Do Something, Do It Stupid

by codegeassfan123

Everyone knows about the Britannian Imperial Family, even Lady Marianne's deceased children have their place in history. Yet everyone often forgets about the one prince that left Pendragon 7 and a 1/2 years ago, and that's the Dimwitted Prince, Joseph Du Britannia. Now that he's crossed paths with his brother on a highway in Area 11, there's no telling what adventures might ensue.

52. Mister Emperor!

Ikaruga

"99th Emperor Joseph, who ascended the throne only a week ago, has already ordered the abolition of the aristocracy, breaking up of bureaucratic cliques, and liberation of the Numbers. As well as a National Music Day, where is everyone is allowed a day off work and listen and dance to whatever music they want. Many have wondered how he gained back his ability to speak in complete sentences again and he is quoted:

"I had brain surgery. Very, very, very, very, very, dangerous brain surgery. So dangerous that I died, like, 10 no 11 times. It is so dangerous that I forbid this surgery to be done on anyone else and I destroyed all instructions needed to make it possible because of how dangerous it is. Like seriously...don't do it. Just don't. Stop it."

Cassius, Carine, and other royals have opposed these actions the new emperor has taken. However his popularity among both commoners and foreigners has skyrocketed more than ever as his reputation already received a boost when he publicly sided with Zero." A news reporter said from the screen the Black Knights were watching.

"He has even garnered the nickname, Emperor of Light, as many now deem the name "The Dimwit Prince" offensive to his majesty, especially now that he's fathered children."

The screen then cuts to him doing an interview with Milly Ashford, with her own TV channel now. He was sitting on a couch, along with his kids seated next to him.

"Tells us what drives you, Emperor Joseph? Why make such bold choices that I'm sure many Britannian Royalty and Nobility would disagree with?" Milly asked curiously.

"Well, I'll tell you Milly-Billy. Like a fish without shoes, some things just didn't stand right with me! How could I look my children in the eye and rule the entire world with an iron fist? I'll tell you how, by NOT doing it! I'm taking my dad's lessons and doing the opposite, because if you're opposite, you have boogers in your earwax!" Joseph said proudly.

Milly couldn't help but stare at him questioningly. While she was supportive of Joseph's plan, she did have to wonder why he didn't just let someone else write the answers for him.

"Uh...right." Was all Milly could think to say.

"People are idiots if they don't like the stuff Papa's doing!" Animi argued stubbornly.

"Now, now Angelina. Idiots can still be taught, look at your Papa after all." Joseph kindly lectured.

"You're not an idiot, Papa!" Potestas quickly said.

"You're the best!" Umbra said happily as she hugged Joseph.

"Best of the best!" Kaecus added as she came in with her own hug and was soon followed by the others.

"Aww. Thanks guys." Joseph said sweetly as he stood up and returned the hug with joy.

Milly couldn't help but chuckle with delight.

"I think that's the reason we love this guy so much!" Milly said with joy. "Now a lot of people have given you the name, Emperor of Light, do you think it fits?" She asked him.

"I say it makes absolutely no sense. I'm not a lightbulb, thank you very much." He shut down instantly. "No. I prefer a much different name." He said as he put his kids down and walked towards the camera, putting his hands on his shirt. "From now on, don't call me Emperor. Call me..."

*RIP*

He ripped his shirt in half, revealing another shirt under it and two bold black-colored words imprinted on it.

"Mister Emperor!" He said with pride.

The kids cheered behind him while Milly stared on with a quirked eyebrow.

The screen cuts back to the reporter.

"Family man, yes. A worthy leader? Remains to be seen." The news reporter concluded.

"That's my second best bud for you!" Tamaki said excitedly.

"He's certainly getting things done in his own way." Tohdoh commented.

"Annoying people while speaking random gibberish? Definitely his forte." Rakshata said from her relaxed position.

"He's eliminating any faction which could possibly oppose him." Villetta said.

"He's not doing it alone. He has Suzaku helping him, even Kallen is on his side." Ohgi said solemnly.

"Who's to blame for that?" Kaguya asked venomously, causing Ohgi to wince in shame. "While some of the U.F.N. are expressing their support for Emperor Joseph, most of the members are wary if he can actually do the job." She explained.

"Some media people are calling him the hero of the masses while others think he's going to fall hard and fast due to his incompetence." Chiba said.

"Come on! Give the guy a chance! He's on our side!" Tamaki argued.

"Is he though?" Xingke asked with a suspicious eye.

"Huh? What'd you mean?" Tamaki asked, not understanding.

"He means the last time he was here, you guys were pointing guns at him and gave his brother up to the enemy." Urabe reminded with a stern tone.

"Who's to say he doesn't hold a grudge." Minami said warily.

"Not that we can blame him." Tohdoh added quietly.

"I don't think Uncle Joe would take it out on the people though. He's too kind!" Tianzi argued in his stead.

"That may be, your Highness. But there's no telling what judgement he might hold for The Black Knights." Xingke told her.

"Going back to the media, where's Diethard at?" Sugiyama asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I doubt he is coming back here." Chiba answered.

"I heard he was with Cornelia and Schneizel, nothing confirmed though." Tohdoh said.

"So, what's our next move? What do we do now?" Tamaki asked.

"What do you mean by "now"?" Rakshata asked.

"Well, I mean… everything's different. The new emperor is doing good things." Tamaki said softly.

"He is…" Kaguya said.

"I think the real question is what his true intentions are?" Tohdoh said.

"Sir?" Chiba asked.

"It's the truth. While I do agree he is doing good things, I doubt it's without reason." Tohdoh said.

"With Joseph, you never know what's going on inside that head of his. For now, all we can do is be patient and wait and see what he does next." Xingke told them.

...

Pendragon

Joseph snapped the curtains open, letting the rising sun in.

"Up and at 'em, guys! Time to start the day!" Joseph said happily as he turned to his kids, clapping his hands.

"(Groans)Five more minutes..." Animi muttered sleepily.

"Come on, Animi! We got start on our routine!" Umbra said excitedly as she jumped on her and shook her sister awake, who begrudgingly got up.

"That's right, this will help us stay happy and healthy." Potestas reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah..." Animi muttered with annoyance.

"Good work as always keeping an eye out for your siblings, Po." Joseph said with a pat on his head.

"Thank you, Papa." Potestas said gratefully.

"Now! Who's turn is it to ride on my shoulders?!" Joseph asked his kids excitedly.

"Ooh! Me, me, me!" Umbra said with elation as she jumped up and down Animi's bed, annoying her even more.

"Alright-Wait a minute. I'm pretty sure I gave Umbra a ride on my shoulders yesterday morning." Joseph said playfully. "Trying to punk your old man?" He asked with a smirk.

"No! I swear, that was...some random girl who looked like me!" Umbra tried to excuse, making her father and her siblings laugh.

"Nice try. Time for the others to have a turn." Joseph told her sweetly while patting her head.

"Okay..." Umbra said with a sad pout.

"Nope, I believe the winner today is LONGE!" Joseph said with glee as he picked up his light-blue haired son and spun him around.

"Yay!" Longe cheered happily as his father sat him on his shoulders.

"Let's go!" Joseph cheered as they rushed out the door.

...

7:00AM: Sunrise and Meditation

Joseph and the kids begin their day meditating while the sun rises. Taking in the chakras around them and the gentle noises that go in one ear and out the other.

8:00AM: Getting Ready

Then they shower and brush their teeth to some tunes and then have breakfast of their choosing.

9:30AM: Training

Joseph, Kallen, and Suzaku then proceed to teach the kids self-defense as its never too early to learn some badass moves.

10:30AM: Fun Period

After cooling down, it's pretty much a day of doing whatever they want as long as Joseph had time.

Being the Emperor meant more responsibilities he had to handle, but that didn't mean he wouldn't spend as much time with his kids as he could.

Which currently lead to him and the younglings singing along to a Beatles song in an open field by the Arias Villa that currently being reconstructed.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

Joseph and the kids shouted the lyrics into the sky as he brought a laughing Kaecus high into the air and spun her around.

As they headed up the hill, they were soon met up by Kallen, Suzaku, Shirley, Cecina, Rolo and Jeremiah.

"Hey! Look who's here!" Joseph cheered.

"Auntie Shirley!" Umbra said excitedly as she rushed to her surrogate aunt.

"Good morning, lovely!" Shirley said as she engulfed her niece.

"Hi, big sis!" Kaecus said happily as she took Cecina's hands in hers.

"Hello dear." Cecina said with a kind smile.

"Hey, brother Rolo! Like my new glasses?" Longe asked Rolo excitedly, they were a thicker frame and blue-colored to match his hair.

"They look great." Rolo complimented kindly.

"Hello, Badass Girlfriend!" Joseph said excitedly as he hugged Kallen and spun her around.

"Hello Moron Boyfriend." Kallen said with a chuckle before the two shared a kiss.

"Ohayō go-za-ee-mos Oji-san." Potestas annunicated as he gave a respectful bow to Suzaku.

"(It is a good morning, isn't it.)" Suzaku replied warmly in Japanese, giving his own bow. "You're getting better." He complimented as he ruffled Longe's hair.

"I still think Mama Kallen's a better teacher." Animi pointed out.

"Well, thank you Animi. I have prided myself in my natural language far longer than Suzaku here." Kallen said smugly.

"Whatever you say Kallen." Suzaku said with a chuckle, not even bothering to argue.

"Ugh! Can you at least pretend to be annoyed like you used to?" Kallen said, hating she couldn't push his buttons anymore.

"Okashii..." Animi whispered to her.

"(Tell me about it.)" Kallen replied in Japanese.

"You look serious, Uncle Jerry. Does this mean Papa can't play with us anymore?" Longe asked disappointedly.

"I'm afraid so, Master Longe." Jeremiah said with compassionate smile before turning to Joseph. "Good morning, your highness. Sorry to take up your time but we have morning briefings." He said with a professional tone and formal bow.

