Black as Knight.
Hey! And we're back with chapter 15. I've been pretty ill over the past five days, but since my head is clear enough for the moment, it seemed the opportune moment to start typing again.
Someone reviewed saying; You like messing up all the characters roles, don't you?
...Yeah. I do. It's fun. ;D
Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! You give me the best inspiration I could ever ask for! ^^
ON WITH THE CHAPTER MY MINIONS! =D
The streets were empty.
The only movement that Zoro could either see or hear was that of himself and Balthazar, whose ears twitched back and forth every now and then in what seemed to be anticipation. Going deeper and deeper into London, Balthazar's hooves passed almost silently on the cobbles seeing as Zoro had slowed him to a walk. Quickly unhooking his boots from the stirrups, he patted Balthazar once on the neck as they passed more and more alleyways which kept mere silhouettes that melted into the shadows before he could get a better look.
He kept his swords close to his side, glancing down only the once to make sure that they were securely tied to him. Yet still he waited, urging Balthazar further into what seemed to be Dragon's claimed territory so far. The buildings looked dead to the world, with their doors and windows completely shut, no doubt locked for safety's sake.
At long last, he sighed in boredom and pulled on the reins gently until Balthazar came to a halt, the horse snorting uneasily as Zoro dismounted and carefully tied a looping knot in the reins to make it shorter so that it wouldn't irritate Balthazar later. With that, he murmured a quick; 'Don't come unless I call' into the horse's ear and slapped Balthazar's hindquarters, making the horse rear with an annoyed yet quiet whinny and take off back they way they'd come, leaving Zoro alone in the middle of the street.
"Lef' yer all on yer own?" A mocking voice called out.
Zoro wasn't able to discern who it was, as multiple people had emerged from every which way and surrounded him so as to give him no escape routes. Not that he cared much.
"My name is Sir Roronoa. Full time agent for the law. I am also known as Roronoa Zoro, for which I am known as London's Gang King. Whether or not I am on my own doesn't matter, you still wouldn't be able to attack me be able to successfully hurt me to a degree that I would acknowledge."
There was a sudden roar of anger at his statement, and everyone around him surged forwards and packed around him in a tight knit group, those at the front managing to score kicks and punches on him whilst the others nearest the back shouted abuse and cheered on those who could reach him.
Letting himself absorb the few blows that were directed into both his head and midriff, Zoro stood motionless with his arms folded indifferently. When those closest to him realised that he wasn't fighting back, their faces turned ugly and began to beat him up more vehemently, determined to get a reaction out of him.
"Yer call yerself the Gang King? In mah opinion yer moar like the Lord of Peasants!"
Zoro had not risen to the physical abuse. But something about that tickled him, and he withdrew two of his katanas, slashing about him and giving no mercy for no more than thirty seconds before re-sheathing his swords once more. Most backed off after that, but a few of the hardier gang members encouraged everyone forwards so that within moments the attack on Zoro had started up once more but a little more violently.
This time, completely not in the mood to take a beating, Zoro lashed out with one hand and grabbed a young girl by her long blonde hair, holding her up against him and pressing an unsheathed katana blade to her throat as she screamed in a mixture of panic and pain.
Upon realising what Zoro had done and that they were now also hitting the girl in their attacks, one of the mob finally let up the onslaught by raising his hand, to which the others quickly retreated a slight distance. Hatred and coldness radiating from them as they unsuccessfully tried to intimidate him with their numbers.
"LISTEN TO ME." Zoro shouted over the angry murmurs. "I know that Monkey D. Dragon is around here somewhere. So you're going to take me to him."
"Or what?" Another mob member asked cockily.
Zoro pressed the edge of Sandai Kitetsu closer to the girl's throat so that the cool metal bit into her throat a little, a tiny trickle of warm red liquid slowly caressed her skin, making whimper in fear. "Or else this girl here is going to know the feeling of metal on bone. Get it?" He threatened.
He could see them muttering amongst themselves but paid no heed to them. He knew what their answer would be, therefore their discussion was only for show and were using it to stall their answer. Zoro coughed once to clear his throat, increasing his grip on the young girl. One of the women in the group flinched, Zoro noting it and presuming it to probably be a relative, possibly a mother or sister.
