Eleven years had passed since Keiko Swanhilda Warden was born. Though it still didn't feel completely real to her parents or the rest of her family, this was the reality they were living in. Indeed, her father Edward (Eddie for short) could've never guessed that he'd already have children by the time he was in his late twenties, but life didn't always go as planned. In fact, in the intervening years, he and his wife Suki had two more children: six-year-old Mariko Angelina and one-year-old Alphonse Daisuke (Alfie for short). Unfortunately for them and the children, their marriage would eventually end in divorce due to several factors that worked against them.

As sad as it had been for both parties to dissolve their marriage, it had also simultaneously been a relief since the marriage had turned out to be toxic in nature. Still, Eddie and Suki were determined to co-parent their children as amicably as possible, even if they butted heads from time to time.

And what better time to do so than at a funeral for Eddie's father, the world dictator Warden? His death had come as a huge shock to the Mistress, their children, their grandchildren, and their allies. How he'd died also left a lot to be desired. A few days prior, the Warden had been taking a shower as part of his morning routine when he suddenly collapsed during a heart attack and hit the back of his head on the edge of the tub, which killed him instantly. According to Mistress, she was the one who discovered his body. Needless to say, she didn't take his death well.

Now there she was, paying a visit to his casket up close while it was lying in state inside the White House. She was never ready for him to go, especially not like this. The thought of outliving him was too much to bear, so much so that all she could do was let out a good cry as she held on to the casket.

Her father Dorian approached her from behind and put his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss. Words alone can't describe how much pain I feel to see you this way, but you're a strong woman. You'll get through this."

Mistress couldn't bring herself to say anything in response. Dorian headed back into the crowd, knowing full well that any attempt to talk to her further would be futile. Meanwhile, Eddie and his older siblings Maddie and Ethan took turns comforting their mother and getting a good look at their father's casket. Eddie was especially affected by the sight of his father's body, and he broke down into tears. Ethan and Maddie were able to hug him and comfort him, and Mistress was able to quickly draw him away from the scene.

"It's not fair, dammit!" Eddie yelled out. "It's just not fair!"

"I know it's not fair, sweetie," Mistress replied. "But at least he's in a better place now."

Eddie simply took her word for it and continued weeping. Mistress then took him by the hand and led him away. Ethan and Maddie followed behind, comforting him the whole way. Once they all reached the living room, Ethan and Maddie gave Eddie a big hug and told him it was going to be okay. As this was going on, Keiko and her siblings were nearby entertaining themselves by playing games with their cousins Europa, Ephraim, and Maxima and Minima (or Max and Minnie, as people liked to call them).

"Anybody else think it's weird that when we die, that's it?" Keiko asked. "What do you think the afterlife's like?"

Europa just shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really think about that kind of stuff."

"Really? No opinion at all?" Keiko then pointed at two of the cousins. "Well, what about Max and Minnie? They gotta have an opinion."

Max and Minnie just stared at each other, confused. What opinion did their cousin expect them to have on something they hadn't fully grasped yet? It didn't make sense.

Keiko became frustrated. "What's wrong with you guys? I don't get it."

Europa finally spoke up. "It's not that we don't believe in the afterlife, it's just that we don't know what it's like. None of us have ever gone there, you know?"

Keiko nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I guess so." Keiko thought for a moment. "But do you think it exists?"

"Like I said, I don't know. I don't really think about things like the afterlife or stuff like that."

"Okay."

Meanwhile, people from around the world were extending their condolences to the widow of the hour. Chief among them was Bruce's long-time girlfriend Kahele.

"Hey, Mistress," Kahele said to her. "Mariah told me what happened, and I'd just like to say I'm sorry."

Mistress was silent, the signs of weariness obvious on her face. The showers she had taken were merely out of necessity rather than want. Her uniform was also somewhat unkempt. She'd been too distressed by her husband's death to concern herself with her overall appearance.

"That's fine. You're still in the shock phase. You don't have to say anything…" Kahele sighed heavily. "I know what it's like to lose the love of your life."

Despite the temptation to do so, Mistress didn't cry anymore. She couldn't do it, not now, not when the world and her family needed her more than ever. Instead, she just thanked Kahele for giving her condolences and moved on to the next person. As daunting as it was to rule the world alone, she knew that she had no other choice. She'd thrived before she met Warden, and she'd thrive without him here. She wanted to set a good example for Eddie when it would come time for him to take her place.

"Hey!" Victory called out to her.

Mistress turned around to look at her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. "Yes?"

"The service is about to start."

Mistress sighed. "Thank you, Victory. I'll be right there. I just need to take care of something first."

Victory gave a small nod. "Okay."

