Part 3- Party At The Madam's Mansion
Quote: Too much partying can be hazardous to your health
Goku stared at the house in his gray tuxedo with widening eyes. He was in total awe of the enormous size of the mansion. He tried to talk but couldn't really think of the right words… then they hit him. "Wow!"
"I had no idea that this place would be so big," said Chi Chi. She too was surprised at the size of the place. The outside of the mansion was plain and made of oak. In front of them were the many other guests that were going to the party. The crowd wasn't big, but the people were restless.
A short man in a red tuxedo came from inside the mansion and stood at the door. "Hello ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the fabulous Madam's Mansion. I am the doorman, Victor. I am sorry to have kept you waiting but we were making final arrangements inside. As you know, the hostess Madam Tush is very adamant about throwing the best parties, and she didn't want to disappoint anyone today. Everything is now in order and you may all enter." There was a round of applause from the crowd. "Just have your invitations ready when you get to the door and you can be on your way." Everyone started to file into the mansion. Goku was practically jumping over everyone to get inside first. He didn't want to miss any of the great food. Somehow, though, he was pushed to the back of the line by the partygoers. By the time he made it to the door, all the other guests that had been waiting were already inside. Goku looked inside through the open door and saw… Paradise. Tables and tables of food, filled to capacity with the sweet smelling snacks. The Saiyan warrior tried to walk in, but Victor the doorman stepped in his way. "May I help you, sir?"
"I'm going to the party."
"Very good. May I see your invitation?" Goku searched himself but realized that he didn't have one.
"Well… I… uh…" Realizing the situation, Victor closed the door.
"I'm sorry, sir. I cannot allow you to go in without an invitation."
"But…"
"No exceptions." Goku turned and ran back to Chi Chi. She was wearing a full-length red dress with a slit down the right side.
"Chi Chi, do you have the invitations?" Goku looked like he was ready to lose it. Everyone had already had a full minute head start on the food. If he didn't get in there fast, there would be anything left to snack on.
"I… I…" She was obviously struggling with the words. Chi Chi didn't want to upset her husband (he was very fragile at times) but she saw no alternative. "Bulma has them. She never told me we needed them to get in."
"Where is she now?"
"Well, she called a cab to bring her and Vegeta to the party. They were supposed to leave about twenty minutes ago. That means that they should be here in about… ten minutes." Chi Chi sat down on a near by curb. Goku tried to, but almost fainted in the process. The idea of waiting ten minutes to eat was not very good to him. He could feel his stomach rumbling from the hunger already. Chi Chi pulled him down and snuggled closer to him. "We'll just have to wait."
**********
The wind was blowing calmly when Bulma woke up. I must have left the window open. She opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of her husband. In a few moments her memory came back to her and she snapped awake fully.
"Good evening," said Vegeta. He looked right into her eyes.
"Vegeta… where are we?"
"We're about a mile away from the mansion. We'll set down a few blocks away and walk… unless you want to fly the entire way?"
"No. We should walk. I don't want to ruin the entire night by being spotted floating in the air." Vegeta grunted in an amused manner. He picked up a little speed and started to descend toward the ground. As he did, Bulma caught a look at the view around her. The mansion was in a secluded area, but from the height that they were at Bulma could see a city in the distance. The bright lights gave it an angelic look. Bulma smiled. She was already enjoying herself and they hadn't even made it to the party yet. Vegeta descended all the way to the ground and touched down softly. "Here's where I get off." Said Bulma in a joking manner.
"Do you want to?"
"…" Vegeta started walking with Bulma down a dirt path.
"If you carry me any farther I won't be able to walk when I have to." Vegeta set down his wife. "Besides I don't want you to get embarrassed when you see Goku."
"Kakarotto is going to be here?"
"Yes. I invited he and Chi Chi to the party with us. I was given two extra tickets for some reason. I figured it would be a nice change for Chi Chi." Vegeta had a look of slight disappointment on his face. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you; I really did forget. It won't be that bad. Chi Chi will keep him on his best behavior." Bulma motioned for Vegeta to set her down on the ground, which he did. They started walking toward the mansion.
"Are they already there?"
