This is a surprisingly short chapter, so I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to write this. This episode wasn't really that interesting to be honest unless you were doing something with Rebekah, Damon, and Stefan, but I didn't want to do those parts. Klaus is in this chapter for a couple seconds, yes :) Though he'll be in the next chapter a lot, I hope. I don't know, I'll have to see how he fits.

All right, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please leave a review at the end if you can. Oh, and by the way THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS? You guys are the best! I'm so happy! I never expected to get this far; really.

Anyways, thank you so much for everything, guys! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Refer to The Return

1912

"What are we running, a marathon?" Matt called out to her as he lagged behind the vampire who led the way around the neighborhood. His pants were completely evident to her, and she couldn't deny that she was panting and sweating as well, but it was only because she'd limited herself to human speed. Rachel laughed.

"Look, Donovan, I'm half-human, and I don't know if that means I can still get fat. So keep up!"

"Rachel, you can't outrun your problems," he complained. "Although it looks like you're gonna try." She could feel him come to a slow, and that's when she turned around and rolled her eyes placing both hands on her hips and trying to stabilize her breath.

"Who says I'm outrunning problems? I have no problems to outrun," she returned, but it only received a selective glare from the blonde human. "Hey, you were the one who said you wanted to go running with me!" she protested.

"Rachel, what's going on?" he asked, throwing his hands up in the air and walking over to her so that they were parallel to each other. She took out an annoyed breath and fidgeted in her position. "What is this about? Is it about Damon?"

"Not everything is about Damon," she half-snapped at him, which only made Matt's suspicions worsen. "I'm serious, Matt! It's not. So…he turned Bonnie's mom into a vampire to save me…so, I might've broken his favorite drinking glass upon learning that he slept with Klaus's sister…I'm fine."

"And this wouldn't have anything to do with Klaus, either? How long has it been since you've talked to him?"

"You know, for a human, you're extremely annoying, Donovan!" Rachel said, exasperated, but the conversation was put on hold when she spotted Elena rounding the corner and finally catching up with them. When the human saw Rachel and Matt just standing there, she threw her hands up.

"What's with the hold up? I was only a couple feet behind. Had to stop and tie my shoe." She swallowed hard and no one said anything. "Come on! We've got to keep going." She ran past them without another word, her speed hard and heavy. Matt and Rachel stared after her, and Rachel finally spoke again.

"And you say I'm the one outrunning my problems?" Rachel challenged, looking over at Matt with hard eyes. Matt just sighed, exasperated, and Rachel began to run after her doppelgänger. Matt, once again, had lagged behind, leaving the two girls to run together for a while. "Elena, are you okay?" Rachel asked, concerned about the Gilbert. Elena, through her deep breaths, spoke.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

"Well—"

"I talked to Bonnie!" someone shouted, earning Rachel and Elena to stop straight in their tracks and turn around to face Matt, standing and waiting for them to realize that he wasn't going to run anymore and he knew the source of Elena's frustration. Immediately, Elena and Rachel walked over to him.

"What did she say?" Elena breathed out.

"They're at her mom's house," Matt explained. "Abby's going to complete the transition," he breathed heavily.

"So…she decided to become a vampire?" Rachel filled in, which earned a nod from Matt.

"Yeah. Caroline's going to help her through it. Teach her control and stuff."

Elena was hesitant. "Did Bonnie say…" she trailed off, not knowing how to pose the question. "Is there anything I can do?" she finished eventually.

Matt sighed. "She knows it's not your fault, Elena. She's just…upset."

But before she could get another word out, Elena's phone began to ring, so she walked off to answer it. Rachel stared after Elena before speaking to Matt. "Okay…how is Bonnie, really?" Rachel said under her breath. Matt stared for a moment before giving in.

"She's…taking it hard, but what else did you expect?" Matt shrugged, and Rachel nodded, looking down at the sidewalk. "Hey, it's not your fault." Rachel glared at him, but Matt stood his ground, eventually, she sighed.

"Just…if there's anything that we can do, tell her we'll be there for her. Anything. I don't think I'll be much of a help, but I can…try," she said at last, shrugging. Matt nodded.

"Yeah. Sure. Of course."

"Rachel," Elena breathed out before they could continue the conversation. Rachel looked over at Elena, who looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"What?"