"Of course." Joseph said with a roll of his eyes before squatting down and turning his attention to his kids. "Sorry kids, Papa's gotta do grown-up work now."

"Awwww..." The kids moaned with disappointment.

"We'll still watch Spongebob later right?" Umbra asked with a hopeful tone.

"You kidding? I never miss our favorite sponge from under the sea!" Joseph said excitedly.

"YAY!" The kids cheered, making the adults laugh.

"Now go with your Auntie Shirley and Big Brother Rolo while we adults talk about boring stuff." Joseph told them brightly.

"Okay, Papa." The kids complied as they gathered around Shirley and Rolo.

"I think you've all earned some fruit snacks. My treat!" Shirley said with joy.

"Oh! Can we stop inside the Arias Villa and check on its progress?" Potestas asked with anticipation.

"Um, maybe not in-side as its not really safe but we can watch from a distance." Shirley said warily.

"I bet Longe's too chicken to go inside!" Animi suddenly suggested.

"I am not!" Longe argued.

"Then prove it!" Animi mocked.

"I'm going inside first!" Umbra shouted excitedly as she suddenly ran towards the mansion like instinct.

"No, me!" Longe shouted as he ran after her.

"I don't think so!" Animi yelled with determined look as she quickly followed them.

"Wait, kids, NO!" Shirley said frantically as she ran after them with Kaecus and Potestas.

"Guys, listen to Aunt Shirley!" Potestas tried to tell them.

"It could be dangerous! Or at least very dusty!" Kaecus tried to dissuade them.

"Really wish I could use my Geass right now." Rolo said tiredly as he went after them.

"Thanks new little bro and sis!" Joseph yelled to them, waving goodbye.

"Those kids are gonna be the death of her." Kallen said to Cecina with pity.

"If anything, it'll give her practice when she bears children with Lelouch." Cecina said casually.

"Uh! I doubt that's on their minds right now!" Kallen argued, cheeks blushing.

"Oh? Are you saying you haven't thought about courting his Majesty yet?" Cecina asked with a playful smirk.

"CECINA!" Kallen said angrily, now completely red in the face.

"What does basketball have to do with us dating?" Joseph asked quietly to Suzaku.

"Don't worry about it..." Suzaku said tiredly.

"On to business then. Jerry, any word on Cambodia?" Joseph asked.

Due to linking to people's memories, Joseph was able to find out Schneizel had a base made in the country and it was most likely where he was holding Lelouch and Nunnally.

"We sent a squadron to evaluate the conditions and prepare for an operation. But the base was already destroyed when they arrived." Jeremiah informed them.

"Destroyed?! Did someone get there before we did?" Kallen asked with shock.

"No, most likely Schneizel jumped ship and destroyed anything we could use." Suzaku said with annoyance.

"Son of a bitch! That means Damocles is going to be launching soon." Joseph said with frustration. "Please tell me Nina is close to finishing that counter weapon?" He asked.

"Her, Lloyd, and Cecile are starting to run tests. They're working as fast they can." Cecina told him.

...

At the moment, Nina, Lloyd, and Cecile were hard at work on a defuser to counter the FLEJA.

"I really do appreciate both of you for helping me with this. Even if it is my burden." Nina told them.

"Don't put it all on yourself, Nina. Guilt can eat you up." Cecile told her with concern.

"If anything, you did construct a fine piece of world-ending material." Lloyd said casually.

"LLOYD!" Cecile said angrily as she pinched his ear.

"It's a compliment!" Lloyd said as winced at the pain.

"It's okay Cecile. I know this is just how he is. What matters is we get this counter weapon up and running. The sooner the better." Nina told them determined.

Cecile could see the bags under Nina's eyes, knowing she was bending over backwards to undo her mistake.

"By the way, did you know?" Cecile said out of nowhere.

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"Suzaku used to attend school with Zero. They had classes together." Cecile told him.

...

"The problem now is finding out what his first target is going to be." Joseph said.

"He never had one in mind?" Cecina asked.

"No, he had multiple in mind. That's the problem. He was still the calculating the whole thing when I saw his memories." Joseph told them.

"Which means any country is basically a target at this point, including Japan." Kallen said anxiously.

"And Pendragon." Suzaku said with worry.

"Any good news?" Joseph asked.

"Well we managed to vanquished former Knight of Five Norland von Lunebelg and his men." Jeremiah said on a positive note.

"That bastard actually had the gall to use orphans to do his dirty work. I'm honestly glad he put up a fight, gave me an excuse to shoot him dead." Kallen said with a smirk.

"At least now he can't put any more kids in harm's way." Suzaku said.

"Hmmm..." Was Joseph said with a look of thought on his face.

"What is it, Joseph?" Cecina asked.

"I was just thinking. What if Norland...was a clone...of my father..." Joseph said with a look of dramatic shock.

The others just stared at him blankly.

"...Nah, that's stupid." Joseph said after a moment of thinking about it.

"There's still a lot of mess to clean up. His Highness isn't exactly very popular with the nobility." Jeremiah said.

"People resist when you take away their vested interest. They fight back." Cecina said.

"Well thank you for the obvious irony." Kallen said with blank face.

"Our forces have also dwindled down to 40% from what it once was. Many aren't taking Joseph's ascension well." Suzaku said with concern.

"Eh, let them be babies for all I care. They don't like it? Too bad. We are progressing towards the future, a future where 24 hour cartoons are a right and not a privilege!" Joseph declared proudly.

"Yes, I'm sure that's what they're all striving for." Cecina said with a roll of her eyes and smirk.

"You know what he means." Kallen said with amusement.

Suddenly, a phone rang, belonging to Joseph.

"Yello?" Joseph answered, putting it on speaker.

"Your Majesty, it's the Knights of the Round! They're approaching, with the Knight of One in the lead!" A Britannian Soldier told him over the phone.

"What?!" Kallen said with shock.

"How many?" Suzaku asked quickly.

"We can only confirm four of the Rounds among them. They're accompanied by their personal forces!" The Soldier said.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

The four Knights of the Round and their fleet came headway towards the capitol.

"We swore absolute loyalty to Charles zi Britannia." Bismarck said from inside his Galahad.

"We will never recognize this damned usurper." Dorothea said angrily from inside her Palomides.

Monica had a look of determination inside her knightmare while Gino had a look of weariness.

"Suzaku...Anya..." Gino thought to himself.

...

Aries Villa

"Alright! Go time!" Joseph said excitedly as he raced down the hill.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Kallen yelled after him.

"I'm not missing out on this! If a king doesn't lead, how does he expect his followers to follow!" Joseph told her with a smirk.

"Not fair to use Lelouch's words against us!" Suzaku said with annoyance as they went after him.

"Shall I get my Siegfried ready as well, your Majesty?" Jeremiah asked.

"Stay with my siblings and my kids, Jerry! Let nothing happen to them!" Joseph ordered.

"No harm shall come to them!" Jeremiah saluted, Cecina simply nodded and went with him.

"Call Anya. I'm sure she'll want to be part of this fight." Joseph told Suzaku.

Suzaku nodded in understanding and picked up his phone.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

"I'm surprised you wanted to bring an entire fleet, Bismarck. Seems unnecessary." Dorothea said over the comms in Bismarck's knightmare.

"That dimwit managed to stage a coup with just a small group of people. It's best not to underestimate him, Dorothea." Bismarck told her from inside the Galahad.

"That only happened because he had Anya and that eleven on his side. He won't..." Before Dorothea could could continue, she saw something pull up on her radar. "Wha..? Interceptors? But there's only three..."

Gino and Monica saw it too. Soon enough the visual became clearer.

"Wait is that..." Monica said with wide eyes from inside her Florence.

"Suzaku Kallen, and Anya..." Gino said with shock inside his Gawain.

"And the retard himself." Dorothea said with annoyance from inside her Palomides.

"Do not fire!" Suzaku said to them.

The Guren, Lancelot Albion, and the Modred stopped several feet away from the Knights of the Round. Joseph standing on top of the Guren.

"Hear-ey...hear-ey...the King wishes to speak to...thee..." Kallen said blankly. "Seriously, Joe?"

"It makes us sound official, Kal Pal!" Joseph said proudly.

"Well look what we have here. The Retarded Emperor decided to grace us with his presence." Dorothea said mockingly.

"Please watch your tone when addressing his Majesty." Anya said politely.

"I don't need to hear backtalk from a traitor like you!" Dorothea said angrily.

"Dorothea, please! They've come here to talk, so let's talk." Gino reasoned.

"Thank you, Gino." Joseph said with a smile.

"Is that the Albion?" Bismarck asked.

"A 9th generation Knightmare Frame." Monica said with awe.

"Yes, a fine piece of machinery by Cecile and Lloyd." Suzaku said from inside his knightmare.

...

Knightmare Hangar

Cecile, Lloyd, and Nina watched the event play out on the screen.

"Thank you Suzaku." Cecile said quietly.

"Why was your name first?" Lloyd asked with annoyance.

Nina couldn't help but chuckle.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

"Suzaku, Anya...it's good to see you're both alright. You as well Kallen." Gino said gratefully from inside his knightmare.

"I'm happy to see you again, Gino." Anya said.

"Me too." Suzaku said.

"Save the pleasantries. Tell us why we shouldn't blow you all to Kingdom Come?" Bismarck asked.

"I'm here to offer a truce." Joseph said.

Gino and Monica were surprised by this, while Bismarck and Dorothea scoffed.

"A truce with you? The one who slain our Emperor in cold blood and then took his throne? Why would we ever ally ourselves with you?!" Dorothea asked, offended by the mere question.

"First off, only reptiles have cold blood. I should know, it was in a book my mom read to me." Joseph said matter-of-factly, making his friends chuckle in amusement. "Second, killing dad was the hardest thing I've ever done, had there been any other route, I would have taken it. That being said, my dad left this world with a lot of hate and I'm here to make it better." He said.

"How amusing. You think by getting rid of his Highness, the world can suddenly turn over a new leaf and get along? And you of all people can make that happen?" Bismarck asked from inside his knightmare.

