Pokemon Gijinka: Apocalypse [Actual]

[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."

[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.

[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."