Since the Moonflower bloomed, the country of Germany was split, or more so, unified into only two sides – face and feet. On the surface, all streets adorn the admirable German architecture; 4-6 story, slope roofed buildings fitted with pipes and wires below the surface. The rent is manageable, food is also cheap and jobs are abundant – it is a utopia for those who are from less fortunate countries… if there were people from foreign lands. Like rats forage the rubbish, it is unlikely to see the people of the underworld to show their face about the glee glimmering face of the country.

The underground is just the title given by those who write the history. Lest we forget, people willingly defect to the underground, more so if the people in question have an astonishing potential. Vector manipulators, tailors, innovators and those who are deemed undesirable by the face – the foot is where the tree is grounded and the crown is the undying will to reach independence but neither of them would exist without one another. Throughout the years, through extensive research driven by the want to get back at those who shunned them, the “Sunflower”, the most efficient nuclear energy facility, was envisioned. Outputting an excessive 5 terawatt-hours’ worth of electricity a month, the reactor alone is enough to power a city 5 times larger than Berlin. While the Sunflower single-handedly powers the underground in its entirety, the above-ground, face, opt for an aesthetically pleasing Wind Turbines.

“Thousands upon thousands of pinwheels spin and sway throughout the streets of Berlin. Children, adults, the elderly, all pay their respects to those of the near past – the ones who brought about the nation and helped Germania’s name to resonate in the modern world”, sounds a news broadcast. Sitting around a low table in the living room of the apartment, the saint, the writer, and the cat watch the wall mounted TV broadcasting the Peace Day celebration. In the kitchen, Li is making breakfast. Cutting up the vegetables, bought fresh from the market, “Solyanka – a meal that makes up for the day… Could someone call Mr. Johann, please? I know he has been hit in the head pretty hard but, it is unreasonable for someone as important as him to be asleep for this long”, says Li, as the pot boil with various ingredients and emit a scent akin to a typical German breakfast.

While San was carried in the casket Leo made, when it came to carrying her into the apartment, he could not suspend her close enough and high enough for her or the apartment to not get damaged. So, as a safer option, Li was selected to transport her up the stairs and into the farthest flat on the top floor. Johann was placed at the back as an airbag, in case Li’s binds slipping, and Yuki and Leo were put in the front to steer the unconscious San. Then again, Yuki slept atop Leo’s head during the whole ordeal…

First, Li pulled the skeleton of the “lift” through the halls of the apartment building. When that was done, San was wrapped in a cloth made of mana and put in between the webs surrounding the skeleton. And off she went with the cocoon as the webs already used integrated into the track in front. A lot of mishaps happened: The neighbors questioned Leo about what it was and some liberties were taken when someone went down the only flight of stairs in the building. After they stopped to let the resident pass by them, Johann was hit by San’s foot, down the stairwell. He was promptly dragged to Leo’s condo after the others managed to get San in. Despite these however, despite Li apologized a lot, despite Johann was hit a lot, San did not touch the ground even once before entering into the condo. As for why they chose this particular method for carrying a person up the stairs, “Ghost would have killed me if I touched you”, “He did not have the strength to lift you” and “Out of respect, I can do no lower than to carry you like that” were their explanation given.

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“Ah… this pot. Solyanka, you said it was? Will made something like this when he cooked. A bit milder, though. Say, Li, could you eat mine as well? I do not need nutrition, you see”, says Yuki, cat walking out to the spare room… Marionetting Johann out of the room and sitting him beside the table, Yuki perches atop Johann’s head and purrs loudly. Soon enough, Johann wakes up, barely balances on his rear and says, “Small”. “You are smaller than usual, Yuki”, he adds, picking her up from his head and puts her down beside himself. “Oh, today is the Peace Day, isn’t it? Turn to Channel 1, there should be the parade going on”, he exclaims… Eating their bowl silently, San and Leo seem to be not amused by the parade.

As the parade reach the city center and pass in front of the apartment, Johann and Li look out through the window, seeing the colorful and cheerful people of the capital. However, right as the parade leave the neighborhood, it gets halted by a sudden explosion blowing up the Statue of Victory. The television broadcast cuts to a black screen, adorned with two simple roman numerals, fifty and one, in red, on a yellow square. “While peace is appeasing, inequality will always lead to conflicts. While conflicts are cruel, in a time of war, everyone is equal, in death, belief, fear and joy. We must not choose either; we must reignite the engine, of ingenuity and of revolution”, sounds through the screen as the person presumably responsible for the attack reveal themselves in the square. Through the Telly, everyone could make out that the perpetrator started to chant “Leaf from the branch, branch from the bark, bark from the root” and approaching the parade with strings materializing from their fingertips, almost clouding the scene behind them. The sky suddenly turns grey with clouds as dark as the robe the perpetrator adorned. In the next instance, lightning strikes the masked figure, instantly neutralizing them.

Peeking out the window, “Blanc?”, asks Leo, turning to Yuki. Indifferent in her tone, “Blanc”, answers Yuki. “Say, Yuki, who is this Blanc you talk about so much?”, asks San. Sighing out a large, “Blanc, also known as END, is one of the Dragon children. A potent one at that – his nickname given by Paul is the Weather Dragon. From that, you should know what he is able to do”, says Yuki. Reforming into her human form and fabricating a great coat around herself, “But he is still human, unlike those pure dragons. If his Cloud-to-Ground was as indiscriminate as that of mother nature’s, I would be cowering in fear right now”, placing a pocket watch in her chest pocket, “You know me when I am scared, no?”, she adds, tailoring and organizing her pockets. Grabbing San’s Ushanka, “I will be off to the turbines, Leo. And, I will introduce the Pyro to him”, she says, heading out the door. Popping her head back through the open door, “Hey, Li! Come, come! Let us meet your uncle”, she says, tugging Li along.

“She just took your hat… Oh, speaking of which, San, you have some business to do with the bureaucracy, don’t you?”, says Johann, startling San for a moment. “Better show up early for the registration process, lest we want to be in Berlin for a long, long time”, he adds, cleaning up the low table. Taking off her jacket from the hanger, “Right, yes… I need to get a visa for you and myself, yes? And Leo would fetch some for Li and Will… So, you coming?”, says San.

Yuki, Li and San have left the apartment. Throwing on his coat, “Yo, mate, I will be going out so, you will be in charge of the house. Good? Good. So, I will be out for about… until 4 or 5, so 6 hours tops, and my phone number is on speed-dial #4; #1 is Illiana, #2 is Paul and #3 is Blanc. If something you cannot handle come up, call Will. His children should be able to help with it, even Alice”, opens door, “See ya!”, says Leo. Sitting on the armchair against the north wall, Johann sighs out a large. “When will this migraine stop?”