ARAAT5: Resurrection

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A Rose And A Thorn 5: Resurrection

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Well Ivan, people have been complaining about how the fanfics aren’t so much about Shadow and Amy any more. And this time they’ll be right to complain, because this time ARAAT6 will be mainly about Chaotix.

Froggy: Isn’t that kind of spoiling it?

Harley: Not really. You don't know whether anybody else will be alive yet.

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Chapter Nine: Words

Midnight walked down the alleys of Westopolis. There was no sound, aside from the sound of metal hitting the pavement and the pitter-patter of drizzle falling from the sky. He didn't mind that it was trickling through the holes in his coat and into his fur. If anything, he appreciated it washing the blood out. So much blood was on his hands... If he had a perfect memory, why could he not grasp Mirage's final wishes? She went back through time to stop the slaughter, not start it anew! Yet, after her death, his only solution was to cause more death. He was ashamed of himself; his body and mind were both broken, and both were his own fault. The echidna shivered and pulled his coat tighter around himself.

As he walked down the alleys of Westopolis, confident in the knowledge that the shadows couldn't hide anything that was more dangerous than he was, he saw three men carrying what looked like a sack. They tipped the contents onto the cement, and kicked it a couple of times, "You're sure we're not damaging anything important?" one voice asked.

"You heard the Commander. It hasn't got anything important down there any more," another replied, and another few kicks were administered.

Infrared vision showed Midnight that there was a fourth person in the triangle of men, their heartbeat still strong. He was immediately revolted by the actions of the three men. Killing someone in a fight was one thing. Hurting someone innocent and defenceless was entirely different. The smart thing to do now would be to walk away, but he wasn't always so good at doing the smart thing. Calmly he walked over to the men kicking at the person and came to a stop a few feet away, "I'm going to ask you just once,” he rumbled, “Leave.”

The first man blinked and looked up at him, "Scatter!" he shouted. The three of them took off and scattered into the buildings, remarkably well organised for a bunch of thugs. They outnumbered him three to one, but had retreated. It was almost a military manoeuvre. When he looked down at the sack, its previous occupant had already crawled away and was hiding behind some dustbins.

Frowning, Midnight walked closer to the dustbin and said softly, "Are you alright?"

He was aware of the body whimpering and curling up, shuffling into the shadows - not that it made any difference to his night vision. Then the dustbins were knocked over, and he was looking down at the bruised and bloody body of Mirage, who looked back up at him with terror in her eyes.

Midnight drew a sharp breath and quickly removed his hat and glasses so that the hedgecat could see his face in the dim lighting, "Mirage?" he asked in surprise, kneeling down, "What happened to you?"

The half-feline was covered with bruises and blood. It poured down her tail in rivers, where somebody had tried, and failed, to pull off the Power Rings that bonded with her nervous system. She was soaking wet, and she'd been stripped completely naked. As he removed his hat and glasses, her eyes widened, and she started to scream in raw terror.

She couldn't have hurt him more if she had twisted a corkscrew into his heart. Wincing and moaning softly, the echidna tried to cover the right side of his face with his mechanical hand and looked into her eyes with his biological one, "It's me, Mirage. Midnight, remember? I just want to help you."

"Who... who..." she managed, "Who are you? Who am I? Where... what... why..." She began to wail noisily and tried to cover herself with her hands.

The half-feline was obviously confused... Peering at her with his mechanical eye, he did a quick scan of her body, "It’s going to be alright. They didn't hurt you too badly." Cautiously, he offered her his left hand.

"I do not remember..." the feline whispered, shrinking further away from him. Her voice was the same at least...

"I know,” he whispered back, "You're confused; you probably got kicked too hard in the head. But you're going to be ok." Midnight stayed crouched there, his hand extended, making no further moves forward, “Come on.”

“No!” Mirage stared at his hand, and then up at him - at least she'd stopped screaming, "I do not remember ANYTHING!" she cried out, and covered her face.

Midnight sighed, a worried feeling forming within him. Surely she could remember something... "It’s wet and cold here and you're hurt. Come with me. I can help you."

Mirage looked up again, "But... I do not remember..." she managed. A few seconds passed, and she reached out a shaky hand towards him, then snatched it back, "What do you want?" she asked hoarsely, "They always want something... nothing is free... I do not have anything..."