"It's Alaric."

Both Elena and Rachel rushed down to the City Hall after hearing the news about Alaric's imprisonment on charges of murder; which was completely and utterly ridiculous if you'd asked them. When they walked in, the two of them looked around, and Elena left Rachel to go find Sheriff Forbes and promised to be back. Rachel waited in the space full of court workers, only to find one dark-haired vampire in a leather jacket walk out. She sighed.

"Did you see—"

"Ric's fine," Damon said, cutting her sentence off. "Sheriff wants me to stay out of it," he admitted. She laughed.

"Finally, a good idea…for once." Rachel crossed her arms, and Damon gave her a bitter smile. "But, of course, you always get your way, so I assume you're not going to do what she asks."

Damon scoffed and shrugged. "Seems just as good a plan as any," he said, taking her a bit by surprise. She blinked.

"Damon…Alaric's in jail. For murder. If you didn't realize my little statement as a joke, I guess I'll spell it out for you. You have to at least try something. It's what you do," she complained.

Damon shrugged. "Well, I guess I could rip out Doctor False Accusation's throat…" Rachel rolled her eyes out of annoyance at Damon's careless attitude. "…Maybe her tongue. You know, I could chew it up in little, tiny pieces and feed it to the squirrels," he suggested, making little squirrel noises.

"Oh, would you just quit it, Damon?" Rachel snapped at him, which didn't seem to phase Damon.

"Guess me staying out of it suddenly sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" Damon smirked, and she only shook her head. "By the way, you owe me a new drinking glass," he pointed out. "Might need another one when I have…company again."

Rachel shot a glance over at him. "I think it's pathetic that you're deliberately trying to make me hate you," she admitted, giving him a sour smile. Damon chuckled.

"Well, it seems to be working, doesn't it?" he boomed before a silence fell upon them. "Hey, I saved your life last night. You're welcome," he whispered teasingly.

"Would it kill you to just show some shred of sympathy towards Bonnie and her mom right now?"

Damon sighed. "Oh, I know. You're right. Her and her mom must be really hurting right now." He turned to her. "Should I send lasagna?" he taunted. She squared her jaw.

"That was low. Even for you. In fact, it was just mean." Rachel began to walk away when she heard Damon call to her.

"I'm mean. You hate me. The Earth is back on its axis," he retorted. Slowly, she turned around to face him again.

"You know, if you keep being this way – acting like you don't care, pushing people away – you're just going to end up like Katherine," Rachel said, shrugging and throwing her hands up. Damon stared at her as she tried walking away, but turned around again, inhaling sharply. "Or worse," she warned before fully spinning herself to walk away without another word this time.

After she and Elena both saw Alaric, they soon realized that they couldn't do anything to get him out. So, while Elena took desperate measures with the woman who put their closest friend in jail, Rachel waited in the lobby of the City Hall for Elena to return, but, while she waited, she soon realized she wasn't alone.

"So this is where you spend your precious time when you're not trying to kill me? Seems quite boring if you ask me," the British hybrid said beside her, earning the doppelgänger to sigh and turn her head.

"If you came to guilt me for trying to kill you, don't bother. I already feel guilty enough," she mumbled, but then a silence passed and she inhaled. "Or, maybe, you were the one who gave me the guilt in the first place."

Klaus sighed and practically rolled his eyes. "You're reading too much into the bond. I wouldn't just make you feel guilty because I'm angry, I do have some self-respect, you know."

Rachel shrugged. "Seems possible. I mean, you got so jealous that you up and took my feelings for Damon, away, right?"

Klaus groaned this time, frustrated. "Damon Salvatore does not deserve your feelings, Rachel, I should've killed him when I had my mind set." Rachel stayed quiet. "I took your feelings away for him and I made your head clear. You're welcome," he said slyly. Rachel scoffed, keeping her eyes planted on his.

"You're unbelievable," she said and immediately stood up from the bench in the lobby. She planned on going somewhere else until Elena called her with news, but Klaus made that impossible. He followed her outside.

"I may be unbelievable, but I don't try and kill you whenever I get the chance."

