Author's Note
Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for waiting! I am feeling better now! I learned that deleting chapters is a faux-pas, so I'm not doing it. Instead, I have written my analysis of the story and the future stories I plan to write there. Take a look!
I quickly wrote this chapter to upload it fast. Also, we have reached the ten comments milestone! I'll be uploading a bonus chapter later today! Moreover, I've changed the reviews goal: for every constructive review until ten reviews, I'll upload one bonus chapter. That means for the second review already here, I'm uploading another bonus chapter! That means three chapters today! Stay tuned!
**
Animus and Zoe parted.
"I'll go reheat our food." Zoe said before putting the gun on the table and taking the plates away.
"Okay. I'll fiddle with the door's locking mechanism to see if there is something we can do." Animus nodded and turned.
"Just don't break it!" Zoe called out from the kitchen.
Animus laughed.
'You're telling the man who created a world-destroying AI that he can't handle a simple door, little sister.' He thought.
Animus tapped on his Pip-Boy, opening the Click to Expand option and finding what he was looking for.
[Notes]
[Adapter Plug/Cable]
[Tracker]
[Games]
"Well, there are more interesting options than I thought on a Pip-Boy. I'll take a look at those games someday, maybe." Animus said, raising an eyebrow.
He clicked on the adapter plug and cable option. A cable ejected from the Pip-Boy. Animus extended it and plugged it in a port of the door, right next to the big button that opens it. He got to work.
His Pip-Boy connected and pinged him the options. He could set a biometric lock on the door or keep it as-is. Bypassing those options, he tried to override the Overseer permissions to access his unit.
Ideas entered Animus' mind. He tapped on his Pip-Boy repeatedly, activating the hacking mechanism courtesy of his system.
It took him several minutes to adjust to the small screen of the Pip-Boy, but he made short work of the security systems thanks to his superior skill. He could hear Zoe calling out to him to return to breakfast, but he couldn't hear her.
"I can override the Overseer's permissions, but this would send an alert to the vault's mainframe. That would bring Rachel breathing down on my neck again." Animus frowned. "If I can't stop that psycho the conventional way, I can do something else. I will loop the signal that pings and activates the door. This way, nobody can access the unit. I will also isolate my Pip-Boy's unique signal so that the door does not lock me out of my own house."
After ten long minutes, Animus succeeded in hacking the door completely, without alerting Vault-Tec's mainframe. The small screen of the Pip-Boy was a hurdle, but the genius hacker succeeded and managed to complete one more devious task.
"Now, it will look like the door has malfunctioned to anyone. And the best part is... I have also traced the signal back to Vault-Tec's mainframe. I know where it is now. I need to sneak in there next." Animus grinned.
'I can hack the mainframe and install a backdoor to the Overseer's access to all units. This should let my Pip-Boy access any unit in the vault, even those locked with a biometric lock. I need to make sure the data deletes itself, too. But that's nothing compared to the wealth of data and control I would have. I would need to prepare carefully before I do this.' Animus thought.
Animus felt a soft hand on his forehead gently wipe away the accumulated sweat. He turned to look at Zoe staring over his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Zoe asked, worried.
"I am fine, Zo. In fact, I managed to hack into the door. I've set up a special lock that can only be opened by me." He smiled.
"Huh? What? Are you sure you didn't just break the door?" Zoe deadpanned.
She tapped the green button to open the door. It didn't open. Zoe frowned and mashed the big button. Nothing happened.
Animus gave her a smug look.
"Bro, we're locked inside! You broke the door!" Zoe shouted.
Animus rolled his eyes. Using the cable still connected to the door's port, Animus tapped on his Pip-Boy.
[Opening Door...]
The door lifted.
Animus turned to Zoe.
"Now, do you believe me?" He asked, his voice dry.
Zoe blinked. Once. Twice.
"Uh, Bro? When did you become a tech whiz?" Zoe muttered in confusion.