"I want to help you,” Midnight patiently explained, "It’s as simple as that. You really don't remember me, do you?"

"I do not remember anything!" Mirage repeated. But the echidna's calm voice and non-aggressive stance seemed to gain her trust. It was hardly likely that anybody else was going to try to help her. Once again, she reached out a hand towards him, and this time she didn't pull it back.

He took the hand and pulled Mirage carefully to her feet. Wrapping his one good arm around her shoulders, he led the feline away from the alley. He knew there had to be someplace nearby they could go to. Some abandoned building at the least, although he personally was hoping for a motel where they could stay the night. He still had some money given to him by Eggman for this kind of emergency.

"I do not remember... do not remember..." Mirage mumbled, huddling closer to him, her ears almost flat against her head. She stumbled as she walked, her legs unable to support her properly.

Midnight held her up, whispering comfortingly to her and trying to shelter her from the elements. It wasn't long before he found what he was hoping for: a cheap motel with rooms open. He quickly paid for a room and led Mirage up to it, guiding her into the bathroom. Kneeling down to look at and clean her wounds, he handed the hedgecat and towel. "Here, let’s get you patched up..."

"Who are you?" she asked him, "Why are you helping me? What do you want? I do not have anything..."

Eggman had told him that the Mirage sitting before him was a clone, a copy made by GUN, but the doctor had proven how trustworthy he was to the echidna. Everyone else, her included, had insisted that she was the original. He was no longer so certain of who to believe, "My name is Midnight, and I'm helping you because I care. You and I were very close once."

"I do not know... who I am..." Mirage was weeping openly as she stared into the cracked bathroom mirror, "I have forgotten... everything..." She pulled the towel around her body, shivering as she slumped to the floor, "Do not know why... or how... do not know anything... I am scared..."

"I know,” he told her, smiling sadly, tending to her wounds, "The last thing I asked of you was to never forget me. But then, I promised to never leave you. I suppose this makes us even."

“I hurt…” Mirage moaned, “All over…”

“Here,” Midnight fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of painkillers. He took a couple of them himself, “Take one of these. They’ll help numb the pain.” He returned to her wounds, then stopped as he touched her stomach. It was bruised and dirty, like the rest of her body, but most importantly, under the fur was an ugly scar, the kind that would be there is you had, for example, been shot and not healed properly.

Mirage took one painkiller and swallowed it, whimpering, "WHO AM I?" she screamed at him suddenly, "How do you know me?! Tell me the truth!"

The cyborg stared into her eyes for a moment as he put the painkillers away, the air uncomfortably still after her scream. He looked down and said, "You are Mirage, a hybrid created aboard the space colony ARK over 50 years ago by scientists trying to uncover the secrets of life and the energies of the chaos and Master Emeralds. I am a clone that was created around the same time. We befriended each other during our short time there, but we were soon separated by an attack from GUN. You were frozen, I was blown up."

Mirage shivered again, but she seemed to be slightly calmer as the information settled into her mind, “That is crazy! I do not see why I should believe you!" she said loudly, "But it is not as if I have any choice. Besides... I do not feel like you are lying..."

"I wouldn't lie about this,” he assured her.

“You might,” Mirage replied.

“True…” He nodded his head as he gave a final check of her wounds. "That's all I can do for your injuries. I didn't have much to work with."

Mirage nodded, still holding the towel to her body, "Thank you," she said shakily, and looked at his metal, scarred side, "Who did that to you?" she asked him. She had relented from gut-churning fear to cautious curiosity.

Midnight glanced down his right side. "The injuries or the repairs?" he asked casually.

"Both," Mirage answered him.

"Someone in a GUN walker did this,” he explained, "Fired a missile at you, but I pushed you out of the way and this was the result. A man called Doctor Robotnik gave me the mechanical replacements."

Mirage curled up on the floor, "So it was thanks to me that you got blown up?"

Midnight snorted and reached down to pat the hedgecat on the head. "No. More like my fault for starting the attack in the first place."

Mirage nuzzled his hand gently, "Are you as unhappy as you... feel?" she asked him.

