FOREVERMORE
~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~
Chapter 45
Reveal
June 3, 5001.
(Goldy's POV)
You know, it was a good feeling to be out and about. Though the only reason I was even allowed to leave the infirmary was because Topaz insisted on healing my wound a little. She couldn't heal it all the way, seeing as that would make her pass out and that was bad. But I felt much better now.
Though my whole problem with Sapph wasn't helping make me cheerful, I was forcing myself to be upbeat to make everyone else feel better. It especially was important because I was the first one to get a serious injury. I was lucky enough not to get my leg broken. That would have been really bad. Though, I did have to use crutches because I wasn't supposed to put weight on my leg.
Anyways, since everyone else was busy and I was still recovering, I volunteered to show Magnus around a bit. I was really glad to have him back. He was really mature, a born leader. When I had been younger and just a cadet and then soldier, I had looked up to him, Commander Pyrrhus. And he hadn't changed one bit.
Though it was a little weird being the same height as him now.
"Are you sure it's okay for you to be out and about like this?" Magnus asked me as we walked down one of the many hallways in the castle. "I mean, that bullet got lodged in your bone."
"Psh, I'm fine," I said, waving him off. "Topaz healed me up a bit! And besides, I feel superhuman! Not even a bullet can stop me!"
"Next time it might not be a bullet," Magnus said warningly. "You have to take these things seriously, Gold."
"Dude, I know," I said, wincing slightly as I accidentally put weight on my leg. "I was lucky. But still, I'm almost totally healed."
He nodded, looking around as we moved. Just as we got to the end of the hall, one of the doors opened, and out stepped Shirou of all people, and Cerise was right behind him. Shirou was still a mess, especially since he wouldn't let Cerise heal him at all. He looked like he fell down a flight of stairs or something. He was covered in bruises and had several visible bandages though some had to be hidden by his clothing.
And freaking Flax did that to him, and he's the freaking Champion of Unova.
"Hi guys!" I said, giving them a friendly wave as Magnus stopped and stared at Shirou, horrified by his condition.
"Gold!" Cerise exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing out of the infirmary? You're supposed to be bedridden for a while!"
"Hey, your sister healed me a little!" I exclaimed. "There's no way I staying in bed for months when I can get healed real fast. I've got things to do, people to meet, places to go, asses to kick."
Shirou scowled, his eyes narrowing. "Me too."
I definitely knew who he was talking about. I wouldn't mind kicking his ass myself, but I would give that honor to Shirou considering what the bastard tried to do to his girlfriend. I would sit back with popcorn and watch.
"Anyways! Guys, this is Magnus Pyrrhus, an old commander of the Resistance! Magnus, this is Shirou Kazuo, the Unovan Champion, and Cerise Rosso, Topaz and Crim's sister. She works with Diamonda with all the medical things."
"Hi," Cerise said, with a friendly smile and wave.
"Nice to meet you!" Shirou said, holding his hand out for the older man to shake.
"Same!" Magnus said, giving him a firm, manly handshake. "It's an honor to even be here in a land where Pokemon are accepted."
Shirou let out a light laugh. "Well, we're used to it. That's just the way we are. Unova pride."
Just then the door opened again, and out stepped none other than Professor Willow. She looked like she was about to leave and head back to her lab. She blinked in surprise at us all; I guess she hadn't expected us to be outside the door. She had her light brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail as usual, sunglasses resting on top of her head. Magnus just stared at her, his eyes growing wide.
"Why are you all standing around like this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, Gold was just introducing us to one of the Resistance's commanders that came back!" Shirou said, turning to face her slightly. "This is Magnus!"
I pointedly looked at the man next to me when he didn't respond. "Hello," he finally said, his voice flat.
...What was this sudden change? That was weird.
"Oh, hey! I'm Professor Willow, but you can just call me Liz," she said, stepping closer to us. "So you're a commander, huh?"
"Yes," he said.
"That's cool," she said with a nod. "You know, I'm just gonna call you Maggie, okay?"
"Okay."
WHAT? HE NEVER LET ME CALL HIM MAGGIE. WHAT THE HELL.
Wait a second...
Did he like her or something?
