Author's Note - I felt like it was time to nail down a few of the warlords.
Disclaimer : I do not own One Piece or any of the other fandoms from which names, places, abilities, or references are taken! Imaginary points to anyone who catches said references throughout the story and PM's them to me. Dunno if you'll get anything real, but i give sneak peaks and deleted scenes to my repeated reviewers, so it isn't unthinkable.
Chapter 14 - Warlord or Babysitter?
"You want me to do what now?" Akarui Rachel raised an eyebrow at the man in front of her. "I am not a baby sitter. Your son is none of my concern."
"You will be paid the entirety of the reward if you return him here alive. 117 million beli." Dracule Mihawk said to the woman. She was considering it.
"Do you have any idea where he is? Does he even want to be found?" She asked. She respected the man, but he was well past his peak. He had been defeated, and subsequently expelled from the ranks of the warlords, but he still carried great respect and authority.
"No, and that is of little consequence. You are more than capable. He never learned to wield a sword." Hawk Eye said calmly. He knew his son would struggle the whole way, but he belonged with his family.
"Mihawk? Is this the woman you mentioned?" A stunningly beautiful and graceful woman entered the room and stood at her husband's side. She was noticeably younger than he was, but even at his age, he remained strong, fit and sharp as ever. From an outside perspective, it would seem the two had nothing in common besides both being extremely attractive.
"Yes, Pascia. Is Sabre asleep?" The swordsman asked quietly. The woman nodded, smiling sadly.
"She still won't let me turn the lights off." Pascia said. Hawk Eye nodded.
"I hope her brother is home before she gets used to him being gone." He turned back to the young warlord. "Will you bring him back for us?"
"117,000,000 Beli?" She asked, reluctantly. Both nodded. She sighed and nodded as well. "I'll bring him back."
"Thank you..." Pascia smiles brightly at the woman. Rachel rolls her eyes and walks out of the building. She could tell already, she was going to regret this.
Akarui Rachel was the youngest member of the reformed warlords. A skilled swordswoman, she had idolized the late Roronoa Zoro all her life. She'd been reluctant to join the ranks of the warlords, but she hoped it would give her access to mentors she would not have ordinarily been able to train with as a pirate.
Now, here she was, fetching the child of one of the greatest swordsmen to ever live. Fate was clearly mocking her. She glared angrily at everyone she passed. As the youngest, the smallest, and the only female, she did not get much respect among her fellow warlords. She heard footsteps approaching behind her and closed her eyes.
She listened closely. She didn't recognize the footsteps, so it wasn't one of her crew. It was a long stride, almost definitely a man. Fast, but calm. Not a messenger, then. They would only send her a messenger if it were urgent. There was no discipline in the foot falls. Neither a swordsman nor a marine. As she was on a marine island, that left civilian or pirate. No civilian had business with her. The only pirates on the island were her fellow warlords.
It was too light to be Bar, Felix and Sean wouldn't stoop so low as to speak to her, Buggy was off committing treason, and one seat had yet to be filled. That left only one option.
"Hono Aaron, what business do you have with me? I'm on my way out." Rachel said without turning. She smirked to herself when the footsteps halted abruptly. She'd been right. Again.
"You are remarkably difficult to sneak up on." Aaron said. She turned to face him, her face a mask of indifference.
"Sneaking up on a sword master is a foolish thing to do." She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword and held his gaze, daring him to speak a word against her skill. He didn't.
"You were speaking to a retired warlord. That struck a few of us as suspicious. I elected to ask you myself. Particularly suspicious, since you are now leaving." The taller pirate said, calmly. He was nearly as good at pretending to be emotionless as she was. Nearly. She caught the small hint of curiosity. She could get something out of him for the worthless information simply to satisfy him.
"My business is none of yours. Is there any reason I should explain my comings and goings to you and those other fools? I see no benefit for me." Rachel said. There. Let him make an offer. That was always better. People were less reluctant to pay things they proposed themselves.
"I imagine you have a price in mind. I won't play your game and make the offer." He grinned at her flash of irritation. It was rare he was able to out smart her. No one could deny she was brilliant. And cute too, if she weren't five foot one and dressed like a janitor. "Lets see how good you really are. Name your price. If I have it in my pocket, it's yours. If not, we're both out of luck."
