Hey all my lovely readers. I have been looking forward to this episode for the entire series! This is by far the most revealing and mandatory episode in the entire show.

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. It has been really hectic. Well now at least I can write y'all a really long and detail chapter!

Soft Blonde, here it goes.

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SPEAK LIKE A CHILD

Sitting on the deck of the Bebop, Usagi was talking to Ed on one of those rare occasions that Ed wasn't asleep. While Jet hung clothes to dry, Usagi was scrubbing the deck on hands and knees, something she had opted to do for them since she didn't bring any big cash into the ship and certainly didn't pay rent. Spike was nearby, fishing in the water that the Bebop was docked in.

"And so, the turtle took him to a place called Ryuuguujou as a reward." Usagi explained, winding down to the end of her two hour long story. Jet had told it earlier, but his seemed condensed and to the point. It had come from her time. The fairytale was old to them, but, Usagi remembered reading the story in first grade. That was about the time it was written.

"Ryuuguujou?" Ed was the type of little girl who asked questions every sentence. It was alright because it always seemed as if she was following, and she wanted to understand the story.

"Yes, and at that place they held a welcome party for him. Beautiful women and scrumptious feasts. Dreams and halibut swam about and so he spent his time as if in a dream." She explained, "It was perfect." Her voice trailed off.

"I haven't seen any halibut in a while." Spike complained to himself, but audible for everyone else to hear.

"I see…" Ed stated leaning forward.

"Days passed and before he knew it, it was time to go backHe was given the Tamatebako as a souvenir."

"Tamatebako… is that yummy?" Ed tilted her head to the side.

Usagi giggled, how this little girl asked questions! "It isn't food, darling; it's a chest with lots of treasures inside."

"I haven't seen any treasures in a while either," Spike further complained. Jet, was very tired of the Spike's whining when some of us are trying to get some ship-work done!

"You are so tasteless, it's an old fairytale!" He said slamming down the laundry basket, "It wasn't meant for out-of-work bounty hunters to snivel about. Get over it!" He yelled.

At that point, while all hell was breaking loose on the deck of the Bebop, a large, green, turtle-shaped delivery truck landed not too far away from them. The only one that seemed to notice amidst the group was Edward.

Edward, who had been bopping her head idly because she asked, obviously extremely confused, "The turtle's Tamatebako?" She asked while Jet looked on at the little girl incredulously.

"…what were you listening to…?"

"We have company." Usagi would point out; wondering what could possibly be in the delivery truck that had just landed, could be possibly be bringing them.

-----

"Jet, you know Faye has just as much money as I do!" Usagi said, pulling her pockets inside out, showing the lack of money, the lack of even lint. She chased after him, tugging on his arm pitifully. He was a big man. He kind of just, swept her away in the tide with him. Usagi was afraid that if Jet and Faye had another argument, Faye would end up leaving for good.

It was easy to see Faye exiting from her ship as Jet charged towards her, anger twisting in his features, "Pay up! 6300 Woolongs!" He shouted, throwing a package roughly to her feet. She stepped away, looking down to the package and then glancing back and Jet and the half-standing Usagi.

Faye looked down again as Jet clarified, "This is for you."

"For…me?" She asked, slowly examining the package with her fingertips as if it would explode at any moment.

"C.O.D., even! To top it off, there was no return address; I had NO choice but to accept it!" Jet's voice had become shrill as Faye jumped in her ship and took off without the slightest look backwards, to Spike, Jet, Usagi or that mysterious package that she had left in their custody.

-----

"Don't you think it's fishy for a woman who always claims other people's property as her own to run away without even touching it?" Jet asked, twirling the brown paper package between his thick, metal fingers.

"Picking up enemies is what Faye does best." Spike added, grabbing the package from Jet. Usagi looked on, that shape… that box… it looks so familiar. There was only one thing she could think of that would have been cut that way… Videotape.

"I should do an explosives and biochemical test just in case..." No! I should return this to the courier service and have them refund my money I paid for her sake... Jet pondered. Before he could do anything he watched helplessly as Spike ripped open that package.

He was frozen for a moment while Spike, the beast, continued his assault on the package until a rectangular box simply slid out, it fell with somewhat of a clank. Spike leaned to pick it up but before his fingers even came close, Usagi had dived, rolling across the floor to grab it.

