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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 21, 2022 7:57:26 GMT -5
It had been a relatively uneventful afternoon, Lazarus sitting atop the roofs of buildings much to high for anyone to scale naturally, the sun coasting on a downward path to it's eventual destination below the horizon. He had spent a handful of hours just relaxing in the afternoon sun but alas it was time to make his way home, or so he thought, for as he descended into the alleyway between buildings he would notice somethin perplexing. He hadn't noticed anything around the building before, nor during his sun bathing time, and yet when his feet touched concrete he would find himself standing next to two things. One of those things being the body of a human, the other being the soul of said human, confused and wandering the alleyway. He'd take a look at the body, no obvious signs of harm, and yet the soul was outside the body. Placing two fingers on the neck, he'd frown as his suspicions were confirmed, the man was dead, and his soul was ejected from his body and wandering around as confused as Lazarus at this point.
He'd search the pockets of the humans body for some sort of cell phone, thanking the stars above that it was an older model with no passcode. Pulling the card h had gotten from his Quincy acquaintance not long ago, he'd dial the number and wait, not entirely sure of what was going to be on the other line.
"Well if they do answer I'm sure I'll be stuck waiting here for them to finish ruling me out of this, then again it wasn't like I was doing much anyways..."
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Post by vance on Aug 21, 2022 10:17:11 GMT -5
The voice on the other end of the phone, was definitely not Vance's. It was male, though far more collected than the Agent's, and belonged to one of the switchboard operator's at the OGA Headquarters by the name of Kalvin. "You have reached the front desk of Waste Removal Technologies, Mister Jaeger, how can we help you today?" He asked politely. Technically Kalvin had orders to ship the call up to one of the desks upstairs, but the boss had left in some hurry or another to deal with an otherworldly threat.
Vance, on the other hand was at his desk, and was reading old unsolved case files. He tended to do that on occasion that he did not have to go threaten an asset into doing something or actually work. His assignments recently had all nearly ended in, well, death. He was lucky in that for the first time in a while his soul was right where it should have been. The one that he was currently reading pertained to HP Lovecraft, who had been an agent at SI a while ago and had published his memories, though a bit edited by the bookworms. Vance had never understood why M had allowed that one, so here he was with a collected works of HPL next to a case file written up on a most terrifying family of monsters.
His phone beeped and he picked it up. "You're up on rotation caught a body. Most likely soul ejection." Kalvin stated from the phone.
"Finally, not a job to get ganked by a bunch of monsters." Vance stated into the phone.
"Get this, it was called in by a Mister Jeager." Kalvin exclaimed.
"No shit? Well I guess I better get to recruiting then, he could have called the boys in blue. Guess the lack of doing anything is getting to him, thanks Kalvin." He hung up the phone and then pulled up the location. He grabbed his gear and his jacket and headed downstairs to the transport center.
10 Minutes later...
Vance walked up right about the time a Van with the Local Law Enforcement logo showed up. Though everyone in the van who came out was a non-descript black suit wearing human who quickly blocked off the area. Vance remembered when he had been told by M that the OGA was the MiB and he had not believed it until he saw it.
"Well top of the day to you, I see you found a dead guy." Vance said to Lazarus. "You kill him? Accident? Do your spiritual pressure bullshit and accidentally knock him off?" He asked before looking at the body and then at the dead soul, who looked absent, drained. "Well.... can you speak sir?" The man seemed frightened as Vance spoke and cowered away.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 21, 2022 14:31:25 GMT -5
The conversation on the phone was an interesting one, it made sense that they would use a different name for anyone who would call, then again he wasn't even sure what exactly it was they did outside of investigations. He stood in the alley with the body for a handful of minutes before seeing the cars arrive, the men in similar suits coming out and creating a would be perimeter for the alley in question. The sight of Vance was relieving as he wasn't sure how he'd do with anyone he didn't know in the organization, though the immediate accusation of him being the killer was a bit of an insult.
