Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I missed you all! I had to undergo an urgent dental surgery and was thus forced to take a few days off. I'm still nursing a lot of pain, but I want to publish chapters! You guys have earned lots of bonus chapters! Every review gets one bonus! We got a five star rating in Scribble Hub, so I'll upload a bonus chapter for that.
**
Animus quietly looked around while holding Zoe close. His gaze was cold and calculating. The crowd of a thousand chattering women suddenly felt hostile. He could feel some of them eyeing him like predator viewing prey.
"Animus," Elsa said, her voice low. "Exercise caution. Right now, the situation is only beginning to get tense. I'm not sure about the best way to go about it. But I recommend you to not travel unaccompanied. I've heard a few...disturbing things from the girls of my group regarding what some women are considering to do."
Gwen's eyes narrow dangerously. She could read between the lines quickly.
"If someone so much as tries to capture or coerce Animus, I'll make sure they regret losing control over themselves." Gwen said, a fiercely protective look on her face.
Zoe nodded, wholeheartedly approving Gwen. Animus smiled at Gwen.
"I think we should talk more back at my unit." Animus said, looking at everyone. "I need to know who is in that group."
"Yes. Currently, it's just a dozen women who work rather closely with the Vault-Tec staff members. Benny from the diner, Lenny from the Food Farms, Karen from the Science Labs, and a few others I have yet to learn about." Elsa answered, glancing around carefully.
"Benny?! She's one of my friends!" Zoe responded in shock and rage. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy our next conversation."
Zoe gently caressed her gun.
"I know Karen. She was rude to Animus a while ago while talking about him with me. I shut her down back then. That bitch." Gwen said, her face contorting in fury.
She gripped something in her pocket tight.
Things had begun to change in the vault. People had begun to catch on to the single greatest oddity inside the vault: Animus was the only man inside the whole place.
"Someone right there in the science labs? This is discomforting." Animus frowned. "I have briefly spoken to Karen before. She seemed alright."
"Don't trust a book by its cover." Jasmine shook her head, holding Animus' hand.
Gwen narrowed her eyes at the display.
"Yeah." Animus nodded before continuing, "We should finish eating and get going."
A chorus of nods and murmurs followed. The girls finished eating and headed to residential Unit 01. Animus unlocked it and beckoned everyone to enter.
A flicker of black, curly hair fluttered behind a turn in the corridor. Beatrice watched them enter the unit. She clicked on her comms.
"Subject 01 is entertaining guests. Take Subject Karen and hack the AI that Subject 01 is building in the Science Labs. Tread with caution. The mainframe could not get any data from the laptop. It seems to be in an isolated setup," She reported.
"Affirmative." Malty's voice echoed.
**
The girls took up spots on the sofas. Gwen sat on the left of the biggest sofa, securing a seat on its center for Animus. Zoe sat on the right of the same sofa. Jasmine, much to her chagrin, took a seat on the opposite sofa with Daphne. Animus brought three chairs for Yor, Anya, and Elsa. The three took their seats; Yor with gratitude, Anya with joy, and Elsa with grace.
Animus took the seat Zoe and Gwen had reserved for him.
"So, who's their leader?" Animus asked.
"That's...something I am not sure about. What's interesting is that Patsy of the Vault-Tec staff is in cahoots with them. She seems to hate you. She is actively recruiting more people to her faction. But Patsy does not seem to have the leeway or charisma a leader usually possesses." Elsa said, giving Animus an odd look.
"Ah, the flower pin girl with the M4. Oh yeah, she seemed pissed that Bro stole a gun. I knew I should have shot her, that curly haired chick, and the damn Overseer over breakfast." Zoe nodded sagely.
"I pray to God you're kidding." Daphne deadpanned.
"That's reprehensible! How can someone in the Vault-Tec staff do this? They should be impartial!" Jasmine responded strongly.
"People often associate their opinions with their personalities, Jasmine. It isn't surprising that one such person is abusing their power when the world has ended." Gwen said with a grave look.
Animus caught on to the last part.
"Then, who is the leader? Do we have any clue?" He asked.
"We don't. But that is not the only reason I am here to share this with you, Animus. I am not acting out of the goodness of my heart." Elsa said, shifting slightly to sit upright. She stared at Animus while tucking in her chin.
Silence fell.
"What do you mean, Miss Elsa?" Yor asked.
"My faction consists of 86 women right now, with over half of them workers from the power generator room and the rest spread between floors. Most of them rely on me to advocate for their desires to the Overseer. And sooner or later, one of those desires will be regarding sexual outlets." Elsa said, looking at Animus with a reluctant, yet clinical look.
Click
Zoe unlatched her gun's safety and calmly set it on her lap.
She smiled.
"Choose your next words carefully, Elsa. I would like to think you are different from the rest." Zoe said with a sunny smile.
Elsa frowned.
"Are you threatening me before I even laid out my terms? I do not take kindly to threats, Zoe." Elsa said, her voice turning cold.
