Title: The care and feeding of flying boys

Author: squeezynz

chapter: six – villainy afoot

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Peter flew through the air as if a dragon was nipping his heels, his sword arm swinging back and forth, lopping off chunks of tree top as he passed, the blade flashing and reflecting the few shafts of sunlight still penetrating the darkening cloud layer overhead. Unable to pacify his anger with fighting inoffensive trees, he flew like a streak of lightning towards the coast, to where the Jolly Roger rode at anchor. Peter wanted to fight someone, anyone and he sorely hoped that there were enough pirates left aboard the ship to satisfy his blood lust. Shadowing his every move, a bright speck of light fluttered in his wake, ducking and diving to miss the leaves and branches unfortunate enough to get in Peter's way. Tinkerbell had all but forgotten why Peter had banished her, and anyway, he never meant it for very long, so she had come in search of him, not at all surprised to find him in a towering rage and venting his spleen left and right. Keeping a safe distance, she tagged along , her light bobbing back and forth whenever Peter seemed to be looking in her direction, making sure he couldn't spot her right away. Her luck held and Peter remained oblivious to his fairy friends' presence, too intent on finding something that would fight back to worry about anything else. Tinkerbell, seeing the gathering clouds and flashes of lightning correctly surmised that it was all the fault of that lumping great girl that had the Pan in such a temper, the tiny fairy feeling suitably smug that the silly ass had only taken Peter's interest for so short a time. Sure that she would be welcomed with open arms, Tinkerbell preened herself and darted forward to catch up with him, the Pan already diving towards the ground and leaving his glowing shadow far behind.

Lazily wallowing among the waves, the ship below looked innocent and deserted, Peter swooping down with a yell and his sword swinging, only to find nobody there to fight after all. Despite searching the entire upper deck, he found no-one to lure into a good slanging match, let alone a fight. Doubly frustrated he perched on the topmost mast, digging his sword into the wood before settling down to brood on what had happened.

Tinkerbell, seeing Peter engrossed in the horizon, settled herself in the fold of a sail and waited to see what happened next. Off in the distance she thought she heard the distant boom of a cannon, but dismissed it as thunder, the sky getting ever darker as the minutes passed. The ship was starting to pitch and toss, held in place by it's huge anchors, but not immune to the rising swell, the waves now white capped and angry. The wind was rising, whipping and snapping at the canvas sails, catching any loose ropes and making them dance like snakes, Peter apparently impervious to the building wrath of nature, his mood perfectly matched by the weather.

Brooding over what had happened, he tried to make sense of it all, his mind replaying as much of the conversation he could remember, the parts not overshadowed by his clamoring emotions or his over eager response to kissing Wendy. One minute he'd been part way to paradise, the next, he'd held an armful of insane female, spouting all sorts of nonsense about going home, and grieving parents and other such idiocies. He was sure that, until he'd made the mistake of filling his palm with her soft breast, Wendy had been as excited and eager as himself, her kisses as wild and sweet as strong wine, more potent than the beer the Indian's brewed. It had been only when he'd found the hard pebble of flesh beneath her dress that she'd struggled to be free and started spouting a load of cods wallop about husbands and the rights and wrongs of what they were doing. Peter shuddered, the very word husband making his insides twist, as if the word alone was enough to strike a mortal blow. He thought he'd made it clear to her, that he, Peter Pan was to be her all, her King, her prince, her husband, her everything, hadn't he told her so? The thought gave him pause; had he told her that, had he made it clear to her? If he hadn't, could that be why she was so set on going home? Would that be all that was needed to make her happy, make her stay?

Indignation flared and his eyes gleamed, how dare she want to go home! Neverland had more than enough to offer any mortal, let alone one truculent girl. There was food and shelter and Neverbushes for clothes, and that was only the basics. He hadn't had a chance to show her the real treasures of Neverland, the Diamond Grotto with it's sparkling walls or the Dazzling River were jewels of every color mixed with the grey river gravel. And what about the Rainbow Waterfall, or the Emerald Lake, all were treasures he had wanted to share with her, to watch her wonderment as he displayed Neverland's beauty to her. He had lived with such marvels all his life and took them for granted, using precious stones like marbles and hardly noticing the wonders around him. But with her, he could see them all again through her eyes, relive the joy of discovery and awe, experience it all for the first time with her, as well as pursue more earthly pleasures, those that had only been hinted at up to now.