"You've tried plenty of times before, Klaus," she called back at him, but as she said the words, he flashed in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Come on, you can't honestly be mad at me again for almost letting Rebekah and Mikael kill you," Klaus said in a groaning tone. Rachel stayed silent, and Klaus took that as his answer. "Well, now we're even, then, if that's how you want to look at it!"

"No, we're not," Rachel returned, shaking her head. Both of them stared at each other for a while before her words returned again. "Why can't you just let me make my own decisions? I want my own feelings back.."

"You have them," Klaus said, putting his hands around her face and nodding, but she wasn't buying it. "You have them, Rachel, everything you're feeling is right. Just because I pushed you towards my direction doesn't mean that you can't think clearly."

"Then why does it feel like I've changed?" Rachel pushed, grabbing Klaus's hands in her own and removing his fingers from her cheeks.

"Because you've been letting Damon Salvatore get to you, Rachel!" Klaus replied, frustrated out of his mind. "He's pulled you back into the same trap he set you up in when you two were together in New York." He locked his fingers in hers so she couldn't get out of it. "You belong with me, Rachel, not him. I just had to make you see straight, for once."

Rachel and Klaus both stayed there for moments upon moments, until she finally responded, her words soft. "That wasn't your decision to make," she said, pulling her fingers from his and walking away without another word, hoping that he wouldn't come after her. After a few seconds of walking, her phone began to ring, and she found herself relieved when she answered it and unconsciously turned around to see no one standing where they were before.

Rachel cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"Meredith is hiding something," Elena breathed over the line. "Get Matt and meet me at her apartment building."

"Why are we going to her apartment building?" But the line went dead before Rachel could get the last word out.

So, she obliged Elena's command and grabbed Donovan from the Grill, with little to no protest from him. The three of them met up at Meredith's apartment building, where Elena explained that she wanted to go into Meredith's apartment and try and prove Alaric's innocence. With slight reluctance from Matt, the three of them went up to the doctor's apartment, where Matt skillfully picked the lock and opened the door to enter the house.

"Nice job," Elena praised the blonde-haired human as the three of them shuffled in quietly to Meredith's apartment. Rachel stealthily closed the door behind her.

"Well, add breaking and entering to the list of life favors you owe me," Matt quipped as he tiptoed over to the table and began to look through things. Elena laughed.

"Okay, look, I don't know how much longer Meredith's gonna be in surgery, so let's…see what we can find."

"What are we expecting to find? A bunch of murder weapons stashed under her bed?" Rachel lightly chuckled, but Elena just looked at her. "Oh, you really think we're going to get that lucky?" Elena shrugged in response.

"Don't you think the police already combed through this place?" Matt told them as he looked in the kitchen for clues. Rachel searched the doctor's living room while Elena kept searching the files on the dining table. "She already turned over everything she had."

Elena sighed. "Yeah, I'm looking for the evidence that she didn't hand over."

"Ugh," Rachel said as she held a dirty old takeout box in her hand by the pinch of her fingers. "God, this woman is a slob."

"Are you sure it's her we should be investigating?" Matt asked, ignoring Rachel's disgust at Meredith's untidiness. While Elena responded, Rachel slightly gagged and carefully put the takeout box down on the table where she found it.

"I know him, Matt," Elena returned. "He's innocent." She straightened. "And I knew that Meredith's a Fell. Founding family…" She turned her head and looked at the closet. "Which means…" Rachel and Matt watched as Elena went into the closet and turned on the light. They looked at each other and decided to walk towards the other doppelgänger, who was searching the back of the closet. Though the idea was crazy, the both of them stayed silent, and sure enough, Elena turned back at them and finished. "Skeletons in the closet," she announced wittingly, knocking her fingers on the hollow door. Rachel gave an impressed look. "Just like a true Founder."

"Nice job," Rachel praised as Matt and Elena switched places so that he could pry the board out of the closet. Elena nodded to her and they both watched as the panel slid off of the wall, revealing a blue box. The two bent down to Matt's level and began to comb through the hidden information

"Brian Walters," Elena began.

"Bill Forbes," Rachel added.

Matt pulled out a surprisingly thick file. "Alaric Saltzman."

And, with that information, Elena grabbed the file and began to comb through it with her fingers, while Matt and Rachel went through the other two victims'. "She's got everything on him. Medical Records….old court documents…?"

