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writingpaperghost · 2 months ago

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As From the One, All Things Are Born (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: Goodbye Gold, Graduate to Grasshopper

Ten years ago, Geryon betrayed the Alchemist Association, taking off with the work of another alchemist and the one hundred Chemies in the Association's possession at the time. Now, ten years later, the Chemies have appeared again, and so has the Gotchadriver, in the hands of three dolls created by Geryon. The situation is far from ideal, but Fuga Kudo has no choice but to place some trust in the creations of his former associate. With another trio seeking out the Chemies and after the Gotchadriver, it's more important than ever to find the Chemies. What really happened ten years ago? Who are Mary, Anselm, and Agatho, the three after the Chemy cards, and why?

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59460031/chapters/151640380

Grey skies, as usual – the weather here, in the Ouroboros Realm, could be nothing else, the snake in the sky consuming its own tail, darkness seeping out to darken the sky. It was a bold place to hide, especially for so long, below the door that sealed the darkness away. But there were few places they could go that they would not be easily found and this was the best, ultimately. Lachesis had grown bored of this world, really, but she wouldn’t leave her master or her sisters, either.

On the other side of the warehouse they had transformed into their home, for the time, Master Geryon and Atropos worked, their voices quiet and unending. They would regularly talk for hours at a time on their work, tinkering with that silly Driver that they’d taken when they fled ten years ago, alongside the Chemies. Truthfully, Lachesis had never known for certain what Atropos’ purpose was, but if she had to guess, she’d say to be Master Geryon’s assistant. Though it wouldn’t explain why he chose to make her look like a child.

Between the three of them, Clotho sparred with Wrestler-G – she didn’t tend to fight in the style of wrestling, but he was one of the Chemies that she would spar with. Practice, she would always say, to make sure she stayed ready for whenever they were found again. They had been here for a while, years having passed since they’d last been found… still, no one trusted that to last.

“Clover…?” From Lachesis’ lap, Happyclover peered up, clearly aware she was losing herself in her thoughts. Happyclover was one of the Chemies that Lachesis had always preferred the company of, not that she was particularly fond of most of them. They were why they were hiding here, after all. Why they were always skirting danger…

Lachesis shook her head, “It’s nothing,” She said quietly, making some attempt to not catch her sisters’ or creator’s attention. Clotho continued her spar, and Master Geryon and Atropos continued their work, so they must not have heard her.

There’s a certain clinking sound that Lachesis knows is Master Geryon cleaning up, meaning he and Atropos must be done with their experiments. That was quick, Lachesis was fairly certain they had only been at it a few hours, at most. Usually, they spent most of the day working, or at least, the Ouroboros Realm’s equivalent of the day.

“I believe we have finished our adjustments,” Master Geryon said, handing the Gotchadriver to Atropos. Of course, they had finished their adjustments more than once before, over the past ten years. But Master Geryon spoke with a certain confidence, every time, that Lachesis could never help but believe him. In all reality, they’d probably be back at it in a day or two.

Atropos returns the Gotchadriver to where they kept it, kept close in case they were found and had to make a quick exit. One day, Lachesis would hold the Gotchadriver for herself, become the one to use it… but that day, at this rate, wouldn’t be for a long time, and Lachesis didn’t mind.

Somewhere in the distance, Lachesis thinks she hears the crackle of fire.

---

Fuga always looked forward to when his students arrived at the Alchemist Academy. He found great fulfillment in nurturing the future of alchemy, even if there was there was always… challenges. Not always bad challenges, but challenges nevertheless. And given the small nature of the Furasu branch – at present, there were only two students – it allowed him to make sure his students got the help they needed.

Despite being on two very different ends of a personality spectrum, Icho and Tsuruhara got along swimmingly. Icho could be loud, often boisterous and excited about her alchemy. Tsuruhara, on the other hand, was quiet, often relying on his tablet to talk, though he too could get quite excitable when it came to alchemy, and especially Chemies.

They were fairly good students, occasionally they got into some shenanigans, but rarely did they ever really find trouble. Of course, nowadays, trouble was hard to find, especially at a school this small. The worst that could really happen was a transmutation gone wrong.