"As much as I'd like to take credit for this, I suppress my reiatsu when I come here to avoid issues like this. I found him when I come down from the building rooftops, no idea why he's dead or why he's so scared. I didn't sense anything nearby so I called the number, wasn't sure what could have caused his soul to just pop out of his body..."
It was odd that the soul of the man was so scared, there weren't any hollows in the immediate vicinity, though that in and of itself was kind of odd. He'd broaden his senses and try to find some, but after a moment or two he'd shrug and give up, not sensing anything within a hundred or so meters.
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Post by vance on Aug 22, 2022 15:50:35 GMT -5
"Gotta ask, has happened more than once before." Vance said as he rolled his shoulders and and took out his phone. The popped soul thing was odd, but not unheard of. Just the last time anyone had heard or more likely, reported it was a while ago. Vance scratched his neck and looked around as he held his phone up, looking at latent reishi, nothing out of the ordinary, aside from the stuff coming off him and Lazarus.
"Can you pull up spirit threads?" Vance asked the Quincy. It was an odd question as Vance already had a few theories going for the moment. He was pretty sure they would not find their culprit here. They probably had about a twenty minute head start which may or may not mean they were looking at never finding the culprit without help. "Very few monsters can do this to a soul. The issue is, most of the ones that we know of, are high-spec humans."
Vance stated as he pulled one of the suits over, who pulled out a zanpakutou. Which would tell Lazarus something interesting. The idea of how far the OGA rabbit hole went. "Sir, can you describe your attacker, male, female? Did you see them prior to your death? Robes?" Vance asked the soul in his most calming tone.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 22, 2022 17:16:18 GMT -5
He was amazed by two things, one that Vance had even mentioned spirit threads, and two the fact that he witnessed a zanpakuto being pulled out from one of the suits that Vance brought. A simple nod would suffice to the other as he went about focusing his mind and senses, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. The breathe would be held for a handful of seconds, his senses expanding and pulling in information otherwise unknown to him without doing so. It would come slowly, his eyes opening as the thin fiber like threads would come into being around him. First one, then two, then half a dozen, then two dozen, maybe more, though he would narrow it down as time passed by eliminating those that were simply normal human threads. From somewhere behind him he heard the souls speak, more confused and exacerbated by the line of questioning.
"What are you talking about I'm not dead, I just blacked out for a second! there's no way I could be dead, how could you even see me if I was dead, are you on drugs? No, I can't be dead, I have to get home soon or my wife will rip me a new one for being late for dinner!"
Lazarus tried to ignore the saddening state of the soul and focus on the task at hand, letting the handful of threads associated with mere humans dissipate from around him. As quickly as they came they would vanish, and after a minute or two there would be three threads remaining, none of them the red tint that would imply a shinigami.
"I've got a couple that resonate with some higher than human reiryoku, all within a two mile radius of our current location. Not sure if all or just one of them is involved, but that's more your field of expertise. What's the plan?"
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Post by vance on Aug 22, 2022 23:46:38 GMT -5
"Tsuki, konsou this clown before they send someone from SS to do it. Or it attracts a hollow or two." Vance stated when the soul began complaining about it's wife. Vance was lucky he knew what they were after, and it was not a who. Humans, were always the worst monsters. The most powerful people in the OGA were all proof of that. Hell, M itself was probably the worst and that was the boss. Least M did stuff, said a bit more than eternal 12 year old in a chair.
Vance, was waiting for Lazarus to materialize spirit threads. Vance, definitely had no ability to do something like that but at least for the time being, Lazarus was probably feeling like a million bucks as Vance's soul fed him power. Vance waited until the three threads were left and studied them. He pulled up his phone and rubbed his chin as he went through the OGA field book.
He was looking at one of the threads that seemed to have been stretched and patched toghther in places and did not look amused at all. Like older Quincy, Lazarus would recognize it as someone relatively old, and probably powerful, but like himself, hiding it.
The man in black stamped the dead gentleman who vanished in a flash of brilliant light and Vance sighed. "Real life is always stranger than fiction, and subjective views are the weavers of tales." Vance said.
