| abstract
| - Amidst the sea of dome-like buildings stands the tall spiraling Tower of Pion in the center of the Iacon city-state. The rest of the buildings in the sector seem to be built entirely around the tower itself in a well arranged circular pattern that sets the theme for the rest of the city-state's layout. This region of Iacon houses the majority of the city-state's entertainment and high classed residential districts. Thousands of multi-leveled collapsible floating highway networks extend all across the region, occupying the spaces in between the sea of domed buildings. Noteworthy areas of interest from here are the High Council Pavilions towards the north, the Autobots' stronghold of Decagon over to the west, the Central Spaceport that towers over all of Iacon to the east, and the the Forum of Enlightenment leading to the south. Skids Carjack Sideswipe Counterpunch [Hidden] Brawl First Aid Sculpture Sculpture Defense Base Tower of Pion Obvious exits: Fly leads to Sky Above Iacon. leads to Science and Technology District - . leads to Military District - . leads to Central Spaceport - . leads to Forum of Enlightenment - . leads to High Council Pavilions - . Something has been quite wrong with Iacon ever since Pounce and Laserbeak uploaded their payload on Wed Dec 19. Closets have gone missing. Doors have started to lead to blank walls. Escalator doors open to show stairwells. No one has been injured yet, but it is only a matter of time. Cybertron itself is a living, transforming planet, and injecting a cybervirus into a city, as the Decepticons have done, can cause the city to transform in ways that are unhealthy for the inhabitants of the city. None of these transformations, however, are coordinated in any way. Coordinated transformations could be better... or much, much worse. The Decepticons now take advantage of Iacon's incoordination to strike straight into the heart of the city centre! Contrail barks, "Brawl, you protect Carjack. No one touches him! He has Metroplex's t-cog, which, once installed... will do SOMETHING. I have no idea what. Counterpunch, deal with the Autobot security systems. Me... well, I'm on 'protect Carjack' duty, too. Now. Decepticons, attack!" Skids, with no clue that the any attack is imminent, is perusing a literary classic he's brought with him to keep a little piece of Earth with him on Cybertron. "But," he says to his screen, "why would you ever choose Edward over Jacob? And, take it from me, living forever is awesome." Despite the novelty of his newly minted Iacon, Counterpunch skulks it's shadows with acute familiarity. Even the occasional dead end or unexpected blast door doesn't give the Counterintelligence agent cause for alarm. He sticks to the shadows, darting from one secluded alcove to the next. "I've been holding on to some zero-day exploits for the new Iacon's security systems for just such an occasion. You don't want to know what I had to do to get them." Counterpunch growls. He slips some self-immolating digikeys into the cardslot of the access panel, quelling the normal security system response and leaving the denizens of Iacon none the wiser of the imminent Decepticon approach. Encore has arrived. Considering what he did the last time he got his hands on someone else's t-cog, which lead to the 'creation' of Contrail in the first place, it's a surprise anyone would trust Carjack with -another- one. Or maybe that's -why-, considering the point wasn't to be good here. As is he's quite content to let the bigger, tougher Decepticons surround him and lead the way. "I -knew- you had a reason to all this madness in the end, Contrail," he croons giddily, sounding almost like an overly affectionate parent... which is really rather unnerving, even if it is partially true in this case. Brawl is following along with Contrail on this mission since he last... attempt in Rhetoris. He failed, long story short, and is looking forward to correcting that blemish on his record. Blasters in both hands, Brawl looks ready for action (when does he not?) as he follows along close with Contrail and the other Cons... well, as close as he can in his clunky form. He does his best to stay quiet... but he eagerly smashes his fist bottoms together, nodding. "Just let them try! I'm looking forward to wrecking some bots!" Skids looks up from the screen of his reader to see that he's somehow wandered into a blind corridor. Funny, he was sure he knew where he was going, this time. But this is not an unusual occurance for him. He tosses the reader against the wall, not hard enough to break it, but in mild disdain. "And the sequel won the Nobel Prize for Literature? Slow year?" He turns to figure out where in Iacon he is; shouldn't take long, since he knows all of its nooks and crannies, chutes and ladders by now. Iacon is a bustling, crowded city with hundreds of Autobots going about their day to day activities in this sector alone. One such Autobot is none other than First Aid, who's strolling through the streets of Iacon towards a patient's home. The Protectobot is making a house call. Normally he prefers patients to come in to the medbay if they're able, but this particular Autobot has a very good excuse not to do that. Upon reaching the patient, First Aid kneels and pulls out a tool box from the trunk in his knees. Standing upright, he asks the patient, "Alright Omega, where does it hurt?" The massive defence base grumbles but says nothing, apparently not appreciating the joke. Poor guy received such a beating from Trypticon last month. After the debacle in India, Sides was determined to find the stolen artifacts. I mean, how hard could it be to find part of an ancient stone tower or some Belgium sculpture. If he could just track her down, he might be able to find out where it was. So off to Cybertron he went to see if he could loosen glossa with some high-grade, perhaps a little cred change servos...not that he had much to work with but by Primus, he wasn't going to let those two incidnets be marks on his record and she'd made him look like a fool. Besides, she owed him a date! Encore cruises on CAP as he watches out for those below, his sensors scanning for both Deceptions and any signs of larger shifts or transforms in the structure of Cybertron, his engines no doubt a reassuring background bass tone for those below Contrail edges around one corner and catches sight of Sideswipe, who is an obnoxious Autobot who seems to think he has a rivalry with her for some unclear reason. Well, she cannot allow him to stand in Carjack's way, so Contrail's duty is clear. She shouts, "Die, Autobot!" and attempts to shoot Sideswipe. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Zap! (Disruptor) attack! Combat: Gained 1 energon. Brawl growled as he worked to keep up with Carjack. "When do we get to wreck some Bots, Contrail? ...anyone? At least tell me we get to smash some on the way out, this stealth stuff is /boring!