"Okay! Hey, you should stop by the lab sometime. So we can hang out or something," she said, walking past us. "I have to go now. I have some work to do with Viola. Don't forget to stop by! Bye!" She waved and then headed off.
"Bye," he said.
Oh my Arceus, I had to tell Jade. She would get a kick out of this, hehe.
...
(Topaz's POV)
Am had decided that in order to catch up with our returned commanders, we would have to spend some time together. Diamonda suggested the idea of having a picnic in the National Park, and Am, surprisingly, agreed to it. Only generals and commanders were to come, which was fine with those who stayed behind, though Am was making the exception with his wife and daughter.
Safaia was walking with with Rubin, Gold—who was still using his crutches, no matter that all of us had offered to let him ride one of our Pokemon so he wouldn't strain himself—Sapph and me. It was a short distance to the park, though we were taking our time. Then Navy decided to slow down and join us.
"So you're Sapphire, right?" he asked Safaia.
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's me."
He looked at her, tilting his head to the side. "Isn't that name a bit girly?"
Safaia gave him a weird look. "Yeah, that's because I'm-"
"I'll just call you Sappho, okay?" he told her, interrupting. "That's much more manly. You need to embrace your manhood, bro."
We all stopped walking. Oh my Arceus, Navy thought Safaia was a guy. This wasn't the first time it happened, but still. Gold was obviously trying to hold back laughter, and was failing. He was snickering. Rubin sighed heavily, and Sapph slapped her forehead.
"I'm not-"
"We're both working on the navy, so we should hang out some time," Navy said, interrupting her once again. "I mean, we're going to be stuck on a ship for months with just our soldiers and each other. You've met Indi, haven't you? She's the other commander."
"Yes, I have, but-"
"Awesome!" Navy exclaimed and Safaia gave him a really dark, agitated look. "We're going to be a great team, I can tell."
Oh Arceus. This was going to be a long day.
"All right, I'm gonna go catch up to Grey and Fiori now," he said, turning back around. "C'mon, guys, we're almost to the park." He headed off again, but we just stood there.
"Sappho?" Goldy snickered.
Safaia shot a look at him. "Shut up!"
Rubin sighed again. "We better catch up with the others."
"Right," I said with a nod.
We picked up our pace the best we could with Gold, but we ended up being the last ones to arrive at the spot they had chosen. Rubin, Safaia, and I helped the finish setting up while Sapph helped Gold sit down, which was painful for him at first. We spread out a blanket over the grass, and then set down the baskets that contained the food Fiori, Rubin, and Jasper had prepared. Once everything was set out, we all sat down in a circle. I ended up sitting between Rubin and Gold, and Sapph was on her boyfriend's other side.
I had to admit, it felt weird to be wearing a skirt and to have my hair down, but I was trying to relax and loosen up. I leaned up against Rubin, folding my legs next to me. He entwined his fingers with mine, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
"Oh man!" Goldy exclaimed, leaning forward the best he could without hurting himself. "Look at all this food! You've really outdone yourselves this time, Fiori, Rubes."
"It's nothing," Rubin said with a shrug.
Fiori grinned at him from her spot next to Grey. "Glad you like it, little bro."
We took the next few minutes to serve ourselves the food and get all situated. We settled to mere chit chat until one of us pointed out something.
"Um, guys," Indi said, catching our attention. "People are staring..."
I looked around; she was right. Well, we were the leaders of the Resistance. And we were teenagers. With a baby. That was bound to attract attention.
"Let them," Am said calmly. "We're here to have fun. Don't let anyone ruin it."
Just then, Aqua squealed, squirmed out of her mother's arms, and crawled over onto her father's lap. Am's lips twitched up into a smile as he picked her up, and she swatted at his face and giggled.
Arceus, babies were so cute.
"Dada," she cooed, patting the side of his chin.
We all gasped while Am merely smiled again, and Diamonda laughed.
"She's been saying that for a while now," Diamonda said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "She just said 'mama' the other day, too."
"That's great!" I said, smiling at them. "She's growing up so fast."
"She is," Am agreed with a nod.
Suddenly, the other people in the park started screaming, and scattered. We looked to see what was going on. Electricity was being zapped everywhere, and I recognized the Pokemon that were doing. We all tensed, and Am handed Aqua back to Diamonda. Then we all—except for Gold—got up onto our feet. We had company.
