Pokemon Gijinka: Apocalypse [Actual]

[AWA1997]

Welcome to the pokemon world, or, at least, what's left of it. 200 years ago the world was populated by humanoid pokemon known as gijinkas as well as non-pokemon animals, but was destroyed by a nuclear war. Thankfully, Vault Tec supplied the means to survive through it, in the form of underground vaults, until it is safe to return to the surface. During those 200 years, most of the creatures mutated into horrible beasts while the remaining gijinkas on the surface either fought them off to create new settlements or mutated as well.

Underground, however, things were not much better. Only a few of the vaults were actually meant to keep those inside alive, the others were made to conduct experiments. These experiments ranged from keeping them in the vault forever to pumping drugs through the air vents, and everything in between. Though, not all experiments were on the residents. Some were along the lines of creating the perfect way to grow plants.

You have been sheltered from the world your whole life, inside one of these vaults, and now you must traverse the harsh and desolate wasteland. Will you ally with a strong faction of the survivors? Or will you stay neutral? Will you turn to crime? Or will you help stop criminals? The choices are all yours, and yours alone.

Be careful, though, in the wasteland, each choice you can make will have a repercussion, which could lead to someone hunting you down for being too good or too bad or for siding against them. Always be prepared, or it could be your last day and you wouldn't know it until it's too late.

Also, the pokemon that could've healed the world, the major legendaries, are the ones behind Vault Tec. The minor legends, however, were tricked into living in the vaults because the others felt they may get in the way of everything.

Rules:
1) All PXR rules apply.
2) You must have a character that is a 'vault dweller' gijinka. Later on, you may take on a character that is one of the mutated species that came from gijinkas.
3) Keep in mind how the radiation may or may not affect your character. For instance, Grass-types would likely have a lot of issues due to the radiation, steel types could be immune, and poison types may heal. But these aren't necessarily true. Just use your head on it.
4) Genderless pokemon must have genders.
5) Everyone starts with characters equivalent to level five pokemon, but there is no real leveling system.
6) There can only be one of every legendary, and the major legends are the Overseers of the vaults.
7) Have fun!

Gijinka Evolution: Level evolutions are a little loose, friendship evolutions are completely up to the RPer, Sylveon counts as a friendship evolution, stone evolutions are normal, and trade evolutions require a link cable and whatever other item is necessary if applicable.

RPers: Alphys, Flowey, Steven_Six, Neo Emolga, Eternity, Dash

[AWA1997]

Char
Charmander Gijinka
Vault 60

Char backed away from his room as Radroaches, giant cockroaches that mutated due to radiation, crawled through his room and started floading into the hall. He tried using Ember and Fire Punch to ward them off, but then they began coming from other directions, so he ran. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. When he got to the vault door, he sealed the door he came through and began opening the entrance to the vault. As the door opened, he started scavenging for things to use as a weapon. He ended up picking up only a metal baseball bat before leaving the vault. He put a hand over his eyes and scanned the area, locating a rather large structure off the his right and heading that direction. After several minutes of walking, he reached the structure, which turned out to be a settlement made out of stone with a stone wall surrounding it. The town had a clinic, a supply store, and many other essential buildings towards the center, and small houses ranging in size from small enough for one person to large enough for a small family. He decided to check around the town for anything of interest.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Vault 62

Martin had been sleeping late as usual. More so than usual, because he slept through most of the alarms that were blaring off.

"Martin!" a voice shouted to him, pushing him to get out of bed. "Something's gone horribly wrong! Get your butt out of bed!"

Lazily opening his eyes, Martin looked up to see it was Patrick, a Fearow Gijinka. From what Martin could tell, he didn't look right at all. It looked like he had become less human and more Fearow overnight.

"Whoa, what happened?" Martin asked in alarm, looking at his friend and realizing the high-pitched noise was coming from the sirens throughout the vault.

"It's the EvoTox!" Patrick shouted. "Something went horribly wrong with it!"

EvoTox, as Martin had easily recalled, was the vaccine each member of Vault 62 had gotten injected with on a bimonthly basis, said to help promote the lifespan and longevity of gijinkas and prepare them for possible life outside of the vault when the time came. Unlike other vaults, where entire generations were expected to live out their lives in the vault and never know what life outside of the vault would be like, entrants to Vault 62 were given the promise that they would life through any nuclear war that happened and could rebuild.

"I thought EvoTox was supposed to be a good thing?" Martin asked, wondering why they had been injected with it on a continual basis. "What went wrong with it?"

"It's... a different strain of FEV," Patrick moaned, remembering what he had been told by one of the Vault 62 medical personnel after the horrifying discovery. "After all these injections and months, the mutagens in the strain were gradually triggered and..."

Martin did the math and knew what that meant. Patrick and several other gijinkas in Vault 62 were part of Group A, who received the injection on the first month while Martin and the remaining half of the Vault were part of Group B, who received the injection on the following month before the process rotated back to Group A. It had gone on like this for quite a few years, but now, it seemed like Group A's mutagen effects had been triggered.

"Martin, half the vault is out of control," Patrick told him, looking like the effects of the FEV were having a bad reaction to him. "I don't know how much time I have left before..."

"Before what!?" Martin shouted, wondering what the end effect of this was.

"Some of us are... turning into mutants," Patrick told him with anxiety. "Others are losing their mental capacity, and others have become so much like Pokémon that they can't even be distinguished from the real ones."

Martin couldn't believe it. They were being used as lab rats for more than a decade, and now the aftermath was all around him. It was then that Patrick handed Martin a 10mm pistol, and Martin was in shock.

"The vault door has been opened," Patrick told him as Martin cautiously took the gun. "Some managed to escape, but others were hurt and killed in the confusion. There's at least ten vault dwellers that are definitely nothing like the gijinkas they used to be. This should keep you safe long enough to get out yourself."

"What about you, though!?" Martin asked.

"I don't have... much time," Patrick replied with a cough. "The FEV is turning me into some kind of Fearow mutant, and... I'm starting to hear weird voices in my head. I'll help you reach the vault exit, but after that..."

As much as Martin wanted Patrick to come with him, there was nothing he could do. The Fearow gijinka looked to be in agony, and Martin could swear he saw a few inches of growth in both Patrick's beak and wings even in just the short time he had been talking to him.

"Let's go!" Martin shouted, not wanting to waste another minute about this.

[Noblejanobii]

Remote Access Request Received.
Authority Code Requested.
Code Received: T490M
Error! Invalid Code!
Code Override Activated.
Remote Access Granted.
Command Received: Open Cryo Pod 492.
Authority Code Requested.
Code Received: T490M
Error! Invalid Code!
Code Override Activated.
Command Proceed.
Cyro Pod 492 Opened.
Error! Life Form Detected!
Life Form Released!
Remote Access Ended.

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110

Xie felt herself lifting out of her subconscious from her deep slumber. It was very cold and she mentally scolded herself through the fog that was currently settled over her brain for knocking off the blanket again. If it was this cold it had to be early in the morning, figures. Xie always woke up with the rising of the sun. Xie started to move to climb out of "bed" when she suddenly tumbled in a heap of limbs onto the floor below. As her skull collided with the floor, everything came crashing back. Her night with Terri, the rebellion plan, the sight of the vault closing with the glimpse of the outside she had never seen sparkling behind it, waking up in the cryo pod, seeing Terri one last time, and then the cold pulling her into a darkness like never before.

Xie's breathing picked up as the stale air scrapped against her raw lungs. Her eyes opened but the light of the vault resulted in a sharp stinging sensation. Xie winced and instinctively covered her eyes, or at least attempted to do so. Her body was stiff and numb, each movement causing a chain reaction of pins and needles. Xie cried out in pain, not recognizing the raspy voice that bounced off the walls around her. So Xie remained still, curled up on the floor, blind and suffering, unable to do anything about it. Her thoughts marched like soldiers to war, dusting away on her unused mind, and allowing Xie to start to think on her own. She had been released, but she had no idea how much time had passed since she had been placed in the cryo pod. If she had been released, someone with the proper access code or hacking skills had to have released her. Given that she had not been swept up by Vault Tech members yet, Xie presumed her release had been from a remote location and had not been by someone from Vault Tech. Was she alone? Was Terri with her? Had anyone else been released?

Xie attempted to open her eyes once again and found the light not quite as strong this time. She cracked them open a little bit more and began to scan the area around her. Xie quickly found that she was indeed alone. There were a few more closed cryo pods, but given the glowing red light they emitted, Xie knew their occupants were dead. It was too bad. Xie could use any help she could get. Xie also noted that Terri's cryo pod was empty. Either he had escaped and left her behind, or Vault Tech had taken him. Xie decided to investigate before jumping to any conclusions. As the numbness faded, Xie slowly stood up, using a conveniently placed table to help her keep her balance. As the blood started to circulate normally, Xie found it was easier to move around. Good, she wasn't completely incapacitated then. Xie glanced at the contents of the room and noticed on the table she was propped up on, there was a small pistol. Without a second thought, Xie picked up the weapon and began to review her training on how to use it. She did not know who or what was outside, and she needed to be prepared for the worse case scenario. Armed with the pistol, her training, and the knowledge that she could trust no one, Xie cautiously opened the door to leave the cryo room.

It was two more rooms before Xie spotted another form of life, and it wasn't friendly. What could only be described as a godzilla roach, Xie's eyes widened at the sight of how many there were. She counted seven in all. Cocking her gun, Xie's instinct took hold and she fired as she had never been put into a cryo state. Without even breaking a sweat, Xie took out three then backed up to lure out the other four. The first one rounded the corner without a thought, exploding as a bullet collided with its underbelly. Two more soon followed, more cautious than the first. They managed to dodge one of Xie's bullets when another second bullet took out both. Xie took three breaths then charged back into the room to see the seventh had disappeared. She heard the buzzing too late and was struck from behind. Xie cried out and snapped around slamming the enlarged bug into the wall. It screeched and Xie slammed her foot on its back before unloading a bullet into its head.

Xie's breathing slowed as her mind returned to normal. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. She had always hated her instinct mode. With such programming, anyone was an enemy, even her allies. Xie had always been lucky that she and Terri had never been paired in sparing, since both had killed their fair share of partners due to their instincts. Xie quickly checked to see if there were any bullets left in the gun. Only two. Noted. Xie kept her fingers tight on the gun as she traveled forward. It didn't take long for her to find some more ammo. Xie loaded the pistol swiftly before proceeding. She had to admit she was slightly surprised to find no more resistance, but Xie decided it was best not to question such luck and rather she should just appreciate it. Xie did not stop in her trek towards the door other than to check a nearby computer, the only one that seemed to be operational.

Upon further examination, Xie saw that it was keeping records of all the cryo pods that had been opened. Apparently this was the link the remote access user had used to release her. Xie silently thanked them and then began to scan the names. Just as she had suspected, she was the only living cryo pod user to still be alive. All the others were dead or had been released. Xie also noticed that Terri's pod had been opened six months ago. He was alive then, good to know. Seeing no further use for the computer, Xie began to proceed towards the vault door once more. Roughly forty minutes after she escaped the cryo pod, Xie found herself standing in front of the vault door.

Xie paused, taking in the impressive sight of the large vault door. The last time she had seen this door, it had been with the intent to escape the world beyond. She had glimpsed that world for a brief few seconds, and she remembered it vividly. Luscious, green, vibrant. Blue skies, stretching grass, trees every once in a while. Xie wondered if the world still looked the same. She was about to find out. Walking over to the control panel, Xie turned the knob she knew opened the door. Surprisingly, it did not prompt her for a passcode, saying it had already been entered. Xie did not pause to think much of it, instead she turned to watch the large door in anticipation. Many feelings overwhelmed her in that moment, everything from excitement to fear, and a longing for the world beyond. Light streamed in as the door opened, followed by a wind carrying ash and dust. Xie took a deep breath, whatever chemicals the air contacted scratching up her lungs much more than the stale air of the vault. As the door fully opened, Xie stepped forward, taking her first true look into the world. It was nothing like she remembered.

Desert, as far as the eye could see, coated the earth. No longer was there a luscious rolling green or trees standing tall. Instead cacti dotted the barren red landscape. Xie didn't mask her disappointment, but a feeling of elation had also been instilled within in. Xie looked down and carefully stepped down onto the sandy ground below. She watched her feet carefully as she placed one in front of the other, her first steps outside the vault. Xie smiled as she thought about what Terri would be saying if he were here. Probably the foolish boy would already be rolling in the sand, enjoying the terrain until it became too hot for him. Then he'd complain until someone dumped a bucket of water on him. Xie indulged in the fantasy a moment longer before a low growling surrounded her. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and very slowly Xie looked to her left. Her breath caught in her throat at the monstrosity beside her.

Standing at double her size, a large reptilian creature will long curled horns and sharp claws stared back at her. It reminded Xie almost of a chameleon, but not quite the same. The longer Xie observed the creature, the more agitated it seemed to become, its growling growing louder and its stance changing into that of a predator. Xie decided quickly the best course of action in this situation was the flight option, but she'd take a chance at the fight one as well. Jumping back to put some distance between herself and this unknown being, Xie quickly activated her transformation. The change took less than a second, but suddenly her lungs felt heavier. She didn't recall the air being this difficult to breath a second earlier. Xie ignored this factor and used her experimentally enhanced speed to shoot off to the left then duck back to the right. Her opposition had a hard time keeping up, so when Xie got the chance, she unloaded three bullets right towards the chameleon creature's skull. They bounced off harmlessly, and if anything they only served to make it angrier.