"Oh my God!" Usagi's eyes were wide in worry. "Who sent this?" She asked as she clutched the thing between her palms as if it were the cause and root of all her troubles. Her hands trembled, and the contents within the box shook against the black plastic shell.

"Usagi…?" Jet asked hesitantly after a few moments of watching her stare at the plastic casing, "What's wrong?"

It was almost as if it were a wake up call, Usagi had suddenly become very aware of herself clutching the box in a Golem-esque manner, she licked her lips hesitantly for a moment and then, silently put it down. It was the only thing she could do, whether it was believable or not she replied, "I have no idea."

Then came that incredulous look from everyone in the living room, their eyes glaring right into her forehead for a moment, "You don't know?" Repeated Spike, "You have no idea?" Then, thankfully for Usagi, Ed picked up the box and ran her tongue over it taking the attention off of her.

Jet would then yell, snatching the box from Edward's fingers and pressing her ear again it "Hey, Ed! Don't do that! You don't know what it is! Did you even listen to see if it is making any ticking noises?" Jet said.

Ed continued to lick it from his hand, "Mmm! Tasty! And no ticky-tacky noises." She bit down into it, not hard enough to rupture of with enough pressure to clasp it.

"Ed is hungry!" She explained while jumping onto Ein in desperate attempts to escape Jet's clutches. The small dog took off as the weight was pressed down onto him; he skipped and easily slid between Jet's legs… right into Usagi. She moved left, grabbing the tape from Edward's mouth and allowing them to skid all the way across the floor and into a wall.

Usagi cringed but held the rectangular shaped thing close to her heart. This could be bad.

Most tapes that look like this have something that involves Crystal Tokyo on it… If anyone watches it they might find out where I come from. It's too soon! What do I do? Faye's been on my tails for months now, she remembers me like… I remember her.

"Why don't we just trash it, I mean, why give it to Faye if she didn't pay for it? Just trash it, to teach her a lesson to own up to her responsibilities and –" She was cut off by Spike who plucked the tape from her hands and sat down examining it.

"Or, we could keep it since we paid for it." He spoke and it was law. Usagi sighed; her increased hate of the tape would only further their curiosity towards it.

Edward had long since risen from the floor and begun to investigate the thing that "was not food" on Tomato to find out what it was exactly. "I got data! I got data from the courier service!"

Usagi, moving quickly past Jet, Spike and skipping over a still-hurt Ein she pushed Edward out of the way and read. "A non-profit nunnery in Europa…Pluto Prison? Asteroid Actors' Studio? Fourth Uranus Observatory? Venus News Network? Forwarded, forwarded, and forwarded some more... Thisthing's been passed around the entire solar system... Due to the explosion of the Lunar Gate all data before 2022 has been lost."

"An antique."

-----

Usagi looked nervously around the antique shop, looking around; on some of the walls were pictures, posters of who she used to be. Sailor Moon. Things you would see in a little girl's bedroom and not this… little shop of horrors. There were newspapers in cases as they looked about, taking about a decision Neo-Queen Serenity had vetoed in the name of Crystal Utopia and a very public argument after involving King Endyminion.

The blonde girls cringed and suddenly felt sick; thankfully no one had noticed the large amounts of memorabilia around the store. They were too involved in their own possible sell.

"Do you think it will sell?" Spike asked Jet without even glancing around the store around them.

"How should I know? They say he's insane when it comes to 20th century images. He might."

"It just seems pretty damn worthless to me." Spike explained and shrugged, stuffing large hands into his pockets.

"It is, so let's go home!" Usagi pleaded. As they walked towards the back it was obvious that someone was sitting on a small stool in front of a television watching…

"Fighting Evil by Moonlight! Winning Love by Daylight! Never running from a real fight she is the one named Sailor… Sailor Venus… Sailor Mercury… Sailor Mars… Sailor Jupiter…"

Usagi's throat caught in her throat. It was a television show that had been aired around the beginning of Crystal Tokyo. On the screen showed a girl with her hair in an odd style, she was brunette though, not blonde. It was a popular actress at the time named Nariko Oki chosen to play the part that Usagi had lived.