"Well, Chi Chi did say that she was going to try to get there very early. They might be there now!" Bulma grabbed Vegeta's hand and tried to run. "We have to hurry. I have their invitations and they can't get in without them." At this point Bulma was running but getting nowhere. She couldn't budge the Saiyan prince.
"Do you expect to get anywhere fast wearing those things?" He pointed down to her high heel shoes. Bulma blushed with embarrassment. Vegeta stepped over to her and picked her up again. "I will carry you… again."
"What about Goku?"
"If Kakarotto decides to say anything, I will kill him." Vegeta started a slow jog and they were once again on their way toward the party.
**********
"Stop, Goten!" yelled Trunks, putting on the brakes himself. They were in a forest but were at that very moment in a small clearing. Goten dug his feet into the ground and slowly came to a stop. By the time he had he was in a hole up to his knees.
"What's wrong, Trunks?"
"They stopped. Papa isn't flying anymore. He is on the ground now. Mother is with him. They might be close to the party."
"What do we do now, Trunks?" Trunks dug into his pocket and took out the capsule again.
"We get cleaned up and go looking for a suit." Trunks pushed the button on the capsule and threw it into the center of the clearing. It bounced on the ground once and exploded into smoke. When the smoke cleared a small, blue house was in the clearing. Trunks and Goten ran up to the door and let themselves in. The inside was very plain. There was a couch and a small kitchen. A staircase led upstairs to a one-person bedroom and a moderate sized bathroom with a shower.
"Trunks, what will I change into? My clothes are smelly now."
"There are clothes upstairs, Goten." He pointed to the staircase. "You can take the first shower." Goten jumped up the stairs and disappeared into the bedroom. Trunks walked over to the couch and plopped down. He brought his feet up and laid himself out. Peace. It feels good. I can't wait to get to this party. It's going to be a lot of fun. But afterward we have to deal with that Hunter problem. A frown came over Trunks' face at the thought and he closed his eyes. What is the deal with that guy? Why is he after me? Is he someone that I should know? Maybe he is from the past… or the future. He might be from the future, the one that Papa told me about. Do I do something to him in the future that makes him want to kill me? If he isn't from the future, is he from the past? Maybe he is from the present? If he is, wouldn't I have met him if he wanted to kill me? There are so many questions and so few answers. What is really going on here? What…
"Trunks!" Goten was shaking his friend now, trying to wake him back up. Trunks slowly complied, realizing he had fallen asleep while he was thinking. In a daze he walked up the stairs to the room and went into the bathroom. It was still a little steamy, but that didn't bother him. Trunks turned on the shower and waited for it to get hot. After testing the water a few times he stripped and jumped in.
Why am I even worrying so much about this? If Hunter shows his face again I'll just beat him like I did before. It's as simple as that, right? Maybe not. There is something weird about that guy. He is hiding something and I don't know what it is. To make matters worse, I don't think that he fought me at full strength. Is that what is bothering me? Am I afraid of losing? Am I afraid of dyi…? Trunks' thought was cut short by the sound of a door closing. Trunks listened for a moment, trying to see if he could hear any more noises. When he didn't, he turned off the shower and grabbed the nearby towel. Trunks tied it around his waist. He stepped out of the shower and out of the bathroom. The bedroom was empty and quiet. There was a set of drawers in the wall, but there was no closet. There were two windows in the room and they were clothes. The bed was undisturbed except for the clothes that were laid out for Trunks. He quickly grabbed the black pants and t-shirt and put them both on. Trunks left the bedroom and walked down the stairs. "Goten?"
"Trunks?" The voice sounded kind of muffled. Trunks slowed his descent and scanned the room. Goten wasn't on the couch. Trunks looked toward the kitchen and saw the refrigerator door open. He jumped down the stairs and ran over to the kitchen. When he got there the half Saiyan breathed a sigh of relief. Goten wasn't being held hostage; he just had his mouth full of a chicken leg that he had found.
"Goten, did you hear someone come into the house?" Goten shook his head, seeing as he was unable to open his mouth. "I must be hearing things. All right, it's time to go find a suit." Trunks walked toward the door with Goten behind him, still holding the chicken leg. The left the house and Trunks returned it to capsule form. He put it back in his pocket.
"Where do we start looking, Trunks?" Goten had stopped eating to ask the question.
