aircraft designed to counter Japan's premier fighter, the Mitsubishi A6M 'Zero' fighter, America began its own push against Japan.

With the Axis Powers on the retreat, the Allies began plans to consolidate their forces and strike back. Talks between America and Britain were simple enough; America would send their army to fight in Europe while their navy and marines fought in the Pacific, while Britain would prepare for an invasion to help take back Mainland Europe.

The Allies began their assault on Italy. After taking the island of Sicily, the Allies stormed the Italian peninsula and quickly toppled the fascist government, driving Benito Mussolini into hiding. In September of 1943, the first of the Axis Powers fell to the Allies.

Unfortunately, more was needed to fight Germany as France was heavily defended and the Japanese army still had a foothold in China and could potentially send reinforcements into Europe. With this in mind, Roosevelt and Churchill, with reluctance, reached out to Joseph Stalin to form an alliance."

"In this case, the enemy of the enemy is a friend. Even with a scumbag like Stalin." Lucienne muttered darkly.

"Stalin agreed to help with Japan if the Allies helped with Germany. From there, the U.S. and Britain devised 'Operation Overlord,' a large-scale airborne and amphibious invasion of France. After months of planning and preparation, the Allies set off in troopships for 150 miles to cross the English Channel. On June 6, 1944, known today as D-Day, over one million allied troops began landing on the beaches of Northern France. Despite having cleverly decoying most of the German forces with false intelligence that made them believe that the Allies were to invade the Port of Calais, the numerous gun and mortar emplacements provided formidable defense, and as the Allied troops landed on the beaches, they were met with a wall of machine-gun fire and a rain of mortar shells. Pair that with a steep climb up a cliff to reach the emplacement and you had a vision of Hell."

The screens showed images of numerous ships and landing crafts in the ocean and soldiers storming the beaches under heavy fire. Numerous corpses littered the sands and bodies floated in the breaking waves.

The cliffs were littered with German machine gun 'pillboxes' and heavy artillery nests connected by long concrete trenches.

"Imagine a Holy Grail War taking place at the same time. It would've been much more destructive." Medusa Alter commented.

Anne Bonny scoffed. "You'd like that."

"How about no? This is hellish enough as it is, dattebane," Naruko shot back.

"It was the most intense fighting in the war, but the Allies eventually succeeded in scaling the cliffs and destroying the emplacement before pushing inward into France, but not before suffering over 200,000 losses.

Despite reports of the Invasion, Hitler believed it to be a decoy and was convinced the Allies would send an even larger invasion to Calais. He was so convinced that he did not send reinforcements to counter the Allies until weeks after D-Day."

Rivalz winced. "Oh boy. Mustache dude is turning from Emperor Charles to Clovis. All those victories have gone to his head."

"For the months that followed, the Allies and the Soviets would push the Germans back in a two-front war. Towns and cities were liberated including Paris after a week-long battle. By the winter of 1944, France was completely liberated from Nazi occupation."

"Thank goodness," Jeanne whispered, clasping her hands together.

Jalter snorted and rolled his eyes. "Good for them."

"During December of that year, the Germans attempted one final offensive on the western front in the Ardennes of Belgium. This offensive resulted in the surrounding of the city of Bastogne. The German siege lasted for weeks, during that time, the German commander sent an ultimatum of surrender to the American troops holding up in the city. Their response was but a single word."

"And that was?" Milly asked.

"NUTS!"

The room filled with chuckles and giggles while Milly pouted for walking into that.

"The Americans lasted long enough for tank reinforcements to arrive and push the Germans back to their original lines. It would be the last push for the Nazis as by the spring of 1945, the Germans fully retreated into their country with the Allies and the Soviets in pursuit. Berlin began to be bombed and shelled by the Soviets day and night, nearly destroying the city and forcing Hitler to hide in a bunker under the Chancellery."

"What a fighter, what a leader," Milly said in a mocking voice.

"He is no King," Scheherazade added.

"As the Allies moved into Germany, they discovered a terrible travesty committed by the Nazis. During all that time, in their occupation of Europe, Hitler had instituted a plan called 'The Final Solution.' This plan was the ethnic cleansing of 'undesirables' in Europe, including Jews, Gypsies, and those with physical and mental impairments."

Lucienne growled as this plan had hit too close to home for her with Nunnally.

"These people were forced from their homes, loaded on trains, and shipped to concentration camps scattered across Germany that housed systematic execution facilities that killed thousands of people per day. This genocide became known as The Holocaust, which would claim the lives of over 10 million men, women, and young children. I must warn you, this isn't a pleasant sight."

What showed on the screen was enough to make many in the room feel ill. The sight of the countless emaciated corpses thrown into mass graves, including children, was horrific. The images of the survivors were no better.

"It never gets easier looking at that…" Naruko said and cleared her throat.

"God…" Claire whispered. "Why? Just…why?!"

Naruto growled ."Who knows why madmen do what they do."