She blinked slowly, buying time to think. They were paid this morning. When it came to money, there were few pirates as tight fisted as Hono Aaron. He saved three fourths of ever payment he received. The last fourth he kept on his person to eat and drink off of. He seemed to think her estimate would fall low enough that she would be disappointed and he would still get his information.
He had received 100,000 beli that morning, as had his fellow warlords. He knew that she knew this. He would have kept 25,000 on him after that. He also knew that she knew this. He had certainly eaten today, and the fact that he had mentioned the curiosity of his fellows meant he had just been in their company. That meant he had been drinking, and from the very slight sway to his walk, it must have been at least three mugs full. She tallied up the cost of a meal and three drinks, then through in a small addition, to cushion her guess.
"17,000 beli." She stated as calmly as she could. His mouth fell open and he blinked in surprise.
"How the hell did you do that? Have you been following me?" He looked behind himself as if he might find an explanation there. He finally dug the money out of his pocket, sorting out what he owed her. He had less than 1,000 beli left. She pocketed the money and smirked at him.
"I am running an errand for Hawk Eye. Apparently his son has run off and their worried. They're paying well, and it will give me a break from the likes of you." She turned to walk away and heard him growl.
"You are lucky the admiral thinks you're worth the title of warlord, because no one else does. Watch your back, little girl. Someone will catch you with your guard down." Aaron threatened. She continued walking, not giving any indication that she had heard him. She had though. Was it really worth all this?
Once she was on her own ship, she was able to relax a little. She shouted for her crew to assemble, and she explained the situation. They all nodded their understanding and prepared to set sail. It helped her mood to know at least her crew had some respect for her.
"Kokan Felix, Sosa Sean, I am sending you to Water 7 to assess the situation and report back." The admiral said. The two pirates laughed. They would go, but they were not going to make it that easy.
"Payment first. That's a long way to go, so we'll need to pick up supplies first." Felix said. His friend nodded.
"And it sounds like a good week long assignment, so you should probably just go ahead and give us next weeks pay now." Sean added. The admiral glared down at them. He hated pirate. He really hated pirates he could not kill or arrest. But he had orders. Seven pirate warlords, strong enough to act as a balance between the marines and the Emperors. Like these hooligans were even a spark next to the inferno of the great pirate emperors.
"You will receive your week's pay, but nothing else. Take it or leave it, I have marines I can send if you refuse. And your seats as warlords are not a right you are guaranteed to keep, so do not push your luck." The marine said.
"Pushing our luck is what pirates do, boss man. But that sounds fair. Going to be a good sport and give us an eternal pose, or are you really going to be patient enough to wait for us to get there the old fashion way?" Felix asked.
"Here, now get out!" The marine tossed the eternal pose at Felix and pointed angrily at the door.
The two pirates were more than satisfied. They had been bored to death without an assignment. Although as warlords they had every right to depart and go about pirating as they pleased, it seemed like a waste of their status not to do dirty work for the government.
"Well, Captain, how much trouble are we going to cause?" Sean asked, grinning at his friend.
Sosa Sean was the first mate of the Revenge Pirates, and close friend to his captain, Kokan Felix. The two had grown up together as orphans under the protection of a retired pirate by the name of Bellamy. Inheriting the man's love of chaos and trouble, the two had set out as pirates, not for gold, but to see just how much mayhem they could cause.
With the powerful Devil's Fruit abilities they each possessed, they had quickly made a name for themselves, and immediately been invited to join the warlords. They had almost refused, fearing they would be reigned in by the title, but once they understood that they would get to face the Straw Hat Crew who their father had always held a rivalry against, they agreed.
The government wanted them for their abilities. If they were being judged on their personal merit, they would never have been tolerated, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Their abilities would be invaluable in defeating the Straw Hat crew.
The two had spent their past weeks making a mess of the neatly run military station, terrorizing the civilians they came across, irritating the marines to the point of imminent violence, and most recently, trying to drive the youngest warlord to leaving their ranks.
For some reason they could not put their finger on, she bothered them on a fundamental level. It was probably the fact that she didn't show even the slightest passion for the things that made piracy a life worth living. She practiced with her swords. She followed orders. She was boring. She was everything a pirate was not supposed to be, and that pissed them off.
