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In nearly an instant, Titanica finds herself back at the foundry where her search began. The wounds of the previous battle are still rather fresh as repair drones scurried back and forth trying to fix the damage. Massive gashes can be seen on the walls, exposing the inner workings of the factories and damaged refineries ooze with hardened lava. Yet it seems that none of the bots sound an alarm the moment she and Hoho arrived. The Vassal definitely thought her present was going to be noted, but perhaps these bots were perhaps too busy to look up; or perhaps Hoho was doing some kind of tampering. Who knew. It’s a great opportunity to search around, nodding lightly at the alchemist offering help if she’s needed. The Vassal didn’t feel like she needs her help, but at least the thought counts. 

After several minutes walking through the ruins of the foundry, she enters a large hangar area, badly damaged by the battle. Still have the bots not sounded the alarm or even took note of the vassal’s presence. Not even bothering with them, Titanica continues to proceed, eventually entering a door that leads inside the facility. The twisting maze of corridors didn’t bother her, as she finds herself descending deeper and deeper down into the base. Lights began flickering the deeper she went, yet most of the lower levels seem to be more preserved compared to what happened outside. It came to the point where she couldn’t see any other repair drones coming down the hallways. 

As Titanica turns towards a random door, it opens to reveal a large horizontal shaft, revealing yet another dark pit. This must be some sort of elevator shaft that reaches to the lower levels. Maybe whatever she seeks is hiding somewhere here. Even she is becoming more curious at whatever the Machina was doing down here prior to their evacuation. Having nothing better to do, she jumps down, descending deeper and deeper into the dark abyss below, until suddenly smashing open the roof of the elevator and landing right in it. Looking forward, Titanica reveals another long horizontal corridor. A large track can be seen in the middle, which suggests it must’ve been a train track that transported goods from section to section of the foundry. There’s a sign here. 

To her right, it points “To Section G3” and to her left “To Research Division Complex”.

Titanica goes left, walking for roughly three minutes before encountering a massive mess. The research complex seemed to have been completely destroyed, as if an explosion took place here. It didn’t look like it was made from an outside factor, like if someone came in and destroyed the place. The facility prior to encountering this place in the lower levels past “Level 10” felt rather preserved and unaffected compared to the battle above. It felt like it was blown up on purpose… as if it’s hiding something. The Vassal’s curiosity spikes as she enters the decrypted facility. She doesn’t mind much other than debris from the walls and the broken lab equipment. Giant mechanical structures can be seen near the back of the little chambers, with even green liquid oozing from several tank-like structures in one location.

What were they doing here?

As she reaches the end of the facility, she encounters what appears to be a large command center. Titanica sees ruined chairs spread across the room, with burnt wiring, paper, and metal littered all across the floor. A huge badly damaged screen, ten meters high and thrice as long, overlooks the entire room, with most of the glass having been shattered by the blast. The vassal begins to look around, hoping to find as much information as she can. At first she finds herself coming up empty. Most of the information here has seemed to have vanished completely as soon as the blast was sprung. But as she turns towards the opposite side of the room, she eyes a small pile of papers lying on a table. The vassal approaches them, grabbing the top most paper and begins reading.

She immediately sees the letters “TEP” typed on the top of the paper before reading at the transmission. All it showed was boring scientific calculations and precise measurements. She glances at the rest of the papers, most of them being generally the same thing until she picked up the bottom most paper. The paper showed what appears to be a sketch of a metallic robot, sporting a saurian body and had rows of spikes on its back. This thing eerily looked like herself. She searches for a name, eventually glancing right at the title itself.

 “Unit-T Prototype MK: II”. 

This can’t be what she thinks it is, right? The mech’s structure, name, and even some of the weaponry that’s named… this has to be it. Is this what she sensed earlier? She attempts to pick up any strange signatures of any kind, sniffing the air as she virtually scans the entire facility, yet comes up with nothing but the smell of burnt metal and musty air. Whatever was going on here, it now only confirms the fact that “TEP” was attempting to hide their tracks. And for the most part they did a good job at even covering the scent. Yet not everything here was destroyed, as shown with the possession of this document. 

