The Origo Project

[Presidian]

I was too focused on the task of validating Andromeda's explaination to notice the sudden change of climate. It was shocking. My urge to change my attire grew exponentially as I was exposed to the chill of the city's metallic surface. I agreed with Andromeda, but I didn't have the slightest idea of how we would acquire such things. I mean, we scarred several people when we tried to get food. Now it would be even more difficult, as we were now exposed to many, many, many more people than we had been before. It would also make the task of abducting us yet again that much easier.

"...How would we do that?" I asked, wondering if Andromeda had any snide remarks that might solve our problem,

 

[Chocolate Bones]

I smirked more at Isidora's question, knowing full well she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well, considering we have no money," I started, still trying to shake my hair free of sand, "and no one in their right mind would even talk to us, let alone give us anything, I'm fairly certain you know what our only real option is..."

I snickered a bit and shrugged. "We can either steal from a couple of unlucky people on the street, or some clothing store nearby... I'll let you sort that one out."

I stretched and smiled as I looked out into the blue sky just above the city's horizon.

"In the mean time, I'll look for somewhere for us to stay... It may be a while until the others meet up with us." I cringed slightly after hearing myself, almost able to feel Isidora's confusion and surprise seer into my mind.

"Oh... right... I forgot to tell you... There's more of us... A lot more."

I smirked again slightly and looked back at Isidora.

"And you haven't seen anything yet..."

 

[Presidian]

My tank was the only thing that I had ever known. My first memories were of it. I was wont to breathing underwater. It had come naturally to me, supposedly, with my altered DNA. Learning to swim, eat, and sleep in this new environment was difficult, but it became second nature after many emotionally and physically taxing episodes conducted by them. The people who did this to me. The only people that I had ever interacted with in my entire life. I named myself Salacia three years ago. I felt that I deserved at least that small scrap of humanity.

I had been dozing off in my tank, sitting comfortably at the bottom, my tail fins softly swaying in in the current. My eyes fluttered open at the sound a bang against the glass of my tank. Cracks began to appear as an unknown force repeatedly striking it. I panicked, but not in time to react. I was swept away as my tank emptied out into an exterior room. I cringed as shards of glass embedded themselves into my pale skin. I sprinted out into a hall, revealing a shattered window. I heard the quiet crashing of waves outside it, and immediately knew what I was to do. I heard doors fly open behind me as I sprinted towards the window and bounded out the window and crashed into the sapphire waves that surrounded a large building suspended in the middle of a seemingly endless sea. I cried out as the salt water lapped into my wounds. Guards would be coming soon. I had to hide.

Diving underwater only exposed more of my skin to the water's harsh composition. I swam down to a comfortable depth, a depth that I thought would conceal myself from anyone who might want.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

"Of all of the places to wind up, I get stuck on an island in the middle of the goddamn ocean. Just my luck."

Kainu grunted as he looked back at the facility from which he recently escaped. He was now a good fifty or so feet away from it, but he was already worn out from swimming the short distance. It didn't help that he had to concentrate just to keep the fur from his tail and ears from boiling the water around him. He grumbled as he looked back out into the distance, starting to swim again.

The shattering of glass halted his rhythm, and he turned his head quickly to see what was going on. Immediately he assumed it was the guards coming for him, but he was incredibly surprised to see a pair of pale legs disappear into the water.

"What the hell..?"

His curiosity gripped him, and he soon found himself slowly but surely paddling his way back toward the facility. He didn't get far before he shook himself out of it again, quickly loosing himself into a swimming fury, trying to get as far away from whoever the hell it was that just dove out of the building as possible. In his experience, there was no one to trust.

 

[Presidian]

I grinned as I heard the loud humming of speedboats on the surface. The guards had come, but I would be nowhere to be found. It surprised me, though, how incredibly ignorant they were in their placement of the facility. They had been experimenting with aquatic human hybrids, and had chosen a location that would give an escapee a significant advantage. I gracefully twirled through the crystalline water, gazing down at various different Pokémon species. I shook my head, as if to clear my thoughts and face the task at hand. There was still the slim chance of the guards finding me. They would no doubt punish me. Severely. As they had before when I had tried to escape.

I noticed that the boats were making no effort to find me, and were instead pursuing a small figure making his or her best effort to escape. I quickly swam to its aid, gathering my strength to prepare myself for the upcoming battle. I would no doubt need it.