Felix had tried using his ability on her once, and had his arm nearly severed for his trouble. She learned faster than he could adapt, and he could see the gears turning behind her eyes every second. He knew, on skill alone, he could never beat her. But his first mate could. Or so he thought.
Sean's ability gave him a distinct edge, at least for a few moments. It took her less than two minutes to understand his ability and come up with a strategy to conquer it. Bar and Aaron had been admitted for their size and strength. Sean and Felix for their abilities. But Rachel? She was there on skill alone. Although the two would never admit it, they were afraid of the girl. Their abilities were tailored to combat those who fought with their bodies, not their minds.
As they set their sights on Water 7, intending to stir up some trouble before they reported back to the marines, Rachel was already several hours ahead of them, following a rumor that the young Hawk Eye heir had been sighted there.
"Ace, what's on your mind?" Kuina asked her captain, stretching and taking a seat behind him on the figure head of The Legacy Storm. He sighed and shook his head.
"Trying to determine how our crew should fight together now. Callan can fly, and his grasp of mantra is such that nothing short of dumb luck can touch him. Soul is too dangerous for anyone but me or Callan to fight by his side. Cora and Steel both have skill at a distance, but little on their side up close. You and Olivia have a unique style of attack and retreat that no one else could pair up with. Roger is improving, but he still doesn't see the whole battlefield, only the people he is engaged with at the moment. He needs a strategist, Steel needs a spotter, Callan and Soul are almost impossible to pair without impairing them, and that weakens them more than a partner strengthens them." Ace groaned, rubbing his forehead and leaning back into her.
"I think you are thinking too much about this. When you are out there, fighting for your life and the lives of your nakama, who do you want at your back?" Kuina asked.
"Soul. He is incredible. I never imagined he could pick up mantra and armament haki so quickly. He's brilliant and a fierce fighter. But I am not the one who needs his strength the most." Ace said.
"You need your first mate. I need my sister. Callan can use his bird's eye view to direct Roger. Cora and Steel... They are the youngest, and they don't cover the others weaknesses... That won't work." Kuina growled. This was harder than she thought.
"I think you are right about Callan and Roger. With Callan's sea stone, he can drop in and help if a logia user attacked Roger. They compliment each other well. Cora... She fought well with Roger, and she is very close with Soul. But she is terrible at observation haki. He'd tear her to ribbons or he would never be able to fight all out." Ace noted.
"Your haki lets you fight well with someone else who can take the lead... Soul and Roger are the best for that." Kuina said. Always putting her captain first.
"Roger needs someone to watch his surroundings and keep the enemy from overwhelming him. He and Olivia work well together... I know she is best suited for you, but it may be the best option. Callan can act as a spotter for Steel. He can pick targets with the entire battle in mind, and use his mantra to watch for anyone trying to ambush Steel while he is shooting. We have always worked well together... But that leaves Cora with Soul. Do you think they can fight together?" Ace asked. "The other option is me with Soul and you and Cora together, but you don't stay in one place, and she could never predict your moves."
"Let them try fighting together. I think if Soul puts his mind to it, he can do about anything. Just like you." The navigator smiled. "And Cora may surprise us."
"You're right about that. How far out are we?"
"About a day. We'll be at Water 7 before tomorrow evening. Soul is excited. He can't wait to show his G.P.S. to Franky." Kuina laughed.
"He is very proud of it. It is a very impressive invention. He's been tinkering with Law's Alliance Pose when he thinks Cora doesn't know. He thinks it might hurt her to know he was taking apart something that belonged to her father, but he just has to know." Ace said, sighing. "She's known since day one. She knows how curious he is, but she's pretending not to know until her tells her. Why are you girls so complicated?"
"To keep you on your toes, that's why." She elbowed him, but laughed.
"I wonder if our fathers are watching us. Think they're laughing at how ridiculous we are? We have a bird man, twins with the same ability, a redhead and a reaper, the daughter of one of his own allies, and the son of your father's greatest rival. We're an interesting group..."
"We're a family, and our fathers are definitely watching, and proud, too. Especially of you. We couldn't have asked for a better leader. You brought this family together." Kuina leaned forward, signaling for him to do the same before she jumped down to the deck so he wouldn't fall. He followed behind her, landing as lightly as a cat, like usual.
"Cora! Soul! Come out on deck and bring your weapons, I have some exercises I want you to try together!" Ace called to his shipwright and musician.