"Hello ladies," Flax drawled, his trademark smirk on his face.
"Hope we're not interrupting anything," Pink sneered. She looked a little paler than usual, and thinner.
Before any of us could even breathe, Crimson just snapped. "You bastard! What the hell are you doing here? I'm going to-"
But Indigo grabbed him by his arm and pulled him back. "Crim, stop. I don't think they're here to pick a fight."
"So?" he snapped. "He still tried to rape my sister!"
"Ew, who'd want to touch her?" Pink snorted, wrinkling her nose and giving Flax a dirty look.
Oh, for the love of Arceus-
"Wrong sister," Flax said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, that's not what we're here for."
"Who are you anyway?" Safaia asked, speaking up, eying them both suspiciously. "I've never seen you before."
"They're the president's admins," Grey responded, answering her question. "Two of them, anyway."
"What do you want?" Navy demanded, crossing his arms over his chest, looking annoyed about seeing them again so soon.
"We're here to deliver a message," Flax said flatly. "That's all. Nothing more, nothing less."
Pink smirked deviously, and then walked forward a couple of steps, nearing us. Then she scowled, and pointed to Grey, giving him a fierce glare. "You, Grey Kuro, are a deadbeat dad."
...What?
"Excuse me?" Grey asked, sounding confused as he raised an eyebrow. Fiori tensed even more by his side, glaring at the younger girl.
"You heard me," she spat, leaning forward, putting her hands on her hips. "Where's that child support? I haven't gotten a single freaking cent."
Grey narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. "Stop spitting nonsense."
"Oh?" She stood up straight again, raising both eyebrows. "Navy didn't tell you?"
The mentioned guy scowled, lowering his arms and clenching his hands into fists. I was so confused by what was going on. What was even the point of this whole thing? What were they trying to do?
Grey kept his eyes narrowed. "Tell me what?"
Pink laughed, and flipped her hair, smirking. "I guess he didn't, then." She crossed her arms over her chest, still smirking devilishly. "You're a daddy, Grey. That's right, handsome; you knocked me up."
We all froze in shock, horrified. Oh my Arceus, she did not just say that. I had to be imagining things. There was no way in hell that Grey would even touch her. She was lying, probably because they wanted us to stop getting along or something.
"Our son's name is Cadet," she continued. "But I just call him Cade. He looks so much like you."
Okay... Then... maybe... she was telling the truth. Crap.
I forced myself to look from her to Grey. His eyes were wide with shock and horror, his mouth open, and his whole body rigid. Fiori, who was next to him, had a similar expression, though hers was more angry.
Pink laughed at us, and then smirked deviously again, leaning forward slightly. "And, mmmm, that was some of the best sex I ever had." She pointed a finger at Grey, who was still frozen in shock. "Oooh, you can't deny it was mind blowing for you either, Grey."
He finally shut his mouth, seeming to recover a bit from his shock. He shot Pink a death glare that basically told her to shut the hell up, but of course she didn't listen. She talked waaay too much, just like Flax.
"So yeah, you two little whores got sloppy seconds!" she laughed, standing straight again.
I wasn't sure what was more angry about—the fact that Grey slept with Pink or that she called Fiori and me whores and basically said we slept with him, too. I knew I didn't, and I highly doubted that Fiori would do such a thing, especially since they hadn't been together for that long, even though she was a Kimu. But that was just ridiculous. She really didn't have to say that.
Suddenly, a shot was fired, and the next thing I knew, Fiori had her gun jammed up against Pink's temple.
"Shut up!" she yelled. "Shut the hell up!"
Pink gasped, and clutched at her shoulder, her face contorted in pain. Blood began to ooze through her fingers a little. She scowled, and glared at the taller girl who had the gun to her head. The rest of us were still frozen, having no idea what to do.
"You're just jealous," Pink spat through gritted teeth, squeezing her shoulder tighter.
Fiori jammed the gun against her temple again, not budging an inch. "Give me one reason not to kill you right now."
"Well, if you kill her, the spawn's good as dead," Flax said with a smirk, shrugging. "Nobody's gonna waste their time with that thing. I don't really care, anyways. You don't want a baby to die, do you?"