"Well, the killer kills by separating the soul, which any hollow can do relatively easily to humans, but, certain high spec humans actually used the chain to absorb power from others. Not a new thing, using kusari of others has been parts of supposed witchcraft and hoodoo for years. Though some call them "soul eaters". In local legends around the world. The truth is you do not need to eat the soul for power, though you can, just the Soul Sleep. The fact that it's this methodical implies they've refined it quite well."
Vance said as he held the thread in one hand and started following it.` "You'd be surprised at how much you think is fake is real. Hell, did you know humans often worshipped Vastro Lordes just because they did not understand what they were looking at? Even Quincy and Shinigami. Stories you grew up with, things under the bed, all real."
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 23, 2022 15:43:58 GMT -5
Lazarus would maintain focus on the thread to allow it to be followed easily by Vance, interested in the lesson on Soul Sleep and it's ability to empower those who consumed it. He could feel that familiar sensation, like his soul suddenly became a sinkhole for the other Quincy's, pulling in the others power as his own. It definitely helped him maintain easier, not having to keep his entire focus on it, allowing for conversations they began following the thread in question.
"Interesting, I'd have sooner believed in the boogieman than think it was a hollow, but then again given the vastness of their powers and how differently they manifest it would explain a lot. I see you've got a shinigami in the fold, does this organization just collect anyone who'll apply, or is there some sort of selection process, clearly race is of no issue."
Considering the age of the thread and the implications behind it, Lazarus would mentally prepare himself for the potential reality of having to take down a powerful individual. Depending on the power boost given and the number of years this has been done, they might be looking at someone stronger than himself, even with Vance's soul feeding him power. While he'd like to keep this diplomatic, something told him this wasn't something they could talk out, and if that was the case he hoped Vance was as fast as last time, or at least pretty sturdy. His mind touched on the menos incident for a moment before snapping back to the present not wanting to lose the thread due to reminiscing.
"As a spellcaster myself I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about the spells and incantations used from a witch. I'm not against the idea of learning from others in that regard, though I'd probably stick to the natural progression of power than trying to tempt fate by stealing it from others in such a manner. To be fair if it was up to me I'd not take power from anyone, but in your case it's a bit of a non-negotiable situation."
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Post by vance on Aug 23, 2022 16:40:34 GMT -5
Vance was in no hurry as he followed the thread in his hand. After a few moments he got on his phone and called OGA. "Dispatch, I need a PD member. I am holding what very well could be a Wha- potential class four thread in my hand right now." Vance said into the phone before hanging up. "Baba Yaga is a Vastro Lorde." Vance said as he pulled up a picture and file, along with the giant Ajuucas next to her that was her "living house".
He showed it to Lazarus, and then went on to reiterate. "Shoot it or recruit it. We recruit anyone that actually wants to protect earth, and we bully everyone else into being disposable agents. Though, actually working for the group has actually really good benefits, I get medical in almost every country, and with magic healing most of the time. If you join, never let the armorer experiment on you."
Vance stated as he kept going, he was mainly baiting Lazarus, after all at a certain point, M was going to say he knew too much. At which point, then he got forced to do their dirty work if he didn't take the job. "We got lots of casters, there's good ones and bad ones, like anything else." Vance pointed out. "You read much?" Vance asked as he suddenly stopped moving. Vance could tell he was at the threshold of giving power to something really bad. The feeling of the reiatsu alone was rotten, corrupted, like a hollow that no longer cared about any part of its humanity. "You uhh, hankering to go first?" Vance said as he looked down the street, it seemed quieter, almost primal, like the dark places that seem to exude confidence at keeping people away because something did not want things around it.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 23, 2022 22:24:33 GMT -5
He had read of Baba Yaga in old folk lore, interesting to see the creature in all its real glory, and its 'living house' as well. He could tell plain as day he would have to make a decision in regards to the organization at some point, Vance had more or less spelled out the positives and negatives of the unofficial offer on the table. It was something he'd consider after this little investigation was all over, Lazarus had frequented the world of the living enough to become some what attached to it, even if that was only due to the quiet and normally uneventful nature of the world. He was also probably one of the lowest ranking members of the army of his Majesty, a person he's never met or even seen before. The offer was tempting, but it did label him a defector and traitor to his people, then again he never really resonated with many from his race in the past before. He'd often get in arguments or even small fights because he had differing views and opinions of their 'enemies'.