"The world can't turn over a leaf, sir. It doesn't have hands!" Joseph argued, pissing off Bismarck and Dorothea to no end and getting a bark of laughter from Kallen.

"Does he do that on purpose?" Monica asked Gino from the comms.

"Honestly, it's hard to tell." Gino confessed quizzically from inside his knightmare.

"What I'm trying to say is I just want to help. Something dad never wanted to do." Joseph told them determinedly.

Monica couldn't help but look down sadly at that statement.

"His Majesty was going to help this world more than you'd ever realize!" Bismarck said angrily.

"You would know about that, wouldn't you, Biscuit?" Joseph asked with a stern eye, making Bismarck's grit his teeth with anger.

"Look, we can go around in circles all day, but the bottom line is we're offering you a choice." Kallen told them sternly from inside her Guren. "Either join us right now..." She started.

"...Or perish under the might of the new Empire." Suzaku finished inside his Lancelot Albion.

Dorothea couldn't help but grin at this. "Taking out the Retarded Emperor and his lackeys in one sitting, I couldn't ask for a better choice." She said with delight from inside her knightmare.

"Like I would ever join someone who puts his title on a shirt!" Bismarck said with disgust as he pulled out the Galahad's sword.

"Why did you go with Mister Emperor anyway?" Gino asked curiously.

"That's not important." Dorothea said.

"Well duh, so people know I'm the Emperor and I'm a boy." Joseph said as if it was obvious.

"Why would people get confused whether or not you were male?" Monica couldn't help but ask.

"Who cares-" Dorothea tried to ask.

"They won't because I'm wearing the shirt." Joseph emphasized.

"But why do you need-"

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE! ENOUGH ALREADY!" Dorothea seethed as she took out the Palomides' sword and swung it at Joseph.

Joseph reacted quickly as he jumped off the Guren in the nick of time and landed on the Palomides.

"Engarde then, sabotouer!" Joseph said with a faux french accent as he bent forward and look at the Palomides' sensors dead on.

"ARGH! I'm going to rip you in half!" Dorothea said with rage as she tried to wipe at him, leading him to crawl around the knightmare.

"Joseph!" Suzaku yelled as he tried to go after him, only to be stopped by Bismarck.

"Suzaku Kururugi! I heard that your goal was to become the Knight of One. But I am the only Knight of One. And I'll never lose that title to a traitor like you!" Bismarck decreed as he swung his sword at the Lancelot Albion, which Suzaku quickly blocked.

"Charles' Reign is over, Bismarck. And I intend to make it stay that way!" Suzaku told him as their fight begun.

"Then you have a fool's dream!" Bismarck said from inside the Galahad as the stitches left his left eye and his Geass awoken.

...

"Kallen, leave Gino to me." Anya told Kallen over the comms in her knightmare as she saw her charge the Tristian.

"Understood." Kallen said simply as she set her sights on the Florence.

"You're not going to try and protect your boyfriend?" Monica asked.

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. You just worry about yourself." Kallen said from inside the Guren as she got it into a battle stance.

"So this is the Guren? I've heard stories about your battles, despite our differences I am honored to fight the former Ace of the Black Knights at her fullest potential." Monica said professionally as she observed the new and improved Guren on her monitor.

"I would feel privileged to fight a Knight of the Round, if I didn't already take down that psycho Vampire of Britannia." Kallen said dismissively.

"I never did like Luciano. He only cared about filling that bloodlust of his. I however, actually care about loyalty, especially to Emperor Charles." Monica said she extended the Florence's arm blades and charged the Guren.

...

"Will you wake up, Anya? You can still come back to us." Gino pleaded as he launched them his slash harkens at Anya.

"Come back? You've got it all wrong, Gino." Anya said casually as she caught them with ease. "I'm happy to be part of the new Empire. Especially when his Highness gave me a gift." She told him gladly.

"A gift?" Gino asked from inside his knightmare, not understanding.

"If you've sworn true loyalty to Britannia then it's you who should join on our side, Gino. Or, will you stand against Britannia?" Anya asked him from inside her knightmare.

"Against Britannia?" Gino asked in surprise from inside his knightmare as he let his guard down.

Which proved to be a mistake as the Mordred used its cannon to take out the Tristian's legs and then Anya charged and slammed the knightmare out of the sky.

...

While that was going on, Joseph was playing spider-monkey with the Palomides as Dorothea kept trying to grab him.

"So you're Dorothea right? I'm guessing you don't like me too much?" Joseph asked playfully.

"NO!" Dorothea said furiously.

"That's a shame!" Joseph said excitedly as he shook his booty at her, infuriating her even more.

…

Pendragon

"We interrupt our program with this live broadcast from the Holy Britannian Empire." Milly reported.

Having been relocated in a unnamed shelter. Shirley, Jeremiah, Cecina and Rolo watched with worry while the kids watched with intrigue and excitement.

…

Ikaruga

"At this moment, the newly titled Knights of the Round are engaged in battle with Emperor Charles' former knights.

"That's the Lancelot!" Tohdoh said with surprise.

"Suzaku…" Kaguya said quietly.

"And the Guren?" Urabe asked with surprise.

"With energy wings!" Xingke said with shock.

"Earl of Pudding! How dare you mess with my Guren!" Rakshata said angrily.

"They seem to be challenging Bismarck and Monica." Tohdoh commented.

"Wait, what's this? It seems something is challenging Dorothea Ernst. Or rather someone!" Milly said as the camera caught view of the Palomides flying all over the place.

The image freeze-framed and it caught Joseph hanging onto the knightmare with the wind blowing in his mouth.

"Uncle Joe!" Tianzi said with worry.

"Of course he's there." Urabe said as he shook his head in amusement.

"Yeah! Get her Joe!" Tamaki cheered excitedly.

"Joseph…" Tohdoh said, internally worried.

…

Outskirts of Pendragon

Monica and Kallen went back and forth between the Florence's blades and the Guren's claw, hoping to find an opening

"What exactly did you get out of serving Charles? He clearly wasn't interested in serving the people. 'Mundane affairs', he called it." Kallen asked as she continued to fight, using the information she learned from Joseph.

"That's my business, and I will bring justice for his murder." Monica told her.

"If you knew what he planned, you would have killed him yourself!" Kallen argued. "Or did you not want to disappoint your dear old dad?"

Monica froze at that.

Her secret. She knew her secret.

"H-How…" Monica stuttered from inside her knightmare.

She didn't get to finish her question though as the Guren charged straight through the Florence, destroying it.

The cockpit right in the Guren's hand.

"This battle is over." Kallen said with finality from inside her knightmare.

...

With Bismarck and Suzaku, the Lancelot tried to attack the Galahad, but it kept dodging his attacks.

"How can he know Lancelot's flight path?" Suzaku asked himself from inside his knightmare as he tried to attack, only for him to dodge once more. "And again?"

"My Geass gives me the power to see the future. Only once before, I used this power when I battled Lady Marianne." Bismarck told him with pride.

"So you can predict my moves. But still…!" Suzaku said determinedly.

"Suzaku, allow us to assist!" Anya said over the comms as she and Kallen came to his side.

"No! This is my fight!" Suzaku told them from inside his knightmare.

"Seriously?! Don't be an idiot!" Kallen said with angry annoyance on his monitor.

"Please Kallen, I have to do this. I must be victorious!" Suzaku said with passion.

"You truly are a worthy opponent; I can see why Charles saw so much potential with you. And yet you wasted it for a moron who can't even tie his shoes." Bismarck said bitterly from inside his knightmare.

"Maybe not, but he's more of a leader than Charles ever was, and I was fool to ever think otherwise." Suzaku told him from inside his knightmare as his irises turned red.

Suddenly he launched his knightmare at the Galahad, only for the Lancelot to go upwards. It moved in many different directions, Bismarck's Geass could barely keep up with it.

"What? What is this? Is it the machine's special functions or is it Kururugi's skill?" Bismarck wondered from inside his knightmare.

"You thought that I left behind my compassion and gentleness during battle. But that's not what drove me in the first place, it was hate. Hate for the fighting, hate for the all the death, hate for Lelouch, hate for myself..." Suzaku said bitterly.

His speed was a sight to see, even Kallen and Anya were impressed. Bismarck tried to shoot at him but couldn't get a clear target.

"I told myself that it would all be worth it, no matter what I had to do, I could make things better this way. What load of crap!" He said inside his knightmare, angry at himself.

Suddenly he stopped the Lancelot and had it look at the Galahad right in the eye. His anger turning into determination.

"But you know what? I'm done being angry, I'm done hating, I'm done with having this hole in my heart." Suzaku said proudly before he charged Bismarck.

"Head on? You insult me!" Bismarck said angrily as he charged as well.

"Because what I want, is tomorrow!" Suzaku said with all his might as he swung at the Galahad, Bismarck swinging at the Lancelot in return.

The two knightmares went past each other, and for a second nobody knew who the victor was.

Suddenly, it was the Galahad that split in half.

"I failed you, Lady Marianne." Bismarck said with regret as blood fell from his lips, his knightmare exploding around him.

His sword, now sliced in two, landed on the ground.

"And just so you know, Joseph wears slip-ons." Suzaku added from inside his knightmare.

...

Ikaruga

"The Knight of One has fallen!" Tohdoh said with shock.

"Suzaku was victorious." Kaguya said with relief.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

"Lord Bismarck!" Dorothea said with angry despair.

"Sorry, I told them not to kill anyone if they could but the guy didn't really give training buddy a choice." Joseph said awkwardly.

"RAH!" Dorothea yelled as she tried to grab him again only for him to dodge the knightmare's hand and then proceeded to smash his way through the mechanisms of the robot and ripped out some wires.

This caused the thrusters to go haywire and fly all over the place.

"Hold on, Joe!" Kallen said as she and the others charged towards Joseph.

"I got this, Kal Pal! Put the others robots out of commission, Emperor's orders!" Joseph told her through his earpiece.

