Greetings readers!
I hope you are all doing well. It is the hottest day of the year in the UK 33c and it's killing me! I have wanted to curl up in an ice bath all day but that is frowned upon.
I would like to give a big shout out to the lovely Rhiannon for constantly kicking my butt to update – and for showing me Hellsing in the first place ^_^. I would also like to thank cappuccinocat92, lizardsjade and Xelcor for their reviews on this story! :D Y'all are the best! J
This chapter contains some graphic violence and scenes which may upset.
Chapter 28: The Holy Massacre
Anderson POV
Everything was happening so fast, I had no time to think as I pulled Marcell and little Sarah into the corner as turned to face the sound of shrieking. As I turned around I felt my heartbreak inside my chest, the creature was pinned to the corner of the room, it howled out in pain as the sounds of bones snapping filled the air. Avery stood in front of him chanting in Demonic tongues; I felt my heart stop as I noticed the red book in her hands – it was the Grimoire, that book should have been looked deep in the vaults in the Vatican library. How had Avery got a hold of it? Why was she using it?!
As I ran over to her side, I noticed her eyes had turned black once again, blue veins has appeared on her face as she strained to spit out the demonic speech. I began to panic as I noticed blood starting to seep from her nose. What was she thinking?! She should know what it would do to her human body. It would destroy her if she carried this on. Demonic spells and hexes were for exactly that – demons, no human could handle it for long periods without it tearing their souls apart.
"Avery stop!" I shouted snatching the demonic bible from her hands, throwing it behind me on to the floor. Avery was entranced, I tried to snap her out of it, she was scaring me – she had the same look in her eye , the same look from the battle of London. Had she lost her mind?
"Incendia!" Avery screamed causing the wolf-man's fur to go up in flames, the creature screamed out in agony as its flesh began to burn slowly. An evil smirk crossed over Avery's face as she threw her head back and let out a bloodcurdling laugh making my blood to run cold. I gagged slightly at the smell of burning flesh that had filled the room. I had to stop this, for the sake of her soul. She had come so far, she was seeing the light – I would not allow her to slip back into the dark. She would not be lost to the darkness again.
My focus set on trying to snap Avery from her fit of rage, she was not responding as she continued to chant in demonic tongues as the wolf lashed out in agony in the opposite corner. Blood now pouring out of her eyes, with one quick movement I picked her up pushed her against the wall.
"Avery stop please! You can't do this it will kill you! You are human!" I pleaded as I fought to hold the redhead against the wall. I was livid, how could these monsters have got past the gargoyles, how did they find us? How did Avery get the demonic Bible? All the questions spun through my mind making me dizzy.
"He killed Sarah!" Avery screamed as she flayed her arms against me, she seemed to be coming down from her high. I looked to the door to see the baby girl breathing and Marcell had passed out. I breathes a small sigh in relief– she was alive. I heard a familiar scream of a bloodsucking ghoul running down the corridor to the room. With my spare hand I threw a bayonet into the chest of the incoming ghoul as the weapon detonated its flesh sprayed across the walls.
"Sarah she is dead! Like my baby, like Integra… like all my children! They are all fucking dead!" Avery screamed as bloody tears ran down her face. Her baby? I remember she had mentioned something about a child in London. Had she lost her baby? What that it? Had that been the thing that had pushed her into darkness…
"No Sarah is alive!" I shout as I struggle to keep hold of Avery who kept fighting to get to the wolf. "Corpus rompa!" Avery screeched as I heard the wolf's spine break behind me, turning back to Avery I gasp as she begins to cough up blood, falling to her knees in a heap. Her strength was gone, she slid down the wall and fell to her knees and sobbed quietly.
I could hear the wolf cackling behind us with a loud crack his bones reformed. I looked away from the redhead; rage bubbled inside as I turned to face the creature. The wolf in its burned, blistered form pushed himself off of the wall and ran at me.
How dare they come into my orphanage and attack my children. How dare they have the audacity to show their faces in a place of God. They stepped foot on holy ground, on sacred property and massacred the children I cared for. The innocent children, they ripped them apart likes paper in front of my eyes. I could not allow it, I will not allow it!