I was just below him when the boats began to circle it, churning the water in a magnificent way. I began to feel the effect of this, and was dragged towards it by the currents. Using my abilities to catapult myself away from the developing whirlpool and out of the water, I swung my arm to the right, creating a wave that enveloped one of the boats and fell on the side of another. When I began to fall back down to the surface, I motioned my hands upward, generating a small pillar of water for me to rest on. With a similar upward motion I launched the second boat into the air, catching all of the guards onboard with four orbs of water that engulfed their heads. It was painful to watch, but it killed them, as I had wanted it to. I was panting now. My vision grew dim.

I allowed my pillar to dissipate and swam towards the person, thing...being, that I had saved, hoping that it was competent enough to understand what lengths I had come to save him/her.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

"Awww, shit... As if this couldn't get any worse..."

Kainu could hear the roar of the motorboats grow louder and louder, and even though he knew it was pointless, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to swim faster than he even thought he was capable of. He managed to make it a sizable distance from the facility before the effortlessly circled around him, each one full of guards who grinned menacingly at him. He returned their menacing grins with a cheeky grin of his own.

"Heh... Hey, fellas... Am I late for lunch?"

Kainu quickly thrust his hand out of the water and clenched his fist, expecting it to burst into a concentrated, intense flame as he grinned more. His grin quickly faded when all he got was a slight sizzling sound and at the most a spark.

"Looks like I found my kryptonite," he said, grunting as he again started treading water, now less confident as to where this stand-off was going to lead.

In a flash, one of the boats was propelled into the air by a pillar of water, splashing some into his face and distorting his vision. He couldn't tell exactly what was going on, but as he wiped his eyes he swore that he saw the same pale figure commanding the water to dispose of the guards. He even thought he saw it drown them from inside their boat, to which he could only grin eagerly.

Kainu understood immediately that this other person was like him and that, even better, they were on his side.

"Nice shootin', Tex," he said, shaking the water out of his hair as he allowed himself to relax slightly.

 

[Presidian]

I emerged about two feet away from his face. I smiled weekly, but turned away and blushed when I saw him. He was incredibly cute, sporting beautiful red hair with splotches of blonde, and a moderate muscularity. My smile faded and thoughts of his appearance slipped from my mind when I remembered our situation. There were definitely going to be more boats in the future. We had to get out of here.

"Quick!" I yelled, looking back at him as I dove underwater and began to swim away from the facility. I hoped that he would have the strength to follow me. I didn't feel like pulling someone along with me right now. I could barely swim myself.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kainu was even more surprised when the mysterious figure before turned out to be a beautiful, albiet roughed up, girl. His grin faded into a meek smile as he nodded his thanks. He felt his cheeks burn up slightly, not unlike when he was about to unleash a powerful burst of fire as he was forced to do many times in his tests, but he found it completely involuntary.

"Uhh... Y-yeah, right behind you!"

Just as the girl dove back into the water, he plunged his head beneath its surface in an attempt to cool himself off.

Even though his efforts were fruitless, he acknowledged that it was stupid to stay stagnant any longer and immediately started swimming in the direction she darted off to. He found it difficult to keep up, especially considering how skilled she was at swimming, but managed to find a decent pace as he made sure to get as much distance between himself and the island as he possibly could.

 

[Presidian]

I smiled as I looked back and saw him struggling to keep up with me. He appeared to be a blurred mass of orange from underwater. Despite my pathetic amount of energy, I continued to swim at a moderate pace. This was because I wasnt capable of my fastest speeds, as I was crippled by the battle , and because I didn't want to exhaust him. My wounds still throbbed with pain with every move I made.

I returned to the surface to check for him after what seemed like hours of constant travel and was reassured, but was startled by a distant crack of thunder. I had noticed that the waves had been growing in both number and size, which had negatively impacted the efficiency of my swimming. Gray clouds began to develop, and I grew worried.

To my surprise, I spotted one for the boats not far from where I was tredding water. Although it was capsized for the moment, I could easily fix it with my remaining strength. When I arrived, and leaved against the side of the boat, panting loudly.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kainu couldn't exactly make out what it was she was doing with all of the wind and rain, but he loudly sighed in relief as he saw that she had found something firm and buoyant enough to relax against. He used his last bit of energy to meet up with her, and he let an exasperated cheer escape as he saw that the mysterious object was, in fact, a boat. He clung onto the side of it, next to the girl, and cautiously let his body relax while watching her, smiling shyly.

"Maybe... Today wasn't so unlucky after all huh?" he asked rhetorically, trying to catch his breath.

 

[Presidian]

I smiled back weakly, trying to hold on to the small fragment of consciousness that remained. I was much too exhausted, but I didn't seem to be the only one. He didn't seem to be that peppy either.

"I guess not," I replied, putting my hair up in a messy bun as I had seen a nurse do once before.

