| abstract
| - You are currently standing at the wide park surrounding the Eiffel Tower, Paris's most prominent landmark. Streets extend into the surrounding buildings, with the French driving their characteristically reckless way. Off in the distance you can even make out the towers of Notre Dame. Rodimus Prime has arrived. Rampage has arrived. Fragment soars down into view from the skies above. Fragment has arrived. Kup is leaning up casually againt the Eifle Tower, legs crossed, hands behind his head, waiting lazily for the Decepticons. He's surrounded by a small army of cop cars (well, *eco* cop cars. Tiny little things that barely fit a single person). He yawwwwns widely, wondering aloud, "Geeze, when are those guys getting here?" Like a bullet, a small manueverable and sleep space ship pierces the sky, approaching France. Has an alien gun gone off to blow this scoffed at country away for good? No. There was an open invitation, and a rookie Decepticon with something to prove to himself has come to accept. Fragment starts a short range broadcast, hunting. And hey, he got here as quick as he could, he was halfway across the solar system afterall. Fragment locates Paris on his GPS and alters course, the wind making a tearing sound as he does so, like something out of Star Wars. *No, we'd never recycle Lucas sound effects into a cartoon from a different company* Rodimus Prime transforms into his Winnebago mode. From DOWN-TOWN! Mecha-Tiger leaps tall buildings in a single bound as he charges angrily towards where Kup is waiting. As he rushes, he overturns cars with his paws and tail. If he were organic, he'd probably be foaming at the mouth in rage. "Talk trash about us, will ya? I'll open you like Prince Albert in a can!" he shouts, hoping that Kup can hear it. Fusion has arrived. Kup doesn't budge from his current, extremely relaxed position, though he does offer Rampage a frown as he busts in on him. "Prince Albert in a... wha? What the hell does that even mean? Look, if you're by yourself? Don't bother. I mean, I'd kick your aft so fraggin' easy, I mean, it would take me two nano-cycles, and that's being generous. Just wait up til more of your friends arrive, IF they got the ball bearings to--" Is that a TIE engine he hears? He grins. "--ahhh, here we go." Still not budging yet, though. Pyramid Fighter happened to be cruising through the French skies at high altitude when he notices Fragment speed by on his way to Paris. Fusion banks and dives after him, not sure what's going on but figuring it should be informative. <> Fusion comments over shortwave to the Decepticons in the area. <> After a moment, Fusion adds, <> The Tiger stops short and glares at Kup. "Ball bearings? You sound like yours got yanked up through your vocalizer," he snarls, "And you smell funny. Not so much old-mech stench. Wanna go?" He raises a paw and the claws go *shnickt* as they are bared. Kup glares back. "Oh, you didn't just say that to me. ME." Finally, Kup gets off of the Eiffle tower, body tensing as he prepares to dish out a beating. "Yeah, bet you think that put-down was pretty funny. Well, wait til I yank YOUR ball bearings up through your vocalizer." Then... he grins. "Tell ya what, though. I'll even let you get in the first hit. I won't move or nuthin'." He spreads his arms wide, apparently in anticipation of an attack. Combat: Kup sets his defense level to Protected. You say, "Honest." Spaceship cuts a swath in the air and as he reaches the city limits he fires braking thrusters to slow the ~bleep~ down. Pyramid Fighter pulls into position next to Fragmet. Decepticon jets always look more intimidating when they fly in roughly the same direction. <> "Oh that's IT! I'm goona make you wish you had your dentures glued in with cyber-bond!" Mecha-Tiger growls. Leaping at the Autobot, golden optics blazing in abject fury, the Predacon lashes out with claws. "Now let's see if that's just a bunch of plastic surgery!" Combat: Mecha-Tiger strikes Kup with his claw (Punch) attack! Combat: You took 3 damage. Pyramid Fighter breaks away from Fragment so that he can circle around above the fight, visually inspecting the Autobot for signs of damage. <> he comments. <> Transforming into his robot mode, Fusion drifts down until he's right next to Kup, making a few adjustments to a small tricorder-like handscanner. Fusion transforms into robot mode. Combat: Fusion runs a diagnostic check on Kup Kup had been planning to leap out of the way or something when Rampage attacked, but