"Did you get any of them?" Nathaniel snarled.
"Yes, but not the captain or the Hawk Eye kid. I hit Law. The man who slipped in behind us and caused so much trouble. I'm sorry captain." The sniper groaned and pressed a fist to his side. "The kid got me... Even from that far away. Damn."
"Go get that taken care of. Set our course for Loguetown. We need to find the Gomu Gomu no Mi. Then I will never lose. I'll take the flame fruit from Marco, and then I will be unstoppable." Nathaniel struggled to his feet. Sea stone... He'd been beaten bloody by a man without an ability. That was a humiliation he would avenge. He doubled over and coughed, a splatter of blood hitting the deck.
"Captain! You have internal bleeding, you need to rest, now. Dragon or not, you will die if your lungs fill with blood." His doctor redirected his attention from the sniper for a moment. The emperor reluctantly nodded. The man was right. That impact dial had done more damage than he had suffered since he ate the dragon fruit.
The Black Wing pirates were in low spirits. They had lost to Marco, Shanks, and Sabo, but that was a force that could tear down entire countries. But to a crew of misfit kids? Their mighty captain, emperor in the New World, holder of the greatest Zoan power, had been forced to retreat. By little more than children.
Worse yet, word had spread that all but one of the Warlord seats had been filled. The government was preparing to go to war, and now they began loosing? It did not look good for their future. All of them had followed the man unquestioningly. Now, that loyalty was being put on the line. With the first mate dead and the captain injured, there would be chaos.
"Mommy... Is Steel ever coming home?" The small girl looked up at her mother with wide, sad eyes. Pascia lifted her gently and rocked her.
"Of course he will! He just needed to get out for a while... He'll be back in no time." Pascia hoped she wasn't lying. She cradled her daughter close and tried not to cry. Her life had been perfect. She'd been freed from slavery, married a gorgeous and powerful man, had two children. She made more than enough to live comfortably, and with her husband's savings from his time as a warlord, they never wanted for anything. Except now... Their son had left. Vanished in the night. At first they thought he had been kidnapped, but they knew better.
Mihawk had always pushed him to become a swordsman and reclaim the title of world's greatest, but Steel had no interest in swords. He spent his time going anywhere but home and learning every skill but fencing. For how closely he resembled his father, he was completely unlike him inside. Where Mihawk had thought of little besides pursuing the art of the sword with skill and honor, Steel wanted nothing but freedom.
Every time they had made a move to limit his freedom, to make him see his place in their family and the world they lived in, he had countered by rebelling all the more adamantly. Now he was gone, and as much as she and his father missed him, it was his sister that was the most heartbroken.
Sabre was how they knew Steel had left willingly. The innocent little girl would have been the ideal target for a ransom, but it was the tall, wiry, sharp minded teenager that was gone. And there was the fact that Sabre had been clutching her brother's old stuffed wolf when they had gone to wake her. That was when they knew something was wrong. That wolf had been nearly forgotten in the corner of Steel's bed for years.
They allowed Sabre to keep it, of course. It helped calm her, having a little piece of her brother to hold. She had adored him completely. There was not a night she had gone to sleep in the last four years without him smiling at her and wishing her goodnight. Now it was showing. Tired as she was, she was always waiting for her brother to come and smile and say goodnight. But he never did.
"I miss Steel..." Sabre squeezed the stuffed wolf possessively. Pascia sniffed and put her daughter to bed before she began crying.
"Pascia... Rachel will bring him home." Mihawk wrapped his arms around her, an act of affection he rarely engaged in. "Our son will come home. I know him that well, at least. He will come back for Sabre, if not us."
"I hope you're right."
"Steel... Are you up here?" Cora peeked through the gap she had made in the trap door to the crow's nest. She saw him sitting at a window, head leaned against the glass, eyes closed. There were tears on his cheek. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He wiped his face and immediately his expression was as hard as his name.
"When we get to Water 7... You could always send a letter home. A tone dial even. Soul would let you have one." Cora closed the door and climbed down to the deck, leaving the sniper to his thoughts.