I probably couldn't overturn the boat as I had once thought, but I decided to anyway. If I remembered correctly, all of the boats had small overhangs. Overhangs large enough for us to take shelter under, and hopefully survive the storm in. I went against my better judgement and attempted to flip the boat using a somewhat large wave. It successfully overturned it, but it left me with no remaining energy. I didn't struggle to free myself from unconsciousness and the energy that it promised. Instead I entrusted my well being with a complete stranger. I lay limp in the water, nodding off into a deep slumber, with only a small smile remaining on my face.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kainu breathed out deeply as the pain and soreness of his exertion faded away into the serenity and soothing coolness of the water, even in the wake of the heavy storm. Still, he couldn't manage to take his eyes off of the girl, especially lulled by her gracefully tying up her hair, causing him to blush again. He allowed himself to relax more against the boat, not caring that his strength was diminishing and that he soon wouldn't even be able to hold himself up.

He let himself slip off from the side of the boat as he watched her try to overturn it. In his right mind he would have offered to do it for her, or at least help, but in his surreal state of half-consciousness, he could only wonder what it was she was actually doing, trying his hardest not to give in to his fatigue.

Seeing that she successfully turned over the boat, he smiled weakly and returned to her side.

"Quick thinking," he said, closing his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them he was horrified to see her lying limply on the surface of the water, bobbing lifelessly with the waves. In an unexpected burst of strength and willpower, he slid his arm around her and pulled her chest into his, taking special care to keep her head above the water, apparently forgetting that she was able to breathe underwater.

"Hey! Wh-what's wrong??" He ignored the slight smile on her face as he leaned in to press his ear to her lips to check if she was breathing. Only a faint wisp escaped her lips in sync with a weak rise of her chest. He quickly slung her over his shoulder and using what little strength he had left, hauled them over the edge of the boat and onto the deck, collapsing immediately.

Although his eyelids grew increasingly heavy with each passing second, he forced himself to remain alert as he slowly crawled over to her, pulling her up into his chest again, allowing his body to shield hers from the rain as he used the last of his strength to scrape himself along the deck to the overhang, finally collapsing when they were sufficiently shielded under it, immediately lapsing into a powerful state of unconsciousness.

 

[Presidian]

I awoke to the calming sound of a small amount of rain colliding with the overhang. My eyes slowly opened, inch by inch, to reveal the view of endless water, with scattered groups of waves in every direction. I smiled as I closed my eyes once again, embracing the comfort that I had. The temporary amount of comfort that I had. The amount of comfort that would come to an inevitable end. I remembered not having this amount of comfort when I had entered this state of bliss. I felt another person under me, whose arms held me in a tight embrace. It was the boy from before, who had apparently carried me onto the boat and kept me safe. I was right to trust him, this boy.

I shifted my gaze to the right to find his head leaned against mine. His face expressed pure serenity. It was amazing how cute he was at this moment. I didn't dare wake him, as if I could. He must've been more tired than I had been. And yet he still made an effort to keep me safe. I smiled and held his right arm in my hands, shifting my position and leaning against his chest.

After I had had my fill of rest and comfort in his arms, I wrestled with my conscious to get out of them and find something to eat. I was starving, and I assumed that he was too. I wanted to stay with him, though. Stay in his wonderful protection for as long as I could. I didn't want to wake him by leaving him. It was still fairly cold, which gave me another reson to sta with him; to keep him warm. After all he had done for me, I owed it to him to take care of him, as he had for me.

I finally decided that it would be the best for him and I if I found something to eat. That something would probably be fish. I didn't see any other plausible food source that we could use. Anything that was left in the boat would've sunk or had drifted away. I dove into the water, and resurfaced with several Feebass and Magikarp. I felt bad, but this was the only way that we would survive. I tried to skin them with my bare hands, but didn't succeed in any way with either. It was too disgusting and tedious. There was also the issue of cooking the meat. I gave up, and crawled back to him after I washed blood from my hands.

Sharp pains stemming from the underside of my feet reminded me that I needed to find something to bandage my wounds from the glass at the facility. I climbed under his limp arms and wrapping them around me as if they were a blanket. It was getting colder, and the rain wasn't helping that. His warmth lulled me back to sleep.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kainu unconsciously wrapped his arms tighter around the girl, pulling him closer. Even as his mind struggled for force him awake, the only thing he cared about was the source of gentle warmth against him. He yawned and rested his forehead against the girl's silky hair, breathing in the oddly refreshing scent of sea water. On anyone else it would have been distracting, but with her it was even more relaxing, and he buried his nose in it gently. Kainu had apparently forgotten the events of the previous day, but lying there with the girl felt strangely familiar.