The creature let out what sounded like a roar and swiped its claws at Xie. Xie tucked and rolled out of the way, but barely. Even with her sharpened speed, Xie quickly found she was no match for this monster. Flight it was then. As soon as she was standing again, Xie shot off away from the monster. It tried to pursue, taking swipes that were too close for comfort, but after a bit the monster seemed to lose interest. Xie cast a glance over her shoulder and saw that her opponent had disappeared. Xie slowed down and tumbled into the sand, her form returning to normal. She breathed heavily as the toll settled on her body. Her legs burned and her feet ached. How far had she run? Was the creature gone? What was this world she had entered? Surely it was not the same world she had seen before she had fallen asleep long ago.

Xie let out a long sigh and pushed herself out of the sand. She scanned the horizon and spotted what she thought to be a city in the distance. Pushing herself up, Xie began to walk towards the location, hoping maybe someone there could help her with the situation. And if not, then she would just have to rescue Terri and take down Vault Tech all on her own.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82

Taylor had finally had enough of Vault tech's live breed die policy and decided to act. Sadly no one shared his opinion, and decided to make an example out of him. Thankfully though a swarm of huge roaches decided to get in on the vault's wealth. Not so fortunately they didn't like Tyler either, so he had to get past the guards of the vault and the roaches. 'At least the overseer had everyone put into their rooms,' he thought as he made his way through the vault with a boton he rummaged from one of the guard lockers. Along with some supplies and rations he saved up for this moment. He was relieved when he got to the vault door, the overseer as over competent as he was had left the password in the locker next to the main terminal. Upon exiting his vault he cupped his hand over his eyes until they adjusted, taking off his vault suit and changing his skin into an eye sore neon green shirt, rancid white shorts thinking it would help him blend in. Looking out he saw a city out of stone? Not sure he was seeing it correctly he decided to make sure.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
The Broken Valley

Escaping from Vault 62 was one of the most gruesome experiences Martin ever had to go through.

Hallways of screams, sights of gijinkas in contorted, misshapen forms, and the thrashing of violence were sights and sounds that were probably going to fuel his nightmares for a while. Patrick, using his last traces of humanity, managed to help Martin get to the vault door, but just when Martin turned around to check to see if Patrick was still behind him, the now mutated-Fearow was nowhere to be seen. To Martin, perhaps it was for the better that he didn't see what ultimately became of his friend. He doubted Patrick would have wanted him to remember him that way.

After racing to the outside with the 10mm pistol in his hand, he was nearly blinded by the harsh sunlight and was forced to have to shamble on the way out while his eyes tried to adjust. From what he could see, there was vast wasteland for many miles. Before him, cities and towns lay in waste, many of them as hollowed-out ruins and collapsed husks of civilizations that once were. Martin couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow, knowing these were all places once bustling with life and people. Now, they were broken, hollow, and quiet.

Knowing he couldn't go back inside Vault 62, Martin knew he was going to need to scavenge around for what he needed to survive. He had a sinking feeling that was going to involve killing and eating things that might not seem so appetizing along with drinking water that wasn't anywhere close to being crystal clear. He also became certain that his days of eating clean and well-preserved vault food rations were over. Eating whatever wildlife still remained here might not sound enjoyable, but if he wanted to survive, he was going to have to deal with it.

The matter of ExoTox also concerned him. In a month's time, he was going to find out what exactly ninety-nine injections were going to do to him, and he was afraid he was going to have to count down the days to when it would turn him into something much less gijinka than before. He tried not to think about it, but it was hard considering what he saw only just minutes ago. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone out there with a cure or some kind of countermeasure. It was definitely something he was going to try and pursue. Even if he had no money and barely any belongings, he had two hands and had no qualms about working or building whatever that person needed to pay off the debt.

As he looked around, he didn't see any of the other Vault 62 vault dwellers that had escaped, even though the heavy, gear-shaped door had been opened and he was sure other survives had to have come this way. Martin figured perhaps they had run into the wasteland hours before he made it out and were now miles away. He could only hope they would be safe out there.

As Martin walked further away from the Vault, his eyes became more adjusted to the sunlight, and it felt all so surreal to be in such open areas. Suddenly there was far more atmosphere and he felt sensations he hadn't experienced before. Wind. Heat. Dryness. And suddenly, things seemed so much more quiet than before.

Once he had become slightly more accustomed to his surroundings, he began to search the ruins for anything of value he could find. He was hoping something still survived the nuclear holocaust and had been long forgotten by the world, just waiting for someone like him to find and rediscover.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110

Heat beat down on Xie's back, sweat dribbling down the sides of her face. She had never sweat this much during training. It couldn't be healthy. She would have to find a water source and soon. Xie frowned as she recalled the rule of threes in her mind. Three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Xie mentally shamed herself for not keeping track of how much time had passed from her awakening to now. Then again, what could she have used? Despite all her training, Xie did not have a baseline time to go by and for all she knew the sun moved differently than it used to. Xie had no truly reliant source of time progression. On top of that, with the amount Xie was sweating, three days seemed like stretching it in her case. If Xie had to guess, she had maybe a day and a half at this rate. Xie squinted as the image of abandoned ruins shimmered in the distance. Xie would just have to hope that was not a mirage and she was actually headed towards civilization.

Beyond her encounter with the bizarre chameleon creature, Xie had yet to encounter any actual life forms. Xie did not really want to encounter any more of whatever that thing was, but another gijinka would be nice. Maybe then she could figure out what had happened in the time that had transpired while Xie had been training and then frozen. Better yet, maybe Xie could locate some supplies to help her survive. She could not judge the distance by sight, but she had not seemed to draw any closer to her destination in the time she had been walking. Xie began to scan the horizon again when she spotted what appeared to be a person in the distance.

"Hey!" Xie called out to them. She began to pick up the pace to catch up to them when her legs gave out and Xie collapsed in the sand. Her body suddenly felt like it had several weights on it and Xie quickly realized why. Her cryogenic procedure! Her body was still recovering the effects. Most of the time it took hours to days to recover and Xie was already pushing herself to her limits. Her body could not keep up in these conditions.

((I'll let you guys decide who she called out to.))

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Outside a city
Affected RPers:NobleJanobi

Taylor was about to enter the city when he heard some one shout, not knowing if any one was near them he decided to see what he could do. Upon seeing a female Gijinka on the ground sweating heavily he decided to prop her up and hand her some purified water he held back from his rations in the vault. "Are you alright?" He asked while looking her over with his eyes examining her genetic code.

[ShadowBolt25]

Shadow
a Transforming Mew Gijinka ( but currently in Zekrom form )
The Broken Valley

Escaping from Vault 62 was easy since he having transformed into a major legend but there had been risks he had to go through since he didn't want to be trapped there.

Knowing he couldn't go back inside Vault 62 without risking his true form, Shadow knew if he wanted to survive, he was going to have to find actual friends, after a while he entered the broken valley & then he saw a familer face from the same vault he came from.

"Hi my name is shadow where do you come from ?" Shadow asked and waited for a response

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Sunnydale Town

After several hours of searching, Martin had found a few items, but he questioned their value and if they would be worth carrying. Pre-war clothing, dusty cigarettes, kitchenware, and metal cans were just a few of the many items that were found scattered about, but he felt if he couldn't make much use of them, it was unlikely anyone else would.

The Vault 62 jumpsuit, however, was very stifling to wear. With the heat searing down, he decided he had to get lighter clothing on, and after making good use of what he could find in the closets, drawers, and wardrobes of the ruined houses he found, he put on a white, pre-war buttoned down shirt and light gray slacks. Meanwhile, the black loafers were the only thing he could find that fit his feet.

Martin also had to use a survival knife to cut away a hole in the slacks so his Pachirisu tail had room. But after several hours of additional searching through the houses, he found a few items of value. He did find two bottles of water that weren't clean and looked a little muddy, but he knew he couldn't be picky, and he figured he had to save them. Empty bottles and duct tape were something he figured might be useful later on when he found a clean source of water. However, a great number of the pre-war items left around were far too damaged to make use of.

When things got tough, he lost his concentration and his mind wandered back to the vault incident. EvoTox came back into mind and the anxiety of what would happen in less than a month's time was greatly troubling him. Was he going to turn into a mutant like all the others? What would simply trying to survive eventually bring him to anyway?

He was worried, but in the end, he was hoping somehow, someway, he'd be able to cope with it all...

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110

Someone... someone was speaking to her. Who was it though? Were they gijinka? Was anyone gijinka anymore? Or was everyone one of those monsters? Xie opened her eyes a little and Taylor came into focus.

"Hm? Did you say something?" she asked quietly, her body's nerves going crazy from post cryogenic pains. She mentally scolded herself for forgetting about such effects but at the same time she couldn't blame herself entirely. She had been somewhat out of it coming too, it was to be expected.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Sunnydale Town

Sleeping out in the open using only a pile of newspapers wasn't something Martin had been used to. He barely slept at all during the days he had spent in the ruins of Sunnydale Town, but he did manage to find and kill a few mutated Pidgey and Rattata. The idea of eating these kinds of Pokémon wasn't pleasant, but it was necessary. As the days passed on, it was getting easier and the thought of it bothered him less and less.

He had built up some makeshift cooking equipment, using broken wood piles from fire and a metal ventilation grate as a grill. He hated to admit it, but the cooked meat from a Pidgey and from a Rattata actually tasted good. And it was keeping him alive in these desperate times.

Days were spent scavenging for anything of value. Martin found he had better luck when he dug through piles and moved rubble away from areas. Things that weren't already claimed by other scavengers before him hadn't been found yet, including gold jewelry, electronic equipment, and even a shotgun that seemed to still be in serviceable condition. And he was hoping someone would like these in exchange for helping him with his EvoTox problem. As the days passed, he knew his time was running out.

And he could feel it. He had to take what he had now and find any scientist or doctor he could. The chances of him being able to find everything he needed were very slim, if even such a cure existed, but he was not going to give up easily. With Sunnydale Town behind him, he left and headed out further into the wasteland, trying to find anyone or any town he could.

Several miles into his walking, he came across two members of a caravan, along with a team of two-headed Tauros, pulling a large wagon of supplies. Martin had approached them, not sure if they would be able to help, but it was definitely worth a try.

"Hello there," Martin called out to the caravaners. "Maybe you could help me?"

"Depends," the older male in his 70s told him. "Have anything to trade for caps?"

"I do, but I also need directions," Martin told him. "Are there any towns around here that have a doctor or a scientific researcher?"

In truth, it wouldn't be the first time the caravaner had run into someone in need of medical help. He didn't see anything wrong with Martin and the only injuries he had were minor scratches from encounters with wild Pidgey and Rattata, but it wasn't really his business asking.

"If you head north and follow the road, it'll take you to Rustwall," the older man told Martin. "They have a few people skilled with medicine. Not sure about researchers, but you could ask around. Now then, you said you had something to trade?"

"Right here," Martin told him, taking out the jewelry and the shotgun he found earlier. "I'm sure you know someone who would like some of this."

The older man looked it over, trying to act unimpressed. Bartering was a game of poker faces and acting. He couldn't appear to be impressed at the merchandise of others. It helped him get a much better price if he pretended to act like he wasn't interested. A desperate customer might just give their bartering items away if they badly needed the money or wanted something else in exchange.

"People don't need jewelry these days," the older caravaner told him. "Food, water, and medical supplies are way more in demand. As for the shotgun, does it even still work?"

"Oh, I'm sure someone rich would love this jewelry," Martin smiled, not falling for the older man's ploy. "It's been made and sought after throughout all of history! That never changed! As for the shotgun, take a closer look! All intact, all parts there, and it hasn't been fired since it was last cleaned."

While Martin was fresh out of the vault, that didn't mean he didn't know how to secure a good deal.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Right out side a town
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii

"Are you alright?" he asked again noticing she was showing symptoms of someone who had been frozen. "Here's some water your dehydrated, there should be a doctor with supplies in this town. All I have is what I brought with me, do you think you can stand? I can support you if needed," he told her figuring out what she might need.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City

The old man wasn't able to fool Martin, and as a result, Martin was able to negotiate a decent price for the things he had spent the last few days searching for. Martin felt he might regret forking over the shotgun, but he didn't have the shells for it anyway.

In almost a sprint, Martin made his way to Rustwall City, where, as the name implied, the makeshift city was surrounded by a fortification of metal walls that had seen better days. It would be enough to guard against small raider attacks, but anything more might be a problem. In the meantime, the city walls were patrolled by armed guards. They weren't too vigilant, especially with no real threats visible in the distance, but he knew within a few seconds, if something was spotted, they would have the time to prepare defenses.

They had spotted Martin when he arrived by the city entrance. They hadn't seen the newcomer before, so they did become more alert.

"You there!" one of the female guards shouted to him from the wall. "Who might you be?"

"Name's Martin," he politely replied. "I need a doctor. Is there one in your town?"

She seemed a little skeptical of the Pachirisu gijinka at first, but seeing as how he wasn't well-armed and didn't seem like the kind that would cause trouble, she decided it wouldn't be a problem to let him inside.