Reluctantly the mob turned back to him, the one acting as spokesman seeming to be in charge of the little party. "Fine. But mah conditions are as follows. Yer can't hurt any of us, meanin' tha' yer've gotta give the girl back. Alive. And if yer've got anyone followin' us, yer can call 'em off noaw. Elseways we won't take yer nowhere."
Nodding once, he swiftly removing the blade and sheathed it before all but throwing the girl over to the woman that had flinched, watching as they embraced and comforted each other whilst occasionally glancing at him like he was some kind of monster. His thoughts suddenly turned to Robin, and in that instant he was glad that she was not here with him to have seen him do that to a girl so young. Either way, he now had what he wanted.
Suddenly Zoro felt his arms being roughly grabbed and was hauled on until he was skidding his feet along the smooth cobblestoned streets. Struggling against their hold for a few moments, he gave up and concentrated on trying to keep his feet under him as they ran.
"Hey! I said take me to Dragon. Not drag me." Zoro shouted angrily, tempted to use his Conqueror's Haki on every last one of the treacherous bastards.
The man holding his right arm smiled smugly as he yanked roughly on Zoro's arm. "Y'never specified tha'. So we c'n take you to his leadership 'ow we wants."
As he was dragged along, Zoro took in his surroundings, smirking inwardly. 'These guys...they're all idiots. They're taking me to the very heart of their base, even to their very leader. And yet they don't have enough sense to think they should put a bag over my head or something so that I don't find my way back more easily if I was to come looking for them again. Either they're complete idiots, or it's a power play to scare me from coming back. Seeing as the latter would never work...they're just fucking idiots. If it was my gang doing this, even Luffy would have at least covered their eyes' He snorted mentally.
Zoro then sweatdropped at the thought of Luffy in his own current position. 'Thank god it's me and not Luffy. Stupid idiot would probably have said something nerdy like; Take me to your leader..or something like that. Baka.'
After a good solid five minutes of running, or in Zoro's case dragging, the group slowed as they approached a church. The church was relatively small, no taller than the average house. It was made of red sandstone which gave it a unique look, one that was quite different from any of the other buildings in the area. To the left of the church were two small boarding houses, whereas the right of the church had wooden beams stuck a little ways into the sandstone with sheets of solid plastic on top, the underside of the wooden beams heralding purple wisteria as decoration above the benches and tables that acted as the beer garden for the pub that was a little further over to the right.
This place was a little more active, and people streamed in and out of the bar, laughing uproariously as the joked around and drank bottles of whiskey, sake all other other kinds of alcohol that was to be found in their tankards. Those in the streets around the church bustled about with supplies, some of it food, most of it not. Up in the boarding houses, from the windows and lounging around the doors, Zoro felt that he was watched.
A couple of times, the people who had obviously lived in London before, recognised him and rudely signed or spat in his general direction to which he ignored as he dragged up to the front of the church. The large ornate double doors were opened and they shoved him inside and let go of him, making him stumble and scramble upright, irritably smoothing himself down as he turned his head a little and gave them a menacing glare, making them swallow nervously and step back a little.
'Hn. That's better...fucking idiots. They dare handle me like that again and they won't have any arms left to drag me with!' He thought angrily, turning back to the inside of the church and surveying it.
The pews were almost empty, except for a few that sat there and listened to a terrified man dressed in priest robes who was stuttering a few times as he preached the word of god. One person who was sat right at the front of the church pews, was dressed in a dark green almost muddy-looking cloak with the hood up to conceal his face. No one sat around him.
Zoro recognised it as a seat of power, in which the man obviously had a powerful Haki, one which leaked from his presence even with him meaning for it to which made people wary of being around him for fear of being overpowered even by sitting near him.
Deciding to take his chances, Zoro walked up the middle of the aisle and took a seat in the pew behind the man. He had been right about the Haki, he could feel the Haki pulsing against his own which subtly shielded him from the worst of it. Not bothering to raise his voice, he spoke as though the man was sitting right next to him and could hear every word, since he knew that he probably could.
"You're hiding in a church." Zoro stated. "That's a bit cowardly isn't it? Anyone could find you here."
There was no reply for a moment, but Zoro caught the words just as easily when the response did come back, from a voice deep and powerful yet smooth and knowledgeable. "We're not hiding. We're resting...For now. This is our base, and the best thing about it is that it's so overt, it's covert."