The man was hunched close to the television from where he sat a look of excitement on his face while he watched the teenage transform into a costume, something akin to what Usagi had worn but with altered colors. Usagi cringed inwardly; there were so many similarities between a lot of his memorabilia and herself. Obviously this guy was some sort of guru for the 20th century. Hopefully he didn't recognize her.

"Excuse me, but are you—" Jet started but was silenced with the raise of a hand. The man was so concentrated on his television show he made it a point not to look at the people who tried to so rudely interrupt him.

"QUIET!"

They stood there for about fifteen minutes, the man, engrossed in the T.V. show totally and completely. Thankfully, Jet and Spike didn't make it a point to watch otherwise they would have been witness to what was Usagi's past.

The credits rolled when the heroine had finally defeated the monsters. Usagi had also taken point to watch the show. She liked watching, but made no attempt to comment on the false spots.

The man slapped his knee and leaned back in the chair, smiling broadly, still not facing the group, "GOD! That's good. Drama series from the 20th century are so good!" He reached over and turned off the tape, now, swiveling around to face them.

The anxiety had built up in Usagi like a gun aimed right at her head. In an attempt to conceal her identity because no doubt he would recognize her, she ducked down underneath a table. Seemingly no one had noticed her move, a lot of that was happening lately. She eyed the plug that was attached into a familiar looking outlet dating before the Gate explosion and started towards it.

The man had broken off into a Beta tape explanation but had managed adjust the tracking on the tape…

A castle made entirely of crystal, glimmering brilliantly in the spring morning. The sun was coming up behind it, the spectrum lit up rooms and from afar it was easy to see servants, or little black dots bustling about to get the palace started for the day that lay ahead of them. A little girl bounced in front of the camera and smiled broadly. She had soft pink hair and small cone like buns that extended into soft pools of cotton-candy like hair, in color and texture. Her eyes were red and looked shockingly like that of…

Usagi? Spike asked grabbing both sides of the screen. The man winced.

"Hey! You stop that!" The screen had suddenly gone to rice. Usagi had been pulling wires, uncaring to their function but just eager to halt the display of her daughter, Chibi-Usagi. "Look what you've done—WAIT…NO!"

Spike, in vehement attempts to regain the picture had slammed his foot deep into cassette player and in an instant all was lost.

THANK YOU GOD! Usagi had rejoiced underneath the table while the man cried out.

"YOU IDIOT!"

-----

The victory of her dog race win had long-since settled within Faye's system and her mind had drifted to the video tape that had come. Everything was so extremely hazy; it was hard to make out what had happened when she was younger. Nothing at all seemed to trigger her memory except…

"Blondie." She spoke. Everything about that girl was weird. Everything, from her eyes to her height. To her weird hairstyle—

"Chibi-Usa! … I'm scared. What if your mama doesn't like me? I couldn't live thinking that the Queen of CrystalTokyo doesn't like me… I mean… it was nice of you to invite me to sleep over and all but I don't think I can go through with it." A young Faye explained to her long-time best friend Chibi-Usagi.

Chibi-Usagi giggled, "Don't worry about a thing silly, my mommy loves everyone. And besides, it isn't like you are a bad person, everyone adores you at the orphanage. She has no reason not to love you, hey aren't you the one who isn't scared of anything?"

"I'm not scared of anything! I just hope you're right Chibi-Usa. I sure do hope you're right." Faye said as they hopped out of the limousine Chibi-Usagi got to ride to and from school. Exiting the lavish confines of the car, they'd walk up the palace that spanned almost half the kingdom in crystals. It sparkled and shone. You could very faintly see people bustling about inside the walls.

"To ease your worries right now I am going to introduce you two, you'll see. She'll love you...maybe she'll adopt you." Chibi-Usagi grabbed her friend and then began dragging her around the palace.

It's a wonder she knows her way around this place, thought Faye I'd get lost going to the bathroom.

She knocked on the door of her mother's room, hearing her call she entered, with a nervous Faye in tow.

"Mommy, this is my friend … " She explained. Her mother was seated at a vanity, brushing her hair in silence.

Faye gulped inwardly, the Queen didn't move for a few moments, but it wasn't as if she was quiet, although she was. The Queen was doing something far bigger than that indeed. She was soul searching, and when her search had ended, she turned.

