Pokemon Gijinka: Apocalypse [Actual]

[AWA1997]

((Sorry for vanishing, I couldn't find a way to jump back in for a while, and when I did, I was too busy to actually post.))

Char
Charmander Gijinka
Vault 60

After Char arrived in Rubble Town, which seemed like the town was somewhat new, at most fifteen years old, and largely improvised, as closer inspection showed that everything was carved out of the rocks rather than built from them, he took to doing odd jobs for the town members. In doing so, he discovered a nearby outpost for the Brotherhood of Steel. He asked them to train him and, due to a current lack of members in the area, they agreed. It wasn't long until he was considered a member. The lowest ranking member of them all, but a member. As such, he was sent on the least important missions. One of these included traveling to a high risk area, Prospect Junction, to retrieve someone who was last seen in the area one day earlier and deliver ammo and medical supplies to him if he was still alive and if he needed it to get out. He was given the oldest, rustiest suit they had, and the weakest gun they had, just enough for a get-in, get-out mission, since they knew they would draw to much attention and that he wasn't ready to fight them alone. He left at once, his bag full of ammo, stimpacks, and radaway for him and the missing person.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
En Route to Prospect Juntion
Affected Rpers: @Neo Emolga @Noblejanobii

Taylor couldn't stop noticing Matin's deterioration, but wasn't sure how to help either. "Martin," he addressed his companion, "if you need to rest let me know and I can carry you for a bit."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
En Route to Prospect Junction
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Awasfriend

More and more, Martin was finding it harder and harder to breathe. His heart was racing and he was feeling a bit disoriented as his body and immune system was losing the fight against the effects of the awakening mutagen. His hands were trembling and his pacing over the ruined highway was becoming slower and more shuffled.

Gotta keep moving, because Terri's not going to slow down for this...!

"Martin," Taylor gently addressed him, "if you need to rest, let me know and I can carry you for a bit."

But Martin didn't even have the breath or the strength to respond. Instead, he shuffled a few more steps, and then had to lean on a ruined husk of a car to support himself. Suddenly, he felt a sudden, strange tingling sensation all around him and it turned into a very foreign-feeling of warmth.

"Ohh... here we go..." Martin muttered nervously, wincing at the sudden realization he was now totally out of time.

Unable to support himself with his hands, he fell to the dusty tarmac remnants of the highway and was soon on his hands on knees, rapidly transforming. As his body suddenly compacted and constricted, his white, buttoned-down shirt became looser and his gray slacks felt like they were getting bigger to him while in actuality, it was him who was getting smaller.

Soon enough, white Pachirisu fur surrounded his body as his body proportions and appendages were reformed into that of an electric squirrel Pachirisu. He soon found himself trying to dig his way out of the pile of clothes, as if he were a person covered in a giant parachute after landing.

Once he emerged from the pile of pre-war clothing he had scavenged from earlier, immediately and instinctively, he looked around and was bewildered at how seemingly big everything had become to him. But after looking himself over, he saw the mutation was complete. As Doctor Morgan had anticipated, there was no way to stop the mutation into a Pachirisu, but at least he had been able to direct it toward this form rather than something of an abomination. Right now, his physical form and DNA made it appear as if he had always been a Pachirisu his entire life. And he had a feeling they were going to stay that way from now on.

"Ca... ca suu hii ii?" he tried to speak to Xie and Taylor.

As Martin had feared, his new mouth, lungs, and vocal cords were not built the same way as his gijinka form. And the sound of his new voice was very alarming and sounded way more like a Pokémon than anything like the gijinka form he had before. And not only did it sound different, but speaking also felt very different. But before this had even happened, Martin had already figured out a way to try and be prepared for this.

He tried to sound out each letter of the English alphabet, something a natural Pokémon wouldn't know, but he did. Letters that were already in Pachirisu's name weren't a problem. Starting with A as in "ah" was no problem. The next in line, B, was a bit more difficult simply because normally a normal Pachirisu wouldn't be pressing its lips together to make that sound. But he knew if he could use his tongue, lips, and breath the same way to make the necessary letter sounds he knew from before, he could start speaking out comprehensible words. However, he already knew he would never have a voice that sounded anything even close to what he had before.

In the end, it was something he could practice on the way to Prospect Junction. Maybe with a little luck, he'd figure out how to work it and by the time they made it there, he could be speaking again.

