Chakra Wizard
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Alright, just to be upfront, I have no intentions of finishing this story, cause I’m hoping to make an anime out of this one day, but I just had to share this with you guys, cause I do think it’s a great idea=D It’s essentially an idea for just one episode, but it’s gonna be pretty long, so I’ll cut down into multiple chapters, depending on much I end up writing. Anyways, I hope you really enjoy it
“…A thousand years. …One thousand goddamn years. …No, that’s not how long I’ve been stuck in this damn city. …It’s how long all of mankind has been stuck living in this so-called 'altopolis', …well, this one and the other twenty-five floating over that huge rock I heard we once lived on. It was 2013, if I remember right. Apparently, our ancestors found out that the planet’s crust was gonna go through an enormous tectonic shift or some science-y shit like that, which would pretty much wipe out everything and everyone on it. Since mankind’s never been too fond of dying, they tried to find a way to escape extinction, …then the Japanese managed to come up with the 'perfect' solution: …floating cities called altopolises. It took about seven years, but our race eventually managed to create them: thirty-two colossal mounds of rock and metal, all of them several miles in diameter, …and just in the nick of time, apparently. On the eve of the year 2020, the altopolises launched, each set for a different altitude in the planet’s atmosphere, …and less than twenty-four hours later, it happened. …Erupting geysers, flowing lava, every building and every living thing being turned to rubble and ash, …sounds pretty jacked up. In the end, about fifteen percent…fifteen freakin’ percent…of over seven billion people were brought on board these giant makeshift 'arks', along with a small population of every animal our race couldn’t do without. They were 'selected' from what I’ve heard, and I’m grateful for them picking my ancestors and all, …but whoever made that selection can kiss my ass…and the ass of everyone who they felt wasn’t 'privileged' enough to survive the apocalypse. …But hell, I’m just rambling at this point. All that matters is, no matter which the way you look at it, …this world is completely effed up…and I’m not talking about the one sitting about thirty thousand feet below us.”
After what seemed like an eternity, at least to the people who were actually listening to him, Isaiah finally finished his rant. He was obviously drunk at this point, and it’s only obvious because he starts it up again every single time he reaches that level of intoxication. Most of those watching couldn’t really understand why he drank like this. He was a kind-hearted guy, wasn’t abused as a kid and roughed up as an adult. Hell, he didn’t even touch any other kind of drug aside from alcohol. Of course, it’s not necessarily a mystery to anyone who actually knows the twenty-two year-old cop well enough. …In truth, he was just tired. Tired of living in the altopolises…or maybe it was just Hekichi he was sick of waking up in every day. Who could blame him, though, really? It was just your basic suburban city with a never-ending power supply that kept it airborne, …nothing special by today’s standards. In terms of size, being only around sixteen miles in diameter, it was a fairly small altopolis, especially when compared to the fifty-mile giants like Unabara and New Tokyo. Compared to the little ones like Uraya, though, it was still a pretty decent place to raise a family, but since he wasn’t really interested in doing that, it wasn’t exactly a perk. Even so, despite his utter aversion of the altopolis in which he was born, he wasn’t really one to complain. Most people could barely afford a living, let alone a ticket for one of the large jets that transport the luckier bastards from city to city, but being in the law enforcement field, at least he had the possibility of getting transferred to another altopolis at some point in the future, …the exact reason he joined the force, to be honest. But, being the impatient drunk he is, it would seem that two years was still enough to make him question the choice. Hell, at his current stage, he would probably even take one of the six altopolises that collapsed a few years after the “Great Cataclysm”, …so long as it got him out of this one.
“Heh he he, man, you really are a piece of work, you know that?”, so said his partner, who sat beside him still sipping on his first beer, while Isaiah had just finished chugging down his fourth.
“Heh, you would know, old man.”, said Isaiah in a smug, but nonetheless joking manner. There was some truth in the moniker, though, as his partner was over twenty years the young man’s senior.
Yakuza Daigawa was your typical symbol for justice, as well as a disciplined, though caring, mentor for the young rookie sitting next to him. Isaiah might’ve even called him a father figure, had he ever known what it was like to have one. Granted, he could never properly fill that position either way, since he was already a father of three children. Like Isaiah, he had lived in Hekichi his entire life and sincerely wished for the opportunity to leave for somewhere else, perhaps even more so, given his age. He had been given his chance to transfer at one point or another, but by that time, he had already married his wife…and the ticket price will only cover the officer being shipped out. But, three kids and eighteen years of marriage later, he didn’t really regret the choice. All he could do now was save up enough cash to get his whole family on one of those jets…and just a few more years of service could probably do it. That thought was actually on Yakuza’s mind right now, his thinking cut short as Isaiah pestered him with another pointless question.