The echidna tensed for a second, remembering that Mirage could feel the emotions of someone when they were close to her, emotionally as well as physically. Sighing, he rubbed her cheek and softly answered her, "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Why?" Mirage asked him, sitting up again and looking straight at him with her clear, crimson eyes.

Midnight swallowed, unable to look away from those eyes. "I... I've lost everything. I lost the ARK, I lost my body, I lost you... and it’s all my fault. Now you can't even remember me. And I deserve it."

"Nobody deserves to lose everything," Mirage said, "Just like nobody deserves to have nothing. So please, do not be so sad," she begged him, "Think about the things you do have, rather than the things you have lost."

"What I have..." the echidna murmured, eyes still locked with hers, "The only thing I have, beside my life, is the comforting knowledge that you still live."

"You see?" Mirage reached out and trailed her fingers over his scarred face, "You do have something. Even if it is just me."

The blue echidna sighed and nuzzled against her hand, comforted by the feline's touch, "Yes... yes, I do have you,” he whispered, "And I missed you very much."

"It is nice to be needed," Mirage told him, still stroking his face lightly, "I only have you, and you only have me. That makes us even, right?" She smiled weakly.

He returned the slight smile, swallowing and nodding his head. "It does,” he replied softly, stroking her cheek in return.

Mirage nodded, looking straight at him. She still looked confused and unhappy, but she was acknowledging him. There was no real fear or disgust in her eyes, and there never had been.

It didn't keep Midnight from still feeling horribly self-conscious of his metal parts though, "I wish you didn't have to see me like this,” he said, blinking back a tear, "I wish you could see me like I used to be, the way you knew me. Maybe you'd remember me that way."

"Hey, do not worry about it," Mirage told him. She laid one hand on his scarred cheek, and the other over his heart, "What you look like does not change who you are inside. And besides..." she looked up at the cracked bathroom mirror, "I am hardly one to complain about appearances."

The echidna smirked, still stroking her face, "Nonsense,” he told the hedgecat, "You're beautiful, Mirage. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

“You think I am beautiful?” Mirage blushed heatedly, "You really do not think I am a hideous freak?" she asked him.

He smiled wider, feeling her cheek heat up beneath his touch, "No, you're not a freak,” he assured her, "You're unique, yes, but not a freak. I wouldn't change a thing about you."

"Well, that is good," Mirage smiled, "Because I do not think you are a freak either." After a few moments, she shifted over to him, sitting on his left side and resting her head on his shoulder, holding the towel to her body with one hand and holding his left hand with her other.

Midnight closed his eyes and sighed in relief, giving Mirage's hand a squeeze and resting his cheek against hers. Things were still bad, yes, but not quite as bad as before. Now, he didn't feel so lifeless. Now, he had a sliver of hope.

