“That was too close…”

Scarlet pulled the knife out of her latest contract. Standing, she looked at a broken mirror next to her and noted her armor and helmet were soaked in the young man's blood.

“Not looking forward to washing this out,”

She mused. She had planned a perfect takedown of the target but then things went sideways as they do and she ended up in a hand-to-hand brawl with a psycho'd out raider much younger and stronger than herself. Fucker bled a lot too…

“Fuck this used to be easier, and it only seems to be getting harder…”

She continued to despair a bit as she made her trek back to claim her reward, a question plucking away like an annoying sore at the back of her mind;

“Am I getting too old for this?”

She had bested so many marks she’d lost count. The waste was full of songs and folktales about the red-haired bounty hunter who always got her mark, but as Scarlet tiredly trudged through the post-apocalyptic wastes she didn't feel like an invincible hero.

She felt old.

She felt tired.

But she didn't feel done.

Scarlet wasn't the type of person to retire and fade into obscurity, Her worst fear wasn't that she would die trying to kill a mark, it was that she would slowly decline to the point of being irrelevant and unimportant, her age draining her vigor and power till she died, another forgotten casualty in the wastes, another weakling trivialized and abused by bigger fish. 

Days later, as she finished her trip back and entered Duke's Drinks to turn in the bounty, she wondered if her next mark would be the one to finally catch her in her decline. The sight of a familiar face rocked her from her thoughts.

“Scarlet... you look like shit.”

The creature before her was barely recognizable as human. One-Eyed Rick, as he was called, was covered in scars. Bits of metal jutting out from underneath his gray trench coat and small chunks of his body were missing as if he was trying to achieve some sort of man metal equilibrium. He extended a disfigured hand out to her, offering what she assessed was her payment of caps for this mark.

“At least I look better than Rick.”

Scarlet thought as she replied,

“Thanks, Rick, and you look like you're still missing a quarter of your face. Got any more insight?”

Scarlet removed her helmet and flipped her hair casually. There was some gray in her thinning locks but the majority of her shoulder length hair still showed with vibrant strips of dark red. She plopped into a chair and began to count her caps. Rick operated his business out of a bar, which served Scarlet just fine. She continued speaking,

“I'm still your best hunter, and you'd be a fool to count me out. There’s still no shortage of assholes to swiss cheese, and when that doesn’t work…”

Scarlet patted her custom light machine pistol gently, her fingers tracing the gilded cursive inlay of her own name displayed proudly on the side. Rick didn't respond immediately, but instead looked at her with what she assumed was the closest thing he could make to a concerned expression, 

“Yeah, Um listen, Scarlet. We've worked together a long time so I'm going to share a secret I heard. It's probably just another dumb folk legend of the wastes but I've heard whispers of a Vault been found, unlike any other. Vault 321 they call it. Ever heard of it?”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow and looked at him. She thought for a moment before replying,

“I hate vaults... too cramped, guns are loud as shit inside them, and who knows what ugly bullshit is inside… Hey, Bartender! WHISKEY!”

Rick waited as Scarlet tossed out some caps. The bartender came by shortly and left the bottle in a show of familiarity. Scarlet quickly took a swig set it next to her, saying,

“Ahhh… So, a vault?”

One-Eyed replied, 

“Yeah a vault. The thing is, the people who talk about this vault say it's different. A paradise they call it, food, medicine, all aplenty... And something more…”

Scarlet pointed an accusatory finger at her acquaintance as she narrowed her eyes, saying,

“We both know that all those fairy tales out in the wastes turn into nightmares. Hell. Especially those metal maze death traps.” 