Still, his stubborn self-preservation instincts kicked him and finally forced him awake, and he softly nuzzled her temple as he blinked himself awake, stretching his sore arms while still keeping them around her. As his eyes finally focused to the bright sunlight drenching the deck of the boat, he quickly eased away, surprised by the sight of the girl in his arms, and slid his arms from around her, using them to prop himself up as he looked at her, blushing. Suddenly, the memory of the previous night flashed before his eyes, and he relaxed slightly. He could see her chest rise and fall with each gentle breath, and he sighed in relief that he'd managed to save her life. He slowly eased himself from under her and stood up, stretching, hoping that she didn't notice how close he was holding her, afraid she would dismiss him as some sort of lech. Still, he was glad she was safe, and allowed himself to relax again.

He froze however, after seeing the blood on the deck of the boat surrounding a pair of partially skinned fish, which, unless they hopped on board and skinned themselves, had to have been the work of the girl. He smirked to himself a bit, but blushed as soon as he realized that she must've known that he was holding her, and even willingly put herself back in his arms. He blushed more and shook his head, deciding that it was more than likely only for warmth.

He shrugged and walked over to the fish.

"I can't say I blame her," he said, remembering the fierce storm they'd managed to survive as he finished skinning them, tearing out the bones and tossing them back into the water. He hated fish, especially the smell, but he knew that it was their only option for survival. He held one in each hand firmly, and his hands quickly began to glow a subtle but powerful orange as the fish started to cook, a slight searing sound filling the air against the patting of the waves while he watched the clouds hang in the sky.

 

[Presidian]

I moaned as my comfortable position was shifted slightly, and not by myself, but by the boy. I peered through squinted eyes at the boy, whose face was given a slight scarlet tint. He moved out from under me and walked over to the fruits of my labor: two pathetic fish drenched in blood and ripped open. I let myself seem as though I was asleep, allowing myself to observe him more. I felt ornery doing it, but it was just impossible to not watch him use his brawn to rip sheets of scales off of the fish, and to see him meticulously pick the bones and organs from their flesh. The sun shone down onto his beautiful red locks.

I let myself drift off into my thoughts. Thoughts about what we were to do next. Thoughts about what had transpired the previous day. Thoughts about the boy, and what his intentions were with me. I furrowed my brow and quickly got up, opening my eyes and staring at him, frying the fish with his bare hands. I stood in amazement for a minute, but then returned to reality. What did he want with me? What had he done to me when I was sleeping? Was he really trustworthy? I seemed pointless to ask him. I wasn't very good and deciphering lies. I forgot about how I had voluntarily returned to him after attempting to skin the fish, and how I had enjoyed being in his protection. I was sure that my face had become bright red in rage by now.

"What the hell did you do to me last night?" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was probably overreacting, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything else, except this.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kainu gripped the fish tightly, startled, and spun around, looking wide eyed at the girl, surprised she had awoken so fast.

"Wh-what..? M-me??"

The glow of his hands turned brighter in self-defense as he retained his tight grip, feeling cornered.

"I didn't do anything except save our lives!" he grunted, his shock dissolving into anger. "And as soon as I did I blacked out until about two minutes ago... But you, on the other hand, you were busy this morning, weren't you?? What did you do, huh?!" It sounded like a stupid question, but he asked it anyway, still angry.

By now he was convinced that she was only using him for warmth, a glorified pillow so she could sleep soundly in her own little world. He breathed out deeply and eased his grip on the fish, which now had harsh, black burns in the shape of his grip on the meat. He angrily tossed her one, and, pretended not to care, bit angrily into the other while turning away.

"So I guess that makes us even," he grunted, wiping the foul-smelling juices from his lips. He hated the taste, but he didn't notice through is controlled fury. He tossed it back onto the deck of the ship and looked out into the open sea.

"So why don't you just go one way, and I'll go the other."

As soon as he heard himself utter the words, he could feel the soreness in his legs and arms, but it made no difference, nor did it make any difference that he had no idea which way he should go, of there was even anything to swim toward anywhere remotely close. Still, he was fully prepared to die at sea. It was better than rotting in his cell.

 

[Presidian]

I hadn't realized what I had said until my anger dissipated, and my skin turned to a normal color. Now I knew how quick and arrogantly I had made my decision to yell at him, and I was sorry. I truly was. I didn't know why yet, but I loved this boy. I almost chuckled at the fact that I didn't know his name, and yet I felt as though I was falling in love with him.