Zoro had to give him credit for that, he was right. "So what's the plan? You've gathered yourself a pretty big army."
"We are an army, and we're still growing. We are the return of the Revolution Army, and there's nothing and no one to stop us. We grow stronger every day." Came the response.
"Impressive...Monkey D. Dragon." Zoro replied cordially.
"Indeed." Dragon said, finally turning his head to the side slightly so that Zoro could see the sharp eyes and odd red tattoo that was etched onto the side of the man's face. "And what of MI5? Are they still set in their old ways? I doubt they get many new recruits these days, seeing as their activity has lessened somewhat. Now I suppose they're just the playthings of the royal family and the government."
"We are the government." Zoro interrupted, salt burning on his tongue.
"Ah, but of course." Dragon nodded. "But what do you actually do? Look after royalty day after day even though in reality they're just normal people? Clean the streets because you don't like to see the street rats that manifest under your nobl-"
Zoro's hand was swift to unsheath Sandai Kitetsu and lightly rest it against Dragon's neck. "We are nothing like that. Everyone is equal, and everyone is equally protected."
"Or punished, I presume." Dragon replied coolly. "Tell me, does Hawk-Eye Mihawk know that you're here?" Zoro's jaw clenched and he stiffened, making Dragon chuckle deep in his throat. "Ohhhh dear me. It seems that you're a bit of rogue agent. What will that old stick in the mud have to say about that? What's your name boy?"
Hesitating for a second, Zoro chewed his inside of his cheek. "Zoro." He stated. "Roronoa Zoro."
Dragon raised an eyebrow. "You're Mihawk's son?" He questioned, to which he heard the slight crack of Zoro's teeth grating against each other. "Well...thank you for providing me with yet another advantage." He thanked him.
"What?" Zoro asked in confusion, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Morgan, Hawkins. Take him below and keep him there, I think a few days without nourishment will get daddy worrying. Then to prove the point, we'll send back the dead body." Dragon smiled, his eyes knowing as Zoro was stripped of his swords and hit hard over the back of the head with a heavy axe-handle.
Zoro woke up hours later with a dull ache in the back of his head, a loud high-pitched ringing filling his ears so that it was impossible to concentrate on anything else, making him wait for another half an hour or so until it dissipated.
He took in his surroundings somewhat dazedly, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he cursed himself for thinking that he could handle just walking in to an enemy base whose strength was evidently out of his league. Groaning slightly as the light from the ceiling's single light bulb hit his eyes which had been used to the dark until then. He was in a stone room with nothing in it, the only two things of interest being the light on the ceiling and the wooden door on one wall that had a series of small stone steps leading up to it.
Standing up a little shakily at first, he started to warm up his muscles in preparation of bolting it out of his prison as soon as he could. Walking up to the door a while later when he deemed himself prepared and ready, he kicked out powerfully at the door like Shanks' had taught him to.
However, he quickly assumed that there was some kind of steel or seastone reinforcement in the door, seeing as it didn't budge. 'Fuck. So much for getting out of here quickly.' He thought in irritation, sitting down on the floor with his back to the stone wall so that he was facing the door.
At that moment, the door opened to reveal the blonde guy from earlier with the weird markings around his eyes that stood out against his painfully blonde hair. He bore a tray with him, looking like it had been taken from a very old canteen, and there was a single glass of water on it which was left on the tray in the middle of the room for him.
Zoro stood up as Hawkins went back up the stairs. "Oi! Let me out of here!" He yelled, running for the door just as Hawkins spared him one silent glance and shut the door, the sound of the lock being put in place sounding final.
Cursing, Zoro turned back to the empty room and stared at the tray. The glass of water looked very tempting, and it reminded him how dry his lips were, how they were cracking from slight dehydration. 'So it seems that Dragon doesn't want me dead just yet.' He thought, walking over to the tray and sipping the water to test it. Deeming it ok, he proceeded to gulp down the rest of it.
Deciding that there was nothing else he could do until someone came back, he went back over to the wall and sat against it, his eyelids drooping heavily with tiredness and his muscles rapidly seeming to lose their strength. 'Is this what devil fruit users feel like when they touch seastone..?' He wondered as his mind slipped into a blank nothingness.