Not that long ago he wouldn't have considered having a girl live with him in Neverland, his antipathy to females and their wiles, largely influenced by his abandonment by his mother, leaving him a carefree and callous boy with no thought beyond the next battle or meal. His life had been untrammeled and heart free, no cares or worries to weight him down or make him think that there might be more to life than being a child forever. Then he'd lost his shadow, one night while he skipped about the rooftops of London, the wily shade darting out of reach and leading him on a merry dance among the chimney pots and slates until it disappeared through an open window and beyond his reach. As far as he knew, it was still there, hidden away by the grownup that found it, lost to him, and with it, his perpetual childhood. From that night on he felt the change grow large within him, his body reflecting the changes with a growth spurt that left his younger companions behind, his height and breadth doubling until he was an equal to Hook in strength and reach. Along with the physical changes came the emotional ones, feelings intruding where before they had remained banished and ignored. He became moody and irritable, the Lost Boys learning the warning signs and keeping clear of him when his moods turned violent, Peter's physical strength deterring everyone but the most foolhardy to wrestle with him, only Jack and Crate daring to stand up to the Pan. Fortunately for all, Peter's unsettled period passed quickly, his emotional ravages leaving Neverland with a crop of new and interesting scars, but it's inhabitants largely undamaged by the storms. Now a new and unsettling emotion was causing the wind to rise and the seas to boil, love creating a host of new emotions that he was ill equipped to either deal with or understand, his body on fire to explore the new feelings, his heart acting erratically to the mere presence of Wendy anywhere near him, and his emotions in a turmoil of conflicting desires. He thought that simple action would be enough to expunge the jealousy and hurt fighting with his burgeoning passion and sense of loss, but that had proved to be unfulfilled by the simple fact that all the pirates appeared to be on land, instead of aboard ship.

Frustrated, he stared out at the gathering storm on the horizon and tried to think of a way he could change the way things were turning out.

A bright flash of lightning, followed by a sudden, chilling downpour, shook him out of his depressing thoughts, his head tilting as he opened his mouth to drink of the rainwater, the liquid icy on his tongue. Soaked to the skin, he stared ruefully up at the dark clouds circling his head, the rumble of thunder like the growl of a big cat thwarted of its prey. Why did it suddenly matter so much that this one girl stay and bear him company, didn't he have friends enough, didn't he have distractions aplenty to banish boredom? Why, oh why did he have this overwhelming need to go back and beg her forgiveness and plead with her to stay, what had happened to his independence, his pride, his aloofness? Apparently it only took a pair of sea blue eyes to shatter all his previous notions on life and living it. Half disgusted with himself, Peter couldn't stop the wry grin from sneaking on to his lips, his brows gradually lifting as his spirit lightened and his heart took flight. At once the downpour ceased to drench him, the clouds above his head ceasing to whirl like tornadoes, their color changing from black to grey but not entirely to fluffy white. Shaking his head like a dog and sending spray in all directions, Peter started to laugh, the chuckle starting deep in his chest and rising like the sun until it broke from his mouth in a loud burst of sound, the shout turning into a crow as he leapt into the air in a burst of energy, throwing off his melancholy and instead starting to use his head. All he needed to do was show Wendy what she really meant to him, demonstrate his feelings in all their turbulent glory and she would surely see that he was worth a hundred times more than returning home to dreary London and her unexciting life. Of course, he'd have to come up with a something to ameliorate not seeing her family again, but surely he, the Pan was more attractive than any family could be? Of course he was, the supreme arrogance of beautiful youth giving him the only answers he'd listen to. Satisfied that his course was clear, Peter circled the empty pirate ship, flying loop-de-loops over the deserted decks before somersaulting once and heading towards the tropical shores waiting patiently for his attention.

Soaked, battered and not a little out of temper, Tinkerbell fluttered her wings and shook out her short skirt, shivering dramatically before heading off after Peter, her tinkling cries for him to slow down going unheeded as she struggled to keep up with his rapidly disappearing form.