alas, no dice, the Predacon's too fast. The claws slash across his chest... a little. Kup shakes his head, smirking. "Nah. No plastic surgery here, dummy. This is the real deal, here, and now? Guess what? It's *my* turn." Then Kup reaches for Rampage's throat with his powerful fingers, and should he seize him, Kup will then smash the Predacon's head against the metal struts at the base of the Eifle Tower. "Just lemme know when this starts to hurt." Combat: Kup sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Kup misses Mecha-Tiger with his Whuppin' attack! [Pulled -3] Mecha-Tiger easily backflips, dodging the grasp that seeks to grab him by the throat. As he somersaults in midair, he lashes out with a hind foot. "Too slow! Are you sure you had a youth transplant? I swear you're just as slow as when you were old!" the Tiger taunts. He's no Karate Kid, but maybe the hind claw will hit...? Combat: Mecha-Tiger misses Kup with his Crescent Tiger Kick (Kick) attack! Spaceship soars in low and activates his tractor beam, picking up one of the tiny police golf carts... er cars. The beam drag-lifts the small vehicle and Fragment banks, hurling it towards the young-at-spark Kup. Combat: Spaceship misses Kup with his Un petite auto (Pistol) attack! Fusion frowns slightly as he peers at the tricorder. The display shows Kup's form but also records the various attacks the other Decepticons send his way. This time Fusion speaks out loud. "We've already seen how he handles melee attacks. Can't you try firing a ranged --" He blinks slightly as Kup's image on the display is momentarily obsured by the flying car. Fusion lowers the tricorder. "Oh forget it. I'll just do it myself." Then he raises one of his arm lasers and adds to the mayhem the Decepticons are sending Kup's way. Combat: Fusion misses Kup with his Laser attack! Kup ducks under Rampage's kick, letting it strike the Eiffle Tower instead. The beams holding it up warp hideously upon impact, and Fusion's laser, which narrowly misses him, adds to the damage, and the whole structure shudders. "Idiots," Kup grunts, almost casually catching the thrown eco car in mid-air, then whirling around before chucking it at Fusion. "You've gotten lucky so far. But gimme a fraggin' break. I could waste all three of you without any damn effort!" Combat: Kup misses Fusion with his Overglorified Kart Racer attack! [Pulled -2] If any are high enough in the air, they can, perhaps see on the horizon the approach of a red and flame-painted vehicle. As he rolls, Rodimus Prime's radio works furiously, contacting local (and unfriendly) emergancy crews, trying to get the latest on evacuation efforts, assuring he's here to help... it's not taken well. Fusion has already shifted his attention back to the tricorder, raising it to make sure it captured Kup dodging the barrage of attacks. It beeps urgently at him, indicating a large incoming mass. Fusion starts slightly, then twists franticly in mid-air to let the car go flying by. Fusion watches it sailing off, then turns impassively back to Kup. "Well, that's certainly a possibility." he says politely, then flies a bit higher, hopefully out of the range of throws cars. He points his arm laser at Kup again, but this time it makes tiny beep-boop sounds as Fusion adjusts the energy output. Combat: Fusion strikes Kup with his Disruptor attack! Combat: You took 4 damage. Spaceship banks upwards when the car is caught and gains some altitude rapidly reaching the peak of the tower. He then loops back down and retargets Kup with his laser. "Luck is for the weak and superstitious." The beam cuts into the pavement and quickly cuts a swath with dust and fragments blown upwards, zagging towards Kup. Combat: Spaceship misses Kup with his Laser Beam (Laser) attack! Bonesaw has arrived. The Tiger isn't the target of Kup this time, so he runs around in a circle and aims his gun-ports at Kup. "I'm goona fill you fulla lead!" he says, "And if it collapses the tower on you, that's fine with me!" Combat: Mecha-Tiger misses Kup with his Gun-Ports attack! Fragment's last pose: Spaceship banks upwards when the car is caught and gains some altitude rapidly reaching the peak of the tower. He then loops back down and retargets Kup with his laser. "Luck is for the weak and superstitious." The beam cuts into the pavement and quickly cuts a swath with dust and fragments blown upwards, zagging towards Kup. Fusion's last pose: Fusion has already shifted his attention back to the tricorder, raising it to make sure