Kallen was apprehensive but she trusted him, so she nodded and went to take on the rest of the army with Suzaku and Anya.

While that was going on, down on the ground level, there was jeep driving through the desert.

The one driving was a very ambitious reporter, who was recording the events live on his phone with one hand while the other hand on the steering wheel.

"This is Diethard Reid, coming to you live on his YouTube page! What you are witnessing is actual footage of the new Emperor taking on a night of the round!" Diethard said with a crazed and ecstatic look in the eye.

...

Ashford Academy

Rivalz and several students were witnessing the live report in the school library, they had brought a TV in so many could watch.

"It seems the battle between the New Guard and the Old has ceased, but the Emperor seems to be..." Before Milly could continue, it seemed she was getting notified of something. "This just in! A freelance reporter by the name of Diethard Reid is capturing live footage of the battle at this very moment! We are linking it up now!"

The screen cuts to the video Diethard was broadcasting.

"As you can see, Dorothea's knightmare is going haywire with the Emperor hanging on for dear life!" Diethard said excitedly.

"Joe..." Rivalz muttered tiredly.

...

Ikaruga

"Diethard!" Xingke said with surprise.

"So that's where that slimeball drifted off to." Chiba said with disappointment.

"Hey! At the very least, he's giving us ground level perspective." Tamaki said excitedly.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

"Wait! It looks like the Palomides is falling towards the ground!" Diethard reported as he stepped on the gas.

Palomides was indeed and thankfully Joseph launched himself off the knightmare before it made impact with the sand, he skid a few feet away while a large size crater came into creation.

A few moments later, the Palomides jumped out the crater and Dorothea was more pissed than ever.

Diethard parked his jeep a few feet away and continued to record.

...

Pendragon

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I am capturing firsthand the showdown between Emperor Joseph and the former Knight of Four!" Diethard said with zeal.

"Get her, Papa!" Umbra said excitedly.

"BASH HER SKULL IN AND RIP OUT HER ENTRAILS!" Animi said crazily.

"Let's tone it down a bit, Animi." Rolo said nervously. He was desensitized to violence but Animi's thirst for it scared him sometimes.

"He'll be okay, right Aunt Shirley?" Kaecus asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Kaecus, your father's endurable for anything at his point." Shirley reassured her.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

"Damn it! My flight capability is completely shot!" Dorothea said angrily as she looked the knightmare's stats from inside.

"Hey! It's not too late to join us! I'll make you hot chocolate!" Joseph yelled over to her.

"DO I SOUND LIKE A CHILD TO YOU?!" Dorothea asked furiously, not liking being mocked.

"...Um...maybe?" Joseph said with genuine confusion.

"ARRRGGGH!" Dorothea screamed as she took out her gun and fired her cannon at him.

Joseph promptly dodged and laughed wholeheartedly.

"Whoa! Someone's trigger-happy! I LOVE IT!" Joseph said excitedly.

"Let's see how much you love it when I blow you to HELL!" Dorothea threateningly from inside her knightmare.

Joseph only grinned as he took his walkman.

"I do love a challenge."

And proceeded to press the play button, what came out was some sort of Russian folk music.

He readied himself into a running position as his grin grew wider and wider.

Dorothea stared back at him more intensely.

Gino and Monica both stared at the situation with engaged looks.

Kallen watched with a smirk.

Suzaku observed warily.

Anya had her phone out to record it.

...

Knightmare Hangar

Lloyd watched with intrigue while Nina and Cecile watched with worry.

...

Pendragon

Jeremiah looked on solemnly. Shirley looked on with mild concern with a more concerned Kaecus in her arms. C.C. was having a slice of pizza, Rolo and Potestas observed solemnly with Potestas on Rolo's shoulders, rest of the kids watched with awe.

...

Ikaruga

The Black Knights watched with wide eyes, waiting with anticpation.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

Soon enough, Dorothea fired her cannon again rapidly at Joseph, who skipped his way to the Palomides while dodging the onslaught left and right. When he got close enough, he started dodging cannon fire in a form of dance by swiping left and right, spinning, and twirling. He then dodged another projectile by diving under it, he slid towards the legs of the knightmare and then proceeded to acrobat his way up to the knightmare's head.

He then proceeded to perform the Prisiadki(squat kick dance) to the rhythm of the beat on top of the Palomides' head while shouting "HEY!" This annoyed Dorothea even more and tried to grab him again, he responded by quickly hopping off the knightmare's head, grabbing it's arm, spinning around and hitting it in the face. He then let go and hopped on the ground on the balls of his feet, enjoying the music coming from walkman.

Dorothea was going to have an ulcer at this point because now she was seeing red and proceeded to bring out the knightmare's sword and slashed at Joseph, who effectively pushed himself away and ran from the Knight of the Round.

She swiped her sword back and forth at the dimwit, who just jumped into the air and twirled liked a ballerina with a dopey smile on his face as he dodged the sword with ease.

"HOLD STILL!" Dorothea screamed with rage as she swung her sword without any real direction.

Joseph just laughed at her annoyance. But while he was having fun, he knew this battle would need to end soon.

He looked around and saw the dust and sand that had gathered up, making it more difficulty to see. This gave him an idea.

"Lightbulb!" Joseph thought with a grin.

He then doubled his speed to get some distance from Dorothea.

"Hey! Get back here!" Dorothea said angrily as she charged her knightmare at him.

"Come on, where is it?" Joseph muttered to himself as he quickly looked around.

His eyes eventually found what he was looking for and he stopped in front of it.

He then took of his coat and held it out at arms length like a cape. "TORO! TORO!" He yelled excitedly as he then waited for the knightmare to make its way towards him.

"I have you now!" Dorothea said inside her knightmare with a crazed smile, throwing all logic and competence out the window.

Joseph responded by stretching his mouth out and sticking his tongue out.

Which just provoked her even more.

"This is it everyone! The former Knight of Four is going for the killing strike!" Diethard reported from his jeep.

...

Pendragon

Shirley, Rolo, and the kids looked on with worry.

"What's he doing?!" Rolo asked.

"Papa, move!" Kaecus begged.

...

Ikaruga

"Ah man! This is intense!" Tamaki said anxiously.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

Dorothea raised her sword high in the air to deliver the killing strike, knightmare going at full speed.

Joseph responded by simply jumping high into the air and letting the figure, which turned out to be Galahad's sword, bash right into the Palomides' face, smashing it into pieces.

This caused the controls to go haywire, causing the knightmare to move erratically, causing it to crash right into the sand.

"Olé!" Joseph exclaimed as he landed and did a dramatic bow.

...

Pendragon

"Yeah! That's our Papa!" Animi cheered excitedly, along with her siblings!

"He's so cool!" Umbra said, stars in her eyes.

"He showed that mean lady who's boss!" Longe said triumphantly.

"A true warrior!" Jeremiah praised.

"Did you see that Aunt Shirley! Did you see what Papa did?!" Kaecus asked excitedly as she pointed at the screen.

"I did! It was amazing!" Shirley said happily as she hugged her tight.

"Seems her rage was so focused on Joseph, she didn't even pay attention to her surroundings." C.C. said with amusement.

"Very much big brother." Rolo said with a small smile.

"He's amazing!" Potestas said with glee.

...

Ikaruga

"Hell yeah! That's my second best bud!" Tamaki said boastfully "Took her down like it was nothing!"

"Incredible..." Kaguya muttered with amazement.

"Unbelievable..." Chiba muttered with annoyance.

Tohdoh just smiled proudly at the display.

"Isn't Uncle Joe just awesome-tacular, Xingke?" Tianzi asked, her vocabulary clearly picked up from Joseph.

"He's certainly something..." Xingke deadpanned.

...

Knightmare Hangar

"Starting to wonder if his highness is either extremely lucky or secretly competent." Lloyd mused.

"Lloyd..." Cecile started with a lecturing tone as she went to pinch his ear. Nina herself looking at him unamused.

...

Outskirts of Pendragon

"WOO! NOW THAT WAS FUN!" Joseph cheered as jumped around in the sand.

"You really do you like to play it close to the chest, huh Joe?" Kallen asked tiredly, Guren's hands still holding onto Monica's cockpit.

"Wish you would be more careful." Suzaku said with concern, descending from the Lancelot.

"Aw, thanks for worrying, training buddy!" Joseph said gratefully as he pulled Suzaku's head into an interlock and gave him a noogie.

"Recorded." Anya said simply as she opened her cockpit, Gino's cockpit in the Mordred's hand.

Gino himself was having an internal conflict with himself.

"Anya and Suzaku willfully chose to fight for Joseph. The things he's been doing...what have I become? Am I a knight of Britannia? And if I'm not…" Gino questioned himself before slamming his hand down on the control panel. "Then what am I fighting these battles for?!" He asked, his eyes shut tightly.

Suddenly he heard a knock from the outside.

"Hey Gino!" A voice called out to him.

He looked up and was surprised to hear Joseph on the cockpit with his dopey smile.

"Can you come out? I wanna talk about some stuff with you guys." Joseph told him.

Gino could only look in confusion. "Uh...sure?" Was all he could say.

He opened his cockpit was greeted by Kallen, Suzaku, and Anya being on guard, Monica was outside too with her hands up in surrender, along with Britannian soldiers rounding up Dorothea and bringing her to the group.

"Hey Anya..." Gino said awkwardly.

"Good to see you, Gino." Anya said simply with a small smile, surprising him.

"You traitorous eleven filth! You killed Bismarck!" Dorothea said venomously.

"A result I wish didn't need to happen, but he left me no choice." Suzaku said solemnly.

"If it means anything, he'll receive the proper honors any Knight of the Round would for their death." Joseph tried reassure her.

"Go to Hell, Retard!" Dorothea spat.

"I think you mean McDonalds." Joseph said simply before turning excited again. "Alright! Now that we're all here, let's-"

Before he could finish, the group saw a jeep pulled up to them at a fast pace. Kallen, Suzaku, and Anya got into a defensive stance while a few of the soldiers aimed at the vehicle.