"You can talk to Dr. Morgan," she told him. "But keep that pistol holstered. We don't want any trouble. Unless you're attacked first, weapons are only to be used in self-defense."

"Understood," Martin nodded with a smile. "Thanks so much."

She nodded, and Martin made his way into the gates. After walking through the city made of rusty metal, he didn't see any shame in asking for directions from the locals, and eventually he did find his way to Dr. Morgan's medical office. Martin knocked politely, hoping he could get the help he needed here and that he had enough caps to pay for the necessary treatment. It seemed a bit doubtful that Dr. Morgan would have the exact cure, but he figured he could at least try. It was possible that he might know of someone else who did have what he needed elsewhere.

"Come in," he heard a stern voice reply from behind the door.

Martin calmly entered, and came before a black man in his late 40s, bald, with black-rimmed glasses. He hadn't seen Martin before, so unlike his usual patients, he was curious as to what Martin needed him for.

"You're Doctor Morgan?" Martin asked him before getting a nod of confirmation. "My name is Martin. Martin Vickers. I have... a problem with an FEV mutagen I was injected with. It's called EvoTox."

"EvoTox?" Dr. Morgan asked, having never heard of it before. "I don't know of any mutagen specifically called EvoTox, but I do know of FEVs. Come on over."

In truth, Dr. Morgan did have several patients in the past with FEV-related mutagens, but nothing with a strain like this. After Martin emptied his pockets and bags of all the available caps he had on hand, it wasn't precisely the amount that the doctor was hoping for, but he was willing to settle with it. FEV-treatment opportunities were not common at all and it would give him an opportunity to try a trial antigen if the blood test results came back ideal for testing.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Affected Rpers: Flowey

Xie coughed a little and drank some of the water as it was given to her. She was very appreciative of this gijinka's efforts to help her despite them not knowing her at all. She frowned at his questions, unsure if he would understand or believe her when she would describe her situation, but she saw no reason to hide it.

"I just left a cryogenic freezing maybe less than a day ago if I had to guesstimate, but I was not properly treated for exit so my body is currently suffering the freezing effects. If I had to guess my muscles are seizing up as a result. I think seeing a doctor would be best to treat my conditions. As for standing, that's a maybe at best."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Doctor Morgan's Medical Office, Rustwall City

Doctor Morgan hated giving bad news, but after running several blood tests and examining the nature of the FEV in Martin's genes, the situation looked terrible and he only had one prognosis.

"I can't stop the EvoTox FEV from taking effect," Doctor Morgan told the Pachirisu Gijinka. "This is an advanced mutagen that's been working its way into your genes for many years. There is no way to reverse it or undo it."

"I... it's okay," Martin replied, looking pale but still trying to force a polite smile. "Thanks for trying."

Doctor Morgan had recalled Martin's descriptions of what happened in Vault 62, and they seemed to match with the medical findings he had uncovered after the lab tests and analysis. But something came to mind that made it possible he could try to direct exactly how the mutation would turn out. Instead of becoming one of the freakish monsters that had been let loose in Vault 62, he did have a directive chemical agent that could at least guild Martin's upcoming mutations toward a more comfortable outcome, an outcome that had taken place among a few of Martin's peers.

"The mutations will be taking effect sometime in the weeks to come," Doctor Morgan told him. "What I can do is administer a vaccine of gene directive that will at least annul the more... unfavorable outcomes. Instead of becoming a violent mutant like some of your fellow vault-dwellers did, you'll at least be part of the group that instead became fully Pokémon."

"You mean... this would change me entirely into a Pachirisu?" Martin asked, looking a little anxious.

"It's the best I can do," he replied, still feeling a ping of regret there wasn't more he could have done to stop the mutation entirely. "My precursory medical analysis of your genes in response to the vaccine states that after post-mutation, you'll retain most of your memories at first, but you may find yourself succumbing to more animalistic instincts akin to that of a naturally born Pachirisu. As time goes on, your memories may start to fade and in time, you may begin to think you were never a giinka or anything besides a Pachirisu in the first place."

"Oh no..." Martin replied with anxiety. "How am I supposed to live like that!?"

The initial shock of it was overwhelming to Martin. In just a few weeks, he was going to end up entirely like the electric squirrel Pokémon, and he simply didn't have any kind of solution to it. Still, there was nothing he could do.

"I wish I had better news to give you," Doctor Morgan told him. "At least it isn't fatal."

"I guess that's true..." Martin replied. "Let's... okay, let's just do it. I'd rather have this than become some destructive mutant."

Doctor Morgan felt he made the right choice, though in his situation, he wouldn't know what to think. EvoTox FEV was not something he had seen before, but the samples and research would prove valuable to the scientific community still trying to thrive and rebuild in the wasteland.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii

Taylor nodded, "that would explain your symptoms. Any idea on how long you were frozen?" He asked her as he helped her to her feet. Taylor was wondering why Vault-Tec would freeze people and not have someone there to help thaw the dwellers. Then again the people in his vault were inbreeding to extinction. Were other vaults like theirs?

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey

Xie pondered the question carefully. It had occurred to her that she had no idea how much time had transpired between her initial freezing and her release. The only time stamp information she had was that Terri had been released a few months before she had. Though, if it was anything to go by, the landscape had certainly changed since she had last seen it. But Xie doubted a short glimpse into the world was worth any salt.

"I don't really know. All I know is, the last person unfrozen was released months ago. I was also the last living occupant. Everyone else from my vault either died or was released. No idea how long ago that happened though. Most of the computers in my vault were dead and the ones that weren't didn't have much information on them for me together. In addition, I was born in the vault so I don't really have a good grasp as to what the world looked like prior to my freezing. I got a short glimpse of the outside but the image is so fuzzy in my brain and it only lasted a few seconds that I doubt what I saw is an accurate time stamp."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City

After receiving the vaccine and paying Doctor Morgan almost all of the caps he could spare for his services, Martin spent some time alone. He only had a few weeks before the EvoTox mutation would trigger, and while Doctor Morgan had proven to be very helpful in eliminating the worst of the outcomes, it was still an inevitable occurrence that was going to change his life completely.

In only a few weeks, he would change entirely into a Pachirisu, and would have to rely on completely different survival instincts. He was hoping he would find a way to get used to it, but it would be a very different way of living that he felt he wasn't entirely prepared for. At least he wouldn't completely lose his memories at first and be prone to vicious attacking. As a normal Pachirisu, he might lose the traits and aspects that made him civilized, but at least he would still be mentally capable of knowing right from wrong and would keep most of his personality traits. He felt he might even be better off than others of his own kind as long as he remembered how most human tools and equipment functioned. However, being the victim of a predator was something he was a bit more worried about.

After seeing what had happened in Vault 62 and the results of EvoTox when it came to Patrick and the other vault-dwellers, this was something at least far better than the monsters they had become. A Pachirisu wasn't even a violent or highly-destructive Pokémon. To Martin, maybe, in some ways, it was better than being a gijinka. No one would scream at him, get angry and impatient with him, get drunk and hit him, or expect him to show up at certain times and shout at him when he couldn't. While he would miss the good things about humanity, he would be turning his back to all the ugly things as well.

He needed some time to think things over and mentally prepare himself. There was some anxiety mixed with hope. There were moments where he wish he had more time, followed by moments where he wished it would just be done and over with to get started on the next chapter of his life.

He had taken a walk outside of town, and the bleakness of the wasteland and its ruins reminded him that this was just one some trouble in a world that was full of them. It reminded him that there were two important things in life. Love. Love and survival. No matter how bad things got, everyone had to try their best to love and survive.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii

"It seems I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Taylor," he told her while taking in what she told him. "Sorry to hear they're dead, but what's your friend's name maybe we can ask around about them."

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey

Xie opened her mouth to answer but instead dissolved into a coughing fit. Despite naturally purifying the air around her, it was still very scratchy and hurt to breathe in. She wasn't used to it. Everything was so different. She just wished Terri were here. He would know how to calm her down. He could make everything better.

"Terri," Xie wheezed out. "His name is Terri. He might be here, he might have escaped, but who knows." Xie shrugged a little as her breathing evened out. "This is so different from my life before the freezing. It's so overwhelming."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii

"Would you like some assistance breathing?" He asked her hoping it wouldn't turn awkward, "I can change my hand to filter the air for you if you need it." "When you're feeling better maybe you could tell me more about him and I could transform into as a reference."

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey

Xie wasn't all too surprised by the suggestion. This gijinka was obviously a ditto so that capability could not be too far out of his range. Still, it must have been awkward to ask such a thing of Xie. She would have to keep the suggestion in mind in the future.

"It is fine. I appreciate your offer, though," Xie replied. "I need to adjust to the air. I'm already naturally purifying it, as is the nature of my species, but I am too used to sterilized air. If my lungs do not adapt, I will not be able to survive out here. If I feel like I require assistance, I will let you know. Right now, I feel it is best if we head towards civilization. If you hold me up, I should be able to walk."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii

Tyler nodded, and he held his hand out to her waiting to see how well she held up before changing his body to adapt. "The town isn't far from here, do you have any money? I only have pre-war money and some stuff I can sell what do you have?"

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey

Xie took Taylor's hand and stood up. Her balance was shaky at best, and she leaned on Taylor to keep herself standing. Her muscles really were cutting out on her when it came to capability. How unfortunate. Xie sighed and shook her head. Of course this would happen to her. But why? Xie wanted answers that she did not have and it bothered her to no end. What was she supposed to do without any information of this world? How was she supposed to survive? How was she supposed to locate Terri? Xie felt helpless and confused, much like when she was first frozen. Except now, she didn't have Terri here to comfort her. Taylor was nice, but he was not Terri.

"Money?" Xie checked all her pockets and found no currency of any kind. That figures. The vault had been pretty barren when she woke up. Xie looked over at Taylor and shook her head. What did he expect, really? She had been asleep, frozen in a tube, for an undetermined amount of time. Why on earth would she have any money? Then again, there were worse questions. "No, I only have the gun I picked up in my vault and the few shells I managed to find."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii

Taylor mentally smacked himself, of course she wouldn't have currency. "At least you have a fire arm and ammo," he told her looking down at the lame safety baton he used to get out of his vault. "Would you prefer me carry you or do you wish to walk?" He asked her not wanting her to push herself if she hadn't used her muscles in at least months this had to be excruciating.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey

Well Taylor wasn't wrong, having a gun and ammo was nice. But she only had the single round left in her gun. There had not been much ammo laying around in her vault, and of the two loads she had found, she had wasted an entire load killing the demonic cockroaches and then attacking the large chameleon monster. She only had one round left in her gun and then she was out of luck. Though, in Xie's mind, that was not necessarily a bad thing. As comforting as it was to had the gun on her belt, there was always the fear of her vault's programming kicking in. Instinct mode was a dangerous thing. There were no allies when that programming kicked in and friendly fire was always a threat. If her gun was loaded, she could cause some real damage if someone unintentionally triggered her mental programming.

"I can walk," Xie answered calmly, "but I will need support. I need to exercise my muscles but I don't want to strain myself. That could hurt them in a variety of ways that would be dangerous to me, but not using them could be just as dangerous. Understand?" Xie hoped Taylor got the idea. In her case, there were two extremes, too little use and too much. Until they reached a medic, Xie absolutely had to stay in the middle, otherwise her body could shut down. The fact that her muscles were cramping up signaled she was using them too much, but if Taylor just started carrying her, that would only worsen the situation as a whole.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii and Neo Emolga

Taylor nodded, he understood the risk of not moving them, but it looked as if she had already worn herself out. Right before they got to the gates he spotted a Pachirisu gijinka that looked like he just left. "Sir," he addressed the gijinka as they approached him. "Do you know where we can find a doctor in the city? I could use some supplies."

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey Neo Emolga

Xie lifted her head slightly as she heard Taylor speak. She had been mainly watching her legs as they walked, trying to judge how much pressure and such they could take before her muscles would start to give out. On top of that, she hadn't told Taylor yet, but one of the common side effects of untreated cryogenics awakening was fluid filling the lungs. Xie could already tell that she was having trouble breathing, and she was worried that her lungs might also be filling with liquid, slowly suffocating her. In addition, blood vessels popping was common as well. Xie could already tell that side effect was happening, as bruises were starting to cover her hands. She could only imagine what the rest of her body looked like underneath all her clothes.

As her eyes focused on the pachirisu gijinka, Xie noted that he seemed to have something on his mind, but before she could process what Taylor and this stranger were doing, Xie suddenly dissolved into a coughing fit. She released Taylor and collapsed into the dirt, coughing hard. Xie mentally cursed herself. Her lungs were filling with fluid! She spit onto the ground as she gasped for air. Xie knew enough about water lung to know coughing wasn't going to do her any good. She'd have to get her lungs drained if she wanted to survive this. But how advanced was this town's technology? It was possible they wouldn't have anything to help her, and then she'd just suffocate. Xie recalled how Taylor said he could make it easier for her to breathe, but before she could request Taylor's help, Xie began to cough again, dissolving into another fit.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii and Neo Emolga

Taylor swore how had he not noticed the bruises on her hands, "sir," he told the random gijinka, "I need you to get a doctor and tell them she is bleeding internally and her lungs are filling with fluid." "Sorry," he told her, "this is going to be awkward, but I need to get the water out of your lungs." 'Hope she'll forgive me,' he thought as he gently forced his hand down her throat transforming it into a type of hose to drain the liquid. Before he could deal with the bleeding he needed her to be able to breath Independently.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Outside of Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Flowey

Martin had a lot on his mind, trying to mentally prepare himself for what would happen in the days to come. However, he was suddenly approached by a Ditto gijinka with a neon green shirt and green shorts while having a pink-tinged skin tone that dripped every so often. Accompanying him was a Shaymin gijinka with pale skin and green hair while she wore blue jeans, black combat boots, and a black t-shirt covered with a black hoodie. From what Martin could tell, she seemed to be having a lot of trouble breathing and she was holding onto the Ditto gijinka to prevent herself from collapsing.