Scarlet took anther pull of her whiskey before lowering her voice,

“Besides. The mojave is my paradise…”

She stared at the bottle of amber liquid. In the shifting hues of the intoxicating beverage she glimpsed for a moment flashes of the things she'd seen, and the faces of the different monsters she had put down for their nefarious deeds. Rick’s voice broke her thoughts again,

“Scarlet, I know. I bring it up because the people I heard this rumor from, they say that the residents of this vault, they... well they don't get older. A guy came through here about a month ago, claimed to have visited this vault multiple times over the years as a lone trader and none of the people inside have aged a day. Hear the same tall tale from a refugee a few years back. I know you don't want to talk about the difficulty you've been having continuing in this distinguished line of work but I've seen you limping, Scarlet. I just don’t feel right not telling you about something that could be a chance for you at getting your old fight back…”

Scarlet swirled the bottle of whiskey around, once again staring into its depths. After what seemed like forever she spoke,

“So this vault? How dangerous are we talking?”

Rick replied,

“I’ll be straight with you, Scarlet. I don't know. I've never been. My contact said the vault is far to the east, past the irradiated badlands and the old minefield. They said the cave the vault door is inside is so treacherous few survive but those that do are welcomed as friends, assuming they mean no harm.”

Scarlet laughed at what sounded like a very tall tale indeed, then asked,

“Interesting... and you're sending me alone? That sounds fun, but it's not your style.”

Rick looked at the bottle Scarlet was drinking from, curious at what she saw in her favorite drink. He explained,

“I'm not doing anything, Scarlet. I'm just telling an old hunter the only thing I know of to get her out of her current… situation. You want to let this go, be my guest. I got a whole board of assholes that needs killing with your name on it if you’re up for it.”

Rick waved his hand gesturing to the bounty board. Scarlet looked it over, her eyes bright.

“Well, I do like killing assholes... any bounties out that way? I’d like to make the trip worthwhile if this rumor of yours turns out to be a load of crap. I've had my fair share of wild brahmin chases... “ Scarlet shrugged and folded her arms, “fair share of those revolved around this vault or that one as well. You get sick of it real fast…”

Scarlet gazed one final time into her drink, making up her mind.

“But what the hell, I'll go.”

Rick looked at the bounty board searching,

“A bounty that way, erm, sure... nothing really too worthwhile, but, ahh here it is.”

Rick pointed to one of the smaller posters, ripping it off the board.

“I got a husband, killed his wife and ran away. Not much caps in it but sounds like one you might enjoy for.... personal reasons.”

Scarlet couldn’t help but give a small smile, 

“I might want to ask him why... before shooting him in the gut that is…”

Rick laughed,

“Figured you’d say as much. The man’s name is John Yesterly”

She snatched the paper as Rick chuckled remarking,

“I doubt you'll find little John’s answer as satisfactory as that bullet you plan to put in him.”

“Fair, but you never know,” Scarlet replied as she stood with a grunt of effort. She grabbed her pack and headed for the door, stopping at the entrance to call back to Rick,

“Got any plans in case I don't come back?”

Rick called out to her,

“Yeah, I'm gonna pour myself a glass of..... Ah shit.... What's this thing you're always drinking? And I'm gonna tell everyone who comes this way about the best damn hunter there ever was this side of the wastes.”

Scarlet laughed, replying in a loud voice,

“Whiskey Sunset. Sunset Sarsaparilla with a shot of Whiskey. Best thing in the Mojave.”

The veteran bounty hunter turned and set off to find this mysterious Vault 321 as Rick turned back to the bar, his hands fingering a large payment of caps sitting in his pocket…

Scarlet's first stop was to clean and repair her armor and purchase a hefty amount of radX.  The irradiated badlands was no joke to venture into, much less through. The whole area was seeped in nuclear waste and there were pockets where the radiation could be deadly without the proper protection. Even worse, the area was infested with mutated creatures; the wastes were filled with tales of horrors that could be found within its unexplored depths. Scarlet finished her preparations and then completed the nine day initial journey to the area Rick had indicated without much trouble. She had avoided this place deliberately, due to both the distance and danger. Days from civilization and irradiated to all hell she couldn't fathom what former husband would decide this was a good place to run to. As she surveyed the gigantic cloud of deep green radiation she began to wonder how ‘Mr. Wife Killer’ even managed to get through such an obstacle. More than likely she'd stumble upon his own rotting corpse as she hastily trekked through.