Flax really did not have a soul, did he? How could anyone be so heartless? I just couldn't understand how he even got this depraved. The other admins, not even Pink, were as bad as him.
Fiori's eyes grew wide with surprise at his comment. Then she scowled and lowered her gun, stepping back. She started to turn around, but then she whipped back and shot her again, this time in the foot. Pink all but screamed, nearly falling down.
"Agh, Flax, get us the hell out of here!" Pink howled, leaning forward in agony.
"Oh, shut it, you bitch," he snapped, glaring at her. "You asked for it."
He then released his Zebstrika, and the girl managed to get up onto its back. Flax walked up to them, and gave us one last sneer.
"See you later, ladies," he drawled.
They turned to go, and Crim took a step forward, probably wanting to go after Flax, but Indi kept her grip on his arm firm and held him back. We stood in silence as they left. And then we stood in silence for a bit when they were gone.
"I... I trusted you," Fiori said, breaking the silence, looking at Grey, her face full of anguish. "I trusted you."
Grey just stared at her, his eyes still wide. She shook her head, and turned, releasing her Hydreigon. She climbed onto his back, and then he took to the air. Then they were gone.
"What... just... happened?" Goldy asked from his spot on the ground, looking around at all of us.
I didn't respond. No one did. My hands clenched into fists as the realization of what must have happened dawned on me. Rubin put his hand on my shoulder, saying my name slowly and warily. I ignored him. I was too pissed right now.
"Grey," I said darkly, my voice oddly calm, but he didn't move.
If I did the math correctly, Pink would have to have gotten pregnant right before Grey defected because when we met her, she showed no signs of being with child. And when Grey returned to us, we had gotten together—sort of. It had been a secret, kinda like my engagement to Rubin. We would sneak out to the forest to make out. Right. After. Grey. Slept. With. That. Defiled. Whore.
"Grey," I growled again, and this time he looked at me, his expression still shocked. "How. Could. You?"
He didn't respond. He just stared at me.
"How could you?" I repeated, yelling this time. "How could you even think about even touching her?"
No, I wasn't jealous or anything. I didn't like him that way anymore. We were back to being friends. But it horrified me that he did that right before we got together. If I hadn't been falling for Rubin at the time, and he hadn't pushed me away, who knows what would have happened. I was grossed out and as his friend now I was really questioning his sanity. Because this was Pink Mazenta we were talking about, not one of our own, like it had been with Am and Diamonda.
He still didn't answer my question. He just ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.
"Bastard, answered me!" I snapped, taking a step towards him.
Rubin grabbed me by the arm, pulling me back. "Topaz, stop," he said firmly. "You're overreacting."
"I am not," I snapped, jerking away from him.
"Calm down," he said gently. "You're flipping out. Leave Grey alone."
"But he-" I began with anger and frustration.
"Give him a break," he said firmly interrupting me. "Besides, this is more of a problem with Fiori. Drop it."
"I don't care!" I yelled, turning back around. But he grabbed me again, this time by the waist. "Let me go!"
"We're leaving," he said with a sigh, and proceeded to drag me off.
"No, let me go! I'm not done with him yet! Dammit, Rubin!"
...
(Safaia's POV)
It took me a moment to finally put two and two together and realize what this all meant. And that really did not make me happy. Grey was my friend, but dear Arceus, this was just insane.
"Wait... doesn't that mean..." I paused, and turned to glare at Grey. "You joined the Government, didn't you?"
Of course he didn't respond to my question. He hadn't spoken a single word. So I took that as a yes. And I could barely believe it. The Grey I had known never would have joined the Government. I had thought he was dead, but apparently not.
"What happened to you?" I demanded, throwing up my hands. "Why would you do that?"
I shook my head and turned to look at Navy. "And you—you were in the Government, too, weren't you?"
He let out a strained laugh, and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah..."
"How could you let traitors in your midst?" I demanded, turning to face Am. "They're the enemy!"
Am gave me a calm look, not reacting to my outburst. "It's a long story."
"You say that to everything!" I exclaimed with frustration. "That's not giving me any answers to what's going on!"
"Okay then, Sappho," Navy said, and I turned to look at him, his arms crossed over his chest. "You want answers? I'll tell you."