"This so-called human makes Charles look like a saint, and that isn't easy…" C.C. whispered. "At least in this world, he let everyone live their lives, not caring if they get caught in the crossfire of his conquests."

Nick's jaw tightened, his eyes hardening as he watched. "There comes a point where the reason for it just stops mattering and it becomes evil, pure and simple."

"The Allies liberated hundreds of camps and thousands of survivors. This discovery would reinforce the Allies' resolve to end the war and make those responsible pay for this atrocity. By the time the Allies made it to Berlin, though, the Soviets' Red Army was already storming the city. The Battle of Berlin lasted 16 days before Germany surrendered, bringing an end to Nazi Germany on what is now known as VE-Day. "

"And Hitler?" Kallen asked, her voice dripping with venom at the name.

"Dead. Five days before the surrender, Mussolini was captured by the Italian Resistance while trying to escape the country. He was publicly executed and his body desecrated by the people. When Hitler learned of this, he feared a similar fate awaited him. So, on April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide by a combination of cyanide poisoning and a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head."

"That coward!" Kallen shrieked. "He started all of this only to take his own life when things went completely south for him?! Disgusting!"

Nick grunted. "Well, it's not like the outcome would've been any different. He was dead one way or another."

"Well, at least with Hitler's death, the war ends and everyone goes home," Akiza said with relief until she saw the looks on the twins' faces. "The war ended…right?"

"Kallen. Akiza." Lucienne looked at them with sadness, making them nervous. "What happens afterward is gonna be hard to watch."

"Remember, Italy and Germany weren't the only members of the Axis," Nick added grimly.

"Japan," Milly muttered before gasping. "Don't tell me they tried to finish the fight!"

"You know for a fact that the Japanese hold their honor as a part of their principles to the point that death was preferable over losing their honor. The Japanese of my world were no different.

By the time Germany fell, Japan was already losing the war in the Pacific. The Americans had retaken the Philippines and all but destroyed the naval air abilities of Japan, and were taking island after island on their way to the Japanese Mainland. Japan became increasingly desperate and dangerous, but absolutely refused to surrender. That desperation led them to commit to the tactic known as Kamikaze."

"Divine Wind?" Akiza translated, frowning.

"Kamikaze was the tactic of using suicide attacks against the Americans. Young volunteer pilots would fly and crash their bomb-laden planes directly into American ships, killing the pilots while dealing massive damage."

A video played showing Japanese warplanes diving into ships, creating large explosions and fires.

"So they do that too," Kallen muttered with a wince

"That tactic is a double-edged sword, one that we will not be using no matter what." Lucienne said sternly. "While it does big damage, it's ultimately a waste of resources and good soldiers."

Nero nodded. "I second that!"

"In addition to the Kamikaze, Japanese troops were becoming more fanatical, charging American marines with nothing but katanas called 'Banzai Charges,' fully knowing they would be killed by the marines before they came anywhere near them."

"UUHHHHH?! Are they stupid! Dumb?! Or just BOTH?!" Jalter screeched.

"Yes," Naruto replied flatly.

Akiza and Kallen both cringed, unable to keep from thinking about the more radical members of the various terrorist cells. The ones who refused to use any form of technology that had its roots in Britannia. Even Kallen wasn't so myopic as to do something so stupid.

"The Japanese government was also spreading propaganda to the civilians, painting American marines as monsters that would torture and butcher Japanese men, rape women, and even eat their children. This led to the mass suicides seen on Saipan and Okinawa. The Japanese military even went so far as to give civilians grenades to kill their families with. Others used any means available, including leaping to their deaths."

Video footage of Japanese women taking their own children and jumping off cliffs left the students, even C.C., speechless.

"Monstrous…" Scheherazade whispered.

"This mentality was instilled in all the Japanese. They would rather fight and die than surrender to America. Any invasion of Japan would result in a loss of life unimaginable, even for the standards of the World Wars.

There was also one more problem. Stalin had his eye on Japan as well.

While the agreement was for Stalin and the Soviets to stem Japan's expansion into China, America knew he would not stop until he conquered Japan. This meant that even if America invaded and occupied Japan, they would have to contend with the Soviets."

"At this rate, this war will never end!" Claire groaned.

"That isn't entirely true. There was one other option for the Americans."

"Another option?" Milly echoed.

"Near the beginning of the second war, America began a top-secret initiative, called The Manhattan Project. Its purpose was to develop and build the most powerful weapon mankind has ever seen.

This project employed the brightest Scientists and Physicists in the world, and was so secretive that only a select few in the upper echelons of the Government knew about it. The families of those working on the project were forced to live in highly guarded community compounds, unable to leave for the duration of the project."

"Did they finally build mechs like Knightmare Frames to storm the battlefield?" Milly wondered.

"Or maybe something else that involves experimental weaponry?" Rivalz guessed.

"The project went on for years, until, on July 16, 1945, America conducted a full-scale live test of the weapon, code-named 'Trinity.'