"You make it sound like a pretty sweet gig, I'll have to mull that information over after this is all said and done. I'm an avid reader, I've been known to escape to one of the several libraries back home and lose myself in all manner of books. I'm preferable to psychology and strategy, but I'll read just about anything handed to me-"
He'd stop mid sentence as he sensed what Vance had, his previously relaxed demeanor shifting to one of apprehensiveness and mild disgust. Whatever it was they had been searching for was unsettling, and much to his dismay, would also likely benefit from Vance being in the vicinity. Lazarus would nod to his Quincy companion before rolling his shoulders and shaking out his arms, he'd give his legs a quick side stretch once or twice as well, just to be prepared for a runner. He'd keep enough focus on the thread that the other would be able to track it if need be, not wanting to have to deal with multiple problems at once, and without saying another word would turn the corner and onto the street itself. He walked slowly, opening his mind to try and get a better sense of where exactly this reiatsu was coming from. It was dead quiet on the street, not even the sound of night insects swarming to street lights could be heard, as if beckoned away by something oppressive.
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Post by vance on Aug 24, 2022 18:09:48 GMT -5
Vance weighed the options, if it was who he thought it was, short of waiting for the good doctor or the bride, this was a losing battle. If it wasn't, and he didn't clean it up, he was gonna get yelled at by something or another. So, he made sure his irons were loose and ready to fire and began walking down the eerie street.
The world, though the sun was supposed to be out, seemed darker the closer to what looked like a small clothing store Vance got. Every step started to feel like the crawlies were going to jump out at him without a second thought and eat him for breakfast. It was a feeling that he was being watched, like the there was someone just beyond the shadows licking its lips and waiting to pounce.
The door opened and another soul was standing over its body, Vance looked and there were actually two more souls, and a large portly gentleman wearing an old tweed suit in a dark green almost black. He had a monocle that sat gently over one eye and the smuggest grin on his face. He, unlike the others, was not dead at all. He held a chain in one hand, as he slurped the end of another like a piece of spaghetti.
It looked at them as they walked in, taking out a handkerchief and wiping its mouth before looking Vance and Lazarus over. He cleared his throat, more for effect as to break the silence. "A Rrrrranger, and a insufferable child of the eastern gods of death. What can a kindly gentleman like myself do for you folks today." He asked in a long drawl. The man was human, it was more monster than anything Vance had seen in a long time.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 24, 2022 19:14:16 GMT -5
It was like walking through a bog chest high, the reiatsu permeating the senses and enticing ones lunch to want to evacuate from its current position in ones stomach. It was something he'd have to fight off as they continued on, the store like structure all but radiated the entities presence, and it had every single one of his hairs standing straight up. While he managed to keep a cool exterior, on the inside all Lazarus wanted to do was blast the building and everything in it to kingdom come and be done with it, alas the agent he came with would probably take issue with that plan. The sound of the door opening cut through the silence of the street, and what he saw sent a chill down his spine. The sight of three more souls marked four total since Lazarus had made the call, and given how efficient this creature appeared to be, the overall total number of souls lost was probably in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.
He kept from summoning his reishi weapons for the time being, not entirely sure what would come of them walking into the building, but hoping that the outcome would be something above dreadful. Confidence was lacking in this moment, more precisely his confidence that the two of them could dominate this thing enough to subdue it, they didn't even know if this was the full weight of this monsters power. Lazarus would speak, voice calm and even, a small smile playing across his face.