it captured Kup dodging the barrage of attacks. It beeps urgently at him, indicating a large incoming mass. Fusion starts slightly, then twists franticly in mid-air to let the car go flying by. Fusion watches it sailing off, then turns impassively back to Kup. "Well, that's certainly a possibility." he says politely, then flies a bit higher, hopefully out of the range of throws cars. He points his arm laser at Kup again, but this time it makes tiny beep-boop sounds as Fusion adjusts the energy output. Rampage's last pose: The Tiger isn't the target of Kup this time, so he runs around in a circle and aims his gun-ports at Kup. "I'm goona fill you fulla lead!" he says, "And if it collapses the tower on you, that's fine with me!" DECEPTICON LAIR, 10 MINUTES AGO Bonesaw continues doing whatever it is that he is doing. Leaning over a recently-severed arm on a cold slab of steel. An operating table. He squints. "Someone is going to answer that I hope, I am elbow-joint deep in energon..." he calls out to no-one in particular. He quints again. He holds up his scalpel, sighing a bit before he makes a few more careful incisions, "Hello?" He concentrates REALLY HARD, his frown slowly turning into a sneer. "OH SLAG IT!!" he tosses down the scalpel with a deafening CLANG, "FINE!" he calls out to no one in particular (again), "I'll go, I'll go, I'll go... they'll keep bugging me and bugging me. I'll go!" NOW: Bonesaw arrives on the scene in his nondescript ambulance mode. Even without a face, you can tell he is annoyed. "Now." he thinks to himself, "To figure out WHO called for the medic..." he assesses the area, noticing a few Autobots on the scanners, "And make sure they NEVER WAKE UP." The eco car looks fairly harmless, but eventually it slams into an apartment complex and its hydrogen fuel cell goes off like a bomb. While he is struck dead-on by Fusion, the rest of the gunfire goes blithely unnoticed by Kup, who just chuckles at the flames and devastation brewing around him. "Dummies. I could go eighty rounds with you people. Rate you're going? You'll all drop dead before I even get a little tired." He then turns on Fusion, running around the edifice as he fires his laser RIFLE at him. Combat: Error - 'repeating' is not a valid attack effect. Combat: Temporarily restricting the REPEAT effect from all of your attacks. Combat: Kup strikes Fusion with his Acid Musket Laser attack! [Pulled -3] Spaceship soars under the base of the tower and comes back around, slowing as he powers up his Phase Cannon. "You wish it, motor-mouth." Fragment's Phase Cannon fires a phase-beam pulse, a penetrating energy that works deeper than the surface of it's target. Winnebago is now nearing the epicenter of events, and getting harder to ignore. The explosion at the apartment complex, however, causes him to veer off sharply and drive towards it, instead. He arrives, transforming, landing on his feet, and immediately rushes towards the building. "Damn it, Kup!" the Boy Prime shouts, "Watch the collateral damage!" Winnebago transforms into his Robot mode. Combat: Spaceship strikes Kup with his Phase Cannon attack! Combat: You took 16 damage. Combat: Spaceship 's attack leaves him temporarily incapacitated! Rodimus Prime poses, already! Fusion turns at Bonesaw's familiar voice. "Medic? Did you say medic?" He peers at his tricorder in concentration, then he seems to brighten almost imperceptibly with what might be the fleeting joy of a minor intellectual accomplishment. "Oh! That was me. In a way. You see, there's a Decepticon suggested protocol when fighting Autobots in an area of 'historic value' --" he has to check his tricorder to make sure he gets that right, "-- that says to call for the media. So I triggered what I thought was a call for media, only it was mislabeled as medic." He turns the tricorder to face Bonesaw so that he can read the display. "You see, it--YEEAARGH!!" Fusion is cut off as he gets blasted full of musket lasers. "Well, that's another tricorder ruined," he comments sadly, the device now smoking from a few laser holes. "Oh well." Shrugging, he turns and chucks it at Kup's head. The Tiger jumps at Kup, claws bared as he sees the not-so-old bot fall. Fangs are also visible and gleaming, as his jaws open wide. "Time to turn this Autobot into SHREDDED WHEAT!" he shouts. Yes, Rampage has been watching too much TV. Combat: Mecha-Tiger strikes Kup with his Mauling attack! Combat: You took 11 damage. Kup's swagger is rudely interrupted as Fragment's phase cannon blasts him square in the chest. As his body freezes up, Kup wonders two things: 1) Why did that hurt so much, he's too awesome to be injured so easily, right? 