Chapter 15: The Black Gem Case, Part 4
The Chaotix team, the Ultimate Lifeform, Cream and her Chao friend, Cheese, along with Sapphire, now stood in viewing distance of an old factory.
"He better be right about this," Shadow said. "Because if not, I'm going to find him." He said nothing more, but his further intentions were pretty clear.
"It looks scary," Sapphire said, trying to calm herself.
"Come on, Saph!" Cream replied. "Be brave! We can save Gem!"
Vector crossed his arms. "Hey Sapphire, I get that you aren't a fighter, and I get the feeling that one is coming. If you want, you can stay behind, and let us professionals handle this."
He was right. Sapphire had no combat ability, so it would be highly unsafe for her to go any further. But... Gemerl was stolen on her watch, and she felt responsible for her friend.
"I- I'm coming. I h-have to see this through," Sapphire said.
"Sapphire, I don't think-" Shadow started, wanting to insist that she stay behind, but Vector interveined.
"It's okay, Shads. Just keep a safe distance, and let us do the talking, alright?"
"I can help you find a place to hide and watch, if you want," Espio replied. "This is what I'm skilled at, after all."
Sapphire nodded and got closer to the chameleon, for the time being.
Shadow was clearly not happy with this decision, but said nothing. However, he did plan on keeping his eyes on Sapphire.
"I'm getting bored," Charmy called out. "Let's go already!"
"Right, but let's be careful, as well," Espio added.
Vector nodded and then led the way, followed by Charmy, Shadow, Cream and Cream, and then finally, Espio and Sapphire.
They found an entrance into the factory. Once they got inside, they began to searching around for anything suspicious.
...And once they got what was once the production floor, what they found was more than suspicious.
Scraps of various mechanical parts, including robotic parts, were in piles or boxes. There were several tables set up with various projects of sorts, all in different stages of completion, and there was a purple van parked in one corner.
"You think that's the one Eric mentioned?" Sapphire asked about the van.
"Likely," Vector said quietly. "Okay, Saph, time to find a hiding place."
Espio was already examining the area by the time Vector said that, so he immediately pointed out where Sapphire should hide, a nearby large box out of the way of the open area. Sapphire nodded and immediately ran behind it, peeking around the corner of it.
Vector nodded to his group, and then he, Espio, and Charmy all walked into the open area, Shadow and Cream following behind.
"Is anyone here!" Vector called out.
There was silence. The group slowly made their way further in, careful to watch for any threats.
...Unfortunately, they weren't careful enough. Once they got to the center, four tall rods hidden in the ceiling fell to the floor in the corner of the area, staying upright, and then started generating energy, creating a field of electricity that boxed them in.
"Gee, some ninja, Espio," Charmy mocked.
"Even I am fallible, Charmy," Espio countered.
"She knew we were coming..." Vector said, more concerned about why they were trapped.
"Of course I did," a female, Mexican-accented voice replied, as a figure appeared from behind the mechanical junk.
The one whom the voice belonged to was a tall mobian woman, a rat with violet fur. She had long hair swept over the right side of her face, where it was mostly shaven on the other side, revealing cybernetics wrapping from front to back of her head. She had eerie yellow eyes, and wore a closed, purple-tinted leather jacket and dark gray shorts. She also had cybernetics on the backs of her hands and fingers, and what they thought was a pair of boots, upon closer inspection, were actually fully mechanical limbs from just above the knee down.
"How did you know we were coming?" Shadow asked with an unamused expression.
"Why, I have cameras everywhere," the rat cyborg answered.
"Of course you did," Vector replied.
"That, and I figured that I would be found sooner or later," she continued. "I work so hard to erase myself from your networks, and yet, you G.U.N. types always seem to find a way."
"So you're Cybra?" Espio asked.
"Of course," the woman answered. "To, think that G.U.N. would send such a bumbling group of idiots to apprehend me. How moronic."
"I didn't hire them on behalf of G.U.N.," Shadow explained. "I got assistance from them, but this was an off-the-books operation."
"Exactly. We caught you trying to solve a smaller case," Vector added. "Which means you screwed up."
"Oh, I screwed up, you say. And yet, here you are, caught in my trap," Cybra mocked.
Shadow smirked, and then disappeared in a flash of light. He then reappeared by what seemed to be an electrical box. Shadow punched it, which tore it off the wall, and as a result, the electric barrier shut down.