"What's this?" Matt asked as he pulled out a journal from the bottom of the box, knotting his eyebrows. Elena looked up at it and grabbed the journal, leaving Matt to go back to searching the rest of the box. Rachel watched as Elena untied the string from the journal and opened it.

"It's an old Gilbert journal," Elena explained, confused.

"Why is one of your old family journals in her closet?" Matt asked, but Elena merely shook her head in response. Rachel sighed.

"I knew I never liked her. She's a blood-jacking, murder-pinning, journal-stealing bitch." Elena hesitantly looked up at her vampire doppelgänger. "Uh…sorry. Not in a good mood today."

Elena scoffed. "I don't blame you," she admitted and went back to searching the journal in her hand. A few seconds passed before Matt spoke, looking down at a piece of paper.

"Didn't you say the medical examiner's time of death was between one and three AM?"

"Yeah," Elena agreed, invested in the journal. "Why?"

"Because the county coroner's office says that's wrong," Matt said, earning the Elena's attention. He handed the paper to Rachel, who looked at it with confusion.

"He's right," Rachel whispered, realizing that this was the piece of information they needed to get Alaric out of jail at last. But before they could converse any more, Rachel heard footsteps and her eyes widened. "Meredith," she mouthed, and by that time, there were keys jingling by the front door. Quickly, the three of them packed all the stuff into the box and packed themselves into the closet. Matt put the box into its space and turned off the light while Elena shut the door just in time for Meredith to enter.

The three of them sat in the closet, in the dark, and that's when Matt tried to speak, but the vampire among the three of them shushed him, knowing that Meredith was still in the apartment. She listened in and, after a few seconds, heard a door slam, and that was good enough for her. After a moment, she turned on the light, breathed a sigh of relief, and Elena opened the door so they could leave.

Only, as it turned out, Meredith was able to even fool a vampire into thinking she'd left.

"What were you thinking?" Sheriff Forbes demanded angrily as she stormed into her office, where the three of them were placed. Matt and Elena got to sit in chairs while Rachel paced behind them.

"I know that we had no right—" started Elena, but she was cut off by the Sheriff.

"No right? You broke the law!"

"But we found something that clears Alaric. It gives him an alibi in the Brian Walter's murder."

Sheriff Forbes held up a piece of paper. "You mean this?"

Elena stared. "What is that?"

"A letter from the county coroner's office correcting the error in the time of death of Brian Walters." Elena looked at the Sheriff, confused beyond belief. "Meredith Fell received it today, and she brought it to me several hours ago full of apologies for accusing an innocent man." Liz angrily put the paper down on her desk.

"Why would she have a copy in her closet?" Matt asked challengingly.

"I can't ask those questions, Matt, because of the very fact that you broke into her home to find it!" the Sheriff warned. "Do you know how much I'm already protecting the three of you?"

"We're sorry," Rachel apologized, nodding at the Sheriff. "We promise that it won't happen again. We were just trying to find something to prove his innocence, you have to understand."

Liz took a moment. "Just…get out of my office and go home, please," she said, sitting down in her chair. Elena raised her eyebrows and braced to speak, but Liz cut her off. "Alaric will be released as soon as the letter is authenticated," she explained. "Go."

So, they listened to the Sheriff and exited the building, and began to walk to the car. But, as they walked behind the Grill to get to the parking lot, Rachel stopped in her tracks. Elena and Matt turned around, confused.

"Rachel, what is it?" Elena asked, concerned.

"Blood," Rachel said simply, clearing her throat. "It's…it's blood." She looked around for a moment before leading them around the building, and Matt and Elena followed. When the scent was its strongest, she spoke without thinking. "What the hell is going on—"

But before them stood two particular Salvatore brothers, one of them feeding a girl on the ground and the other his mouth stained with dark, rich blood. Elena, who was standing behind Rachel, breathed out the youngest Salvatore's name as Rachel just stared at Damon who was on the ground. "Stefan?" Elena breathed.

It took a moment for Stefan to register the fact that Elena was seeing him like this. "Elena," he breathed out softly as he wiped his mouth, trying to rid the blood. Elena looked at the girl on the ground.

"What are you two doing?"

