A/N: Well, if I do this story right, I'll have exactly fifty chapters when I'm done with the story, which I planned on to begin with. However, I'm soon going to have issues with having at least one Eva Pilot reaching a new sync level after each fight…but I've found a solution to this issue. Sorry, I'm spoiling stuff AND rambling, onto the show…sort of…
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Morlina looks annoyed as she types rapidly on a large keyboard with three computer screen in a semi-circle in front of her. "Where is it…" she mutters to herself before pausing, finding the data she was looking for. "There it is…" Morlina opens the file titled, 'Lord Varian's Report - Chivalt.'
'Subject was recruited after the battle of Lithuania Castle. His true name, Sir Eran, sought vengeance for the death of his beloved Princess, Loriana.' Morlina frowns, feeling that the name was familiar but couldn't remember she heard it from. She shakes her head and continues, 'He joined with us on the condition that his beloved was resurrected. I complied but chose not to inform him that she was resurrected yet. After all, he might have chosen to leave our ranks…which would force me to kill an excellent specimen. He is one of the few humans who had a strong enough will to prevent his form to be mutilated and, instead, kept his human form while having his secondary Crimson Knight Form under his control.'
Morlina sighs, realizing that this file couldn't be fully read as she did not technically have permission to read it and only could view a summary of the report. Heck, she couldn't even read her OWN report fully. 'What are you trying to hide, Varian?' she wonders to herself before closing the files she was looking at and leaving the room.
Two days later, Commander Ikari is sitting in his office with Fuyutsuki standing next to him. Both of them calmly wait as a large screen lowers from the ceiling of the room and turns on, revealing a young man in his mid 20's with black hair and blue eyes. "Ah, Commander Ikari. I'm glad to meet you." He states in a calm voice, a small smile on his face.
"As am I, Ravian." Commander Ikari replies in a monotone voice, his faint frown hidden by his hands. "I am contacting you to-"
"Oh, just call me Charles. Why bother with the titles right now." He pauses, "I'm guessing you wanted to talk with me about your funding." Commander Ikari nods. "The nations of the U.N., as well as myself, still support your current funding…however…"
Commander Ikari looks faintly annoyed, "Is there a problem?"
"Actually, there is." Ravian points out calmly, frowning at Commander Ikari. "It's obvious that both these 'Crimson Angels' and SEELE are after Unit 01...yet you constantly sent it out into combat, despite the danger you're putting the world in by doing so." Ikari's eye narrow slightly but the Secretary-General continues, "The other superpowers agree with me on this issue, Gendo, as do the majority of the other nations in the U.N. We're requesting that Unit 01 is to be put into the highest security location inside the base and not sent out for any reason…except as a last resort." There is a faint smile on Ravian's lips as he says this.
Ikari glares at the man flatly, "And if I refuse?"
"Your funding for Nerv will be cut." he replies firmly, "SEELE isn't in charge of the U.N. anymore, Ikari. You'll have to follow our orders, as we are providing Nerv funding. If you find taking orders from the U.N. unacceptable, you may resign from your post and have someone else in charge."
"Very well. Unit 01 will be put in Terminal Dogma, which has the highest level security in this base." Ikari replies in a monotone voice, hiding his anger at the situation.
"Very good. The U.N. will continue funding Nerv as long as Unit 01 stays out of the fight." He pauses, a ringing heard on the other end as Ravian picks up the phone. "Oh, hello there." He glances at Ikari, "Sorry, Gendo, but this is a very important call…so I must leave for now. Have a good day." He closes the connection on his end.
The moment the connection is severed on Ravian's end, Ikari's expression is no longer impassive. "…That could have gone better. Unit 01 was, by far, out strongest Evangelion Unit."
Fuyutsuki nods, "I don't agree with sealing Unit 01 up but I see their point. SEELE and the Crimson Angels BOTH need Unit 01 to win this war."
"As do I…but Unit 01 is the only Evangelion Unit we have right now that can actually counter Varian personally…at least, at the moment." Commander Ikari looks calmly at Fuyutsuki, "Inform Doctor Akagi of the situation and have Unit 01 moved to Terminal Dogma. It's likely the U.N. has a spy or two in Nerv to make sure we follow orders so we don't have a choice but to comply."
Fuyutsuki nods, "I understand." He replies before walking to the door and leaving the room.