“You ever wonder what, uhhhh, …living in Beikoku would’ve been like?”, Isaiah asked in the midst of his drunken ramble.
“Hm? As in the American altopolis?”, Yakuza questioned. Isaiah confirmed the accuracy of his conjecture with a nod, albeit a barely noticeable one.
“Hmhmhmhm, …if you’re really gonna spend the entire night talking about these damn floating cities, I think you oughta spend more time pondering on the ones that still exist.”, he advised him, looking away as he did.
“Yeah, I guess so. …Just curious is all.”, he answered, as he rested his head atop his folded arms. Hardly a second of silence passed before he began chuckling softly to himself, much to Yakuza’s confusion.
“What’s up with you?”, he asked out of curiosity. Isaiah looked up at his partner out of the corner of his eye before redirecting his gaze to the bottles of liquor on display behind the bar counter he was sitting at.
“Hm? Oh, nothing. …Just think it’s funny, that’s all. U-S-A, the world’s most powerful country, wiped off the grid, …kept in our memories by just a couple thousand people who were living elsewhere at the time. …Hehehehehe, quite the way to go, ain’t it?”, Isaiah rambled on. …In truth, it wasn’t very funny at all, but Yakuza decided to humor him a little.
“Hmhmhm, you’ve got a pretty dark sense of humor, Isaiah. …Yep. Dark, indeed.”, he said jokingly, looking over at him as he did. He then noticed that his partner had just finished off yet another beer and was about to ask for one more, prompting him to gently place his hand on top of Isaiah’s before he could raise it.
“Huh?”, so questioned the younger of the two.
“I do believe that five is enough for one night, Isaiah.”, Yakuza advised him, a small level of concern in his voice and upon his face as he said it, …both of which Isaiah completely disregarded.
“Heh, well, believe what you want, old-timer. I’m getting me another-”
“Isaiah.”, Yakuza interrupted, much to the former’s surprise. The two sat there in those same positions for at least ten more seconds before Isaiah finally gave in and proceeded to hoist himself out of his chair and stumble towards the doorway.
“Yeah yeah, fine. Then, could you give me a ride home, Mom?”, Isaiah asked in an annoyed and mildly sarcastic tone. Smiling in both amusement and contentment, Yakuza followed him out after grabbing both his partner’s dusty, gray trench coat and his own from off the back of their chairs. The drive to Isaiah’s apartment was fraught with near-total silence, neither man uttering a word to the other for its entire duration. Spending each passing second looking out his window with the side of his face rested against his hand, it wasn’t until Yakuza had pulled up beside the sidewalk in front of their destination that Isaiah finally conjured up the nerve to ask his partner what had been on his mind the entire ride home.
“How do you deal with it, man?”, he asked, a hint of doubt present in his voice, doubt that he would understand exactly what “it” he was referring to. …Fortunately, though, he greatly underestimated just how well his partner knew him.
“Hm? …Well, I’ve got my family, of course.”, Yakuza answered with a level of content. Coupled with the smile on his face which this thought had produced, it was just enough to invoke a depressing sigh from his partner, who continued to stare out his window. Yakuza looked at him for a brief moment in wonder before bowing his head and closing his eyes, chuckling to himself as he did.
“Hmph, you know, perhaps if you found a sweet, young thing of your own, you might just enjoy this city a little more, too. …Hehe, you’d certainly drink a lot less, that’s for sure, hehehehehe.”, he said jokingly. After another moment’s silence on his part, Isaiah eventually joined him in his laughter, though not for very long. Sitting in the outdated vehicle just a minute longer, he eventually stepped out with a smile on his face before turning back to give his goodbyes, scanning the side of the car as he did.
“Goddamn, …this car is hideous.”, he said rather smugly, though his sarcasm was still obvious.
“Heh, well, you’re free to head around back and kiss the bumper, if you know what I’m saying.”, Yakuza retorted, earning him a few laughs on his partner’s behalf. The two lingered there just a few seconds longer before Yakuza took the key in his hand, ready to restart the car and return home for the night.