/" The tank bot stopped as Contrail suddenly attacked Sideswipe! Aw, man... why does she get all the fun! Stupid Carjack having to guard the stupid delivery to it's stupid destination... stupid! Brawl secretly hopped it would draw more attention as he chugged along with his ward. "Let's gurry up so we can smash some faces in!" "Alright, I've laid out a path that should bring you close to where you need to install the T-cog, updated to meet the specs of my last trip through Iacon. Should be no more than two cycles out of Date, given the current rate of transformation." Counterpunch says, feeding the map data over tightband transmission to Contrail and Carjack. Counterpunch, meanwhile, sneaks off through an unmarked side door. "I'm taking the scenic route, I'll watch your back and keep a retreat trail open. Don't mess this up!" Of course, what Counterpunch really does is flip his allegiance once he's out of earshot of the Decepticon goon squad. Carjack may not be a spy, but he knows when to keep quiet and his short squat build is pretty good at keep low key.... well as much as he could with Brawl following him. Oh well, it just means that he can take the direct approach is it were, and rely on the Combaticon to take the heat should the Autobot security eventually come upon them. Counterpunch may be off taking care of the electronic side of the security, there's still a few physical blocks in the way. Like a big metal door.... Which opens like a big metal can as Carjack tears an opening with his Jaws of Death and steps inside. Just need to find someplace they can access some of Iacon's higher malfunctioning schematical controls to put the t-cog in... Combat: Carjack sets his defense level to Protected. Skids exclaims out loud to something he heard over the radio: "What?" He breaks into a run, heading for where he thinks is the main courtyard. Wherever Omega Supreme is, that's a good place to rally. Skids is just coming into sight of First Aid as-- First Aid is elbow deep in the side of Omega Supreme's tank when Punch's call goes out on the Autobot broadband. Decepticon infiltrators? Here? First Aid glances over his shoulder as if the infiltrators might be /right behind him/. Instead it's Skids. "You better get to Sideswipe as soon as he calls in his coordinates," Aid suggests. The Protectobot looks back up at the hulking defense base. "Do you think you could transform?" The incredibly loud grinding of gears from Omega Supreme makes it clear the answer is 'negative'. Punch curses his lack of a jetpack or some anti-gravs for his Autobot mode, but that would just be too easy. Scaling a wall brings him up and over some slanted ferro-glass rooftops, and he starts making a queit approach back towards the Decepticons he just left behind. His target will be Carjack, but first he needs ot peel that walking firecracker combaticon off of Carjack's backside. Zooming in with his enhanced visor, Punch draws a bead on Brawl's prominent turret and sends the data up to the roaring cargo jet overhead. Combat: Punch sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Punch takes extra time to assist Encore's next attack. Sideswipe jerks forward, staggering a step as he's basically 'shot' in the back. "Yeow!!!" Spinning around, bringing his fists up in preparation to fend off the attacker, he sees who it is. Startled, he yells, "HEY BABY! Been looking all over the pit and back for you! So was that a little love zap...or you just happy to see me!?" he snarks as he takes off at a run towards her. "Whatcha doing here anyway? Pretty mech like you in a dirty place like this?" But he takes a swing at her in hopes of showing his 'affection' right back. Combat: Sideswipe sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Piledriver Arms attack! Combat: Sideswipe (Sideswipe) used "Piledriver Arms": A Level 1 MELEE attack. Combat: You took 5 damage. Combat: Sideswipe's attack damages your armor. Skids replies to First Aid, "All right, we've got a sighting--Don't expect you to pick up a blaster, of course, but somebody might need some repairs. Like me." Encore hears a call go out and banks around sharply. His flight-deck lights go out an are replaced with red ones, screens serving holographic crew members brighten as the crew seem to buck up and pay attention, not that anyone's aboard him to see it; this is how he divides his concentration amongst the various tasks that need to be done to emulate an AC130 accurately. His guns begin to track around as their 'gunners' hunt for Decepticon targets, FLIR and IFF systems waking up a the huge Autobot descends to fly just above the highest rooftops - a ping suddenly appearing on his 'screens' as Punch's telemetry comes through. His engines snarl louder, the humid Cybertronian air drawing tip-vortices from his props into sharp focus as he hauls his heavy aft through the sky. Banking hard above the Decepticon grouping, he points his left wing squarely at Brawl. The gun doesn't even have to pivot from the zero position befor it fires a full string of fat high-explosive 40mm shells at his target Combat: Encore strikes Brawl with his Bofors Rifle attack! With a little breaking and entering Carjack finds what he's looking for, one of the master terminals that would under normal circumstances control the transforming roads and walkways of Iacon. "Yesss," the mad doctor cackles as he walks over and kicks a panel off the terminal, revealing its inner workings. "This will do, with a little adjustment." He opens his chestplate, and pulls the T-Cog out of his storage compartment. His other hand pulls out an interface override device loaded with a specific version of the nanovirus: one programmed to cause a very specific localized transformation. He shoves it into the access compartment and turns it on, then stands up to the terminal itself as the control interface starts to disconnect and transform itself from the nanovirus injection, beginning to form what's reconizable as a t-cog control port. He glances up for a moment at the sound of heavy gunfire outside, and grumbles. But that was expected. "Brawl, deal with tha--" He pauses as Brawl is the one that gets blasted. "--Nevermind. Better you than me!" He turns back to his work. Brawl roars angrily as 40mm gunfire rips into his back unexpectedly, glaring up to see an Autobot flying overheard... or maybe not, he can't tell. He just felt bullets flying on him and he sees Encore, so he's the unlucky bot to get his wrath at the moment. Luckily, Brawl is built to handle intensive firepower, and he takes the attack very well. In fact, it just seems to make him angrier. "You just do what you have to, Carjack! Leaving to fighting to ME!!!" Brawl swiftly brings both his blasters to bare as the barrels crackle with electricity. "I've been waiting a long time to blast some Bots out of the sky! Shreddin' time!" And at that, a barrage of electrical attacks back up at Encore, in the hopes that the shocking flak will catch the aerial Autobot where it hurts. "How long is this gonna take!?" Contrail is okay with Sideswipe taking her on, because it means he isn't taking on Carjack. Today, she is an expendable robo-shield. Despite the blow that shatters some of her armour, she deadpans, "What am I doing here? Oh, well, genocide, if this goes well." Contrail tries to punch him right back. