Nova

  —

  I managed to turn away from my platter of ribs after the third one, barely. I'd never had Tauros, but judging from Gym Leader Sabrina's reaction, it wasn't just the meat that was amazing… My eyes slid over to the dragons, finally unleashed on the spits.

  The Tyrant Queen had her own Tauros, her own entire spit, in fact, but the dragons were more focused on their own ribs right now. I watched as Unity fought to feed himself, his Syrupents easily helping each other tear meat off the bones. Deliberately, smirking at him the whole time. He hissed at them in frustration before darting in, tearing a fresh rib from the mouth of one of his Syrupents, before he slowly, painstakingly began to grind it down, coiling around his own jaw to exert more force.

  I couldn't help but grin at the stunned looks of the Syrupents watching their commander grind bone to paste, even if it took him some real effort. He didn't exactly have the most intimidating jaws, or teeth, but he was strong enough to manage it. After Unity swallowed it, suddenly he had plenty of help…

  Wiggles had three huge ribs in her mouth, and I could see them begin to melt. She didn't look like she enjoyed it, honestly, but I guess she did need something from it, considering she continued to eat…

  As I reached for another rib my eyes caught Splash's, and for once there was no barely-concealed annoyance, no glare, not even his 'nice' expression he put on for Wiggle's benefit- when she could still see, at least. No, he just met my eyes and smiled, and honestly? I didn't find it odd, because I smiled right back.

  It was the one thing that Splash and I shared, actually. In most everything else he was the definition of a reluctant Pokemon, but meat? Apparently even requiring it didn't make Wiggles enjoy it, so over the years we had… 'bonded' over food. Not that I could afford meat often, and Splash generally didn't catch the good-tasting stuff, like Krabby or Remoraid. Magikarp was… meat, sure, the most common fish to eat in fact, but it was flavorless.

  I grabbed another rib, even as I took a sip of the very expensive Berry juice concoction Sabrina had brought. She was eating much slower now, not that her whole 'Ice Queen' persona had broken for very long… I tried not to wince as her eyes briefly met mine, but I think I might have failed…

  This was certainly not how I envisioned my dinner would look like this morning…

  —

  —

  I was too full as we sat there after our feast, just waiting for our food to digest. If we had the option of a Teleport, we might as well relax before returning. It was finally not hot at night, even if it wasn't quite cool yet, so it was comfortable…

  "Erin, I bet you've got another song done…" Excuse me, what? Song?

  The Tiny Tyrant?

  Judging by Erin's huge glare at Leaf, though, she did sing!

  "Leaf, you've been with me pretty much the entire time, and other than Performance practice, no, I didn't actually get a chance to do any more." Leaf looked disappointed, but the real surprise was Sabrina.

  "Your technique for the music itself is interesting. I could speed the process up greatly, of course…" She looked intrigued as well, still reclining in the comfy-looking chair Leto had crafted her. Stone, sure, but it was still nicer than the benches we sat at, and they did have plenty of cushions…

  Erin looked conflicted, though.

  "I mean, even if you speed it up, Dexter still has to recreate the sounds. I can't think of any songs right now that don't have a ton of music, honestly, in fact I usually preferred music with less vocals. I guess I could do some country, but even that is a b-" Her mouth snapped shut, and then after a moment the darkest, wickedest grin I had ever seen spread across her face.

  "Actually, I do have a song that would apply, and Dexter can probably get it done in ten minutes… Queen was a great band…" Queen? A Queen in a band, or… what?

  A minute later I watched as Erin, Sabrina, and Dexter disappeared, off to… make a song…

  Leaf and Alex looked excited, though, so I guess this was going to be good?

  Why did Leto go with them, though?

  —

  —

  Fifteen minutes later they popped back into existence, and Sabrina looked… amused and annoyed all at the same time, it seemed.

  Everyone but Erin settled back down as a platform of stone rose beneath her feet, even as her Pokemon pulled a speaker out of a Storage Ball, then a large power bank… I guess the power bank made sense, though, considering the Rotom even now syncing to the speaker.

  "So, not much music to this, but there is a beat! In fact, this is an audience participation song! You might want to stand, I guess…" Audience participation?