"Good evening, we happened across some of your handiwork earlier and couldn't help but see who had done such a marvelous job separating body and soul. It's not such an easy task to accomplish, let alone done so well that it might look like a natural death, I was wondering if you'd be generous enough to expand on the process so we could better understand it ourselves."
Taking a page out of Vance's book of plays, he was setting some bait to see if it would be a more amicable exchange until whatever backup Vance called got here, or at least that's what he assumed the phone call earlier was for. If things looked like they were going to go south he'd be ready to draw arms and fight, though he wasn't sure how much of a beating the other could take without keeling over. He'd hope his Quincy companion would pick up on the bait and follow suit, however he wasn't even sure how the organization he worked for handled situations like these. This was looking more like a shoot it kind of problem than a recruit it, which was honestly what Lazarus would prefer, if he knew they could take the rotund individual before them.
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Post by vance on Aug 25, 2022 10:10:27 GMT -5
Vance's hand was already getting twitchy as the portly man began chewing on the last chain. The man once again slurped loudly, almost mockingly at Vance and the Quincy. "A shootist, I thought all of you were long dead, what was the saying you folks had back in the old country... 'one riot, one ranger' though I thing right now you're more adhering to 'shoot it, or recruit it'." The man stated as he looked over at Lazarus.
"Such a power is quite easy, you should try it, instead of being like the ranger here and destroying these unfortunate souls. It's quite appetizing if I do say so myself." He stated with a hearty chuckle as Vance's hand moved closer to the gun. "Not another inch towards that iron, Ranger." He stated as he reached into his suit and pulled out a phone.
"Or I might have to call my cousin, and we both know how much she loves killing you Agents." Vance's hand moved away from the gun as he flexed his fingers one at a time, obviously gauging if he could hit the phone before the infernal man started spouting words of power.
"Whateleys, Druids, the Fae, the Zodiac, and the Pantheon, all coming out of the woodwork just as SS creates a superweapon and open the gates of hell, who's next? The god damned horseman?" Vance asked as more of an annoyed statement. It was true, the OGA now had a lot of shit lists that used to be logged as "if this comes back we're all fucked" category. Now, they were coming out left and right, each with more Tier 3 to 5 threats than the OGA had given them credit for. Though the OGA did not have many, it had a few, and one was about to show up.
"Now, I believe I need to be going gentleman, before something worse than a little shootist Ranger and his Destroyer friend. By the way, what have you destroyed lately? Oh, thas right, nothing. Too busy bowing to your black robed masters." The gentleman laughed trying to egg Lazarus on.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 25, 2022 12:56:33 GMT -5
A delicate tight rope they were walking, dancing between words and fists as it were, anything could tip one side or the other over the edge. Lazarus had often found himself with a nose in a book, reading about what made people who they were, what they were, and how it was relevant. How to manipulate those loose threads that people often tried their best to keep hidden, buttons they didn't want anyone to press. His first attempt at flattery had bought them a handful of seconds with the monster, though it looked as though this bloated beast had a smugness to him that led to insulting and belittling others. It had also threatened back up of it's own, though Lazarus wasn't sure what that was, sounded dangerous. He'd pretend to take the bait, his smile falling into clenched teeth, fists tightening as he spoke to the chain eating monster.
"I bow before no man, to suggest I'd let myself be reigned in by them is akin to spitting in my face and laughing about it. I've been doing my fair share of hunting recently, flaming hounds from the depths of hell, hollows and arrancar alike, I've even fought the behemoths known as Menos Grande not too long ago. Do not toss me in with the likes of the shinigami, I came here wanting answers and you disrespect me like this..."
Every word he spoke bought them time, he just hoped the act would seem real enough to keep the creature tethered to the building. The other end of the spectrum in his readings was how people of power liked to flaunt it, and if someone wanted to belittle you, you could use that to your advantage. This rouse was an attempt to get the strange entity before them to stay and indulge in his wants of disrespect and insult slinging. As long as Vance took notice and didn't do anything reckless, it might just buy them the time they needed.