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Smiting the Heathens (Punch) attack! Combat: Gained 1 energon. The control room is two levels above Punch's current position, and there's no immediately obvious way in there, not in time to stop the Decepticons from causing permanent damage to the city. Hwever, the resourceful Autobot has been watching the unfolding skyway very carefully, and enticing some patterns out of the chaos isn't impossible. Taking a leap of faith, Punch vaults off the rooftop into open air, until a suddenly rising column erupts from the street level below. The rising skyway support strut catapults Punch up to the level of the control room, and a barrage from his twin-mortar launcher blasts his way in with a turbulent fiery explosion! Combat: Punch appears from the shadows... Combat: Punch strikes Carjack with his Twin Mortar Launcher attack! Sideswipe grunts as Contrail punches him right back. "Ooof....awww, you do care! So whatcha doing here babe? Huh? Actually I was here looking for you but I guess now's not the time. I hear there's evil afoot. Well, it's more like ... nevermind. Wanna tell me who's all here? If ya don't, guess i"ll just send ya on a little trip." He tries to trip Contrail in hopes to move past her and towards where other information is pointing that something's up. First Aid hesitates at Skids's comment, optics flashing in brief confusion. "Er, right..." Ugh, someone's been spreading those idiotic rumours about First Aid being incapable of fighting again. If Aid were anyone else, he'd be pretty annoyed, but instead he takes it in stride, concentrating on closing Omega Supreme's tank up. Swinging the armour panel shut, he says, "Alright Omega, if any Decepticons come into your region, feel free to blast 'em. I wouldn't try transforming again unless you have to." Soon enough, First Aid has reached the site of where the biggest explosions are going off. Electrical charges are flying in the sky, and First Aid peaks around the corner in time to see Brawl blast Encore. Drawing his photon pistol, the Protectobot hopes that Brawl doesn't hold a grudge for the Defensor/Bruticus match up in New York City a week ago. Pfft, Aid thinks, yeah, /Brawl/ won't hold a grudge. Still, with Encore in trouble, First Aid knows he has to ask, and so he turns the corner long enough to fire a quick photon pistol blast at the Combaticon. "Hey! Brawl!" Aid calls out. "Your creation factory wears combat stabilizers!" The Protectobot then ducks around the corner again, hoping Brawl follows him instead of remaining at his post. Combat: First Aid sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: First Aid strikes Brawl with his Photon Pistol attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Brawl's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Sideswipe misses Contrail with his Trip-around-Cybertron (Kick) attack! Combat: Sideswipe (Sideswipe) used "Kick": A Level 2 MELEE attack. Skids follows along with First Aid to the field of battle, and briefly, as best he can at a glance, takes stock of who's fighting whom. They're supposed to take care of Brawl and Contrail, he heard, and Brawl just got knocked back by First Aid, so, why doesn't he take Contrail? He has no need to draw a weapon, but raises the arm his electron blaster is attacked to. Combat: Skids misses Contrail with his Electron Blaster attack! Combat: Skids (Skids) used "Electron Blaster": A Level 0 RANGED attack. "And now, for the coup de grace. Hehehe." Carjack takes the T-cog in both hands and lines it up with forming port. "Ahahaha." Twists the cog a bit, then starts to push it into place, cocking his head back for a proper mad doctor laugh as he does so. "MUUWAHAHAHAHA--" And that's when the DYNAMIC ENTRY of a spy through the window and mortar fire interrupts him. The shots don't hit him directly, but the wall console next to him detonates vibrantly and the shock knocks him on his aft. "What the... Oh, of course it would be you, -after- your twin has snuck off and gotten stuck in a closet or some stupid thing that always happens to him." Carjack grabs the terminal with one hand to pull himself up, optics darting to it as it beeps, and a few lights in the ring around the T-Cog flicker as it clicks and rotates, trying to interface into the infected systems. "But no matter, you're too late! Once the cog aligns itself with the malfunctioning transformation systems of the city, Iacon will be left in more of a mess than a scrambled Rubix Cube! Hahaha!" And then he pulls out his gun and tries to shoot Punch for interfering. Combat: Carjack sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Carjack strikes Punch with his Syringe Gun attack! Combat: Carjack's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Punch. Combat: Punch has been temporarily incapacitated. "I have to deal with Sideswipe /and/ Skids? Ugh. I feel like I'm trapped in a Bay movie," Contrail grumbles, but she's wrong. If this was a Bay movie, she wouldn't get that much dialogue! She steps back, a bit closer to Carjack, who is expositing, and she draws her whip to ruin Sideswipe and Skids's day! Combat: Contrail sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Whiplash Whirlwind Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Contrail strikes Skids with her Whiplash Whirlwind Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Drained 7 energon. Brawl roars angrily as the photon pistol impacts him! And right in the face too! Geez! Brawl just growled angrily as he transformed back into tank mode, turning to aim his main cannon towards Punch, since he was really the only visible one to Brawl at the moment, albeit only through a daze. First Aid had run off somewhere, and he very much planned to blast the ProtectorBot... right back in the face! "Smash... smash! SMASH THEM ALL TO PIECES!!!" He snarled, firing his main cannon off at where he suspected Punch was... but in reality, he was shooting in First Aid's direction, hoping the resulting explosions in the area do it's job. Brawl transforms into his Leopard 1A1 Tank mode. Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank strikes First Aid with his Tank Cannon attack! First Aid sprints away from Brawl. With him having rounded a corner, there's a good solid building in between them now. Aid figures that'll be enough to- suddenly the ground shakes and the building First Aid had been using for cover explodes outwards as a tank shell rips through it. Debris and fire rains down on the Protectobot, and First Aid does his best to dodge the smoking wreckage. Huge pot holes are created as chunks of the building slam into the street beside him. One piece lands next to First Aid and explodes, knocking him clear off his feet. Acting quickly, First Aid folds down into ambulance mode, tires squealing as he outraces the rest of the falling debris. Careening around another two corners, First Aid is now sneaking up on Brawl from the /other/ side of the (now ruined) building. His decrystallizer is already taking aim at the Combaticon, firing potent bursts designed to shatter the heavy armour of the tank. "Brawl!" he calls out again. "Onslaught dresses you funny!" First Aid folds down into Ambulance mode. Combat: Ambulance strikes Leopard 1A1 Tank with his Decrystallizer Cannon attack! Punch's optics narrow to glaring slits. "Counterpunch? That blue bastard was here? No wonder you got in without setting off the alarms." The Autobot spy grumbles. "I'll kill that cheating.. son of a.. What was in that syringe..." The normally unflappable Autobot stumbles backward, fumbling with the syringe protruding from his torso before slumping Skids gets whirled and whiplashed back about ten feet, sparks flying as he slides against the metal plate of Iacon's surface. He stands up, with the enamel on his right arm abraded away and a faint smell of ozone from the friction, then calls over to Sideswipe, "Oh, you're taking care of her? Good, because I think I just heard someone exposit, and I think I'd better go deal with that." He takes a leap through the hole Punch made and lands with a clang. Skids looks about for a control terminal, and his optics go wide with surprise as he pieces together what's going on. He rapidly starts keying in a command of his own, muttering out loud what he's entering, in his concern: "Override! Override and eject." Combat: Skids compares his Technical to Carjack's Technical: Success! Skids of course leaves himself wiiiide open for any attack. Combat: Skids sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Skids takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Sideswipe jerks forward as he's hit with the lash and yelps. "HEY!!!!" he turns and tries to tackle down Contrail. "Skids, get by her and get going..." Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Tackle (Grab) attack! Combat: Sideswipe (Sideswipe) used "Grab": A Level 0 MELEE attack. Combat: You took 0 damage. Carjack ... actually looks slightly surprised when Punch stutters and flops like a ragdoll. Glances at the gun display. "Motor-Servo Desensitizer." But he gets over it quickly. "Well well, it looks like luck is on the side of Evil tonight." He twirls the pistol and mag-locks it to his hip, then holds his arm up to redeploy his multi-tool. It makes a very ominous vrrring as it deploys a large buzzsaw while he's approaching the downed spy.. "Do I expect you to stop, Mr. Punch? No, I expect you to -die-." But then just as he starts to lower the buzzing blade another Autobot interloper jumps in while he's left the terminal open and starts messing with the controls. Carjack looks... then squints slightly. "... Who the slag are you?" But mister background only in two episode appearances manages to get the thing to stop processing and start unlocking the cog. "What are you doin--No! Stop interfering with my brilliance in evil!" Punch is forgotten as he whirls around and swings his roaring buzzsaw at Skids instead. "Get away from plot device!" Contrail is tackled by Sideswipe! This means that she is not doing a great job of protecting Goldfinger Carjack at the moment, but being a Decepticon, Carjack is doing a pretty good job of defending himself! She wrestles with Sideswipe, trying to kick him off of her. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Kick attack! Combat: Drained 2 energon. Brawl simply yells in rage as First Aid not only continues to attack him, but insult him AND his leader to boot! This JERK! Brawl has apparently completely succumbed to rage as he brings his main cannon to bare once more on First Aid. "AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!" Brawl howls angrily. Somewhere out there, a Dinobot's perked up and looked his direction. But the roar is quickly drowned out by a barrage of cannon fire, Brawl opting to continue his assault with his cannon, before transforming back. Better to not waste his ammo... drawing both his blasters, Brawl takes aim at First Aid and lets the ambulance have it! And in this case 'it' is a barrage of electrical shock blasts! Leopard 1A1 Tank transforms into his Brawl mode. Combat: Brawl strikes Ambulance with his Electron Gun attack! "Skids! Keep it up!" Punch snaps, yanking the syringe from his chest as he pushes himself to his feet. "I'll deal with the mad doctor!" Punch sizes up Carjack's frame, noticing his slight height advantage over the Decepticon. A few long strides closes the gap, and he reaches around the mad scientist's neck to wrap the Deceticon in a chokehold! Combat: Punch takes a moment to shake off the effects of the last attack. Combat: Punch strikes Carjack with his Choke Hold attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Carjack's Agility. (Crippled) Skids sees the spy and the mastermind embrace, and asks, pointedly, "What makes you think this is my first time?" He's not going to try to fire into their brawl, besides which, Punch looks like he knows what he's doing; Skids will instead walk carefully over to where the terminal just ejected the transformation cog, to warily pick it up. Combat: Skids sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Skids takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Ambulance , despite his best efforts, is having a dilly of a time avoiding Brawl's wild shots. The ambulance swerves and weaves around, but Brawl is able to transform into robot mode and fry him with both electro blasters. The ambulance sparks and grinds to a halt as electrical arcs dance around the Autobot's frame. "Unnnghg..." First Aid wheezes. He knows he's no match for Brawl, but he also knows that he has to keep the Combaticon busy so Skids and Punch can stop whatever evil thing Carjack is planning! The ambulance, now suffering from electrical overloads, transforms into a severely wounded First Aid. The doctor grimaces at Brawl and hobbles behind a huge piece of debris that fell from the sky after Brawl took down the building Aid was hiding behind. The Autobot reaches into the trunk in his knees and pulls out an energo-booster. Jabbing the syringe into his arm, First Aid can feel his electrical systems start to come back online again. "Ugh, that was too close," First Aid mutters. Ambulance flips up into robot mode. Combat: First Aid quickly patches up some of his minor injuries. Sideswipe struggles with Contrail, "Hey, stop squirming. I just wanna kiss." And with that, he tries to give her a little double love tap. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Piledriver Arms attack! Combat: Sideswipe (Sideswipe) used "Piledriver Arms": A Level 1 MELEE attack. Combat: You took 6 damage. Combat: Sideswipe's attack damages your armor. Brawl just seems to have reached his Hulk quota for the day and is presently still yelling furiously at... everything, really. The walls, the halls, the Bots, his allies. He was just MAD right now, which is not a good thing for anyone in the immediate area. Especially when Brawl puts all that yelling to practical use. Transforming back into his tank mode, his dual sonic pulsers are perked up arming themselves. And suddenly, EVERYTHING is rocked by a huge burst of pulsing sonic energy. The vibrations rattle anything nearby, not distinguishing between friend and foe. Brawl just keeps yelling and roaring and shouting and generally throwing a fit, and everyone in range will be able to hear it... and nearly break apart from the vibrations it's yeilding. Moral of the story: Do not get Brawl angry. You won't like him when he's angry. Brawl transforms into his Leopard 1A1 Tank mode. Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank strikes Skids with his Dual Sonic Cannon Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank misses Carjack with his Dual Sonic Cannon Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank strikes Sideswipe with his Dual Sonic Cannon Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank strikes Punch with his Dual Sonic Cannon Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank strikes First Aid with his Dual Sonic Cannon Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank misses Contrail with his Dual Sonic Cannon Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank (Brawl) used "Dual Sonic Cannon": A Level 3 AREA-RANGED attack. And then Brawl starts doing what tanks are really good at, extensive collateral damage! This includes bringing the roof down around them. On the up side, he's able to jerk himself out of Punch's grasp in the few moments of ruckus, possibly because the larger Autobot soaked up the blast for him. "Get back here you!" Carjack transforms, using the speed and mobility of his vehicle mode to evade the debris of Brawl's blasts and tries to ram Skids from behind! Carjack hits the ground and folds into a rescue truck. Combat: Crash Response Truck sets his defense level to Fearless. Outbound has arrived. Combat: Crash Response Truck strikes Skids with his One of these days I need to get proper ram-bars installed (Ram) attack! Contrail is punched by Sideswipe, who is utterly disgusting, but as she wrestles around with him, she uses her CONDODGEFU to evade Brawl's teamkilling ways. While Carjack implausibly chokes, she tries to throttle Sideswipe with her whip. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Illogical Damage Methods attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Drained 8 energon. Bounding onto the scene, Outbound makes a rather grandiose entrance as he speeds his way along one of the floating highway networks and hits top speed enabling him to exceed the unfolding of the bridge that extends over the city center. Dropping from on high the Decepticon schemed Hovertank looks as if it would quickly become nothing more than a pancake save for the powerful antigravity drive that fires up to the very maximum of it's capacity to avoid what would have been a very messy end to the Mobile Infantryman. Landing in the midst of the chaos, the plasma turret set atop the tank begins to swivel about searching for targets. A few shots are fired haphazardly from some mounted foreward gun emplacements, almost as if there was no intended target. The sonic explosion rips through the control tower, the percuscious explosion knocking Punch away from Carjack and allowing the Decepticon medic to get loose. Punch's own earlier explosive entrance and Brawl's cacophonous deconstuction have done a number on the structure, and large chunks of the building begin to give way, burying Punch among the rubble. Brawl would probably be forgiven for not hearing anything else in the midst of the all the cacaphony of noise he's creating. What with the massive amounts of explosions and shells going off and the like, it isn't exactly easy for anything else to reach your audials at this point. NOt even the sound of a loud, supercharged engine rolling up behind you during mid-barrage, nor the squeal of tires coming to a halt...and lastly not even the sound of transformation as a form rises up in the vehicle's place. What Brawl -may- notice, however, is the set of hands that suddenly reach down and take hold of the back end of his vehicular frame. Immediately followed by the loud grunt and the sudden sensation of the entire -back- end of the tank, all those extra heavily armored tons, actually lifting up and off the ground, guided none other than by the hands of Rodimus Prime himself as he grunts with the effort and starts to lift even more. "Just for that, Brawl....hnnngh. I should make -you- stay and clean this mess up when it's all said and done. But for now, I'll settle for THIS!" And with a final surge of surprising strength, the Autobot Leader HEAVES upwards and forwards, quite literally making to flip the tank over and onto its top in a none-too-gentle method. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Leopard 1A1 Tank with his Tank Overhaul attack! [Pulled -5] Skids, veteran of millions of years of this, is getting very annoyed at all this undignified buffeting back and forth. First, the sonic blast makes him drop the MacGuffin--excuse him, the transformation cog--and cover his audials reflexively. Then, some twerp thinks he can just ram him and get away with it. He slowly stands up, wiping the dust and debris off his legs, and says, "All right, that's enough from you. Boom." Combat: Skids sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Skids strikes Crash Response Truck with his Missile Launcher attack! Once again, explosions are going off all over the place, and First Aid is quickly forced to abandon his cover in order to flee the Combaticon. In a way, First Aid almost thinks it's /better/ when the Combaticons merge into Bruticus since it means they won't have to deal with Brawl. Running with his arms over his head to protect himself (poorly) from falling debris, the Protectobot glances to his side in time to see none other than Rodimus Prime himself grabbing for Brawl. Suddenly, First Aid thinks that maaaaaybe they'll come out of this one alright after all! Rushing into the area where Skids is /trying/ to protect the transformation cog, First Aid immediately draws out his medical kit. "Hold still!" Aid calls out. He grabs a repair charger and fires it at Skids. This should, temporarily, work to overcharge the Autobot's self repair systems and fix some of his innards. "Don't worry, Rodimus Prime is- oh, hey, is that Metroplex's transformation cog?" Aid is, to say the least, a wee bit confused. Combat: First Aid quickly patches up some of Skids's minor injuries. Sideswipe had been grapling with Contrail when he's slammed into by the Dual Sonic Cannon attack that causes him to skid across the ground while he tried to hang onto Contrail. Snarling, he scrambles to try and grab back a hold of Contrail again but she got the 'jump' on him, wrapping her whip around his neck and working to choke him. Staggering to his feet he tries to flip her off, his fingers trying to get the whip free from around his neck. "Grakkc..." He tries to back up and body slam her but he's struggling, his injuries starting to take their toll. Combat: Sideswipe misses Contrail with his Shoryuken (Smash) attack! Combat: Sideswipe (Sideswipe) used "Smash": A Level 3 MELEE attack. Crash Response Truck screechs to a hault after Skids tumbles over, hopefully knocking him away from where the t-cog was dropped. For being a fancy philosopher type the Bot is quick on the trigger, and a missile detonates on the front end of the truck, blowing out the front grille and fenders. "Gaaah! As much as I'd love to dissect you, I've got more important things to do!" Transforming, busted parts hanging off where the front grille makes his knee-caps, Carjack scours the nearby rubble, looking for where the device went when it was dropped. Unless Skids remembers where he dropped it first. The emergency response truck opens up into a robot. Combat: Carjack sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Carjack compares his Intelligence to Skids's Intelligence: Success! Brawl growled angrily and groggily at the flip from behind, transforming and getting to his feet, before looking up to see who had the balls to flip him off... oh... it was Rodimus himself. Well, that proves to be a load of scrap. But Carjack was trying to fumble for the t-cog. They couldn't lose that after all this trouble. Brawl grumpily radioed to Carjack as he took a defensive stance. Taking on Rodimus himself was suicidal... but he didn't have to bust him up. Just stall him long enough to grab the t-cog so they could split. "You're gonna pay for that, hot rod!!! Your bots used to actually be a threat! I see they've soften up /even more/ since you took the wheel! I've got plenty of gas to break you apart!" Just need to stall a bit... though he was certainly getting into it. Contrail is thinking that Rodimus Prime is going to murder them all, and then they will be dead, and that will blow. That is her tactical assessment of this situation. She struggles to get away from Sideswide, trying to put some distance between them. Combat: Contrail sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Acid Strike attack! Combat: Drained 8 energon. Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Wait, there it is! Ignoring the damage to his knees Carjack reachs under the rubble to try and grab the t-cog. Oh no! Will the Decepticons snag the precious transformation cog back, or will the Autobots be able to save -two- cities? STAY TUNED. Outbound is on the move after taking a few random shots, (just a little cover-fire for the boys in purple) before he finally decides to pick a target. "Hmmm... That is truly annoying," murmurs the hovertank, which speeds forward at once to align itself with none other than the Autobot patcher-upper by the name of First Aid. "Hello! You there! Hi... I must inform you that you have been declared 'problematic'. This is truly nothing personal." Combat: Hovertank strikes First Aid with its "Nothing Personal Really Foreward Laser" (Laser) attack! Rodimus Prime can't help but smile just slightly so, those blue optics of his glinting just a bit as some distant starlight in Cybertron's sky catches them just right. It's that sort of pretty-boy confidence smile that one makes when they've just successfully tweaked an angry animal and gotten an even angrier response. "Come on Brawl," Rodimus states, hands moving out to either side in a half shrug. "You wouldn't have enough gas to beat me if you had Octane hooked up to your back end providing constant refills. Now if you're done trying to distract me, I hear you Decepticons were nice enough to bring something that belongs to us back..." And with those words, Rodimus twists and turns as he transforms yet again, dropping down on his tires and burning rubber as he proceeds to roar -around- Brawl, smashing some stray debris out of the way and making a beeline across several side streets. And he proceeds to smash right -through- an entire wall, crashing to the other side and actually coming through so close that his fender threatens to tap Carjack in the process. What he -does- do a moment later however is open up both his headlights, illuminating her like a pair of bullseyes. "Ah HA! Here it is, guys!" Upper body spins, legs snap together and Rodimus drops down as a flaming semi rig. Where'd that trailer come from? Combat: Winnebago strikes Carjack with his Peek a BOO! attack! [Pulled -7] First Aid first looks at the transformation cog in shock, but then when Outbound arrives and starts firing at him, First Aid groans, "Oh great, first Snowblind and now you?!" The laser burst hits First Aid square in the chest, and the Protectobot is knocked back into the wall. Looking down at the scorch mark on his red die-cast chestplate, First Aid grumbles and reaches for his sidearm. "If it makes you feel any better, Outbound, this is nothing personal either. Carjack, though?" Aid glances in his direction, "With the whole mad science thing? I gotta say that /is/ a little personal." Combat: First Aid strikes Carjack with his Photon Pistol Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Carjack's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: First Aid strikes Hovertank with his Photon Pistol Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Hovertank's Accuracy. (Blinded) Skids announces, "He's got the Cog!" pointing to Carjack. With his electron-blaster hand. A genius like him should be able to figure it out: if he's shorting out, he's not going to be able to take it and fly off. Combat: Skids strikes Carjack with his Electron Blaster attack! Combat: Carjack has been temporarily incapacitated. Sideswipe yelps out as he's hit by Contrails acid attack as she works to get away from him and put some distance between them. He stumbles as he tries to right himself and gets a good look at what's going down in front of him. Oh scrap! Seeing and hearing what Skids is doing and saying, then at what Rodimus...hey when did he get here? he staggers to his feet and begins to run. Firing his jetpack he flies low towards Carjack and the t-cog, hoping to snatch it out of Carjacks hands. Combat: Sideswipe sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Carjack with his T-Cog Intercept (Grab) attack! Combat: Your attack continues to damage Sideswipe SATIRE ALERT * * SATIRE ALERT * * SATIRE ALERT * * SATIRE ALERT SATIRE ALERT * * SATIRE ALERT * * SATIRE ALERT * * SATIRE ALERT Outbound sighs audibly as First Aid responds verbally to his offering of indifference. "Well, at least we are both on the same pa-...." The photon pistol blast explodes across the Hovertank's armor, causing the Decepticon to briefly hold his tongue. "...Hmmm, I see," replies the Mobile Infantryman, whose entire chassis suddenly begins to strafe about along a semi-circular path while still facing the Autobot medic. "Or rather I do not see... Such is the purpose of such a weapon, no doubt. A wise idea in concept, but I wonder if it is as effective in practice?" Outbound muses as he opens fire with his foreward ballistics. Combat: Hovertank misses First Aid with its shot in the dark (Pistol) attack! Carjack yanks the T-Cog out of the