Empire City (United Federation)

Empire City~! A melting pot for all kinds of people from different cultures and varied regions to gather together and live in bustling harmony. The roads are as packed as the skyscrapers are high, and people scatter all along the roads and streets in the city with no curfew~

[~New Arc: Creation of Reflections~]
From "The Mystic Ruins Hotel"~

*Whip stumbles out of the portal, somewhat glad to both be on solid ground and able to stretch his limbs, which he does so with great enthusiasm*
Whip: "Nyaaaaaa-ao~!"
*He cracks his back*
Whip: "Alright! Where to, Mana~?"

Tanya: Nyeeeeh, I think she's lost in la la land, Nii-san...

Mana: *looking around the city, a touch of wistfulness on her face*
Hana: *takes Mana's hand in hers as she smiles, a touch of nostalgia on her expression as well* It's been awhile, huh?
Mana: *nods* It's familiar even though I don't remember much of it here...
Hana: That makes sense~ We did move away when you were still kind of young.
Mana: *looking around* Do you think they still have the park with the cherry trees?
Hana: Probably~

Whip: "Cherry trees?"
*Whip butts into their reminiscing in his typical manner*
Whip: "So, you remember this place, huh? Well, we can sight-see all we want after we drop off these memories. Come on, it's thirty minutes or their meal is free!"
*He verbally prods her excitedly*

Mana: *she seems surprised, but nods, her eyes becoming a little bit sad at the reminder, but they're determined as well* Right. Let's get going.
Hana: Where are we looking?
Mana: 7th and... *mouth twists wryly* Nova Street.
Hana: *raises eyebrow* 7th and Nova? That's kind of...
Mana: The slums, yeah.
Kimitsu: *scoffs* Figures the rabbit's counterpart is in the dumps of Empire City.

Whip: "Back off, bloodsucker. At least in the slums people don't try throwing holy water at him."
*Whip shrugs off the conversation and starts walking*
Whip: "Lead the way Mana~ I want to see how my other self stacks up to my awesomeness~"

Tanya: *jumps onto Mana's shoulder's this time* Yeah yeah! I want so see if this Nii-san is any cooler!
Mana: *laughs as she leads the way* Yeah, if my memory's right, he's totally cooler.

Kimitsu: *eye twitches as his expression darkens, and it looks like he's having very murderous thoughts towards the rabbit*
Hana: *grabs Kimitsu's hand comfortingly and smiles up at him*
Kimitsu: *seems a bit soothed, but he looks away, embarrassed*
Hana: *leads him to follow Mana*

*Whip takes an arrow to the head*
Whip: "If my memory serves, he was totally stronger than your counterpart too!"
*He sticks his tongue out at Mana*

Mana: *wry and pained smile* Your memory isn't as good as mine, Whip. *leads the way*
Tanya: *grins at Whip* I can get cream for your burn if you want, Nii-san

Whip: "YOUR BURN."
*He just... lets that retort sink in for a bit before silently following along with Mana*

*the groups walks for awhile towards 7th and Nova Street, and occasional chattering takes place as they pass; eventually, however, Mana and Tanya are caught in a pretty riveting discussion regarding Tanya's suggestion to add a waterslide that goes from the top of the hotel to the lake in Mystic Ruins, to which Mana seems adamant about not having*

Mana: *has an exasperated smile for the young girl* Tanya, I don't have the magic nor money for that.
Tanya: But that'd be so cool! Think about it!
Mana: *rolls her eyes* I am thinking about it, and it's just not-- Oof!

*Not having been watching where she was going, when Mana turns the corner, she ends up running into someone completely, and ends up falling on her bottom as her hat falls off of her*

Mana: *rubs her chin, having collided with the person's collar bone* Ow... *looks up sheepishly at the person* Sorry I--
: Mana?
Mana: *gasps in shock at the familiar red panda with emerald eyes* ...Psyche?

*Whip flits the corner as well, holding in a chuckle as he watches Mana fall flat on her rear. It's not until he notices who she bumped into that he stops laughing at her as much*
Whip: "Hey..."
*Whip unconsciously lends his hand to the fallen Mana, but his eyes stay on Psyche*
Whip: "Psyche...? You're Psyche?"

Psyche: *looks in surprise at Whip as well* Well I'll be damned! *grins hugely* It's Whip!
Mana: *takes Whip's hand and offer to pull her up, still in a bit of a shock to respond to Psyche*
Psyche: *gets up by himself, dusting off his baggy black pants* I figured you two would still be together!

*Whip looks down at his hand interlaced with Mana's, and while he still makes sure she's standing upright, he immediately drops her hand and crosses his arms to look away, his cheeks lighting up bright red*
Whip: "I don't know what the hell you're-"
*Whip catches himself speaking oddly again, but his flustration leads him to spit a string of swears before he makes a frustrated sound*
Whip: "Sh-shut up!"