"What do you think your frail brother did all day back home? I was learning how to use a computer!" Animus rolled his eyes.
"I thought you were just busy playing random games." Zoe shrugged.
Animus sighed.
"Hey, well done!" Zoe clapped his back. "That's my brother! Now, come let's eat."
"Yeah, sure." Animus shook his head and laughed.
He shut the door and removed the cable before letting it slink back into the Pip-Boy.
While finishing breakfast, Zoe suddenly gave Animus puppy-dog eyes.
"Big Bro~" Zoe lilted, her voice low and sweet. She gave him a doe-eyed look. "Does your sweet little sister get access to your home?"
"Of course you do." Animus chuckled.
"Yay!" Zoe raised her arms and skipped over to give Animus a hug.
Animus hugged her back.
Just then, a knock occurred on the door. But there was no sound of the button being pressed. Not that it would work anyway.
"Who is it now?" Zoe frowned, reaching for the gun on the table.
"Someone more polite than Rachel Greaves, for sure." Animus shrugged.
He walked to the door, ejected the Pip-Boy cable and inserted the command for the door to open.
The door slid open.
In a blue and yellow jumpsuit were two breathtaking women. They looked identical, except that one had a gentle expression full of concern and the other bore a scowl. They wore different headbands too. The one on the left had a blue headband with a sapphire in the center and the other had a red headband with a ruby in the center.
Animus took a moment to respond.
"Hello, Jasmine. Hello, Daphne." He said a beat later, smiling at the duo.
"Animus! Thank God you're safe." Jasmine sighed in relief, hand on her chest. "We heard rumors that you had a scuffle with the Overseer and came running over."
"It's barely been one day and you've already caused trouble for the Vault-Tec administration." Daphne glared.
"Daph!" Jasmine rebuked.
Daphne fell quiet, but didn't stop glaring.
"It's alright. Come on in. We'll tell you what happened." Animus smiled.
"Thank you, Animus." Jasmine smiled back.
"Hi Jasmine!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Hello, Zoe!" Jasmine waved and giggled at Zoe's joy.
"Why do you have a gun?" Daphne asked, standing slightly in front of Jasmine.
"I respect your protectiveness of Jasmine, but just come on in. We can talk inside." Animus rolled his eyes.
Daphne stilled.
Jasmine nodded and dragged Daphne inside, much to her twin's chagrin.
Zoe piled away the plates as Animus locked the door back.
The group sat around the sofas. Zoe animatedly shared everything while Animus washed the dishes in the kitchen, occasionally pitching in. He also started making tea for the guests.
"And that psycho bitch tried to shoot my brother just because he said he might not want to go with her!" Zoe shouted in anger.
"Zo, language." Animus said, wiping his hands with a towel and stepping in from the kitchen to the hall. "But Zo's right. That's exactly what Rachel did."
"That's inhumane!" Jasmine said, her voice high. Her hands flew to her face.
"Yeah." Animus said grimly before smiling. "But my Zoe here lifted our gun and prepared to shoot Rachel if she shot me."
Silence fell for a second as the twins processed my words. Jasmine reacted first.
"That's... Amazing! You're so brave, Zoe." Jasmine's eyes widened as she praised.
Even Daphne gave Zoe a look of begrudging respect.
Zoe preened.
"Of course I did that. She dares to try shoot my brother in our house? She had it coming." Zoe said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Animus chuckled. He sat down and placed an arm around Zoe.
The sibling duo shared the remaining details to the twins. In-between, Animus got up to bring tea and biscuits.
"Thank you, Animus." Jasmine smiled gently.
Animus' heart skipped a beat.
"You're welcome." He responded, a slight smile on his lips threatening to become bigger.
Daphne took the cup of tea with a quiet thanks.
After taking a sip, Daphne said, "No matter what, you rushed in senselessly. I understand your desire to be armed, but you broke the law."
"No way! Bro did the right thing. If the Overseer can shoot over refusal for a formal questioning, then stealing a gun is fair. Moreover, they confiscated our belongings and refuse to give them to us!" Zoe said, leaning forward aggressively.