When Zoro awoke groggily, his muscles screamed at him so that he winced and rolled to his right in pain, the movement slow and sluggish. Licking at his lips, he noticed that once again they were dry, although judging by how dry they were he must have been out for at least a day. He never slept like that any more, not since he'd become an agent.
His eyes fell on the glass of replenished water that was on the middle of the tray, waiting there almost mockingly. Narrowing his eyes, he realised that the water was drugged so that it would make him sleep for longer than needed. Cursing himself, he crawled forwards with barely any energy and finally grabbed the glass of water, grimacing as he sipped the tiniest amount so that he could wet his lips before 'accidently' letting the rest slosh over the edge of the glass and down the front of his shirt.
Dragging himself over to the steps that lead up to the wooden door, he laid back over the first two bottom steps and waited. Even from that tiny sip of the water, he could feel it numbing his senses and making him feel drowsy and slow.
A little while later he heard the door opening with a slight creak, to which he hastily snapped his eyes shut and maintained his even breathing to give the appearance of being asleep. The long-blonde haired man stepped down the steps gracefully and passed him with a new glass of water, intending to place it on the tray and trade it for the empty one.
Meanwhile, Zoro quickly yet quietly stood and raced up the stairs, closing the doorbehind him and locking all three of the locks that kept the door steadfast as swiftly as he could. Turning around, he blinked away the haziness in his vision as he set off down the corridor, managing to lose himself and end up back where he started at least twice or more.
On his fifth attempt to find his way out, he turned up an inclining slope that headed up into the main part of the church. The moment he stepped out into the pew-lined rows of the church, he knew he should have waited until it was less busy so that he could have been a little more inconspicuous, even though it was impossible because of his oddly green hair. Men and women alike who were obviously following under Dragon's leadership turned and spotted him as he tried to walk past without being noticed.
Shouts of his name and commanding words of 'stop' or (more worryingly)'kill him' echoed around the stone church, causing a few people to run at him with the intention of stopping him from escaping.
Even in his numbed state Zoro managed to fend them off with vicious counter-attacks from his fists, elbows and legs as he pummelled anyone who tried to stop him. 'To hell with the lot of them. I'm getting out of here even if I have to send them to death's gates.' Zoro mentally growled. With another luckily-aimed punch, Zoro felt his opponant's nose break and turned towards the church doors with bloody hands, ready to start running.
"You managed to escape pretty quickly. And tut, tut. Fighting in a church? His Holy-ness will not be pleased." Dragon's voice echoed as he stepped out from where he'd been sat at the back of the church, a small band of his followers trailing along behind him with grins as Dragon walked confidently down the aisle to meet Zoro, the agent's three katanas strapped to Dragon's waist.
Zoro jutted his chin out defiantly. "I don't believe in a god."
Grinning, Dragon nodded. "Shame that. I was looking forward to hearing you pray for an angel or some such to come and save you. Oh well...Just like your mother I suppose."
Zoro knew that Dragon had killed his mother, but he still froze on the spot, giving Dragon the impression that Zoro didn't know.
"Ohhhh...Did no one ever tell you what happened to mummy?" Dragon questioned. Leaning close to Zoro's ear, he laughed softly, his breath tickling Zoro's ear. "Once upon a time, there was a man who desired a great goal, but there was a powerful agent who stood in the way of that goal. So the man planned to drive the agent mad by having his wife killed. Unfortunately the wife knew she was being targeted and left her newly born son with his father and ran to a family friend by the name of Dadan. When your mother asked for help she agreed. But when they were driving along in the red van that was supposed to deliver mummy to safety, mummy turned around in her seat and threw a flaming match on a huge great puddle of oil that she had put in the back of van, causing it to explode. She died screaming for you, you know. The screaming could be heard by what I'm sure was most of London."
Zoro shook his head numbly. "No. My mother wouldn't have done that. She wouldn't have died like that-"
"You don't even really remember your mother that well do you. You don't have a clear picture of her. Perhaps a bit of her green hair?" Dragon sneered, taking a broad cutlass out of the sheath that was strapped to the waist of one of his subordinates.
"-she would have died fighting. Fighting for her life and to prove you wrong." Zoro continued desperately, trying not to listen to the truth in the Revolution Army's leader.
"Kid..." Dragon chuckled in amusement, raising the sword to his shoulder as he prepared for the swing that would take off Zoro's moss haired head. "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. I just created the trap. It was your mother who set fire to herself."
