As it turns out, Joseph was not that good at retracing his steps as he thought he was.
He tried following the footsteps he made back to where the building was, but soon they collided with other footsteps and he realized that he wore the same shoes as a lot of other people did in the ghetto.
Then he tried to use his "jellyfish instincts" by licking his finger and sticking it into his ear for directions, but that didn't help either. So somewhere along the lines, he ended up on top of a broken building, in the middle of the night, overlooking the city to see if he could find it.
To no avail. And then realizing he's been at this for a couple of days.
"Ah man, at this rate, Lelouch is already long gone. Damn it all, I really wanted to see how he was doing."
Joseph had so many questions for him. Like just why was he here in Japan with Nunnally and Marianne in the first place? How did he come to know Suzaku? And when did he grow so cold when it came to talking about Britannia?
He always remembered Lelouch being happy and full of life, the three of them(sometimes four when Euphie came over) would always play together and have fun.
Now he just seemed so closed off.
"It's clear I must find him and find out what's going on!"
Suddenly, he heard a news broadcast going off from a big TV coming from one of the buildings of the Tokyo Settlement a few hundred feet away.
"Oooh, TV! I haven't been able watch anything in awhile!" Joseph exclaimed in his head as he sat criss-crossed on top of the building, watching the news with interest.
"Any moment, any moment now! It's a sight to see, just the crowd lining in the route. All of them waiting on baited breath. Waiting for the accused murderer of Prince Clovis to pass by. Honorary Britannian and Former Eleven, Suzaku Kururugi." The news reporter said.
Joseph eyes widen not just from one but two revelations. His brother Clovis was dead, and apparently Suzaku Kururugi was the culprit!
While he didn't interact with Clovis too much growing up in Pendragon, he was still his brother and he would make sure to pay his respects to him next chance he gets.
But then there's Suzaku. The murderer?
That last part didn't make any sense, last time he saw Suzaku, he was shot! Then again, Joseph had been shot a number of times before and always maintained his composure.
Still, Suzaku never seemed like that type of guy to kill someone, sure he was kind of brat when they were longer, but what kid isn't at that age. No, something fishy going on here.
Then Joseph remembered the announcement Clovis gave the day he reunited with Lelouch.
"Lelouch...you didn't..." Joseph thought with grimace.
"I-I can see them, they have the suspect! Suzaku Kururugi is headed this way!"
The screen then showed Suzaku in what appeared some straightjacket, and he himself looked tattered and beaten.
"Oh Suzaku...what they did they do to you..." Joseph thought as he frowned at Suzaku's appearance.
"He shouldn't have stopped at Clovis! He should have killed every royal when he had the chance!" A Japanese man yelled from below him.
That made Joseph sad, not for himself, but more for his siblings, as there was a lot he cared for and didn't think deserve death.
"How can you even say that?! It's because of him our lives will be even worse than before!" A Japanese woman yelled.
"Always an endless debate...never a winner..." Joseph thought as he watched the people below him argue with each other.
For years, he has seen these types of debates from other people in different countries. Every person had their own opinion but nobody could come to a proper conclusion of what was right and wrong, always divided, never a majority. And sometimes they would go back on what they said and do the complete opposite, which just confused him. For Joseph, he always just remembered what his mother told him and to do what he thought was the right thing to do, not just what the people's opinion might be of the situation.
"Maybe that's why Dad is able to be emperor as long as he has. Because people can't seem to make up their minds about anything. Joseph thought.
"Margrave Jeremiah will be presiding over the case as Acting Consul." The news reporter said as Joseph saw Jeremiah riding on the vehicle. He looked older than the last time he saw him, but he still has that same blue hair and stoic look on his face.
"Oh Jerry, why would you let yourself be part of this?"
Joseph always remembered Jeremiah as fierce yet friendly, intimidating but kind, intelligent, and above all else...
Loyal.
His mom once said that you couldn't contain the loyalty of Jeremiah Gottwald in the entire state of Pendragon if you tried. Which always got an embarrassed chuckle from Jerry.
Here, he just looked mean and bitter, as if he was trying to take frustrations out on Suzaku...but why?
Suddenly, the vehicle stopped. And another vehicle was approaching.
"It's-It's Prince Clovis's personal transport!" The news reporter exclaimed.
Joseph raised an eyebrow as he squinted his eyes to get a better look in the car. It looked fancy, but something felt off about it.
The vehicle stopped a few meters away from Jeremiah and the others.
"You dare spoil his highness's transport. Come out of there at once!" Jeremiah exclaimed.
Suddenly, the Britannia Flag on the transport went up into flames and revealed a masked individual.
"Okay, THAT is a cool entrance!" Joseph exclaimed in his head as he started to grin again.
The masked individual had a long black cape with gold linings wrapped around his body, his pants appeared to be purplish-black, and his helmet was sleek and oval.
Sort of like an egg.
"I..am Zero!" The mask individual exclaimed.
"Wh-who is this person?! This man calling himself Zero is standing before a military convoy!" The news reporter exclaimed.
"I've seen enough, Zero!" Jeremiah exclaimed as he shot his gun up in the air.
Suddenly, Knightmares come flying down to surround the transport and this "Zero" guy. The shockwave revealed his body.
And he looked rather skinny.
The same kind of build a certain someone he knew had. As Jerry was talking, Joseph was doing his own thinking.
First Lelouch gets a superpower, then Clovis calls of his attack, and now all of a sudden he's dead and this man dressed up as a superhero with a skinny build was trying to save Suzaku, his friend, who is accused of murdering him?!
"Lelouch...is that you?"