Faye gasped and stared. Never had she seen such love from someone she hadn't eve met. Her eyes were so large and blue, it hurt to look. Like they were reflecting something right into her eyes. Her hair fell around her face in very smooth waves, curling intensely at the ends, making curls naturally that women paid hundred of dollars to get temporarily.

Her eyes. They were such a startling shade that Faye almost forgot to curtsy. When she had regained some of her senses she held out a palm, and nervously spoke, "Pleased…to ahhh… meet you… your majesty."

She laughed like a bell. So happy but when it was gone, it echoed. For a moment, Faye had her arm outstretched to allow a handshake but instead wrapped her arms around Chibi-Usagi's mother when she enveloped the young girl in a hug.

"Hey lady, move it!" A woman yelled, half-pushing a dazed Faye forward. Faye was in line to collect her dog-racing money. She snapped out of the absentminded folly and collected her dough.

That is where she knew Usagi from. That is why her eyes have such an affect on her… Faye had always been a Hard Luck, Gung-Ho, No Nonsense type-o-gal even at the virgin age of thirteen. But those were the only sets of eyes that ever intimidated her… those blue, blue eyes.

Usagi… how? She was the Queen of Crystal Tokyo… the Queen of the World before the Lunar Gate Explosion. The same Queen that had approved the plan for the Gate, which caused the Earth as it is now. The Queen that had died… 50 years ago...who had been someone to her...someone very...very special...

She jumped in Redtail, fast track to the Bebop.

-----

"My ship things get better if I kick it." Spike defended his actions intensely, plopping down next to Usagi.

Usagi smiled with herself and shrugged, "Oh well, it's a shame we couldn't see what was on that tape. Oh well? Anyone up for lunch? I'm starved!" Usagi patted her stomach, "It's been a long day."

"Mm. Luncho, lunchie, lunchooo!"

Jet and Spike lean back in defeat, "You just had to go and kick it, didn't you Spike…"

Jet spoke in despondency. "You just don't know when to quit."

Usagi had been standing in the living room, looking quite pleased with herself, when the vid-phone clicked on and the owner of the antique shop ever so rudely clicked in.

His face was angry, then, as he surveyed the surroundings from the hologram picture he took in Usagi. Her hair, whose color was unusual in itself, her hairstyle, her face.

"Oh my God!" He yelled, eyes wide like a kid in a toy-store. "It's—it's you! It's you! Queen Serenity! I've dreamed about moments like this! How'd you survive the Gate explosion, surely you will replace my Beta deck?" He asked, panting hard in his own excitement.

Usagi was shocked for a moment, she was unsure of what to say. She was positive she would make out the day without being recognized, but now that was not the case. "I think you have the wrong person. I've never even heard of who you're speaking of."

Spike looked back and forth between the two, the look on her face. It was something he'd seen her wear many times before. Guilt. That look brought the age-old question back to Spike's mind. The burning question that had plagued him when she told him of her relationship with Vicious and had disappeared over time. Now it was back full force.

"What are you talking about?" Spike asked coming forward now and moving in front of Usagi, staring the man deeply in the eye.

"Hey tape-destroyer, move out of the way? Don't you know that I'm speaking to royalty here!... Hey… you don't even look 93!" That is when Usagi almost lost it, she pushed Spike out of the way and in a fit of anger she pushed the vid-phone off the tape, causing it to fizzle and crash to the floor. The connection was lost.

Oh no…everything is ruined… Usagi spoke into her mind that was very slowly going hazy. Oh…

"PROBLEMS AT THE GATE

A series of reoccurring malfunctions have experts worried"

The newspaper headline read. Neo-Queen Serenity slammed it down in front of her, looking to her husband.

"Endyminion, this has gone far enough. We've gotten lucky these past few times, with piece of metal and riff-raff falling down on us, the atmosphere barely burning these things up. We can't do this anymore. No matter how much money it will bring into the monarchy." She argued.

King Endyminion looked to the newspaper very briefly, then turned back to his cup of coffee, taking a hand to turn it upside down and to the Sport Section. He was ignoring her pleas like he had done all the times before.

"Don't do this to me; you're forcing me to make a very wrong decision." She explained. It was trued, he was putting her between and rock and a hard place.

Their marriage had been on pins and needles for months now, all because of this Lunar Gate foolishness. "I can't choose between you and the world!"