"But wait upon the Lord who shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary and they shall walk, and not faint." I barked as I lunged at the wolf who tackled me to the ground, taking hold of my bayonets I sliced the beast up side of its arm, causing it to let out a large whelp as it jumped back clutching at the bloody stub that remained. With a growl it tried to jump at me once again, I was faster than him. I pulled out a silver blade and with a quick swing I pierced the beasts heart and it fell to the ground in a pile.
Avery POV
I had to get up; I had to get off the floor. There were still children left alive, I had to help them. I cried out as I pushed myself up off the ground by a few centimetres. I was so tired, all my muscles ached – they were no kidding about black magick draining your life force. I tried to pull myself away from the wall and cast a look over to Marcell and Sarah; I gagged at the site of the bloodied children. Pushing familiar haunting memories from my mind, I crawled my way past the tables and chairs over to the children.
I heard a yelp, as Alexander battled with the wolf man. He had seen me; he had seen me use the magick – that was it. He would kill me. The trust we had built over the last year was gone, only an hour ago he was telling me how I wasn't a monster, how he didn't see me like that anymore and now…now I had ruined everything.
I was still a monster.
I wasn't saved at all. It was all lies. Someone like me could never be saved.
I was overcome with emotions, human emotions – in battles I was used to switching off. Find the target, kill and move on. That was how it always had been – now it was different. I was distracted by everything, by the children, by my feelings and by my own conscience. Tears filled my eyes and burned down my cheeks as I crawled over to the children, I had to get to them. I couldn't let them lay there and die.
3POV
As the Judas Priest battled the wolf man, Avery pulled herself across the floor on her hands and knees, scrambling over to the two children. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she came closer seeing the damage which had been done, the sight of all the blood made her feel sick. History was repeating itself and it was too much for her. As Avery pulled herself along the floor she felt the world get dark as her head hit the blood soaked tiles.
Anderson POV
Once I had made sure the room was safe, I ran over to Avery and the children. Avery and Marcell had passed out on the floor and little Sarah was crying her eyes out. Picking up the two year old I tried to calm her down as I examined her for injuries, she was covered in blood but the wound that had appeared on her stomach was already starting to scar over and heal. I looked over to Marcell and noticed his arm was doing the same.
Avery on the other hand was not in such a good condition – she lay motionless on the tiles. I felt my heart stop when I couldn't see her breathing, placing little Sarah back down against the wall I pulled Avery's lifeless body into my arms and checked for any signs of life.
The minutes felt like hours as I tried to get Avery to breathe. She couldn't be dead, not now. Not again, she hadn't been saved yet. She would not get into heaven like this – I promised her I would save her. She couldn't die! Not now…not after everything that had happened…
Avery POV
As I lay with my eyes shut I could feel warmth surrounding me, it was nice. I felt safe. I lay there for a moment trying to figure out what was happening. I felt so light headed; my eyes remained shut as I took a deep breath. I could smell it again, the smell of incense, metal and dust – it was nice…so nice. I sighed a little as I opened my eyes slowly, blinking a few times as I looked up at the ceiling. What was going on? Who was holding me? Why was everyone always holding me? I grunted a little as I wriggled in place, looking up I smiled. It was Alex, he had a hold of me again. How did he always do this? Did he have some kind of internal GPS that told him where I was?
I blinked a few more times as the memories of the last hour took hold. I gasped sitting bolt upright with a gasp. "The children!" I screamed as I sat myself up, panicking and trying to get up I was held back down by Anderson who sat in front of me.
"Stop Love, sit down!" he exclaimed as he pulled me back into him. I was shaking I had to make sure the children were alive. I would never forgive myself if they died because of my weakness. I tried to pull myself out of his grip but I was far too weak to do anything.
"Stop moving… Your new tricks took the energy out of you." Anderson said as he held me in place, I could hear the disappointment in his voice, he had seen everything – he knew. He knew I was a failure; I couldn't even be a good human I had to run back to the dark after everything he did for me. I betrayed his trust and he hates me. I began to sob, I didn't know why I was so distraught about the fact he had caught me using dark magick, he had seen me use my powers as a demon. Why was it different now? Why did I care what he thought of me? A wave of grief hit me and I broke down sobbing into his chest.