After a little while, he realised that she had fallen asleep next to him. Her breathing was a soft, regular purr, and her body had relaxed. Smiling at her, he carefully picked the feline off of the cold floor and carried her out of the bathroom, laying her down on the bed and tucking her in. Caressing her face one more time, Midnight curled up on the floor, content as he eventually slipped of to sleep.

~~~

Mirage shifted slightly in the bed. As she woke up more and more, she was suddenly aware that her mind was almost an empty void. Except for a few hours of last night. She hadn't even dreamed thanks to a lack of memories to dream with. She felt as if she wanted to scream. Instead, she curled up on the mattress again, hugging her knees. A fact wiggled through the fog, "I am Mirage," she whispered, over and over again, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. That much was true at least. On an impulse, she looked over the bed at Midnight, who was sleeping on the floor, "And you are Midnight," she said, less certainly.

The echidna shifted slightly and mumbled, but he remained asleep, dreaming whatever it was that a cyborg echidna would dream about.

Mirage pulled the sheet around herself and got out of the bed, walking into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the cracked glass. Options… One. Stay here and trust Midnight. After all, as far as she knew he was telling the truth.

Of course, just because he was telling the truth now didn’t mean he’d keep telling the truth. So there was option two. Grab Midnight’s trenchcoat and hat and hell, why not his sunglasses too, and make a run for it to the nearest clothes shop, and then, the world! Decisions, decisions…

The echidna mumbled and shifted again onto his other side, still asleep. For such a well-trained warrior, Midnight seemed to be a heavy sleeper.

Mirage sighed. Run? What was the point of running? Where would she run to, and what would she do when she got there? Right now, fleeing was not a viable option, no matter how attractive it appeared.

The hedgecat heard a yawn from the bedroom as Midnight slowly woke up and stretched, little metallic pings coming from his metal joints, "Mmm..." the echidna rumbled, scratching and smacking his lips, "Mirage? You there?"

"Uh, yes, I am in here," Mirage called from the bathroom. She looked back into the mirror and trailed her fingers over a deep cut on her forehead, some dried blood on it. She must have fallen... quite recently, too.

Slowly, Midnight got to his feet, rubbing his head and grumbling something. He slowly walked into the bathroom, and once there, gave the hedgecat a hug. "Good morning,” he said softly. Detaching from her and finding his trenchcoat, he reached in, pulled out a bottle of painkillers, and downed several of the pills.

"What do you need those for?" Mirage asked him, eyeing the painkillers, "I thought I was the only one who got the crap beaten out of me."

Closing his eyes and groaning softly, Midnight explained, "I'm filled with heavy, electronic, metal parts. Hell, part of my brain has been fitted with a small computer. I'm constantly aching somewhere. And even though the limbs are gone, I can still sometimes feel them… burning."

"How can you feel something that is not there?" Mirage asked him.

Putting the bottle of pills away, Midnight replied, "It has something to do with the brain's wiring. It can happen if you suffer a great enough trauma. Phantom pain, they call it."

"I do not understand," Mirage said, "How can the painkillers take away the pain of something that is not there?"

"They don't,” Midnight told her with a shrug, "But they do help with the pain that really is there."

Mirage held the sheet closer to herself, and thought about it, "You mean you are in pain? All the time?" she asked him.

Midnight looked in the mirror and touched the scarred half of his face. He replied simply and casually, "Yes."

Mirage shuddered, "I am so sorry," she said, softly. Still holding the sheet with one hand, she stroked Midnight's face gently, her fingers moving indiscriminately whether over flesh, scarring or metal, "I wish there was something I could do..."

Midnight looked into the feline's eyes, a little sound of pleasure coming from his throat. He enjoyed her touch, liked being closer to her. Looking into her crimson eyes, he knew that there was something she could do to help. She could love him again. But as that thought entered his mind, he knew it was something he could not ask of her. She didn't even remember him, and he could only imagine how hideous he must be in her eyes...

Mirage just looked straight back at him. He didn't seem hideous to her any more - if indeed, he ever had. The shock of seeing somebody with only half of their body intact had worn off, and now she only felt a misplaced sense of sympathy, "I wish you could understand," she said quietly.

He blinked upon hearing those words, not grasping their meaning. Reaching up to caress her own cheek, Midnight asked, "Understand what?"

"I just do not see things the way normal people do," Mirage explained, "I cannot judge. I cannot condemn. I cannot do what is right or wrong. I only know what has to be done. That is who I am. I do not care what you look like. I cannot care. I only know that it had to be done to keep you alive."

It made sense from the standpoint of a biological weapon. But when the echidna really thought about it... "That's not true,” he whispered with a sad smile, rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "On the ARK, you didn't have to choose me, to fall in love with me. But you did anyway." He suddenly feared that he had said too much.