  Soon enough every human and Pokemon was standing together, or really, Leto was off to the side… Splash stood next to me, still in a good mood, and I grinned a little as I elbowed him. His eyes met mine, and there was some amusement there. He was happy, full of delicious food, hopeful that Wiggles might make some progress with her issue, and probably about as friendly as he got with me.

  Erin grinned at us from her short stone stage.

  "Okay, so I know that not everyone has feet, or hands, but all you'll be doing is clapping your hands, or something, together and stomping your feet." Every eye turned to Leto, and her grin was massive. Erin chuckled.

  "Yeah, she's going to go easy, I probably can't sing that well flying through the air. Now, just follow this beat, it never changes tempo. There is a chorus, but four humans don't sound like a crowd, obviously, so nah…"

  She stomped her foot down once on her stone stage and winced.

  "Could you make this hollow, mom? Might as well…" A moment later Leto nodded, and then Erin began again.

  She stomped her feet down twice, almost like walking in place, before clapping her hands together. She just kept repeating it, and after a moment we realized that was it, and began to join in. Leto's stomps were loud, but thankfully didn't throw us into the air… Every biped clapped, and even the Dragalge slapped his fins together. It was very surprising watching Gym Leader Sabrina stomping, even if hers looked kind of delicate, but her Alakazam only clapping as he floated next to her was even more unusual looking.

  Erin was smiling and stomping her feet still, but not clapping, and she let us just keep doing it for another half minute, my hands starting to sting slightly- I'd been a bit enthusiastic at first, honestly…

  Then Erin opened her mouth and sang. She was pitching her voice deeper than it normally was, which wasn't hard considering it was kinda high-pitched, but she seemed used to doing it, actually…

  "Buddy you're a boy make a big noise

  Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day

  You got mud on yo' face

  You big disgrace

  Kickin' your can all over the place

  Singin'"

  Erin's next words echoed like it was an actual chorus, I guess thanks to Rotom. She was also looking directly at Gym Leader Sabrina as she sang them… Gym Leader Sabrina, who looked amused and exasperated at the same time, even through her 'ice queen' mask…

  "We will we will rock you

  We will we will rock you"

  It went back to a single voice, but there was still nothing but stomps, claps, and words…

  "Buddy you're a young man hard man

  Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day

  You got blood on yo' face

  You big disgrace

  Wavin' your banner all over the place

  We will we will rock you"

  For a brief moment her voice lost its inflections, and it was like she was simply speaking loudly.

  "-Sing it out!-"

  Then she went right back to it…

  "We will we will rock you

  Buddy you're an old man poor man

  Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day

  You got mud on your face

  Big disgrace

  Somebody better put you back into your place

  We will we will rock you

  -Sing it!-

  We will we will rock you"

  The first sound to come out of the speaker that wasn't a voice was just a low tone that grew and grew.

  "-Everybody-

  We will we will rock you

  We will we will rock you"

  Suddenly the tone turned into an electric guitar solo, even as we continued to stomp and clap. It was a good one, too. I wasn't a huge fan of this kind of music, honestly, but it was good, and I knew that this song, or at least the beat, would be stuck in my mind for a long time…

  —

  Erin

  —

  I felt like we had spent too much time in Saffron, even if it hadn't been all that long yet. Maybe it was meeting my new grandparents? The Performance? The interview? Meeting our new therapist?

  That had been a huge surprise, but I think last night might have been worse. I felt horrible that I had freaked her out like that, and that it was bad enough Lance picked up on it over a PokeNav, but she had seemed much calmer as she Teleported us back to the Pokemon Center… Her helping with 'We Will Rock You' was honestly kind of fun, her mind able to isolate the guitar solo alone, sending it to Dexter as I familiarized myself with the lyrics again. Not that it was hard, I listened to that song a lot when I was a kid. I had also watched 'The Mighty Ducks' so much the VHS had burnt out… Also 'A Knight's Tale'...

  The sight of her delicately stomping her feet, Alakazam floating next to her lightly clapping, would be stuck in my mind for a while, though.

  Either way, I was eager as all three of us stood in front of a doorway in the Saffron Gym. This wasn't a public doorway in the beautiful lobby, no, this was a huge, aged wooden affair two rooms in from the lobby, intricately carved with geometric patterns, an Alakazam, Kadabra, and Abra etched into the center of each door.