Anderson POV
I sat there letting her sob into my chest; wrapping my arms around her I rested my head onto her neck and cradled her quietly. A hundred different scenarios were passing through my mind; I looked down the corridor and was relieved to see that the demonic plague was being won over by the church. Sarah had crawled her way over to us, and sat pulling on Avery's ripped top.
Avery pulled her face out of my chest and let out a sob of joy as she pulled the little girl onto her lap and hugged her close. I sighed in relief as I watched Avery hug the little girl who began to laugh and giggle. Strange how even in circumstances like these children are so resilient, they really are quite a miracle. I looked over to Marcel, he was sleeping still. His wounds had totally healed themselves; I felt a tinge of panic as I realized what that now meant for these children. They were going through the change, they were becoming like that monster – they would become werewolves.
I sat holding the two girls panicking silently, in the past I would have dealt with this very swiftly. I was a weapon of God sent to cut down the abominations and the monsters of this world. The enemies of God, a year ago I would have sliced the three down where they lay with no remorse…now everything was different. I knew these children, I had helped raise them – I knew they were anything but evil. They were innocent children, followers of the Lord…I couldn't kill them. Avery – a sinner, a sorceress – she would have been cut down the second I found her using black magick but I couldn't kill her, she saved the children, she used her powers for the good of the orphanage. She could have aligned herself with the demons; it would have been easier for her to escape. She cared for the children too much to allow herself that temptation.
Avery POV
Sarah was alive, I looked over Marcell was breathing he was sleeping. They were both alive I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I hugged the toddler in my arms. The eighteen month old looked at me confused as to why I was crying so much. My happiness didn't last long, I felt the guilt hit me again. I couldn't believe he had seen me using the magic. He was going to kill me…I had to explain.
"I'm so sorry…he asked me to do it. I didn't want to…he said I had no choice…I'm sorry…" I sobbed as I tried to explain myself to the priest. I looked up at him and felt my heart break, the look he was giving me was something I had never seen before and it scared me. He hated me…He saw me as a monster that was all, any chance of him ever seeing me as a person was dead and gone.
"Who told you to do this? Who gave you that Grimoire?" Anderson asked I could hear the anger in his voice, his voice was calm he was not shouting at me and it terrified me; I swallowed hard as I cradled the little girl in my arms. Could I tell him? The Bishop would kick me out…Anderson would kick me out regardless so I had nothing to lose anymore.
"Bishop Thomas, he gave me the Grimoire…he said I had no choice…I'm so sorry Alex…" I sobbed out as she Priest moved away from me quickly I felt my heart break- this was it. I moved back resting my head against the wall as I cradled the little girl in my arms. I watched as Alex paced the room in a silent rage.
Anderson POV
I couldn't believe that, that couldn't be true. Not Bishop Thomas, he was a good man – a righteous man of God. He would not be the one to sanction this; he wouldn't have given Avery the Grimoire. It had to be a lie. I felt more and more agitated with every passing second as I paced the room running my hands through my hair.
I cast a glance down to Avery; she was silent rocking Sarah in her arms. Would she lie to me? She had lied before; I just don't know why he would lie about this. I knew her as a demon she was smug, a show off – if she was doing all of this for her own gain she would have flaunted it before now…
He was the only one other than me that had access to the library and to those relics. No one else would have been able to go in there or to retrieve anything from that vault. It had to be him. I swallowed hard as I felt anger bubble inside me – Why would he have done this? He told me to keep her alive! When I wanted to be rid of her he told me to keep her alive, she had a purpose…was this what he meant? I let out a roar as my fist collided with the room wall, causing a large hole to appear in the concrete.
Bishop Thomas POV
As I made my way down the corridor I searched the bodies for Father Anderson. I looked around at the bodies of mangled children and nuns which lined the corridors and the halls. A small smile crept across my face. Everything was going just as planned – how wonderful.
I heard a familiar roar coming from one of the classrooms down the corridor. Anderson had to be there, no one else had that kind of roar. As I made my way to the room I felt a tinge of excitement in my blood as I stared at the scenes around me.
Opening the door to the classroom I examined the inside of the room. A dead werewolf lay in pieces in the corner of the room, a battered and bloody boy lay unconscious on the floor; he had been bitten by the creature. Miss Avery sat against the wall cradling another child a baby, no older than eighteen months – the child clothes were also ripped and bloodied she had been bitten also.