"An educated guess," Shadow simply said.
"Ah, I thought you looked familiar," Cybra said. "But now I see. You're the infamous Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog. It seems I'm outmatched." Then her smile dropped. "So, if this is 'off-the-books', then how did you find me? ...It was Raz, wasn't it?"
Shadow simply nodded.
"Of course. I knew he was a coward. But the information and rumors he sells are so useful."
"Where is Gemerl?" Shadow demanded, getting tired of this dance and finally getting to the point.
"Yeah, where is he, you big meanie!" Charmy cried out.
"We want our friend back!" Cream added, Cheese giving a "Chao!" as well.
Cybra whispered to herself, annoyed, before asking, "so, who is Gemerl?"
"Black robot, has yellow parts and a third eye, mobian-like frame," Vector described.
Cybra thought for a moment, before snapping her fingers. "Ah, you mean the Eggman gizoid."
A flying drone appeared behind Cybra, and it was carrying none other than Gemerl, being held by the arms, deactivated, and hanging in the air.
"Gemerl..." Sapphire whispered to herself, wishing she could do more to help.
"Give him back!" Cream cried out.
"You're that bunny girl that was keeping the gizoid from its true potential," Cybra responded.
"If by that, you mean the Gemerl was her friend and protector, then yes," Vector old her. "And what do you even mean by 'true potential'?"
"You see, the gizoid is the world's most powerful tool, its most powerful weapon. The technology is ancient, and yet, it's so far beyond what we've accomplished," Cybra explained. "I've always wanted to get my hands on one, and yet, none remained. But imagine my joy when I found an Eggman-built gizoid, just sitting there, useless, among some pathetic, everyday family. I just knew... I had to liberate him."
"You kidnapped my friend!" Cream countered.
"He is a tool, my dear child, not anyone's friend. And tools are meant to be used. And have no intention of relinquishing my prize to the likes of you."
Suddenly, several machines in the room activated, and they all sprung up, revealing themselves to be combat robots, all fully equipped.
The group gathered in a circle, facing outward to the threat that now surrounded them.
"I thought you said she built weapons?" Espio exclaimed.
"Robots can be weapons, you dimwit!" Shadow countered. "You've fought Eggman, why do you think he builds his robots!?"
Cybra laughed. "I may be outmatched, but I'm still resourceful. I'll let you play with my toys, but I'm afraid I must go. Adios." And she turned to enter her van, the drone with Gemerl following behind.
The group prepared for battle. A shining yellow light appeared in Shadow's hand, like a star. Espio drew some shuriken, ready to toss them. Vector and Charmy had each other's back, ready to string and punch respectively. Even Cream was ready to fight, prepared to give an order to Cheese.
Sapphire watched as the drones dumped Gemerl's inactive body in the back of the van, and knew that someone had to act. And at that moment, the robots all went in for the attack, and the fighting-ready group moved to counter them. So, they couldn't go after Gemerl and Cybra. So, the only person who could after them... was Sapphire.
Seeing no choice in the matter, Sapphire mentally prepared herself, and began to quickly move from behind one pile to the next, trying to get to the van before it drove off.
Meanwhile, the fight with the robots had begun. Shadow shouted "Chaos Spear", and threw his yellow light, which was revealed to be an energy spear projectile, which priced through a robot, destroying it instantly. Espio likewise threw his shuriken, which stuck to several of the robots. Apparent, the ninja stars had explosives on them, since they exploded, taking the mechs with them. Then Shadow and Espio disappeared with their respective means of doing so, Shadow teleporting rapidly behind robots and kicking them all to the ground, while a few others were cut down by something invisible, likely Espio.
Vector was knocking down robots one after another, even biting down on one, snapping all its connecting wires, forcing it to shut down. Charmy flew around, stringing robots right in their power sources, and quickly getting away before they exploded. And Cream was directing Cheese around, where the little guy was flying around and breaking through robots left and right.
The robots were no match for the group, but there were a lot of them, and it seemed like they would be unable to get to the van before it got away.
The fight continued as the van's engine roared to life. And they were no closer to breaking through.
But as the back doors seemed to automatically close, Sapphire ran up and leaped inside, just as the doors close behind her, with the van driving off and an open door, her inside the vehicle.