This...is the product of that project."

A video played, showing an empty desert in the dead of night. Suddenly, the entire screen turned bright white. Seconds later, the image began to reappear, and the Crusaders bore witness to a gigantic fireball rising into the sky. Moments later, the image violently shook as a loud explosion could be heard through the room's speakers.

"WHAT. WAS THAT?!" Akiza yelled after the sound faded.

"A Noble Phantasm?" Jeanne wondered with a frown.

"That…was the Atomic Bomb," Naruto said grimly.

"It was a weapon that utilized the power of an atom being split in two. The energy released by the weapon was equivalent to 22 Kilotons of TNT. That's 44 thousand pounds detonated simultaneously. The heat generated by the blast was hot enough to vaporize the steel frame holding the device and turn the desert floor to glass. The shockwave was felt over 100 miles from the test sight and the mushroom cloud created by the fireball reached 7.5 miles above the earth."

"Such a blast like that would put a massive hole in a major city," Bagley said after calculations and simulations on another screen. "Not to mention instantly vaporizing a human body. The surrounding area would far no better."

"The test was a complete success, and the United States quickly moved to build bombs capable of being transported to the battlefield. With Japan in striking distance, America requested Japan's surrender. Japan...refused."

"Oh no…" Milly voiced everyone's reaction, knowing what was about to happen next.

"On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber flew over the city of Hiroshima at 31,000 feet. It targeted a bridge in the center of the city and dropped a single bomb before firewalling the throttle to leave the area as quickly as possible. 45 seconds later, the bomb detonated 1,900 feet over the city, and Hiroshima was obliterated by the atomic blast.

The blast was calculated to be a mile wide. Anything underneath was instantly annihilated. The heat ignited anything flammable within 4.4 miles from the point of detonation, or Ground Zero. The shockwave leveled everything in a five mile radius and severely damaged any structure ten miles out. People were reduced to carbon shadows on nearby walls. Over half the city was destroyed and almost 80,000 Japanese were killed in the initial blast. Another 40,000 would die from injuries in the coming weeks."

Images showed Hiroshima virtually leveled. Debris littered the city and only sturdy brick walls near the ground stood. Images of the dead and survivors with horrid burns and injuries showed the devastation of the blast.

"But…there were innocents there…" Kallen said, tears threatening to fall.

"Yes, but for that world, it was war, and Hiroshima was a viable target," Naruko told her. "Hiroshima was a city of industrial and military significance, similar to our world's Hiroshima before Britannia came calling. It was the central hub of southern Japan's military defense with supplies and logistics."

"After the bombing of Hiroshima, America once more demanded an unconditional surrender. But, despite the destruction of the Atomic Bomb, Japan still refused."

"Fuck." Akiza muttered while Kallen slammed her head on the table, growling in frustration. "There's no honor in continuing to fight with a weapon like that in play!"

Naruko nodded. "And the following response was inevitable."

"Three days after the first Atomic Bomb was dropped, America dropped another on Nagasaki. The destruction was even greater, as the bomb was better designed than the first, and another 80,000 would die.

Japan would finally realize the futility of continued war with America, and would formally surrender to the Allies on August 15th, six days after the destruction of Nagasaki. This would officially mark the end of World War II."

"Thank god," Rivalz sighed in relief.

"But…all those lives." Medusa suddenly spoke.

"A total of over 100 million deaths in a 30 year period. With the end of the war, America would briefly occupy Japan in order to oversee the withdrawal of Japanese troops in China and the dismantling of Japan's military. To keep Japan from falling victim to future invasion, America would act as Japan's primary defense and were allowed to build permanent military bases on the island of Okinawa. This was done to deter the Soviets from invading since they were not keen on provoking America and their Atomic Bomb."

"Of course. If they can do it to Japan, they can do it to anyone in the Axis." Kallen said darkly.

"Rest assured that we will never build an Atomic arsenal, nor will we allow it to exist in this world. A bunch of Knightmare and Metal Gears are more than enough to combat Britannia." Naruto assured the newbloods, who had grateful looks.

"Unfortunately, America would not remain the world's sole Atomic Power for long. It turned out that the Soviets were also working on an Atomic Weapons Program. Four years after the war, Russia successfully tested an Atomic Bomb, leveling the playing field between the Americans and the Soviets. This created renewed tension between the Eastern and Western Powers and began an arms race known as The Cold War that would see the development of the even more powerful Nuclear Weapons that would dwarf the bombs dropped on Japan.

"AKA eternal blue balls." Naruto drawled with a chuckle. "With each country waiting for the other to blink and slip. World War II gave way to many advancements, both good and bad. But with the creation of nuclear weapons, things got dicey."

Lucienne sighed. "More war could break out at the slightest provocation."

