The Agricultural District—a subsidiary faction within the ranks of the Pollinators—was a bustling building abroad with a myriad of different experiments. They had known about the current crisis for only a few days now, and had already begun making corresponding arrangements and preparations. Everyone in the building turned their heads the moment two figures entered.

  They had dark-blue hair, matching ears and tails, and were smiling. Francis and Fatima walked in, pulling a small wooden wagon with a large amount of supplies behind them. The supplies included objects like test tubes, samples of soils from abroad, and other miscellaneous objects.

  Francis huffed as the wagon came to a stop, leaning against the wooden frame and wiping the sweat off his brow. Upon seeing the others in the Agricultural District looking at him, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly and collect himself.

  He brushed himself off, regaining his posture. "I presume you're all hard at work here?"

  Francis received no response back, only skeptical glances oriented on him, his sister, and the wagon trailing behind them.

  The navy-blue vulpur chuckled dryly as he turned to his sister, silently begging her to commence with introductions. Fatima adjusted the collar of her work shirt and smiled at the men and women present in the workshop.

  "I apologize for my brother's faulty introduction. My name is Fatima, and this is Francis. We've been sent here to help with the current agricultural issues."

  One of the men working there, a man with straight blonde hair, a thin beard on his chin, and a pair of dazzling emerald eyes approached them. Though, his complexion, whilst charming for most, exhibited disgust towards the duo before him.

  "Why are you tail-backs here?"

  "Excuse me?" Francis scoffed, tail flicking back and forth as he sat up from the carriage, clenching his fists at his sides.

  "Calm yourself." Fatima looked to her brother, brows furrowing. "Let me do the talking."

  Francis pouted and rolled his eyes, looking away.

  "Listen here. I don't like the use of that word, alright? We've been sent here on decree of Emperor Katsuki himself; his empire is struggling and so is yours. If you want more help, I'd recommend not taking us at face-level."

  Fatima spoke with calmness and clarity, a more professional instigation than what Francis would have opted for.

  Hearing this objection, the blonde-haired man sighed heavily, gesturing to the wagon. "Just lemmie check the wagon first."

  Both twins watched in silence as a few other men and women walked over, brows furrowed and expressions of heavy solemnity and focus as they raked over the contents of the wagon. After a few seconds of scuffling and silence, Francis spoke up.

  "What are you guys looking for?"

  "Drugs, poisons, the usual stuff." A woman with hair tied into a bun obscured by netting, replied with a serious tone. Her crimson eyes darted to Francis, flickering with subtle, controlled intimidation.

  "You don't have any of those, right?"

  Francis felt his face pale, but he chuckled and adjusted his cravat. "No, we don't. Hehe, why would we have drugs and poison if we want to help you guys?"

  A quick elbow from Fatima shut Francis up, making him yelp and rub his sides. "Excuse my brother, even if we have the same mind we tend to think differently."

  After the search had been completed and everyone stepped back from the wagon, the group nodded and allowed them to proceed.

  "Mind elaborating on the contents of this locomotive of yours?"

  Francis and Fatima scurried forward, reaching into a sack in a bottom compartment. They dug for a few seconds before taking a few bottles of liquid. They were blueish-green in color, with what seemed like exploding blue fireworks within the potion. Seeing this peculiar concoction, the men and women feigned palpable interest.

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  "May I ask what it is?" A woman with a pair of glasses and pale-white hair, asked with a smile.

  Francis clicked his tongue and unscrewed the lid, sniffing the concoction. "It's a biological acceleration remedy, or BEM for ease of language."

  He smiled as he stretched his hand out, pointing to a pot of soil on a nearby work bench. "Mind handing that over?"

  "I'm afraid we can't do that. That's confidential knowledge only permitted to our ranks," An employee replied.

  Francis rolled his eyes, pointing to another pot of soil on another table. "What about that?"

  "The same thing."

  Fatima scoffed, reaching into the wagon and taking out a small wooden box full of soil. "We wanted to test our product on other soils before ours to see if it's a good independent variable."

  Everyone in the facility watched with rapt attention as Fatima set the pot of soil on the floor, turning to Francis who held the glowing liquid. With a small smile, she gestured for her brother to commence. Francis knelt down beside the pot of soil, brows furrowing a millimeter as he unscrewed the lid.

  "Stand back."

  Francis slowly tipped the bottle to the pot, allowing a few drops of the serum to seep into the soil below it. Francis lowered the pair of alchemical goggles situated above his brows whilst the serum caused the soil to undergo changes. The men and women within the Agricultural District remained silent, their expressions a mix of skepticism and curiosity.

  Suddenly, a small bud emerged from the soil, a small leaf-like organism that grew countless legs. On the leaves, countless pairs of eyes emerged, looking in all directions, scanning the lab and the people within it. Francis smiled brilliantly upon seeing this.

  "What... is that creature?" A man within the crowd of workers asked.

  The vulpur boy looked up at him, picking up the potted plant. "This is a species of plant originating from my island home. They can emit pheromones that can put you to sleep and other things."