“This husband is either a more fearsome opponent than the bounty portrays, or even stupider…”

Scarlet kept her eyes out for a corpse as she began her careful journey through the badlands. That was the one benefit of her age: experience. Her many escapades and close calls had molded her into an expert tracker. Evading mutated creatures and finding safe paths was nothing to her. Her bright silver eyes scanned the green haze around her for dangers, her trained ears listened to each tick from her geiger counter with astute attentiveness.

It took half a day to trek to get through the badlands. Scarlet had to stay on high alert the whole time to avoid any unfortunate mishaps, but at last the green haze of radiation began to fade and she looked at a row of mountains looming menacingly before her. 

“So this is what's been hiding behind this hellscape,”

Scarlet thought as she took in the terrain. Between her and the mountains was a large expanse of desert. There is a line of signs in front of her spreading out towards the horizon on both the right and left. They must have been planted from the old war before whatever nuclear catastrophe occurred that created the badlands. Scarlet looked at one of the signs and read:

WARNING:

OLD WAR 

MINEFIELD

TURN BACK

She, sighed,

“This is where it gets really difficult.”

Her gaze searched for any trails or paths that don't end in partial skeletons or craters. From her experience those did not bode well. It took her the rest of the day to find a days old set of footprints heading deep into the minefield.

“Bingo, looks like it might be my lucky day. Hope these are Mister Romantic’s and that he's not in pieces.”

Looking at the sun setting, Scarlet frowned. Tracking these footprints in sand would be hell by night, especially in a minefield where one wrong step could be your last. She decided to camp and start fresh in the morning. She set proximity alarms, made her tent, cooked dinner and she laid down, still fully armored, in her tent. As her eyes shut Scarlet wondered if she would awake to an explosion signaling the end of her hunt. To her surprise the night was peacefully quiet, and she woke instead to the sunlight peeking out over the mountains.

“Well, if I'm gonna find that bastard today, I'm not going to do it on an empty stomach. Those days are past,”

Scarlet thought as she got breakfast going. After putting out her breakfast fire she packed her equipment and began carefully following the line of tracks into the minefield,

“I didn't hear an explosion last night, but I still have the funny feeling this guy is going to be dead in a hole somewhere,”

The hunter mused as she followed the fading prints of the mysterious person's boots. It took time but she managed not to lose the trail which led her all the way to the mountain's base. It was approaching mid afternoon. She looked at the sun starting to sink and wondered if she'd have to comb the entire mountain range for this mysterious vault after she'd dealt with her target. As she continued following the trail her question was answered as the ground hardened and she started to see more and more older tracks in the mix of dirt and rock beneath her feet. The trail of footprints led her right to entrance of a cave,

“Guess it's my lucky, easy day,”

She thought as she drew her signature weapon and approached the cave's small concealed entrance. After only advancing a few feet into the dark depths, the sound of a cough caught her attention. She turned towards the noise immediately, weapon trained towards its direction. Her helmet's flashlight caught the image of a figure slumped against a cave wall about 20 feet ahead of her. The person appeared to be wearing a Hazmat suit. Scarlet noted a pistol lay discarded on the floor halfway between them. She carefully made her way over to the person keeping her weapon trained on them at all times. As she got right up to them her light revealed in their hands a map of the minefield. Labored breaths sounded from inside the suit. As Scarlet looked the individual over more closely her eyes glimpsed a hole in the leg of the protective wear. She recognized the bite mark pattern; a radroach. Sighing, she shook the wheezing person, their labored breaths intensifying as they awoke. Scarlet asked,

“You alright? Can you walk?”

A muted gasp came out from under the protective visor of the radiation suit, then a hoarse male voice rattled weakly,

“Water…”

Scarlet frowned but took out her canteen. She poured the contents into a small metal cup she had for cooking and offered it to the man. He weakly nodedd and removed his helmet, revealing the face of John Yesterly, the spitting image of the wanted poster in Scarlet's pack.

“Thank....... You.......,”

The killer barely managed to scratch the words out of his vocal cords then began eagerly gulping down the water. He finished it almost instantly then threw his head back against the wall to try and get control of his breathing again. Concerned he might pass out again, Scarlet poked him in the chest with her gloved index finger,

“Hey, buddy. Wake up. Question time.”