Avery looked exhausted, dried blood stuck to her cheeks and clothes. As she leaned against the wall, she looked up at me and shot me a glare that made my blood run a few degrees colder. She had used the dark magic, not to as much of a devastating effect as I would have liked I was expecting more fireworks honestly. Such a disappointment, a few torture hexes had knocked her out so much.
Father Anderson paced the room; he had the Grimoire in his hands. Looking between the former demon and the priest it didn't take me long to realize what was happening here. He knew, she had told him. She betrayed our bargain. Stupid fucking girl.
"Father Anderson, how are we in here?" I asked as I moved into the room. Closing the door silently behind me, we didn't need an audience.
Anderson turned to face me; no words left his mouth as he raised the red book in his hands. "Did you sanction this?!" He growled, I could tell he was angry. I knew he wouldn't be pleased with my decision but I didn't think he would be this mad.
"I'm sorry?" I asked stepping forward.
"Did you give her this?!" Anderson barked as he threw the Grimoire at me. I moved to the side and let the book slide across the room. Shaking my head with a chuckle I leaned against one of the tables.
"Yes, I did." I answered coolly as I crossed my arms in front of me. My protégé let out another roar as he began to pace the room again. He was not taking his as I thought he would.
"Why?!" Anderson asked slowly as he stopped pacing. Avery sat hushing the crying girl in her arms.
"Why? You are asking me why? Because it was necessary, she is a demon." I chuckled as I looked over to the redhead who glared back at me. She was not an issue, she was too tired to do any damage to me and she could barely keep herself awake.
"She is a human! She has a soul!" Anderson roared back to me.
"Oh for fuck sake boy! She is not really a human, she is still a monster. A demon trapped in a human body nothing more." I hissed as I motioned over to the redhead who looked away in shame. She knew what she was.
"I am trying to save her Thomas!" Anderson shouted back to me as he stepped forward.
"She was not yours to save Anderson. You brought her to me and asked what we should do with her. I found a use for her; I couldn't ask any of you to read from the Grimoire, you all are going to heaven. Her on the other hand…" I hissed as I shook my head in disgust. She would never be human; she would always be a demon. I knew how demons minds worked, more than the paladin would ever know.
"I gave her the choice I told her she could stay and relearn the dark magick or she could leave. She chose to stay with us." I explained calmly as the Scottish man glared at me. "Where else would she have gone!?" He hissed as he looked down at the redhead who refused to look at either of us with a sigh a made my way over to Avery.
"I don't know she could have worked the streets for cash. Anderson, come we both know what she is, you can dress her as modestly as you like but you can't deny it Alexander; the whore is a whore is a whore!" I chuckled.
Avery POV
I sat in shock as I watched the scene unfold in front of me. Alex had lunged at his mentor in rage. He was defending me, after everything I had done. He should want to kill me; he should be on the Bishop's side. I was a monster… I winced as I watched the two holy men attack each other.
In any other situation I would have thought Anderson would have killed him in a second but to my horror he was getting beat badly by his mentor. Bishop Thomas barely broke a sweat as he kicked Anderson against a wall and stabbed him in the shoulder. I gasped in horror as I watched the pair.
"You forget yourself priest. Don't forget who trained you." Bishop Thomas hissed as he pinned the Bayonet Priest to the wall. I had to do something, I tried to move but my I couldn't. I tried to move my arms to use a hex, a protection spell…anything but my strength was drained I couldn't do anything. I watched as the Bishop chocked the Priest over and over, the regenerator would stop breathing and then begin again, his lungs bursting and healing over and over. "You were never able to beat me Alexander." Bishop Thomas sneered as he let go of Anderson and stepped back.
"Now, tidy this place up care for the children and the wounded. Some children have been bitten by the wolves; they need to be disposed of. They're monstrosities get rid of them." Bishop Thomas ordered as he dusted himself off and made himself presentable.
"But they are innocent children!" I cried out holding Sarah into my chest. He would not take her, he couldn't kill the children. They were not monsters, they were just innocent children. I wouldn't allow it.
"Yes but they will turn into a beast like the one you just ripped apart. We can't have that." Bishop Thomas turned to me and sneered as I growled up at him. He was too pleased about this massacre, I had been a demon long enough to know when someone is evil – Bishop Thomas he was evil.