It appears the vassal has what she needs. She could try to look around for more clues, but what else can she find? She can already imagine Hoho complaining loudly on the surface, or perhaps already having left the Foundry entirely. Without any delay, she turns back to the entrance of the facility and begins to make her way back out of this place.

Yet she couldn’t help but feel like she’s being watched.

Though frankly, what she felt was no concern to the great Alchemist. Hoho had tagged along with a whistling tune in her step, observing the busy little robots hard at work. She had offered Titanica her help and since she was denied, all that was really keeping her was some form of entertainment to be had. Eventually entering some secret room, Hoho took in the area with a dull glance and a yawn. [color=gold]"TEP again? You know Zilla, I've had my fair share of run ins with those guys. If they were the ones you're after you could have just, I dunno, asked?"[/color] What was going to be more follow up retorts died down into a curious pause.

Because now she too felt the sensation of being watched creep up her short body, a smirk forming on her lips. But how? Why was it now Eos was suddenly aware of the Vassal's presences? Well....maybe she had decided to end her tampering for a few minutes; just enough time for the High Queen to dispatch an agent to deal with the intrusion. And given the aura both her and Titanica knew all too well, it was becoming painfully obvious which one Eos had sent. [color=gold]"Heads up Zilla. We seem to have company."[/color]

Sure enough, the soft footfalls of Roma's frame echoed in the chamber before she eventually found the two. A most displeased look scrawled on her feature at the sight; it was bad enough she was dealing with problems of her own, what with recuperating Henry as well as managing Hyperion from the shadows. But to have three Vassals meet like this....she had a twinge of annoyance at who might be behind this fated gathering. But enough about that. Sleeves pressed against each other, Roma stared unblinking at the two. [color=C71585]"Titanica. Hohenheim. Explain your presence here."[/color]

The Vassal of Nether had never heard of these "TEP" personnel before. How could she have known who they were if she wasn't aware of their existence. Even then, she doesn't even know for sure if this is who she should be following in the first place. For all she knew, this may not be the thing she's looking for and all that she's doing is being lead unwillingly into a trap.

Speaking of traps, here comes Roma appearing from virtually out of nowhere. Titanica had already begun to sense a presence as soon as she came out of the facility, but ignored it as she considered it was Eos who was monitoring her. Only after she hears the faint sounds of footsteps coming down the hall has it been confirmed. Now she sets her sight on the Vassal of Energy and her glare turned into a soured grimace. 

[b][color=00aeef]"Ugh, this bitch again..."[/color][/b] she sighs, bearing her teeth at the Eel.

She remembers the last time she encountered Roma, centuries ago as the Vassal of Nether was laying waste to a nearby town. Long story short, the two fought against one another, and the Saurian Vassal lost. Not only did she lose, but she was humiliated under white straps of toothy bondage ultimately being made a complete fool out of. Wayne was definitely not pleased by that sudden defeat and Titanica was severely punished for it. Now just by simply looking at the Eel, Titanica feels a volcano of vengeance slowly making its way to the surface of her conscience. However, she wasn't here to finish business with Roma.

[b][color=00aeef]"Roma."[/color][/b] she blurts out with a hiss, "I can ask the same with you. As much as I want to beat your tiny face after our last encounter, I'm not here to fulfill my grudge with you. Nor am I here to destroy this place. And frankly, that's all you need to know. Step aside and we'll be on our way out of here, never to return."

Titanica's glare and misgivings were easily deflected by Roma's own deadpan stare. She could hardly care if the other Vassal had grudges to hold, especially when it was so long. Furthermore, Titanica and Hoho both in the same place was suspicion enough, especially for what the Alchemist was known for. Though to her credit, Hoho was keeping out of it, merely sporting the biggest grin on her face as her eyes switched from one to the other. [color=C71585]"Is that so? Excuse me then if I have some difficulty believing your intentions. Were you alone, I might not have passed a second glance. But associating yourself with her has me, shall we say, concerned."[/color] The Eel's stared at Hoho now, who merely shrugged. [color=C71585]"Do you provide proof that you mean no harm, and that you will leave this place without cause for alarm?"[/color]

Titanica attempts to quell her anger as even she shrugs herself.