"By the end of the 1950s, the U.S. and the Soviets had increased their nuclear stockpile and weapon system capabilities, along with early warning systems that could detect launches of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles carrying Nuclear Warheads. Other countries would also develop Nuclear Armaments and ally with either America or the Soviets. Analysis concluded that should one nation launch a missile or drop a bomb on the other, the following retaliatory strikes would completely destroy both sides. This scenario was known as 'Mutually Assured Destruction.' For this reason, the U.S. and Russia would not engage each other directly, but would use proxy wars to spread their political influences.

And this...is where Metal Gear came into the picture."

Nick grunted. "Ah, and this is where your timeline and mine diverge. We never had Metal Gears in my original world."

"I guess that means you didn't have The Philosophers, either."

"The what?"

"The Philosophers. They were a group of the wealthiest and powerful men from the United States, the Soviet Union, and China at the start of the twentieth century. After the First World War, these individuals banded together to form a secret organization that would use their power, money, and influence to steer mankind away from needless war. Unfortunately, the founding members were elderly at the time of the founding, and many of their successors did not share their views. By the end of the Second World War, all the original founders passed away, and the organization descended into petty squabbling. The Philosophers fractured into groups based on their nationalities and would actively work against one another, resulting in creating war rather than stopping it."

"In other words, nations slaughter each other, while they get rich." Naruto reiterated for the others.

"Ahh…" The samurai scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "If they existed, I never heard of 'em or forgot them. It's been a long time."

"I can't imagine any organization like that existing in our world. There's no way Britannia and the other superpowers would get along to do something like that." Kallen said.

"Ya think?" Akiza deadpanned.

"The Philosophers' power was great enough to strongly influence their own governments, and their wealth could drive the economy on their own. In fact, they were the true force behind the Cold War, as all three sides attempted to acquire The Philosopher's Legacy."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Which was?"

"A slush fund pooled together by the founders that totaled an astronomical 100 billion dollars in the 1930s. Given the increase due to inflation, that value would be closer to 1.4 trillion in today's market."

Rivalz whistled while Bonny and Read's eyes twinkled. "That is a shit-ton of cash."

"It's no damn wonder they fought over it," Nick muttered to himself.

"I can't imagine all that was kept in one single place," Milly said as she tried to imagine the sheer scope of managing that much money.

"You would be correct. The funds were divided among countless foreign bank accounts and commodities, with the only list and ability to control it being a single microfilm containing the list of accounts. It was this microfilm that many people fought and killed to possess.

The Philosopher's Legacy was responsible for accelerating the research and development of technologies decades, even centuries ahead. It was because of the Legacy that Metal Gear came into existence, and Metal Gear was directly tied into the nuclear arms race, more specifically, it was seen as the machine that would break the stalemate in the Cold War, and throughout the years would take on several forms and abilities.

The concept of Metal Gear was devised by Russian Granin Design Bureau Director Dr. Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin, who envisioned a walking bipedal tank that could bridge the gap between infantry and artillery, having the same mobility of troops in rough terrain but also have the firepower and durability of a tank. I believe this was the equivalent to the development of your Knightmare Frames, don't you agree?"

"I can see the similarities." Claire nodded as images of Metal Gears and Knightmare Frames popped up.

"Granin originally submitted his concept to the Soviet Government as a viable heavy weapons system, but was passed over for the designs of the Shagohod, a nuclear missile-equipped super tank. Embittered by this decision, Granin decided to send the concept and all blueprints and data to a colleague in America named Dr. Huey Emmerich, a robotics expert and mechanical engineer.

He also happens to be my grandfather."

The twins and Lucienne smiled as this tidbit of information had everyone else perk up, as they watched Nines stand.

"Grandfather?" Kallen repeated.

"Permit me to properly introduce myself. My name is Miles Emmerich, son of Hal Emmerich, grandson of Huey Emmerich, and great-grandson of Dr. Emmerich, a key scientist who worked in the Manhattan Project."

"Miles, huh? Looks like we have something in common," Milly noted, as their relatives had also been involved in manufacturing weapons of war.

"You have quite the legacy in your blood." Artoria praised him.

"Yes, my family has been involved in nuclear weapons and Metal Gear since their creations. A family legacy, if a bit dark. Nonetheless, it is one I must embrace."

"So I assume your Grandfather completed the designs for Metal Gear?" Milly inquired.

"Correct. Grandfather Huey was able to build the first functioning Metal Gear called ZEKE using Granin's designs. I believe you may have already seen this particular machine."

An image of ZEKE appeared on the screen.

"You mean that machine that tore apart the Britannian Fleet at the invasion of Uzu seven years ago? Who could miss that thing!" Rivalz said with a chuckle.

"To be honest, I was surprised that it showed up in the school textbooks, considering how much of a beating ZEKE gave Britannia's beloved Glasgows at the time," Naruto commented with a smirk.

Lucienne rolled her eyes."You know they only did it to downplay the threat of Metal Gear."

"Hold on," Claire spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "You said Metal Gear was tied directly into the nuclear arms race, but I've only heard that the one on Uzu, this ZEKE, destroys things only as large as a warship. How does it tie into nuclear weapons?"