rubble, holding it up triumphantly. "I've got it! Let's get the slag--Aaaugh!" Rodimus busts out of the wall, but only just tags him. Though it's enough to scare the scrap out of the medic (seriously, cou-end on that bump). He jumps away, and hefts the thing over his head. "Brawl, Contrail! Someone cat--SHI!" But before he can throw it First Aid blinds him, and then as he howls Skids shoots him, causing sparks to fly as Carjack jerks and spasms out of control. Then Sideswipe swoops in to snag the thing, the backwash of his jetback sending the medic tumbling back over the rubble pile. But the knock seems to have snapped his systems back in order. With a hiss he scrabbles back to his feet... and promptly bolts. "Screw this, time to pull a Starscream. Better part of valor!" Combat: Carjack sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Carjack begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sideswipe, Leopard 1A1 Tank , Skids, Winnebago , First Aid, Contrail, and Hovertank "Decepticons, retreat!" Contrail calls, because she does not want to mess with Rodimus Prime. Sideswipe is finally off of her, anyway. She transforms and promptly tries to book it away. The rest of those suckers can fend for themselves! Hopefully Carjack can make it out. Because he's the only one who really know how to fix her properly when things go wrong. Flipping into a modified F-35B Lightning II, the sky is not the limit. Combat: F-35B Lightning II begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Brawl blinks as Rodimus rolls right around him, making his distration totally useless! And Carjack was getting pummeled. Great... does the Combaticon have to do EVERYTHING in this team? And not only that, NOW he's got to get that t-cog back! For Primus' sake, must he salvage this mission himself!? Apparently so, since both Contrail and Carjack were beating a retreat! Brawl was not about to let all this hard work go to waste! Bringing his shoulder to bare, Brawl charged for Sideswipe, aiming to football tackle the cog out of his grasp and grab it for himself. Clearly couldn't let Outbound be arsed with it! Leopard 1A1 Tank transforms into his Brawl mode. Combat: Brawl strikes Sideswipe with his Tackle attack! First Aid smiles inwardly as Sideswipe gets quadruple teamed, followed by Sideswipe snagging the transformation cog, "Looks like you got sacked, Carjack," he chuckles. But even as Carjack and Contrail start to bail, First Aid nearly finds out the hard way that not all the Decepticons are gone just yet. "Whoa!" Outbound circles around First Aid, and the Protectobot is forced to pull off some remarkably fancy dodging moves, sprinting and jumping to stay just a split-second ahead of the blasts. Outbound being blinded probably helps, First Aid refrains from pointing out that, yes, it /is/ effective in practice. Forced to stay on the move, First Aid aims his empty fist at Outbound and fires a quick surgical laser blast at him. Combat: First Aid misses Hovertank with his Surgical Laser Blast (Disruptor) attack! Skids shouts, "Be careful! We want the Cog back safely!" His vocals give off a low, almost inaudible tone like exhalation, as he carefully tries to blast Brawl with the weapon least likely to damage Sideswipe by accident, his liquid nitrogen. Sideswipe managed to get ahold of the Tcog and grinned that impish grin of his but it didn't last long. Out of nowhere, a large foreign body slammed into him and tackled him flat to the ground, knocking his jetpack offline. Energon sprayed from his mouth as he hit hard enough to jar a number of systems around inside. "Huuuuuhhhhhggg!!!" he gasped out as he desperately tried to hang onto the Tcog. He thrusts a punch towards Brawl in hopes of getting him to let go of it before he can get off of him. Combat: Sideswipe strikes Brawl with his Piledriver Arms attack! Combat: Your attack continues to damage Sideswipe Combat: Skids strikes Brawl with his Liquid Nitrogen Rifle attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Brawl's Agility. (Crippled) Winnebago rises up, transforming as he goes and shaking bits of rubble from his shoulders as the dogpile over the cog continues on in front of him, bodies flailing about this way and that until Sideswipe emerges with the cog in hand! Or at least temporarily, until Brawl proceeds to wade into the middle of the fray and grab onto the cog. "Oh for the love of..." And yes, he sees Outbound is out there as well, and he knows what Brawl is planning. And while the others are busy blasting Brawl en masse, the Autobot Leader steps in, waiting for his chance as the Combaticon's blocky frame moves this way and that. "Really Brawl, THIS is why you need Onslaught around. Because -he- knows when to cut his losses and get out before anything really bad happens. Now come here, give me that..." One hand reaches out for the flailing Cog in Brawl's hand. The other? It balls into a fist that proceeds to slam forward at Brawl's faceplate like a massively powerful jackhammer of terrifying proportions. "...and GET OUT OF OUR CITY!" The trailer detaches and the cab rises up as Rodimus spins and unfolds into his robot mode. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Brawl with his The Touch attack! Outbound doesn't spend too much time continuing to trade blasts with First Aid, as the disruptor shot goes wide thanks to his sudden shift toward the direction that the other Decepticons had begun to flee, but naturally the remaining Combaticon is found along the way. "Looks like you have your hands full," he comments in passing, his hoverjets propelling him forward at increasingly higher speeds on the way to one of the unfolding highway network on-ramps. "If you would like me to take a load off for you... The time... Is... NOW!" Outbound hits the on-ramp at speed, the angle sending the hovertank rocketing skyward as the Decepticon transforms in mid-flight with hands outward to catch anything that Brawl should wish to throw. Combat: Hovertank sets its defense level to Protected. Hiss, pop, whirr, grind, snap, click- OUTBOUND! The Global Pose Tracker marks that Outbound has 'skipped' its action for this round. Brawl can take a lot of punishment. But this was pushing it. Even he has a limit, as as he gets hammered from every side, he's holding out. He's still confident he can come away without losing the cog... and then fuggin' Rodimus has to step in and ruin everything. Stupid Autobot heads. Brawl can't even fathom the anger necessary to respond as he gets sent flying backwards and into a wall. Emerging with nothing but growls to offer, Brawl transforms and begins rolling away. "Stupid Autobots... Decepticons, let's get out of here! Keep your stupid cog!" Brawl yells, before quickly moving as fast as his treads allow... Combat: Brawl begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Skids, Rodimus Prime, F-35B Lightning II , and Outbound Brawl transforms into his Leopard 1A1 Tank mode. Combat: Leopard 1A1 Tank begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from F-35B Lightning II Groove was last connected on Tue Jan 08 16:46:52 2013; that was 5d 4h 24m 17s ago. Spinister was last connected on Fri Jan 11 22:02:54 2013; that was 1d 23h 8m 18s ago. Ultra Magnus was last connected on Fri Jan 11 22:10:18 2013; that was 1d 23h 0m 58s ago. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) First Aid's surgical laser blast misses, but it was just to keep Outbound off balance anyhow. The Protectobot dives behind cover and peaks up in time to see Outbound running, looking for a pass that will never come. "Last chance, Outbound, to get out of here before you get another dose of photons!" First Aid says. He keeps his pistol trained on Outbound just in case. Combat: First Aid takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Combat: Regained 6 energon. Carjack rises upward to the Sky Above Iacon. Carjack has left. Sideswipe had hit Brawl but apparently it didn't do anything to him compared to Rodimus' punch...and of course Rodimus is the one to get the glory for getting the Tcog in the end. Sigh.... Sideswipe is really banged up now, energon running from several split seams and from the corner of his mouth. He struggles to stand up and watches the Cons retreat. Combat: Sideswipe takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Skids doesn't seem too concerned with shooting at the Decepticons who are retreating. He's already shifting mental gears to after-action mode: "Rodimus, glad you showed up. He was trying to interface it with this console that--I don't remember being here before. Wait, is this a transformation cog receptor? On Iacon?" Combat: Skids sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Skids takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Rodimus Prime grunts at the way that Brawl flies back against the wall after that haymaker of a punch. Optimus might not have sunk to such a level in the old days, but Rodimus can at least take a -little- bit of satisfaction in his handiwork. With the cog safely held in one hand, and the remaining Decepticons finally getting the message, he lets out a faint sigh as the situation seems to be wrapping up. "Alright, that should do it, thankfully. Good job everybody." With that, he takes a few steps to one side and places one hand on First Aid's shoulder. The other lifts above the Protectobot so he can drop the precious cog into the doctor's waiting hands. "We'll get other medics working on patching everybody up. First Aid, I want -you- to ensure there's no damage to that cog, then head straight for Earth by the fastest and most direct route possible and get it installed back in Metroplex ASAP." Rodimus then turns back to the others and crosses his arms over his chest. "I was just lucky I showed up to lend a hand in time is all." Skids' words do catch his audials though, and he peers towards the console. "...installing Metroplex's cog in Iacon and activating it? I don't even know if that's -possible-, though if it was...I dunno -what- could happen. Maybe that was the point..." ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) By the time Outbound has landed from his aerial launch he's right back in robot mode, the whole 'stay open for a pass' plan having fallen short of the actual passing bit. "Unfortunate... I was so looking forward to more playtime," he sighs, as the hoverjets power up to full speed. "Last chance, yes I would imagine so. Perhaps a bit longer next time though, hm? I'm certain it will be...amusing," are the Hovertank's parting words as he follows the line of Cons. Hiss, pop, whirr, grind, snap, click- HOVERTANK! Combat: Hovertank begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. First Aid keeps his pistol trained on Outbound until he's just a spot on the horizon. Then he feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up, momentarily alarmed. "Ah! Rodimus Prime! Boy were you a sight for sore optics." He holsters his firearm and catches the transformation cog smooth. Cradling it in his hands, Aid looks it over. He doesn't /see/ any damage on the surface but these things are incredibly complicated. Who knows what the Cons might have done to its internals. "You got it, boss. I'll take the spacebridge back to Autobot City right away!" Aid transforms into ambulance mode, cog placed safely in his rear compartment as he takes off for the spacebridge. Outbound has left. Sideswipe remains quiet for once as he watches things going on around him. Then he turns and heads off without a word. He needs to find a medic and fast, maybe get some serious down time... Skids is visibly damaged, most blatantly--and most superficially--the scraped-off enamel on his arm from that blast wave Contrail threw at him and Sideswipe. But he looks in much better shape than at the end of his last battle. Rodimus Prime nods slowly as First Aid drives off, feeling the first bit of relief he's felt about the whole Metroplex issue ever since the Cog was reported stolen in the first place. "Remind me to talk to Red Alert about installing a better security system around Metroplex's cog in the future. This is an occurance that's gotten to be a little too common for my tastes." With that, he looks to the others and grins. "Good job all around, guys. Not only did you stop the Decepticons from pulling off some crazy plan here, but it looks like the balance of power on Earth just got restored rather nicely. Get yourselves patched up as necessary." Skids isn't one to stand on formality, but he's also not one to stint on some well-earned respect. "Good idea. Right away." Skids mentions on his way out, "Nice work, First Aid. Hope you get Omega back up soon so they won't try that again. Oh--somebody had better turn the automated defenses back on." Skids pauses at the doorway, turns to Rodimus, and asks, "Oh, and Rodimus? Is it all right if I go to Earth with him?" He doesn't explain, but, well, it's no secret which planet he likes better by now. ================================= Decepticon ================================= Message: 2/106 Posted Author AAR: Iacon Infiltration Sun Jan 13 Outbound ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Decepticon Spinny* Outbound appears within the medical facility on Darkmount, his face dominating the majority of the screen. "A group of Decepticons infiltrated Iacon today... The group consisted of Brawl, Carjack, Contrail, Counterpunch and myself as cavalry. Apparently the mission had something to do with a transformation cog from that big fellow..." Outbound squints, his optics narrowing as he tries to recall-oh yes! "Metroplex. The particulars do not much matter, as the fact is that the entire operation failed miserably. Rodimus Prime made Brawl eat his teeth. Contrail and Carjack ran off due to excess damage, leaving Brawl to the mercy of our enemies. Counterpunch... Well, I would be surprised if we ever see that one again. All in all it was a very entertaining failure. All Hail Galvatron." *Decepticon Spinny* ============================================================================== Ex
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