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Post by vance on Aug 25, 2022 14:57:16 GMT -5
The man laughed heartedly as he listened to the Quincy. "Ain't that a holler, Menos meaning anythin' at all? You are quite funny little destroyer." He laughed. The man's brow furled and he nearly broke his monocle as he stared at the door. Vance fell to the ground, screaming in agony as a simple wash of reiatsu came from a man with a cigarette like item in his mouth, that, upon closer inspection, was a lollipop of some kind. He was humming 'ode to joy'.
The man was in no rush, and was young, roughly twenty or so years of age as he pulled the large candy out of his mouth and looked at the group. He looked puzzled. "Is.. this place open?" He asked politely looking back at the sign to make sure it said open or the hours, seemingly completely out of place. He looked at all three of the men in turn, with eyes that seemed both curious, and dead at the same time. If you looked at them long enough, they almost seemed to look back from the bottom of his soul in what can only be described as a direction that you could sense, but not put a name too.
He was in an old style penguin tuxedo, with a duster that may or may not have been older than his grandfather. His hands were gloved in a soft white glove, and if you looked hard enough, the fact he had six digits was clearly visible. The young man looked at Vance on the floor, then at Lazarus, tipping his top hat politely.
The portly man suddenly was covered in a thick layer of sweat. "You, summoned the traitor?! Ranger, you and I will have words that you will not enjoy before I cook you and feast on the marrow of your bones." He screamed at Vance who, seemed to be in too much pain to care. "Ewch â fi yn ôl i'r cysgodion, fy arglwydd." The portly man screamed as he backed into a corner, and the shadows seemed to consume him, as he vanished, into thin air.
The man stopped flexing his reiatsu and offered Vance a hand up as he kept humming. "One of the last shootists, how is your family, Mister Holiday?" The man asked Vance as he looked at Lazarus. Vance stood up, looking, like someone had just walked over his grave.
"You should get out of here, he'll be calling her right about now." Vance said to the man, he nodded to Vance and then bowed his head to Lazarus. "Er- right, Mister Jaegar, this is mister... Toso, that what you go by now?"
The man nodded. "Pleasure to meet you, Mister Jaeger, though might I suggest, for your sake and the sake of Mister Hickok here, that you not go prying into that infernal family of miscreants. My name is Jacob, Jacob Toso, concert pianist, and occasionally, very evil man for hire, or in Vance's bosses case, evil man threatened to get in line, or die." He said offering his gloved hand.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Aug 25, 2022 21:26:44 GMT -5
It had happened rather quickly for his liking, but he felt the wave of reiatsu wash over the room, watching Vance crumble like wet cardboard in agony of it. He truly felt bad for the man, had he been spared his unique power at birth perhaps he wouldn't be in constant danger, but the laws of the universe cared not for a single soul. The fat man clearly wasn't a fan of the new addition, and from the reiatsu he was giving off, neither was Lazarus. It was interesting to see the thing vanish into the shadows, not unlike how the Quincy travelled when needing to escape as well, though the words it spoke were lost on him. While he wasn't screaming in pain like Vance, he did have a few beads of sweat forming on his brow as he attempted to stand against the weight of the reiatsu, though thankfully it would be lifted. His previous false anger fell immediately, and with a sigh he'd turn to the assumed 'back up' introduced to him as Jacob Toso, clasping the mans hand and shaking firmly.
"Lazarus Jeager, tourist Quincy, and don't worry, unless forced too I'll be staying the hell away from whatever that thing was. Thanks for the assist, wasn't sure what we were up against, mostly just here to help keep Vance alive if things got out of hand. I do have questions about all this, but I'll pick his brain about it and save you the time, though I would like to know why you and that bloated bastard keep calling Vance a Shootist."
He'd keep his senses on high alert, while it was nice to have a moment to breathe he wasn't about to let that monster get the jump on them if it decided to seek a swift vengeance. He looked over at Vance as he posed the end question, brow raised inquisitively as his hand found it's way back to his side. Yet again he was left with more questions than answers, though he was getting the idea that if he wanted such answers it might come at a greater cost than he realized.
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