...
A few minutes later, we were back in the castle. The picnic was ruined so we all would just eat back at the base. Navy and I got some food first, and then we went to a smaller lounge so he could explain to me what the hell was going on.
We both sat down on a couch at the ends, putting our food in the middle. I turned to face him, sitting Indian style, while he sat normally, facing forward. He was quiet for a moment, but then turned to look at me.
"You know the truth about them, right?" he asked me. "About who they are?"
I nodded, stopping myself from taking a bite of my sandwich. "Yeah, they're the Pokedex holders' kids. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, the same thing happened with the admins," he said with a sigh. "There were five of us—me, Maroon, Verdant, Flax, and Pink. We're all from the past, too. Synis had us kidnapped as well... but I have no idea why."
I took a bite of my sandwich, processing this. That was just crazy.
"None of us had a choice in the matter about being with the Government," he said. "So don't call me a traitor. I left, didn't I?"
I swallowed. "True, but Grey was with us first."
He sighed, and ran a hand through his blue hair. "Grey's... really messed up."
"Obviously," I deadpanned.
He gave me a dry look. "Something happened to him, but I don't know what. Synis has us rescue him and bring him back to his castle. He had him nursed back to health, and Grey joined us to repay the debt, I think."
I took another bite, and chewed it.
"Anyways, he was really conflicted back then. He was messed up, and got really mean. I don't know what went on his head. But he got himself back together somewhat and rejoined the Resistance. I don't think he was doing so well until he met Fiori."
I nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, I was around for that. He got really emo. It was weird."
"Yeah, well, he really had something nice with Fiori," he sighed. "And I didn't want to ruin it. So I didn't tell him. He was finally getting himself together... getting back to his old self. And now this has to happen."
I sat quietly for a moment. I understood now. But I couldn't find my voice.
"I just want him to go back to normal, you know. He's had so much trouble... and Pink had to ruin it. I have no idea why he slept with her, but that was right before he rejoined the Resistance."
"That must be why Topaz flipped," I said, before taking another bite of my food.
He raised an eyebrow, looking back at me. "What does that have to do with her reaction?"
I snorted, and swallowed my food. "They used to have a thing, around that time, I believe."
Navy's expression soured. "Grey really has a problem."
"Yup," I agreed. "But he's getting out of it."
"Hopefully," he sighed. "I just hope he can reconcile with Fiori, because if he doesn't, he'll really be a mess. He really likes her."
"Well, just give her some time," I said. "I talked to her yesterday. She really cares about him. We'll... just have to wait and see, I guess."
"Yeah," he said with another sigh.
...
(Topaz's POV)
When we got back to the castle in Unova, Rubin dragged me all the way to my room. At this point, he was pretty angry at me for fighting against him and yelling at him the entire time. He shoved me onto the bed, and pinned me down on my back.
"Calm down," he snapped. "You're being ridiculous."
"I am not-" I began angrily.
"Shut up and listen for a second," he snapped, glaring at me. "Just listen to what I have to say, Topaz."
I shut my mouth and scowled at him, complying. I was too angry to be concerned about the position we were in—he had my arms pinned down on each side of my head, and other than that, we weren't touching, but he was still leaning on top of me.
"Thank you," he said with a sigh, and then relaxed a little, but still didn't let me go. "You need to give Grey a break. He was really messed up back then. Who knows what was going on in his head at the time. That was like two years ago."
Well...
"Imagine how he feels about this whole situation," he continued calmly. "How Fiori feels about this. How would you feel if you found out your boyfriend slept with someone and had a kid, especially if it was with the enemy?"
He had a point... And he was right. There, I let my temper get the best of me again. Dear Arceus, I felt terrible now.
I sighed, relaxing. "You're right... I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me," he said. "You didn't flip out on me, now did you? Like Crimson did."
I let out a strained laugh. "It must run in the family."
"Mine too," he said with a sigh. "Arceus, I hope none of our kids inherit that temper."
I laughed lightly. "Oh, I doubt it. We're the sane ones in our families."
"Sane," he scoffed, finally releasing my arms, starting to sit up. "Yeah right, did you-"
I cut him off by kissing him, pulling him back down, closer to me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pressed his lips against mine. Warmth filled me; I had said it a million times before, but it just felt so good to be this close to him.