Instead of caving into despair, Martin simply looked up to Xie and Taylor, who seemed like giants to him now. While he couldn't speak again quite he, he tried to rely on body language, as least for the time being. He simply nodded, smiled, and pointed down the highway toward Prospect Junction with his white-furred paw, indicating he was okay enough to continue the journey. He was still a bit nervous, shocked, and disoriented, but Martin was relying on time. Time to get used to this new form. And time to finally set things right.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Rustwall City
Affected Rpers: @Awasfriend @AWA1997 @Neo Emolga

Ever since they had departed from Rustwall, Xie's health had only been recovering. It was hard to believe that only a few short days ago she had nearly died of an improper cryogenic revival. Still, that didn't stop the Shaymin gijinka from being cautious. She knew Martin had been in pain this whole time, but since he had been attempting to hide it, she had respectfully not brought it up. It was none of her business, after all.

Currently, Xie had her black jacket tied around her waist, the heat making it too dehydrating to wear it properly. She was sweatier than she had ever been in the vault but Xie wasn't about to start complaining. Whining was for the weak. So Xie trudged on, trying to keep her focus on Terri. He was close, or at least they were hot on his trail, and that's all that mattered.

Xie perked up when she heard Taylor address Martin. She turned around to see him lean on the husk of a car, before collapsing. Xie immediately rushed to his side and knelt down beside him, unsure of what to do. Xie watched as he shrunk beneath his clothes, making a side note to sell them later. She heard him speak after a few minutes, and then watched as a Pachirisu popped its head out of the clothes. She glanced down the highway at his pointing then gave him a concerned look.

"Are you sure? You just changed, Martin." Xie scooped him up and inspected him closely. "You look like a normal Pachirisu. I have to wonder if you still eat the same foods or if you have to eat something else now." Xie looked down at his clothes. "Well we can sell those or keep them as spares since you won't be needing them, not offense. For now though, you can ride on my shoulder if you want. And uh... in the future if you want clothes maybe we can figure out something?" Xie sighed a little. "Sorry I'm just not sure what to say in this situation? I guess... yes or no, are you okay?"

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
En Route to Prospect Juntion
Affected Rpers: @Neo Emolga @Noblejanobii

Taylor looked at the transformation with a mixture of awe and disgust on his face. He picked up Martin's former clothes and put them in his bag while Xie was examining him. Not sure what to say he decided on silence.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
En Route to Prospect Junction
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Awasfriend

Despite what had just happened to him, Martin still felt he just needed time to get used to his new form. He wasn't sure how long it would take before it wouldn't feel so strange, but he felt it had to settle in eventually.

"Are you sure?" Xie had asked him, picking him up and looking him over. "You just changed, Martin. You look like a normal Pachirisu. I have to wonder if you still eat the same foods or if you have to eat something else now."

In truth, Martin wasn't really sure. Eating some of the vegetables and fruit probably couldn't hurt, but at least he probably wouldn't need to eat as much as he did before. Still, in the meantime, it felt strange to him to suddenly be held up by Xie, who seemed like a giant now.

Martin wasn't offended at all that Xie considered selling his old clothing. Now that he was covered in white fur with a giant squirrel tail, it was one less thing he needed to worry about. It was all something he was just going to need to get used to. As for still wanting clothes, Martin simply shrugged and shook his head. He figured a Pachirisu wearing clothing, if someone could even make it, would be silly.

He felt a bit strange riding on Xie's shoulder, but he figured if she offered, he wouldn't mind it, though it did mean he'd have to hang on tight or risk tumbling off.

"Sorry, I'm just not sure what to say in this situation," Xie told him with a sigh. "I guess... yes or no, are you okay?"

Martin simply nodded in agreement, knowing he was going to need to try and figure out how to talk again. Being limited to body language wasn't going to be too helpful, so he felt the sooner he learned how to articulate words again, the more helpful he could be.

"Ta.. eh... rii..." Martin tried to say Terri's name, speaking in a voice that was higher pitched. "Ah... I... I'll... beeh... oh... kay..."

Slowly but surely, he was managing to do it, though his speech was still strained and his voice was definitely nowhere near to what it was before. Martin wasn't too concerned about what his new voice would sound like, just so as long as he could actually talk.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
En Route to Prospect Junction
Affected Rpers: @Awasfriend @AWA1997 @Neo Emolga

Xie blinked at Martin's new voice. It was definitely unexpected but given how high pitched a regular Pachirisu's voice was, it made sense. Still, somehow Xie had been under the impression he wouldn't have as high of a voice. Oh well, she would just have to hold onto the memory of his original voice for the rest of time it seemed.