"I don't know. Maybe we should go to the party to see if we can find someone with the right size. It might be the only way."
"Okay." Goten takes a bite out of his chicken leg, only to realize that it isn't there. Perplexed, he looks around the area for it. He starts to ask Trunks where it is, but he catches a whiff of the scent of it. Goten searched for the source; it is close by. Goten walks where his nose leads him, which ends up being a tree. His eyes slowly move up the tree until they meet with a branch and the missing chicken leg. Not exactly sure of how it happened, Goten slowly levitates upward toward the food.
"I wonder…" said Trunks more so to himself than anyone. He had his back to Goten. "I wonder if we can buy a suit at this time of night. That might…"
"AHHHHHHHHH" Trunks turned around at the sound of his friend's scream to see him fall out of the tree; his clothes tattered from burn marks.
"What the…" Trunks looked up into the tree. It was too dark to see very far. All he could see was shadows beyond the first branch. "Who are you?" Then it hit him. He knew who it was. "Hunter, get down here and face me, you reject!" As an answer, a ki blast shot from the tree right at Trunks. It was easily dodged to the side, but Trunks didn't dodge the second one that hit him before he even touched the ground from dodging the first one. Trunks hit the floor hard and rolled a couple of times, getting dirty all over again. He came to a stop just as a figure dropped out of the tree. It was Hunter.
"Did I hear correctly when you said that you were going to a party?" said the sinister fighter. "Now you didn't actually think that I would allow you to go to a party without me, did you? I am really hurt. I wanted to play a bit more, Trunks. Don't you want to play?" Hunter threw another ki ball at Trunks. The Saiyan dodged it and rolled onto his feet.
"What do you want?"
"…I thought that was already settled before. I want your head." Hunter took a step forward. He set himself up in a fighting stance. "I think we should start this thing off… with a bang." Hunter floated into the air. He kept moving up until he was above the tops of the trees. "Let's make a little room. We don't want anything to get in the way, now do we?" Hunter straightened out his right arm. He pointed his index and middle fingers at Trunks. Then he grabbed his right wrist with his left hand.
"You idiot! If you do that, everyone will hear you, not to mention that you might start a fire!"
"Ask me if I care." Hunter started to gather energy on his fingertips. Trunks once again had to act fast. His first reaction was to go over and grab his friend as he had done earlier in the day but Trunks knew that even if he did, the chances that he might get away were not all the great. He decided to stand his ground.
I don't even know if I can do this right, but it works for Goten. Maybe it will work for me. Trunks cupped his hands and brought them over to his right side. "Ka…"
"How sweet. Are you going to try that Kamehameha move that Son Goku uses so much?" Trunks almost lost his concentration when he heard that. He immediately started to wonder how Hunter could possibly know about Goku, but Trunks was to keep his thoughts straight and he continued with the move.
"Me…"
"Okay. Let's make this interesting." The ki energy surrounding Hunter grew.
"Ha…"
"It's now or never, Trunks. Can you get rid of me, or will I finally destroy you?" Hunter said in an almost joking tone.
"Me…"
"TIME TO DIE, TRUNKS! VULCAN ERASER!"
"HAAAAAAAA!" Hunter shot a thin beam of energy, while Trunks' beam was more than ten times the size of it. The beams collided and exploded on impact. Trunks was tossed back and rammed a tree. He was practically plastered against it until the blast subsided. Then he was able to fall to the ground. The blast had lit up the area for everyone within fifty miles to see.
"Uhhh." Moaned Goten. He was soar all over. He felt like he had been shot. He stood up and took a look around. The entire area for a fifty-yard radius had been cleared out… completely. In the middle of the destruction Goten could see a figure. He approached the figure and found out that it was Trunks. He was not in good shape. Goten ran over to his friend, careful to look around for any signs of attackers (especially Hunter). He made it to his friend safe and Goten then started to check to make sure that Trunks was still alive. "Trunks! Trunks! TRUNKS!" To the delight of Goten, his friend started to move.
"What… is going on?"
"I don't know. I was unconscious when it happened. What did you do?"
"It… was that… damn Hunter!" Trunks' aura flared briefly before lost his energy and fell unconscious.