She looked around. The captain was sitting in his usual spot, legs dangling over the passing ocean. The navigator and doctor sat side by side on the grass, each reading intently. The cook was busily preparing lunch with one hand while his other went through drills as if wielding his sword. The shipwright was below deck working, and she knew he hated it when he was interrupted unless it was important. She figured her boredom wasn't that important. The thief was meditating, sitting calmly on the roof of the kitchen. He didn't look like he wanted company right now.
Cora sighed and sat on the edge of the deck, he legs between the rails.
Well, what now? She thought.
You could practice your knife throwing. She suggested. She considered it, but she had already practiced with Soul earlier.
You could go for a swim and hope no sea kings eat you. That was just a dumb suggestion, what are you thinking?
You could go down to the workshop and get a tone dial for Steel. Maybe Soul won't be busy? That was a hopeful thought. She was thrilled that she would be partnered with him for combat now. That meant they would spend time together practicing, and they would be trusting their lives to each other. Not much could help you get closer than that.
Cora stood up and walked to the stairs leading down to the workshop just in time for Soul to sprint up them and past her, leaving her confused and lost. He dashed across the deck and took the leap onto the figurehead next to Ace in one smooth bound.
"Captain! I found something!" Soul was grinning excitedly. Ace stood up and followed his first mate to the meeting room where they had their bounty posters hung.
"Alright Soul. What are you showing me?" Ace looked around the room. Nothing seemed different.
"I have studied the Alliance Pose inside and out, and I couldn't figure out how it could lock on to our entire ship. When it is on board, it jumps around wildly all the time, but I was able to lower it's range until it steadied and I found out the secret! There is an anchor in nearly every room!" Soul grinned and walked to the table, watching the needle in his hands carefully. Satisfied he had located the right spot, he pressed on the center of the table. It sank, then slid open, revealing five pose needles.
"Soul, that is brilliant. How many have you found so far?" Ace asked.
"Four, with this one. Workshop, kitchen, navigation room, and here, and I'm sure there is one in the library too. We can find our allies at any time with these! And even better, I think I can replicate the design and make more in case we make new allies!"
"You are a miracle worker. Keep them covered when we aren't using them though. I don't want to give away any of our secrets if an enemy drops in unannounced." Ace said, turning back to the main deck. "And you should take a break. Cora's bored, you could find some way to amuse each other."
"I could use a break." Soul said, tripping the latch to close the table.
He stepped out onto the deck a few minutes later to find Cora had returned to her usual spot, her legs dangling over the water between the ship's railing. He walked over and sat next to her, matching her position and leaning his forehead against the bars and looking at her in profile.
"Is your cheek okay?" He asked. There was a small red line there where she had slipped and his scythe had come dangerously close to seriously hurting her. They had called that enough practice for the day, both a bit shaken that she had come so close to dying.
"Yeah, it's fine. You barely broke the skin, and it was my fault anyway. I'm the one who slipped, you were perfect." She smiled. It was true. He had used mantra to predict her moves with enough time to guide his scythe along paths that would leave her unharmed. It was a workout, fighting with him. She had to move constantly, because there was no way for him to fight without making use of his entire range of motion. As long as she stayed in motion orbiting him, he could fight at full force and still avoid her and her knives.
"If I were perfect, I wouldn't have touched you." He said. "Slipping isn't something you can stop, and in a battle, we'll both need to account for that. I was trying to cut things too close. We'll do better tomorrow."
"Alright. Tomorrow. What are we going to do till then? All the chores are done, and it's a while till lunch." Cora sighed. Some days she was content to watch the waves all day, and then some days she felt like she just had to get up and do something.
"Let's take the waivers out. They aren't doing any good sitting in storage, and you were amazing on them. We can race around the ship or something." Soul suggested, nudging her. She stuck her tongue out.
"You'll cheat! The Striker is ten times faster than any of the waivers you made for us and you know it!" She was all for it, though. It did sound like fun. Soul held up his hands.
"I promise, no cheating." He grinned at her. "I'll still win. You're good, but I'm still better." She jumped up, excited.
"We'll see about that, Soul!" She laughed. It might not be such a boring day after all.
"Any sign of him?" Rachel asked. Her subordinate shook his head.
"None. The rumor may have just been a rumor. We haven't found a single person who claims to have seen him in person." The man said. Rachel nodded and dismissed him. That was what she was afraid of. This was going to be one long obstacle course to take a kid who didn't want to go home. Why was she doing this again? Oh. That's right. Someone she respect had asked her to, and she was bad at saying no.