Mirage's hand dropped, and she stepped away from him, "You never told me that," she said, "You never told me that I was in love with you."

The echidna looked away, "It’s a painful topic,” he told her, "And I doubted you would believe me. You might have thought I was trying to take advantage of you."

"Are you?" Mirage asked him, her face knotted into a glare, "Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

"Never," The echidna faced her again, smiling. She could tell, however, that it wasn't a smile of happiness, "If you were to step out the door right now, I wouldn't try to stop you."

"You know I cannot leave," Mirage said quietly, "I have nowhere to go." She looked at her face in the mirror, "End of the road. Nothing to do. And no hope of things getting better.”

"You have a son. You have a brother. You have friends,” Midnight told her quietly, "You have a family, Mirage."

"And I only have your word for it," Mirage left the cold bathroom and sat down on the bed, wincing as some of her aches and pains came back, "I just... feel so lost..." she sighed.

Midnight leaned against the wall, looking over at the feline, "And so do I,” he told her, “All the time. But your brother Shadow has had memory problems as well. Maybe he can help you bring some of them back..."

"There are some things that I have to work out for myself first, before I see him," Mirage said. She stood up, and suddenly yelped, clutching at the cut on her forehead, "Ow!" It was not pain, but a memory of pain. Was that what Midnight meant by phantom pain? A memory, so sharp she could almost taste it, flowed back.

A concerned Midnight pushed off of the wall and stepped closer, "Mirage? What's wrong?"

Mirage concentrated. A big office, and a long, complicated argument with men in suits returned to her sharply. And then she remembered something stinging her in the neck, she slumped and caught herself a crack on the table and it all went black... She looked up again, "I remembered something."

"What did you remember?" the echidna asked hopefully. Maybe her memory-loss was just temporary, maybe it would return in time, just as it had for her brother.

"There was an office and my contractor and I and an army officer were having an argument," Mirage sat down, "Well, I was shouting mostly. I wanted to know what they knew about me and you that they were hiding, and they refused to tell me until you were in custody... They were telling me to leave the case alone..."

Midnight frowned. This wasn't an old memory. This was recent, fresh. Could it be the last memory she had?

"Something stung me," Mirage rubbed her neck, "It must have been a tranquilliser. I fell over and hit my head..." she rubbed her forehead, "And I blacked out.”

An army officer... "Mirage, tell me something... on this army officer, do you remember any insignia of some kind?"

"Yes... he had stripes... and three stars," Mirage said thoughtfully, "And there were soldiers with him. They had a symbol on their jackets... laurel branches encircling eight stars and the letter G."

Suddenly and angrily, the echidna slammed his metal fist into the wall, putting a large, cracked dent in it, "Those bastards!" he snarled, "I should have known. I spooked them, and then after you started asking questions about me… They were afraid of another renegade experiment, so they wiped your memory as a 'precautionary measure'. Those cowardly, scum-sucking assholes!"

Mirage jumped at the anger in his voice, "Hey, it cannot be that bad if I am remembering," she said, shakily, “They are just people, doing what people do.”

Midnight's metal hand clenched and unclenched as he tried to hold in his rage. Anger got him into trouble, and hurt those he cared about more than those he hated. He couldn't let it control him. He let out a long sigh, "Maybe. Maybe you'll remember it all. I hope so. But what makes them think they have the right to wipe someone's mind? To take away all of their experiences, to make them forget all the things and people they ever cared about? It’s wrong! It’s wrong..."

He sighed, They wiped her memory and dumped her in the street and she can still think that way, he thought, Maybe that does give her the right to an opinion...

Mirage stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Calm down, please? I... I do not like it when..." she struggled with the words, "When you are affected by the bad things that happened to me."

"But why?" he asked desperately, hanging his head, "Why does it have to affect you at all? I don't care what they do to me. Not anymore. I just don't want them to hurt you..."

"Do not be like that!" Mirage told him, "Do not be like that." She wrapped her arms around him, holding him gently.

Midnight sighed and relaxed into her embrace, resting his head against her and nuzzling softly. He was tired, tired of the conflict, tired of being hurt. He just wanted to be with Mirage and for them to be left in peace. Was that really so much to ask for?

Mirage closed her eyes and absent-mindedly nuzzled his chest, stroking his back gently. She was becoming aware that the sheet was slipping open at the back, and remembering what Midnight had said about them being in love, she blushed and started to reach to hold it up.

Midnight noticed the movement, and he reached up to help, his hand coming to rest over hers. He gave it a squeeze, slipping his fingers between hers.

Mirage knew that she didn't have to stand in this slightly awkward position. She just didn't want to move away from Midnight. He lent her a feeling of safety and protection that she wanted to recognise more than anything. She sighed, remembering what he had said about being in constant pain, and hugged him closer, as if hoping that her presence could dispel it.