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Wendy regretted her hasty demand to go home almost immediately, her calls to Peter to come back choked off as her tears strangled her and his body disappeared from sight. In despair she sank to the ground, her head bowed, unable to face seeing Tiger Lily or anyone right at that moment. With her hands over her face, she tried to make sense of her conflicted feelings. It was true she missed her family terribly, but it was also true that there was something about Peter that was proving almost irresistible, her heart bouncing around whenever he happened to glance her way, his touch enough to make her almost swoon. On top of all this was the delights of Neverland itself. If she had to describe to another person the perfect place in all the world, Neverland would encompass almost everything she could think of. Added to it's natural charms was the excitement of knowing that a magical element existed as well, something that had been a part of many of her dreams as a child, her imagination supplying the magic when her mundane world failed to produce it. Now to have visited a place where magic really existed, to see it, touch and even be apart of it was all her fantasies come true. Neverland even made her most fantastical stories seem tame by comparison, the reality of seeing fairies dance and a boy fly unaided by mechanical contrivance was almost too good to be true. It was like she was a little girl again, staring so hard at the illustrations in a book, so wishing they were real and that she could step into the pictures and dance with the elves and pixies. Here in Neverland she was at last in the illustration, a part of the story between the pages of a wonderful book. As if that dream wasn't enough, the characters inhabiting this book had become real for her, the hero as handsome as any hero she'd read about, more handsome and daring than Robin Hood, or Sir Galahad, and added to all that she was living the part of the heroine, swept of her feet into the best of all romantic stories. It was all so confusing and wonderful and alarming to be apart of one's own fantasy, bringing with it expectations that she was ill prepared to meet, along with a welter of intense emotions that she felt ill-equipped to deal with. It was easy to ask to return to her home, to the security of her former life where nothing more was expected of her other than to grow up, behave and become a nice, safe, loving wife to some unimpeachable young man, together to live a life of peace and quiet and not one iota of excitement. Did she really want to go back to that? Was she really prepared to give up every fantasy she'd ever had, including several she'd not even thought of yet, for the sake of seeing her dear family again? Could she really so heartlessly leave Peter behind her and go one to love another in his place?

A sound behind her jerked Wendy out of her internal contemplations, her head half turning to see who was behind her only to have a large and very calloused hand clamp firmly around her face, blocking any sound she might attempt to make as well as rendering her frozen in shock.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice hissed in her ear, hot breath fanning her hair against her cheek.

Hauled to her feet by a brawny arm clamped about her waist, Wendy found herself swung up and around, her fingers scrabbling at the hand still pressed against her mouth, her nostrils flaring as she sucked in air, her heart thundering in her ears as she watched first one then half a dozen disreputable looking men appear from the thick undergrowth, their narrowed eyes fixed on her as they crept silently forward. The loud boom of a cannon sounded nearby, the cries and shouts of the Indian's racing to defend their village from attack drawing further away while Wendy stared wide eyed at her kidnappers.

"Let's get the chicken trussed and get outta here." One pirate growled, gesturing for another man to come forward and start securing rope around Wendy's ankles and knees, her hands yanked down and tied in front of her, while a greasy rag replaced the leathery hand, just as effective in keeping her quiet. When she lay at their feet, immobile and terrified, the small party of pirates allowed themselves to relax a tiny bit. The first part of the plan was complete, now they just had to leave the village without being seen and carry their prisoner back to the prearranged rendezvous with their Captain, while also keeping a look out for the Pan. Unable to do more than mew her protest, Wendy found herself lifted and hung over one man's wide shoulders, her head hanging down his back, the world spinning dizzily below her as the raiders left the outskirts of the Indian village and made their way silently back into the jungle. In her mind she screamed for Peter, screamed for him to fly down and rescue her, her fears escalating when the pirates around her deemed themselves far enough away not to need to be quiet anymore and started to make comments about Wendy and her fate at the hands of their cruel Captain. After an hour of tramping through the thick jungle, the men paused to rest in a small clearing beside the narrow track, wiping sweat from their faces and leering openly at their nearly insensible captive. All round them birds called to each other, whistling and hooting oblivious to the small raiding party gathered below. Wendy tried to wish herself up into the trees and away from the awful pirates, but her thoughts were anything but happy and her body remained held by gravity against the uneven ground. The man who had the task of carrying her had dropped her with little care, Wendy sure that she would be black and blue by the time they reached their destination, whatever that might be. Just as she managed to roll herself upright, another pirate appeared from the jungle, his dark hair and dark clothing marking him apart from the others. Cold black eyes swept over her and sent a chill down her back, his swaggering stride carrying him past her recumbent form until he stood among the ruffians, a wine skin appearing in his hand to be passed around the pirates.