Watching this happen, Shadow cursed. "Dang it, Sapphire! What are you doing, you idiot!?"
"I must admire her courage," Espio responded.
"But she's in danger!" Cream cried out. "She's not a fighter, and that woman looked dangerous."
"Shadow, you're the only one who can get her!" Vector exclaimed. "So go do it!"
Shadow nodded, dodged an enemy attack, and then teleported outside of the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the van was fast, and it had already driven outside of Shadow's range of teleportation, and he couldn't do it multiple times to close that distance. Not without draining his energy or using a Chaos Emerald, at least.
He quickly looked around for a solution, and luckily for him, he found one. There was an old motorcycle in the junk. Shadow ran over and pulled it out, and hoping it still worked and its tank wasn't completely empty, began to hotwire the vehicle. Once its motor revved to life, Shadow smiled, got on, and rode off, chasing after his reckless friend.
Back in the factory, Vector was preparing for one final "hurrah", as it were. "Okay, Cream! Get out of here! You don't want to get caught up in this!" he shouted to the bunny girl.
Cream nodded, and she and Cheese flew upwards, out of range.
"Boys?" Vector called out, pulling out a mike. "You ready?"
"Roger!" Espio replied, bringing out a three-stringed instrument called a shamisen, and getting ready to strum it.
"On it!" Charmy shouted, pulling out a marching-style bass drum, and putting it on, then pulling the appropriate drum sticks.
"On three!" Vector ordered. "One... Two... THREE!"
Suddenly, all of the Chaotix members started playing their instruments and shouting and singing with no discernible rhythm, nor control in volume. The resulting cacophony of sound was so intense, it created soundwaves that began breaking down the remaining robots,
"Chaotix Recital!" They finally shouted together, creating one last sonic blast that ultimately destroyed all of the robots, and even shattered what windows in the old factory were still intact.
"Good job, boys," Vector praised, admiring their handiwork. "Now it's up to Shadow and Sapphire."
Sapphire wasn't noticed as she felt the vehicle drive off. She took one look at Cybra, who was focused on driving away, and then at Gemerl, who lay still inactive.
Well, she got to Gemerl. Now what?
Looking around, Sapphire found a box of tools. She figured that with those, she could open Gemerl up, and manually reboot him. But could she do it silently enough?
Sapphire, remembering the notes from Gemerl's maintenance checkup, carefully pulled out the right tools, and began to go to work. Unfortunately, she forgot about the pressure release when opening up Gemerl.
"What the...?" Cybra said as she heard the sound. She got up, the vehicle somehow still going forward, and looked in the back. "Oh, I knew I was missing someone," she said as she pulled an energy pistol and fired it at Sapphire.
Sapphire screamed as the energy shot nearly hit her, hitting the wall of the van's interior.
"What a brave play," Cybra teased. "You come here with all of these big, strong men, hide like a coward while they do the work, and then at the last moment, you rush in to be a hero. How cute." Cybra was about to take another shot before she noticed what was in Sapphire's hand. "Hang on, those tools... ah, I see, you must know what you're doing." Cybra put away her pistol. "Fine, I'll give you a chance. These, I so rarely get to talk to a fellow mechanic. Perhaps I could teach you a few things."
Sapphire looked back at the empty driver's seat, where the van was still driving along as if someone was still driving it. "How is this moving on its own?"
"Oh, it's quite simple, and yet quite advanced," Cybra responded. "Every part of this vehicle has been modified with robotics, from the steering wheel, to the doors. And it's all controlled by this," the mobian rat tapped the cybernetic attachment on her head. "Neural brain implants. I can drive this vehicle just by thinking about it." She turned to look out the front window as she continued talking. "And micro-cameras sent a visual feed directly to my brain, so I always know what's around me, and where I'm going. I could literally text and drive with no threat to myself! Or in this case, threaten and drive."
While she was looking away, Sapphire took the opportunity to continue working on Gemerl. All she had to do was hit the manual power switch to activate him.
"I also used this to control the robots you saw outside. But just imagine... if I could connect myself to the gizoid's interface."
Sapphire was able to get to the power switch and push it, just as Cybra said, "I know you hope to reactivate him. But it won't help you, you'll just die before he could save you, and then I'll make him mine!"