The man’s tired eyes opened and he looked at her. There was a little more strength in his voice as he responded,

“Thanks stranger, what do you want from a doomed soul like me?”

Scarlet replied apathetically,

“Answers. I'm following up on a bounty someone put out of you, John Yesterly. Your answer determines how long you live, but lie to me and I make it painful. Got it?”

The young man threw his head back and groaned,

“A bounty hunter... of course, I should have known. I guess I should thank you for coming. Death from your gun will probably be a lot more pleasant than the next few hours are likely to be for me.”

He coughed and small particles of vomit and blood spilled out of his mouth. John continued,

“What do you want to know? A dying man is an open book…”

Scarlet grimaced at the disgusting sight of him losing his insides.

“Did you really kill your wife? If so, why?”

He laughed, then grimaced from the pain the act caused,

“Would you even believe me if I said I didn't? Ah, what's it matter? I'm dead anyways so no point begging for my life. No, I didn't kill her. The bitch killed herself. She hated me, said I was a loser. Ever since a stupid bet cost me my wealth she’d cursed the day we were joined. She slit her own throat staring at me. I'll never forget the look of contempt in her eyes as she traced the knife along her beautiful neck. She said that no one would believe she killed herself and then I'd get my just desserts for being such a rotten husband. And the bitch was right it seems.”

John coughed again, clutching his stomach in pain, continuing,

“Not that I expect you to believe a word of that. You just want your caps. So go on. I thought I could escape the law in the fairy tale of vault 321 but you can't change rotten luck. If you're going to kill me I only ask the mercy that you make it quick.”

The man closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the rock, preparing for his end.

Scarlet sighed and cursed herself for being too soft. She grabbed a pack of rad-away and helped the man to drink the medicine down, remarking,

“I can't lie, that sounds far-fetched at best, but I've heard stranger.”

Scarlet almost jumped as a smooth feminine voice sounded right behind her,

“Who are you, what are you doing with that injured man?”

Scarlet stood and turned around in an instant to see a young woman with long straight black hair. The woman appeared to be in her twenties and was quite well endowed. Her chest pushed out from beneath the blue jumpsuit Scarlet instantly recognized as vaultwear. The designation number on her uniform read ‘321’. Scarlet took a moment to compose herself, it was rare someone was able to sneak up on her, maybe her hearing was starting to go. She lowered her weapon and sighed,

“I was trying to help him. Apparently I've been tracking him for nothing. You have a problem with that?”

The woman raised a questioning eyebrow,

“Tracking him? What are you talking about?”

Scarlet explained,

“I'm a bounty hunter. I followed him here under the impression I was taking out a murderer. Turns out he's just a poor soul shit out of luck.”

The woman looked at the John with a cold gaze,

“A murderer? May I see the bounty?”

Scarlet handed the bounty note to the mysterious woman replying,

“I have no idea if he is or isn't. He just told me his wife off’ed herself to ruin his life. You vault types usually have nice tech, got a lie detector?”

The woman looked at the bounty information carefully. Rather than returning the note she put it into her pocket, saying,

“John Yesterly, I see... We'll need to conduct an investigation on this matter once we get this man back to proper health. Are you able to help me with him, Miss...? Or is it Mrs.?”

Scarlet replied quickly,

“It's Miss, and the name's Scarlet. I can help you carry him. I may not look it, but I've carried suckers like this plenty of times.” as she replied, Scarlet thought to herself,

“Looks like getting into this vault will be easy. I hope getting out will be the same,”

Scarlet stretched her body and then started helping the irradiated man to stand.

The mystery woman walked to the man's other side, splitting his weight between them. Turning to Scarlet she gave a small smile, introducing herself,

“I'm Matilda, the overseer of vault 321.”

Scarlet couldn't mask her surprise as she responded,

“Rumor on the wastes is overseers usually stay stuck inside their little vaults. Never heard of one as ballsy as you to run out and greet two strangers.”