"Good work lads...you got the wench. Hook sends his complements and tells you all to drink up, me hearties."

Tossing the wine to the nearest pirate, Black Jack grinned widely and watched as the man gulped down the sweet liquor with scant regard to it's quality or taste. Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, the pirate then passed it to his mate, the action repeated until all the members of the raiding party had taken a good mouthful. Taking the skin from the last man, Jack made to lift it to his own lips, but then held it out in a toast before taking a sip.

"I give you the most black hearted pirate ever to sail the Neverland seas!"

To a man the pirates turned to stare at Jack, mouths opening to query or protest but unable to do either as, one by one, they succumbed and slumped to the jungle floor like so many broken puppets. Wendy looked on helplessly while the black haired pirate carefully checked each man, satisfied that the drug had done it's worst and rendered them all unconscious. Putting the cork back into the neck of the wine skin, Jack slung it once more over his shoulder and finally turned his attention to the captive sitting dumbfounded beside the trail.

"I suppose you're wondering...no, I know you are wondering what I'm about, but it is too soon to tell all, so you'll have to wait and find out, as Hook and your precious Pan will...in the fullness of time." He grinned good-naturedly at Wendy, squatting down on his haunches to check that her gag was still in place and her hands secured. Slicing through the bonds securing her knees and ankles, Jack hauled his captive to her feet, keeping a hand on her shoulder to steady her when she swayed. Wendy could only stare at the newcomer while blood flowed into her legs, tears springing to her eyes with the pain.

"Stamp your feet, it'll help." Jack suggested before turning away and making a quick search of the men spread insensible on the ground before him. Wendy started to edge away, sure that she had a chance of escape. Unfortunately she only got as far as three steps before Jack returned to her side, hung about with an assortment of weapons stripped off his comrades. "Come now my lovely...you don't want to be leaving Black Jack so soon?"

Grasping her upper arm, Jack led Wendy off the trail and into the jungle, careful to check behind him and cover up any trace of their passing by sweeping away their footprints in the dirt. Looping a length of rope through the binding around Wendy's hands, he pulled her along behind him like a tame goat, her efforts to slow him earning her a sharp jerk on the line that made her wince from the pain in her wrists as the rope cut into her flesh. Wherever her original captors had been taking her too, she was now being led away in an entirely different direction and always further away from the Indian Village and possible rescue. To make her situation worse, the leaden skies that had been threatening finally unburdened themselves, drenching Wendy within seconds in a downpour that wiped away any trace of their passage through the jungle. Her captor, who she supposed must be the Black Jack that Peter had mentioned, the former Lost Boy turned pirate, seemed unperturbed by the weather, his face lifting to the rain in apparent pleasure as he tugged his reluctant captive along behind him. At one point, while the skies still thundered down around them Jack turned and flashed a bright grin at Wendy.

"You must have really put his nose out of joint girl. What did you say to him to put him in this sort of temper?"

Almost blinded by the rain and her hair, Wendy's only reply was to turn her head and ignore the question, Jack not really expecting an answer and tugging her forward as he pushed through the dripping jungle. Soon the rain stopped, the vegetation starting to steam as the sun made an appearance, springing into the sky as if catapulted there, heat radiating so hotly from it's blazing face that Wendy could almost imagine it had moved closer to Neverland for the sole purpose of drying it out as quickly as possible. In less time than she would have ever thought possible, both she and the jungle were dry once more, the birds resuming their fluting chorus as if torrential downpours and quick drying jungles were an everyday occurrence. Feeling a trifle light headed, Wendy mused that maybe they were and she should expect all manner of strange weather phenomenon before the day was done. Large rocks had started to appear between the trees, huge monoliths that dwarfed the humans walking between them. Some of the surfaces appeared decorated with carvings, the swirling patterns running like snakes over the surface of the boulders, Wendy feeling the world start to tip as she stared at one particularly ornate example, the surface carvings swirling around her head like whirling dervish.