  It clashed harshly with the clean, utilitarian, modern wall it was set in.

  "Challengers, your Challenge has begun. Step into the next room, please." The employee here didn't seem to be psychic, but she looked calm, focused in a way that let me know she might not be psychic now, but she was working on it.

  That had been some cool information to learn! I could develop psychic abilities through training, everyone could, even a Dark Master… It just took years of intense effort for most 'ungifted' people to even begin to develop Telekinesis or to mentally 'look around'. I actually would be idly training with Hecate in the future, but that was more for something to do together with Hecate than any real… drive to learn it. It would be badass, absolutely, but I knew me. I could barely focus on something at the best of times, honestly… I had also never been good at meditation…

  Maybe when I was thirty again I could lift a pen with my mind?

  There were no handles on the door, so the three of us pushed on them and they slowly, ponderously opened, completely silent. Whatever was ahead of us, I could not see. There was a pitch black wall five feet in front of us, and I mean pitch black. It looked like that crap from my world, the darkest color black possible, so dark it absorbed light.

  I glanced behind me, but the employee was already gone. The other two were frowning as well, but it was Alex who found her voice first.

  "So we can't get any Pokemon assistance for this?" She sounded irritated, and so was I. Not that you were allowed to use Pokemon during Challenges in the first place, aside from the Gym Trainer battles, but that wall… I knew it was an illusion of some sort, but it didn't stop the trepidation I felt looking at it.

  It looked like what I had seen while I talked with that Clefable, a dark abyss full of horrors I simply couldn't perceive, but could feel…

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Well, this is a group Challenge, so… let's go?" We followed Leaf forward to the wall, and it was worse the closer I got. The dread began, and just kept rising, even as Alex reached out a hand to touch it and paused. She looked back, only to find Leaf a few feet behind her, me very far back. I had only taken a single step, actually…

  "Uhh, girls?" Alex looked confused, but calm, and I didn't know how she could begin to deal with that feeling, that drea- Oh.

  I snarled a little, but it did nothing. This was somehow worse than in that abyss… I hadn't had a choice when I walked into that mountain, but now I did, and it wasn't a hard one for my brain, for my body. It was screaming at me to run, to flee, to cry, to-

  "Erin!"

  I jerked at the sound of Alex's voice, and I took an unconscious step backwards. The dread faded slightly, enough for me to realize my palms hurt. I glanced down, only to find my nails driven right into them, my hands still bloodless fists. I glanced up, and Leaf was closer now, her own face pale.

  "Erin, Leaf, look at me!"

  We both jerked this time, and then Alex was there, pulling us into a hug. It did not help in the fucking least, honestly, but I appreciated the gesture.

  "You two need to take a deep breath or something, that is an illusion!" No, no it was not…

  Because I had finally figured out something Sabrina had told our psychics to do. What not to do.

  Not to protect our minds.

  "T-That isn't an i-illusion, or at least not one in reality. This is o-only in our minds." Fucking fuck! I could usually detect psychics, or at least ours, but I had no doubt that this was being controlled by Sabrina, probably with a few of her personal Pokemon as well. Now that I was aware of it I could almost sense it, but that didn't mean I could fight it.

  Not that I didn't try.

  I had picked up a few tricks for psychics, and the most basic one was to wall off my mind. Following my horrible metaphor, I cast a huge… sheet over the top of my 'mind castle', which should stop psychics from peering in.

  I guess it didn't matter, not if they were already inside!

  "Fuck you, Sabrina!" I yelled to the open air, but of course, there was no response.

  Alex grabbed mine and Leaf's arms and began to pull us towards that wall, and I barely stopped myself from punching her. I did dig my heels in though, Leaf and I both, and Alex stumbled to a halt.

  "Listen, if this is an illusion, and this is a group Challenge, that means I need to help you two, and you'll probably have to do the same thing for me! Come on!" That was almost certainly correct, Alex, but it did not help!

  "Alex, I-I don't know if I can, honestly…" Me neither, Leaf… me neither…

  Alex sighed heavily before glancing at the abyss ahead of us. Her voice was quiet as she finally had a realization.

  "You see that cavern, don't you?" No SHIT, Alex!

  We didn't respond, but Alex got it. She sighed again before turning back to us.

  "Do you trust me?" Once again, no SHIT, Alex!