“You take care of yourself, alright? …And don’t barge up there and start drinking some more, you hear me? You’re in for a hell of a hangover as it is.”, he advised.
“Hmm, yeah, don’t worry about it. …Well, have a good one.”, Isaiah said as Yakuza began rolling up the passenger-side window.
“…See you tomorrow.”
And with that, Yakuza drove off into the night, eager to return home to his patiently waiting wife. Waiting until he had turned the corner and was out of sight, Isaiah took one last moment to gaze up at the full moon before walking up the steps to his apartment, nearly stumbling as he did.
The five hours of nighttime that remained passed by in the blink of an eye, sending Isaiah’s alarm clock into a flurry as the last second counted down. Having been unable to get much sleep through the night, the tired and aggravated police officer was already sporting an excruciating headache, leaving him incapable of restraining himself as he grabbed the clock and tossed it at the nearby laundry basket, almost hitting his mark. This moment of freedom would be short-lived, though, as his cell phone began ringing just minutes later. The volume was hardly half that of the alarm clock, but it was still more enough to stir up his impending headache even further. Pressing his hand against his forehead to help ease the pain, he grabbed the phone off the nearby nightstand and answered it.
“Ugh, …yeah?”, Isaiah answered, in a manner that made it obvious to anyone listening that he had just woken up.
“Hey, Coffin! What the hell are you still in bed for!? I tried calling you almost twenty minutes ago!”, asked the caller, who sounded nearly twice as old as Isaiah. Recognizing the voice almost immediately, Isaiah pushed himself up so that he was now sitting upright, his hand still pressed against his forehead.
“Uggghh…sorry, chief. I’ve got a hangover for the history books going on right now and I…GODDAMN IT, THAT HURTS SO BAD!!”, he shouted at the top of his lungs, earning him a complaint from the older woman residing on the floor below him.
“Huhhh, why the hell am I not surprised? …Well, go ahead and take some aspirin and get your ass down to the station. We just had a break-in and triple homicide called in and I need all the cops on duty that I can get.”, so said his superior in a tone that suggested insistence, as well as mild despair. Noticing these elements right away, Isaiah’s bemused expression was quickly replaced by one that was much more serious in nature.
“I’m on my way now.”
To Be Continued…
Altopolis
- Approaching Dawn -
“…A thousand years. …One thousand goddamn years. …No, that’s not how long I’ve been stuck in this damn city. …It’s how long all of mankind has been stuck living in this so-called 'altopolis', …well, this one and the other twenty-five floating over that huge rock I heard we once lived on. It was 2013, if I remember right. Apparently, our ancestors found out that the planet’s crust was gonna go through an enormous tectonic shift or some science-y shit like that, which would pretty much wipe out everything and everyone on it. Since mankind’s never been too fond of dying, they tried to find a way to escape extinction, …then the Japanese managed to come up with the 'perfect' solution: …floating cities called altopolises. It took about seven years, but our race eventually managed to create them: thirty-two colossal mounds of rock and metal, all of them several miles in diameter, …and just in the nick of time, apparently. On the eve of the year 2020, the altopolises launched, each set for a different altitude in the planet’s atmosphere, …and less than twenty-four hours later, it happened. …Erupting geysers, flowing lava, every building and every living thing being turned to rubble and ash, …sounds pretty jacked up. In the end, about fifteen percent…fifteen freakin’ percent…of over seven billion people were brought on board these giant makeshift 'arks', along with a small population of every animal our race couldn’t do without. They were 'selected' from what I’ve heard, and I’m grateful for them picking my ancestors and all, …but whoever made that selection can kiss my ass…and the ass of everyone who they felt wasn’t 'privileged' enough to survive the apocalypse. …But hell, I’m just rambling at this point. All that matters is, no matter which the way you look at it, …this world is completely effed up…and I’m not talking about the one sitting about thirty thousand feet below us.”