Zoro's eyes widened as he saw the sword slice through the air towards his neck, vaguely aware of the sound of a door slamming open somewhere in the background. At the very last moment, he was tempted to close his eyes so that his last thought would be a clear picture of Robin, but he was glad he didn't.
There was a sound of blood hitting stone, but Zoro couldn't see for the billowing black cape directly in front of him that hid it from his view. Zoro's eyes widened incredulously, his mouth gaping open as in those few precious moments the drug wore off, allowing him the strength to be able to move freely once more so that he stood and took in his saviour's appearance from behind more clearly. The black cape, the black hat with the white feathery plume.
"Insolent boy...I finally found you."
"M-Mihawk?" Zoro managed to force out, sounding as stunned as everyone else- including Dragon- looked.
Mihawk didn't answer him. Instead he pressed one hand to his stomach to staunch a flow of blood that was to be seen seeping through the slash across it, having ripped through his uniform so that it now quickly started to stain red. With the other hand, he reached behind him and withdrew his sword from the sheath on his back, the black blade Kokuto Yoru glinting with a deadly menace as it reflected the light.
"You dare to harm him...knowing that I am still alive and am looking for you?" Mihawk questioned, his voice steady and even as he raised an eyebrow at Dragon who smirked a little in return.
Giving him no time, Mihawk swung his arm so that Kokuto Yoru's black blade clawed its way in the direction of Dragon's stomach. The blade sliced through the piece of belt which dropped all three of Zoro's katanas, Dragon hissed at the loss and jumped back so that he was well out of range before he stopped momentarily, only to have to keep moving around as Mihawk surged forwards despite his injury, silently pushing himself towards him and tactfully slashing everytime Dragon came within range.
Meanwhile, Zoro darted forwards and retrieved his katanas, strapping them tightly to his waist.
Dragon stopped at one point and narrowed his eyes. Everyone in the room felt the pressure of his Haki that dropped on them all even though it was aimed towards Mihawk, and most people buckled at the knees or staggered under the force of it. Zoro even found it difficult as he fought to control his body despite the willpower that leaked from Dragon's aura.
Mihawk on the other hand seemed unaffected, and Dragon cursed as he realised this, the precious time lost as he struggled to run backwards and away from the reach of Mihawk's blade.
However, he was not quick enough, and Kokuto Yoru's tip sliced open a thin line right along the edge of his cheekbone. It stung as he felt the air against it, and he hissed at the sting that it also left on his pride. His eyes alighting in anger, he roared out orders.
"What are you standing around for?! KILL THEM."
At once the swarms of men and women advanced with a will, grinning madly. Zoro pressed his back up against Mihawk's, who leant back against him in pain and gripped at the wound on his stomach more tightly so as to keep the pressure on it. "What do we do?" Zoro asked, wetting his lips a little. "There's just over five hundred of them, and we're on a headcount of two."
Without answering, Mihawk tightened his hold on his sword and sliced it diagonally upwards. A halfmoon of a mixture of white and blue light eminated from the edge of the blade and severed those in front of him back as far as the door which had also fortunately been cleaved into pieces by the incredible move.
Zoro stared at the amount of damage for a moment in shock before finding his arm being pulled on and swiftly being led out of the Revolutionary's nest at a sprint. Hearing the following footsteps of their pursuers, Zoro let loose a piercing whistle and continued to run, helping Mihawk by grabbing his arm and pulling it around his shoulders, mindful of the blade that was still in the more experienced man's hand.
Running along the stone cobbled streets, they headed further and further away from the danger as quickly as they could, even with Mihawk's grevious injury. The both of them winced when an explosion sounded out from close behind them, pieces of rubble scattering everywhere around them as they flew through the air.
The high pitched ringing sound which started up in Zoro's ears made him grimace, but he kept a tight hold of Mihawk and his legs still obeyed him as he forced them to run even faster. But another sound broke through that of the ringing; the sound of hooves upon stone. Having never felt more relieved in his life, Zoro slowed slightly despite the angry horde at their backs, watching as his black steed drew closer before executing a sliding stop in front of him.
Wasting no time, Zoro helped Mihawk by taking Kokuto Yoru and sheathing it on Mihawk's back and then starting to take his body so that he could lift him into the saddle. However, Mihawk was having none of it.