  At our jerky nods she grabbed our hands again, voice calm and soothing.

  "Then close your eyes, trust me, and just walk. You can shuffle if you need to, but don't stop. I get the feeling if you do, you'll just run back here." Probably, yeah! Very astute observations, Alex!

  She was probably right, but I was too fucking panicked at the moment to compliment her, or to even be nice. I growled as she grabbed our hands, but I closed my eyes and tried to trust her. I mean, I did trust her, with my life, but right now? Very hard to trust anyone or anything…

  Still, I somehow managed to take three steps this time before I started to slow, but I did my best to shuffle closer.

  To shuffle closer to that thing, to shuffle closer to the terror, the pain, the madness, the unrelenting, mind-shattering agony as my MIND-

  Abruptly the wall disappeared, still three feet away, and I collapsed to the ground, not a single shred of strength left in me. The dread was gone, it was all gone… We were in a small, plain room, another set of huge wooden doors on the opposite wall. A Mr. Mime was etched into the surface, sharp planes surrounding it that had to be Barriers, or maybe a Trick Room…

  I barely whispered my next words.

  "Fuck you, Sabrina… and thanks for stopping…"

  I didn't get a reply, of course, but I felt a faint hint of regret that wasn't my own briefly.

  —

  Leaf

  —

  I wasn't exactly mad at Sabrina right now, but I was extremely close.

  I knew what that had been. Sabrina had a bit of a reputation for her Challenges. Most Challenges taught you something about the Type, or the trainers who specialized in that type, and always had something to overcome that related to that. The obstacle courses and traps in Fuchsia? Better watch out, because sometimes trouble finds you, and not always from where you can see. Alex's Challenge in Pewter had been simple in theory, but you were still climbing a cliff with no ropes or guides. Kadabra to catch you or not, that was facing your fears, pitting your willpower and strength against a sturdy mountain.

  Sabrina?

  It was always different for everyone, but most of what I had found online, mostly complaints, agreed on one thing. It sucked.

  Because Sabrina tested your mind.

  From what I understood, Sabrina didn't individually peer through a person's history to find something to show them, it was more… like an obvious conclusion? If you wanted to show someone their deepest fear, you didn't delve deep in to find it, you just asked. Most people's minds weren't disciplined enough not to answer…

  It was more like a mirror than anything.

  So me and Erin were just forced to deliberately approach that thing again… Sabrina had stopped, but I don't think it was my reaction. Considering how pale Erin still was, it had been her reaction.

  I might hold this over Sabrina's head for a while.

  A long while.

  I cleared my throat a little and they both met my eyes. I didn't even say anything, just walked to the next set of doors. After a moment they joined me, and we pushed them open, still absolutely silent as they swung.

  The next 'wall' wasn't an abyss this time, it was… pure white, almost glowing. It looked a lot more inviting than that wall, though…

  This time we each held hands, but after a step, this time it was Erin who looked back in confusion.

  Considering how I was already tearing up, along with Alex, I had the feeling I knew what this was… Not to mention that silence. It wasn't silence, though, it was absence. I was walking towards…

  Erin's voice was quiet as she spoke, gripping my hand tightly.

  "It feels… lonely." No, it felt like everything precious to me was ripped away, is what it felt like!

  "Just… close your eyes, Leaf, Alex…" I did, but it didn't get any better as she pulled us forward, in fact it got worse. It felt like I was… at the Ranch, an empty, lifeless Ranch other than me, a wasteland devoid of life itsel-

  Abruptly the feeling disappeared, and I didn't hesitate to throw my arms around Erin, and I felt Alex's arms doing the same.

  Erin's voice was quiet in the empty room we found ourselves in.

  "If it's fear, then loneliness, then what's the final door?"

  I almost said screw it and just left this fucking place, but… I think I was done experiencing these… tests.

  Now it was Erin and Alex's turn.

  —

  Alex

  —

  The final set of doors featured a Drowzee and Hypno, both… 'eating' something that rose from a vague humanoid shape, and I hesitated as my hands met the door. Leaf didn't care, and pushed them open a bit harshly. She was pissed, just like we were, but…

  This really fucking sucked, badly, in fact it was borderline abuse!