Matilda replied with a professional sounding soprano,

“It's my job to ensure the safety and security of Vault 321, I have no doubt you are a skilled mercenary but believe me, I am in no danger.”

Scarlet looked around, scanning for the dangers Rick had mentioned in his description of this cave. Matilda made no comment on her wary behavior as they walked deeper into the rocky abyss. They took this path and that, seemingly at random. After a 15 minute walk they came upon the fabled sight of a vault door labeled 321. The large round door began opening as they approached. Scarlet couldn't help staring ahead with desperate curiosity. Did this vault really hold the secret to eternal youth?

They traversed the entrance hallways then came out into a truly massive bright area, As her eyes adjusted to the light Scarlet gasped. The chamber contained a literal city that was styled as a hyper detailed recreation of the old world's 50’s suburban paradise. She walked into the chamber and saw a large number of shops and groceries, all well stocked. There were also a huge amount of single family homes spreading for blocks inside the chamber, complete with white picket fences, grass and all. Even the ceiling had been painted to resemble a bright blue sky. It was cleverly lit to cast light in a way that mimicked the outdoors. Scarlet marveled to herself,

“How big is this place? It must be taking up half the mountain range.”

As she took in the sights she started to notice that just about every person or couple she saw had at least one baby. Strollers were everywhere and a few mothers and fathers wore little carriers that their infants were inside. A peculiarity immediately struck Scarlet. All the babies seemed to be about the same size and none of them were wearing any clothing besides thick white disposable diapers. Also… there didn’t seem to be any other children about, or elderly people for that matter, just lots of attractive young adults and infants wearing diapers. She wondered,

“That's odd… a lot of babies. But I don't see any kids. Do these people all reproduce on the same holiday or something?”

Scarlet looked around with growing suspicion, her eyebrow raised. She had a sense that this apparent utopia in front of her wasn't quite right. She also had a different more personal feeling. A feeling that she missed out on this family lifestyle. She saw a mother laughing and poking the front of her baby’s diaper and looked away quickly, thinking to herself,

“Easy, Scarlet. That opportunity has long passed you by,”

She continued trying to mentally place the pieces of the puzzle before her,

“What is this place? What's the point? Why so many babies? The world is so dangerous and these people are trying to live out some ideal family fantasy or something?”

Matilda broke the silence between them as they approached one of the larger buildings labeled in the center of the town, labeled Medical Center,

“As you can see, life here is much different than what I'm sure someone like you has experienced… out there.”

There was obvious disdain in her voice as she mentioned the wastes. She continued,

“As you may or may not be aware, when the nuclear catastrophe on the surface began and the vaults were sealed, each vault was given a different mandate, or social experiment, that it would use to guide its progress into the future. Vault 321 was charged with studying the effects of stem cells and other biological marvels. Through our hard work and the ingenuity of our scientists we have created the utopia you see before you.”

Scarlet was only half listening as she took in the strange scenery and tried to keep her tiring body steady as she dragged the sick man on her shoulders. She replied,

“Yes, you're right. This is very different....” 

As they passed the double doors of the entrance to the medical center, several nurses and doctors also appearing to be in their mid twenties rushed over. One of them addressed Matilda,

“Madame Overseer, and who are our guests?”

Matilda took the paper Scarlet had handed her earlier out of her pocket, looking at it and replying,

“This is… John, set him up in containment, we need to process him to see what the story is behind his past.”

Matilda’s eyes sparkled a bit as she turned to Scarlet.

I'm sorry to ask this but would you be willing to comply with a medical examination. We have to be very careful to quickly identify if we have come into contact with certain rare diseases from outside the vault.

Scarlet sighed and rubbed her temples. It was a reasonable request and if she came across anything malicious she was still armed with her machine pistol. Deciding to comply she replied,

“Yeah, sure... just no robots... I hate robots…”

Matilda chuckled,

“Good to know, I think we can work something out.”

Scarlet nodded and looked around, asking,

“Well... what now? Do I just sit in a room and wait?”