"Trunks!" Goten cried one more time, but he knew it was pointless. Trunks wasn't dead, but he had suffered a serious blow to the chest. He was out for the count. Now Goten was in a very difficult situation; he had to come up with a plan. That was not his strong point, although he didn't have much of a choice with his friend being in such a condition. He thought about carrying Trunks to the party to tell Vegeta and Bulma, but that wouldn't be a good idea. He would be an open target to attack and it might take too long. Instead Goten decided that it might be safer to leave Trunks in the capsule house. He would be by himself, but if Hunter was caught in the blast too then he probably was in just as bad a condition as Trunks. Goten grabbed the capsule out of his friend's pocket and opened the house. He brought Trunks up to the bedroom and laid him down. "I won't let you down, Trunks. I'll go get Vegeta." Goten ran out of the house and flew off to get Vegeta.
**********
"Vegeta!" exclaimed a relieved Goku. Vegeta put Bulma down just before the tall man bowled him over.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?" Vegeta threw Goku off of him and jumped back up, dusting himself off. Goku landed on his feet.
"Sorry. I got a little carried away. Where are the invitations?" Bulma handed one to Goku, who took it, sprinted for the door, put it in the Victor the doorman's hand and ran into the party in the span of two seconds.
"He has been waiting a while to get inside. He wants to get some food." Said Chi Chi, a little embarrassed by the whole situation.
"That's alright. I'm sorry that I forgot to give you the invitations before you came here." Said Bulma apologetically.
"That's okay. Let's go inside and have some fun." Bulma nodded and went with Chi Chi to the door. She stopped when she saw Vegeta staring at a spot in a distance. Bulma walked back over to her husband and put her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"There is smoke over there." Bulma followed Vegeta's eyes to a spot in the sky, but she could see no smoke.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes… let's go inside." Bulma stood stunned and confused as Vegeta walked toward the door. She followed behind him and they entered with Chi Chi into the party. The inside of the Madam's Mansion was very impressive. The main room was huge, and it was the sight of the party. There seemed to be uncountable amount of doors inside of the main room. Chi Chi and Bulma stepped off to the side to mingle with some of the guests. Vegeta went straight over to the man stuffing his face on the other side of the room, Son Goku. "Kakarotto, stop that! You look like a fool!" Goku stopped stuffing his face to talk.
"Sorry. I was hungry. Is something wrong?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you didn't feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"Kakarotto, you're as dense as a brick! That brat's ki was flaring up all day!"
"You mean Trunks? Maybe he was just training with Goten."
"Damn it, Kakarotto. His ki was almost at full power. When is the last time that they trained like that?" Goku thought about that and realized that Goten and Trunks did very little real training.
"If you're worried, why don't you just go find out what he is doing?"
"I'm not worried, damn it! I don't care what that brat does, but if his mother finds out that he is running around she'll blow her top."
"Vegeta, do you want me to go and check on him?"
"No. The brat is a Saiyan. He can handle himself. Besides, your wife would kill you if you tried to set foot outside of this building."
"Then why are you worrying?"
"I'm not worrying!" Vegeta stormed off, realizing that he had made no progress. He also realized that he was really unsure of the reason he had told what happened to Goku. He had a lot of thinking to do. Vegeta located a spot to the side away from everyone and walked over to it, shutting himself off from the world.
**********
Goten was finally closing in on Vegeta's ki signature. He had been running at high speeds, hoping to avoid detection. He felt a little uncomfortable about leaving Trunks by himself. Hunter could be anywhere. However, Goten knew that the fastest way to get help would be to go by himself and find Vegeta or his father, Goku. Goten continued to run and soon found himself at a huge building that could be nothing other than a mansion.
"I think I found it." He ran around to the front and saw the door. There was a short man with a red tuxedo in front of it. Goten concentrated for a second and felt Vegeta's ki signature inside of it. He was definitely in the right place. Goten ran over to the front door but the doorman stepped in his way.
"Can I help you, sir?" asked Victor.
"I need to get inside. It's an emer…"
"Do you have an invitation?"
"Invitation?"
"I am sorry, sir. I can't let you in without an invitation." Victor motioned for Goten to go away, but there was no compliance.
"You let me in!" demanded Goten.