"Sir," the Ditto gijinka addressed him as they approached. "Do you know where we can find a doctor in the city? I could use some supplies."

Martin was just about to show them the way to Doctor Morgan's office when suddenly the Shaymin gijinka had collapsed and tumbled into the dirt. Martin suddenly gasped, not realizing the situation was so critically serious.

"Sir," the Ditto gijinka addressed him again. "I need you to get a doctor and tell them she is bleeding internally and her lungs are filling up with fluid."

"I-I'll be right back," Martin told him. "I know just the guy, he should be able to help."

Martin ran back into Rustwall City as the Ditto gijinka did what he could to buy as much time as he could. Suddenly, Martin's mind was racing, trying to remember the quickest way back to Doctor Morgan's office. In the meantime, the whole situation with his impeding EvoTox mutation was no longer on his mind at all.

Martin charged back into Doctor Morgan's office, knowing every second counted. When he spotted Morgan, the doctor was not surprised to see him again, but he didn't realize it was for a whole other pressing matter.

"Doctor Morgan, it's an emergency!" Martin told him, trying to explain things as quickly as possible. "There's a girl outside the city and she's bleeding internally!"

"Let's go," Morgan replied, quickly grabbing his medical kit and doctor's bag. "Lead the way."

The two of them headed back toward the city entrance. Martin personally wished he could help more, but he simply didn't have the medical knowledge and skills to help the Shaymin girl. In the meantime, Doctor Morgan had some idea of what would need to be done, but he would need to get a quick examination of the patient.

When both of them had arrived, Doctor Morgan had caught sight of the gijinkas and quickly knelt down to examine the Shaymin gijinka's medical situation. He hadn't seen too many cases like this before, but he had a feeling the physical trauma was brought on by some kind of cryogenic procedure. He positioned the Shaymin gijinka on her back, administered two Stimpack injections as close to the affected site to speed up the body's natural recovery process, and then unzipped his medical bag.

During the twenty minute span in which Doctor Morgan had used a wide variety of medical tools, anti-infective agents, and chemical injections, Martin felt a bit helpless, only wishing there was more he could do for the girl. He was also very anxious, not sure if she was going to make it, but he was hoping for the best for her.

But then, after some time, Doctor Morgan nodded.

"She'll be okay, but she's going to need to rest," he told them as he began to put away his medical tools after finishing the operation. "I don't recommend she walks for at least three days. She can rest in my recovery room at my clinic, but she needs to stay low and not do any heavy walking for at least a few weeks."

Martin breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know the girl was going to be okay as long as she took it easy.

"Thank you, Doctor Morgan," Martin said thankfully. "You saved her life."

"We're not out of it yet," Morgan replied, looking at things realistically. "I still want to monitor her vitals during her recovery period. These kinds of ailments can sometimes be unpredictable, so we need to be cautious."

Martin nodded. Shortly after, Martin and Doctor Morgan had taken the Shaymin gijinka to the clinic's small recovery room by a makeshift stretcher. After gently placing her on the bed, Martin looked at her, wondering where she came from and what exactly happened to her...

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey Neo Emolga

Everything happened so quickly in such a blur for Xie. Taylor suddenly had his hand down her throat and at first Xie panicked, but she quickly realized it didn't feel like she was suffocating. Taylor must have been draining the fluid in her lungs and helping her breathe. Xie could hear him apologizing but she shook her head slightly, signaling that it was of no consequence to her.

Suddenly the Pachirisu was back with a doctor. The doctor had her on her back and began to administer medicine after medicine. Xie's vision kept going in and out, with her pain sensors firing every so often when she received a shot or something else. Xie grimaced, trying to stay conscious but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Her senses were dulled and any sounds were just garbled noises. At some point, she fell unconscious, and awoke again sometime later. It was all so confusing for her, but at some point Xie just stopped caring.

"She'll be okay, but she's going to need to rest. I don't recommend she walks for at least three days. She can rest in my recovery room at my clinic, but she needs to stay low and not do any heavy walking for at least a few weeks."

Xie's breath hitched in her throat. No, that couldn't happen. She had to find Terri. She had to find him at all costs. She couldn't just rest for a few weeks. Terri could die in those weeks! But Xie was too weak to resist the two carrying her back to the clinic. She waited until they put her down before trying to get up immediately. Sure, surgery had just been performed on her but her advanced healing had to count for something, right?

Xie pushed herself out of the bed and tried to get to the door of the room but as soon as she put weight on her legs, Xie collapsed and hit the floor somewhat roughly. She swore loudly and coughed, pushing herself up with shaking arms. She could see the door, just like before she had been frozen, tempting and taunting. It was humiliating! Xie tried to drag herself towards it, but she just did not have the strength to get there.

"Dammit!" Xie yelled, slamming her fist against the floor. "No, no! This can't be happening. I can't... I can't..." Xie punched the floor several more times before dissolving into tears. "Terri, where are you?" Xie tried to push herself up again but it was no use. "I need to find him. H-He could be hurt or worse." Xie could feel the splinters in her fist as she punched the floor. "I can't already be done in. I just got out and..."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Rustwall City
Affected Rpers: Neo Emolga
"How much will this cost?" Taylor asked Doctor Martin, "I don't have much, but I can work off the debt." This had to be expensive perhaps he could do jobs all over the town. He could but that would take forever. On top of the cost Taylor felt as if it was his fault she was in there. He knew she had exerted herself, yet he didn't check for injuries. Then he let her walk, he didn't know what he would do if she died before finding her friend Terri.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Doctor Morgan's Clinic, Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Flowey

Martin was alarmed when the Shaymin girl had tried to get to the door, but collapsed and fell upon the wooden floor, hurting herself again in the process.

"Dammit!" she yelled. "No, no! This can't be happening. I can't... I can't..."

She burst into tears, calling out for someone named Terri and about how she needed to find him before something happened.

"Relax or you're going to hurt yourself again!" Martin pleaded with her. "First of all, who is Terri? You need to recover, but maybe your friend and I can go out looking for him. If you just give me your name, I can try to see if anyone has found him or heard of him. But I'm sure whoever he is, he wouldn't want you to kill yourself trying to find him!"

Martin figured it was the best course of action. The Shaymin girl was in no condition to be walking around, but she seemed extremely upset about being unable to find Terri.

"How much will this cost?" the Ditto gijinka asked Doctor Martin, "I don't have much, but I can work off the debt."

"These medications don't come cheap," Doctor Martin confessed. "I need the 500 caps, and I can't take anyone without medical knowledge to work off the debt. I'd go out of business if word got around I made exceptions or payment alternatives. Someone else in town might offer you temporary employment, may offer you a loan, or may be willing to barter. Understand that I can't be setting new precedents."

"Let's work out something together," Martin told the Ditto gijinka. "It's 250 caps if we split it. That's a lot more manageable. Maybe someone in town has a job that they'd be willing to pay for."

In times like these, while Martin would have liked to help someone simply based on generosity, he needed to pay for the girl's medical treatment. Becoming some kind of mercenary wasn't exactly what Martin had been hoping to become in life, but he was willing to do it if it helped this girl recover.

"My name's Martin, by the way," the Pachirisu gijinka introduced himself to the ditto gijinka with a hopeful smile. "Martin Vickers. I originally came from Vault 62 but..." Martin said before looking grim with a bit of hesitation, "well, let's just say a lot of bad stuff happened there so now I'm here. But that's all water under the bridge. Let's help your friend and see what we can do about paying off her medical bills."

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey Neo Emolga

"Relax or you're going to hurt yourself again!" Martin pleaded with her. "First of all, who is Terri? You need to recover, but maybe your friend and I can go out looking for him. If you just give me your name, I can try to see if anyone has found him or heard of him. But I'm sure whoever he is, he wouldn't want you to kill yourself trying to find him!"

Xie paused and rubbed her nose. This pachirisu was right. Terri would not want her to be fretting over him. He'd also be so mad at her for breaking down into tears like this. She was his tough girl. Xie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to collect her emotions. This was just a minor setback. She would find him.

"You're right. He would be so upset with me if he saw me like this. His name is Terri Phay, he's a manaphy. He's got the softest smile and he wears his hair in two pigtails that come from the back of his head, like this." Xie bunched up her short hair as best she could to imitate the hairstyle. "My name is Xie Jade, the last survivor from vault 110. From the records I could salvage from the vault, it appeared that Terri exited the vault months ago, but how he got out I don't know. And from the looks of the vault, it appears I wasn't ever supposed to get released." Xie glanced at the floor. "I have to find him. He's... Terri's tough, we both are, but he's like a glass cannon. I'm worried that without me to back him up he might've... he might've..." Xie took a deep breath and composed herself. "I'm just worried. What I have witnessed since my time waking up has caused me to become unsettled by everything. I have witnessed cockroaches ten times their normal size that were vicious, attacking anything that moved. And I have faced off against with what appeared to be a mutation of a chameleon of sorts, but it was hideous, and my bullets had no effect on it. I managed to out run it but if not for that I would likely be dead. And since I was the tougher of the two of us, I can only imagine how Terri might be fairing."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Rustwall City
Affected Rpers: Neo Emolga and Noblejanobii
"Pleasure, to meet you Martin. That's nice of you to offer, do you have any idea where a general store is I have some pre-war money I can sell for caps." Tyler examined Martin's DNA which was a roller coaster it looked like his genes were fighting each other, but he figured Martin didn't want to talk about it and he didn't feel like pushing it.
"I'm sure he's fine Xie, if we do go on a mission we'll ask about him alright?"

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Big Bob's General Store, Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Flowey

It was risky, but Martin was considering bartering the 10mm pistol and all of the ammo he had for it to at least make headway toward getting his share of the 250 cap debt needed for Xie's operation. In the meantime, he needed to find Terri Phay, the manaphy gijinka. Xie's description of him would help a lot when asking around, but it was still unknown what direction he took from Vault 110. If he had left months before her, he could be anywhere by now, but he was hoping some way or another, they'd find a lead.

After meeting Taylor, the objective now was to find a general store that would be willing to barter goods for caps. Martin still wasn't very familiar with Rustwall City, but he was almost certain they could find a place like that.

Martin decided to lead the way through town to find any place that might be willing to trade for caps. He was pretty sure the 10mm pistol and the three dozen rounds he had for it was an item that someone was bound to want. In fact, he really didn't like the idea of giving it up, but he needed something to pay for Xie's treatments.

Eventually, he found a store that was called Big Bob's. It was made up of the same rusty metal sheets that the rest of the town was made up of, but he decided to walk on in and see what he could get out of what he owned.

Like most of the wasteland stores, all of the merchandise was used and definitely not in mint condition. Some of it was in better shape than others, but in general, everything was pretty much less than pre-war garage sale quality and condition. Martin had decided to go up to the counter and encountered the store owner himself, a heavy-set, grizzled bearded man in his early 40s. Martin could still from the look in his eyes that he wasn't here to make friends. Haggling cap value might be difficult, but he figured he could try his best.

"I have some items to trade for caps," Martin told him, getting straight to business as he could tell from the man's composure, he didn't want small talk to waste his time. "10mm pistol, three dozen rounds. Only fired a few times, good working condition."

"We test fire all firearms to make sure of that," Bob told him. "What else do you have?"

Martin emptied out the remainder of his belongings, including the last few pieces of jewelry and electronic equipment he found back in the ruins of Sunnydale Town. He felt a slight unsettling feeling about just handing all of the things he had spent the last few days obtaining, but if he didn't do this, Xie was in big trouble.

"170 for everything," Bob offered.

"The pistol is a guaranteed sale with markup," Martin countered. "I'm certain you'll definitely sell it to someone else in this city within the next three days, if not today. As for the jewelry, you might need to hold it in stock for a little longer until someone with big pockets comes along, but someone eventually will. And the electronic equipment barely takes up any space. There's enough people out there that would need the components for whatever project they have going on. So I'm curious as to how you got to only 170 caps."

"Listen, kid, I don't like hagglers," Bob replied, giving him a glare. "170."

"200," Martin counter-offered. "I doubt it benefits either of us if I need to check out prices for whatever else is around town."

Bob sighed, realizing Martin wasn't going to make this easy. And as he thought to himself, he was definitely right about the 10mm pistol. He knew that if he came across Tanner's in downtown Rustwall, he might go with his deal instead and he'd end up losing out on the pistol, which was in near-mint condition. That alone he might be able to resell for 200 to the right buyer if he marketed it correctly.

