Nicely done! In a way, this is like an alternative, 'What if C.C. gave the geass to Suzaku instead?' story. I mean, it's not. But it's Suzaku having that...glimpse...of something otherworldly, which in the end is only a might-have-been.

Oh... I liked this. It was... unusual, and at some points oddly reminded me of my Rey fic which is good, because that sort of stuff is good. At any rate, I still feel like there was something... hm... off? about the dreaming. Maybe that was the point, but I almost wonder if it's the pacing that's a little too rushed. I might reread this and give you another review, but I think that's my first impression: that the dream sequence feels a little rushed. You start out nice and slow and it builds up momentum, which is good. But it's almost as if there's a point when you *want* to slow down a little bit, but you never quite do that and you end up rushing towards the end. Just my feelings, though I might reread it and see if I still feel the same way.

But I *do* like it a lot, you have a lot of really neat descriptions, and you make the physical scenes a really good read. It's fun to figure out what Suzaku was thinking when found Lelouch and all that. It feels very real. :D

And anja-chan is playing a song right now called "Pieces of a Dream." It's... quite fitting. <3

AUGH! So excited. I read your new spiel. Wow, I think I just used that word in two languages at once. Anyway. Gah, I'm too excited, and I don't know whether I'll categorize things the same way. I think I've got one Anfangspiel (Camelot) and one Endspiel (Don't Speak). Oh, would the angsty Italian food one count as Mittespiel? And if so, then you helped write that.

ON TO THE STORY. ENOUGH PROCRASTINATION. MY HOMEWORK IS DONE, DAMMIT.

D'aw. Oh Suzaku, I love how he's fumbling, floudering about in the beginning. I like how we can see his brain trying to process everything and so he doesn't catch all the little details of what is being said to him. The part where it really felt like Suzaku is where he could relax once he finds out the girl is a secret and he can just do as he's told. It's really... understandable, but that kind of comfort and complacency is exactly opposite of Lelouch's motivations and thoughts. Gah, I love your Suzaku.

And Suzaku still believes that if he explains things, that it will be changed. That people want to do the right thing in every situation.

"He considered panicking for the space of an instant." I really like that. Like Suzaku is in control of himself enough to decide whether or not to panic. I also like how he's slowly beginning to figure out something is wrong.

Wah! Suzaku! Your conviction in letting me live is-- *flails* --beautiful!

Yes, hoarse, panicked shriek is right. T_T

(I have to keep reminding myself that you're not dead, that you resurface later. But I get so caught up in your writing that I seem glued to the here and now that you create and at that moment, it seems as if you've just been killed for protecting -me-!)

And now that Ive reached this second part, I've placed "Pieces of a Dream" on repeat. XD

"He waded through atoms, danced through particles of light." I nearly died. See, I've been consumed by astronomy and those very words in such a hideous context. But... with a SINGLE sentence, you've just changed my whole perspective. It's beautiful again and just imagining someone 'dancing through particles of light' is such an amazing image. I love your writing. *spazz*

AUGH! Seriously, you're killing me. I love this kind of thing, you know that? The vague connotations, memories without specific form, the random delving into someone's mind. "[A] smile sweeter than nectar." Amazing. And "luminescent patchwork?" Where the heck do you come up with all this fabulousness?!

...And it may be just me, but I feel like I'm picking up all sorts of extra meanings. Like the 'atoms and particles of light.' You know that's what I'm doing in astronomy. And when you have "all the light shone green now," it reminded me that that was the prompt you gave me when writing Lelouch and Suzaku as kids. Are you purposely doing this? Subconsciously? Is it coincidence?

"What is the point of going back if it means leaving you behind?" T_T SUZAKU! That ripped at my heartstrings.

Why purple? The color of Lelouch's eyes? Eyes are windows to the soul... is he metaphorically tumbling into Lelouch's world again?

Okay, you do it again. *dies some more* I love the way you use words running together to simulate Suzaku's consciousness as with sounds. That is brilliant and beautiful and the kind of writing I die for over and over again.

*flail* This whole second part is taking place entirely in Suzaku's mind. I LOVE THAT.

"[T]he only way to conquer suffering is to recognize that there are worse ways to suffer." That reads like a knife to the heart. >_< SUZAKU!


"[L]udicrous binary platoon... zero, eleven, zero, eleven." Good god, that's brilliant. Just throwing the first three words together is awesome, but then following with the actual binary and real meaning behind it... it's incredible.

Wow, the future montage here is awesome. In a way that it doesn't give anything away, but there's definitely hints at what's in store for Suzaku. Poor guy. And the hand "he so desperately wanted to reacquaint himself with." I -was- reaching back for you, you know.

AUGH!! NO! YOU MENTIONED- YOU CAN'T! I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU FOR THAT! NO! NO! SUZAKKU!! TT_TT

...I'm just dying here. Over and over. Suzaku... life isn't that painful, right? Right? T_T This seriously hurts to read. In a good way, but still, this hurts.

Okay, okay. I think this is the first time Suzaku has likely met Cécile and Lloyd. It's not THAT big of a deal, but I need to throw criticism at you SOMEHOW, so I find it just a little odd that you're using their names so casually and easily. We've been in Suzaku's very mind so much that we're aligned with his thoughts precisely. He doesn't know the weird guy is called Lloyd and his beautiful assistant is Cécile.

*gasp* And yes, yes I really did gasp. You made the little change from "Is Lelou-" to "What's the situation?" SO much more dramatic than in the series. And yet, you have the same scene. It's just forty times more powerful. There's so much meaning packed into the small change that represents a shift in his belief. And we only get to understand that through the rest of the story.

Wow. Just wow. I seriously enjoyed this. Call me arrogant, but I felt like you were catering to my specific tastes with this. And you're writing is so amazing. I get lost in it and can just revel in the way you use words and sentences. Truly extra-ordinary. :D

On a side note, this is seriously the BEST way to start a long day. <3

I'm in /awe/ at your work here. It was such a fantastic read, holy crap. XD!!

I really, really, /really/ liked how poetic everything was - not just the dream part, but everything else, too. The descriptions, the combination of words... Mah gawd, woman, you need to write a novel or something. X3!!

As far as my favourite part goes, it'd be the dream part, hands down. Your writing is something incredible, and your descriptions of colour, sensations, environments, etc, pulled me into the dream, too (as cheesy as that sounds). Honestly, you write /wonderfully/. *worships*

I also read your profile real quick (because of the Anfangspiel/Mittespiel thing in your A/N). I vote for Anfangspiel. 8D

Anyway, again, really great job with this (even though it's a once-shot and would've LOVED to read more)! Keep up the awesome work!!