2) Why can't he move his legs? Or, indeed, the rest of his body? "F-f-fragging sunuva... nnngh... you can't keep me... down... that.. easy!" A little tricorder bounces off his head. "ARRRGH! Damn you, I'll..." Then he's mauled, and can't even push the offender off of himself! "I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU!" he rages from the ground. "And stop saying shredded wheat! You do that EVERY TIME!" Uh, ok, Kup wasn't immobilized, he just got hit really hard and couldn't understand why. Also, he tries to kick Rampage in the gut. Whee! Combat: Kup strikes Mecha-Tiger with his Kick attack! Rodimus Prime is kneeling next to the wrecked apartment building, hurridly digging through the rubble. He comes across a family... two are hurt, but still mobile, but one is unconscious. "Shhhh," Rodimus murmurs, attempting to sooth the panicing humans, hoping that even if the language is wrong, the tone is clear. "It's going to be all right. Everything's going to be all right." He lifts the unconscious child gently, gently out of the building, and offers her to an emergancy ambulance crew nearby, then gets back to work, taking the moment to glance back at the scene. Spaceship meanwhile may have hit home, but his weapon isn't exactly a weapon, more of a weaponized tool for blowing up asteroids... things that don't fight back... The ship slows as his internal systems recharge for the moment. "I... knew.. that would.. shut him up." And now that he is virtually still and Kup shut up, he finally takes notice of the hard-to-miss Rodimus Prime. "Decepticons, Prime comes to aid his... oh, nevermind. He's helping the germs." Bonesaw wheels into view of the crumbling apartment building, "Fusion!?!" he sounds exasperated, "Are you telling me I interrupted a stage-two metalibiosis nanorectomy... FOR NOTHING??!?" he fumes through the radio, finally skidding to a halt and transforming. As the dust clears, the ambulance has become the Decepticon medic, BONESAW. "SLAG!!" he shouts, hefting his nasty-looking Molecu-Gun(tm), "You had BETTER HOPE there is something for me to SHOOT around here..." his optics narrow, "Or YOU'RE IT." Mecha-Tiger is kicked in the gut, all right! He goes rolling end-over-end in a consecutive series of somersaults until he comes to rest in a row of parked cars. "Hey, I'm not a soccer ball!" the Tiger shouts, "But I think I'll turn your head into one!" He transforms to robot mode and gets out his sword. "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" Rampage's head slides down to his chest, his body rising upright. His robot head appears where his beast mode head had just been, and he now stands before you in robot mode. Combat: Rampage misses Kup with his Decapitation? attack! Bonesaw no attack, since he is SO ANGRY Fusion's impassive expression wavers a little bit, but then he hears Kup and Rampage shouting. Something to shoot? Fusion is pretty sure he can come up with something. Fusion flies in close, then touches down, breaking immediately into a run at Kup. He lowers his shoulder and then tries to smash into the Autobot's back, bringing the Young Kup Adventures to an untimely end! Combat: Fusion misses Kup with his Smash attack! Kup pulls him up, using the Eiffle Tower for support. Naturally, the structure wobbles and groans as Kup adds a feather to the back of the camel. "Hnnnf. Fraggers. Not down yet." And he proves that to be the case as he neatly dives and rolls away from Rampage's sword and Fusion's charge, allowing their attacks to hit the Tower instead. "Sorry! Too slow!" he grins. He tries to make it look cocky, but internally, doubts are seeping through. Hm. Maybe he should shoot the new guy, over there. He doesn't seem to be paying attention to the battle. Might be real morale booster if he slagged that guy! Combat: Removed restrictions on REPEAT for your attacks. Kup then, of course, aims at Bonesaw and tries to blast him with his acid pellets. "Looks like the Doctor's OUT! Ha ha ha!" Combat: Kup strikes Bonesaw with his Acid Musket Laser attack! [Pulled -4] Rodimus Prime finally makes sure that the local emergancy crews have the apartment building handled, and stands up straight. He lowers his right hand, his index finger extended in the mighty Prime Point, but this time, it's directed towards... Kup? "All right, young man! That's enough out of you!" And then he darts forward, rushing towards Kup... and past him, possibly knocking him out of the way in order to help balance the eiffle tower, attempting to keep it from falling. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Kup with his Out Of My Way Punk! (Grab) attack! Combat: You took 0 damage. Bonesaw's optics narrow as he looks for something to shoot, "Tell you what Fusion.." he growls, "I'll let you make it up to me. Knock one of 'em UNCONSCIOUS and help me get them back to base." Bonesaw chuckles darkly, "I'd love to get my hands on whatever this 'glitch' is that is goin-- AARRG!" he throws up his arm just in time to try and catch some of Kup's attack, but the tell-tale sizzle of armor gives away the true extent of the damage. "That's my OPERATING ARM!!" he growls, and fires off a return round from his Molecu-Gun(tm). I can't find who you're trying to page with: Prime Unable to page: Prime Combat: Bonesaw misses Kup with his Molecu-Gun attack! Combat: Your attack continues to damage Bonesaw Combat: Spaceship takes a moment to shake off the effects of the last attack. Rampage misses Kup, growls something unintelligible, and then pulls out his lightning rifle. "If I can't hassan-chop you, then I'll give you a real shock," he says to the not-so-old Autobot. He notices that Rodimus has taken a Swing at Kup too. "Heh, so your fellow bots even think you need a whipping, too?" he adds. Combat: Rampage misses Kup with his Lightning Rifle attack! Fusion goes running right by Kup and off of the tower. He's momentarily suspended in mid-air, legs still pumping like the Coyote in an Acme cartoon. But then his legs slow to a stop and he's still floating there. Oh, right. He can fly. Fusion makes a mental note - Kup is pretty nimble. Extremely nimble, more than capable of fending off multiple attackers. Suddenly Fusion decides he's collected enough empircal battle data on Kup (all in the name of the Decepticon Empire of course). Now it's time for the truly challenging part...analyzing that data. Sure, Fusion. Whatever helps you recharge at night. In any case, Fusion spins in mid-air and transforms into his fighter mode, engines blazing. Fusion transforms into jet mode. Combat: Pyramid Fighter begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Spaceship Spaceship completes system energon redistribution and transforms into robot mode. "So much for pressing advantage. Hrnf. Leaves more glory for me." Fragment draws out a large hand firearm, bigger than a blaster, smaller than a rifle, and with some canister module attachment almost like a super soaker. He opens fire on Kup, a series of asteroid rock and ore fragments shooting in dusty quiet 'poot-poot-poot' sound effects... a faint dust tail trailing after every bit. The vehicle before you transforms, revealing the Decepticon soldier Fragment. Combat: Fragment strikes Kup with his Gravel Gun (Pistol) attack! Combat: You took 1 damage. Before the Decepticon's very optics, Kup's face suddenly becomes... smoother. His optics are just a wee bit wider, and he looks a tad shinier. What happened to him? Some sort of auto-repair mechanism? In any case, Kup quickly stands after being shoved aside by Rodimus. "Stop getting in my way! GEEZE! Lame-o-bot!" he growls, then narrowly dodges a lightning bolt. He isn't so lucky against Fragment's rock blaster, and gets pelted all over his body. "Owie! That's it, you people have TICKED ME OFF for the last time! DIE!" Quickly transforming into truck mode, Kup's engine roars as he launches himself, full speed, at Bonesaw! After this, HE might need to call a medic! :(Kup falls forward, folding up into really old looking futuristic truck! Combat: Cybertruck strikes Bonesaw with his Old-Fashioned Overrun attack! Bonesaw's optics grow wider, then flash, "OH! OH SM--" but he can not move out of the way in time. Surely, he thinks to himself. Surely, Kup used to be much slower than that? I mean, isn't he older than rust?? "AAUAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGHH!" Bonesaw is flattened into pulp... and sort of lies there. Maybe if they think he is dead they will go away. And he can crawl back to base. So much for that stage-two metalibiosis nanorectomy. Rodimus Prime is busy holding up the eiffle tower! Still, the change of voice over the radio causes him to look back, and his eyes widen at what he sees. "Kup!" he exclaims, and the concern he'd been squashing is apparent in his voice. "It's happened again!" Ooooh a truck! The feline programming of Rampage kicks in, and