"How can you live with yourself?" Anderson growled from the floor as he wiped the blood from his face and stood up.
"This is for God and the greater good Alexander. Now, I am leaving I expect this situation to be dealt with." The Bishop ordered as he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
I gasped as Anderson got up and walked over to us, I pulled Sarah away from him and tried to cover Marcell. "You can't kill them! I won't let you!" I growled up at him. He stared at me with cold eyes and then knelt down in front of me.
"They're just babies, they won't become monsters. They will turn into those creatures but they are not evil!" I cried as I tried to scuttle away from the priest and covered Marcell. "They are just kids Alex…please don't…" I sobbed as I felt the priest leaning towards us. I shut my eyes and held onto Sarah. He was going to kill us, this was it. I knew it, I could feel it.
Anderson POV
I watched Avery scuttle away from me, covering the newly infected children. I watched as she tried with the little energy she had left to protect the children. I frowned and made my way over to her; did she honestly think I was going to kill the children? Was that the monster she saw me as? I swallowed as I thought back to all the times I had slain demons, Avery had been present and had seen me kill demons without distinction. I sighed as I looked down at the woman who had looked away from me. She thought I was going to kill them too…
I knelt down and looked at her; she had pulled as far away as she could have done. Her head pressed against the back wall, I swallowed hard; I hated seeing her like this. I didn't want her to be scared of me. I couldn't believe she thought I was going to try and murder the children.
"I'm not going to hurt them. I promise you." I said gently as I turned her face to look at me. I felt my heart break as I looked at the mess she was in. She sniffed a few times trying to hold back more tears.
"I will take them. I will take them all, all the infected children. I will raise them away from here." Avery began as she tried to stand up, legs buckling under her. I grabbed a hold of her and helped her and little Sarah back to the floor. "Stay sat down, you are too weak to move Love." I sighed as I helped her sit down.I was shocked by her outburst, would she really be willing to take the children?
" You can't leave. Where will you go?" I said panicking slightly. She couldn't leave, she had to stay here…She needed to stay with me. The children had friends here they had to stay…
"I don't know….somewhere. The Bishop said…He certainly won't let the children stay." Avery hissed as she thought on my mentor. I bit down on my lip as I mustered a growl. That man, I would need to take the incident higher, maybe the Archbishop would be able to help.
"This is my orphanage; I decide who stays and who goes." I said as I wiped a stray tear from the redheads face. I swallowed hard as I looked down at the woman. She was covered in blood, I had watched her try and tear apart a werewolf with dark magick but she had never looked more human.
"Yes but the Bishop can destroy you." Avery protested gently as she looked up at me. I sighed, he was my mentor of course he was more powerful than me, even in his old age. He was still a menace, the first regeneration tests had been done on him. He was a mishmash of abilities much like my own. If he wanted to he could probably kill me but I was willing to take that chance. He was no longer working in the service of the Lord. He was full of darkness; the devil had corrupted his soul. He wasn't the same man anymore.
"I don't care…"
3POV
The battle had been won; the nuns and the remaining survivors had started to drag the bodies of the demons into piles. They would be having a mass bonfire tonight – The children were lined up down the halls, white sheets covering their bodies. The infected children had been moved to a separate room by members of Iscariot. They were under orders from the Bishop – the infected had to be exterminated.
Anderson had managed to pull Marcell onto his shoulder and carry little Sarah out of the room. Avery managed to drag herself to her feet and slowly make her way down the corridor. As Anderson made his way down the corridor he caught site of the lines of dead children, he took a deep breath and carried on walking to Avery's room. Avery gagged as she followed down the corridor, holding back more tears as she looked at the bodies of the children.
"When you get to my room, I will need to get crystals away from the door or the children won't get inside." Avery spoke as she moved next to the paladin who nodded silently. He was still trying to get his head around the events of this evening.
"How many children did you manage to collect?" He asked as he opened the door to Avery's room. He let out a small gasp as he looked into the room on the bed and across the floor lay about thirty children from all age groups. He sent a prayer up to the Lord thanking him for his mercy.
He shook his head in shock as he watched the former demon collect the crystals from around her room. She was an angel, she had saved so many children – her first thought wasn't to flee or to abandon them. Her first thought was to protect the children – He had been wrong about her for so long. He finally understood a little bit more about her. He smiled in wonder as he walked into her room and was greeted by all the children.