Matilda replied,

“Not at all, follow me and I'll have you done in a jiffy.”

To Scarlet's surprise the well endowed overseer winked at her. 

“Is she flirting with me?”

Scarlet wondered as she set off following the mysterious woman. They walked past what looked like a nursery for children whose parents worked at the hospital. Scarlet again saw lots of babies, all around the same size crawling around in the same thick diapers. There had to be at least twenty just in this daycare facility. 

“I've never seen so many babies in my life.”

Scarlet said as she stared into the childcare center. She saw daycare workers, again all around the same age as every other adult in this strange place. In addition to the two sets of people there were infant toys, a couple changing tables stocked with diapers and what looked like a large white diaper pail. Her attention was drawn to one of the babies who was standing holding onto the baby gate keeping the infants penned into the daycare facility. The poor baby boy was looking out at Scarlet and crying, tears streaming down his pudgy cheeks. Scarlet assumed he was a boy since his hair was cut into what looked like a little mohawk. One of the workers came up and pulled back the waistband of his diaper, commenting as she looked inside,

“Oh, did Sebastian already make another boom boom? Yes he did! We need to clean that stinky bum again, don't we? Yes we do!”

The admittedly very attractive young woman scooped the baby up as he cried even louder. The worker must have been pretty experienced as she seemed completely unphased by his wails and simply began rocking and shushing him, carrying the messy baby towards one of the changing tables with a smile on her face.

Scarlet shuddered a bit at the prospect of her messing her pants and needing to be changed like that. The thought of incontinence brought her mind back to why she was here. There certainly were a lot of babies here. But did that have anything to do with a key to eternal youth? Scarlet pictured the crying baby she'd just seen. The mohawk was a bit odd, but parents did a lot of weird things sometimes. As they passed the daycare and proceeded further into the hospital, Scarlet decided it was time to try and start getting some answers,

“So why are there so many babies here? Isn't it dangerous to have so many young ones? And what about food and supplies? You must need tons. With all these babies I can't imagine how many diapers you go through.”

The sheer size and scope of this place was unbelievable to Scarlet. How this could all this exist without them all starving or running out of necessities was baffling to her. Matilda responded,

“Like I said, our mandate is the study of biology and life. Cultivating vegetation and livestock is trivial once you understand every substance of their being on a molecular level and are able to control and reproduce it.”

“I suppose,”

Scarlet replied as they arrived at what looked like a typical medical room. There was a chair and patient bed for her to sit on. Scarlet chose the chair. Matilda walked to the supply table casually, asking,

“Afraid of needles? Our protocol is to take a blood sample and administer a shot of antibiotics just in case. That okay with you?”

Scarlet laughed,

“I've taken a lot of stimpacks in my day. Let the doctor do what they will.”

Scarlet set her equipment down and started taking her armor off. She was sure to keep her firearm on her person just in case. Matilda responded,

“I am medically trained as part of my responsibilities as overseer. Are you okay if I collect the sample and administer the stim myself?”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow at this, maybe this woman really was into her, what overseer gives this level of attention to an outsider? She replied,

“You really do everything here, huh? Yeah that's fine… doctor.”

Scarlet finished removing her armor and top, leaving only her bra. Like Matilda, Scarlet also had a rather generous chest for her height, although it usually was hidden behind her signature armor. She removed her pants and combat boots as well in case a physical would be required, then sat down informing Matilda,

“Alright. Think I'm ready.”

Very professionally, Scarlet thought to herself, Matilda narrated her actions as she began the process,

“First the sample,”

Scarlet felt a prick and some pressure then saw Matilda withdraw a vial of her blood. Matilda continued,

“And now the antibiotic,”

Scarlet felt another prick and saw Matilda withdrew from her what looked like a normal stim. The overseer smiled,

“Perfect, I just need to get this sample to our analyzers while it's still fresh, do you mind waiting a moment?”

Scarlet waved her hand encouraging the woman to do what she needed to.

“Take your time, dear. I have time to wait and I could use a short rest.”

Scarlet stretched out and then started to pulling her long-sleeve shirt back on, asking,

“So what does this medicine do? What will my blood tell you?”