Midnight accepted the hug gratefully, his left hand stroking her back as he softly nuzzled her throat. It felt like it had been a thousand years since they had held each other like this in another life among the stars. So much pain had separated this time from that, and the relief of having her back was so great it made him shake in her arms. On an impulse, he kissed her neck softly.

Mirage gasped softly at the unexpected kiss, but she didn't break the embrace. For now, nothing could make her break it. Feeling Midnight trembling slightly against her only made her realise that she was doing something for him, and that was why she was holding him, after all.

Sensing no resistance from Mirage, Midnight kissed her throat again. And again. Holding the hedgecat tightly, feeling her heartbeat, he breathed in her scent and continued the gentle kisses, wanting her to remember him, wanting her to remember all they had shared together. He was nothing without her. His muzzle left her throat, and the echidna looked her in the eyes, his breathing speeding up.

Mirage gazed up into his eyes. Vague recollections of the way he made her feel were returning. He had taught her to be strong. He had made her feel safe. He was the only person in her scant experience of life who had made her feel like a woman, and not just a warrior or an experiment. She didn't care that he made her feel vulnerable, because in the same moment she felt protected by him. Maybe that was all that she needed to remember right now. Her hands moved away from the sheet and she held his cheeks, pulling him down into a deep, loving kiss.

Midnight closed his eye and returned the kiss, suddenly aware of how hard and fast his heart was beating. She kissed him. She actually kissed him. She didn’t think he was a gruesome monster, and some part of her remembered and loved him. He felt a tear run down his cheek as he deepened the kiss, holding her tightly to him.

Mirage could feel the sweat pouring down her forehead. No more memories were forthcoming, but she didn't need them now. Her hands moved over his face as she continued to kiss him, her body quivering slightly in excitement, the sheet slipping down unheeded, held up only by the pressure between them.

The passion of the kiss increased with each passing moment. Midnight's excitement grew as his hands explored and caressed her body, dipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting and breathing in her scent, letting his every sense be filled with nothing but her. It was like going home. Breaking the kiss, he laid her down on the bed, leaning over her and panting for breath. Tossing the sheet aside, his warm left hand caressed her cheek and throat, slid down over her breasts and belly, and travelled back up her body, his fingers rubbing and scratching through her fur as he gazed into her fiery red eyes.

Mirage didn't bother with gazing any more. All she wanted right now was to kiss Midnight and never let go of him. He could make her safe; he could make her feel like a real person, he was the only reason she had to exist right now. She sat up again and kissed him passionately, one arm wrapped around his shoulders and the other moving over his chest slowly. Almost half of it was covered in the appalling scarring from burns, but she didn't care - being close to him was all that mattered.

Midnight crawled on top of her without breaking the kiss, supporting himself with his mechanical arm and pleasing her with the other. His hand touched and squeezed and rubbed as his tongue duelled with hers and its rough surface. The dark echidna moaned into the kiss, feeling the heat of her body against his own. Closeness, that was what he craved, what he knew she craved. So he lowered himself onto her, wrapping his arm tightly around her, breaking the kiss to lick at her throat.

"Midnight..." Mirage whispered softly. Half of her couldn't believe they were together like this; she remembered so little that it didn't seem feasible to be this way with somebody she knew so little about. But they were, and it felt right. Panting softly, her hands clutched at him, going anywhere she could reach. They hesitated only briefly when they reached his hips, before one wrapped around his waist, and the other slipped between his legs.

He groaned against her throat as his hips pressed back against her touch, his erection growing in her hand, "Mirage..." he rasped in the feline’s ear. It was all so sudden, so unexpected. She had no problem with it, and so neither did he. His hand slipped down her body, stroking her belly slowly. He had wanted her back so badly...

Between pants and gasps for air, they both felt as if nothing could break into their perfect world right now. Where and how and why didn't matter any more. Mirage was writhing in ecstasy beneath him and he could feel his shaft nestling between her legs, ready to thrust forward… they were going to be together again... nothing could possibly spoil it...

Except for the explosion outside the motel that jolted them both back into the real world, followed by a voice on a loudspeaker, "Project Midnight, you treacherous, evil-minded son of a test-tube! Get your ass out here right now, or I'll take the building apart to get you!"

Eggman had tracked him down.

It was the ultimate cold shower.

~~~

Harley: What about that eh? I warned you amnesia would be used. Well, nobody seems to be complaining much, and it won’t last for long.

Froggy: Read and Review!