Nines smiled. "The railgun. While able to fire large slugs and explosive ordinance, it was designed to be fully capable of firing Nuclear Warheads. The range on that gun easily reaches over 2,000 kilometers, making it ideal for covert strikes on enemies, especially since it doesn't use any kind of propellant that can be detected by satellite thermal imagery. The rounds are also small in comparison to ICBM's and they fly 100 times faster, making them invisible to radar. This means it completely bypasses any early warning system."

"My lord…" Jeanne muttered as the implications settled into the others.

'In other words, Charles and V.V.'s wet dream…' C.C. thought darkly.

"A Knightmare-like mech that can destroy a country from anywhere with those nuclear weapons? A weapon like that would be a game-changer for any world!" Milly breathed out.

Naruto nodded. "And too much power for a country to have, hence again why we are refusing to have any nuclear-level weapons commissioned."

Kallen opened her mouth before closing it, remembering the devastating effects of the nuclear bombs. That and Akiza was giving her an evil look.

"Metal Gear was considered the ultimate weapon of the Cold War, and it only got stronger with newer versions built over the next few decades. ZEKE wasn't the only model Gramps designed. He also created a model known as SAHELANTHROPUS. It was named as such because it had the ability to stand upright and walk like a human. You can consider it a giant Knightmare Frame if you wish."

The file on SAHELANTHROPUS appeared on screen and the newer Crusaders balked.

"TWENTY-FOUR METERS TALL!?" Claire shrieked.

"Giant is an understatement! It's Titanic!" Artoria shouted.

"Why the heck didn't you build something like this instead of ZEKE?! We could have driven Britannia out of Japan long ago with this!" Kallen exclaimed as she slammed her hands on the table.

"Several reasons. First, it would require a massive amount of material we don't have. Second, the amount of fuel needed to operate it for even a short time would be colossal. It would burn through a Sakuradite Filler in under a minute. Third, a weapon like that would bring the full might of Britannia down on us just so they could acquire such a weapon. And finally, we only had enough time and resources for ZEKE when Britannia came knocking."

Kallen pouted as she slumped down in her chair. It wasn't fair that this guy had the plans for such an incredible machine and it couldn't be built. Oh, it would have been wonderful. She could just picture it; she would be sitting in the pilot's seat, stomping and kicking Sutherlands, raining destruction down on tanks and soldiers alike. Boldly walking up to the G-1 and smashing the windows with its massive fist before pulling a screaming Clovis out, shoving him into the Railgun, and then shooting him all the way across the Pacific back to Britannia. Ohhh, how delicious it would be.

"Hehehehe…." Kallen giggled as she propped her head in her hands while staring into space with a dreamy look on her face.

"Aaaaand we lost her," Naruko said as she stared at Kallen in amusement.

"You know, you could show her and everyone here your Noble Phantasm, Artoria," Jalter said dryly.

"I would rather do it in an unpopulated area. You know it's not very subtle." Artoria shot back.

"Don't worry Kally-chan, I promise we'll get you and Aki-chan mechs that fit your lovely figures," Naruto said to the girl, making her snap out of her daydreaming and blush in embarrassment, much to her sister's amusement.

Milly cleared her throat. "So, with these weapons, I assume America came out on top of the Cold War."

Nines chuckled. "Actually, America was never able to utilize these weapons even once, nor did Russia. Due to its secretive nature, the Metal Gears were never constructed in America, instead, they were constructed in third world countries in order to hide their existence. This made them easy targets for rogue factions to claim them. Of course, this was all due to the Philosopher faction's mechanizations, just as were their destruction before these rogue states could use them against the west.

In the end, though, it didn't matter. In 1991, economic and political instability caused the Soviet Union to collapse, bringing an end to the Cold War and securing America as the dominant world superpower."

"Thus America takes the place of Britannia, only nothing like Britannia, and keeps to their borders," Naruko stated with a nod.

"So, with the Soviets gone, it would make sense that Metal Gear was no longer needed." Milly deduced.

"You would think that, but the U.S. government continued the development of Metal Gear, along with other parties that were remnants of the Cold War. My grandfather wasn't the only one who designed and built Metal Gears, but these models were not as large or sophisticated as the ones my gramps made."

Images of the TX-55 Metal Gear and its successor, Metal Gear D appeared on the holo-screen.

"Again, controlled by rogue states and destroyed before they can be used."

"It's beginning to sound like those things are cursed," Artoria commented, with the other Servants nodding in agreement.

"Can't really deny it, especially after the Shadow Moses Incident."

"Sounds like another interesting story," C.C. said as she drank her fifth cup of coffee after her twelfth slice of pizza.

"And one that is also tied to my family, more specifically, my father, Hal Emmerich.

My father was employed as a chief engineer by an American military weapons contractor, ArmsTech, who proposed to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the construction of a new Metal Gear to combat the military downsizing scene in the world after the Cold War. I can confirm a lot of bribing done to secure the project.