It only took a minute at most for Mistress to finish up on a draft for a bill she intended to pass as law at some point. Much as she'd wanted to iron out the details, she knew she had neither the time nor the patience to do it right then and there. She decided to head straight to the service instead. Once she'd made it there, she decided that she was going to take a seat at the very front in the hopes that she would get a full view of Warden in his casket after it had been transferred from its original spot. She proceeded to sit there in her seat while looking somber and forlorn about what the future may hold for her. She felt a knot in her throat as she tried to hold herself back. She missed him so much, his childlike wonder and yet ruthless never-ending bloodthirst that he tried to sate with the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people on a daily basis; and she knew that she would never be able to fill the void he'd left behind in her life. How was she supposed to cope with the pain and move on with her life? Even now, as she stared at her husband's lifeless body in the casket, she couldn't answer that question.

Everything about the service could have sucked the attendants' emotions right out of them. Mistress herself had only attended two funerals during her life prior to this one: the first for the man who'd raised her for the first twelve years of her life; and the second for the woman who'd given her life as well as physically, sexually, verbally, and emotionally abused her. Neither funeral had exactly been sad for her, especially in the latter case. If anything, that second funeral was more cathartic for her because she knew that that woman who'd had the audacity to call herself her mother would never torment her again. This funeral, though... this one was different. For all of Warden's faults (and there were plenty she could attest to), he did serve something of an important role in her adult life. Namely, he helped her realize that there was more to life than just being a stickler for order and structure, and his very presence reminded her of the balance between order and chaos repeatedly. Would she have learned this important lesson about life without him? Probably, but it wouldn't have had the same effect.

Mistress looked down at her husband's corpse in the casket. He looked about the same here as he had when she last saw him alive, only he'd been dressed in his regular dictator outfit and equipped with the spiked olive green helmet emblazoned with the Superjail emblem. She couldn't help but feel bad while looking down at him like this. She could barely even bring herself to say anything right then. Despite her efforts to mask her emotions, this was clearly a lot for her to handle. All she could do now was try to hold back tears in this vulnerable state.

Soon, as if in the blink of an eye, someone came to the stand and began to speak. It didn't take long for Mistress to recognize the figure as Absalom, who by this point was no longer a youth punk. Instead, he was a full-grown punk who'd since settled down with Sally and had children with her.

"It is unfortunate, indeed, that our Supreme Leader Warden had to leave us before his time," Absalom began. "Even so, it is imperative that we not dwell on this and cry for him as he ascends home to the great beyond to be with his father, our creator. He would not want it so. Instead, he would want us to do everything in our power to keep his memory alive, and I mean everything. Yes, he would want us to kill our prisoners and our undesirables when necessary."

Most of the attendants murmured in agreement at this.

"I think we all want to believe that this was all part of our creator's plans for us," Absalom continued. "After all, this is what we were taught when the Wardens conquered our world. And since our creator knows everything about us, right down to when we will die and how, I think it would be fair not to question him on that front. I'm getting way ahead of myself, though. Today is all about our Supreme Leader's life and how we should best honor it."

Many more attendants murmured in agreement. Indeed, this day was about Warden's life and making sure his death wasn't in vain.

"With that said, I'd like to ask that our Supreme Leader Mistress come up here and say a few words about our late leader," Absalom concluded.

The attendants cheered as Absalom stepped aside and let Mistress make her way to the stand.

She cleared her throat and began to speak, her voice full of emotion. "The Warden was a great husband, a great father, a great grandfather, and above all else a great leader. I still remember my first meeting with him like it was yesterday. He hadn't given me a good first impression that day, what with his talk of dreams and then me being affected by Spanish Fly and having no memory of what happened next. Our second meeting went over better than I had expected, though not by too much. I didn't know it at the time, as I'd expected it to be a quick stop to refuel Ultraprison, but that second meeting would change our lives forever. In fact, if not for that second meeting, we wouldn't have been married for thirty years with three beautiful children and seven beautiful grandchildren. As such, he will be dearly missed. Let us remember the accomplishments he made during his lifetime and strive to honor his memory to the best of our abilities."

After she'd finished her eulogy, Mistress was met with more cheers from the attendants, each cheer progressively louder than the last. With that out of the way, Mistress stepped away from the stand and sat back at her seat, waiting patiently for someone else to get a chance to speak.

Despite being surrounded by hundreds of people in their seats, she couldn't help but feel alone. How could she not when the love of her life was gone? All she wanted more than anything was to be with him again, but she dared not to do the unthinkable or even consider it. After all, there were people who still needed her in their lives. In fact, they needed her now more than ever. How would they have gone on without her if she was gone tomorrow? She had no way of knowing that, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She had an entire planet to run, dammit! Any thoughts of self-doubt and despair would have to be squashed before they had time to blossom out. She just couldn't afford to think that way.