I'm an idiot, and forgot to do an Author's note last chapter. Derp. Anyway, thank you for the reviews so quickly. Reviews are what keep me writing. Obviously, the more I get, the faster I update, because you guys make me want to write it. Okay, nothing really about last chapter to say, but this chapter I must present a warning for die-hard CG fans. Nunnally makes her appearance this chapter, and she will act a bit different than she did in the show. Relax, not OOC, she is still Nunnally, but she is 20 years old, so anything that doesn't seem like her, is her older age talking. I will explain more at the end of the chapter so not to spoil what is coming. The same goes for all the other characters. It's been 5 years since the Zero Requiem. That's a long time. Nunnally, Kaguya, Tianzi are all practically adults now. Ohgi and Viletta's kid is 5 years old. And many other things have changed. Just keep that in mind. But listen to me just go on and on. You're probably sick of reading this note by now. On with the chapter.

Location: Pendragon, Arizona. Brittannain Empire

Point of Interest: Royal Palace

Date: May 11th 2023

Nunnally awoke to the bird's musical singing. She almost always did. It was the reason she sleeps in the room closest to the gardens, so they would be her alarm clock, instead of an actual evil machine.

She pushed herself up, propping herself against the bed rest. She looked out her window, taking in the beauty of the gardens. It reminded her of the old gardens of the Aries Villa, and she remembered the calm atmosphere of the ones at Ashford Academy. 'Ashford. How long has it been since my last visit? I wonder how Milly is doing. I have to make a point to go see her next time I'm in Japan.'

She closed her eyes, and took a long inhale through her nose, faintly smelling the hundreds of flowers from the garden. She smiled. While recovering her eyesight was absolutely great, you lose some of the small little things that came with blindness. When she was blind, she could really feel the atmosphere around her, listen to all the sounds. She would never trade her eyesight again, mind you, no matter what little gifts blindness brought. But sometimes, it was nice to pretend, if only for a few moments.

Opening her eyes, and eyed the silent clock in the room. Seeing the time, she straightened herself and her clothing out a bit, fixing her hair slightly, and checked if she had any dry drool. 'Three…two…one…' she counted down in her head. And the door to her chambers opened. She smiled, 'right on schedule.'

The man that walked in was dressed in a way that you would never think he worked for the Empress. He wore dark jeans, with black boots made for running on terrain. He wore a red t-shirt under a black leather jacket.

"Nunnally. Good moring." He said.

"Thank you Travis. Good morning to you as well," she replied. It had taken months for her to get him to call her by her name. And even then, he only did so in private. Which, if Nunnally was being honest with herself, added a bit of thrill to it. Because there was a reason she straightened out her hair and clothing before he entered. One of the reasons he still had the position he had. From the back of her mind spoke words that would never actually leave her mouth. He was fucking gorgeous.

Travis had black hair, with the front flipped up. He had thin, sharp eyebrows, above fierce, dangerous green eyes. A sharp angled nose, with a mouth that seemed to not smile to often (she had only see him do so a few times, and every time when they were alone). He had just enough facial hair to not be a beard, but more than 5 o' clock shadow. Overall he was, as she thinks every day, extremely good looking.

Travis walked over to the side of Nunnally's bed and grasped the covers. Once she nodded the okay, he gently removed them, and slowly, softly, placed one arm under her knees, and the other under her back. His touch still sent a jolt through her body, but she would never say such brash things. He picked her up, and placed her in her wheelchair. He then proceeded behind her, and pushed her out into the hall.

"Breakfast or bath?" He asked.

"Breakfast please." Nunnally replied, and he began pushing her to the dining hall.

Nunnally had acquired Travis and his services three years ago. Travis was formerly an assassin, and had been charged with killing her older brother Schneizel. He took down, non-lethally (they were not his contract, therefore, he would kill them) practically every guard in the palace.

'He even took down Zero. And Suzaku's abilities are some of the best.' Nunnally remembered.

About to kill Schneizel, Nunnally leaped from her wheel chair, and in the way, which caused him to stop. Never before had a person jumped in the way of his target before. He was then promptly arrested and sent to prison on a double life sentence, charged with attempted murder of the Empress. He then promptly escaped, and snuck to Nunnally's room. Before she would call out for help, she decided to hear him out. Travis then got on his knees, and begged her forgiveness.

She, of course, forgave him, and he swore his remaining life to her. Like a knight, but it was different. 'He isn't just some bodyguard, or even a friend. He is always there for me. Tending to anything I want. He's like… Big Brother. He never isn't there.'

Travis became Nunnally's personal agent, doing anything she required. Be it as little as tending to her everyday needs like he currently was, or going out and… "removing elements of danger to her" as he would put it. His role in her life grew even larger as Zero had to start being a figure around the world, and therefore couldn't just be there for Nunnally. In fact Travis was so capable that, if it wasn't for his paranoia of needing to be at most only a few days away from her, he would be out with Kallen looking for this new terrorist. But the investigation could take weeks, maybe even longer. Travis refused to be away from her side that long. Especially since he believed she might be targeted. Needless to say, he was very dedicated to his job. She knew he carried at leats five weapons on him at all times. She could only ever see one, which was the Glock he kept in a under arm holster under his left arm.