Once the project was approved, a facility was constructed on Shadow Moses Island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago to serve as a self-sufficient construction site for the new Metal Gear. Designed to look like a nuclear weapons disposal facility, it provided both a front and a means to acquire nuclear material for the warheads for Metal Gear.

My father went to work on the project and named the new Metal Gear REX. This was due to the design closely resembling a tyrannosaurus rex."

The Crusaders spent a moment studying REX'S designs.

"Why would your father build a new Metal Gear if there was no more threat of nuclear war?" Akiza asked.

"Because there were nations that had the potential to develop nuclear weapons that could threaten America. My dad wanted to give the U.S. a means to destroy missiles armed with nukes before they could reach the American Mainland. In fact, it was his only stipulation for building REX that it would not be used to launch nukes. He was tired of having the Emmerich name be synonymous with nukes and wanted to change that."

"Gee, I can only imagine where that went," Jalter uttered sarcastically.

"Something tells me that he was lied to. And nukes?" Milly questioned the teen.

"Short for nuclear weapons. And yeah, they completely lied to him about the nature of REX. By the time he learned of it, REX had already been armed, but before the U.S. government could take REX, a special forces unit went rogue and took control of the facility. They were led by agents belonging to an elite black ops unit called FOXHOUND, who demanded 10 million dollars and the remains of a famous soldier.

The government responded by sending in an elite black ops soldier turned mercenary codenamed Solid Snake, who successfully infiltrated the facility to eliminate the terrorists. When the soldier found out about REX and its nuke capabilities, he searched for my father to find a way to stop it. This is how my father learned of REX's true purpose."

"A single soldier upended that FOXHOUND group?" Scathach asked, sounding impressed.

"My dad helped Snake find and destroy REX after it was activated, keeping it from being used on anyone. Afterwards, he and Snake left to form an Anti-Metal Gear organization called Philanthropy. He used the name Otacon in Shadow Moses and after as a code name to keep his identity hidden since he was considered a fugitive by the federal government."

"Otacon?"

"My dad was a proud Otaku. He came up with the codename because he likes Japanese anime."

Lucienne giggled. "And you inherited that trait. And after seeing some of the anime from your hard drive, I can understand why it's so appealing."

"So it's like how you go by Nines. Where'd you get that idea?" Rivalz inquired.

"Well, I am the ninth generation of Emmerich."

"Ah."

"Anyways, I should tell you about RAY now."

Jeanne frowned at that. "Another one?"

"Yes, but this one was different. You see, after Shadow Moses, REX's specs ended up on the black market, giving any country the ability to build Metal Gear. The Marine Corps decided to build an anti-Metal Gear Metal Gear, which became RAY. Alas, the curse of Metal Gear came true once more, and…"

"It was taken…" Kallen muttered.

"Afraid so."

"Cursed!" Artoria groaned.

"So, I guess it was a rinse and repeat as well?" Rivalz asked.

"Tanker boat secretly transporting RAY sunk, Big Shell facility built on-site acts a cover for the construction of a Metal Gear transport submarine called Arsenal, facility hijacked, lone operative inserted to stop terrorists, Arsenal gets exposed, Metal Gear technology becomes common, nanomachines are utilized in soldiers across the world, madman takes control of nanomachines, wants to destroy secret AI system that controls the world through information manipulation, succeeded in destroying AI's by tricking Snake and my dad into uploading a virus into the system before madman dies. The last of the Philosophers finally dies and the world is finally free of their mechanizations! Any questions?" Nines finished with a smile.

"Well, no matter what world it is, they all have their fair share of problems," Claire noted.

"Okay. Well, that explains your world, but I want to know how'd you get here. You said something about a wormhole?" Milly asked, trying to finally get to Nines' explanation of his presence.

"Well, after saving the world, my dad wanted to find ways to help mankind, so he helped in researching new technologies. One such experimental tech he became involved in was wormhole technology. This tech had actually been utilized in the 1980s by private entities, but was never seen as truly promising research until the 2010s. It could eliminate the need for transport across the globe and even make colonization of extraterrestrial planets possible."

"Sounds like your world was treading on the realm of the gods." Medusa Alter mused.

Nick shrugged. "I don't think there is a problem with that. Something like transporting oneself onto a different planet might become commonplace a few generations after we're gone."

"A research facility in Switzerland was constructed and my dad had friends who he worked with in the heart of the project. I was eight when my dad took me along one day. He set me in a corner with my tablet and 2-way radio to keep me occupied while he worked.

During one of the tests, something went wrong, and wormholes started popping up all over the place. I remember my dad reaching for me before I was surrounded by bright light and the next thing I knew, I was on the beach of Uzu with Lady Kushina and the twins staring down at me."

"Scared the living shit out of us when you and 200 pounds of computer equipment fell out of some hole in the air, dattebayo." Naruto quipped as he remembered that day.