A story like this would cause a media buzz. Her ending his project would only give the world something else to talk about and perhaps even be the end to their marriage.

"You are putting me in that position. I am the ruler first and your wife second." She said finally taking a stand. Endyminion slammed his cup of coffee against the table, the hot liquid splattered across the surface. She yelped as he got up quickly advancing on her. The hot coffee splattered everywhere. In her stupor she had backed up in her seat. His face was now inches away from her own, his hands gripping the arm rests at her sides until his knuckles bled white and the chair had been tipping on its back legs.

"You will do nothing. This project will push us forward amongst the other planets who only dream of this sort of thing!" He yelled into the face of his wife. He loved her, with all her heart, but thought she would understand later when all was said and done. His frustration had grown over the past few months with her demanding answers.

"Endyminion…" She whispered to him, "You're scaring me." She'd been having reoccurring dreams about to Moon and the Earth coming together, and not in the way one would hope. But them colliding.

His fury overcame her, "You should be scared! I want you to fear me! You will do nothing, and if you, there will be consequences." He shaking, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her violently.

Chibi-Usagi watched her parents from the doorway of the dining room. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She clutch ed the wall as if it were her life support.

"Stop! Daddy, stop it!"

Endyminion froze. All the color was lost from his face, and his grip on his wife loosened. He stared at her, backing away and leaving the room. Chibi-Usa rushed to her mother, who had been shaking in fear and shock, enveloping her in a hug.

"Chibi-Usa…you're going on a trip for mommy, alright?"

A light… a light was shining in her eye, so bright it blinded her; she reached an arm up, trying to block the glare. Now, she surveyed her surroundings, familiar enough. It was Jet's room. The bonsai in the corner was a direct clue at that. She'd collapsed, she'd remember that, right after she plugged—or more like small the vidphone down after her secret was revealed to the entire crew of the Bebop.

You know that feeling, right before a fight, a confrontation that one gets? That swell of uncertainty and hazy foreboding that something terribly horribly wrong was about to happen. It blew up in her chest like a balloon, so much that in her physical state she actually felt stifled. As if, that expansion of doubt pressed hard against her lungs.

What am I going to tell them? What am I going to tell him? It was quite possible that the person that would be most disappointed in her was Spike.

Spike… He had almost been counting on her, praying that she'd hold the answers to a question that had plagued him. JuliaAll at once, that feeling of uncertainty left her and in its replacement was rage. Not towards the video-store owner that would have been practical but instead towards Spike.

Wait… so what if he's counting on me! There is only one thing that I can think of that is important to me right now and that is Spike—I mean Chibi-Usa!

Usagi clutched her head in her hand and groaned, it sounded almost painful yet it was out of sheer and utter frustration. "How does some one care about two peoples feelings at the same time when they are totally conflicting one another?" She asked aloud burying her face in a pillow and letting loose a scream that would have rocked the entire solar system.

"When they are pretty much equally matched." When Usagi had raised her head from the pillow Spike was standing in front of her, looking down inquisitively.

He mock-slapped his forehead and bowed low, "My Queen."

Usagi gulped, feeling the hot tears well up slowly but surely in the back of her large expressive blue eyes. Eyes that were read so easily Spike knew the error of his ways immediately and sat down across from her, pulling a chair up behind himself.

"All in jest, bunny." He explained, offering her a cigarette after he'd lit one for himself. Usagi shook her head, eyes fixated on a worn spot on the floor, a spot that Jet had spent many-a-hour pacing since she'd come on board. She was staring hard now, almost holding her breath, because she knew that exhaling would only allow the tears of guilt to begin rolling down her cheeks.

"You alright?" He asked. The vein that ran right down the middle of everyone's forehead was looking especially rigid on Usagi now. Her eyes and face were now equally red, and her lips were pursed. "Breathe."

Usagi exhaled and the tears went along with the pent up breath she had been holding. She sobbed, and hugged her body. " I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry."

"Shh…" Spike transferred from his seat to the bed and scooped her up in his arms as she cried, "No one is really that mad. Expect… Jet…Ed… and Ein." He tried to comfort, but, Spike wasn't the best at that so it came out sounding like a joke. Usagi giggled a little despite her sadness, she was here worrying about Spike and what he thought when, the jig was up.