"I cannot do that. I am sorry." Goten was fuming now. He decided to get in by force. He took a few steps backward and then charged the doorman headfirst. Goten made contact and tried to push his way through, but surprisingly he couldn't budge the doorman. Surprised, he stopped to take a breath. Victor took this opportunity to grab the little kid by the shirt and pants.
"What are you doing?" Goten's question was answered when Victor threw him away like garbage and he landed on the hard stone floor. Goten stood up and brushed himself off. He had to find a way inside to help his buddy. He looked over the door and saw some windows. It didn't take long to come up with an idea. "I think I can get in there." Goten walked around the building and found an open window. He floated up to it and entered the building. Goten found himself in a hall. There were dozens of doors and halls in view and Goten had no idea which way to go. "I just know I'm going to get lost." He started walking, hoping he could figure out the maze.
**********
Trunks woke up and was sore all over. It was very apparent that he had been in a battle. His head was swimming in pain and he could barely move. Trunks attempted to get out of bed but pain shot up his chest. The Saiyan slumped to the ground and sighed.
"What happened to me? Was the fight that bad? Where is Hunter?" Trunks pulled himself back up to the bed and maneuvered himself into a sitting position. He gently took off the scraps of shirts and examined his wound. It was bad, but his Saiyan blood would heal it. He would be fine in time. "I feel so helpless. I can barely even stand." Trunks looked around the room. It seemed kind of empty for some reason. Something was missing…Goten.
"Goten! Goten!" Trunks thought for a moment about where Goten could be. "He might have gone ahead to tell my father what's going on. I hope that he is able to find him." Trunks laid back down in the bed. He knew that if he was going to walk at all, it wouldn't be any time soon. The best bet was for him to rest and relax for a while, until his help came. "This is probably going to be a long night." Trunks began to think more about his wound. "Papa would be proud."
"That he would." Trunks looked up and saw Hunter. At first it was total disbelief that set over him. Hunter had been in the same blast that he had. How was he standing? Then Trunks looked at Hunter's left hand. In that hand he had a thick stick, which he was supporting himself on.
"You're in great shape," said Trunks, trying to mock the evil monster standing before him.
"I'm standing; you're not."
"You still want to fight? You don't look like you can do much like that."
"I can still kill you, but that isn't why I am here."
"Changing your plans again I see. What are you going to do now?"
"I wanted to tell you that I'm going to pay your friend Goten a visit over at the Madam's Mansion." Trunks was angered by this but attempted to keep his temper under control. Hunter started talking in a childish voice. "You don't want me to go visit him. He's my friend too." Hunter made his way toward the door. "You should really get some on your feet soon, Trunks, because after you see what I do to your friend you be too depressed to move."
"You can't do that! You're in just as bad shape as I am!"
"Are you sure about that?" Hunter dropped the stick and stretched out a little bit to show Trunks that he was uninjured. "That's the thing about you Saiyans. You're so fragile."
"That's impossible! You can't be…"
"I am healed, Trunks. As a matter of fact, you look pretty good yourself. You'll be all right in a couple of hours. I think we should change that." Hunter quickly raised a hand and shot a ki ball at Trunks. It struck the Saiyan right in the chest, in the same area that had already been injured. Trunks let out a silent scream and curled up into a ball, the pain too intense to ignore.
"Ba…s…tard…"
"Now Trunks. Don't you get any ideas about leaving here. I want you to be right here when I get back so that I can finish you off properly." Hunter walked up to the doorway. "And don't you worry about Goten. I will make sure that he is well taken care of." With that, Hunter disappeared out the door. Trunks slowly managed to get himself out of the curl and was able to relax. Through deep breathing and concentration he was able to get the pain under control.
"I have to… warn Goten." Trunks crawled out of the bed and slowly out of the room. He made his way to the steps and tried to grab on to the railing, but it was too high and he fell head over heels down to the bottom of the steps. Trunks grabbed on to the railing and, with all of his might, managed to pull himself to his feet. He supported himself on the railing and stopped a moment to catch his breath. "Damn that Hunter. I won't let him get to Goten." Trunks walked over to the door and went outside. He looked around the surrounding area, hoping to find some sign of Hunter, but he knew that was pointless. Hunter was long gone. Trunks gathered as much ki as he could and attempted to levitate. He did get a few inches off of the floor, but it was soon apparent that he wouldn't be getting too far that way. Trunks touched down and once again had to wait a few moments to catch his breath.