Matilda responded as she put the sample into a yellow envelope,

“The medicine is to ensure you don't pass any harmful pathogens onto us, the blood sample will tell us… well… honestly pretty much everything about your physiology, your DNA, etc. I won’t bore you with the details, but be assured we're just checking for any anomalies or pathogens. I'll take this to the analyst team and give you some privacy while you get dressed.”

The overseer walked to the door and closed it on her way out, locking it behind her which Scarlet supposed was to ensure her privacy.

The bounty hunter shrugged and laid back in the exam chair, looking around the room to see if there was anything in this room to explain the mysterious makeup of the vault, or any clues as to whether the fabled eternal life solution was contained here. As she scanned the cabinets she noted to herself,

“This place is weird, but it doesn't seem bad so far,”

Her visual perusal of the medical cabinet was interrupted as a sudden feeling of fatigue and heaviness overtook her. Scarlet had gained a strong familiarity with the many types of poisons and knock out drugs in circulation in her line of work. She immediately recognized the symptoms of one of the fastest acting and most potent tranquilizers working its way through her system. If she was already feeling this weak, they must have given her a large enough dose to knock out an elephant. She probably had only precious seconds left before she'd be paralyzed and completely at the mercy of whatever bastard came in to fetch her. If she was lucky she might be able to retain consciousness long enough to see who it'd be.

“Fuuuuck,”

Scarlet groaned as she fell over, her hands reaching for her pouch of medical supplies. Her numbing fingers looked for something to counteract the potent toxin coursing through her veins. Maybe she could find a stimulant strong enough to power her through it.

“Come on... come on…”

She thought as her ears registered the sound of the door being unlocked and opening. Scarlet's eyes darted to the entrance to see Matilda walking in, a cruel smile plastered on her previously professional mug.

“Scarlet, the greatest bounty hunter this side of the wastes, huh. That hideous finder, Rick said you were cute but I didn't think he knew my type so well. I'm going to have some fun with you. Who knows I might even have to keep you.”

Rick had betrayed her?! Scarlet's eyelids felt like lead as her eyes lit with fury. She mustered all of her strength, reaching for her gun while speaking,

“We'll see… who's having fun in a minute.”

Scarlet managed to pull her firearm on Matilda and pulled the trigger… nothing happened.

“Fuck, the safety, if I had kept my calm…”

The drugged woman thought as she began to try and thumb the safety mechanism with her shaking hand and unresponsive fingers. Her voice was sounding weak as she questioned the overseer,

“So what?... This is some kinda game you play? Kidnap women to breed them? Is that how you get all these kids?”

Matilda laughed. As she spoke, Scarlet noticed Matilda's voice sounded nothing like the woman Scarlet had initially met. The woman in charge sounded manic, maybe even insane.

“Oh, you are a fun one. That settles it then.”

Matilda cocked an eyebrow and casually but quickly shut the door right before Scarlet clicked the safety and fired a few shots into it. Her eyes drooped as she noticed pink gas start pouring into the room. 

“Always… hated… vaults….,”

Scarlet managed to mutter before passing out.

Scarlet awoke with a start to a constant beeping sound. Everything about her body felt different and wrong as the lingering effects of the knockout drug still weakened her old body to the point where she could barely move. It took Scarlet's tired eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light before she looked down and realized she was completely naked. Her body was seated in what looked like a high tech wheelchair. Thick metal clamps were fastened around her stomach, wrists, and ankles. Matilda's new, cruel voice rang in her ears.

“Oh, I hear beeping, is my girl awake and ready for her full tour of Vault 321?”

Scarlet found she was able to reply, although her voice was still very weak,

“Nnngh... screw you, lady... when I get free, you're done.” 

She tried to struggle and squirm out of her bonds, but to no avail. She remembered the mohawk baby kicking and screaming in the young woman's arms. This must be how that kid felt. The feeling became amplified as Matilda responded with a tone usually reserved for small children,

“Oh, I think my girl is upset. Is someone grumpy?”