Mana: *smiles weakly* We're not a couple, actually.
Psyche: *seems surprised by this, and it looks like he's about to comment, but...*
: Psyche?
Mana and Psyche: *turn their attention to a pretty green fox whose sky blue eyes look at the group confusedly*
: Are these your friends?
Psyche: *scratches his ear bashfully* Yeah, something like that, Air~
Mana: *her turn to be surprised as she reads the interactions between them*
: Oh, well if that's the case...~ *offers her hand to Mana*
Aria: My name is Aria~! *smiles as she tilts her head slightly* It's very nice to meet you!
Mana: *takes her hand despite her hesitation, and she smiles as well* My name is Mana. It's nice to meet you too~ *turns around to introduce the group, and gestures to each name* This is Hana, Kimitsu, and Tan-- *double takes as Tanya tosses her hat on her head and strides up to Aria* Tanya?
Tanya: *eyes Aria with a suspicious look* How come I don't know you?
Hana: (pleasantly, even if her voice has a hint of warning) Tanya~
Aria: It's fine~ *looks to Psyche* He didn't tell me about you guys either. *raises an eyebrow, although it's amused* Which is weird, because I would think I would have noticed when you met this many people.
Psyche: *gives a huge grin* To be fair, I've only heard about Kimitsu and Hana.
Kimitsu: (mumbling) Heard is one way to put it...

*Whip strolls next to Tanya and plants his hand on top of the hat -- and thus onto her head -- while he analyzes the two*
Whip: "So... this is the fabled girl, huh Psyche?"
*He winks towards Psyche teasingly, though there is a good-natured edge to his voice*
Whip: "Good to see she's real~ I was starting to think she didn't exist~"
*He play-bows to her, though he is obviously not very good at it as it resembles more of a curtsy*
Whip: "Name's Whip~ Get used to it, 'cause you're gonna be hearing it yelled a lot~!"

Psyche: *despite Whip's friendly countenance, his eyebrows twitch and his ears droop a little, immense pain flitting through his eyes before he pushes past it*
Aria: *giggles, before taking Psyche's hand in hers, pink dusting over her muzzle as she smiles at him* You have interesting friends, Psyche~
Psyche: *grins hugely* You know me~ I only pick the weirdos as friends.
Aria: *her eyebrows quirk as she becomes playfully exasperated with him*
Psyche: *looks to Mana curiously* But what are you guys doing here? I thought I would've known if you guys lived in Empire City.
Mana: *she glances at Aria, not sure how much to say* Uh, well...
Hana: *steps forward with an easy smile* Well, Mana and I did use to live here, but we moved away after awhile. We're actually looking for a friend of ours~ *waves her hand* He's a little lost and apparently he's somewhere on Nova and 7th Street~
Aria: *seems a bit surprised* Nova and 7th Street?
Hana: *laughs* Yeah, he's bit of an idiot sometimes, so it figures he'd end up there~

*Whip seems ready to bite Hana's head off, but he somehow keeps his cool by clicking his teeth*
Whip: "It'll be easy to pick him out! He'll be the second most handsome guy in the city and probably kicking everyone's butts by blinking too hard!"
*He polishes his gloved fingers against his chest cockily*

Aria: I... see... *regains her composure with a smile* Well, I hope you'll be able to find him~ *looks at Psyche with a bright smile* We have to get to school now, Psyche~
Psyche: *nods* Yeah, wouldn't want any of the school faculty to miss my smile~ *winks at her*
Mana: *seems highly amused, and with a smile that's borderlining mischievous, she puts a hand to her chin as she nods* Ohh, that explains the uniforms...~
Psyche: *sends a narrowed look at Mana, to which her eyes twinkle more with laughter* We'll be going now guys. (-w-)
Hana: *all smiles* It was nice to meet you two officially~
Aria: *nods* You too~!

*the two start walking in the direction the gang came from, and they look like they're having a rather playful conversation*

Hana: They seem fun~
Mana: *shakes her head exasperatedly* Psyche hasn't changed a bit. *her expression becomes confused, however* Except... *looks to Whip* Who's Aria? Do you remember?

*Whip seemed to have been pleasantly entertained by the entire conversation, and was enjoying himself even as the couple walked off to attend class. At Mana's inquiry, however, his mood does take a small hit, though not enough to warrant concern in any event*
Whip: "Um... let's see..."
*He scratches the top of his head in thought for a moment*
Whip: "I don't think he mentioned her by name, but if I had to guess..."
*He tilts his head*
Whip: "She's probably... that girl that he lost. His friend from when he was younger..."

Mana: *looks at the retreating figures of Psyche, and a deep sadness enters her eyes* I see... That makes sense...
Hana: *seems surprised by her sister's change in mood* Mana...?
Mana: *shakes her head and smiles at Hana* Let's go?
Hana: ...Alright~
Tanya: *jumps onto Kimitsu's back, much to his displeasure* Onwards! >V</ To victory!
Kimitsu: *really doesn't want to carry Tanya and it shows in his grumpy expression*

*Whip shoulders next to Mana, giving her a slight bump to get her attention. He flashes her a small grin and gives a thumbs up, patting her back gently as he continues on with Tanya and Kimitsu*
Whip: "Let's go, huh Mana~?"

Mana: *smiles weakly, eyes both sad yet happy* Yeah, let's go.

*The group continues on their way, and the city starts to look a little dirtier and darker, and the sounds grow quiet as they reach Nova and 7th*

Mana: *looking around, her expression a little confused*
Hana: Sooo... Any idea how to find him?
Mana: *rubs the back of her head sheepishly* I... I admit I assumed his aura would be something like Whip's, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm getting the right reading anymore.
Kimitsu: (deadpan) Joy.

*Whip groans in frustration and scratches his head. His cheeks puff out in thought as he assesses the situation*
Whip: "Now what do we do..."
*Just as he asks it, however, a thought occurs to him. With a small mumble, he begins to approach the closest lamppost curiously*

*The group looks at him curiously at his behavior*

Tanya: Nii-san?