Well, it was too late to back down, all Sapphire had to do was wait. So she had to stall Cybra. "Why are you doing this? Why not use your skills to help improve the world?"
"Oh, such a naive child. I am helping the world," Cybra responded.
"You build weapons and sell them to terrorists!" Sapphire countered, remembering what she heard about her before.
"Is that what you think? Well, you see, war is the only way to advance. With war, someone wants to win. And when you want to win, you want to become better. And to be better is to improve."
"You're... not wrong... But that's still morally wrong! We should be making peace! And then you could use your knowledge of cybernetics to help those who might need it. Or maybe help create clean energy, or-"
"Let me stop you right there," Cybra interrupted. "I give that away for free, then someone else will want it. And they'll fight to have it. Such is the cycle of war."
"But it's not right. Hurting others just because you want something. Like how you took Gemerl, our friend from us! That hurt us more than you realize!"
"You see the gizoid as your friend? You are such an-" Cybra paused for a moment. "Ugh, it seems like that blasted hedgehog boy is persistent."
Cybra walked towards the back of the van, pulling out her energy pistol, along with a second identical one. The doors automatically opened, revealing Shadow, who was cashing them on a motorcycle.
"You're tenacious, boy," Cybra called out to him. "But I won't go down so easily!" She began firing her energy pistols, and apparently, they functioned more like sub-machine guns, as they fired bursts of shots at Shadow.
Shadow managed to evade the shots, and increased the accelerator, trying to close the lost distance. Unfortunately, using her neural control, Cybra sped up the van too.
"You're not getting any closer," Cybra smugly said the riding hedgehog.
"You sure about that?" a robotic voice said behind her.
Cybra, in shock, turned around to find Gemerl, fully active, and his metal fist pulled back, just at the right moment for the black gizoid to punch her in the face.
As Cybra fell to the ground below, the van began to swerve. Gemerl immediately grabbed Sapphire, and using his built-in jet thrusters, flew out of the van, just as it lost control and rolled over. At the same time, Shadow dodged Cybra, then leaped off his bike, leaving the discarded vehicle to flip over, soon after exploding.
Cybra got up, and found that her pistols had bounced away from her. Apparently, her cybernetic feet had jet thruster themselves, as she used them to dash and grab one of her pistols. However, Shadow grabbed the other one and immediately fired at her.
Cybra dodged and flew up, firing back, but Gemerl finally put Sapphire down, and then flew up to join the fight. He made a swing at Cybra, who barely dodged the attack, and flew at a distance from the robot and hedgehog.
"Why would you fight for these pathetic whelps!?" Cybra questioned. "Do you not know the potential that you have?"
"I'll find my own potential, thank you very much," Gemerl countered. "And also, I'll always protect my friends from the likes of you!"
"It seems that those oafs have filled you with their faulty ideology."
"They've taught me that I should care for people, and to help those in need! It's people like you who need a lesson!"
"Then I suppose there' nothing for it," Cybra said in disappointment, as she fired on Gemerl.
Gemerl simply flew above the shots as Cybra raised her aim to try to hit. Then the sides of Gemerl's arms slid open, two rotating-drum missile launchers sliding out. He then fired a volley of four missiles at Cybra.
Since Gemerl wasn't aiming to kill Cybra, they only flew and detonated near her, but they were close enough that the force from the explosions caused her to stagger. She managed to remain flying, but not for long, as Shadow then teleported in front of her, and delivered a two-fingered karate chop to her, which sent her flying into the ground.
Once Cybra slammed on the ground, she spun around to try to get up, but Gemerl flew above her and slammed on top of her, planting his feet at her sides, so she couldn't get up. He then raised his fist, threatening to punch her again. "Looks like I win," Gemerl told her.
Cybra looked around for a chance to escape, but Shadow then slid over on his hover stakes, aiming his stolen gun at her. So, Cybra closed her eyes in contemplation, then opened them to stare intently at Gemerl.
"Really, you're giving him a death glare," Shadow responded. "How pathetic."
This continued for a few seconds, before suddenly the cybernetics on her head started sparking, and she then winced and grunted from the pain.
"What?" Shadow replied, confused.
"I stopped her," Sapphire said, approaching with her Miles Electronic in her hands. "Cybra told me that she has neural implants that let her send signals with her mind. It's how she's been controlling all these machines. I don't know what she was doing just now, Maybe she was trying to call some drones to help, maybe she was trying to hack into Gemerl, I don't know. But Tails' device here has a jamming function, so I used it to stop her."