Today though… something was off. It wasn’t his students, it was something in Fuga’s gut that told him that something wasn’t right. But everything seemed to be in order at both schools, and Icho and Tsuruhara were both accounted for. So then, what was it? Or perhaps Fuga was just becoming paranoid.

“Y’know,” he hears Icho say to Tsuruhara, her voice hushed, like she was trying to be subtle. “I always wondered why someone like Mr. Kudo ended up teaching.”

Tsuruhara glanced at her, then back to his alchemy, “Does it matter?” He responded in his usual whisper.

“And at a tiny little school like this,” Icho continued, almost like Tsuruhara had said nothing at all. “Aren’t cha a little curious?”

“Renge…”

Fuga figured it was a good time to get their attention, “Icho, Tsuruhara, how has your assignment been going?”

Icho answered first, a little sheepish, “Well… it’s gettin’ there.” Which Fuga knew by now was Icho for she had hit a slight roadblock and didn’t quite want to admit it yet.

---

“I heard something,” Clotho said, ceasing her movements. As soon as she spoke, the Chemies all fled.

Master Geryon quickly retrieved the Gotchadriver, handing it to Lachesis, to her surprise. “Lachesis, it’s time.”

She looked down at it, “Is it… really ready to face him?”

“It will have to be,” He responded, pushing Atropos behind himself. “I suspect our time of running has come to an end.”

Swiftly, a young woman dressed in black and white landed beside Clotho, swinging her leg up and kicking Clotho in the chest. “He’s right.” She said, eyes still locked on Clotho.

A moment later, black flames erupt around Lachesis, prompting her to hold the Gotchadriver close. “Just hand over the belt and make this easy,” A man dressed in black and purple with a frightening, almost mechanical looking mask, emerged, his hand engulfed in the same black flames.

Then in came a young man, dressed in teal and black, with goggles covering his eyes, though failing to hide the bandages over his left eye. He looked around, seeming just a bit unsure of what to do. His gaze landed on Master Geryon and Atropos.

These three were… new. In the ten years they’d been on the run, they’d never seen them before.

The young woman called out, “Agatho, help Anselm get the Gotchadriver!”

“Right!” The young man, Agatho, responded, hurrying over to Anselm and Lachesis.

He’s cut off by a golden rod speeding past him, between him and the other two. Master Geryon was rushing over now, attempting to intervene. Atropos stayed where she stood, out of the way of the fight. Agatho seemed surprised by the sudden disruption, before reaching his hand out and transmuting a staff out of a nearby poll.

Lachesis dodged out of Anselm’s grasp once more, ducking beneath his arms and braving the flames and rushing through them. They burnt at the ends of her clothes, and she could feel the heat against her skin, but better on the other side of them than stuck in the ring with Anselm. She fought better with a weapon, after all, and the Chemies were too far away for her to use the Gotchadriver.

The young woman pushed Clotho back, causing her to stumble beside Lachesis. They’d never seen someone who could match Clotho’s bare strength, was these three really alchemists? Agatho must be, or at least capable of alchemy, but these flames and that woman… it was hard to say what they were.

Agatho’s staff broke under the force of a swing from Master Geryon’s own. Master Geryon began to swing again, this time nothing to stop his attack from hitting Agatho, when flames erupted around him, Anselm turning his attention to Master Geryon.

The woman hurried over, “Agatho, are you alright?”

“I- I’m fine, Mary.” He seemed to glance at the broken pieces of pipe that had once been his staff, “I guess I still need to work on-“

“Later,” Anselm hissed, then turned his head over to Lachesis and Clotho, “Hand over the Gotchadriver or your creator will burn.” The flames seemed to encroach closer to Master Geryon.

“Take it and run,” Master Geryon called, “Atropos, set the Chemies loose.”

Freeing the Chemies now, they’d flee to who knows where, open a gate to the real world… but better they be scattered than in the hands of these three, certainly. Atropos eyed the ever-closer flames, “Master Geryon…”

“I’m entrusting this to you three,”

Mary frowned, watching as Atropos hurried off, surely to where the Chemies were kept so that they could be freed. Her eyes narrowed, and not taking her eyes off of Atropos she said, “Anselm, make the traitor burn.”