It was then Diethard jumped out when a crazed grin on his face.

"Magnificent!" He said with excitement.

"Diethard?" Joseph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh great..." Kallen muttered with annoyance.

"Friend of yours?" Suzaku asked quietly.

"Definitely was never that." Kallen said bitterly.

"A glorious spectacle that not even Zero had ever given us! You are truly amazing!" Diethard cheered as he approached Joseph.

Only to be stopped by the new Knights of the Round.

"You got a lot of nerve showing your face here, you prick." Kallen said as she aimed her sword right at his throat.

"Always a pleasure to see you Kallen. I must say it's quite a surprise to see both you and Suzaku here working for the New Britannia." Diethard said with a smirk, not even afraid.

"And you're still the slimeball reporter who goes after the hottest story, no matter who you hurt in the process." Kallen spat as she push her sword closer to his throat.

"Guilty as charged. But right now that hottest story would be the new Emperor and his posse reforming Britannia! I knew I was right in following you!" Diethard said excitedly, pissing off Kallen even more.

"Weren't you the one who filmed the debut of Zero? The same time that I was suppose to be executed?" Suzaku asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Unfortunately I was still part the old regime at the time, no hard feelings." Diethard said with a quick apology. "You have to admit though, Zero gave you a grand rescue, one that I got to show to the world!" He said with pride.

"Joe, please let me kill this man." Kallen said with annoyance as wiping the smirk off the douchebag reporter's face would a bit of divine justice for her.

"Easy Kal Pal, the man came out all this way just to watch us battle, it's a bit badass honestly." Joseph said as he knew it was something he would do.

Kallen gave her boyfriend a deadpan stare before sighing tiredly and lowering her sword.

"Merciful as you are powerful, my liege." Diethard said with a dramatic bow.

"Don't think you're off the hook, I haven't forgotten the shit you pulled last month." Joseph said a little bitterly. "Soldiers, take him back to the throne room, keep him company as I would like to have words with him later." He ordered.

"Yes, your highness." A Britannian Soldier said as he gestured Diethard to follow him, who made no complaints.

"Alright, now back to the main event!" Joseph said, wanting to get back on track as he clapped his hands excitedly. "Let's talk business!"

Monica took that opportunity to speak up "How did you know about-"

"Let's save that particular business for later." Joseph told her with a sad smile.

"If you're still trying to convince us to join your empire, you can forget it! I'm not going to give my loyalty to some retard who needs to classify to people that he's a boy on a shirt!" Dorothea said angrily.

"A-HA! So you admit that the shirt works!" Joseph said, feeling proud of himself.

"I NEVER SAID-Oh for the love of God, are we really going to listen to this moron any more than we should?!" Dorothea exclaimed with annoyance and rage.

Anya's words from earlier rung through Gino's head.

"If you've sworn true loyalty to Britannia then it's you who should join on our side, Gino. Or, will you stand against Britannia?"

"Let me ask you guys something. The army?" Joseph asked.

Gino, Monica, and Dorothea blinked confusingly at that.

"Excuse me?" Gino asked.

"The army? Why did you guys join the army? Why become Knights of the Round? You don't even have a round table!" Joseph asked wondrously.

Dorothea scoffed at that. "To contribute to the glorious might of our country! Which is now diminishing thanks to you." She said bitterly.

"I wanted to capture someone's attention I suppose." Monica said quietly, Joseph eyed her sympathetically.

Gino stared at the ground, thinking about how to answer that question.

He then sighed as he began to answer. "I was the fourth son born of my noble family, I saw more of the servants and my siblings than I ever did of my parents. I didn't really know too much about the world besides what was taught to me in class, learning the same thing everyone else did, about how special Britannia was. At the age of 14, my family hired a teenage Japanese maid, Akemi Umi, and I found myself falling in love with her." He told them.

This got a surprise out of the group there, especially Kallen. Except for Joseph who just listened solemnly.

"We began to see each other in private, tell each other about our day, learn things about one another one tidbit at a time." Gino said with a wistful smile. "It was nice, and then one day my parents found out about us and had her literally beaten out of the house. They told me not to interact with her kind, as it was unbefitting of a noble. It was then I started to realize how the nobility looked down on others, especially foreigners." He said bitterly. "Two years later, I ran away from home and joined the military, a year later I became a Knight of the Round. It was at that moment, I thought to myself I could finally make a difference, like Suzaku." He told them, Suzaku looked at him with understanding.

"But that didn't happen, did it?" Joseph asked rhetorically.

"...No." Gino started quietly. "The system I wanted to change to so badly was already too polluted with corruption, bigotry, and hatred. And I just...gave up I guess. I started going with the flow of things, I thought 'If I'm in this group, I might as well enjoy its benefits.' At the very least, I could have my comrades' backs, make sure everything was done by the book, go into the battlefield every one in awhile. Pretend I was happy" He said quietly.

"You started wearing a mask." Kallen said, knowing what that was like.

Gino gave a sad chuckle to that. "That is one way of putting it. Truthfully, when I learned the Emperor was killed, I cared more about how it was going to affect you guys. I didn't want to see you executed or put in a prison buried six feet under. The Emperor though? Honestly, I hope the guy is burning in Hell as we speak." He said bluntly.

"How dare you! I shall have your head!" Dorothea yelled with rage as she tried to attack Gino, Britannian soldiers having to restrain her.

"Get her out of here." Joseph ordered, knowing at this point he wasn't going to sway her to their side. "And how do you feel about all of this now?" He asked after the soldiers left.

"...I think for the first time in a long time...I want to try doing some good again." Gino finally said as he looked at Joseph with determination.

Joseph gave him a sharp grin and held his hand out to the man.

"Then let's make that happen!" Joseph said proudly.

Gino gave him a sharp grin in return and firmly grasped his hand and shook it.

...

Pendragon

Guinevere wanted to throw up.

She wanted to gargle down another bottle of her drink and pills.

But she couldn't.

No, she had to put herself through this.

It's what she deserved.

Ever since Joseph ascended into the throne, she quit drinking and taking drugs cold turkey.

In return, her body ached, shivered, and broke out in cold sweats.

Her eyes were bloodshot, she vomited almost every night, and she couldn't hold herself upright anymore.

To make matters worse, she had a secret.

A secret that would change everything.

...

(Flashback)

"Are you alright, Princess? You look unwell." Alice Lohmeyer asked with concern.

"I have a headache, what do you want?" Guinevere asked bluntly, wanting to get to the point of the conversation.

Alice let herself in her room. "You were always were one of my top pupils, Guinevere. So I feel its my duty to tell you this." She told her professionally.

"Tell me what?" Guinevere asked with gritted teeth as her skull pounded.

"It's Prince Schneizel, your highness. He has plans for Pendragon, ones that include you, The First Prince, Carine, and Cassius." Alice began to say.

(Flashback End)

...

Soon she found herself leaning against the wall, finding it hard to even stand at the moment.

Her vision was starting to blur.

A low hum started to ring in her ears.

"Guinevere, is that you?" A voice buzzed as it approached her.

It took a lot of her strength to even turn her head to see who the voice it belonged to.

It was some orange-haired teenager, looking at her with concern.

Shirley she believed her name was, Joseph had called her "New little sis" for whatever reason.

The girl said it was complicated but it was honestly the last thing on Guinevere's mind when she met her.

"Are you alright?" Her 'sister' had asked her.

"I'm fine...I'm just tired." Guinevere said weakly.

To which she then vomited onto the floor.

"Oh my goodness! We need to get you to a doctor!" Shirley said with worry.

NO!

"NO!" Guinevere yelled to her.

Or that was more like her attempt to yell as it came out as a hollow "no..." as she couldn't muster the strength to even raise her voice.

"I don't...want help..." She struggled to say. "I don't...deserve..."

That was the last thing she could say before her vision went black.

...

When her vision cleared, she saw the IV bag next to her bed and heard the heart monitor bleep right next to it.

She felt a lot better than she had the entire week.

"Tried to quit cold turkey huh?" Joseph's voiced asked gently. She turned her head in the direction of his voice, even if she still lacked the proper strength to sit up. He sat in a chair next to her bed, a sad smile on his face.

"Vodka and vicodin does not make a good combo for withdrawal. Shirley hadn't found you when she did, you definitely would have died." Joseph continued.

Guinevere wanted to scoff at that, but all she could do was scrunch her face and look away from Joseph.

"Maybe I should have..." Guinevere said with a quiet bitter voice.

"Don't say that, Gwen. That's stupid thinking." Joseph said sadly.

"Why do you care?!" Guinevere asked angrily as she whipped her head back to him, despite the minor ache it gave. "I don't understand why you always do this! Why you treat me so kindly! Even when were kids, you never detested me! Even your own damn mother put up with me! And I can't comprehend why! I don't deserve it!" She ranted on with angry tears in her eyes.

"Yes you do." Joseph told her.

"No I don't!" Guinevere insisted.

"You do." Joseph repeated.

"I don't!" Guinevere yelled in a hoarse voice as she started sobbing. "I'm no good! I'm worthless!"

"That's not true." Joseph said as tears welled up in his own eyes, gently grabbing her head.

"IT IS! It is! How can you not see that?! Why couldn't your mother have seen it?! Why did she have to make me care about you two?!" Guinevere demanded to know as her bloodshot eyes shook and her lips quivered. "Why...why did she have to make me a human being?" She asked weakly as tears continued to rain down her cheeks.

Joseph continued to look at her in the eyes as he thought about her question. Seeing her memories, he knew it was a question that ran deep inside her like a wound.

So he took a deep breath and began his explanation.

"Do you remember all those years ago when you found me at Aries Villa? It was a couple of weeks after mom's death."

...

(Flashback)

Aries Villa - 2009

Joseph had slowly made his way out of the Aries Villa.

He wanted to get as away as he could from his aunt and siblings, they didn't need to witness what he was about to do.

The sky was sunny and the air was clear. Honestly a nice day to do what he's about to do.