"Well, it seems like you've got no options left," Gemerl says. "Time to give up."
"Fine..." Cybra responded in defeat, dropping her remaining pistol.
Shadow then came over, grabbed her other gun, tossing both of the weapons aside, and then grabbed her wrists, holding them behind her back as Gemerl got off her, and Shadow lifted her up. "I'm going to take her straight to G.U.N.," Shadow told the others. "Gemerl, if you would, call the police, and have them meet me at the nearby factory. I can't teleport that far, so I need to meet them halfway."
Gemerl nodded, and said, "done."
Shadow smiled and nodded in recognition, then disappeared in a flash.
At that moment, Sapphire came up and hugged Gemerl. "Oh, Gem, I was so worried!"
Gemerl turned his head to Sapphire. "I don't know what exactly happened, but it seems my disappearance has been difficult for you."
"You were stolen under my watch, so I felt responsible. I'm just glad that you are okay!"
"It's already," Gemerl said, returning the hug. "I think it's time to go home."
"Yes, I'd like to go home, too," Sapphire said smiling.
The group needed time to rest, so once Cybra was handed over to the police, they went home to do just that. Also, Sapphire made sure to redo Gemerl's entire maintenance again, just to make sure the Cybra hadn't done something bad to him, which was seemed to not be the case.
The following day, Sapphire, Shadow, Gemerl, Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla were all meeting the Chaotix in their office.
"Here you go," Shadow said, handing Vector a check.
"Thank you," Vector replied, accepting the payment. "Man, that was a crazy case!"
"I hope that you didn't put my daughter in danger?" Vanilla exclaimed.
"Well- uh... you see-" Vector replied, tongue-tied.
"Ugh, honestly, you boys..."
"If it helps any, the case escalated beyond our expectations," Espio noted. "And she wasn't doing anything she hasn't done before when we challenge Eggman, including fight robots."
"Yeah, right guys?" Charmy asked, hoping to get some validation to Cream's defense.
"I wasn't reactivated until after the combat-encounter Cream was involved in, so I no record of what her actions were," Gemerl responded.
Shadow remained silent, as he didn't feel that it was his concern as to whether or not Cream should've been involved. After all, he didn't join the case to be her babysitter.
"I do not feel any better about this," Vanilla stated.
"Come on, mama," Cream said, "I just wanted to help Sapphire. She felt responsible for all this, and I was also there, so I felt I needed to help too!"
"Th-thank you, Cream," Sapphire replied.
Vanilla sighed. "All right, then."
"Even still," Vector said, "What seemed to be a small robot-kidnapping case, led us to capture a high-threat weapons dealer. And that was off the government's watch, and with only minimal help from them. Though we still do appreciate your help, Shadow."
"I only helped because they messed with Sapphire, even if it was indirectly," Shadow stated. "And I'm not going to let that happen."
"Hm, it seems you like Sapphire, don't you, Shadow," Vanilla responded, which caused Sapphire to blush.
Shadow grumbled in response. "It isn't what you're thinking, I just... whatever..."
"Also, I don't think this case was ever small. We just didn't realize how big it was it first," Espio pointed out. "Gemerl is a highly advanced machine. If people know about him, he'll be the target of many technology thieves."
"I'll endeavor to learn how to better protect myself, and my family and friends," Gemerl responded. "So that way, I can prevent a situation like from ever taking place again in the future."
"Good plan. But my point is," Vector interjected, "imagine what this could do for our reputation! I mean, I'm not ready for another case on this level, but once word about this gets around, we might start some bigger-paying jobs!"
"Well, I hope that works out for you," Vanilla said.
"What about Cybra?" Espio asked for clarification.
"She has placed in G.U.N.'s custody, and is facing a long prison sentence," Shadow answered.
"Yeah, take that, you robo-thief!" Charmy exclaimed. "That's what you get for messing this us!"
"Calm down, Charmy!" Vector replied. "Still, it's good she's off the streets."
"Well, I think it's time we get going," Vanilla said. "I'm glad everything worked out
"Of course, have a good day!" Vector said in farewell.
Everyone gave their goodbyes to the Chaotix. Shadow gave a quick goodbye to Sapphire before teleporting away.