"I guess I'll have to run to the mansion." A more accurate statement may have been walk. Trunks started walking in the direction of his father's ki, hoping to find Goten before Hunter did. "It's a race against time now."
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"Trunks" said Vegeta. He could feel his son's ki signature get significantly weaker in the last couple of minutes. Vegeta knew that something was going down. His curiosity got the best of him and he started toward the door.
"Just where do you think that you are going?" asked someone from behind. Vegeta turned around and saw exactly who he expected to stop him; it was Bulma.
"The brat has gotten himself into some sort of trouble. He's been beat up and I'm going to get him."
"Trunks is at home. You know that. Are you that desperate to get out of this deal that you would lie about our own son?"
"Why don't you believe me? The brat is in trouble. Something weird has been going on all day and Trunks has been in the middle of it. Haven't you even been paying attention?"
"Paying attention to what? What are you talking about?"
"There is something going on here too."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Take a look around you, woman!" Bulma took a look around the surrounding area but was unable to find anything wrong.
"I still don't know what you're talking about." Said Bulma. She was convinced that there was nothing wrong.
"There are over forty people in this room, but none of them are even looking at each other." Bulma looked back to the people in the room. It was then that she noticed that Vegeta was right. Everyone was practically motionless and staring into nothing. Bulma was now only partially convinced that something was wrong. Vegeta could see that. "Do you think that I am making this up? I already told you before; you won the bet and I will uphold my end of the bargain." Vegeta walked off just as Chi Chi walked up to Bulma.
"What was that all about?" asked Chi Chi.
"I don't know. He said something was wrong with Trunks and I thought that he was just trying to get out of our deal but now I'm not sure." Chi Chi didn't seem to be thinking about that. She had been caught by the "deal" part of the sentence. Her gossip ear had gotten the best of her.
"Deal? What deal?"
"He bet me that if I could train with him that he would go to the party with me. I won, but that isn't important now. Why are all of these people just standing around doing nothing?" Chi Chi's jaw dropped. She was still stuck on the concept of Bulma and Vegeta training.
"You trained with Vegeta in the gravity room? How did you do that?"
"How? You mean I haven't shown you my new invention yet?" Chi Chi shook her head. "Oh. Okay, I'll just show it to you now." Bulma brought Chi Chi over to a table that had been reserved for her and Vegeta, taking her time to look around at the guests that had seemed to have all the life sucked out of them, and looked in her pocketbook. They look almost… artificial. They're like ro…
"May I have your attention?" asked an attendant that was standing at the bottom of the staircase, cutting Bulma off in mid thought. Chi Chi, Bulma, and even Vegeta turned to look. Of course, Goku was still finishing his last plate of food (for now) and couldn't be bothered to look. "Introducing the hostess of the party… Madam Heidy Tush." The many people in attendance applauded respectfully. All eyes went to the top of the steps and rested upon a stunning figure. A woman about five feet and nine inches stood atop the stairs. She had on a black, silk dress that reached all the way down to her ankles. Her high heel shoes were also were also black. She had long black gloves that reached past her elbows.
"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I am your hostess, Madam Heidy Tush. Welcome to my party." Chi Chi couldn't believe how absolutely stunning she was. Chi Chi turned to Bulma to say something but her friend had a worried look on her face.
"What's wrong, Bulma?"
"It's her. She looks different." Chi Chi looked at the Madam. She had never seen her before so she had no idea what she was supposed to look like.
"What's wrong with her. She looks flawless." Chi Chi had a hint of disappointment to her voice.
"I've never met her, but she is supposed to be "pleasantly round"."
"You mean she…" Chi Chi trailed off as she examined the figure of The Madam again. It was a lot of things. Round wasn't one of them.
"I think Vegeta might have been right. Something is wrong." Bulma looked at The Madam with an untrusting look. Whatever was going on obviously involved her.
"I hope that you will all have a wonderful time." Said the Madam. "The night is young and my master plan has yet to be unfolded." Madam Heidy Tush walked down the stairs and approached Bulma. The Madam leaned over to her so that she was right next to Bulma's ear. "The fun has just begun."
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