  It was also a very good idea to encounter psychic powers like this, and the effect they could have on you, in a controlled environment. The majority of psychic species weren't aggressive, not compared to the vast majority of 'dangerous' predator species, but that didn't mean incidents never happened… Hypno and Drowzee especially were known to lure people into the wilds to feed. They didn't eat the person, no, but they usually left them in the wilds, sleeping, an easy meal for a carnivorous Pokemon…

  The next 'wall' in the room beyond the doors was red. A dark, dark red that reminded me almost of blood, but not quite…

  Leaf grabbed our hands as we both stopped a single step into the room. Her voice was gentle, but I could still hear the fury underneath.

  "Last one, you two. Just… follow me, close your eyes." It didn't help very much at all, but I still closed my eyes, still took a step forward…

  Then I stopped, because the only thing in front of me was a lifetime of misery.

  This one was easy enough to guess. I mean, there were many things in life that could make a person miserable, even among the things they have personal power over. I knew roughly how these Challenges went, and considering what I had seen so far?

  Out of the three of us, who had the most fear? Not fear of anything in particular, who had experienced the most? Leaf and Erin, without a single doubt in my mind. I had heard about the cavern, and just the story was beyond terrifying. Dexter had recorded it, like he recorded everything, but he had only checked it once, apparently. It was just pitch-black darkness and… sounds. It was currently locked up in his storage, somehow… Very tightly locked up…

  Why did Leaf and I fear loneliness so much, but not Erin? It made me so sad to think about it, but it was also obvious. She was used to it, had been alone and lonely. Had been terribly lonely even as she died…

  What fear did Erin and I share?

  Considering the closer I walked, the shorter my hair felt, the thicker my clothes felt, and I began to feel bulky?

  Probably being a guy. Well, I'll bet that if the themes so far were fear itself and fear of loneliness, this one was misery, we just feared that the most…

  Not that I hated guys or anything! In fact, I already missed not having to wear a shirt if I didn't want to! It just… wasn't me, and never would be. Erin had described it as wearing a shoe one size too small, forever. It wasn't that painful, and it could even be ignored a lot of the time… but you could never relax, you would always feel it. It was accurate enough from my own experiences… I could hear Erin snarling as she shuffled forward. Forward, towards a lifetime of misery she had already endured…

  Then it was gone, and this time it was Leaf who got hugged. A bit too tightly, based on the squeak, and we were strong, but she didn't say anything for a long minute before we broke it off.

  Erin cleared her throat, eyes still angry even through the wetness there.

  "Okay, well… That was a fucking experience…" Stabby didn't pop out, but I got the feeling he might be saving it… or not, Stabby was an asshole, sure, but he had some tact…

  My voice shuddered as I spoke, and there were tears in my eyes, too.

  "I need to get a psychic… I know it wouldn't have helped here, that would undermine the whole point, but… I don't want someone in my head again like that. No offense, Sabrina, but I think I hate you a little right now." I really did, too. I also knew I would get over it soon enough, but it was still too close, too raw, for me to give a shit.

  I had to wonder what Challenge Brock would have given us for our sixth Badge. Sabrina's fifth Badge Challenges did not have the reputation the sixth, seventh, and eighth did… They still sucked, but it was more of a 'I walked into an invisible wall ten times and broke my nose' kind of suck, not 'face your fears'!

  I also knew it made damn good sense, and that there were very good reasons most people weren't trainers, even if they had a Pokemon or two, or even a whole team. They weren't battlers, and you didn't want a battler to freeze up… It was kind of like that damn hazing tradition in the Clan, honestly, that and how we were forced to adjust to aura. Leto hadn't petrified me with her aura when we met because of that… she had just terrified me…

  Leaf cleared her throat, and when I looked up she was looking at her… palms? I looked down and found blood on my hand, but it wasn't mine. A quick glance confirmed that Erin's palms were red, and very lightly dropping blood. She had clenched her fist so hard that… Oh, wow, she was going to destroy Sabrina…

  "Well, let's get out of this fucking place…" We nodded at Erin's words, turning to the exit. Thankfully it was a normal, modern looking door, and I felt myself relax as we passed through it. There was a huge room on the other side, dimly lit, and for a moment I grew puzzled.

  Then Hecate, Dignity, and Grace all released themselves, Protect's springing up to intercept the Psybeams rushing at us.