After what seemed like an eternity, at least to the people who were actually listening to him, Isaiah finally finished his rant. He was obviously drunk at this point, and it’s only obvious because he starts it up again every single time he reaches that level of intoxication. Most of those watching couldn’t really understand why he drank like this. He was a kind-hearted guy, wasn’t abused as a kid and roughed up as an adult. Hell, he didn’t even touch any other kind of drug aside from alcohol. Of course, it’s not necessarily a mystery to anyone who actually knows the twenty-two year-old cop well enough. …In truth, he was just tired. Tired of living in the altopolises…or maybe it was just Hekichi he was sick of waking up in every day. Who could blame him, though, really? It was just your basic suburban city with a never-ending power supply that kept it airborne, …nothing special by today’s standards. In terms of size, being only around sixteen miles in diameter, it was a fairly small altopolis, especially when compared to the fifty-mile giants like Unabara and New Tokyo. Compared to the little ones like Uraya, though, it was still a pretty decent place to raise a family, but since he wasn’t really interested in doing that, it wasn’t exactly a perk. Even so, despite his utter aversion of the altopolis in which he was born, he wasn’t really one to complain. Most people could barely afford a living, let alone a ticket for one of the large jets that transport the luckier bastards from city to city, but being in the law enforcement field, at least he had the possibility of getting transferred to another altopolis at some point in the future, …the exact reason he joined the force, to be honest. But, being the impatient drunk he is, it would seem that two years was still enough to make him question the choice. Hell, at his current stage, he would probably even take one of the six altopolises that collapsed a few years after the “Great Cataclysm”, …so long as it got him out of this one.
“Heh he he, man, you really are a piece of work, you know that?”, so said his partner, who sat beside him still sipping on his first beer, while Isaiah had just finished chugging down his fourth.
“Heh, you would know, old man.”, said Isaiah in a smug, but nonetheless joking manner. There was some truth in the moniker, though, as his partner was over twenty years the young man’s senior.
Yakuza Daigawa was your typical symbol for justice, as well as a disciplined, though caring, mentor for the young rookie sitting next to him. Isaiah might’ve even called him a father figure, had he ever known what it was like to have one. Granted, he could never properly fill that position either way, since he was already a father of three children. Like Isaiah, he had lived in Hekichi his entire life and sincerely wished for the opportunity to leave for somewhere else, perhaps even more so, given his age. He had been given his chance to transfer at one point or another, but by that time, he had already married his wife…and the ticket price will only cover the officer being shipped out. But, three kids and eighteen years of marriage later, he didn’t really regret the choice. All he could do now was save up enough cash to get his whole family on one of those jets…and just a few more years of service could probably do it. That thought was actually on Yakuza’s mind right now, his thinking cut short as Isaiah pestered him with another pointless question.
“You ever wonder what, uhhhh, …living in Beikoku would’ve been like?”, Isaiah asked in the midst of his drunken ramble.
“Hm? As in the American altopolis?”, Yakuza questioned. Isaiah confirmed the accuracy of his conjecture with a nod, albeit a barely noticeable one.
“Hmhmhmhm, …if you’re really gonna spend the entire night talking about these damn floating cities, I think you oughta spend more time pondering on the ones that still exist.”, he advised him, looking away as he did.
“Yeah, I guess so. …Just curious is all.”, he answered, as he rested his head atop his folded arms. Hardly a second of silence passed before he began chuckling softly to himself, much to Yakuza’s confusion.
“What’s up with you?”, he asked out of curiosity. Isaiah looked up at his partner out of the corner of his eye before redirecting his gaze to the bottles of liquor on display behind the bar counter he was sitting at.
“Hm? Oh, nothing. …Just think it’s funny, that’s all. U-S-A, the world’s most powerful country, wiped off the grid, …kept in our memories by just a couple thousand people who were living elsewhere at the time. …Hehehehehe, quite the way to go, ain’t it?”, Isaiah rambled on. …In truth, it wasn’t very funny at all, but Yakuza decided to humor him a little.
“Hmhmhm, you’ve got a pretty dark sense of humor, Isaiah. …Yep. Dark, indeed.”, he said jokingly, looking over at him as he did. He then noticed that his partner had just finished off yet another beer and was about to ask for one more, prompting him to gently place his hand on top of Isaiah’s before he could raise it.
“Huh?”, so questioned the younger of the two.
“I do believe that five is enough for one night, Isaiah.”, Yakuza advised him, a small level of concern in his voice and upon his face as he said it, …both of which Isaiah completely disregarded.
“Heh, well, believe what you want, old-timer. I’m getting me another-”
“Isaiah.”, Yakuza interrupted, much to the former’s surprise. The two sat there in those same positions for at least ten more seconds before Isaiah finally gave in and proceeded to hoist himself out of his chair and stumble towards the doorway.