  "Ah, I see." One of the men walked over, eyes wide with curiosity as he knelt down, gazing at the peculiar creature.

  "But what does this have to do with the current situation?"

  "You see..." Fatima reached into the wagon again, taking out another box of soil. The only thing different from the others was the label scrawled on animal skin. On the label was a single word—carrots.

  "We simply made this plant grow quicker, to prove this point we'll test it on a plant you all know very well."

  Fatima set the potted plant down, gesturing for Francis to offer a little serum. The same process was undergone, and all the scientists and professionals watched, their mouths almost agape as the plant grew in size, exceeding almost two times the size of a regular plant.

  "By Mother Nature Herself, you must be a blessed of her!"

  Francis and Fatima chuckled sheepishly. "While we do worship her in our kingdom, we can guarantee we aren't held in any favor."

  "No... I mean, this biological ability, this miracle of life shouldn't be able to be replicated by a simple concoction. Such feats of power should be accomplished by an Angel or demi-god."

  "Really now." Francis and Fatima felt their ears twitch, palpable excitement coursing through their bones.

  "We'd consider this a miracle; the last time we tested the serum it turned a plant into a spider."

  Francis and Fatima gave each other a smug high-five.

  ...

  "You should see your father; he needs you at his side." Emperor Katsuki—topless—turned to Hazel who stood in the doorway.

  The girl with brown hair and a pair of green eyes nodded her head, but she didn't immediately leave. Instead, her gaze remained on the emperor for a few more seconds. After a moment or two, Hazel finally spoke up.

  "You're dressing up."

  Emperor Katsuki nodded, approaching his wardrobe. He opened the wooden doors and took out a dark-gray robe with orange trimming and accents. He put on a light-colored undershirt and slipped the robe on top, tying it with a silk sash at his mid-section.

  "My people worry; I have to address them to deter such concern."

  Hazel looked out the nearest window, watching as the snow fell calmly outside. "They freeze outside, you remain in the palace."

  Just then, Emperor Katsuki sighed under his breath, his expression softening. "I originally proposed keeping the masses in the palace and spreading them in safer locations, but with Izuku's current condition, I had to reconsider."

  At this moment, another figure came into view. It was another vulpur with short, messy brown hair and matching brown eyes. Demetruis, clad in servants attire, walked into the room with a small plate of tea.

  "I figured you want this at the moment."

  Emperor Katsuki nodded in acknowledgement upon seeing this gesture. "Thank you."

  Before he left, Demetruis pointed to the doorway. "Yelena wants to speak with you."

  "Yelena?" Emperor Katsuki felt a wave of uncertainty when he heard the unfamiliar name."

  Demetruis was hesitant to give an explanation, as he felt that any questioning of the emperor's intelligence would have him condemned to a punishment worse than death. Both of them looked to the doorway as a voice suddenly emanated from it.

  They saw a figure that radiated maternal beauty. She had long hair that was mixed of green and blue, almost akin to the ocean. Her eyes were a similar hue of greenish-blue as well. She was clad in a rather revealing outfit, contrasting to the harsh weather outside.

  "I was... sent here by Felonious to assist you here?" She feigned a twitching smile.

  Emperor Katsuki nodded his head as he walked over to her, taking note of her abnormal height. Compared to his five foot, ten inch height, she stood six feet, three inches. Emperor Katsuki had never seen a vulpur of this height before; he couldn't help but feel a little small compared to her.

  "Is something wrong?" Yelena cocked her head a little.

  Emperor Katsuki shook his head. "No, nothing's troubling me. I was told you wanted to speak with me?"

  Yelena nodded, making her way down the hallway beside Emperor Katsuki. "You plan on addressing your city as a totality regarding this crisis, correct?"

  The blonde-haired man nodded in response. "I was. Do you have any suggestions or anything to propose?"

  Yelena faintly nodded. "I was hoping I could assist to a degree. First of all, if you wish to address your kingdom, you should speak from your balcony—"

  Emperor Katsuki raised a hand, silently gesturing to her to pause. "You speak of the elementary aspects of public speech as if I don't know them. I was hoping you could give me better insight."

  "It sounds like you're clueless to a degree." Yelena scoffed.

  "I'm not clueless!" Emperor Katsuki abruptly bellowed.

  Yelena flinched slightly, her body habitually tensing from the sudden burst of anger. She quickly collected herself, brushing down her ruffled fur.

  "Maybe clueless about courtesy with your guests..." She grumbled under her breath, barely missing the emperor's ears.

  "What'd you say?"

  "Nothing," Yelena said.

  After a short pause, they kept walking. Emperor Katsuki was the first to speak, rolling his shoulders to get a feel of the robe around him.

  "Aside from rudimentary subjects, what do you actually have in mind? After all, you were personally commissioned by Kael."

  "Well..." Yelena felt her lips twitch. "There's a story I feel I should tell you."

  Emperor Katsuki turned to her, curious.