She turned to look at Animus, ignoring Zoe boldly.
"I do not think it is a bad idea for a man, is it? There are a thousand women in the vault. I am not asking you to lay with all of them. I know you plan to leave in a year. I am with you on that. But I wish to take my group and go somewhere else." Elsa said, her gaze sharp.
"That is completely fine. But your words earlier suggested a caveat, Elsa." Animus said, matching Elsa's gaze.
"Indeed. And I apologize. As much as I hate it, some people may not be able to bear abstinence for even that long. For such members of my group, all I ask is that you court each other. While I don't expect royal customs, but it would surely be better than the alternative. There is a group actively lobbying with a Vault-Tec staff member for you to be shared like a commodity, Animus." Elsa said seriously, looking at everyone. "My group will stand with you. And our numbers will only increase. Isn't it a fair trade?"
"By increasing group numbers, don't you mean the number of people who would want Animus to share a bed increase too?" Jasmine asked, her voice low like a growl.
"Yes, but it would all be consensual. Animus can reject a few-" Elsa began.
Clink
Gwen pulled out an item in her pocket. It was a test tube containing a thick, oily, and clear liquid. It looked viscuous. The test tube was airtight. She set it on the table in front of everyone.
"Oh, sorry," Gwen drawled. "That's just a test tube containing sulfuric acid. I like it to keep it for self-defense, you know, in case someone tries to jump me, or a boy I know, because they can't keep it in their pants."
Silence fell. Eyes widened all around. Zoe grinned in approval, nodding.
"You... Are you serious?" Elsa asked in shock.
Gwen shrugged and flipped her hair back. She lifted her chin to give Elsa a defiant look.
'Fuck, there's something wrong with me. I found that hot.' Animus nearly facepalmed.
Anya deadpanned at Animus.
'This older brother has a screw loose.' Anya thought.
"Elsa, please think it over. Imagine if the roles were reversed. If your brother or your friend was the only man in a vault full of women, would you want him to be treated like a licensible product for sale? If you were the only woman in a vault full of men, would you prefer to live inside it?" Jasmine asked.
Elsa's eyes widened before she looked at Animus again. "No. You're right. I'm sorry. That was unwise of me."
"That's okay. But don't mention something like that again. I am not interested in wasting my time courting a thousand women. More importantly, I would prefer to be with someone I love. Intimacy without emotion only drives you hollow." Animus said, his voice sharp.
"But, I heard the radical group's members share that–" Elsa began.
Her eyes narrowed.
"I fell victim to a rumor." She gritted her teeth.
"What rumor, Miss Elsa?" Yor asked.
"The radical group's members have been saying that Patsy looked into Animus' history from before the vault using his data in the Vault-Tec database. It mentioned that he got a girl pregnant at 16, nearly got sent to jail, and was infamous for being a casanova. I didn't choose to judge him over that. But I was being played!" She slapped her hand on her head.
Zoe burst out laughing.
"Oh, my! Oh, my god! That's fucking ridiculous!" Zoe laughed out loud. "My brother is an honest to god innocent man!"
"Of course he is." Gwen nodded firmly. "I don't need to think twice to dismiss such a disgusting rumor."
"Yeah, I agree." Jasmine sighed in relief.
"Well, let me tell you in on a secret, girls." Zoe whispered conspiratorially.
"No, Zo!" Animus groaned.
"What? What is it?" Jasmine leaned forward.
"The furthest Animus has gone is holding hands with a girl. And only two girls at that. Me, and our Mum." Zoe grinned.
"What?" Elsa's eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry for judging you, Animus. I should have been more careful. I will work with my group to dismiss this rumor."
"Sure, thanks. Zo, shut your filter." Animus sighed.
"I think it's sweet." Jasmine smiled.
"Aw. I like that, Animus." Gwen cooed, leaning closer to him.
Zoe waggled her brows.
"Well, I suppose it's three girls now. Count Gwen in too. And this one is not a sister or a mother~" Zoe lilted.
Gwen blushed.
"Zo!"
**
Fire raged. Incandescent yellow and red flames licked the walls of the lab. Vault-Tec staff members gathered around a single computer in the labs. They were desperately putting out the burning flames with carbon dioxide fire extinguishers.
The fire began around a computer in the corner of the lab, closest to the door.
"How did this happen?" Rachel asked, watching the flames calmly.
A brunette woman sobbed.
"Madam Overseer, I don't know. It just happened. I was leaving work late, and the computer suddenly burst into flames." She said, her eyes not meeting Rachel.
"We'll check the footage. What's your name?" Rachel asked.
"Karen," The woman said.
"Okay, Karen. Tell me who usually uses that computer." Rachel said, looking at Karen fully.
Karen barely hid her smile. She looked down.
"Oh, you know. It's that boy in the vault. He stays glued to that computer every day.
"Animus Spero."