Seeming surprised by that, Agatho looked at her, “Wait, we’re not really going to-“

The flames were on Master Geryon now. He didn’t scream, not quite, but the sounds of his pain would stay in Lachesis’ mind for a long time. Mary and Anselm seemed unphased, but Agatho, even with his eyes obscured, had this distinct look of horror on his face.

“Master Geryon,” Lachesis took a step towards him, before Clotho grabbed her arm, tightly.

“You know what we have to do,” She said, then began pulled Lachesis away. “We have to protect that belt and the Chemies. That’s what Master Geryon wants.”

Pushing past Agatho, Mary began to run towards them, her arm already pulled back in a punch. Before she could hit either of them, she was stopped by a shimmering fog. That was Atropos, returned from freeing the Chemies.

“Atropos!” Clotho called, “You can get us to the human world, right?”

“I can, but…” She glanced over at Master Geryon, a brief moment of seeming distress on her face before she turned her back to them, and a portal to the human world appeared.

Hurrying forward now, still gripping Lachesis’ arm, Clotho grabs Atropos’ wrist and rushes them through the portal. Atropos spares one last glanced at the black flames, which had now consumed Master Geryon.

It had been ten years since the sisters had been in the human world. The portal had brought them out on a rooftop, from there they could still see Chemies fleeing the Ouroboros Realm. Chaos. The alchemists would hate how much Chemies were being seen right now. The sisters would need to find the Chemies first, make sure there was no way for them or the Gotchadriver to fall into the wrong hands.

“We need to find the Chemies,” Clotho said. Despite all that had happened, she still seemed to remain calm.

Relaxing her grip on the Gotchadriver, Lachesis responded, “That’s easier said than done. The alchemists will notice this soon, too…”

“Lachesis,” Atropos turned to face them. In one hand, she held two Chemy Cards, in the other, she held a golden cube. It had been Master Geryon’s, but she must have picked up at some point during the commotion. Atropos holds the Chemy Cards out to Lachesis, “These will allow you to use the Gotchadriver.”

Lachesis took them, staring intently at the two Chemies. Hopper-1 and Steamliner, two Chemies she wasn’t the most familiar with, but she’d take Atropos’ word that they’d allow her to use the Gotchadriver. They seemed… less than thrilled about her, but most Chemies felt that way with her and her sisters, at first. They knew they weren’t human, but something far worse, for a Chemy at least.

“Let’s head there,” Clotho gestured to nearby, where a commotion was obvious. “There’s clearly a lot of Chemies there. Lachesis and I will deal with any Malgams that might appear, but let’s focus on trying to gather as many Chemies as we can.”

Despite it being Clotho who had made the suggestion, Lachesis took the lead. She was a Kamen Rider now, after all, the fate of the Chemies and who knows what else in her hands. She couldn’t let her younger sister show her up. If there was a Malgam… it was Lachesis’ responsibility, even if Clotho might help.

Most of the humans had run far away by the time the three sisters arrived. Most of the Chemies had left, too. They were too slow, it seemed, despite the commotion just a couple minutes before. Still, something didn’t feel quite right… It was eerily quiet and empty, too much so.

Then footsteps, and out from behind a pillar comes Mary. “We won’t let you get away with the Gotchadriver so easily,” She appears to be alone, right now.

Scowling at her, Clotho called, “Then why did you come alone?”

“Because now, I have this,” Mary holds up a Chemy Card, the cries of Kamantis ringing out. The Alchemist Ring on her hand glowed, engulfing the Chemy, and then her. The monster that emerged wasn’t a Malgam though – while there was certainly malice, that wasn’t what had taken over the Chemy. That was alchemy. Mary had transmuted herself and the Chemy.

Perhaps she was human after all.

Taking a step forward, Lachesis placed the Gotchadriver around her waist, a belt appearing from it so it could secure itself. She then held up Hopper-1 and Steamliner’s Chemy Cards, giving each a quick kiss before slotting them into the Driver.

Hopper-1! Steamliner! Gotchanko! Steamhopper!

The two Chemies emerged from the Driver, appearing around her. While Lachesis had experienced the power of Chemies before… it was never like this. This was different, not filled with malice or any other dark emotions. Instead, there was this new… hot and bubbly feeling. Lachesis didn’t know what it was, but it felt like it burned within her. Maybe it was Steamliner’s steam.