"Nanny Avery, Father Anderson!" They exclaimed happily as they ran to hug them both. Avery smiled down, tired trying to hold herself up. She put on a brave face and smiled down at the children and hugged them all.
"Kids, get off the bed we need to use it." Anderson ordered as a few children scuttled off of Avery's bed. He laid Marcell down to rest and he placed baby Sarah down on the floor.
"Kids, can you all sit on the floor you are not to leave this room until we have cleaned up outside." Avery asked as she did a headcount and checked the room. She was tired and found herself flagging as she held herself up against the wall.
"Did you both fight the monsters?" A younger blonde boy asked. He looked up at the adults with a mix of wonder and fear – we were both still covered in blood and sweat. Nodding silently Avery made her way over to the bed and sat herself down on the edge.
"Yes, Luke we did." Anderson answered as he checked Marcell for any more wounds. He was taking longer to heal but he was healing slowly. Anderson didn't know if it was a good thing or not at the moment.
"Were they scary?" Another boy asked, seemingly unfazed by the severity of recent events. Anderson shook his head a little at the boy who sighed and sat back down.
"Please kids we need quiet for the moment." Anderson asked gently as the kids nodded and whispered amongst them.
"Their wounds are healing nicely." Avery commented as she checked over little Sarah and Marcell. Anderson nodded silently, deep in thought he looked over to the redhead who had began to sway a little. He could see she was exhausted from everything. "They will be in transition for the next week, it will be slow the worst part is over. From what I know the pain only lasts until the bites are healed." Avery commented quietly as not to alert the other children.
As Avery stood up she tried to steady herself on the bed frame but her legs jolted as she took a step forward. Luckily Anderson was there to catch her before she hit the ground, pulling her up against and holding her against him for support. The priest helped her stand up properly; taking the time to look over her to make sure she was not physically hurt. He looked down at her, she was so weak and broken, she had been full of fire a few hours before – he had seen it. Now the black magic had taken a hold of her she was weakened. It was the Bishops fault, he would destroy him.
Avery's eyes snapped open as she heard gunshots and screams. Steadying herself on her feet she made her way over to the door. She could hear more shots clearly as she stuck her head out of the room.
"What's was that?" One of the children asked as they made their way to the door. "Sounds like a gunshot…" Another older child said as they also stood up.
"Sit back down, not one of you leave this room until we say so." Anderson snapped back as the older children sat down again. The two adults looked at each other, both concerned about the gunshots.
Anderson made his way out of the room and looked down the corridor. Avery slowly followed behind trying to stay on her feet. The gunshots continued and the screams got louder, the screams didn't sound like demons…they sounded like children.
"No! They couldn't be!" Avery shrieked as she scurried down the corridor holding onto the walls for support. "They are shooting the children!" She cried. Anderson's heart stopped in his chest, taking off down the corridor he came to the main room where the gunshots were coming from.
He gagged as he watched his teammate shoot the infected children in the head. Panic took over as he ran into the room with a roar.
"Stop stop! What are you doing!?" he bellowed as his teammates stopped shooting the children.
"Bishop Thomas orders Father we have to dispose of the infected children." One member of Iscariot said as he turned to his superior. Anderson growled and snatched the gun out of his hand.
"Are there any infected children left alive?" Anderson asked as he tried to calm himself, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Not that we know of no Father they have all been dealt with." A female Iscariot member said with a bow. Anderson turned and looked at the bodies of the children, many he had raised from toddlers. "Lord have mercy…" This had gone too far, this was a massacre this was unholy. God would not have asked them to kill innocent children!
Suddenly a ear piercing scream echoed throughout the orphanage. Avery knelt in the doorway, her hand covering her mouth as she sobbed looking at the bodies of the children. It was worse than her nightmares. She shook violently as she took in the scene before everything faded away into darkness…
I am sorry that was VERY dark but we had a lot of fluff recently. We needed a bit of gore! Poor Avery is not having the best time and poor Anderson doesn't know what the hell to do with himself.
What do we think of the Anderson x Avery pairing? Do you prefer Walter x Avery? Let me know in the comment section ^_^
I hope you liked this chapter stay tuned for more J
NQ
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