"Fine, kid, here," Bob replied, putting 200 caps into a bag. "I don't know who you are, but don't make this a regular thing. It's annoying."

"Thank you, sir," Martin smiled politely.

"Yeah, yeah," Bob replied, brushing him away. "Go on now."

With that done, Martin had most of the money needed for Xie. There was just that matter of securing the last fifty caps. He could try to find someone in town that might need a job done, which for fifty caps wouldn't be too difficult.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Flowey Neo Emolga

Xie nodded a little at Taylor's reassurance. She tapped her foot, trying to think over any other things that would indicate Terri to them. Then it hit her and she slapped her forehead. How could she forget? Their brands would be dead give aways! At the thought of the brand, Xie's cheek began to sting. She ignored it for now, the pain long having become nothing but a nuisance there. Xie tried to call out to Martin and Taylor, but Martin was already gone. So be it.

"Taylor!" Xie signaled him back and gestured to her cheek. "He should have something like this on his cheek. Except it will be a 490. They're the branding system our vault used. I doubt anyone else has anything like it, so if they've seen a man with a 490 on his cheek, that is probably Terri." Xie reached down to her belt and unclipped her gun. She held it out to Taylor. "Try to barter with this too. It's been used quite a bit from what I can tell, and there's less than a round left but it might be worth something."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Heading towards a town
Affected Rpers: Noblejanobii and Neo Emolga

"That would help identify him faster, are you sue about selling your weapon? You might need it when you get back on your feet. I have some things to sell, and a few extra job don't bother me, so I think you should keep it." He told her before heading after Martin, who just finished bargaining with the keeper. "Hello sir," it was always good to be polite and greet someone, "would you ming telling me how much I could get for five bundles of pre-war cash?" He knew it wouldn't be worth much to anyone other than collectors, but every bitt helped.

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie watched as Taylor left. She stared down at the pistol in her hands and sighed. Great, now she was in debt to both the boys. At least if Taylor had taken her gun she would have had some collateral. Now she had none. Xie laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She was still trying to process everything that was going on. This would was so different than the one she had been taught about. Then again, she had been in cryo-stasis. Obviously some time had to have passed from when she was put under. How long had they said cryogenic work usually lasted before people put under ran a high risk of dying? Ten years? Xie sighed and shrugged mentally. She couldn't remember, but if it was ten years, then it was not that long of her life gone. Maybe some of her other vault mates were out there too. Xie was not sure she would be happy or terrified to see them though. It would really depend on who it was.

Xie put her hands behind her head and started to think over the situation at hand. Her main goal right now was to locate Terri. He had left the vault months earlier than she had and could be anywhere right now. But surely someone had seen him. Xie bit her lip and tapped her foot against the end of the bed. If she were Terri, what would be the first thing she would do when released? It would depend on the scenario, but given context clues, Xie figured that Terri was probably released by Vault Tech and taken away. He would probably have tried to escape first unless they were using her as collateral. He would take in and memorize his surroundings, trying to find a way back to rescue her. If he worked for Vault Tech now, was it possible he might have worked in this town?

"Uh... Doctor Martin?" Xie called, "I have a question."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Awasfriend

It took Martin a while before he was able to secure the last fifty caps he needed for Xie. After helping an old lady with the radroach problem she had in her cellar, he had enough, but after everything else, it was going to leave him broke and without anything to work with. He did, however, still have his electric attacks and powers, which were effective for the radroaches, but he wasn't so sure how much they could be relied on when it came time to fight off some of the bigger threats out there in the wasteland.

When he came back to Xie and Doctor Martin, he handed over his recently acquired bag of caps, which took care of his part of the share. He wasn't sure where he was going to get what he needed next, but he figured he would be able to work that out later.

"Well, this does take care of some of it," Doctor Martin replied.

"Uh... Doctor Martin?" Xie asked him. "I have a question."

"Sure, what can I help you with?" he asked her.

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie paused as Martin returned. She looked at him sheepishly before looking back at the Doctor.

"I was wondering if Vault Tech employees have ever visited this town? More specifically soldiers but any sort of employee will do." Xie remained quiet for a second then elaborated, "Terri and I came from a vault where they trained us to be soldiers and from what I could tell he was released manually, from the vault, whereas I was remotely released. It makes me think he might actually be working for Vault Tech right now. I don't know though, but anything you know could definitely help in the future when it comes to locating him."

Xie then turned her attention to Martin. She held out her pistol to him, the grip to him and gave him a serious look.

"I can't pay you back for this easily, but if you'll take it you can have my gun. It's obviously been used a lot and there's less than a round left of bullets but it might do you some good." Xie sighed and looked down. "Someone else will have better use of it. In my short time of escape all I've used it for is taking down some oversized roaches and then not even making a dent in this huge monster thing with razor sharp claws. Even with all my soldier training, it seems I'm not as effective in the real world as Vault Tech had wanted." Xie looked out a nearby window and drummed her fingers on her knee. "This world is so much different than I imagined. It's so much desert. I was told there was greenery and life on many places around the earth, including around the vault. While this could have changed while I was asleep, there's no way it was this drastic. After all I couldn't have been kept under for more than a decade without dying. Sure a lot changes in ten years, but not like this. At least, I don't think."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Awasfriend

Martin looked at Xie curiously as she asked Doctor Morgan about Vault Tech employees ever visiting Rustwall city. She then mentioned how she and Terri came from a vault that had intended to be used for training soldiers.

"I believe there are a few," he replied with a slight nod. "I know Damien, who lives at the far west end of town has some connections to Vault Tech. He might be able to help you. Besides him, the only other one I knew of was Rachel Hayes, but she's moved on from this town years ago."

It was then that Xie had given Martin her used pistol. He nodded a bit sheepishly as he took it.

"Thanks," he smiled. "I didn't expect a reward, but I appreciate it!"

But he wasn't up for telling Xie about the truth. At least not at that moment. He knew he was going to have to find some moment to tell her something that only he and Doctor Morgan knew. The fact that the EvoTox Doctor Morgan had to reconfigure was eventually going to turn him into a Pachirisu that wouldn't be able to use Xie's pistol at all. But, he felt now wasn't the right time. Maybe later, but hopefully not too much later. Not while it was happening...

"This world is so much different than I imagined," Xie told him. "It's so much desert. I was told there was greenery and life on many places around the earth, including around the vault. While this could have changed while I was asleep, there's no way it was this drastic. After all I couldn't have been kept under for more than a decade without dying. Sure a lot changes in ten years, but not like this. At least, I don't think."

"Yeah, I remember what our vault books said..." Martin agreed. "I'm hoping green places like that still exist. You know, maybe in places where all this devastation didn't happen. There's got to be at least a few places that made it out okay."

He was being hopeful. Considering all that had happened to Xie, he felt she could really use some of that hopeful optimism that kept him going despite all that had happened to him.

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie felt the wind go out of her sails when the Doctor didn't make any mention of Terri. But she had a lead. Someone else in town had connections to Vault Tech. He could possibly help her. She needed to get over there right away. But she didn't know where this person's house was and these two weren't going to let her out of there anyway. On top of the fact that her legs might not work anyway. Still, her eyes glimmered with determination. She had to meet this person, even if it killed her.

Xie glanced at Martin and raised her eyebrows curiously. He had not expected a reward? What kind of world had he come from? Obviously not the type she had been raised in. No matter. His gratitude brought a small smile to her lips. At least he could be positive in this desolate place. Though, he was right, not every place of greenery could have been wiped out. That would just be plain depressing.

"This is true. Maybe we will find it soon enough. I've always wanted to see flora because... well I'm a shaymin. My parents used to talk about how beautiful everything was. They had hoped I'd be able to see it one day but then they got taken into the vaults, where I was born. All I've ever seen a pictures and the few live samples they had me practice on. But my parents used to talk about fields and forests, all this life near their home. It makes me want to find their home, in all honesty."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii, Awasfriend

Martin couldn't help but smile when Xie was happily surprised that he was happy to help without a reward.

"This is true," Xie told him. "Maybe we will find it soon enough. I've always wanted to see flora because... well I'm a shaymin. My parents used to talk about how beautiful everything was. They had hoped I'd be able to see it one day but then they got taken into the vaults, where I was born. All I've ever seen a pictures and the few live samples they had me practice on. But my parents used to talk about fields and forests, all this life near their home. It makes me want to find their home, in all honesty."

"Well, I'm part Pachirisu, which as you probably know, would survive better in a forest than a desert," Martin told her with a smile. "So yeah, I think we're both after trying to find that special green place. I'm sure it's out there somewhere."

And then, for Martin, it was just hurting him too much and he couldn't keep it bottled up any longer. She had to know. She had to be aware he was on borrowed time now.

"Listen... Xie," Martin told her a bit sheepishly, not sure if he was really ready to explain what was to come. "You see, like you... I also came from a vault. Vault 62 to be exact. Now, it may be different from what happened to you, but... some really terrible things happened there."

Martin swallowed hard. It was trickier than he thought it would be.

"They... injected us with an FEV variant known as EvoTox," Martin told her, feeling a bit anxious. "They told us it was supposed to help our lifespan and prepare us for life outside of the vault but... no, they were using us as lab experiments. The day people started mutating into Pokémon monsters was the day I... escaped. But many others weren't so lucky. And... a lot of people died in there."

Martin shot a glance at Doctor Morgan, and Morgan could see why Martin was feeling anxious.

"Doctor Morgan was able to address my EvoTox strain to some degree," Martin continued, sighing hard and trying not to sweat. "Unlike the other citizens of Vault 62, I'm safe from turning into a deformed mutant, but that hasn't stopped the FEV mutation process. In time... sometime very soon... the FEV strain is going to force me to... mutate fully into a Pachirisu..."

Martin thought getting the weight off of his chest would have made things better, but he wasn't feeling it.

"I... I don't know what I'm supposed to do when that happens," Martin told Xie, feeling depressed. "I don't know how to be a Pachirisu! I don't know where I'm supposed to go and how I'm supposed to survive. And these deserts and wastelands... they're no place for a Pokémon like that to call home..."

In one way, Martin was glad that Xie now knew about his condition. If at any moment the final stages of the mutation were triggered, she would know what was going on. She might be surprised, but she wouldn't be unaware about what was happening to him.

"I want to be with you," Martin told Xie. "We're both out to find a forest both of us can survive in. I don't know when we'll find it, but we stand a much stronger chance if we work together. But I wanted you to be aware... this is what's coming for me. When it does happen, I'm... not giving up. I don't care if I need to pretend I've always been your Pokémon or something like that."

"Hope you understand," Martin told her sheepishly. "My heart wants to be ready, but I don't know if everything is..."

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie stared at Martin, attempting to process the bomb he had just laid on her. She glanced down for a moment, taking a minute to sort this all out. This sounded absolutely crazy and to anyone else, it probably would have been returned with some sort of response that Martin was crazy. However, Xie had been through a lot in the past few hours and quickly decided that this explanation of devolution wasn't quite as crazy as the giant mutant chameleon outside of her vault.

"So… you're reverting back to your Pokémon form?" Xie tapped her chin and then shrugged. "I'll be honest, that's a little hard to believe but it's definitely not the weirdest thing I've encountered since I woke up." Xie brushed back some of her green hair from her face and thought it over some more before saying, "Well you are right, a Pachirisu would never survive out here. Your common food source isn't exactly plentiful in the desert. Plus if you think I'm just going to abandon you after you saved my life then you're wrong. I'm not one for heroics but I'm still technically in debt to you so this will be great payment."

Xie drummed her fingers on her leg as a game plan began to form in her head. They'd go talk to the person Doctor Morgan had mentioned about Vault Tech, or at least Xie would, and try to get a lead on Terri. That would dictate where they went from there. Hopefully they might get some indication on a patch of greenery in this desolate world. That would be perfect for Martin to stay once he devolved.

"We can start searching for this place of greenery as soon as I'm well rested. It shouldn't be too long but I do want to maybe inquire around town about possible leads for Terri. We can also ask about leads for an oasis or something if you would like?"

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii, Awasfriend

As Martin feared, the news did shock Xie quite thoroughly.

"So... you're reverting back to your Pokémon form?" Xie asked him as she tapped her chin and shrugged. "I'll be honest, that's a little hard to believe but it's definitely not the weirdest thing I've encountered since I woke up."

Martin nodded as she brushed some of her green hair back from her face.

"Well, you are right, a Pachirisu would never survive out here. Your common food source isn't exactly plentiful in the desert. Plus if you think I'm just going to abandon you after you saved my life then you're wrong. I'm not one for heroics but I'm still technically in debt to you so this will be great payment."

"It could have been worse..." Martin told her as she thought it over. "There were many in Vault 62 that had the same thing happen and there were others that... well... they turned into something that never should have been..."

He had difficulty trying to describe the details, and he ultimately decided not to. He was simply hoping Xie would understand that it was horrible to him and to trust him that it was a traumatizing thing to deal with. And it was something he had wanted to get out of his mind and forget about for a while.

"We can start searching from this place of greenery as soon as I'm well rested," Xie told him. "It shouldn't be too long but I do want to maybe inquire around town about possible leads for Terri. We can also ask about leads for an oasis or something if you would like?"