Naruto and Naruko had been playing ninja with a visiting Lucienne and Nunnally when the incident happened. The twins got the Princesses to cover as electronic debris rained all around them until they saw Nines. They had managed to catch him before he crashed onto the sand.

"You think you were scared? I had no clue where I was. I was terrified and wanted my dad right at that moment. So, I called on the radio to him and, amazingly, he answered. We theorized that the wormhole never completely closed, which allowed radio waves to pass through. Lady Kushina spoke to my dad over the radio and, after at least getting a general understanding of the situation, took me in until we could find a way to reopen the wormhole again.

As thanks, I decided to help Uzu in any way I can. When I learned of Britannia and the possibility of an invasion, I gave them the plans for Metal Gear to build so that they could repel an invasion. The plan worked and Uzu remained a sovereign state.

Since then, I've continued to invent new tech to help Uzu and act as a data analyst for the twins during their stint as the Phantom Thieves. I also put my own hacking skills to work in harassing Britannia while finding ways to procure funding without anyone knowing."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "And how'd you manage that- oh yeah, hacking the stock market."

"You do realize that exchange rates are measured by the thousandth of a cent, right? Well, most people don't pay attention to anything beyond a tenth of a cent. When I hacked Britannia, I implanted a program that skims that extra thousandth and deposits it into a dummy account. Multiply this occurrence by millions of times a day over the years and, boom, near-unlimited funds for Uzu."

"Funding most of the research and development department for building Knightmares, forward operating bases, the underground train system beneath us, and enough money to continue operating the island!" Naruko said with a foxy grin.

"Then what is the point of this little resistance group you have going here? It sounds like you have everything you need to invade now." Claire pointed out.

"True, but like any delicate operation, it cannot be done so quickly. We aim to crush Britannia's presence in Japan in one swift stroke, but in a way they cannot see it coming. That's why this cell exists…" Naruto trailed off with a knowing look at Claire.

"To keep Britannia's eyes on Joker, Cypher, and Rei." Claire breathed, her eyes widening with realization. "To divert their attention so Uzu can move in to take back Japan."

Nines snapped his fingers in confirmation. "Exactly. We could do it with a Blitzkrieg, but since Charles might have his Geass Assassins in play, we need to be careful. Think of this distraction as…controlled chaos. By the time Viceroy Cornelia realizes what's happening, it'll be too late."

"This was all going to happen anyway. It's just that Clovis moved up the timetable with his damn massacre," Milly said, as holographic images of a calendar and the supposed time and date of retaking Japan showed. "Still, everything is going according to projection. Hell, if we stayed the course, it'd be overkill. But as the massacre showed, the more we wait, the more innocent people die. Never again. There will be justice, not only for Marianne vi Britannia, but all the innocent people that were sacrificed for Britannia to stay at the top."

Naruto nodded and stood up, looking over everyone. "I hope you all took something from Nines' story about his world, just as we have. Despite the emotional attachment we felt from it, this is still the world we live in, and Charles zi Britannia is the man to put six feet under. And even when he's gone, we must stay vigilant to prevent another Charles and even a Hilter. It still won't stop us from living our lives, but you get the point. So Nick and Claire, last time we ask, are you both all the way in?"

Nick snorted. "I think I already made my position clear, eh? I won't turn away, even if I wanted to."

"It's better to be with the storm than against it." Claire nodded in agreement. "Just a few questions. What is Geass, how did you all get these...Servants, and is it possible to give me these benefits?"

"...My turn for storytime," C.C. said and playfully stretched. "Geass is…"

Cue an abridged explanation on what a Geass was, how it worked, its downsides such as runaway Geass, and what her contractors could do, with demonstrations from the others to support her claims. They also introduced the Servant, which had Claire's jaw on the floor, being introduced to the heroes of various legends. Of course, Lucienne had to hold Claire back from strangling Rivalz due to his Geass that allows him to see through objects, despite using it on his Servants, who didn't mind.

"And that's basically the gist of it," C.C. said lazily. "Oh, and Nick can't be affected by a Geass that targets the human mind or brain, since he doesn't have one. Other than that-"

"That's not all." Nines suddenly said.

"What?"

"I've been studying Geass myself thanks to my partner, Emmie. Because of our various skirmishes with the Geass Assassins, I've been working on a way to counteract their effects."

"How did you manage that?" Rivalz asked.

"Nanomachines, son." Nines boasted with a chuckle, while Naruto, Naruko, and Lucienne sweatdropped, as they knew the reference, even if it flew over the others' heads. "You can do anything with them. From hardening skin to disrupting hypnotic influences. I am close to a breakthrough."

"Well, with that said, I'd like one." a resolute Claire declared to everyone's surprise. "I want to be able to pull my weight and help this cause. It's obvious Britannia's become unhinged, and as long as I draw breath, I won't stand back and do nothing!"

