East City Chronicles II (Complete)

Sairai could feel the sunlight beating down on him. “Why do summers have to be so unabashedly hot on this planet?” he asked himself as he flew over the ocean toward the nearby coastline. He was running an errand in East city that day, and had hoped for a nice, unassuming journey. So far, though, it had only promised to be completely boring and beyond hot. The sun seemed to severely dislike those who preferred colder climates. The Changeling sighed and picked up his speed, letting his ki flow freely so that he could reach the outskirts of the city faster.

“Hopefully that café will be open by the time I get there. I could really use an iced mocha to help me cool off.”

As he passed over the plains below, he noticed something didn’t seem right almost immediately. There were usually travelers on the road leading from East City, but today the road seemed oddly sparse on activity. The Changeling chalked it up to the heat and decided not to worry about it. Finally, he saw the city in the distance, the bright shining metal of the city obvious to anyone who came across it.

East City had quickly become Sairai’s favorite city to visit on his errand runs. It had a good selection of shops, and the people were usually friendly enough to a strange alien walking in their midst, though it was probably because Sairai had been considerate enough to not use his ki abilities outright in the middle of the city. He had come across some who migrated from other worlds who had decided to just outright ignore the public interest and fight or spar in the middle of the city in a way that was not only very distracting to the humans, but also destructive from time to time.

Sairai had become known as a fairly peaceful being who did not upset the delicate balance of the city unless there was something seriously wrong, like a gang or a robbery, and then he was known to only use his powers enough to stop the act from hurting anyone, and then turn it over to the Earth enforcers, who he had learned were known as police officers.

He landed on the street near the city and decided that he was going to walk the rest of the way. He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to deal with some of the punks that had learned about his penchant for doing the right thing, no matter who crossed his path.

WC: 424

As he walked up and down the streets of East City, he was greeted by friendly smiles and even got a few nods from some of the police officers, who acknowledged that he had been a huge help to city morale and conduct. While they still had problems from some of the more powerful gangs, the crime rate had dropped since the Changeling had been there previously. A smile crept across his face as he entered the café.

The cashier looked up at him and immediately smiled. “Sairai, it’s been awhile. How’s the training been going?”

Sairai blinked for a second. “I haven’t been here since I completed my training, have I?” He looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling at the woman behind the register. “Well, I’m done with it, at least for now. I’ll have to find someone else to teach me what I need to learn to grow more powerful than I am now.”

The woman, named Natalie, nodded at him and said, “That’s great news! Congratulations.” Sairai accepted her congratulations in his usual way, scratching the back of his head with one hand and trying to brush it off as nothing, though he knew in his heart of hearts that he had grown exponentially more powerful since his last visit to the city. He wondered how he had managed to advance so far in such a short amount of time.

“So… what’ll it be?”

The young Changeling snapped out of his trance and looked at her with a sheepish expression. “One iced mocha please,” he said, sliding the money across the table. She gave him his change and beamed broadly at the young man. He thanked her and went to sit at a table while his coffee was brewing.

He reflected back on his myriad adventures over the last few months. He’d stopped a volcano from erupting using only his ki. He’d mastered the Turtle Hermit style, and had even managed to make a few friends, though he was sure one of them wouldn’t like seeing him again after what had happened. Ever since developing his psychic abilities during his off time, the voice hadn’t managed to penetrate his mind much. He could only assume that it had been a psychic attack, possibly by a member of his family trying to make him come back home as the ruthless and diabolical being he was always meant to be.

The young man shuddered at the thought. He was always the peaceful one, and even when he was dragged into battles with his older brother, he would also make sure to minimize the casualties, and take prisoners wherever possible. He wasn’t into the whole genocide game like some others seemed to be. He much preferred a life of quiet reflection, and would be quite content never to have to see his family or his home planet ever again, even though there were some things from back home that he needed to buy to make his life on Earth a little bit more familiar.

He thought about the things he would need from home and made a list. Perhaps one day he would be able to attain the things from home without having to go there. He definitely wouldn’t mind some of the armor from his home world, which he had grown used to wearing during his training as an officer. He smiled lightly as his coffee was brought to him and thanked Natalie with a large tip.

He took a long draught of the mocha and relaxed back, thinking about what he was going to do next. He had come for a cup of coffee, but there were probably other things he would have to do over the course of a day, and he still needed to find a real estate broker so he could find out how to buy the clearing in the forest outside of South City to build his home on. He did not know the regulations of earth and needed someone like that to teach him how it worked. He closed his eyes to prevent his thoughts from racing to quickly and took another sip of his mocha.

WC: 694
TWC: 1,118

Sairai looked out over the park in East City with a wistful look on his face. There were people out here just enjoying each others’ company, children playing with balls and other toys, and people taking their pets out on walks. The Changeling smiled. It was a nice, peaceful day, and it didn’t look like anything was going to alter than simple fact. A small breeze picked up and washed over him as he picked up the sandwich he’d bought at a nearby diner. When asked why he was asking for takeout, he had simply replied that he preferred eating out in nature.

He sat under an ancient oak tree that grew up on the hill over the East City Park and was just enjoying his midday meal. The shade of the tree kept him nice and cool, though he couldn’t help but wonder whether or not it was even cooler up in North City, a place he had heard about but never visited himself. He kicked back and leaned up against the tree with soft sigh of happiness. Since his last visit, things seemed to have calmed down quite a bit, at least during the daylight hours.

The rough bark against his back felt good in a strange kind of way, and he closed his eyes for what he thought would only be a moment.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw a large man standing in front of him, the man he had come across on his last visit to East City. He was wearing a blue police officer’s uniform. Sairai looked up at the man with a curious expression.

“Nice day for a nap isn’t it?” the man asked with a half smile. The Changeling smiled and nodded.

“I see you’ve finally found something worth your time to do. I didn’t think that you would be joining the police force, though.”

“Well, at first they were reluctant to let me on, knowing how much danger I put the people in before, but I think the captain here saw the resolve in me to change my ways. It was quite a trip, going through police training. I was treated just like everyone else, regardless of my size and power. After our little discussion, I thought that it would be best to just sit back and think about things for awhile. It started as community service, but I found I enjoyed helping people so much that I actually decided to do something a little more in service to the city.”

Sairai smiled even more broadly as he patted the grass next to him. The bigger man sat down and crossed his legs.

“I’m on break. I don’t have a lot of time. I just saw you sitting up against this tree and figured I’d let you know that our little talk really changed things around for me. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’d hope someone else who was able to do so would talk some sense into me if I went on a rampage.”

“Well, if you ever do go on a rampage, I’ll be sure to beat a little sense into you.”

“That’s assuming you’d even be able to catch me,” the Changeling replied with a chuckle. In their fight before, the larger man hadn’t even been able to touch him.

“I’m working on some ideas to keep up with people as slippery as you. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to deal with it yet, but I think I’m getting close to a real answer.”

The younger man shook his head and replied, “Look, if you ever need the help and I’m in town, just let me know. I’d hazard a guess that I’m among the fastest people on Earth, and there aren’t a whole lot of people around here that can even lay a finger on me, much less beat me in a straight up fight.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Captain Ego.”

“Just stating the facts here. Maybe some day someone will be able to curb my ego, but that day isn’t today. Well, I’d best get going to the real estate office. I need to see who holds the deed to the forest between here and South City.”

The newly minted cop smiled and responded, “Alright. I’ll see you soon enough, I’m sure. You take care of yourself, alright? This world needs people like you.”

The Changeling beamed proudly and walked off, headed to the downtown district to see if he could actually find the place he was looking for.

WC: 759
TWC: 1,877