"I think that would be best," Martin agreed, trying to smile and keep hopeful. "I've been... trying to mentally prepare for it, but it's very hard. I'm not sure what will change and what will stay the same, but I think inside, it'll still be me. I'll be different on the outside, but that won't stop me from being someone you can rely on for help."

He felt good about helping Xie. It gave him a sense of purpose and assured him that despite what was bound to happen in due time, they could still both help each other. From just that, Martin could understand why things worked the way they did in earlier days, and why Pokémon bonded with human trainers.

"Maybe let's talk to Damien," Martin suggested. "Maybe he knows Terri and where he might be. Still, I feel as though there's something dark and secret about Vault Tech. Both of us were involved in terrible incidents even though we came from two separate vaults. They were supposed to help us survive, and yet... it seems like there was some other intention involved."

[Noblejanobii]

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

Well Xie's answer seemed to satisfy Martin somewhat. Good. That was her intent to some extent after all. Though from what should could tell, whatever was happening to him was not solely happening to him.

"It could have been worse..." Martin told her as she thought it over. "There were many in Vault 62 that had the same thing happen and there were others that... well... they turned into something that never should have been..."

The way Martin described his fault gave a good indication that their situation was worse. May their souls Rest In Peace. Xie also hoped they never encountered what was left of them. Martin would probably be unable to fight them and if they were turning into something that horrible then she didn't really want to face them.

"I understand," Xie replied, "don't force yourself to say something you do not want to say. Just continue."

"I think that would be best," Martin agreed, trying to smile and keep hopeful. "I've been... trying to mentally prepare for it, but it's very hard. I'm not sure what will change and what will stay the same, but I think inside, it'll still be me. I'll be different on the outside, but that won't stop me from being someone you can rely on for help."

Xie smiled a little at that. Good, she was giving him something to continue on for. Well then this would definitely fill her debt nicely. This always would be nice to help someone out while finding Terri.

"Maybe let's talk to Damien," Martin suggested. "Maybe he knows Terri and where he might be. Still, I feel as though there's something dark and secret about Vault Tech. Both of us were involved in terrible incidents even though we came from two separate vaults. They were supposed to help us survive, and yet... it seems like there was some other intention involved."

"I agree," Xie replied, "it's… unusual. I can't say I understand the purpose of our experiments? Why train my Vault to be soldiers? Why turn yours into experiments? Honestly it is perplexing." She touched her chin and frowned, trying to reason out what the intentions of Vault Tech. Either way, Terri could be in grave danger if this was true. "Yes, hopefully Damien will grant us some answers."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii, Awasfriend

Martin nodded at Xie's suggestion to seek out Damien and find out what was really going on.

As he discovered by asking politely around town, not too many people knew about Damien, and it took at least a half hour before he managed to find out where he was living. After arriving at a small and rusted-over metallic building, he knocked on the door, and shortly after, a younger man with long, dusty brown hair and wearing beat-up leather clothing had happened the door.

"Hey there," he greeted Martin. "What's up?"

"Are you Damien?" Martin asked, looking curiously at him.

"That's right," he nodded, leaning against the metallic door frame. "What can I help you with?"

"My friend Xie and I could use some help," Martin told him. "We both came from vaults, and we have a feeling there's something wrong with Vault Tech. I think we were both experimented on."

Damien had looked down for a moment, sighing. It seemed to Martin, there was a mix of relief but also frustration. He wasn't sure how to take it or what news it meant.

"It's exactly the reason why I left Vault Tech," Damien told Martin. "I found out about their dirty secrets after working there, but I know what happens to anyone that tries to expose it. They ran experiments on every vault. They were mostly social experiments in nature, but for some, they used the vault dwellers like lab rats. And they were dying because of it, but I was told by my supervisors that it was for the greater good. Greater good my ass. I didn't see anything come out of these experiments besides dead people and things we already knew about humanity's social problems."

"We... were both experimented on," Martin told Damien, feeling he should be honest with him. "Everyone in Vault 62 was tested with something called EvoTox. And then one day, half the vault dwellers mutated into Pokémon mutants and the other half got killed in the process. I saw a lot of people I knew dead that day..."

"Then how did you escape?" Damien asked.

"I didn't, really..." Martin muttered, looking pale. "The best I could do was have Doctor Morgan reprogram the mutagen. Supposedly, he set it where it was only going to change me fully into a Pachirisu, but it was the best he could do with it. Any day now and it's bound to happen. I don't even know if I'll be able to speak English, still have the same memories and mental capacity, or what, really..."

Damien looked down, shaking his head.

"I'm not sure what we can do," Damien told Martin. "I'm no vigilante and I don't have the weapons to even start thinking like that. Trust me, I'm not a fighter, just a former researcher and data analyst. What they did at Vault Tech was set up even before any of us were born. And now, we live in an age where morality and ethics are twistedm but in different ways than how it was before. People are too distracted with simply trying to survive to notice these kinds of things going on. Beyond that, Vault Tech is rich and has more weapons, security, and protectrons than we can imagine. Definitely more than anyone would be able to deal with. The only way I was able to get out of Vault Tech was to work with a friend of mine who could fabricate the medical leave documents necessary. Maybe by now, they realized they were false, maybe they didn't, but they haven't killed me over it yet, so something had to have worked."

As Martin realized, it went much deeper than he thought. Even beyond himself, Xie, Terri, and Damien here. There was no telling how much damage and how many lives were lost as a result of this, but he felt helpless in trying to find a way to stop it. Was violence the only answer, or was there something else that had been overlooked that they could take advantage of?

He didn't know, but he didn't want to turn his back on solving the problem.

[Noblejanobii]

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

If Martin thought he could leave Xie behind to talk to Damien on his own, he was wrong. Her accelerated healing was already starting to work and she was able to stand and walk with relative ease. In any case, she took a walking stick just to be sure of her balance and left with Martin to search the town for Damien. It took longer than Xie would have liked but once they had the end result she did not mind as much.

As Xie listened to Damien talk, her heartbeat began to increase. This was much bigger than she imagined and Terri was in a lot more danger than she first thought. But there was something about what Damien said that bothered Xie. This had been set up long before the majority of the employees had been born? Sure she could imagine for some members that might be the case given that her guessitimation of being frozen for twenty years but there was no possible way this was correct for the majority.

"I'm sorry," Xie interjected, "did you say the majority? That can't possibly be correct. I mean I understand that Vault Tech was a government sponsored organization and honestly I don't know what year it was founded but it can't be that old. I was born shortly after my parents were put into the vaults and then cryogenically frozen almost two decades after that. A-And cryogenics technology was never successful in keeping someone alive for more than twenty years so I haven't been gone for that long. Unless a plague just wiped out half of Vault Tech either you're wrong or I'm missing something here."

Xie put her hand to her chin and frowned. Was it possible? Could she have lasted longer than twenty years? It was unlikely but maybe it had happened? This still didn't answer most of her questions like why was the world a desert and where was Terri? There were so many questions she needed answers to and no one seemed to know what she wanted anymore. It was certainly frustrating.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii, Awasfriend

Martin wasn't too sure what was going on between Xie and Damien. Xie had mentioned cryogenics and being frozen, but it seemed like something Damien mentioned didn't quite add up.

"I'm almost certain they didn't tell us everything," Damien told Xie. "And you're right, I don't even know if everything I was told is right either. I don't even remember cases involving cryogenic freezing, so that had to be beyond my pay grade. Trust me, I dug a little more in plenty of places and found out things that my superiors told me were totally off. But if I had dug any deeper, I doubt I'd be here right now."

But then, Damien looked back up at Xie.

"If there's anything you take from this, know that Vault Tech is dangerous, unethical, and powerful," Damien told her. "You cannot trust any of them, and I wouldn't hold it against you if you don't entirely trust me. The only thing I can recommend is to seek out the other Vaults and see if you can break into the Overseer computers. They had information even I couldn't see, and I feel that's the only way to get to the real, cold truth."

If it was too dangerous to break into Vault Tech itself, maybe they could do this, but it was not going to be an easy task. Every vault they would visit likely carried some risk. Either it was still populated with vault dwellers that wouldn't allow ordinary strangers to use the Overseer's computer, or the vault had been abandoned and all manner of mutated Pokémon could have taken up residence in it. Or, in Vault 62's case, something considerably worse.

"Do you know if there was a Vault Tech corporate office anywhere near here?" Martin asked.

"The closest one is at Prospect Junction," Damien told Martin. "But that's a hell of a ways from here, and that place is loaded with raiders and other drugged-up psychopaths. Sure, if you were lucky, you might find what you're looking for over there in the office building wreck that used to be a Vault Tech corporate office, but I sure as hell wouldn't recommend it. The last guy I met that wanted to head over there and he didn't listen to a damn thing I told him."

"Him?" Martin asked. "Would his name happen to be Terri?"

Damien seemed a bit surprised and Martin took that as a sign that they were now on his trail.

"You know that guy?" Damien asked in response. "He definitely seemed die-hard determined about something over there. Prospect Junction is fifty-six miles northwest of here. It's not a nice area, either. But if you two insist on going, I'm not going to stop you. I will warn you that things will get ugly."

Martin looked to Xie, not sure what to do, but to him, it seemed like Terri was really important to her.

"I'm willing to go if you are," Martin told Xie. "I don't know if we'll catch up to Terri, but I'm hoping we will and he's okay."

Even on top of all this, Martin was well-aware that by the time they reached this Prospect Junction, he would likely not even be a gijinka anymore. He felt considering what they might be up against, he could use that to his advantage. Raiders that would instantly hunt down humans and gijinkas might not see a Pachirisu as a threat. Of course, he didn't rule out the possibility that instead, they might see him as potential breakfast, however.

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie crossed her arms and listened to Damien's explanation. Something definitely did not add up here. But obviously Damien was useless in pursuing the inaccuracies of her knowledge versus his any further. For now, she needed to refocus on the mission at hand, location Terri.

She raised an eyebrow at the mention of Prospect Junction. It seemed like a pretty rough place but she could deal with it. It was what she had been trained for after all. Though, none of her training prepared her for Damien's mention of Terri. Xie's mouth opened slightly and she stared at Damien. So he had been here! But he had been alone? Another fact that simply didn't add up but Xie felt that detail did not matter right now. She was on his trail, no matter how faint, and Xie intended to follow it.

"Raiders and drugged-up psychopaths?" Xie replied, drawing her pistol and smiling a bit wickedly. "They've obviously never met Terri's girlfriend." Xie put her pistol back in its holster and nodded to Martin. "I will be going. I feel well enough that I'll be leaving as soon as I can, no matter what that doctor says. You understand that I've caught Terri's scent and I'm chasing it before I lose it again."

Xie paused and sighed a little. There was the problem of Martin's "condition" though. She had no idea how long he had before D-Day but it was possible he'd be a Pachirisu by the time they reached Prospect Junction. She recognized she had promised to find him an oasis where he could live happily but Xie also knew she shouldn't force the kind man to come with her. This was not his fight. It was hers.

"If you want to come then I will not stop you, but I will not make you come either. Do not feel like you have to come along. Terri is my boyfriend, you don't even know him. I know we are also going to search for clues about Vault Tech, but… with your condition… I do not want you to spend your last days as you are in a way that you would not enjoy. Does that make sense?" Xie suddenly felt awkward, not being the best at empathy or emotions. That was always Terri's department. "I would be willing to remain here a few days or whatever else you may wish depending on how long before… the inevitable."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Rustwall City Clinic
Affected Rpers: Neo Emolga Noblejanobii
After doing several odd jobs and selling what wasn't necessary from them, Taylor finally had his share of Xie's treatment. "I have my share of the payment," Taylor told the doctor as he came in. I also found a few syringes that may come in handy, along with a stimpack."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii, Awasfriend

Martin could tell Xie wasn't too thrilled about Damien's response. He seemed only slightly aware of what was going on and his information wasn't entirely reliable. The details about Terri's whereabouts, however, seemed to be more dependable.

In the meantime, Xie showed no fear about dealing with raiders or the other threats that Damien tried to warn them about. Martin was a bit unsure about it, as he had yet to kill another living person, but the fact these were evil and terrible people might help him at least feel better that he was stopping them from hurting anyone else.

Xie then offered Martin the invitation, fully aware of his condition and what it would entail. She was very mindful about it, but Martin knew that Terri meant a lot to her and he didn't want his condition to cause a delay that might make the difference between her finding him or never seeing him again.

"I'm ready anytime," Martin tried to smile. "I'll be honest, you're really the only person who knows me now. Everyone else in Vault 62, really the only other place I've ever known, is gone or doesn't remember anything about what they used to be."

The impending transformation really didn't bother Martin anymore. When it came down to it, there were two choices. Survive or die. At the end of the day, no matter what happened, even becoming an electric squirrel wouldn't stop him from finding some satisfaction in life and reaping the rewards of survival. But helping Xie finding her friend felt like a cause that was beyond himself as something he could do for others. He felt there was a reason why he met Xie, and it certainly wasn't just to say hello and then never see her again.

"We have a good lead on Terri," Martin smiled, knowing he was sure Xie was happen about it. "It's clear he isn't going to wait for us to catch up, so we can't hang around here too long regardless of what's going on with me. Instead, we get what we can quickly and prepare for Prospect Junction. And I'll help you every step of the way. This whole condition thing... it doesn't really bother me that much anymore. I'll figure out a way to work with it."