This armor that formed around her… this was Kamen Rider Gotchard.

“This is the power of the Gotchadriver…” Mary seemed to examine her closely, for a moment, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll take it.” She then rushed forward, swinging her bladed arm.

Lachesis dodged to the side, Clotho doing the same to stay away from the attack. Clotho then ran and punched Mary, though she was unphased. Atropos, it seemed, had the mind to get away from the fight, though Lachesis couldn’t see where she had gone.

It was time to find out just what Gotchard could do.

---

“Mr. Kudo, look!” Tsuruhara called, voice ringing out from his tablet, Issac. He did something, and then on one of the screens in the classroom, a video appeared. A portal in the sky, on the other side another world could be seen, with hanging flasks and a snake eating its own tail in the sky. And from that portal, one after another, came out Chemies.

After ten years, the Chemies had appeared again. Something told Fuga that Geryon hadn’t let them go for no reason.

With all the Chemies out now, presumably, that meant there were suddenly a hundred Chemies loose in the city. It would be a doozy to clean up all the memories of this, but worse would be the chance of a Malgam. That was something his students certainly weren’t prepared to handle, yet.

“Tsuruhara, Icho, stay here.” He turned towards the door, “I’ll investigate.” Without a word more, he hurried out. They needed to get a handle on the Chemies before someone got hurt. Before there was suddenly a Malgam loose in the city and not enough trained alchemists around to safely deal with it.

If only Geryon hadn’t taken off with the Gotchadriver too… and who knew where that could be now. Still in his hands? Or in someone elses? There were too many things they didn’t know yet.

He managed to seal a few Chemies, erasing the memories of any civilians he found who had saw them, along the way. Then he hears the sound of a fight, leading him to a plaza. Below him, there was a fight – someone using the Gotchadriver, accompanied by a woman in black and gold, fought what must have been a Malgam, though from here Fuga couldn’t sense any malice. That might have just meant that the Malgam wasn’t very strong.

To see the Gotchadriver in action – to finally, after all these years see Kamen Rider Gotchard, was… something, certainly. A powerful alchemy, and he didn’t even know who was using it.

There’s movement beside him, and then a young voice, “Such amazing alchemy. To think this is only a fraction of what the Gotchadriver is capable of.” Now standing beside him was a girl, with short black hair and a black and gold dress. There was something… familiar about her.

She looked up at him, and then he realized. This girl… she was one of Geryon’s dolls, the first he thinks, despite her young appearance. Surprised, he said, “Atropos?”

“It’s been a while, Fuga Kudo,” She responded. She held a gold cube in one hand, Fuga recognized it as being Geryon’s. Why did she have it and not him? She looked back out on the fight, “Aren’t my sisters doing well? Even with that girl having become such a strange Malgam…”

He followed her gaze back to the fight. “Strange Malgam?” From here, he couldn’t find anything too unusual about it.

“It wasn’t malice that created it… no, it was alchemy, I’m sure of it.” She rotated the cube in her hands, piece by piece. Since all the sides were gold, the rotations made little difference in its appearance. “It’s almost a match for my sisters.”

A Malgam created from alchemy and not malice? It wasn’t impossible, certainly, but few alchemists would choose to transmute themselves and a Chemy like this.

Now that Atropos has identified Gotchard and the woman as her sisters, Fuga can determine the woman is Clotho, based on what he can see of her appearance. That meant Gotchard must be Lachesis. He’d admit, he didn’t know much about them, having rarely interacted with any of the three, back before Geryon betrayed the Alchemist Association.

Gotchard jumps into the air and kicks the Malgam. It separates the Chemy, which Fuga quickly seals. It brings the two sisters and the young woman who had once been the Malgam’s attention towards him. Seeming annoyed, though, the young woman ran off and disappeared. Lachesis and Clotho ran up the stairs.

“Atropos!” Clotho called out, then glared at Fuga as she’d gotten closer, “Stay away from her.”

Fuga held up his hands, still holding Kamantis’ Chemy Card in one hand. “I don’t intend to hurt the three of you.”

“We’ll see about that,” Clotho didn’t take her eyes off him as Atropos walked over to join her sisters.