He tightly clutched the knife in his hand, emotions swirling through his mind.

He tried.

He really tried.

But a life without his mother...

His thoughtful, kind, strong mother who gave him guidance throughout his life...

He couldn't do it without her.

He raised the knife to his throat, tears streaming down his eyes.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Someone screamed at him.

His head whipped to where the voice came from and his eyes widened in surprise by who it was.

"Gwen?" Joseph asked in a rare bewildered voice.

She was dressed in a uniform like she had just got out of the academy and marched towards him in an angry manner.

She quickly yanked the knife out of his hand and stared at him intensely.

"Why would you do this?! Why would desecrate her memory like this?!" Guinevere asked angrily.

"Not do it." Joseph told her tearfully.

"I just saw you-"

"Without her! Not do living with no her!" Joseph cried. "Too much! Want back!" He practically begged.

Joseph continued to cry his eyes out while Guinevere looked at him with shock. For her, ever since she's known him, he was a resilient child. No matter what names or physical assaults were thrown at him, it never wavered his happiness.

And to see him now, so withered and broken, it was heartbreaking for her to witness.

She took a deep breath as she tuck the knife into her coat pocket and approached him. She gently ran her hand through his dense, but smooth hair.

He looked up at her in confusion, seeing her face wasn't angry anymore but still stern.

"And you think this is what she would have wanted you to do? Good lord child! I knew that woman before you were even born, and she never would have allowed something like this to happen!" Guinevere said with a strict tone in her voice.

Joseph looked at his sister with surprise, never seeing like this before, never this extreme anyway.

"Your mother traveled the globe and scourged through the vile pits of humanity just to make sure you could live! Is this really where you want all her hard work to end up!?" She asked passionately.

"N...No?" Joseph said in more of a question than a statement.

"IS IT?!" Guinevere asked again, more forceful this time.

"NO!" Joseph yelled with determination.

"Then live, damn it! Live the life that she can no longer live! Live the life that she went through Hell and back for you to live! Live like your life means something! Live like you deserve it!" Guinevere said vigorously. "Because this(gestures at his display of sadness) is not a life worth living! And frankly, quite pathetic." She said dismissively.

With that, she walked away. Leaving Joseph in a state of awe, truly not expecting that from his sister.

"And keep this between us!" Guinevere quickly added as she turned back to him. "I don't need rumors spreading about whatever...this is!" She said angrily as she waved her wands around in a exaggerated manner. "Unbelievable. Had to walk all the way out here..." She continued to mumble to herself with annoyance as she left the grassy fields.

It gave Joseph time to think, for a while he just stood there, taking in everything his sister said to him. His hand soon found itself brushing over his throat, the exact location where he had held the knife earlier.

He was ready to end it all, right there without a second thought.

End the life that his mother fought so hard to safe.

End the life that everyone told her wasn't worth saving.

End the very life that she wanted nothing more than to thrive in this world!

And yet here he was, ready to undo it all without a secondhand thought.

Gwen was right.

WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING!?

Thus, he turned around and ran back to the Aries Villa! Back to where his siblings have been worried sick about him for the past two weeks!

"No more!" Joseph thought to himself.

No more moping! No more sad thoughts!

Joseph smiled a huge smile because from This moment forward, he was going to truly LIVE!

(Flashback End)

...

"Out of everyone who was offering condolences about mom's death, you were the first person to actually get mad at me for how I was handling it." Joseph told her with a laugh.

Guinevere rolled her eyes at that. "Well someone needed to get your head out of your ass. Cornelia clearly wasn't doing it." She muttered with annoyance.

"You put up a tough front like you always do, but I knew you did it because you care." Joseph told Guinevere sweetly. "It's like mom said, you're one of the good ones." He said without a hint of deceit.

"But why? Why me? I was a spoiled little shit who looked down on everyone. Why did she treat me so kindly? What made me so special? Why was I worth any of her attention?" Guinevere asked, practically begging for an answer.

"Because she saw a girl who wanted nothing more than live. Not just exists, but truly live! She wanted to give you a piece of freedom that you were never allowed to have and she knew that if you were to get it, it would make you stronger, and she was right." Joseph told her with determination.

"But I'm not..." Guinevere tried to insist.

"You are! You always have been, you put up with so much abuse from your wicked, ugly stepmother and still came out on top! You made sure I didn't make the biggest mistake of my life!" Joseph told her passionately as he put his forehead against hers.

"I am alive today because of you, Big Sister. And I will make sure you never forget it!" He finished proudly.

Guinevere couldn't hold it in anymore and just started sobbing, Joseph reacted quickly and wrapped her into a gentle but firm hug.

"No more self-hating, okay? It doesn't look good on you." Joseph told her.

They stayed like that for a few moments until Guinevere finally calmed down. She finally found the strength to sit herself up and looked at him.

"Just so you know, she wasn't my stepmother." Guinevere said blankly.

"Exactly." Joseph said with his dopey smile.

Guinevere sighed tiredly at that. "My God, how on Earth did you ever become a father...?" She muttered with annoyance.

"Oh! That reminds me! I say it's high time you properly meet the kids!" Joseph said excitedly.

"I-I don't know if I'm-"

*WHISTLE*

But before Guinevere could dissuade him, he whistled towards the door to signify the kids to come in and they ran through the door like a pack of wild animals.

"AUNT GWEN!" They screamed.

They jumped onto her bed, with Kaecus hugging her tightly around her waist.

"You're finally up!" Animi observed excitedly.

"You were asleep forever!" Umbra emphasized.

"Do you have insomnia by any chance?" Longe asked curiously.

"Papa said you were dealing with hard stuff. Is there anything we can do to help?" Potestas asked with concern.

"Please auntie! We just want to make sure you're okay!" Kaecus said with worry as she continued to tightly hug her.

Guinevere was not prepared for the onslaught of kids cluttering her personal space and assaulting her with a rapid display of words.

And yet, when she looked at their faces, she could see nothing but love come from their expressions.

Love for her.

It made more tears run down Guinevere's smiling face, but this time it was tears of joy.

Because for the first time in LONG time, Guinevere felt like she deserved it.

Soon enough, she found her own arms wrapping around her niece with pure warmth and acceptance.

"You're all so sweet to be worried about me. Especially you, Kaitlyn." Guinevere said kindly before patting Kaecus on the head. "But I'm honestly doing better than I ever have before. So thank you." She said with a genuine happy voice.

"Yay! We're glad!" The children said happily. Joseph stood in the back, giving an approving nod of the display.

"By the way, Aunt Gwen. You can call me Kaecus. All my friends and family do." Kaecus said with glee.

"Yeah, and you can call me Potestas." Potestas said.

"And I'm Umbra!" Umbra said as she waved her wands in the air with excitement.

"Animi!" Animi said with a sharp grin.

"Longe." Longe said with respectful nod.

Guinevere looked at the them with befuddlement, not hearing names such as those before.

"I see...those are definitely...interesting nicknames." Guinevere said politely.

"Welp, I'm going to let you guys get to know each other! Papa's got to go do more grown up work!" Joseph told them as he quickly gathered them in a quick group hug.

"Awww!" The kids groaned in disappointment.

"I know, I know. But what have I said about duty?" Joseph asked his kids.

"It needs to be unclogged with toilet paper." The kids said in unison.

"That's right!" Joseph said proudly.

Guinevere just gave him a deadpan stare, knowing these kids were not going to make it.

"Alright! Have fun!" Joseph said as he turned towards the door.

"Joseph, wait!" Guinevere called out to him before he could make his exit.

She knew in this moment, what her decision had to be.

"There's...there's something I have to tell you."

...

Ikaruga

The Black Knights continued to watch the news feed of the aftermath of the battle.

"Oh man! Was that awesome or what?!" Tamaki asked excitedly. "The way Joe took down that Knight of the Round without even breaking a sweat! Freaking badass!" He said like a fanboy.

"We all saw it, Tamaki." Xingke said stoically.

"He certainly is full of surprises." Kaguya said with joy.

"Can't believe Diethard of all people actually went and joined that moron." Chiba said with distain.

"Are you really surprised? Guy always goes for the biggest fish." Urabe said.

Suddenly, the news feed cut to Joseph at his throne.

"Good 'morrow, people of the world!" Joseph said excitedly to the camera.

"Joseph..." Tohdoh said quietly.

"So as I'm sure you just witnessed, my badass knights took down my dad's old army in their own badass way! Which is by being badass!" Joseph exclaimed smugly.

"He has got to get someone to write his speeches." Sugiyama said blankly.

"But just because we have shown how awesome we are doesn't mean we can't share the love. So I'm here to announce the Britannian Empire is ready to join the United Federation of Nations." He declared excitedly.

The Black Knights gasped in surprise.

"Does that mean...?" Rakshata started to ask.

"Britannia will be on our side?" Ohgi finished for her.

"There, you see? I told you he was one of us. He's my buddy!" Tamaki said happily.

"I'll make sure to play nice and follow all rules of the U.F.N. As such, we gotta do this where everything is fair game. Thus, Ashford Academy will be the location of the meeting." Joseph said.

That got another surprise out of the room.

"Lelouch's school?" Villetta said with quiet surprise.

"And now, here's a video of a monkey scratching himself!" Joseph said proudly.

The feed then cut to a video of a monkey laying down and scratching himself.

The Black Knights could only now stare in confusion. Except Tianzi who just giggled.

"And it's on every channel..." Minami said with a tired, defeated voice as he took a remote and started flicking through the stations.

Suddenly a voice announcer talked over the video.

"Good afternoon, what you are witnessing right now is a monkey scratching himself in his own peaceful habitat. Unfortunately that is not the case for all the monkeys out there. For each monkey that is allowed to scratch himself in peace are five more monkeys whose homes are being ravaged and dismantled by horrible rich people. But you can make a difference today by scanning the QR code..."

"What the Fuck is going on..." Xingke said with a bewildered annoyance.

...