[b][color=00aeef]"I'm looking for something."[/color][/b] she responds in a calm yet firm tone. She then glances at Hoho for a second with a slightly peeved look, [b][color=00aeef]"With Hoho's help, yes. I thought I remembered sensing something here as I was traveling by. Something... personal, you can say. Yet it turned out I found nothing of value here. And in that light, this place has no use to me. I'm leaving this location in peace. That's all this is."[/color][/b]

She raises her hands and opens them to reveal that she's innocent. The paper she found in TEP was tucked neatly inside her clothes, with not a crease or tip being exposed. Even so, it is true that she has no future plans of coming back here. This place has provided all that it can.

Oh this was going nowhere. Hoho had expected a deathmatch between these two or, hell, some form of amusement to sate her infinite boredom! But of all times....now they wanted to be civil!? Well, not while she could stand for it; before Roma could respond, the Alchemist leaned close to Titanica on her tip toes, eager to whisper words of wisdom. [color=gold]"Psst, Zilla! Don't you know the Eel is married to High Queen Eos herself? If this TEP or whatever is the best lead you've got, isn't it best to get as much information as you can? And who has the most knowledge about the Machina in this room...."[/color] she said, flicking her head to Roma with a predatory smile. That alone put Roma on guard, not liking where this was going and causing a spark to crackle between her finger tips. [color=gold]"I say you take her with you. See how much she's willing to spill."[/color]

The Vassal of Nether examines Roma carefully while taking Hoho's words into account. She indeed recalls the Eel's tight involvement with the Machina, but this would be the first that she has heard of her engagement with Eos. To her, this makes sense. And not only would she retrieve information that she seeks, but of course satisfy her vengeance against the Eel. Yet she's completely unaware that these poisonous remarks were already beginning to poison the mind of the already vengeful Vassal. If she hadn't had such a history with Roma, Titanica could've ignored it, but now...

This is an opportunity she cannot afford to pass off. 

A echoing groan emits from her maw as she raises her head from listening to Hoho. She continues looking at the eel, at first looking conflicted about this entire endeavor. What seemed to be the glance of reason, turned into the same predatory smile that Hoho emitted just seconds earlier. A second later, Roma would find her body being constricted by two massive arms, squeezing her tightly against her chest. Titanica couldn't help but to look at her enstrangled prey, licking her chops as saliva drips from her aching maw. Today, unagi is on the menu and it's going to be a very tasty morsel indeed.

Roma's worst fears were starting to become reality because now both of them were giving off similar looks. [color=C71585]"Titanica, what did she say to you?" [/color]she asked, already reaching for a knife. [color=C71585]"Whatever it is, we can discuss this order-gahh!"[/color] Her cry brought Hoho's smile brimming until it looked as if it was eclipse her face. Roma's efforts at renewed negotiation had put her off guard, allowing Titanica to not only slip behind her, but also hold her in place. It was a cruel reminder that both were Vassals of equal power. As she was squeezed, Roma kicked about in the lizard's grip, her knife dropping to the ground. [color=C71585]"Urgh, Titanica, enough of this!"[/color] With a glare she began to emit a pulse of electricity, intent to fry the other woman alive.

For her part, Hoho found the largest circuit of spared machinery and plopped upon it with legs crossed. Oh this was delicious...she almost felt like applauding her new partner in crime for giving in to her more base instincts. Honor and whatnot were wasted when they were Vassals, through and through. One hand opening a portal and depositing some red mush to her lap while another produced a small of fluids. [color=gold]"This should be good for research,"[/color] she mused to herself, taking it all in silence as she transfigured the glob of red into popcorn, eagerly awaiting Titanica's next [url=https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/Roma's_Capture]move....[/url]