Ritsuko sits in her office as Fuyutsuki leaves the room, having just informed her about the U.N.'s decision. She sighs as she dials the Katsuragi apartment, realizing the easiest way to move Unit 01 is to have the Third Child pilot it into Terminal Dogma. Two rings later, Misato picks up the phone and cheerfully replies. "This is the Katsuragi Apartment."
Ritsuko smiles faintly, grateful it was Misato rather than Asuka picking up the phone. "Hello Misato."
"Ah, hi Rits. You don't usually call the apartment…so I'm guessing you need something?" she asks softly.
Ritsuko nods, even though Misato couldn't see it through the phone. "Yeah. Commander Ikari just spoke with the Secretary-General of the U.N… and I have some good news and some bad news."
Misato sighs, "Well, you might as well tell me the good news first."
"They've agreed to continue funding Nerv in its battle against the Crimson Angels and SEELE." Ritsuko states calmly, "The bad news is that they set a condition for that. We can't send Unit 01 out anymore…and the Eva is to be sealed up in Terminal Dogma."
The purple-haired guardian swears angrily, "Damnit…Unit 01 is the best Eva we have and they want us to not use it? What are they thinking?" She demanded quietly, remembering that the Pilots were back from school and they (Asuka) wouldn't take this very well.
"Sadly, they have a point. We've been sending out Unit 01 to fight them even though their target IS Unit 01." Ritsuko replies calmly, "We can still do sync tests and simulation training…and send out Unit 01 as an absolute last resort but…"
"…I think I know why you decided to call the apartment rather than my cell phone, Rits."
"Yeah. Moving Unit 01 into Terminal Dogma ourselves would waste a great deal of time and money compared to having Shinji do it."
"…Alright, I'll send Shinji over." Misato replies flatly before hanging up.
Ritsuko sighs before hanging up on her end. 'She took that as well as could be expected…' she notes to herself before standing up and walking out of her office.
"…And that cop actually thought you stole that bike rather than just finding it abandoned on the grass?" Asuka demanded, sitting in the living room next to Shinji on the couch as Shinji hesitantly nods. "Tch, that guy must have been a total asshole! Why did you stand up to-" she stops herself after seeing Shinji's expression. "…Sorry about that…you didn't really stand up to people much back then, did you?" Shinji nods, "Wow, your childhood sucked…no offense."
Shinji smiles at the redhead, "It's okay, Asuka. I didn't get in too much trouble afterwards…How was you childhood, Asuka?"
Asuka blinks before smirking, "So you'd like to know the great past of Asuka Langley Souryu?"
Shinji nods but before Asuka could begin, Misato interrupts the moment. "Hey you two. What are you lovebirds up to?" Her voice didn't sounding teasing at all.
Shinji and Asuka both blush, "Just telling each other about our childhoods." Shinji replies softly.
"Yeah, and it was MY turn before you interrupted it." Asuka complains. "Why don't you go back to drinking beer?"
Misato ignores Asuka's jab (So to speak) and notices Rei isn't in the room. "Hey, where's Rei?"
Asuka shrugs, "Probably in my room studying or something. She's always writing something in a book but I can never find it."
"Well, it doesn't really matter. I was actually looking for Shinji." Misato replies.
"He's my boyfriend, so back off." Asuka snapped, wrapping her arms around Shinji's right, causing both of them to blush.
Misato glares at the redhead, "That isn't why I was looking for him. Ritsuko called and wants him to come to Nerv."
"What does she need me to do?" Shinji asks softly.
"She didn't really say." Misato decided to lie rather than tell the truth and deal with Asuka's rant about how stupid the U.N. was being. "But she'd like you to head over immediately…and no Asuka, you can't go with him."
"Why not?" The redhead demanded.
"Because I need to have a talk with you." Misato states flatly, causing the redhead to become silent. Shinji stands up before walking over to the door and putting his shoes on. He decided that whatever Misato and Asuka were talking about is none of his business and wondered what Ritsuko and, by extension, his father wanted him to do now.
"Okay, so what is it?" Asuka decided to wait a few seconds until Shinji left before replying.
Misato frowns slightly, "You seem to be acting a bit possessive when it comes to Shinji." she notices Asuka is about to reply but she cuts the redhead off. "I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but by now you should know he cares about you a great deal…and he won't betray your love."