"Are you mad?" Usagi asked, pulling away from him, her hands still pressed against his chest. His arms were around him, still holding her fragile little body close to him.

"Of course not…why would I be" He said, his eyes landed on her own. Her gaze was burning into him, etching something into his heart every single moment their stared remained on each other?

Sympathy?

No.

Remorse?

No.

Doubt?

No.

Love?

…

"I'm sorry." Usagi pulling away from him would cause that etching to stop, and whatever impression that was being made on his had stopped abruptly as she pulled away and stood, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "What's happening now? Out there, I mean." She asked, turned back to him. He stood and moved towards the door.

"If I tell you, you'd just want to stay in here, hiding. C'mon. Let's go."

"Give me a minute…please." Usagi whispers as Spike shrugs and exits the room.

-----

When Usagi walked into the living room, it was dark, the stillness for this time of day was shocking, especially since Faye, who had been gone walked in behind her only moments after she had surveyed the room herself, normally this would be Faye's turn to go, move it Blondie. Instead, they both stood, transfixed on the screen that had been set up before them.

A small girl stood her hair so dark it was almost purple. The grass, the scenery could only point to one place. Earth. But, in this she was not alone. Standing next to her was another small girl, her hair fashioned in an almost familiar style with slight variations. They stood on the screen, holding hands, their closeness signifying their deep friendship. The second girl wore two cones at the side of her head; cotton candy pink curls cascaded out of each respective cone. Her eyes, although a different color were exactly like that of someone else's.

"Everyone decided that, they would send a message to themselves ten years in the future." A small Faye explained. The other girl looked to her friend and nodded.

"And since me and my best friend, intend on being together forever, we figured, we'd do this as one!" She exclaimed a little to giddy. The girls who were apparently behind the camera giggled and the two rushed forward in their embarrassment, "Oh! Stop! Don't laugh!" They chimed together in union.

The screen cuts off and then settles again on the flustered duo. In the background, it was easy to make out a crystalline palace, it shone in the light of the sun…

"Something I want to say?" Faye started, "Um… Good morning?" The other girl giggled and Faye laughed in her shame and exclaimed, "Oh, never mind!"

The girl laughed harder.

The screen cuts off, this time; it cuts towards the pink haired little girl, waking up from a slumber in a large bedroom of pink. A figure sleeps closely next to her on the large bed, that same almost purple-black hair is peeping out underneath the covers, apparently still embarrassed from her first and second big screen debut.

The girl stops in front of the camera, she pulls the little Faye from under the covers and wraps an arm around her, they look at each other.

"Good morning, me. Did you sleep well? And did you wake up well? Did the light and the wind, the air and the smell, all feel brand new? Is each and every cell in your body awake now? Today, you are who you are today. You are a newer version of me. Myself ten years from now... That's so far away for me that I can't even begin to imagine. Am I alone? Or is there a wonderful person next to me? Well, knowing me, I'm sure I am troubling a lot of different people. But that's all right. There's no problem. I will always be cheering you on…" Faye, now more at ease decides to input something,

"And for any reason, any at all you can't cheer for yourself… I'll be here for you, and mama too. We all will, and daddy. Because you were my family when no one else wasn't." She reached off camera and pulls a picture off the vanity, pressing it closely into the camera. It was all of them, Queen Serenity and Chibi-Usagi, standing close, a mirror of one another with the same large eyes and unique hair, and King Endyminion and Faye,coincidentally, with the same hair color and pose. One big family.

"I'll be cheering you on when you can't, sis." Chibi-Usagi smiles.

The screen cuts away one last time and then, Faye and Chibi-Usagi are in the same spot as before, this time both dressed in cheerleading outfits.

"Go…YOU!" They are facing each other, cheering each other on. "Do you best! Do your best! Don't give up! Never give up! You can do it!" The end standing next to each other and break out in a fit of giggles. The screen freezes and Fay's voice is heard in. "I am no longer here... But I'm here today, and I'll always be cheering for you right here... Cheering for you, my only family."

"I…can't…remember…" Usagi and Faye say together, then their eyes land on one another...

"Mama?" Faye asks, finally, finally remembering those large blue eyes.

See you Later Space Cowboy.

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