Damocles

"And remember, only you have the power to give monkeys the freedom to peacefully scratch themselves without judgement or worry of..." The voiceover continued.

"For God's sake, Kanon. Turn it off." Cornelia said blankly with a twitching eye, which Kanon complied with as he sighed as well.

"A certain person decided she didn't approve of us. So she's chosen to flee." Schneizel said to the two as he entered the room. "We need to deploy Damocles now. There's no more time." He told them.

"Is that the only option we have?" Cornelia asked dubiously.

"That will be up to the world to decide." Kanon said.

...

The Next Day

Ashford Academy

Crowds of people waited excitedly for Joseph to come to the academy in what could be the next step towards peace.

"We're coming to you live from Ashford Academy, the site chosen by His Majesty Joseph, Emperor of Britannia. It is here that the U.F.N. will debate whether to allow the Britannian empire to become a member." Milly told the camera from her position.

Soon they all heard his transport ship arrive and the crowds erupted with cheers.

"His Highness seems to be arriving now!" Milly said excitedly.

As soon as the transported landed, music came out through the speakers of the ship, making the crowds cheer even louder.

And this one is for the champions

I ain't lost since I began, yeah

Funny how you said it was the end, yeah

Then I went did it again, yeah

As the lyrics began, the entrance of the transport opened in a slow dramatic manner.

I told you long ago, on the road

I got what they waitin' for

Joseph then proceeded to jump out the transport and wave his hands up in the air in an excited manner.

"HELLO JAPAN!" Joseph yelled to hype up the audience.

The crowds did indeed get hyped up as they screamed for the Emperor's attention.

I don't run from nothin', dog

Get your soldiers, tell 'em I ain't layin' low

Joseph ran up to the gate that was holding back the crowd and gave them high-fives, saying "What's up!" or "How's it going!"

You was never really rootin' for me anyway

When I'm back up at the top, I wanna hear you say

Joseph continues to dance with the beat of the song!

He don't run from nothin', dog

Get your soldiers, tell 'em that the break is over

"Who wants democracy!?" Joseph yelled out to the crowd.

They erupted in cheers at that.

"Who loves pizza?!" Joseph asked excitedly.

The crowd cheered again.

"Everybody who hates pizza is an asshole!" Joseph declared.

The crowd cheered even louder.

"Okay, Joe. How about we get inside." Kallen started to insist as she came to his side.

Back in transport, Cecina and Guinevere were sitting together. Guinevere was dressed in a bathrobe and had an IV in her arm. She still looked tired but her skin wasn't as pale and her eyes weren't bloodshot anymore, but now she felt an immense amount of guilt.

"Did you really need him to say that?" Guinevere asked tiredly.

"What? Its true." Cecina said.

"Oh! It seems His Majesty has brought his honey with him!" Milly declared from her position with her Cheshire grin.

"Milly!" Kallen said with angry annoyance.

"Don't forget my kids!" Joseph said happily.

The kids took that as their signal as they charged out of the transport, the crowd erupted into even bigger cheers as they hugged their father with joy and excitement.

"EAT THAT HORSE! EAT THAT HORSE! EAT THAT HORSE!" The crowd chanted repeatedly.

Kallen could only sigh tiredly.

"Come on kids!" Joseph told them as they charged towards the school.

...

The group barged in through the doors like a pack of wild animals.

"Gooooooooooooood Morning UFN!" Joseph exclaimed excitedly, getting surprised and somewhat cautious looks from the U.F.N. members.

Except for Tianzi who just smiled in delight.

"Go hang out with your cousin Tia, guys." Joseph told them as he pointed to her.

"Okay!" The kids cheered as they ran over to her, who greeted them with warmly.

"I'll be right outside." Kallen told him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks, Kal Pal." Joseph said gratefully.

He then made his way over to he podium.

"We thank you for taking time to conduct this meeting, Emperor Joseph." Xingke said politely.

Joseph's demeanor turned to confusion. "Who?"

The U.F.N.'s demeanor turned to confusion to that as well.

"Um, you, Emperor Joseph." Tohdoh said, not understanding.

Joseph simply looked around the room, as if wondering who he was talking about.

"...Uh...Mister Emperor?" Kaguya spoke up, finally understanding the puzzle.

"Uh yeeeesssss?" Joseph asked in a smug manner.

"I hate him so much..." Xingke muttered with annoyance, resisting the urge to facepalm.

Kaguya simply sighed, wanting to get back on topic. "Do you understand that the participation is dependent upon a 2/3 majority vote of U.F.N. members?"

"Of course. As I was made aware of half-an-hour ago!" Joseph said confidently.

...

"You weren't suppose to say that part out loud..." Kallen muttered with annoyance as she watched them on the screen.

...

"Uh, yes. That's right." Kaguya said tiredly.

"Voting rights are apportioned according to each member nation's population." Tohdoh said professionally.

"The Chinese Federation has been broken up, so the nation with the largest population in the world now…" Xingke began.

"...is Britannia." Kaguya concluded.

"If we allow Britannia to join the U.F.N. today…" Xianglin began.

"You will have more than half the votes, Emperor-uh...Mister Emperor." Hong Gu said.

In short, if we vote in your favor, you could easily usurp our power and take control of the U.F.N." Kaguya told him.

"Which means you have two options. Break up your empire and let your territory secede from Britannia. Or limit your total votes to 20%." Xingke said.

"What is your response, Joseph?" Tohdoh wondered internally, curious to see how his former student will handle himself.

Joseph put a thoughtful look on his face as he put a finger to his chin, considering the options.

...

Ikaruga

"I wonder what he'll choose." Sugiyama wondered.

"Knowing him, he's probably going to do something extremely out of proportion." Rakshata said casually.

"Oh come on! Have a little faith in the guy!" Tamaki lectured.

...

Ashford Academy!

After a few moments, Joseph looked back up at the council and had a smirk on his face.

"Chairman Kaguya, I have one question that I would like to ask you." Joseph said.

"You may do so." Kaguya agreed.

"What is most important when leading the world?" Joseph asked.

"It's pride. The pride of self-governance." Kaguya said professionally.

"A wise answer, Miss Chairman. Even if I don't know what that means." Joseph said with pride, making Kaguya and the others deadpan at him. "However! I have a different answer."

"Oh, and what would that answer be?" Kaguya asked curiously.

"The will to destroy." Joseph said, his smile growing wider.

"Destroy?" Kaguya asked, not understanding.

He then suddenly reached inside his coat pockets, causing an X to form with his arms.

"Destroy the world!" He proclaimed.

The U.F.N. council froze in fear, thinking they just walked into a trap.

The Black Knights raised their guns, prepared to fire onto the Emperor if necessary.

"By serving it up!" Joseph continued, as he pulled out two items from his pockets in a dramatic fashion.

The U.F.N. and Black Knights then faltered, seeing the items in Joseph's hands.

One was his walkman, but the other was a Parental Advisory cap. Which he put on his head and turned 180 degrees, also in dramatic fashion.

"On the dance floor." Joseph concluded with a toothy grin, a grin his kids shared with him.

The U.F.N. was stumped to say the least, not expecting this at all.

"...Um...what...?" Was all Kaguya could to think to ask.

Joseph responded simply by putting his walkman on the podium and pressing the play button.

What came out was a rock melody of sorts, it started with the beat of a cymbal playing on repeat.

Joseph hung his head down as he bopped to the music.

Suddenly the music remixed itself before guitar strings came into the mix, to which Joseph started swaying his head and shoulders back and forth.

The U.F.N. members looked at each in confusion, wondering where this was going.

Suddenly, Joseph reached into his pocket again and pulled out a microphone which he spun in his hand before directing it towards his mouth.

And then proceeded to rap:

Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo!

What's going on, Yo?

Mista Emperor in the House!

Strength of an elephant!

Not very intelligent!

Brain the size of a mouse!

Sticks and stones though!

One ear in another, yo!

Ain't nothing but yap-yap!

Now let's take a moment!

Tell ya why I'm no opponent!

Get it done all in a snap!

LET'S GO!

He then took a break from rapping and started dancing to the beat, showing his moves off to the U.F.N.

They could only stare in bewilderment, not sure what to make of this.

"What...what is happening...?" Was all Xianglin could think to ask.

"We're slowly losing our minds..." Xingke responded, feeling completely dead inside.

"Uh huh..." Kaguya agreed weakly.

Tianzi and the kids just happily clapped along.

Joseph then jumped onto the podium that Kaguya and others were at and bent down so he was in her face.

Looking a little weary!

Gotta get more cheery!

For the Brits now on your side!

Joseph poked his finger on her nose at the last line, Kaguya could only stare flabbergasted.

I'm their announcer!

Buccaneer, bouncer!

Bakin' em' chicken that's fried!

Joseph then flipped over and pulled Xingke and Xianglin around his shoulders as he rapped to them, who looked at him in uncomfortable awkwardness.

Times are a changing!

Make it rearranging!

Me and my crew don't play!

Joseph continued to dance and rap behind the podium before smacking Tohdoh's chest in a friendly manner, surprising his sensei.

Cards on the table!

Cause it rhymes with jumper cable!

Now the kids come up and say-hey-hey-HEY!

At that last line, Joseph jumped on top on of their podium again and pointed to the ground where Kaguya, Tohdoh, Xingke, Xianglin, and Hong Gu were sitting. And the kids suddenly popped up around them, startling them. They now had their own caps that they were wearing backwards and sideways, Animi and Longe both had sunglasses on.

With Joseph's signal, they began singing!

Papa's gonna get stuff done!(Yeah, kids!)

Cool like the plank-tan-ton!(Spongebob!)

Papa's gonna get stuff done!(Sing it!)

Bad guys feel the Mega-toooon!

"Break it down!" Joseph cheered as he continued to dance.

He shuffled backwards along the tables. "Check 'em moves. Ain't got nothing on Mister Emperor!" He said with pride to the other U.F.N. members, who just stared completely befuddled.

His kids joined in as well, even Tianzi found herself jingling to the beat.