"Don't even think...about lifting me, boy." He hissed angrily, clenching his jaw in pain as he managed to somewhat gracefully haul himself up into Balthazar's saddle. Balthazar twitched beneath the agent and shifted his weight a few times between his four hooves nervously.
Sensing the horse's discomfort, Zoro quickly followed up by bounding into saddle behind Mihawk and stroking the black hair on Balthazar's hindquarters gently. "We need to get back to HQ now." He ordered, digging his heels into Balthazar's side . "Come Balthazar, show us the meaning of haste."
Dust was kicked up in their wake as Balthazar swiftly burst forward into a full gallop. Zoro frowned as he noticed Mihawk's shoulders tense up in what must have been barely concealed agony. He scowled to himself. 'Why should I care if he's hurt or not? He hurt me plenty of times in the past.' But simultaneously, another thought nibbled away at the edge of his mind. 'I surely can't be that heartless...Yeah he may have hurt me before...but he saved your life. Doesn't that mean something?' Unsure of how to answer it, he ignored it by deepening his scowl and focusing on keeping Mihawk in the saddle until they got to Headquarters.
As they neared the headquarter's building thanks to Balthazar's incredible speed, Zoro heard Mihawk's faint yet deep voice over the sound of the wind that was rushing past them.
"I told you not to come on this...mission. You...bloody idiot. I will not...save your ass like...like that again."
Swallowing once to clear his throat Zoro nodded, a single tear-drop of sweat running from his temple. "I know."
Less than a week later, Mihawk was stood in his office with a very concerned looking Shanks. Mihawk's bandages had already been taken off and he was left with nothing but yet another healed but jagged scar on his torso.
"Sir, Monkey D. Dragon has made no sign of moving or expanding. It seems he is biding his time." Shanks reported, his red hair glowing dully in the dim light.
Mihawk remained silent, his hands crossed in front of his face from where his elbows were propped up on his desk. His normally alert yellow eyes were slightly glazed, having heard Shanks but choosing not to respond and gazing at the same piece of wall he had been staring at for a while now.
Sighing, Shanks shifted his weight onto his left foot and cleared his throat. "Mihawk-sama. You can't change what the boy now knows. Just because he knows the full details of what transpired between yourself, Dragon and M-"
"Don't." Mihawk finally said. "Shanks. Don't."
"Apologies, sir." Shanks nodded. "But with regards that Dragon bastard, surely we could gather up our forces and strike him from that little nest of his?"
"I think not. We need time to prepare the agents. Dragon is strong, and incredibly so. He is waiting for something, I'm sure of it. He'll be waiting for an opportunity to strike us when he feels strong enough and his forces are good enough to back him up." Mihawk explained, his yellow eyes roving Shanks' face. "Furthermore, I want to make sure that the royal family are more closely protected. They are not to know of their threat until there is ne-"
"M'afraid Princess Robin already knows." Shanks interrupted, his tone apologetic yet amused simultaneously.
Mihawk's slick black hair moved a little in freedom as his head snapped up, his gaze now focused and intent. "I beg your pardon? What do you mean she knows? What does she know?"
"She knows that Dragon is in London and is building up his forces. There's only so much you can keep from her y'know...and it isn't easy. Especially when she dotes on Zoro with as much love as he does and they keep returning each others letters, so it's not su-"
"Zoro?! That lovesick idiot. I swear, if he tells her anything else, I'm going to tan that kid's hide." Mihawk swore vehemently, picking up a pen with an irritated scowl as he began to compose a letter to the Princess to inform her of her discretion on the subject of the alarming matter at hand.
Amusement twinkled in Shanks' eyes as he bowed once. "Of course." He intoned, avoiding Mihawk's gaze as he slipped out of the office, deciding against telling Mihawk that Zoro had also told her where it was that Dragon was hiding out, how his mother had died, and that Mihawk had added a new scar to his collection.
'When it comes to Hawky, I think the kid could use a god-damn break.' Shanks' chuckled mentally. 'But he's right about the lovesick thing...'
Zoro finally knows the full story!
And (accidentally on purpose) so does Robin!
But there's something amiss coming, there's gonna be a big change for Britain!
Ooooooh! Next chapter coming soon! (As long as you review). ;D