Once she’d returned to her sisters, Atropos said, “You remember Kudo.” Less so a question and more a statement. As though they’d surely remember him.

Lachesis, taking the Driver off her waist and holding it up, responded, “He made this, ten years ago.”

“I did,” Fuga confirmed, though he knew it was unnecessary. “Where’s Geryon?”

That caused a strange reaction in the sisters. A dour expression on Atropos’ usually neutral face, a stiffening and slight frown from Lachesis. Clotho remained the most neutral, answering, “He’s dead. That girl, Mary, and the two others that had been with her killed him.”

“They’ll pay for it,” Atropos added, more than a hint of anger lacing her voice.

“But,” Lachesis added, “Our first priority is to keep this and the Chemies as far away from the three as possible.”

The three had been hidden for ten years, along with Geryon. But the Association knew them and would likely interfere if they found them. Fuga didn’t know how much he trusted Geryon and the sisters, but he knew in this instance, he trusted the Association not to misuse Gotchard’s power even less. Even with three of them, gathering all of the Chemies would be difficult, on their own.

But with help… “Let me help you,” Fuga said, “You can come join the academy, and we can help you find all the Chemies.”

That elicited suspicious looks, the three sisters’ attention on him once more.

Pursing her lips, Lachesis asked, “Why should we trust you? You’re an alchemist, and perhaps you’ve forgotten, but our master betrayed you.”

“I worked with Geryon, ten years ago. And while I cannot deny the evidence that was found against him… I also doubt that his ‘betrayal’ was what it was made out to be. He had no reason to abandon his research.” And if Fuga were being honest, he had always held out hope that he and Geryon might be able to work together again, towards a future where Chemies and humans could live together in peace. That had never quite been Geryon’s goal, to Fuga’s knowledge, but they goals had aligned close enough that it made sense to work together before. He never wanted to believe that things had changed that much.

Still, the sisters didn’t seem convinced, Clotho’s hands tightened into fists, Lachesis bringing the Driver back down towards her waist. But again, it was Atropos who approached him. “I assume, then, that neither you nor your students would tell the Alchemist Association about us?”

Neither Tsuruhara nor Icho would have any reason to think they should, but even if they realized what the sisters were, Fuga was confident he could convince them not to report it. “It’s a small class, they wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t be offering if I intended to report you to the Association.”

“Sisters,” Atropos looked back at Clotho and Lachesis, “I believe that the aid of Kudo and his students would greatly increase our ability to gather the Chemies.”

Lachesis looked between Atropos and Fuga, clearly contemplating. “Well, if Atropos thinks so…”

Clotho moved closer to him, still glaring, “Don’t try anything.”

“Of course not,” Fuga agreed, giving them a warm smile, “I have no intention of tricking or harming you.”

“Lead the way, then.” Lachesis responded, “It’s better than standing around here.”

---

“That Kamen Rider is strong,” Mary said.

“But not stronger than you, right?” Agatho replied, his goggles now pulled up, though his right eye was still bandaged.

Mary frowned, “I wasn’t prepared for her, this time, but… we’ll see.” She glanced to where Anselm worked, tinkering away at something they couldn’t see. “I might need Anselm and his flames, next time.”

Anselm grunted, “The sooner we can get that Driver, the easier it will be to gather the Chemies.”

“Of course,” Mary agreed.

Quietly, Agatho added, “I wonder what will happen then…?”

#kamen rider gotchard #roleswap au #my writing #as from the one all things are born

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toku-explained · 1 year ago

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A UFO in Kyoto

Blazar: A chasm opens in Fujigaki city, workers look in and see a Kaiju, but all disagree on its appearance. SKaRD has to hold a stakeout for when it appears. Teruaki and Yasunobu discuss EGOISS, the AI system planned for controlling Earth-kun, then Teruaki attempts to check if poison has affected perception of the Kaiju, but has a freak out. Next day Anri realises all witnesses saw something they hate and fear, and a Kaiju emerges, hospitalising Anri and Yasunobu, Gento manages to focus. Teruaki makes contact with secret data in his X rays, showing the Kaiju agitates grain fear centres, and Emi informs them the Kaiju is designated Mogusion, Gento orders her to bring Earth Garon, with EGOISS assisting in flying. When they arrive, as Mogusion is attacking an occupied building, Earth-kun opts to engage, but Emi is afflicted, seeing herself. Blazar joins the battle. Emi manages to focus with support from the others calling, and Blazar ultimately closes his eyes to avoid being affected, successfully defeating Mogusion with help from Emi.