"Sapphire," Vanilla said to the blonde hedgehog before she left. "Shadow told what you did. It was... certainly reckless. But considering the circumstances, it was very brave."
"Thank you, miss Vanilla," Sapphire replied. "I'm just... I don't want to be in that situation again."
"I understand, but considering how often Cream ends up involved with her friends... adventures, someday, you'll probably find yourself in another situation like that one. When that happens, try to find that bravery again, and solve the situation in your own way."
"O-okay, thank you, for the advice, miss Vanilla," Sapphire said smiling. The idea scared her, but it was comforting to be given advice on the subject. With this encouragement, and after giving her farewell to the bunny family, Sapphire made her way home.
And once she got home, she was greeted by a surprise.
"Oh, hey Saph!" Sonic greeted.
"Sonic! You're back!" Sapphire ran up to give her brother a hug.
"Good to see ya. We just got back a few minutes ago."
"Yeah," Tails said as he came up to his hedgehog friends, "Eggman didn't have a big plan this time around. He was just being a nuisance. So, Saph, how did Gemerl's check-up go?"
"Oh... it went well," Sapphire replied. "But it was a stressful couple of days."
"Days? Did it really take that long for you?"
"Not really... but, you see..." Sapphire had quite the story to tell them.
Author's Note: And there's the end of that story arc! Now, let's talk about it.
First, let me talk about Cybra. She is based on Sombra, from Overwatch. Now, while I've played the game, it's really not my kind of game (I prefer single-player games, or playing with friends and family, not a bunch of random strangers online), I do remember that the game had lots of interesting characters. And when I needed to come up with a robot thief for this arc, Sombra came to mind.
Now, obviously, Cybra is obviously not completely like Sombra. Sombra is more about information, and Cybra is a technology thief, mechanic, and weapons dealer. And I don't know for certain that managed to reflect Sombra's ideology in Cybra's character, but it's just a character basis, so I'm not too concerned about that.
I did try to mimic Sombra's design in Cybra, though she is a mobian (her species being a rat was on the spot, though), and I took other liberties, like with her mechanical legs (which I just did because I wanted her to have flying jet thrusters). I did choose to keep her Mexican accent, though there are some things I wanted to say about that. One, I don't think the Sonic world version of Mexico would be called Mexico, so I wanted to use the Sonic name of the place to stay in the theme of the world... if there was a Sonic equivalent, which there isn't, so I had to say "Mexican". Second, if people found that offensive... I never planned that. I don't consider real-world happenings in my stories, because fan fiction should be plain-old, dumb fun, and that's how I treat it. But just in case, I apologize.
Now, while I knew the basic plan for this chapter, most of this was written on the fly. When it came to Shadow, I felt the need to make several nods to his game. He took vehicles and guns, and that two-fingered karate chop... I was always thought that was cool (besides the implication of what happened to Eggman).
And the Chaotix's final attack was indeed their Team Blast from Sonic Heroes. And yes, according to the Sonic wiki, it does indeed have a name, "Chaotix Recital". I only found that out when I was trying to find out what the instrument was that Espio plays in the Team Blast, so I could be accurate, and ran into the names of the Team Blasts as well. So that was cool, and I decided to put it in.
Also, the Chaotix Team Blast is a cacophony a loud sound, right? And they're lead by Vector the Crocodile? I don't know how no one has seen it before, but the Chaotix Recital is the real... "Crocodile Cacophony"! (No, I don't play the Donkey Kong games, I just like the remix in Smash Ultimate).
Last thing, as you know I intended this to be a two-parter, but it ended up being four parts, and thus becoming the first story arc. Well originally, before I started what was intended to be the first arc, I wanted to put up fifteen chapters / stories. Over time, I realized that I was letting things drag on, so I threw that idea out, and just planned to finish certain stories before I did the first intended arc. Well, as you can see, because this story arc took so many chapters to finish, I actually managed to get to fifteen chapters anyways. And yes, this was the last thing I planned to write before moving on to the next arc, which will start next chapter, by the way.
Which does remind me... This is supposed to a slice-of-life, one-shot collection kind of story, besides the multi-chapter story arcs I want to put it. But I'm having trouble coming up with ideas, so if you want to put anything ideas you'd like to see me take on in the reviews, that would be appreciated.