2018, A.T.B.

Well now, I think to myself as I look through a darkened helmet visor, this is terribly mysterious. I certainly don't remember wearing a helmet when I went to bed last night.

"What the -?! Who's there?!"

My head whips around to either side, scanning desperately for threats as I cry out in a startled voice that doesn't sound like mine.

"Show yourself!"

...ahhh. That's why my body is moving and talking without my say-so.

Because it isn't my body in the first place - but rather, I'm stuck in someone else's.

Sorry, dude. I'm not sure how or why I'm living in your head all of a sudden but, ah. Nice to meet you?

"...the stress of the situation is getting to me," I hear myself mutter softly. "Just ignore the voice in your head, Private, and keep focused on mission."

Private? Mission? Speaking thereof in a deeply concerned tone? I guess you're probably a soldier, then. You sound pretty young, though. What's your name, kid?

The guy whose body I'm stick in is spared from addressing my question directly by a voice on the radio.

"Sir Jeremiah's KMF squadron are battling the terrorists in Shinjuku Ghetto! All ground troops, prioritize finding that poison gas!"

...those are a lot of suspiciously familiar terms being thrown around. I have a bad feeling about this...

I've been walking around this whole time - no, no, that's unfair. Walking around implies aimless or purposeless movement. I've - we've, rather - been searching this subway system, looking for something. A trailer with stolen poison gas on it.

And a minute or so later, we find just such a thing.

"This is Private Kururugi," my new best friend says into his own radio. "I've found the trailer and gas capsule."

"Confirmed. Stay there until the disposal squad arrives."

...well, shit. I am where I thought I was. Nice to meetcha, Suzaku Kururugi. What a long, strange trip this is going to be.

"...you aren't ever going to be quiet, are yo-?"

As he's starting to realize that I'm more than a mere stress-induced hallucination, I abruptly notice a thin guy, probably a teenager, standing dangerously close to the capsule - NO! I can't let that civilian die!

"STOP! YOU'LL BE SPRAYED WITH POISON GAS!"

Before I can even process what's going on, and certainly before the civilian can heed my - fuck, this is gonna be confusing - Suzaku's warning, we've already tackled the poor guy.

Suzaku, calm down! He's not actually in dang- ...ah, but you don't have the frame of reference to understand that. It's fine, though. That reckless, desperate heroism is something I can respect.

Actually, I should clarify that. The willingness to sacrifice your own life in defense of someone else's is noble in general terms. But when you don't even care about what you're giving up, it's more... sad, almost pitiful.

I can tell from the annoyance in his heart that he wants to rebuke me and tell me off, civilian presence be damned, but this time the 'poison gas capsule' opens up and interrupts him, revealing a lovely girl with straight green hair in a prison uniform - she's clearly breathing, but seems to be either asleep or unconscious. Understandable, after having been locked in an airtight box for who knows how long.

"A... girl?!"

ATTABOY, Suzaku! You can state the obviou- no, wait, that isn't quite fair to you, you were told this was poison gas. I suppose it's only natural that you should be momentarily confused.

...although, I suppose that woman can prove toxic to those around her in a certain fashion, hahaha!

"...what?"

"...why would a prisoner be described to infantry as poisonous gas? And why was she being transported on truck through a subway?"

Ah, Lelouch Lamperouge. Or rather, vi Britannia, I should say. Even now, I can see the gears turning behind his eyes, asking the right questions and piecing together the situation just from what he sees.

"Wait." My, no, Suzaku's brain gets caught back up to speed and pays attention to what I was just saying. And now that he can't unhear it, he can't unsee the resemblance to his childhood friend.

"Le... Lelouch?! Is that you?!"

This desperate burning in my heart, what is - Lelouch! Thank god you survived all this time!

...of course. I'm stuck in Suzaku's body, so it's obvious I should be hit with his feelings, too. As childhood memories of a time long gone by run past my vision, I can't help but smile right alongside Suzaku. Even if the circumstances might be unfortunate, we've run across an old friend whom we feared was dead.