Asuka blinks a few times, "Wait, you're actually giving me advice on my love life?" she demanded.
"Yes, because you seem to need it." Misato glares at the Second Child, causing the retort she was about to say to be cut off. "Don't act so defensive…I know that Shinji is the first real person you've cared about since your mother, but you shouldn't act TOO possessive when it comes to him, or else it'll cause problems in your relationship."
The redhead sighs, frowning slightly as her eyes appear watery for a second before she closes them and wipes them with her arm. "I know but…I just can't help acting that way after everything that's happened." she whispers softly.
"Well, just don't overdue it then." Misato replies before smirking impishly at the redhead. "So, how far have you two gone?"
Asuka's face turned as red as a tomato. "That isn't any of your business!" she snaps at her guardian.
Misato chuckles, still smirking at the redhead. "Oh? So are you're still just at little hugs and kisses? Or did you decide to let Shinji have a little more leeway and let him massage your breasts-"
"SHUT UP!" Asuka shouts as she blushes furiously and jumps to her feet at the thought of letting Shinji do that. "I'm not a pervert like you! I'm waiting until this whole idiocy with the Crimson Angels is over before going any farther than just kisses!"
Misato smirks at her, "Good. At least you won't make the same mistakes I did when I was your age." she stands up, now smiling at Asuka. "I'll hold you to your word on this." Surprisingly, she walks over and hugs Asuka tightly. At first, the redhead resists but stops and just hugs Misato back.
"Fine…" Asuka mutters softly, "Now, are you going to tell me the reason Shinji had to go to Nerv?" She breaks out of Misato's embrace and glares at her. "I know that you were lying to me."
"How did you-"
"I didn't know, but you just told me." Asuka smirks as her guardian glares at her.
Misato sighs, "Fine, but promise you won't yell and scream at anyone about it."
The Second Child's eyes narrow before she responds. "…Fine. I promise."
"They want Shinji to move Unit 01 to Terminal Dogma after the U.N. gave Commander Ikari orders to no longer use Unit 01 in combat." Misato states softly. "Unit 01 is the target of both SEELE and the Crimson Angels so…"
Asuka bit her lip down at the sheer idiocy of it all. She wanted nothing more than to rant at those idiots at the U.N., but Misato made her promise not to yell or scream about it so her voice came out as a low growl. "Are they total morons or something? Shinji is the best pilot we have!"
"I know…but it's either that or Nerv's funding gets cut." Misato states bleakly, "If it makes you feel better, Commander Ikari didn't like it much either."
"It does…a little bit, anyways." Asuka mutters darkly, "It's nice he got knocked down a peg or two."
Misato chuckles softly, "True, but it wasn't worth the cost of losing Unit 01."
A/N: Sorry to interrupt, but not much is known about Hikari's older and younger sisters (except their name) so I'm making up stuff up about them.
Meanwhile, both Toji and Hikari were somewhat nervous as they both approached the latter's house. Toji had never been invited over to a girl's house (even though Hikari was just going to help him study), and he was more than a little nervous about it. Hikari still had some doubts about inviting Toji over. After all, anytime she brought up Toji's name in the house, Nozomi, her younger sister, would tease Hikari about their relationship (or lack thereof in this case). Kodama, her older sister, tended to act more mature about it and encouraged Hikari to confess her feelings for Toji.
Kodama was considered a possible Eva Pilot at one point but Hikari was chosen instead due to her younger age and closer connection with her mother. Hikari's older sister, while attending high school, also had a part-time job to help pay the bills, which meant she rarely had time to spend with her younger sisters but also made her more mature and grownup than she normally would be at her age. Nozomi was the exact opposite, now attending her first year of middle school, she tended to be immature and carefree most of the time. There were rare moments that she willingly did chores around the house and showed a great deal of maturity regarding Hikari's situation with Toji, but those moments were forgotten soon after they ended and Nozomi went back to teasing Hikari about it.
After Hikari accepted becoming an Eva Pilot, Nerv agreed to provide her family with money in order to help their situation (provided Hikari continued to pilot, of course). Due to these events, Kodama no longer needed her part-time job and was able to spend more time with her younger sisters. Both her older and younger sister disapproved Hikari's decision to risk her life and wellbeing but eventually gave up trying to convince her otherwise.