"Relax, Elena," Damon said, throwing his hands up in the air in surrender. "It's just a little experiment. There's no need to make this more dramatic than it needs to be." But his eyes didn't settle on the human, but rather settled on the third vampire, the one who was staring at him blankly.

"Let's just go," Matt said, looking at Rachel, but she wasn't listening. "Come on, Rachel, let's go!" In a bit of a trance, she turned her head towards Matt, who was staring at her with wild eyes. Rachel looked to her other side to see Elena, and, with another glance towards Damon, she turned herself and pushed Elena back.

"Come on, Elena," Rachel said softly, and Matt helped her move Elena from her position and out to the car.

The three of them rode back in silence to the house, and when they finally arrived, Elena had secluded herself to reading the Gilbert journal that Matt had stolen from Meredith's apartment in her room as a distraction. Matt and Rachel sat downstairs, waiting for Elena to finally come down and join the party. In the meantime, he made them both tea, and as he did, her phone buzzed on the table, making the whole thing vibrate. She picked it up exhaustedly to read the name Klaus on the screen, and she immediately pressed the button to voicemail. What she didn't know, however, was that Matt was watching her.

"You're ignoring him now?" Matt asked as he sat down and passed her tea so she could grab it. Rachel sighed and straightened in her seat.

"I'm not…" Rachel trailed off, pausing. "I saw him this morning and he…really pissed me off. I don't want to talk to him right now."

"I just don't get it," Matt said, shaking his head. Rachel looked up at him, waiting for the human to continue. "Klaus is bad. He was going to use you as the sacrifice in his ritual before he learned that you were a vampire. Why did you even fall for him in the first place?"

Rachel took out a deep breath, trying to think about what Matt was saying and how, exactly, to answer it. "It's…hard to explain, but…" she trailed off, thinking. With a sharp inhale, she looked up at Matt. "Klaus was there for me at a time where I needed someone more than anything," she explained, giving a light shrug. "He was…fun and…yeah, he could be terrible at times, but that's what made everything so exciting. And, the best part of it was that he actually liked me for me. Even if I was supposed to be used in the sacrifice back then, he still fell in love with me. And I fell in love with him."

"And now?" Matt pushed.

Rachel exhaled. "Klaus tries to pretend that he doesn't care about anyone, but the one thing that I know is that he would always choose protection over his own happiness," she began, tracing her finger around the rim of the mug. "What he did to me…invoking the bond…it was the first selfish thing that he'd done for his own personal happiness in a long time. It was wrong, but I…I get it. If I could turn off his emotions for Caroline right now, I probably would." Rachel laughed in the slightest, but it was completely true.

Matt was silent for a while before he spoke again. "What about Damon?" he asked, getting into a territory that she hoped he wouldn't cross.

Rachel laughed again. "Damon…" she trailed off, searching for the terms. "Damon just sort of…pulled me back into a trap that I thought I had gotten out of," Rachel explained, cupping her hands around her mug and staring into the contents of it. "And…I've tried, but…even with the bond, I feel something. For him. And no matter what I do, I can't shake him."

Matt sighed, but a light laugh came out of his mouth. "Once you fall in love with someone, I don't know if…" He trailed off and looked up at the ceiling before sitting back and looking over at her. "I don't know if you can ever shake them."

Rachel chuckled and looked from Matt's eyes down at the tea before pulling it to her lips. "Mm," she praised, wincing at the temperature but nevertheless tasting the quality of the drink. "Damn, Donovan, you make some good herbal tea."

Matt chuckled as well. "Well, I do only work in the restaurant business, right?"

"Right," Rachel laughed, and things went silent for a moment before she inhaled sharply. "What do you say – just you and me tomorrow? We can go jogging in the morning," she tempted. Matt snickered.

"No thanks, I don't feel like outrunning problems again."

"Oh, come on! You know you loved it!" Rachel protested, smiling. "I was serious this morning, I have no idea if a half-human can get fat. I need some physical exercise."

"Like your daily life isn't enough?" Matt snorted. Rachel shrugged.

"It could use some improvement, I'll admit." She smiled, but before Matt could respond, the door opened, and in came Alaric. Immediately, Rachel got out of her chair and rushed up to him. "Alaric! Oh, God. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Alaric said, nodding. "Yeah. I'm all right."