I caught the smoldering hunk of fish meat in my hands, still wrinkled from the dive that I made to catch these. I dropped it within seconds, as it had burned a large portion of the palm in my hand. I walked back over to the overhang and sat in the corner furthest away from the boy, holding my burned hand. Tears welled from my eyes, but I didn't make any sorrowful audible sounds. I bit my lip, trying to keep as serious as possible, but I knew that it was fairly obvious that I was both ashamed and hurt, both emotionally and physically. All of which were my fault. It was my fault that he was angry at me. It was my fault that he hated me. It was my fault that I would have to leave the boat and fend for myself, and not rely on anything else. Not the boy, not the boat, nothing, except myself. I was also afraid of what he might do to me. I still wasn't in peak condition, and he seemed to be fine after reducing most of our fish to charcoal.

A few small whimpers escaped my mouth as I thought about what the boy was thinking of me. I wished I was still sleeping in his arms, letting the cool breeze drift through my blonde bangs. But that would never happen again. I would never receive that incredible amount of comfort from any person except myself. My sniffles and whimpers became louder as I came to that realisation. He was all I had ever had.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kainu sighed and breathed out deeply, trying to relax himself. He had no idea the fish was actually hot enough to burn the girl's hand. He had no idea she was under the overhang sobbing. He didn't even have any idea why he got so worked up in the first place. Could he really blame her for being suspicious? Could he blame her for being upset, especially considered all they'd been through? He knew she had every right to react the way she did. What hurt him the most was knowing the truth. He knew he had no right to feel safe, no right to feel as warm as he did when he held her. And, most of all, he knew that she had no reason to trust him. That she shouldn't trust him, for even he didn't know if he could trust himself anymore.

Kainu quickly realized that the best thing to do was separate himself from her. He couldn't fathom hurting her again, and the pain of her suspicions was eating him up inside. He also realized that she was better off and safer without him. He was clearly just a crutch to her. Sure, he saved her from the storm, but she was only so devoid of energy because she'd saved him from the guards. Had he never shown up, she would probably already be to safety. He nodded solemnly and without another word he dove into the water, swimming quickly and determinedly in the first direction he saw, not daring look back. If he was going to die, he was going to be damned sure that it was alone, just as he'd lived.

 

[Presidian]

I gave up on containing my sorrow after he left. Not only was he not here to hear the, but he was leaving. I was left alone, just as I had been for the majority of my life. I wanted to dive into the water and swim towards him and apologize to him, but he wouldn't care. He didn't care about a weak, ignorant, and obnoxious girl that had done nothing but blame him for things he would never think of doing.

As I got up, a line of barbs flew through the windshield of the boat and attached to my right shoulder, and electrocuted me, forcing me to let loose a fit of violent screams for help to the boy. As if he cared.

The pain was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It felt as though broken glass was flowing through my veins, scraping up against every part of my insides. I fell to the floor of the boat, squirming and pleading for the guard that emerged from from water holding a taser. I was pulled out of consciousness while the guard dragged me down into the water and swam away with me, clenching my burnt hand.

 

[Chocolate Bones]

Kairu head the girl scream in terror, but at first only dismissed it as his imagination, trying to pull him back to her. He shook the thought away and started to swim faster, trying to get as far away as possible. It wasn't until he heard her shrill cry of pain that he finally turned around, just in time to see her dragged off the boat and into the water, dragged by a guard as he swam away.

He quickly snapped himself out of his shock and started off again, swimming toward the guard as quickly as he could. He could feel his arms burn as he swam, both from his unnatural abilities and from the incredible stress they were under but he paid it no mind. The only thing he could think about was the girl and that he would never be able to forgive himself if she got hurt.

With renewed fervor, Kainu quickly swam past the boat without hesitation and in the direction of the guard, slowly but surely catching up to him. The guard had managed to make it a sizable distance before he heard Kainu swimming toward him, and as soon as he did, he stopped and turned toward him, pulling out his pistol and immediately firing in Kainu's direction.

Kainu took a deep breath and quickly dove underwater, swimming toward the guard while trying to avoid the bullets raining toward him. Just before he needed to surface for oxygen, Kainu caught up to the guard and slid his hand around his neck, gripping it firmly, grabbing his hand with the other. Concentrating all of his energy, Kainu began to burn the skin on the guard's neck and hand, causing him to scream in agony.

The burns began to grow so intense that Kainu could feel the flesh wrinkle and wither beneath his grasp, until he could feel his hand wrapped around his bones. By now, the guard had died, but in his rage Kainu kept burning him, almost missing the girl slip out of his arms and into the water.

Snapping himself out of it, he dove underwater again to scoop her up into his arms before swimming back to the surface. He was glad she wasn't awake to see him turn the guard's throat into pudding.