"Well, we're here." Hikari says softly before pulling her keys out of her schoolbag and unlocking the door. She slowly opens the door and walks into the house before pulling her shoes off. Hikari notices Toji hasn't entered and looks at him, noticing his hesitation. "Come on in, Toji."
"Okay Hikari." Toji replies softly before entering the house after Hikari, pulling his shoes off after enters and taking Hikari's keys out of the door and handing them to the class rep.
"Oh, thank you Toji." Hikari thanks him, a faint blush on her cheeks as she puts her keys into the school bag carried on her shoulder. In passing, she noticed that only their shoes were at the door, meaning both of her sisters were out. She didn't know whether to be relieved about that or downright scared. She knew Toji wouldn't do anything bad to her, but Nozomi and even Kodama would never let Hikari hear the end of it. Alone in the house with a boy…the implications almost made her blush deeply but she quickly got her mind off of it.
"So…where are we going to study?" Toji asks a bit nervously with a faint blush on his face. "Your room?"
This time, Hikari couldn't hide her blush at that suggestion. "N-No, the living room would be best. It's this way." She walks down the hallway and into the first room on the left. Her living room had a medium-sized TV, a small table and a couch big enough to fit three people. There was also a cushioned, wooden chair in the corner of the room with a couple of bean bags (one of which she used to own) that now belonged to Nozomi. 'Stay calm Hikari.' She thought to herself. 'This is no different from having Asuka over and helping her understand kanji.'
Hikari walks over to the couch and sits on it, placing her school bag on the floor next to it before straightening her skirt. "Umm, you can sit down next to me, you know." she says shyly.
Toji nods before hesitantly walking over to the couch and sitting next to Hikari with about half a foot between them. "So…what should we start with?"
Hikari immediately forgets her nervousness and becomes businesslike. "First, we'll work on the math homework and double-check each other's answers to make sure we have it right." Hikari replies calmly, pulling out her math book, a sheet of blank lined paper, and a pencil. She notices Toji staring at her oddly rather than taking anything out and frowns at him, "Well? Don't just sit there, lets get to work."
"Oh, right." Toji replies quickly, pulling out his own math book, a sheet of paper, and a pen.
Hikari sighs, "You should use a pencil for math problems in case you make a mistake." she points out.
Toji glares at her, "Well, I don't have a pencil…and I don't plan on making any mistakes." he shot back.
"You're hopeless." Hikari sighs, pulling out a spare pencil and handing it to Toji, who gratefully takes it. "Okay. Turn to page 239 and we'll get started."
Shinji sighs as he moves his Eva to the safety line before grabbing onto it and sticking his Eva's foot into it. The safety line/elevator slowly lowers his Eva down to Terminal Dogma. He is not wearing his plug suit but does have his A10 Nerve Clips in his hair so he can sync with his Eva Unit. Shinji is one of the few who can use his Eva and still have a high sync without a plug suit on. Ritsuko once thought of having the other children try syncing without the plug suit, but decided against it after noticing Shinji's score almost fifteen points lower than normal. As an emergency, it wasn't a bad idea but should be avoided.
'Why do they want to seal up Unit 01?' He wonders to himself and, surprisingly, he hears a reply.
'I'm not sure, but I can tell your father wasn't pleased about doing it either.' Yui Ikari's voice calmly spoke to Shinji in his mind. 'He'd never willingly seal up his favorite Eva without some reason…'
Shinji blinks, 'Hello mother.' He thinks to himself, realizing his thoughts were audible to his mother. 'Umm, this is an awkward question but…what's it like being in the Eva?'
'Well…it's strange at first but eventually you get used to it.' Yui replies softly, 'It's hard to describe, really…' An image of her appears in front of Shinji, wearing her lab coat. 'You don't have to worry about me, darling. After reaching 500 sync, you can talk with me from outside the Eva…just focus on Unit 01.'
Shinji smiles at her before sitting up slightly and trying to hug her tightly. Surprisingly, Yui's body feels solid and warm, like she's really there. "Are you-"
'No, darling. I'm not ready to return to a physical body yet…' Yui's voice echoes into Shinji's mind before she vanishes. 'Or rather, I cannot yet.' The elevator reaches the bottom and Shinji lets go before walking forward and eventually reaching a large red cross, the same one Lilith was pinned to. Next to the lake of LCL is that machine Shinji noticed when he came down here for the Lance copy before.