“Yeah yeah, fine. Then, could you give me a ride home, Mom?”, Isaiah asked in an annoyed and mildly sarcastic tone. Smiling in both amusement and contentment, Yakuza followed him out after grabbing both his partner’s dusty, gray trench coat and his own from off the back of their chairs. The drive to Isaiah’s apartment was fraught with near-total silence, neither man uttering a word to the other for its entire duration. Spending each passing second looking out his window with the side of his face rested against his hand, it wasn’t until Yakuza had pulled up beside the sidewalk in front of their destination that Isaiah finally conjured up the nerve to ask his partner what had been on his mind the entire ride home.
“How do you deal with it, man?”, he asked, a hint of doubt present in his voice, doubt that he would understand exactly what “it” he was referring to. …Fortunately, though, he greatly underestimated just how well his partner knew him.
“Hm? …Well, I’ve got my family, of course.”, Yakuza answered with a level of content. Coupled with the smile on his face which this thought had produced, it was just enough to invoke a depressing sigh from his partner, who continued to stare out his window. Yakuza looked at him for a brief moment in wonder before bowing his head and closing his eyes, chuckling to himself as he did.
“Hmph, you know, perhaps if you found a sweet, young thing of your own, you might just enjoy this city a little more, too. …Hehe, you’d certainly drink a lot less, that’s for sure, hehehehehe.”, he said jokingly. After another moment’s silence on his part, Isaiah eventually joined him in his laughter, though not for very long. Sitting in the outdated vehicle just a minute longer, he eventually stepped out with a smile on his face before turning back to give his goodbyes, scanning the side of the car as he did.
“Goddamn, …this car is hideous.”, he said rather smugly, though his sarcasm was still obvious.
“Heh, well, you’re free to head around back and kiss the bumper, if you know what I’m saying.”, Yakuza retorted, earning him a few laughs on his partner’s behalf. The two lingered there just a few seconds longer before Yakuza took the key in his hand, ready to restart the car and return home for the night.
“You take care of yourself, alright? …And don’t barge up there and start drinking some more, you hear me? You’re in for a hell of a hangover as it is.”, he advised.
“Hmm, yeah, don’t worry about it. …Well, have a good one.”, Isaiah said as Yakuza began rolling up the passenger-side window.
“…See you tomorrow.”
And with that, Yakuza drove off into the night, eager to return home to his patiently waiting wife. Waiting until he had turned the corner and was out of sight, Isaiah took one last moment to gaze up at the full moon before walking up the steps to his apartment, nearly stumbling as he did.
The five hours of nighttime that remained passed by in the blink of an eye, sending Isaiah’s alarm clock into a flurry as the last second counted down. Having been unable to get much sleep through the night, the tired and aggravated police officer was already sporting an excruciating headache, leaving him incapable of restraining himself as he grabbed the clock and tossed it at the nearby laundry basket, almost hitting his mark. This moment of freedom would be short-lived, though, as his cell phone began ringing just minutes later. The volume was hardly half that of the alarm clock, but it was still more enough to stir up his impending headache even further. Pressing his hand against his forehead to help ease the pain, he grabbed the phone off the nearby nightstand and answered it.
“Ugh, …yeah?”, Isaiah answered, in a manner that made it obvious to anyone listening that he had just woken up.
“Hey, Coffin! What the hell are you still in bed for!? I tried calling you almost twenty minutes ago!”, asked the caller, who sounded nearly twice as old as Isaiah. Recognizing the voice almost immediately, Isaiah pushed himself up so that he was now sitting upright, his hand still pressed against his forehead.
“Uggghh…sorry, chief. I’ve got a hangover for the history books going on right now and I…GODDAMN IT, THAT HURTS SO BAD!!”, he shouted at the top of his lungs, earning him a complaint from the older woman residing on the floor below him.
“Huhhh, why the hell am I not surprised? …Well, go ahead and take some aspirin and get your ass down to the station. We just had a break-in and triple homicide called in and I need all the cops on duty that I can get.”, so said his superior in a tone that suggested insistence, as well as mild despair. Noticing these elements right away, Isaiah’s bemused expression was quickly replaced by one that was much more serious in nature.
“I’m on my way now.”
To Be Continued…
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