"Easy girl...put your head between your knees and take deep breaths." Jack's unwanted presence made her jerk back, black spots dancing in front of her vision. Ignoring her physical protest, Jack drew Wendy down to sit on a small rock perfectly suited for for the purpose, his knife flashing in front of her eyes for a moment as he sliced off the gag, Wendy drawing in huge gasps of air as she flopped forward, doing exactly as he suggested.

"Still got a ways to go before sundown, and I'm not up to carrying you, despite your slender form," Jack laughed, sliding his knife back into its holder before turning to survey the rocks around them. "Impressive aren't they?" He tilted his head to indicate the carved monoliths. "Used to come here all the time in the old days. Played hide and seek, hunt the Lost Boy, where's the fairy...them's was good times."

Feeling better, Wendy raised her head and stared up at the tall youth, her hands lifting to shade her face from the sun. "Why did you give up being a Lost Boy is you enjoyed it so much?"

"Well there's the rub, you see. Can't be two Pan's in Neverland, only room for one at a time. I thought it was time Peter stepped down and let me take his place. He disagreed, so we fought over the issue. Peter won, I left...and joined Hook."

"And became a pirate," Wendy finished, lowering her head and staring at her hands. "Was it so bad having Peter as your leader? How is Hook an improvement?"

"Have you met Hook?" Jack asked, folding his arms and leaning against one of the towering stones.

"No...but I've heard a bit about him."

"He's a fearsome Captain and a bastard when his temper's roused, which, with Peter Pan taunting him every chance, is often. What choice did I have? Join the Indian's? Not likely...I had no liking to live like a savage, no more than I wanted to live aboard that maggoty barge the Jolly Roger. But I had to go somewhere...so Hook was offered my services and he took me aboard." Jack lifted a wine skin from around his back, uncorking it and holding it out for Wendy to take a drink. Seeing her withdraw he frowned briefly before letting out a bark of laughter. "This isn't the drugged skin...threw that away long since. Just plain water." He held the skin out again and this time Wendy took it between her bound hands. After a mouthful or two she handed it back.

"Why have you kidnapped me?"

"Maybe I just want to put a spoke in the Pan's wheel..." Jack offered, waving his hand airily. Wendy sniffed.

"Hardly worth all this trouble just to upset Peter. Plus you'll have Hook on your trail before too long. His men were taking me to him, weren't they?"

"What they were, or were not to do is in the past. I have you know and intend to keep you. Hook can go to the devil, and the Pan with him. I have my eyes on another prize."

"But what has that to do with me?"

Jack suddenly shed his nonchalant attitude and lent down to gather up the rope. "What I want is my business and none of yours, Miss Nosy Parker, so keep your trap shut and those feet walking. I want to put more distance between us and them before it gets dark." Yanking on the rope Jack pulled Wendy to her feet and set off between the stone monoliths, passing from shadow into sunlight like a dark wraith ahead of her. They continued onwards, passing beyond the forest of stones, plunging once more into the depth of the jungle, the cries of birds and thrum of insects enveloping them as the sunshine became dappled and filtered green through the leafy canopy. After another hour of tramping over leaf mold and lichen they reached a demarcation, the lush greenery giving way to blackened and twisted tree trunks, the ground grey with ash. Burnt fingers off bushes and plants rose out of the ash like skeletons begging to be released from the ground, no evidence of leaves on any of the tortured limbs. Barely pausing, Jack tugged Wendy forward, the ash rising up and coating his knee high black boots in seconds, Wendy's skin turning grey as tiny eddies of ash swirled around her legs and skirt. Here there was no shelter from the sun, the bleak landscape stretching away down into a steep valley and up the other side and over the ridge.

Jack didn't stop to look around, his stride lengthening so that Wendy almost had to trot to keep up. Turning his head to left and right, he looked nervous, the tension reaching out and enveloping his captive so that she almost screamed when a growl came from behind and off to the right.

"There's something behind us!" Wendy yelped, twisting against the rope to peer over her shoulder.

"Run you stupid girl! We have to get across this blasted valley before the Ashbeast catches us...don't fall or we're lost!"

"Untie my hands! I can't run like this!" Wendy cried out, her eyes wide as another growl, closer than the last, sounded from nearby. "Untie me!"