'Mother, what is that machine?' Shinji asks her softly.
'LCL is necessary for synchronization with the Eva. That machine is using part of Lilith's DNA to synthetically produce LCL.' Yui replies calmly. 'Well, I think this is far enough Shinji. Go ahead and eject and I'll set you down.'
'Wait, you can do that?' Shinji wondered in amazement.
'Yes. The restraints on the Eva Unit mean nothing to me anymore.' Yui's voice whispers as the entry plug is ejected by her. Unit 01's right hand gently wraps around the entry plug and sets it down next to it as the Eva crouches down onto one knee and deactivates.
Shinji opens the entry plug and stares at Unit 01. 'Thank you, mother.' He doesn't hear a reply but has a feeling of warmth in his heart for a few seconds before it fades away. Shinji sighs before taking his A10 Nerve Clips out of his hair and begins to walk towards the elevator at the far side of the room that leads out of Terminal Dogma.
Ritsuko frowns at the camera feed of Unit 01 moving on its own again. 'Do the restraints mean nothing to her now?' She wondered to herself before going over the data on Unit 01. This Eva was likely the most problematic of them all to understand or control. After Third Impact, Unit 01 had a strange reading in its S2 Core but according to the Magi, it wasn't a threat to the Eva or its Pilot. Ritsuko just assumed it was due to being the instrument of Third Impact but something seemed off about the data recorded by the Magi at the time. Somehow, every scrap of data was within the margin of error that of what Ritsuko thought it would be…which was the problem.
The data seemed TOO perfectly simple (to her at least) to understand, and suspected the real data was deleted and falsified. When she used the Magi to calculate the probability of the data being falsified, it was 89.4 percent, strengthening her suspicions about the validity of the data. Surprisingly, Commander Ikari agreed with her theory that the data was falsified and ordered her to hunt down how it got deleted and who was responsible. Shockingly, the time was just after everyone's bodies were turned to LCL but before everything returned to normal. Worse yet, the computer used to falsify the data was directly linked to the Magi's mainframe, but when Ritsuko checked the security cameras, no one was there.
Ritsuko went as far as calculating the possibility that a human-form Crimson Angel deleted and falsified every scrap of data involving Third Impact AND the security footage recorded at the time and the Magi put the possibility at 9.3 percent. It was slim, but high enough to make Ritsuko nervous about it. If it was true, why not go all the way and delete all the data…or even destroy the Magi to prevent them from putting up a stronger fight. 'Were they just toying with us? Could they enter the base at will?' She wonders before sighing, picking up the phone, and dialing. 'I'd better let Ikari know that Unit 01 is in Terminal Dogma now…and about the Magi's calculations.'
"I'm bored." Sarah complains as she flips through the TV channels. "There's nothing even on TV!"
Patrick rolls his eyes before going back to reading his Manga. "Maybe you should do your homework. It's pretty easy."
"For YOU maybe, but it's a pain in the ass for me." The brunette complains. "I'm not smart compared to you or Asuka…heck, even Shinji gets better grades than me!"
"Then ask Hikari for help." Patrick suggests calmly, "She's pretty intelligent."
"I would but Toji's with her and I'm not interfering with their love life." Sarah scowls at Patrick, "Why can't YOU help me?"
"Because you should be able to do it yourself…you just don't want to is all." Patrick smirks at Sarah.
"Fine, be a lazy bum. I WILL do it myself!" Sarah snapped and rose to her feet in a huff before marching to her room and shutting the door behind her.
Patrick sighs before putting his Manga aside and rising to his feet. "Okay, I'll help you." He resigns.
Sarah smirks at him as she opens the door and walks out of her room with her math book and her science book in her hands and drops them onto the table. "Great. Lets get started then."
The moment Shinji returned, he was greeted by Asuka, who looked a bit put out. "Shinji…I need you…" she whispers into his ear, causing him to blush deeply. "To cook dinner!" Her shout surprised him and he fell into his butt. He blinks a few times before Asuka laughs and helps him to his feet. "Heh, I got you there, didn't I?"
Shinji chuckles softly, "Yeah…I was completely fooled." He admits ruefully before taking his shoes off and placing them near the door.