Not to mention Martin didn't feel right letting Xie have to deal with raiders all by herself. He felt if he didn't go with her, he would never get her out of his mind, endlessly wondering if she ever found Terri. The mission was dangerous, but in the end, Martin felt she would have done the same for him if things had happened the other way around.

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie felt the ends of her mouth quirk up slightly at Martin's agreeing to leave as soon as possible. Good. The sooner they left, the better in her opinion. Sure, she was still adjusting to this new world, but Xie was not the type to let a minor detail such as that stop her from charging after her goals. Still, it wouldn't be right to leave the Ditto gijinka that helped her behind. Taylor was around the town somewhere. Perhaps he would be interested in joining them on their venture to Prospect Junction? It could not hurt to ask, that was for sure.

"I am sorry that I am the only person left that truly knows you. But if you have that feeling, then you understand why I must pursue Terri. I am the only person left who truly knows him, and the same applies to me. No one else from our vault is alive. And while we have bonded in such a sort time, I worry that Terri may not have had the same luck. He's the more likely to be scammed of us, let's just put it that way."

Terri, while somewhat of a skeptic, was all too trusting in Xie's experience. In this world, it seemed like that was not a good thing. The man could be dying in a ditch somewhere for all Xie knew. It seemed all too likely given everything that had transpired in the past few hours. Nevertheless, Xie had to hope he was okay, or at least safe for now.

"I can handle all the baddies in Prospect Junction. Prior to my being frozen, I was trained as a soldier in my vault. Terri and I were the best in my vault. If we can't take them on, then no one can. Though I might need more bullets if we go in guns blazing. From the sound of it, I won't be able to physically overpower them. And from what I've seen in the past few hours, including giant monsters with long sharp claws that have hides my bullets can't penetrate, I don't think bullets may be enough in most cases. So I suggest we opt for stealth."

Xie turned and began to walk away from Damien's house back towards the doctor's. She waved for Martin to follow her. Xie began to think over a possible plan. They had no idea the geography of Prospect Junction, so they lacked that advantage. But Taylor might be able to scout out the place if he transformed into something like a taillow or a rattata. She would have to ask. Xie began to voice her ideas to Martin, explaining how she wanted to enlist Taylor as well for his shapeshifting advantage.

"If he can find a stealthy way to sneak in then I'm sure we can overtake any threats we may face. The element of surprise is more deadly than any bullet, trust me."

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu Gijinka
Rustwall City
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii, Awasfriend

It seemed whenever Xie was happy, Martin felt happy. With his friends and family from Vault 62 gone, he wanted to protect her and help her, even if he felt he wasn't exactly a fighter. But he personally vowed to do what he could. Even if Xie was the warrior and he was simply more of a companion.

No matter what, he felt strongly within his soul that he would find a way to help Xie in a way that no one else could.

Martin understood the situation surrounding Terri. It was unfortunate that the trust Terri expected from others was too generous for his own safety. Even within Vault 62, there were liars, there were cheaters, swindlers, and con artists. Martin knew it was essential to learn about someone first and find out how much they were willing to share. Only then could the foundation of trust be started.

Xie was confident she could handle the threats in Prospect Junction, though she wanted to go for stealth. In truth, Martin was glad Xie suggested that. They weren't bringing an army with them, so they were going to need to be quiet, be aware, and only strike if they needed to. Meanwhile, she explained about the need to bring Taylor along for his shapeshifting capabilities.

"If he can find a stealthy way to sneak in, then I'm sure we can overtake any threats we may face," Xie explained. "The element of surprise is more deadly than any bullet, trust me."

"When we get there, it's probably best to strike at night," Martin suggested, feeling optimistic. "Taylor and I can survey the area ahead. Those raiders will be far less suspicious of a Pachirisu and a Rattata than another gijinka. I'm... not sure if I'll still be able to speak as a Pachirisu, but if not, I can still try to write what I saw down in the sand."

It was one thing Martin was definitely going to try to do when the inevitable transformation happened. See if he could try talking again and try to get used to using human tools again as much as he could. Enemy threats like those raiders wouldn't be able to distinguish him from a native-born Pachirisu, so they wouldn't expect one like him to be capable of communicating to other humans and gijinkas. Not to mention he would be able to crawl into small and tight areas that couldn't otherwise be reached. The more Martin thought about it, the more he felt better about what was to come and how he could best resourcefully use it to his advantage and to help Xie.

Now, they just needed to find Taylor.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Rustwall City Clinic
Affected Rpers: Neo Emolga Noblejanobii
Once he dropped off the supplies, and the doctor told him where the others went he headed there.

When we get there, it's probably best to strike at night," Martin suggested, feeling optimistic. "Taylor and I can survey the area ahead. Those raiders will be far less suspicious of a Pachirisu and a Rattata than another gijinka. I'm... not sure if I'll still be able to speak as a Pachirisu, but if not, I can still try to write what I saw down in the sand." He heard as he came in.

"If it's any compensation I can speak with regular pokemon," he told them as he approached them, "so where are we headed?" It sounded like the disturbance in his DNA would cause him to become a Pachirisu, given that sentence.

[Noblejanobii]

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

Xie looked over as Taylor spoke up. She had not heard him approach. She'd need to be more focused if she intended to invade Prospect Junction to locate Terri or any information on him. Putting that issue aside for now, Xie nodded her head as she thought over the suggestions.

Martin was right, the people living in Prospect Junction were probably less likely to suspect a wild pokemon than a gijinka. And while that ran the distinct risk of Martin or Taylor being eaten, it still could prove useful in the long run if they weren't caught. They'd need to scout ahead but then there was the issue of getting Xie inside unnoticed. She had no doubt if this place was as bad as Damien made it out to be then the whole area was probably monitored at all times. Getting in would not be easy. She could work with that though. Xie had been trained for it, after all.

At the mention of communication barriers and solutions, Taylor's ability to speak to regular pokemon seemed to solve their problem of speaking to Martin for now, but if the two split up or Taylor was caught then there was that issue because of a lack of his presence. She would bring it up later. For now they needed to explain everything to Taylor.

"We're headed to Prospect Junction," Xie replied to Taylor. "We have a lead on the only other survivor from my vault, it seems, and I intend to follow it. Martin has decided to tag along for now, but if you do not wish to join us, I understand. I just thought your skill set of transformation and communication might be useful in the long run. Do not feel like you have to join us though, as this is my fight not yours." Xie looked out into the desert. "I'd like to leave as soon as possible," she added, "so if you intend to join us as soon as you're ready we'll depart. Hopefully we'll reach there soon and strike during the night when you are less likely to be seen."

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
Rustwall City Clinic
Affected Rpers: Neo Emolga Noblejanobii

Taylor nodded in comprehension, "I would be delighted to join you guys, and I am ready."

[Neo Emolga]

OOC: Since everyone's ready to leave, I figured bunnying people leaving Rustwall is okay.

And this RP so makes me feel like playing Fallout 4 again. XD

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

Martin was relieved when Taylor told him that as a Ditto gijinka, he had the capability of being able to communicate with normal Pokémon. As long as Taylor was with him, relaying his messages to Xie wouldn't be a problem. And that was only if Martin had trouble speaking, though he could imagine with a transformed body, pronunciations with his new vocal cords might be an issue. As long as the transformation wouldn't affect his memories, he would still inherently know English, but he just might have trouble actually speaking the words.

Xie explained the details to Taylor, and even despite the dangers, Taylor decided he would come as well. Martin, deep inside, was relieved that Taylor would be with them as well. He knew the trip would be dangerous and they only had a limited amount of resources, but together, they stood a much better chance of finding Terri safely and ensuring each of them survived whatever was out there waiting for them. Meanwhile, to Martin, Xie and Taylor, despite having only just met them, were the only friends and family he really had now. And with his condition, he knew being alone in the world was something far too dangerous for him to consider.

With the three of them ready, they left Rustwall City and headed on the ruined highway that eventually would go to Prospect Junction, although it was some distance away. Along the way, they saw plenty of ruined cars, overturned vehicles, and building ruins. Most of the rusted husks of cars were far too destroyed to be of any use, and the same went for the buildings that had been reduced to little more than piles of broken stones, splintered wood, and heaps of ruined rubble and debris. Some of them might have had supplies, but Martin knew stopping to search all of them would only lessen their chances of finding Terri. The more they searched, the further Terri ahead Terri would go. They needed to catch up and in order to do that, they had to push themselves.

In the meantime, Martin was feeling signs of what was to come soon. His breathing was off, his heart rate was in flux, and he felt sensations of feeling sometimes hot, sometimes cold, as if he was coming down with some kind of sickness or fever. But he knew what was really going on. Despite all this, he tried to carry on and not think too much about it, but he couldn't lie to himself.

Just try to relax. Just try to be content so the others don't worry about you.

He told himself it would be okay. They needed to find Terri and he didn't want to let this slow them down.

[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.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Awasfriend AWA1997

"It would be best to find a water source soon," Xie told the others. "I've been trained to live without water, but in this hate, my estimate 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."

She cracked a smile at the electric squirrel's commentary and patted him on the head with her hand.

"Says the man now covered in fur," She smiled. "I imagined that would be hotter than what I am wearing currently."

"The desert b-breezes feel a little stronger w-when you're smaller," Martin replied to Xie. "But... heat is heat, I guess."

Martin felt he pretty much had it. His speech was almost perfect now.

As they walked on, Martin could see Xie wasn't fairing too well with the lack of water and shade. The ruined buildings they saw before were long gone and Rustwall City was now far behind them. They were definitely past the point of no return now. Trying to turn back to Rustwall would only leave them without resources on the return trip.

In time, however, they came upon the settlement of Prospect Junction itself, but the afternoon sun was still up. It was still too early to consider a strike, but at least the heat was dying down as the sun began to set behind the landscape.

"There it is..." Martin remarked, looking at the settlement of Prospect Junction in the distance. "We should probably pick out a m-meeting spot to hide in case we get into trouble. I... I hate to say this, but we're going to have to find these raiders and kill them as they sleep. Though I imagine they probably have sentries posted at night."

Martin wasn't sure how well-trained Xie was in assassination, but he felt she was definitely going to have to make full use of whatever skills she had and hold nothing back. Meanwhile, in Martin's case, he was going to have to use his electric attack skills like the discharge used in an electric chair.

This was definitely not going to be an easy task.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected Rpers: Awasfriend AWA1997 Neo Emolga

As they approached, Xie quickly grabbed Taylor's arm and searched around before leading them over to a pile of rocks nearby. Ducking down behind them, Xie drew out her pistol and nodded to Martin.

"If they're going to have sentries at night, they'll have them in the day as well. I might not be able to enter to scout out without being noticed. I'm going to have to rely on you and Taylor to get in unseen. You're small enough they may not take notice. I will stay outside and scout out possible entry ways for myself." Xie poked her head out from behind the rock and caught sight of one such sentry. He did not appear to have noticed them though. An idea sprang to her head, though none of them were really going to like it.

"There is a way I could get in, but they'll no doubt notice me and I'm not sure what would happen to me once I got inside." Xie sighed a little. "Generally speaking, during my training we were also taught that rebel groups and armies tend to lack... well women. I have no doubt if I surrendered myself there's a chance they'd bring me in. But... well they'd have their own motives." Xie looked at the ground. "I may be trained for it but I've only tested my skills once, and I wasn't really planning on trying them out again until I reunited with Terri. Nevertheless, I'd be willing to put myself at risk for such a possibility if it means I can get inside." Xie cracked a little smile. "Who knows, I might be so bad at it that they just leave me alone."

Xie wasn't really afraid of this happening. It wasn't like she was a first timer, but she had just gotten out of cryogenics. She wasn't entirely sure how her body would react to such treatment. But if it meant getting closer to Terri, well, for Xie, anything was worth that chance. Xie looked between Taylor and Martin, then back at Prospect Junction.

"We can meet back here, if that's all right, at sunset. If we're not back by night fall, I say assume we've been captured or we're dead. Got it?"

[Awasfriend]

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

"I'm not going to allow you to do that, you just got unfrozen. Your body is brittle still they could cause you serious damage. We should look for weaknesses first, if we find none then perhaps, but only as an absolute last resort." Taylor told her as he started morphing into a Rattatta.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Awasfriend AWA1997

With the sentries out even at night, it was going to make the attack more difficult than they anticipated. As Xie explained her training, Martin nodded, but he knew she wouldn't be able to take on an army by herself.

"Got it," Martin nodded to Xie. "I'll take a look around and see what I can find. Maybe there's something we could make use of."

As Martin stealthily ran on all fours toward the compound, he tried to take special note of his surroundings. He tried to track the number of guards, the weapons they were carrying, and anything else that seemed important. All the while, he didn't deny the fact that to some of the raiders, he was simply a dinner and nothing more. He realized they could try shooting him, but he was a much smaller and much more nimble target than how he was as a human. He figured if they did try to eat him for a meal, he was going to make it much more of a hassle than it was worth.

From what he saw by traveling along the wall, only two sentries actually had sniper rifles. One of them wasn't even paying attention and was distracted with a beer and getting into a shouting match with some of the other raiders. Martin stealthily and quietly took a few pebbles and wedged them into the rifle's reloading chamber. He then quickly climbed back down and crawled out of sight.