  Everything seemed to happen so fast after that. One moment Dignity was in front of me, Protect turning red from the intense Move, the next all three of us were yelling for our teams, Erin already pulling out one of her terrifying kukri.

  The next moment was kind of horrible for me, because for a split second I felt immense betrayal as my team refused to come out… Then I realized nobody else had released themselves, and I sighed in understanding even as Erin re-sheathed her kukri with a huge frown.

  Still fucking annoying, but it was unfortunately common to encounter as a trainer… A fake ambush, almost certainly with most of our Pokemon's blessing, because if not, they would all be out, Leto included.

  I finally noticed three Gym trainers on the other side of this room, a Kadabra, Mr. Mime, and a Jynx in front of them.

  I wasn't Erin, I didn't find them… horrible or anything… I had actually kind of liked them when I was younger, or at least their dances, which even their 'haters' would admit are amazing… I had been a huge fan of the one that visited the Clan compound to put on a show, in fact. A huge fan who had excitedly run up to her after the show to thank her. She had been very kind, and had seemed genuinely happy to hear my praise.

  The memory of her huge, moist lips kissing my forehead was still not a pleasant one, in any way whatsoever! Still wouldn't be mean to one, but I'd rather not get too close to one again, either…

  Erin took a deep breath of air, and I met Leaf's eyes for a split second before we both covered our ears.

  It didn't help much as she almost Roared.

  "Kick their asses, Hecate!"

  The sound was almost physical as close as we were to her, and I could feel the aura laced into it. The opposing Pokemon felt it, too, and paused for a split second, the Psybeams fizzling out as their energy ran out of control. Not legal in an official match, probably, but in an 'ambush'? Absolutely.

  Then Hecate was launching herself at them with her ponytails, quickly followed by Dignity and Grace. I actually felt bad for those poor Pokemon when they struck, because all three of them hit hard. Grace was the least hard hitting among them, actually, but she was still a trained psychic… one who had finally gotten her Shadow Ball good enough for actual combat. It had fought her hard, her Psychic and Normal typing a massive impediment, but that training really paid off now.

  Especially as it slammed into that poor Jynx with enough force to spin her around like a top, a top that toppled over almost immediately…

  Dignity rammed into that Mr. Mime, and it's quick Barrier that shattered, in a Dragon Rush that left it embedded in the wall before it was quickly returned. Hecate seemed to be having some trouble catching that Kadabra, however.

  It didn't seem easy for the Kadabra to evade her Moves with Teleports, but it seemed like it could probably keep it up for a while, honestly. Hecate was growing visibly frustrated, too, but while this may have had an… unorthodox start, it was a triple battle…

  It took another ten seconds, and a Psybeam straight to Dignity's head, but eventually Hecate managed to snag it out of the air with her ponytails. I winced hard as she dragged it down into a… is that a body slam? I didn't enjoy wrestling, honestly, so I had no idea… it looked like one, though… or maybe one of those 'off the rope' jumps where they slam their opponent down by their ankles?

  As the dust settled the three trainers across from us bowed at a sharp ninety degree angle, and then vanished with loud cracks of displaced air.

  The sound system crackled to life, and we heard Sabrina's voice.

  "An amazing job during your Challenge, congratulations. You're all booked for tomorrow afternoon, I'll send the details to Dexter." She went silent, but the speaker was still engaged. Her next words were soft and apologetic.

  "I also… apologize for what you may have seen. Most people, children especially, don't have… that to reflect back at themselves." She sounded guilty, and she probably fucking shoul- Wait... I wasn't the only person in the world who feared being miserable, or the only one who feared loneliness… Most people hadn't had that experience, though…

  Erin's voice was a little rough when she finally spoke, hugging Hecate.

  "I don't blame you… If you hadn't stopped when you did, then we would be having a very different conversation…" Leaf nodded, already hugging Grace.

  "Yeah, what she said…"

  The door on the opposite side of this large room slid open, and I saw what looked like a repair crew enter… That made a good bit of sense, though, Dignity broke that wall in, and the floor was a bit cracked in places…

  I was very happy to leave that place, though, and judging from their faces, so were the other two…

  One more day, and then we could finally leave Saffron! It hadn't been that long, we spent longer training off-Route, but still! It felt like weeks!

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