Gotchard: The class trip to Kyoto is next week, and Ichinose, Kudoh and Kajiki wind up as a group. In Kyoto, a monk witnesses a UFO Chemy, which Kaiji reports to Ichinose. Hoping to trace the Sisters, Spanner returns to where he fought Lachesis, she confronts him, again merging with HappyClover, and demonstrates she can use a double plant enhancement by also merging with BamBamboo, Valvarade demonstrates a triple enhancement using bother GekioCopter and GutShovel, and she flees, dropping a scrap of the Dragonfly Malgam, she plans to use a piece she has for something, as Atropos tells her Clotho has gone to seek out a class 10 Chemy they learnt of. They arrive in Kyoto, but Ichinose is depressed about leaving Hopper1, Kudoh confused why he didn't bring it. They check out the shrine the UFO appeared in, and Hopper1 turns out tonhave snuck into his bag, and escapes, Kaijiki spots it and chases, only to fall next to a girl named Hijiri Himeno, who like him is a fan of the occult, in fact both had letters published in the same magazine, the two start bonding over their shared interest, while Ichinose, spying, finds Hopper1. Hijiri has to leave, but tells Kajiki where she works. Clotho frees a pair of hardened criminals being transported, merging one with JungleJan. Hoping to meet Hijiri again, they go to Eigamura, eventually going to a haunted house the boys are terrified of but Kudoh finds amusing. Hijiri was working there, and agrees to meet Kajiki after her shift. Minato tells Kudoh and Ichinose about Clotho being in Kyoto, and as Ichinose left all the Chemies at the academy, they have to contact Renge and Sabimaru to bring them. Kajiki and Hijiri enjoy talking about their occult experiences, Hijiri saw a Hitodama when her brother took her to their parents graves, then Hijiri suddenly gets a message and has to leave. Minato finds Clotho and starts fighting. She sets the Malgam on Ichinose, who can't transform as the Malgam grows giant. Kudoh lends him RenKingrobo and YamiBat, as BatKingrobo he fights the Malgam, though the events are very visible. Concerned by Hijiri's behaviour, Kajikk follows her and sees her happily run into the arms of a young man, specifically, the other man from the prison transport. Gothcard runs out of power right after forcing the Malgam to human size, and is at it's mercy when GoldDash bursts in, heralding Renge and Sabimaru arriving with the Chemies, SteamHopper takes the stage.

Kingohger: Jeramie escapes with Gira, stoping him attacking Racles, escaping to Bugnarok, Douga gives chase, while in N'Kosopa, Yanma finds 3 of his inner circle destroying technology on Hilbill's orders. Douga explains to Jeramie, Gira, Yanma and Kaguragi about how the kingdoms fell, starting with N'Kosopa, probably to disrupt the communications network. Himeno claims to have already sorted things out in Ishabana, and Rita is busy rounding up criminals, so both refuse to help. The others work out Hilbill is whispering orders via earpieces, and find Shiokara, using earplugs to avoid being controlled. Shiokara recalls his first meeting with Yanma, when he and the others were part of a counterfeiting gang who roughed Yanma up for working out how to detect their fakes, during the period after the last king fled. Shiokara believes Hilbill wants the Teppen Computer that hosts all N'Kosopa's systems. Yanma is able to free the people by disrupting their headsets, having always had the Teppen Computer on his person, and Kaguragi is immune to her commands, but while the others are fighting Bugnarok, she manages to control Shiokara to destroy the computer. Shiokara, recalling how Yanma's refusal to back down, and belief he could take the kingless country up from zero, is able to resist, using the lie detector to shock himself. Yanma ultimately opts to break the brainwashing by destroying the Teppen Computer, motivated to save Shiokara as Shiokara was motivated to follow him. The consequence is N'Kosopa has fallen back in to it's state before Yanma took power, but he assures Shiokara all they're doing is restarting from zero.

#toku explained #ohsama sentai kingohger #ultraman blazar #kamen rider gotchard

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