Skidding to a halt, Black Jack hesitated only a second before slashing through Wendy's ropes, his fingers closing over her bruised wrist to pull her forward, his knife left unsheathed as they ran forward. Grey soot and dust rose up around them, choking the air as their feet pounded across the scorched earth. Wendy didn't dare look behind her, too intent on keeping her feet as they skidded and slithered down the steep hillside, a trickle of grey water snaking over the valley bottom. A mournful howl sounded from above them, echoing off the hills around them as they scrambled over the creek and up the other side, feet and boots slipping on the inches thick ash. The air was thick with the smell of burnt wood, tendrils of smoke rising up from some of the stunted bushes as the two humans scrabbled together up the slope, the insistent howls chasing their heels. Jack pushed and pulled Wendy to the ridge ahead of him, turning back to face the creature stalking them, a blast of heat washing across the slope as they broached the peak of the hill. Wendy slipped and tumbled over, a scorching wave of fire singing her feet as she rolled down the other side, a cry behind her and a roar presaging another wave of broiling heat before she landed in a disheveled heap up against the broad trunk of a tree, the air knocked out of her in a rush. The cool shade revived her quickly and she stared up the slope, noting the cut off line where the burnt vegetation gave way to lush greenness once more. Black Jack seemed to be fighting something invisible to her, his body twisting and turning, his dagger slashing out in wide arcs, the unseen enemy keeping the young pirate on his toes. Abruptly the fight was over, Jack thrust backwards as if from the force of a sweeping tail, his body flying through the air to land on his back a third of the way down the slope, thereafter to tumble head over heels and end up sprawled at Wendy's feet like a rag doll. A bright gush of yellow flame spurted over the edge, the creature responsible invisible behind the rocky ridge, a final bellow the only evidence of it's existence before it departed. Jack lay sprawled on his back, eyes closed, his hair and clothes singed in places as if he'd passed too close to a fire. Wendy coughed, reaching out a hand to see if the young man still lived. As her fingers tentatively touched his arm, Jack lurched in to life, his eye wide and mouth open as he scrabbled to regain his feet.

"What was that?" Wendy gasped, "what was chasing us, and why did it stop?"

Swaying, Jack reached down to give Wendy a hand up. "The Ashbeast...dragon...whatever you want to call it, is slow, but deadly. We were lucky it was asleep and only halfheartedly decided to give chase." Wiping a hand across his face, Jack didn't realize he'd left a wide swathe of soot like a black paint streak across his skin. Wendy could feel her own skin itch from the dirty dust coating her from head to toe, her eyes smarting and stinging.

"Why did it stop at the ridge?"

"Its' natural boundary. It eats only things that are burnt to a crisp. Magic keeps it from roaming too widely and devastating everything in its path."

Disgusted at her grimy state, Wendy could only snort her disbelief. "Why keep such a creature here at all?" She had intended her question to be rhetorical, but Jack chose to ignore this and answered anyway.

"Would you prefer it running rampant in your world? If not safe in Neverland, where would it go? At least here it is limited and contained. It's one of the reasons I chose this way rather than another."

"So we could get cooked by a dragon!" Wendy stared at him, "are you mad? I don't think much of your plan, whatever it might be."

"Well, mad or not...we're past the beast now, and none are likely to want to follow. Be so kind as to put your hands together..." Jack raised an eyebrow and held out the rope to bind her again.

"Must you? I'm black and blue already and hardly likely to want to try my luck returning through that valley."

Tilting his head on one side, Jack regarded her for a long moment. "I think it wise to keep you close awhile yet girly, girl. I have a feeling there is more to you than meets the eye."

Fuming, Wendy submitted to having her wrists bound, glaring mutinously at her jailer when he pulled out the grubby gag and wound it around a hand as if contemplating it's use. Apparently Jack thought better of the idea and used it instead to tie back his straggling hair from his face. Squinting up at the sky, Jack noted the sun starting it's downward path to evening, the heat of the day past and night starting to draw nearer with every minute. Clouds had started to gather off to the east, a veritable tower of thunderheads building impressively into the sky.

"I think your beloved Pan has discovered your absence. We could be in for a stormy night." Tugging on the rope, Jack lead Wendy once more into the depth of the jungle greenery, the sky quickly blotted out as they tramped further into the wilds of Neverland.

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to be continued...