I wished we could do this more often. But if anyone say either of us going into the others room, they would think the extremes, especially after this thing with Grey, and we couldn't have that. Some people had to be examples.
He slid his arms around my waist and pulled me up. He pulled me close, kissing me on my nose, and then on my lips again. I sighed happily. I would enjoy this while I could before I had to go out and face my actions.
"I love you," he told me, brushing his fingers across my cheek.
I smiled and leaned forward to bump my nose against his. "I love you, too."
Just then, my Pokegear vibrated from my pocket. I reached and pulled it out to see who is was. I had gotten a text from Am telling me that I was needed for a meeting of the generals. Crap. I grimaced. I hated having to leave, but I had to face the music.
"You'll be fine," Rubin reassured me as I pulled away, sliding off the bed. "Just apologize, okay?"
I nodded as I straightened out my shirt, and ran a hand through my hair to fix it. "I definitely plan on it."
He smiled, and got off the bed. "Good. See you in a few."
...
It took me a few minutes to get to Am's office on the first floor since everything was so crowded and busy, not to mention the castle was freaking huge. I took a deep breath to steady myself before pulling open the door and stepping inside. Am and Grey were already there, sitting at the table.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," I said, sitting down at my spot at the table.
Am just waved me off, and Grey stayed silent, his hands clasped together in front of him as he stared at them. He looked even more troubled. Oh my Arceus, I really should not have blown up on him. I probably made him feel worse.
"Grey," I said gently, and he finally looked up. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. It was rude and uncalled for, not to mention immature. I'm sorry."
His eyes flickered back to his hands. "It's fine."
"No, it's not," I said firmly, and he looked back up at me. "It was wrong of me. And, if there's anything I can do... I'm here for you as your friend, Grey."
"Same here," Am said with a nod.
Grey looked at both of us, and then sighed. "Thank you... That means a lot."
I gave him a friendly smile. "That's what we're here for, Grey."
Am nodded. "Yes. But we still have to deal with this." He paused for a moment. "And just to let you know, I'm not about to demote you, Grey. You're a brilliant general, and even so, this happened nearly two years ago."
Grey's eyes grew wide with surprise, but then he nodded. "Very well. I try my best."
"Other than that, there's nothing much else we can do," Am continued, a thoughtful look on his face. "What's done is done."
"But... maybe we can deal with... er... the personal aftermath?" I offered.
Grey grimaced, and pressed his hand to his forehead. "Fiori..."
Dear Arceus, Fiori. Their relationship was going to be tough to fix, I could feel it. Especially after that look on her face... And what she said. 'I trusted you.' I had no idea what to tell Grey. What advice could I give him?
"If Fiori really loves you, she'll forgive you," Am said, and we both looked at him. His expression was calm and serious. "It's not like this happened while you were together. This was before you even met. And I believe she does love you, Grey. Just give her some time to cool down and think."
Oh jeez, didn't that sound familiar.
Grey pursed his lips, thinking for a moment. Then he looked up and gave us both sad smiles. "All right, I will. And... thanks, guys. Your support means a lot. It really... helps."
I gave him a reassuring smile. "No problem, Grey. That's what we're here for!"
Am nodded. "Yes. Just keep on going strong, and never give up. The Government wants us to crumble so they can have the upper hand, but that's not going to work. We're too strong for that. But something tells me this won't be the first time they try to split us. So... just be careful from now on."
And we all knew what he said was true.
HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOREVERMORE
Wow, I can't believe it's been a year. And the two year anniversary for the whole trilogy is coming up in October... Jeez.
ANYWAYS
If no one has realized this yet, Cade is Grey and Pink's son.
...It's a really long story that will be explained.
You've also got to see some budding Terrashipping (Magnus x Professor Willow) and Calvaryshipping (Navy x Safaia). And of course the Kummern and talking of ForestFairy.
THIS SHIP NEEDS REPAIRS
What else... OH WE'RE SO CLOSE TO 400 REVIEWS
Man, I can't believe there's that many in the first place.
Anyways, GO AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE JOURNEY TO 400 REVIEWS YAY