Cling onto this moment, Suzaku! This is proof that you can still be happy!

"...Suzaku?" That look in Lelouch's eyes... okay, I'm not even Suzaku, and I gotta admit, being looked at that way hurts. It's seeing the relief of finding an old friend, but that relief almost immediately turns into a fierce anger that we both can see is largely a mask for disappointment. "Why did you become a Britannian soldier?!"

Why did I-?! "I joined so I can do my part in making this senseless death and destruction stop, Lelouch! What's your excuse for becoming a terrorist?!"

Hey, Lelouch isn't a terrorist!

"I am not a terrorist," Lelouch angrily replies in unwitting agreement with me.

You have to give him another twenty minutes or so, then he'll be one.

...then he'll- what are you talking about?

"And if you want to stop senseless death and destruction," the Black Prince continues, heedless of my and Suzaku's burgeoning back-and-forth, "then why don't you just obliterate Britannia?!"

"You've done well to stall the terrorist!," a new voice calls out. "For a mere Honorary, you have quite the excellent record."

As a purple-haired guy in a ritzy, military police-like uniform approaches with a whole goon squad behind him, Suzaku recognizes them as Prince Clovis's personal royal guard.

He extends a handgun to us, and smirks. "If you would prove your loyalty to Britannia beyond all doubt, Private Kururugi, then execute the terrorist."

...hey, Suzaku. I'm not advising that you actually shoot Lelouch, but... fair warning, if you don't? This guy is probably gonna shoot you for insubordination.

"Sir," Suzaku says as we look up at the man with determination, "this young man isn't a terrorist. He's just a school student who got caught up in this without meaning to."

...he'd shoot me even if I did. You see the color of his ascot? It's like an unofficial membership pin, identifying him as being sympathetic to the Blood-Purist Faction, if not actually part of them.

...meaning that he would "witness" an Honorary Britannian "shoot down an innocent Britannian civilian in cold blood", throwing a big wrench into the entire idea of Honorary Britannians in the first place. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

"I can't shoot down an innocent civilian," Suzaku says with conviction that we both feel. I may not be a soldier, but I absolutely agree that civvies are off-limits!

The Guard Captain gets angry, surprising neither of us. "His youth or occupation are irrelevant," he hisses, eyes gleaming dangerously. "This terrorist stole a poison gas capsule, and had every intention of using it to kill countless citizens of the Area. As a soldier of the Holy Britannian Empire, I order you to execute him."

...oh, uh, Suzaku? Fair warning, there's something I need to tell you before this has a chance to escalate any further.

HEY, LISTEN!

What?!

Two things. First off? If these guys don't get C.C. - that's the cute girl with green hair, by the way - Clovis is gonna lose his shit and order the entirety of Shinjuku wiped off the map just to get rid of any possible witnesses, her presence here is that damaging to him.

Secondly? If this guy shoots us, odds are pretty significant that C.C. is going to give Lelouch brainwashing powers that he'll use to kill everyone in front of us. After that he's gonna hijack a KMF, take over the terrorist operation and lead them to victory in today's battle against Britannian the forces, and then somewhere in that sequence of events - I don't exactly recall - he's gonna assassinate his brother Clovis.

Since I'm sharing a body with Suzaku, I can feel the way our face contorts in blatant disbelief from everything I just said. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the presence of mind to keep his response to ourselves.

"...are you high?"

The Guard Captain's eyes flash with rage and-!

BANG.

...so that's what getting shot feels like.

As our hands instinctively go to our wound - of course the sumbitch got us in a gap between our body armor - it hurts... it hurts so much I can barely even think.

But all the same, as the blackness overtakes our vision and we lose even the strength to keep our eyes open, I catch a flicker of thought run through Suzaku's head.

...this is what I deserve.

No it fucking isn't, boyo, and you bet your ass we're going to have a long talk about that, boya!

To be continued...