As he pondered, the "Zero" guy looked like he was about to take off his mask when suddenly he raised his hand up all the way in the air and snapped his finger. Seconds later, the compartment behind him broke down the reveal a canister. The very same canister that was holding C.C.!
"Dramatic posture and the canister that held C.C.? Yep, that's definitely Lelouch." Joseph thought excitedly as he saw his brother making his superhero debut.
Where else would have learned to be so fabulous besides Joseph from the way he performed every time he told a story to his younger siblings.
"Such an awesome costume little bro! But "Zero"? A little boring isn't it? It doesn't make any sense either, his head isn't even shaped like a Zero, it's more like an egg...hmm, maybeeee...?
Jeremiah spoke up again on the TV.
"Fine! What are your demands!?"
"An exchange, this for Kururugi." Zero yelled back.
"Like Hell! He's charged with High Treason for murdering a Prince, I can't hand him over!"
"No, you're mistaken, Jeremiah! The man who killed Clovis...was myself!"
People down below were shocked at this revelation.
"He killed Prince Clovis! Just who the hell is this guy!?
"And where do I sign up to join him?!"
As they talked about Zero. Joseph could only look at his disguised brother in sadness.
Sure, he himself had to kill people before. But only when it was necessary, usually he just beat the crap out of them. And he never think to kill one of his own family members, no matter how rotten they are, and he's seen how rotten some of them can be.
"Lelouch...what happened to you these last years?"
He also realized that superheroes had to fight their own siblings in comics and films all the time, often they do so with a heavy heart, but they do it to protect the city or even the world! Maybe that's why he's superhero material now. Either way, he was going to have to have a serious talking to with Lelouch when he saw him again.
"He's mad I tell you! He'll pay for mocking the crown!" Jeremiah yelled.
"Careful, you don't wish for the public to learn about Orange do you? Zero asked.
This confused Joseph.
"Orange?...Like he's allergic to Oranges or something?" Joseph wondered.
"If I die, it'll all go public, if you don't want that to happen, you'll do everything in your power to let us go." Zero threatened.
And just a few seconds later, Jeremiah complied.
"Right, understood. You there, release the prisoner!" Jeremiah commanded.
This surprised Joseph, but also made him smile a bit. He knew Britannia wouldn't just go through with a small threat like that, so there only lead to one conclusion.
"He must have used his superpower! Awesome! Too bad it had to be used on Jerry, but he should have thought better than to try executing Suzaku for something he didn't do."
As he watched Suzaku walk over to his brother, he noticed a woman with red hair following right behind him. Even with those shades, hat, and suit on, she looked very similar to that girl he saw in the truck. The one who got into that knightmare, the one the other guy in the truck called:
"Kallen...?"
It appeared that Lelouch had found his sidekick...
"What the hell Lelouch, I'm suppose to be your sidekick!" Joseph thought angrily.
Suddenly, gas started pouring out, knightmares started firing at each other and Lelouch, Suzaku, and Kallen jumped off the bridge only to be saved by a trampoline launched by another Knightmare!
Joseph's anger quickly dissipated as he watched as he watched all the badass awesomeness go on. He then jumped up and cheered.
"YEAH! GO GET IT LITTLE BRO! SHOW THEM BOSSES BOSSING WHO WITH ALL BOSSINESS!" He exclaimed.
...
Meanwhile down below
"Did somebody just yelled from up there that Zero was their little bro?" A Japanese woman asked.
"Eh, probably some homeless nut, ignore it." A Japanese man answered.
...
Back on the roof
Joseph couldn't believe it, his brother just made his superhero debut by saving his friend, and he did it with so much badassness, though he still believed his name needed tinkering.
One thing for sure, he wanted to find his brother sooner rather than later, and help him with his crusade!
After all, he's seen and read plenty of films and tv shows to know Britannia would see this as a call to battle, wanting blood for the death of their prince. He doesn't know if his dad would care but if this was like Star Wars, Lelouch would be Luke Skywalker and their father is definitely Darth Vader, and he knew just how much of a badass villain he was. So he was going to need all the help he could get if he was going to challenge Dad.
Still, he wondered just how far Lelouch would be willing to take it...if he was willing to kill Clovis...would he be willing to...
Questions he would need to ask him later.
"Alright brain, think! What clues are there that could help you figure out where Lelouch could be."
His hair? Nope, looks the same as it did as a kid.
His face? Nope, looks the same, just older, maybe paler.
His eyes? Nope, same but more angry.
His uniform? No-wait!
Joseph remembered that he has seen that uniform before. He's seen other kids wear it as they were chatting with each other while he was dumpster diving behind a mall. They mentioned how they had to get back to certain school before one of the teachers realized they ditched. The name of that school was...
"ASHFORD ACADEMY!" Joseph exclaimed as he pointed his finger up in the air and accidentally hitting a bird mid-flight, sending it up higher into the sky and then plummeting down to the ground of the roof.
"Oh. Sorry birdie." Joseph quickly apologized with a "sorry" look on his face. He examined the bird, not sure if it was dead or not. The only thing he could think of doing was patting it on the head and wishing it well.
He jumped down from the roof, he held his head high in determination.
"Alright! Ashford Academy, HERE I COME!"
To Be Continued...
And that concludes that. Here we get more of how Joseph looks to films, tv shows, and comics to rationalize his thinking sometimes. And I want to thank SomebodyLost for your comments that helped me push the story forward, as well as a superhero name for Zero which I will include in later chapters. Next chapter will be much longer I hope. Enjoy the chapter and give me your thoughts in the comments!