"Alright, any supplies we need, get them now. I'm going to bring a shipwright to check over our ship. If everything is in order, we'll set sail before dark, so be back by then, got it?" She called to her crew. She heard a chorus of responses that amounted to an understanding, and she hoped she wouldn't be waiting around till midnight for the last stragglers to make it back again. It was a point of irritation and pride that her crew knew she would never leave a single one behind.
She loved being at sea, but those first few steps on solid ground when they landed where always special for her. Her father had been a shipwright, but she had always preferred sailing ships to making them. Water 7 was one of her favorite places to visit as a child. She remembered the Galley La Company. Their skilled workers and remarkable craftsmanship. That was where her father had dreamed of working his entire life.
Too late now. She sighed and walked along the streets, looking around at the familiar buildings. The place really hadn't changed much. She thought about renting a boat to take her to the summit of the city, but decided she had time to walk.
"Rachel! Hey, Rachel! I knew it was you!" A voice called out. She grimaced and tried to walk faster, hoping maybe he'd believe she had not heard him. No such luck. She heard his foot steps pounding up behind her. "As friendly as always, I see."
"Go away." She kept walking. She felt just a twinge of guilt, but the man grated on her nerves and she was technically here on business.
"Oh come on! You have to drop in every year or so to keep your ship in working order! It would be much easier if you had a shipwright on your crew, and you know I would do a good job!" The man complained. She kept walking.
"David, you are not a pirate, and we are not friends. I was forced to put up with you when we were children, that does not mean I want you harassing me every time I come in for repairs." She scowled. He made good points. She did need a shipwright, and he was the son of one of Gally La's top officials. He was good at what he did. But what he did included annoying her to the point of tossing one of them into the ocean to be eaten by sea kings.
"Harassing? I got hired on. I'm just out meeting a customer." He smiled happily. She groaned. He officially worked for his father. That meant... That meant... Oh no. He was going to be the one inspecting her ship. No no no... Did she have enough to request Tom's Workers specifically? Even if she didn't, would it be worth it to keep him out of her hair? Yes. Yes it would.
"Sorry, I'm one of the warlords now. I'm going to Tom's Workers specifically this time." She said. That made him stop talking. He had been sure he had her there. It didn't last long.
"Well, in that case, I should probably get back to work. I'll see you later!" He walked away, cheerful as ever. How he irritated her with that optimism.
She changed her course to reflect her new decision and checked her pockets to be sure she had enough. She sighed with relief. She had forgotten about the wad of cash she had taken from Aaron. She'd have to thank him for the upgrade in service.
Her father had been friends with the master shipwright Paulie, of the Gally La Company. As a consequence, she and David had spent much of their childhood in each others company. David had followed in his father's foot steps. Rachel had not. She had turned pirate, and not a year after that, her father had died. It had been the last tie between her and the aspiring shipwright, and she had only visited the island when it was necessary since then.
The last dock in the company bay stood before her. The special division of Gally La. Tom's Workers. Where the company founder and his partner worked on the most important tasks in the company. Iceberg still managed the business in a general way, but most of the company was left to Paulie's decisions. And of course, there was Franky. The legendary shipwright of the Pirate King.
The pair where the most sought after shipwrights in the city, and so, the world. The only two apprentices of the greatest shipwright the world had ever known, Tom's Workers only took on jobs that no one else could do, or if they were paid very well. She hoped they would accept her request. She was a warlord, but that hadn't earned her much respect from anyone else, it would be foolish to expect it here. Especially when she was under orders to bring in Franky's captain's son.
What she sees ahead catches her by surprise. Right before her eyes, Dracule Steel walks out of the dock doors with a group of pirates. The Straw Hat Pirates. She grinned. There had never been a better opportunity in her life to kill two birds with one stone. She could return Steel to his parents and collect the bounty on anyone in the crew she could take down.
"Right. Let's see what they've got." She grins to herself and draws her sword. It was about time she did something useful.
Pascia was one of the slaves freed at Sabaody. She's a bit young, but i always figured Hawk Eye would marry a gorgeous, young, supermodel woman to compliment his powerful, handsome, calm-cool-and-collected self. Rachel is modeled from the Baccano character, although she will be developed differently.
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