...

Tokyo Settlement

The citizens of the settlement were perplexed to say the least, they weren't sure what to expect from the new emperor but this definitely wasn't on the list.

"Uh...do...should we dance as well...?" A random citizen asked.

"...Yeah, why not?" Another random citizen said and soon started their own dance moves.

...

Ikaruga

The Black Knights on the ship weren't doing any better.

"...I mean...I guess it's to be expected at this point..." Ohgi said awkwardly.

Villetta could only groan tiredly.

"Yeah! Rock out, nieces and nephews!" Tamaki cheered as he also danced to the beat.

"He really is delightfully dim, isn't he?" Rakshata cheerfully asked Chiba as she rubbed her face in annoyance and exhaustion.

...

Transport

"He's going to be the death of all of us, isn't he?" Guinevere asked with an accepting tone as she took a cigarette and it light it up.

"Most likely. But you love him for it." Cecina said with a smirk.

"Unfortunately so." Guinevere agreed with an eyeroll.

...

Ashford Academy

After dancing for a bit, Joseph went back to rapping.

Here's a revelation!

From the Joe station!

Come around those to hear!

I'm building a metropolis!

Like a hippopotamus!

Ain't got nothing to fear!

Like an ecosystem!

Gotta share the wisdom!

Thus for the meeting!

So no competing!

Now for more break-dancing!

Here we go!

Joseph then proceeded to breakdance, hopping on the ground with just one hand in a circle, doing the worm, and so on and so forth. He flipped back up and took the mic to his lips.

Gotta lot dependents!

Here to supertend it!

Let the kids play in the pen!

So gotta get permission!

For fruition and admission!

To be in the U-F-N!

Britannia big but not very cool!

Could be the big G-O-A-T!

I'm asking, contracting!

Can't refuse while I'm rapping!

And that's what Mista Emperor decrees!

Sing it, KIDS!

Joseph pointed at his kids at that last line and they surrounded their father again to sing the chorus.

Papa's gonna get stuff done!(Oh Yeah!)

Cool like the plank-tan-ton!(Evil Genius!)

Papa's gonna get stuff done!(Know it!)

Bad guys feel the Mega-toooon!

At that last line, Umbra belted out a beautiful high note, really getting into it. Impressing many the UFN members.

"Yeah! That's my girl!" Joseph cheered as he swung her around, making her laugh.

He then went over to one of the cameras recording the meeting.

...

Tokyo Settlement

"Come on, folks get your dance on!" Joseph encouraged, face taking up the entire screen before he went back to dancing with his kids.

Papa's gonna get stuff done!(Let me hear it!)

Cool like the plank-tan-ton!(Television!)

The group watching from outside the academy got into the dancing too.

...

Ashford Academy

Back inside, Tianzi had joined in with the kids and their dancing.

Papa's gonna get stuff done!(Hell Yeah!)

Bad guys feel the Mega-toooon!

As the song concluded, Joseph and his kids synchronized dance back to the podium.

At the last beat, he slammed he fist down on the podium. Making the walkman fly up in the air and landing in his hand, to which he pushed the stop button.

"And that what's up!" Joseph said as he puffed out his chest and threw up his hands in "What" gesture!

The kids and Tianzi applauded from behind him and he gave them a small bow.

The U.F.N. could only stare in frozen dumbfounded-ness.

"So, what do you think? Think Britannia's cool enough to be part of the UFN now?" Joseph asked smugly from the podium.

The main branch wasn't doing any better.

Xingke stared on with a twitching eye.

Xianglin tried to think of words to say but nothing was coming out.

Hong Gu pinched his nose, wondering how he got stuck in this situation.

Tohdoh could only sigh and thought to himself, "Oh Joseph..."

And Kaguya could mutter, "Uh...", before finally gathering her thoughts together.

"Well...that was certainly a...compelling argument, Mister Emperor." She said in a polite manner. "But it still doesn't answer our question about the votes." She reminded him.

"Oh yes! Of course." Joseph said with a dopey smile before thinking to himself again. "...Sorry, what were the choices again?" He asked, completely lost on the topic.

Everyone internally groaned at that, realizing he completely forgotten what they were talking about during his rap.

"As we said. Before. Break up your empire. Let your territory secede from Britannia. Or limit your total votes. To 20%." Xingke said with gritted teeth, clawing his fingers through the podium, really wanting to chop off the dimwit's head.

"Sir..." Xianglin said as she put a hand on his shoulder, worried he was going to have an ulcer.

"Oh right, right." Joseph said, remembering now. "Well how about-"

Before he could give his answer, the doors barged open, Kallen running through them. Shocking the UFN members.

"What's the meaning of this?" Kaguya asked, wondering why the meeting was being interrupted.

"My apologies to the UFN. But there's an emergency!" Kallen told them quickly as she went over to Joseph.

"Kal Pal, if it's about Pendragon, you know that we've already got the evacuations-" Joseph started to whisper to her.

"It's not Pendragon. It's Ector. It's been destroyed." Kallen whispered anxiously.

Joseph's eyes widen at that. "What? But Gwen said..." His expression soon turned into shock and anguish as he realized what happened. "Oh no.."

He quickly turned back to Kaguya and the rest of the council and had a fake, cheery smile on his face and did a fake cheery laugh.

"Oh dear! It seems we have to continue this meeting another time! So sorry to you all but we really got to get going!" Joseph said quickly as he went over to his kids who were hanging around with Tianzi. "We gotta go kids. Right now." He told them with no sense of joy in his voice.

"Is everything okay, Papa?" Kaecus asked with a scared voice.

"It will be. But we gotta go home, okay." Kallen reassured them as she gestured them towards the exit.

"Uncle Joe?" Tianzi asked with concern.

"I need you gather all the Black Knights together later today. Can you do that for me, your Highness?" Joseph asked with a tone that saw her as a leader of a country and not just his niece.

Tianzi recognized this and quickly nodded her head in determination.

Joseph nodded back and took his leave.

...

Joseph, Kallen, and the kids quickly got into the transport where they were met by Cecina and Guinevere.

"Joseph, I-I'm sorry! I swear, she told me..." Guinevere tried to say.

"It's okay, Gwen. It's not your fault." Joseph quickly reassured her as he gave her a tight hug, which she quick recuperated. The kids soon joined afterwards.

"Any word on casualties." Cecina asked.

"Jeremiah is still surveying the area with Suzaku and Rolo." Kallen told them as the transport lifted into the air.

Soon enough, their faces appeared on the monitor.

"Your Majesty." Jeremiah said with a warily voice.

"How bad, Jerry?" Joseph asked with dread.

"The entire city is gone." Jeremiah said with anguish.

...

Ector

The Siegfried, The Lancelot, and the new Vincent floated above the large gaping hole in the ground as Sutherlands flew around them trying to maintain damage control.

"Causalities have skyrocketed into millions, not even a hint of survivors yet." Suzaku said with anger from inside his knightmare.

"The size...this was even more destructive than the FLEIJA that was used on Japan..." Rolo said with shaky eyes from inside his knightmare.

...

Transport

"Damn it!" Joseph yelled angrily as he slammed his fist onto a chair, denting it profusely.

It scared the kids, but Guinevere was quick to settle them down.

"It seems he's made his move." Cecina said quietly.

Suddenly there was a call on the monitor.

"The only one who would know the imperial private channel is…" Kallen started to say.

Joseph quickly accepted the call, knowing exactly who it was.

"Do you enjoy making others submit to your buffoonery, Joseph?" Schneizel asked him with mirth.

"Do you enjoy being a square?" Joseph spat back.

"What do you want?" Kallen asked with a sneer.

"I've gathered all the FLEIJA warheads. They're deployed to the Damocles." Schneizel told them.

"Oh, so you wanna play Battleship with Mister Emperor now?" Joseph asked with a challenging tone.

"I'm afraid that's a moot point since I don't recognize you as the Emperor, Joseph." Schneizel said dismissively.

"Well I don't recognize you as Prime Minister, so ha!" Joseph shot back with a smug tone, missing the eye roll from Cecina.

"I suppose you think that you're best suited to rule then?" Cecina asked.

"No, you're mistaken. There's another who's destined for the throne. The one who's truly best suited to rule Britannia is right here." Schenizel said as the camera panned out.

Revealing not just Schneizel. But also Kanon, Alice Lohmeyer, Odyessus, Carine, Cassius, and Dorothea.

But the most shocking for them was Nunnally in the center.

And Lelouch who was in a prisoner outfit, arms tied behind his back, and blindfolded, kneeling next to Nunnally.

"Nunnally." Suzaku said with shock.

"Lelouch..." Joseph said with a mix of relief and worry.

"Joseph. I ask you to surrender." Nunnally said with a solemn voice.

To Be Continued..

So...yeah...

Didn't finish this in 2024...

...sorry... T_T

To all my readers, I truly do apologize for letting this story fester for so long again. Especially after I was adamant about finishing it last year.

But such as life, other things started to take priority and I had to put this story on hold. That and I was dealing with a bit of writer's block again.

Thank you all who have stuck it out with me after all this time, I hope you stick with this journey as we are closer to the end now than before! I just ask for you to bear with it a little bit longer!

That being said, I won't make anymore promises when each chapter comes out because clearly I suck at keeping writing deadlines.

With that out of the way, we finally get to see how Joseph does as Emperor!

The rapping sequence was fun to write. If you're wondering what beat I was using City Kid Rock by Tennis Pro.

We also finally get to see what and who got Joseph out of his depressive state when his mother died. So basically you can thank Guinevere for all these adventures with Joe!

And for those wondering, it is canon that Monica Krushevsky is the illegitimate daughter of Charles. Which will be explored more in the next chapter.

Speaking of next chapter, hopefully I'll have it done sooner than this one. Like A LOT sooner!

Because as much as I love this story and the characters I made. I really just want to be done with it and move onto writing projects.

Hope you all had an amazing holiday! Hope to be back soon!

Until then, comment and tell me what you think!