Nunnally smiled again. "Always there for me," she mumbled.

"What was that your highness?" He asked, now switching to titles, since there were servants around.

Nunnally laughed. "I was just saying how you're always here for me."

"I always will be, your Majesty." He said.

Nunnally gave a fake, joking scoff. "You say that like it's a good thing Travis. You're always around, and I can never get rid of you." She teased.

She looked up, and saw the corners of his mouth rise just so slightly into a small smile.

Breakfast went on like usual. Travis brought her the food, any requests she had, which were very little. Nunnally, even as Empress, had very simple desires and wants. Her breakfast usually just consisted of cereal or oatmeal. Or sometimes, and this was about as outlandish as she got with requests, a Japanese dish from her childhood.

After breakfast, Travis wheeled her to the bathhouse they had in the gardens. Nunnally often would remember as a child, Sayoko would be in the bathroom with her, and help her wash herself. Travis, obviously, could not do this (even though a small part of Nunnally secretly wished he would) so he would always wait outside. Which, to him, meant stand guard at the door, like a terrorist would materialize out of nowhere.

Travis watched the outside of the gardens, secretly taking in the peaceful atmosphere of the place. It did little calm his nerves. Travis lived by a code that demanded he treat every day like a life-threatening one. Expect danger 24/7. 'I hope this terrorist is dealt with soon. The longer he remains at large, the longer Nunnally is in danger. And if he is as fanatical as he appears, he will come at her at some point. He will try to kill her. I refuse to let that happen. I just hope those agents catch him soon.'

000

Kallen's standing within the government got her and Wash into the crime scene easily. The bodies had all long gone to their respective families, but every other piece of evidence remained, from the footprints to the bullet casings.

The school was still closed, and police activity had decreased over the week, giving her and Wash free reign over the campus.

"They remove all the bodies already?" Wash asked, examining a blood stain.

"Yeah, we actually got them all out pretty fast all things considered," Kallen replied. She stopped examining a locker, and started staring at the hall, sighing mournfully.

"You okay?" Wash said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kallen looked at him, and then back at the hallway. 'Yeah, I'm fine, I just… I went to this school when I was a kid. Seeing it as a crime scene…it's unsettling."

Wash let out a long breathe. 'Yeah. I've seen a few cases where the crime was committed at a school, or orphanage. It always sucked. You never get used to seein' dead kids. I feel bad for the responder units that got here right after it was done. To see all those bodies… it would've been pretty bad to see. And I've seen some bad shit."

"What is it like? Being a cop I mean."

Wash took off his cap, and waved a hand through his spiky hair. "Well, at first it was a bit frustrating. Under the old administration, racism was everywhere. I put away so many people, ordered too, just because they were 'Numbers'. It was such bullshit. I signed up to help people, and I ended up having to arrest the victim half the time, because my superiors were all fucking retards."

"If you hated it so much, why didn't you quit?"

'I almost did. But then I got this one case, hostage situation, real bad. My squad moved in, took them out, and I made a call. Got in trouble for it, but it didn't matter, because I got the hostages out. And this one woman came up to me. She was young, pregnant, and non-Brittannian. And she just said thank you. Over and over again. So I figured, even through all the bullshit, I could still help some people. Or two, in her case. After Empress Nunnally took over though, it got a lot better. I started to feel like a defender of justice again." Wash answered.

Kallen chuckled. "Defender of Justice."

Wash smirked. "Okay, its tacky. Shut up."

"No, it's just funny. That was our slogan in the Black Knights. Protectors of the weak, and Defenders of Justice." She said smiling.

Wash laughed. "Zero seriously said that? That guy always seemed so…dramatic. Hey, who is he anyway? I gotta know."

Kallen scoffed. "Yeah, okay. I just tell you the secret identity of the biggest enemy of terrorists in the world. I'll get right on that."

Wash smirked "Well when you put it that way, it sounds stupid. Which why you have to put it my way."

"And what is your way, Mr. Policeman."

"Well, Imma Boss. And I'm just awesome, so as a fellow bro of awesomeness, I deserve to know some Batman rip offs identity." Wash said.

Kallen laughed. "Well when you put it that way, everything makes sense." She said sarcastically.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Red." Wash countered.

And done. Thank you Tanya, my crazy bitch best friend sister of mine, for doing Travis' description scene. As a guy, I sometimes have trouble describing other guys, from woman's points of view, hence why there was a drastic difference between Wash's description scene, and Travis'. Other than that, I have to admit, it was really fun writing older Nunnally. Later, we will see older Kaguya, Tamaki, and Nina. Obviously, other characters will be seen too, just a bit longer. Any critiques, comments, or questions, leave them in a review.