"Elena!" Rachel yelled up the stairs to get the human's attention to let her know that Alaric was here. Rachel looked back at Alaric without breath, and she pulled him into a hug, which he hesitantly returned. After a moment, Elena bounced down the stairs, and Alaric and Rachel pulled away.

"God, Ric," Elena breathed out, relieved. She ran straight into his arms and hugged him tight, and Alaric returned the hug as well.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked as Elena brushed her arm and walked up the stairs.

"To bed," Elena exclaimed exhaustedly. "All that breaking and entering wore me out."

Rachel laughed. "It was your idea," she defended, earning an eye roll from the teenager. "Sweet dreams, Elena."

"See you in the morning," Elena responded, making her way upstairs as Rachel bounced down on the last stair to meet up with Alaric.

"So," Rachel began, smiling. "You spent an entire twenty-four hours in prison. How does it feel to finally be out?"

Alaric laughed. "Good," he answered. She nodded and suddenly, getting an idea, gasped.

"We should celebrate!" she claimed. "Ice cream?"

"Sure," Alaric agreed, shaking his head with a smile. So, Rachel went back into the kitchen and began to make ice cream, but that's when she heard Alaric open the door.

"I know what this looks like—"

"Yeah? Well, I sure as hell don't. You shoot me, you have me thrown in jail, and then you have me freed?"

"I did it for you, Ric. I forged the coroner's note to clear your name."

"Oh. You know what, people are right. You are psycho."

"Now that you've been cleared, they'll look somewhere else – they won't look your way again." There was a pause. "Please. You have no reason, but I need you to trust me, anyway. If you let me in, I can explain."

"What's going on?" Rachel asked as she walked up to see Meredith and Alaric standing at the door. Meredith looked up at Alaric and Alaric sighed, opening the door for her. With a sigh of relief, Meredith passed the threshold and walked into the house further. "No! No, you need to get out of here! I don't care what information you have, you put the man in jail!"

"Rachel," Alaric said softly. "Come on, we need an explanation. She has one for us." Rachel crossed her arms and stared at Meredith. "Let's just give her a chance."

Rachel was quiet for a long time. "Well, go ahead," she said at last, throwing her hands up. "Make your case, we're all ears."

Meredith took out a deep breath and walked to the kitchen. Alaric and Rachel followed her and watched as she pulled out a file and handed it to Ric. He hesitantly took it, and that's where Meredith began to explain. "I think you are the one killing people."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Look, Elena told me that she spoke to you this morning. Alaric didn't kill anyone!"

"But like the Sheriff said, the victims were killed with your weapons," Meredith explained, looking over at Alaric.

"Yeah, but I was attacked!" Alaric defended.

"With your own knife," Meredith retorted, "a wound that could've been self-inflicted."

"That's impossible!" Alaric shouted. "I would know if I were killing people," he countered.

"Would you?" Meredith returned challengingly. "Have you had any blackouts? Instances of lost time?"

Rachel wanted to object, but she thought it best to leave Alaric to this. Alaric looked at her and then at Meredith, and then he just chuckled deniably. "Y-You're insane," he concluded.

"No," said Meredith, "but I think you might be." Alaric looked back at her. "You wear a ring that lets you cheat death, Ric. How many times can you die before it changes you?" Alaric sat down, unable to stand any longer from the intensity of the information. At this point, the doppelgänger in the room didn't know what to believe. "I think you're sick. And I want to help you. This has happened before; almost a hundred years ago."

"With who?" Rachel asked, confused, but before anyone could answer, she heard a footstep and turned her head to see Elena standing at the threshold of the kitchen, seeing the three people inside of it.

"Elena," Alaric breathed. Elena looked down at the journal in her hand.

"Ric, I think she's right," she said, holding up the journal for him to see. Elena looked over at Rachel. "It was Samantha Gilbert who killed all those people in nineteen twelve."

And her eyes settled down on Ric's ring, and he fidgeted with it.

None of this could be good.

*Cries* I don't want Alaric to die. But, he kind of has to because...you know, plot line and all. Ugh. It's so stupid.

Anyways, I hope you liked it! Thank you again for all the reviews! Please leave one at the end if you can! Again, sorry for the short chapter :/

I'll update ASAP.

Love,

BellaSalvatore1918

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