"Don't let chasing Terri force you to overexert yourself," Xie scolded, "he wouldn't like you to hurt yourself in his name. He's soft like that." Xie let out a quiet sigh. "Well I guess if you're sure we can move on then. Just hang on tight, okay? And if you're not comfortable just let me know. Maybe you can use your tail to help anchor yourself."

Xie moved Martin to her shoulder. She waited for him to get settled before starting to walk again, slowly so Martin could maintain his balance. She nodded to Taylor in appreciation for packing up the clothes as they walked. Xie wiped her forehead again and heard a hissing sound as it hit the pavement. Yeah, definitely not a good idea to let Martin walk. His paws would incinerate in this heat. Though Xie personally felt like she was boiling alive so she imagined she wasn't much better. She wondered how far they were from Prospect Junction, and silently hoped it wasn't too far. She wasn't intending to pass out but if she lost too many fluids she'd hit the pavement before too much longer and Taylor had already saved her once.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
En Route to Prospect Juntion
Affected Rpers: @Neo Emolga @Noblejanobii

Seeing the sweat Xie flicked off her brow sizzle on the ground, reminded Taylor to keep them hydrated. Handing her one of his bottles of purified water and asking them, "how are you two holding up?"

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
En Route to Prospect Junction
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Awasfriend

Despite the fact Xie told Martin not to overexert himself, Martin was at least relieved she could understand what he was saying, even if he needed to talk slowly and carefully. Still, Martin felt every passing second could mean Terri was slipping further and further away if they didn't keep in pursuit. And truthfully, Martin may have felt strange and a bit disoriented in his new body, but he didn't feel like he was gasping for air or feeling sick the way he did before.

Once he was settled, Martin clung onto Xie's shoulder as she walked. The heat was getting to him a bit, but there wasn't a whole lot that could be done about it. Taylor was kind enough to offer them water, which was like liquid gold in a place like this.

"How are you two holding up?" Taylor asked as they continued.

"H-hanng... hang-ing... ehn... t-the-re," Martin replied, trying to get used to this new way of talking. "T-tha... t-thahnks... f-for the... wah...wahtaer."

Slowly but surely, he was getting the hang of speaking as a Pachirisu. There was still some stuttering and slurring, but it was beginning to clear up. As Martin realized, his lungs were smaller, so he needed to rely on less air in his lungs for articulation or else he'd run out of breath mid-sentence. Normally, he wasn't very social, but practicing talking, even just casual chatter, would go a long way.

"W-waow, it-it's... cra-zy ha-ot... to-day," Martin tried speaking again. "B-buht I fe-el... bad fer... y-you gu-ys. You-re s-still w-we-aring c-clo-thes!"

He tried taking a bit of a deeper breath. He started to realize what exactly he needed to do differently considering what was working and where he was getting tripped up with the breath in his lungs, his articulation, and the ways he needed to use his tongue, lips, and throat.

"But we s-still have e-ach other," Martin continued, clearing up a lot of the stuttering and slurring that he was experiencing before. "And we w-will be ready no m-matter what we h-have to face."

Martin couldn't help but smile. Just a bit more practice and he'd be speaking perfectly. His voice would never be the same, but it didn't matter to him. It was just the way things were.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
En Route to Prospect Junction
Affected Rpers: @Awasfriend @AWA1997 @Neo Emolga

At the question from Taylor, Xie shrugged. She wiped some more sweat from her brow. She needed water soon most likely but she could go a while longer without it. She had been trained to after all.

"It would be best to find a water source soon. I've been trained to live without water but I'm this heat my estimation as to how long I will last may be off. I'd rather not pass out in this heat if it's all the same to you." Xie cracked a smile at Martin's commentary and pat him gently on the head with her hand. "Says the man now covered in fur. I imagined that would be hotter than what I am wearing currently."

Xie frowned a little, wondering how far away they were from Prospect Junction. Were they close? It was scorching out here. They needed shade. They needed water. Xie licked her lips subconsciously, the skin cracking from dehydration. How hot was in exactly? How long would she, Taylor, and Martin last without water? On the bright side, ideally Martin would consume less but that wasn't necessarily true either. Still it was something they needed to consider.