"Fine then, Claire Harvey." C.C. stood up and strode over to her. "I shall grant you the Power of the King, as well as your Servant. Normally this would curse you to a life of solitude, but I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"Of course not. Blondie's fucking most of the girls." Jalter muttered under her breath with Jeanne elbowing her side.

"I fail to see how since Naruto and Milly have been in this together and sleeping together," Claire drawled before the others besides Nick chortled. "What?"

"What makes you think I'm the only one?" Milly cooed and licked her lips.

Claire shivered at that. 'What does she mean by…' she wondered before seeing Naruko and Lucienne lean against Naruto, and realized what was going on. "Oh God bless Shirley's soul…"

"I'd rather keep her away for as long as possible," Naruto admitted with a grim look.

"Yeah, I can understand why." Nick agreed.

"Man, it's going to take me a day to digest all of this. This puts a lot of things into perspective." Kallen said while swiping through the pictures Nines had shown. "But this won't stop me from fighting against Britannia."

"Of course it won't. The question is will you really learn from this experience…" Akiza commented with a side-eye.

"Um, what are you doing, Miss C.C.?" Claire asked nervously as C.C. got into her face with a mischievous look. "Guys?"

Kallen and Akiza both just gave her amused deadpan stares while smiling. "You get used to it."

The others could only feel sorry for Claire as C.C. loomed ever closer before capturing her in a kiss.

"WWWAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"

*Smoooch!*

---

~I kissed a girl and I liked it.~ Oh-ho, C.C. is quite the little minx, isn't she? I wonder what Geass and Servant we'll get from this encounter?

But Nick and Nines, what a history they have. One is stuck in an eternal cycle of reincarnation by a bunch of bored gods, and another got sucked up by a wormhole. Nevertheless, both ended up in this quaint little world that is terrorized by Britannia. Together with Naruto, Naruko, and their family and friends, they'll help put an end to Charles' reign of terror.

But the question is, how will knowing Nines' world affect those that have just learned about it? Will they take something from it, a deep meaning, or remain stagnant?

Tune in next time!

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STAGE 09 COMPLETE

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As Naruto and the others show their newfound allies their operations, the impact of the crusaders' actions is felt around Japan. Even with no name, the group is poised to become the top resistance group in Japan.

That won't sit well with some people…

Next time - Stage 10: Everyday Life With A Crusader (tentative title)

Soul: For the first time ever, I don't think a reference and explanation section is needed since there's not much to add, but just know that the abridged explanation of America's history leading into the events of Metal Gear is not made to trigger any kind of debate. This is for story purposes and character development, nothing more. I'm only saying this because of what's going on in the real world and that history's a hot topic. Anywho, look forward to the next chapter! Still, I felt like I was back in school with this chapter.

Naruko: Your world had it rough, huh?

Soul: The only difference is that we didn't have Metal Gear.

Castle: It was a really tense time during the Cold War. You're actually talking to someone who was born during the last few years of the Soviet Union.

Lucienne: Has your world had a World War since?

Soul: Ehh, not exactly. I mean, World War III is a meme, hypothetical...for now.

Castle: It would be the last war, because there would be no one left after the dust settled.

Naruto: Man, this talk is getting heavy.

Soul: Lucky for you, your war was at least two days. You're also lucky to come out of it after Madara wrecked everyone's shit.

Lelouch: You guys could've used me?

Soul: …No, not really, mate.

NSG: There isn't really much that you could add when the combatants are flinging around natural disasters and dropping meteors.

Lelouch: …Wha?

Naruto: Okay, so I was just reading Samurai 8. Holy shit am I glad that Kishimoto didn't make OUR Samurai that bullshit!

Soul: Hope you enjoyed this update, and check out the next one later today!

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Released: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 (Soul's Birthday)

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"Now that I think about it," Milly looked at Nines' screen closely. "I can see some oriental features in this crisp-looking image."

"That's because my mother, Mei Ling, is Chinese-American. She was also a part of Philanthropy. I get my data analyst skills from her."

"And she still teaches you to this day." Naruko teased him.

"Hey, teasing me is Emmie and Ryofu's job." Nines lightly scolded her.

"So I'm gonna ask, what's Japan like during your time after the wars?" Rivalz questioned him.

"Well-"

As Nines explained, Nick gestured to the twins to meet him in the corner of the room, while the others were distracted by Nines. They nodded and went after him, with Lucienne following.

"What's up?" Naruto inquired and grinned. "Got another secret? We love secrets," he added with Naruko elbowing him.

"I might know exactly who my Princess is," Nick said, glancing at Lucienne, "And while I'm not 100 percent certain, note it's one hell of a coincidence if it's true. The problem is that she's aligned with Britannia, and has a vested interest in your masked personas."

Lucienne frowned at that. "Someone we know?"

"That depends," he replied dryly, "Do you know Laila la Britannia?"

"...You have got to be shitting us. Clovis's sister, Laila-chan?!" Naruto stared at the teen while Naruko facepalmed.

"Oh, son of a bitch." Lucienne whined in frustration.