"That's what you get for thinking perverted things, Shinji." Asuka smirks before kissing him lightly on the lips. "I was serious about dinner though. I'm starving."
Shinji glances at the clock and just now realizes how late it is. "Oh, sorry Asuka. I'll get started right away."
"No need. Rei decided to cook tonight and is almost done." Asuka sighs, "Her cooking will probably be bland and boring but its better than Misato's food poisoning." She jokes, causing the both of them to laugh.
"I heard that, Asuka!" Misato snaps from the living room, watching the Japanese Comedy channel on the TV. This only causes the children to laugh harder and the purple-haired guardian to snort in annoyance.
"Well, looks like we finally finished." Hikari says happily before rising to her feet and stretching. It was then she noticed the time. "Oh no! I have to get dinner started." The class rep quickly dashes out of the room and into kitchen, which was connected to the living room.
Toji blinks, putting his homework, books and pen into his schoolbag. He makes a mental note to pack a few pencils into his schoolbag after he gets home. Toji rises to his feet and walks over to the kitchen entrance, watching Hikari quickly chopping up various vegetables at surprising speeds without making any mistakes. "Umm, Hikari? Would you like some help?" He asks softly.
Hikari blushes, "Oh, no. I'll be fine. You'd better get going before your father worries about you-" Suddenly, she hears the door being unlocked and two familiar voice enter the house. 'Oh no!'
"-That movie was great!" A young girl's voice cheered, "Thanks for taking me to the movies after school, Kodama."
Kodama smiles, her hair was a darker shade of brown than Hikari's hair but her hair going down a few inches past her shoulder. Her eyes are a lighter shade than Hikari's and slightly more blue in color. She was wearing her high school uniform, which was slightly different from Hikari's middle school uniform. She wore a navy blue shirt and a knee-length navy blue and white checkered skirt. Her schoolbag is black in color and she is carrying Nozomi's small schoolbag, which is red with a pink heart in the middle of it. "Oh, it looks like Hikari is home…and she brought a guest with her."
Nozomi giggles softly, wearing her elementary school uniform, which was just a smaller version of the middle school uniform. Her hair is tied into pigtails like Hikari but is a lighter shade of brown than Hikari's hair. Her eyes are the same color as Hikari's as well. "Hey Hikari! Did you bring your boyfriend home?" She shouts, causing both Toji and Hikari to blush deeply.
"I-It's not like that!" Hikari shouts back, still blushing. "I was helping him with his homework is all."
"Uh huh." Kodama replies skeptically as she enters the kitchen from the hallway door with Nozomi right behind her. "Well, how was your day?"
"Um, it was okay." Hikari replies softly before going back to cutting vegetables.
"Well, Toji sure is handsome." Kodama comments, causing him to blush faintly and look away slightly. "I'd say you got a nice catch, Hikari."
"Kodama!" Hikari complains, her cheek flaming. "Stop embarrassing me."
"Okay. How about I help you with dinner?" She asks calmly, putting her schoolbag on the table before washing her hands in the sink with warm water and soap.
"Thank you." Hikari mutters softly before looking at Toji, "You can stay for dinner if you want."
Toji shakes his head, "No thanks, Hikari. My dad's probably wondering where I am so I'd better get home. See you tomorrow at school." He was tempted to stay. After all, he loved Hikari's cooking, but something told him he'd rather not be here tonight.
Nozomi giggles softly before opening the door for Toji after he puts his shoes on and grabs his schoolbag. "Have a good day, Hikari's boyfriend." She says happily, causing him to blush.
"I-It's not like that!" Toji replies, unconsciously mimicking Hikari's own reply to that statement. "And my name is Toji." He walks out of the house and down the street as quickly as possible.
"Okay! Goodbye, Mr. Toji who is Hikari's boyfriend!" She shouts after him before closing the door and locking it. Toji blushed deeply, and was grateful he decided not to stay for dinner as he slowly walked home.
A/N: Well, that's that for now. I personally loved this chapter because of the Toji/Hikari moment…and the teasing by her sisters. Anyways, I've said this once but I'll say it again. The only thing that is true about Hikari's sisters is their names and if they're older or younger. Nothing else is really known about them in canon so I made stuff up. Anyways, see you next time!
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