he transforms, tearing after Kup the Truck like a cat racing after a rabbit. He lashes out with his claws, trying to pop a back tire or fishtail the entire back end. Rampage collapses down onto all fours, his beast head replacing the position of his robotic head. He now stands before you in Tiger mode. Combat: Mecha-Tiger strikes Cybertruck with his paw-induced popped tires? (Kick) attack! Combat: You took 8 damage. Combat: Mecha-Tiger 's attack has damaged your Agility! Fragment optic-narrows at the increased liveliness of his enemy as he takes more damage. "Now that ain't right." Fragment runs to a car and crouches. He draws his Disruptor handgun and fires off a few little pop-shots as Rampage goes after Kup. "Have the decency to fall, freak." Combat: Fragment strikes Cybertruck with his Disruptor Beam (Disruptor) attack! Combat: You took 2 damage. Combat: Fragment's attack has damaged your Agility! Cybertruck gets flipped by the tiger cat, but incredibly manages to land back on his wheels. The young truckbot decides to just keep on driving, even as disruptor blasts spatter across his hide. "Freak!? Who you callin' a freak!? Oooh, I oughta... yeah, well, just you guys wait! I'm gonna get fixed, and then I'll be back! Oh yeah! Just too bad Sentinel Prime ain't here, cuz him and me, we'd tag team you idiots like you were NUTHIN'!" He speeds off into a nearby street, sideswiping an eco fire truck that looks rather small for its intended purpose. "DELTA KAPPA SQUAD FOR LIIIIFE!" His horn blazes as he rockets down the roads, forcing numerous drivers to slam on their brakes. Fortunately, no one in France is allowed to drive very quickly anymore so they don't have far to stop. Combat: Cybertruck begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Rodimus Prime is still holding up the eiffle tower, but as Kup goes careening off, yammering on and on about how much he'd rather have /another/ Prime here, he glances over, then glances up at the Decepticons. "You have until the local emergancy crews take this from me. Trust me. You /don't/ want to be around when I have to let go." Since Kup got away, the Tiger turns his attentions to Rodimus Prime. "Would be a shame if that whole tower collapsed on you," he growls, "Maybe I should help it out a little?" Of course Rampage doesn't quite think that the tower would fall fast enough to hit *him*, but then nobody ever accused the Predacon Tiger of being Mensa material. Fragment goes hrrrrn as Kup becomes a green speck. "How do Autobots put up with that guy?" He turns his head towards the Prime. "If you somehow outlast the will of the Empire long enough, our time will come, Rodimus Prime. For Autobots, there is only submission or extinction." He apparently has no interest in mayhem causing for the sake of mayhem. The only non-Kup damage done here by him was incidental and minor. The Decepticon transforms and begins hover-rising into the air. "Rampage, don't waste yourself." A rapid transformation brings about the peculiar grey spaceship before you now. Combat: Mecha-Tiger strikes Rodimus Prime with his trying to hit the tower... (Pistol) attack! Rodimus Prime sees Rampage firing at the tower and immediately shifts, still holding it up. He manages to be fast enough to take the shot himself... it's not a serious wound, just a light marring. He looks over his shoulder and growls, "You were /warned/, Decepticon!" as he leans nearer the tower, bracing it with his body and one arm in order to aim the right arm at Rampage. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Mecha-Tiger with his Arm Blasters attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Mecha-Tiger 's Accuracy. (Blinded) The Tiger yelps as he's hit by Rodimus' blast. And additionally, there's a haze over his optics. He hears what Fragment says and decides to retreat. "Oh man, I hope I can still watch TV," he grumbles, retreating like he needs a seeing-eye dog. Combat: Mecha-Tiger begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Cybertruck and Spaceship Spaceship accelerates now and cruises on up for the stratosphere. Combat: Spaceship begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Eventually, the emergancy crews arrive and can get supports errected, freeing the make-shift Atlas from his duties. Rodimus steps back, releases the tower, and, without a word, transforms and rolls off. He knows he's not welcome in this country, and beside - he's got to at least try and find Kup.
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