The other sentry was looking out from a makeshift metal guard tower, but only half-heartedly. Still, any unusual noise or sight would definitely put him on full alert. And as Martin judged him on his dirty face, bald head, and rugged clothing, he figured this was definitely not a forgive and forget kind of person. As much as he wanted to try an electric attack, he knew the other raiders would see it and it would blow his concealment. He decided to use a Covet attack, approaching the raider with endearing eyes. The raider looked down, stunned at what he saw.

"What in the hell...?" he asked.

Then, Martin quickly grabbed the sniper rifle's strap, flung it on his back, and darted off.

"Hey, you little bastard!" the raider snarled, quickly grabbing his rusted knife while trying to pounce him. "Where the hell do you think you're going with that?"

Martin hopped down from the guard tower, but to a small Pachirisu, the large sniper rifle was huge and was like wearing a giant, metal backpack. The raider jumped down and tried to stab him with the knife, but Martin was much faster and was a very difficult target to hit. Martin quickly dashed around him and then bit him on the back of the leg, directing a Thunder Wave attack right into it, trying to make it as effective but as quiet as possible using the least amount light-generating electricity.

With two of the main threats out of the way, Martin quickly used an obstructed and concealed path to head back to Xie. The sniper rifle on his back was like carrying a seventy pound weight for a human, but he knew if he could get it in Xie's hands, it would give her a much better advantage.

It was a struggle to get back to her, but after a lot of grunt work and struggling, he managed to make his way back to her with the sentry's sniper rifle.

"Ohh..." Martin muttered, feeling exhausted. "Counted two sentries. I sabotaged the first one's rifle with a few rocks and I put the second guy to sleep early. And, well, I decided he'd be better off without this."

Martin wasn't sure how skilled Xie was when it came to sniping, but with both of the compound's snipers down, it would give her a significant advantage when it came to distance. Ammunition, however, was limited and he knew Xie couldn't take down the entire camp even if every shot was a kill. He would definitely need to try to see what else he could do to make an attack easier.

"It's a start," Martin told her as he finally caught his breath. "Even if they found out what happened to the second sniper, they'll likely just think it was a wild Pokémon attack. But... I can only do that so many times before they catch on."

He was going to need to think of other things he could do to sabotage the other raider weapons without them knowing. Plugging up rifle and pistol barrels was one quick way to do it, but it was going to be difficult and unless the weapons were on the ground or otherwise unattended, it was going to be a very difficult task.

"Taylor, see what else you might be able to fetch for Xie," Martin told the now morphed Rattata. "But I guess a good strategy is if you can't take it, break it."

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected Rpers: Awasfriend AWA1997 Neo Emolga

Xie watched in silence as Martin sprinted off towards Prospect Junction. Taylor, however, remained behind with Xie. Xie looked around the rock again only to see the sentry now being more vigilant than before. Great. She couldn't risk moving then. Xie sighed a little and drummed her fingers. She raised her eyebrows at Taylor's protest of her suggestion and shrugged. Last resort it was then. She glanced down at the rattata and smiled a little.

"You can go ahead without me if you wish. I'll be fine." But Taylor stayed until Martin's return. The little Pachirisu was dragging along a sniper rifle. Xie quickly took it and examined it as he spoke. No doubt Martin was worn out since he wasn't used to maneuvering in his new body. Xie closed her left eye and peered along the rifle before smiling a little. Good, she could use this. Though the instant she did their position would be compromised. Xie looked at Martin and Taylor.

"Take down as many as you can without noticing. Maybe look for a silencer while you're out there. If the gun is quiet they might notice where I'm shooting from right off when I try to pick off the sentries or guards later. It's not a huge deal without it but it does give a unique advantage in our favor the less noise we make."

[Awasfriend]

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

Taylor nodded before knotting the sleeve of his vault suit and ripping it off with his teeth making a make shift bag, "Do the same with the other sleeve so you can carry ammo or anything small enough," he told Martin before running to the junction with the "bag" gripped in his tail.

No one seemed to have noticed the sentry Martin took out or if they did they didn't care. After a bit of sneaking Taylor managed to pick pocket some rounds of sniper ammo with thief. Unfortunately he was unable to find a sniper riffle silencer, however he did find a scope and a silencer for Xie's pistol.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Awasfriend AWA1997

Martin needed some time to catch his breath, as while the sniper rifle wasn't a problem to carry for humans, it was a very heavy load for a small electric squirrel. He then realized that yes, the rifle didn't come with a silencer, and if Xie used it, the whole town would hear the shots. Martin figured she would either need a rifle silencer, or something to muffle the sound. And then there was the other option. Make so much noise that the raiders wouldn't ever notice another sniper rifle going off.

But if they went with that last approach, they could forget about doing this operation quietly. But even so, Martin knew they were running out of time. Sooner or later, they would know the sentries were eliminated and once they discovered that, the whole town might go on full alert.

Once he managed to catch his breath and take a moment of rest before heading back into the compound, he followed Xie's advice. Take out as many raiders as quietly and as carefully as possible without getting caught. For Martin, that wasn't going to be quite so easy. Electric attacks were bright, noisy, and they might not even deal enough damage to fatally injure a raider unless he really overloaded them with voltage. And even if he could, he only had so much electric energy available before he ran out and needed time to recharge.

Major portions of the base were made of scrap metal, which would be a good conductor, however. As Martin took a look around, he decided to focus on doing that. Zap multiple raiders as once, and hope that might just take out enough of them for Xie and Taylor to make their next moves.

It wasn't going to be easy, however.

[AWA1997]

Char
Charmander Gijinka
Vault 60
Arriving at Prospect Junction
Affected RPers: Awasfriend, Neo Emolga, Noblejanobii

As Martin and Taylor left, Char approached Prospect Junction from behind their current hiding spot.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected Rpers: Awasfriend AWA1997 Neo Emolga

Xie laid the sniper down beside her and kept a vigilant eye out for possible enemies. She hated how in the open she was. Someone just had to approach Prospect Junction and she'd be seen. It wasn't an easy blending process when your hair is green and your clothes are black. Keeping her grip tight on the pistol, Xie looked towards the raider town again before hearing a loud stomping sound that Xie couldn't place. It didn't sound like anything else she had heard before, so the best she could describe it as was a really loud stomping. She cast her gaze down the road and spotted something like a robot coming towards her.

Xie mentally swore. If this thing was part of the raiders in Prospect Junction she was screwed. It would see her if she remained here. Her only option was to try and find different cover, but if she moved there was a high risk of either the robot thing or the sentries spotting her. So then, what should she do? Realizing she didn't have much of an option, Xie grabbed the sniper rifle and crouched, diving a little ways away before ducking behind another series of rocks further away from the road. Hopefully this didn't cost Martin and Taylor valuable time searching for her. Not having time to set up the sniper, Xie aimed her pistol at the robot and watched it carefully.

[AWA1997]

Char
Charmander Gijinka
Vault 60
Arriving at Prospect Junction
Affected RPers: Awasfriend, Neo Emolga, Noblejanobii

Char failed to notice Xie as she moved to avoid him. He stopped pulled out a map before putting it away and pulling out a laser pistol. He was at his destination, but he was currently out in the open and if the raiders here saw him, he doubted he'd do well against them since he wasn't trained well enough to take on that many people. He found a hiding spot near the one Xie had just left, but further away from her current position. Once he felt that they didn't and wouldn't see him, he laid his gun down, took off his helmet, and took a drink of water, as it had been a while since he had had a drink.

He then pulled out some binoculars to see how many riders he was going to have to get past and how well they were armed. What he saw shocked him. "What the heck?" he muttered, watching as a pachirisu and a rattata apparently stealing ammo from the raiders. After watching for a moment, he went back to hiding. Those raiders weren't going to be happy, and he was going to have to go in there later. Lovely.

[Neo Emolga]

Martin Vickers
Pachirisu
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected RPers: Noblejanobii Awasfriend AWA1997

After running back to the compound, Martin decided if he was going to do this, he needed to strike as many raiders at once as he could. His main concern was how it would be unprovoked. It wasn't natural for a Pachirisu to randomly target raiders for no reason. If he did this, it would make it obvious he would belong to a trainer and he was following their orders. He didn't want that to be traced back to Xie and make it result in a search party to go after her.

He decided if he was going to do this right, he needed to act like a normal, wild Pachirisu. And what would a normal Pachirisu do in the wild? Steal food. Food was scarce, hunger was as common as breathing, and a wild Pachirisu would constantly need to be on the lookout for food all the time if they wanted to survive He figured if he nibbled on what the raiders had to eat and allowed himself to get caught in the act, they'd try to go after him and naturally, as any other wild Pachirisu would try to do, use electric attacks to defend himself.

He decided to head toward the area where the raiders were keeping their food supplies. Compared to the vault life that Martin was more accustomed to, it was a highly unsanitary place with food that was stale and barely preserved after all these years, but it was the nature of things out in the wasteland. Among the ruined cabinets with old dishes, rusty utensils, and splintering furniture, he found the broken refrigerator. It was like a giant truck to him now, but he pushed the door open with all his might and climbed the shelves to see what was available.

The raiders didn't have much, but he figured munching on the potato crisps would not only feed him for a while but also do the job he was hoping they would do. Martin also took note that the raiders had a lot of alcohol on the lower shelves. If they were prone to drinking a lot, it would definitely work in their favor.

Crisp after crisp, Martin managed to get quite a good meal in even though he was hoping to be caught on purpose. He was actually starting to feel full and needed to slow down to be caught in the act. But before long, eventually an ugly, punkish female raider came along in tattered black leather with a magnum revolver by her side. Martin turned around with his cheeks stuffed, realizing he had finally gotten caught in the act.

"You little rotten, pissing prick," the raider snarled, reaching for her magnum.

Martin quickly dashed out of the way before she fired, causing a magnum round to rip through several bottles of water that were held in the fridge storage. He fled away just as another shot tore a massive hole in the door. Martin was glad to be a smaller squirrel now, because a shot like that would easily kill a human if it landed.

The shots were loud and suddenly other raiders were alerted. It he played this right, Martin had enough of a distraction for Xie to work with.

"What the hell are you shooting at, you stupid b***h!?" another raider shouted at her.

"That fat motherf***er right there!" the female raider shouted at him, aiming at Martin again. "I can't hit that fat bastard so help me kill him!"

She fired again, just narrowly missing his tail, only to strike the back metal wall instead to leave yet another hole. Eventually, more and more raiders were showing up, thinking they were being attacked when really it was only to deal with a thieving squirrel. Right now, they had no indication Xie or Taylor were even out there, so Martin was hoping they were using it to their advantage.

[Noblejanobii]

Xie Jade
Shaymin Gijinka
Vault 110
Prospect Junction Outskirts
Affected Rpers: Awasfriend AWA1997 Neo Emolga

Xie watched Char carefully, breathing in and out as quietly as possible. She could feel her instinctive training kicking in, working with her body to make her as quiet as possible. As she waited in silence, Xie started to hear ruckus from inside Prospect Junction. This had to be either Taylor or Martin's doing. Xie frowned. Of course this would happen right when there's a guy nearby. Still, Xie couldn't waste this chance. She needed to go in now otherwise she'd have to go with plan B and that wasn't exactly her favorite idea.

Strapping the rifle onto her back, Xie clutched her pistol tightly in one hand and stayed low to the ground. She was going to have to scale the wall, which would create noise, so she'd have to be quick about it. Vault training, this would be the most ideal time to not fail. Taking one last glance in Char's direction, Xie sprinted for the wall. Using her momentum, Xie leapt up and grabbed onto the metal wall as best she could. It was scalding hot from the constant beating of the afternoon sun, and it took every ounce of mental control for Xie not to scream out in pain. Good thing this was patchwork otherwise she'd have no way to climb it, but even so, her jump just now created a huge crashing sound. She didn't have time to waste. Two jump climbs later, she reached the top of the wall and leapt over. It looked like this part of the junction was abandoned. Even the sentry posts appeared unmanned. Good, less potential eyes to spot her. Cocking her pistol, Xie pulled her hoodie further over her hair to make sure she blended at least a little, then proceeded forward cautiously, keeping a vigilant eye and ear out for anyone nearby.

[AWA1997]

Char
Charmander Gijinka
Vault 60
Arriving at Prospect Junction
Affected RPers: Awasfriend, Neo Emolga, Noblejanobii

Char heard the crash, put down his water, grabbed his helmet, put it on, and drew his laser pistol, but by the time he was ready to fire, she had made it above the wall. "Great." he muttered. "That person probably saw me, so they'll know I'm here." he got up from his hiding spot and pressed himself against the wall, hoping that they'd be less likely to see him. Whoever it was that climbed the wall would likely be his biggest single threat when he went in, so he'd need to focus on taking them out and doing so quietly beforethe others could react. He started scaling the wall himself, not doing it anywhere near as easily as she had, but slowly, and a bit more noisily than she, he did make his way up and over the wall.

[Awasfriend]

Taylor
Ditto Gijinka
Vault 82
En Route to Prospect Juntion
Affected Rpers: Neo Emolga AWA1997 Noblejanobii

Taylor heard a crash at one of the walls, before seeing Xie. Taylor ran over to her just as a louder thud hit the wall, "friend of yours I hope," Taylor squeaked dropping the sleeve at her feet as he went to back to work.