Animus gently pulled her back and rubbed her shoulder.
"I agree with Zoe. Daph, just look at it. They took our last pair of clothes this morning. They only allowed us to wear it for a day longer than everyone else because you pressured them using our family's name. But even that didn't last." Jasmine said, turning to Daphne.
Daphne sighed.
Animus tapped the table. He got everyone's attention.
"There's a bigger reason than security for why I stole a gun." Animus said, looking at everyone with a sweeping gaze.
"What?" Daphne asked.
"Have you guys met any other man in the vault?" Animus asked with a serious look.
Everyone fell quiet.
"No, now that you say it, bro." Zoe frowned in suspicion.
"Indeed. I think I've only met you so far, Animus." Jasmine nodded with a matching frown, one marred with confusion.
Daphne stared at Animus, waiting for him to continue.
He had everyone's full attention.
"That is because I am the only man in Vault 69," He said, his dropping low.
"That's... That should be impossible! That's a major statistical and logistics error on the part of Vault-Tec. It's an administrative disaster!" Daphne disagreed, raising her voice.
"No way. It doesn't make sense. I think we just haven't met any other man yet." Jasmine shook her head.
"If you say so, Bro. I believe you. But why?" Zoe said, unsure.
'Looks like it's still too early. I can't reveal everything without gaining their trust first. There's no point sharing my and Zoe's plan to leave the vault yet either. I need to show them the threats here first.' Animus sighed inwardly.
"You will all find out in time." Animus smiled. "For now, we can agree on one thing: the Overseer is heavy-handed and drunk on power. We should all stick together to ensure each other's safety."
"Yes. I agree on that." Jasmine smiled.
"Of course, bro." Zoe grinned.
"Fine. I do agree that the Overseer is unpredictable." Daphne nodded grimly. She was beginning to feel less certain of the vault.
At the same moment, the girls received a ping on their Pip-Boys.
"Ah! It's time for our assignments! Aw, man. I don't want to go to schooling..." Zoe groaned.
"I've received the role of a teacher. We'll be going the same way." Daphne said, turning to Zoe.
"Now I'm less sure about wanting to go." Zoe muttered.
Daphne deadpanned at Zoe.
Animus and Jasmine chuckled.
"I've got the role of working in the water treatment floor. I might ask for a switch, though." Jasmine said while tapping her chin in thought.
"You definitely should. It doesn't suit our stature," Daphne said immediately.
Jasmine smiled awkwardly at Daphne before turning to Animus.
"What about you, Animus? What is your role assignment?" Jasmine asked.
"Freeloading? I don't know. My Pip-Boy doesn't receive messages from the Overseer. It doesn't like her either." Animus shrugged.
Everyone chuckled.
"I guess I'll go explore the labs." Animus smiled.
"Alright, but come home on time, Bro. Don't make me worry," Zoe said seriously.
"Yes, Zoe." Animus smiled in reassurance.
The girls shuffled outside. Animus stopped Zoe.
"Turn on your ejector cable. I'll give you access to the unit," Animus said.
Zoe's eyes brightened in delight.
"Yeah!"
Animus connected Zoe's cable and his cable to the ports. Within a minute, he had isolated Zoe's signal and authorized its bypass to the locking mechanism.
Daphne watched on curiously.
"You guys have added locks to your doors?" She asked.
"Yes. We need them. I could help you with your door too, if you'd like." Animus said with a nod.
Daphne felt hesitant. But Jasmine wasn't.
"Sure, Animus. Thank you!" Jasmine smiled.
"You're welcome." Animus smiled back.
The group departed as Animus locked the unit. He began exploring his way to the labs.
'There's no more time.' Animus frowned.
'I need to make Wicca in this world.' He decided.
He travelled to the labs in the hopes of reconstructing the AI that almost destroyed Earth in his last life.
But Animus didn't know who he would find there in the labs.