Matilda kneeled in front of Scarlet and, to Scarlet's horror and surprise, began teasing the restrained woman's plump nipples poking out from her bare chest. Matilda teased further,

“Is the big strong bounty hunter going to try and punish me for being naughty? Or is she naughty too? Maybe she likes a little naughtiness.”

Matilda played with Scarlet's nipples a little faster as the captive bounty hunter tried to spit in her face. All she managed was to drool on herself. This was not going well. Matilda looked at her with the eyes a predator reserves for prey in their trap.

Scarlet broke the gaze and glanced past the overseer to see she was sitting in what appeared to be the administrator's private office. A high tech computer sat on Matilda's nicely decorated desk, along with a name plate. Scarlet addressed her captor,

“Oh, I get it. You're sick in the head real bad. My prescription, doc? There's these lead pills administered at high speed. You'll like 'em.”

Her restrained body shuddered as Matilda playfully squeezed Scarlet's nipple before removing her invading hand.  Scarlet gritted her teeth and resumed trying to wiggle free of her chair as Matilda laughed, 

“Oh you are a feisty one, I like girls who play hard to get.”

Scarlet yelped in shock as Matilda took two fingers and inserted them slightly into her sex, massaging the outside of her vaginal folds and teasing Scarlet's clit. The depraved woman in charge continued speaking as she deepened her violation of Scarlet's body.

“Those drugs I injected you with are a special formula we have. You won't be doing anything besides sitting in this chair at my mercy for at least five more hours. You can't even use the bathroom without my help. You're lucky I cleaned you out while you were asleep, otherwise you'd be wearing a diaper.”

Scarlet shuddered at the thought. She tried to squeeze her legs together but Matilda casually pulled them apart as she continued to finger the red haired hunter. The overseer asked,

“So what do you say, Scarlet? Want me to help you really feel like a woman? You never know, it might be your last chance.”

The sick fuck put her fingers deeper into Scarlet, who moaned a bit in spite of herself. Quickly composing herself the renowned bounty hunter barked back with as intimidating a voice as she could muster,

“You think you're real cute, don't you, doc? If I were younger I'd agree, but this is a whole new level of low, little missy. You best hope it isn't me that punishes you! I'll spank your bottom red and then some! So what's the sick secret of this place? You never said. You gonna use me as breeding stock to make even more kids than there already are here? I'm afraid my baby-making days are long behind me.”

Matilda laughed at that, her fingers stopping for a moment,

“Ha ha ha, Little Missy? Spank my bottom red? Oh I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly, Scarlet. It's too bad, when this is all over I won't be able to enjoy all your witty quips, but I'm sure your little eyes will say all I need to know.”

Scarlet opened her mouth to reply but cried out instead as Matilda suddenly took 3 fingers and began plowing into her pussy repeatedly, setting an arousingly quick rhythm. Her tormentors eyes shown with sadistic fire as she teased,

“Who's the big bad bounty hunter? I thought you were the most feared creature in all the wastes but all I see is a little girl who wants to be played with.”

Matilda smirked as she continued finger fucking her victim, the violator took her other hand and began playing with the helpless woman's nipples absentmindedly, clearly enjoying her power over the restrained victim. Scarlet's back attempted to arch under her restraints. Her moans grew louder along with cries to stop as she fought and fussed. Against her will, her pussy started leaking juices and her nipples began hardening. In spite of her brave words, she was truly terrified of what was being done to her against her will. She had spent her whole life trying to be strong enough and smart enough to never experience powerlessness on this level. Matilda laughed cruelly at her cries and continued teasing,

“I wonder if you're one of those tough bitches that moans like a little girl when they cum. Why don't you show me?”

The psycho set an even more irresistible rhythm as Scarlet huffed and groaned. She finally found the willpower to say, 

“L-L-Let me g-go, and I'll sh- shoooow yooou… What I can do sexually.”

She tried with all her might to resist orgasming from the appalling invasion, but her weak body was struggling under the forced stimulation. Matilda suddenly stopped. Scarlet secretly couldn't decide whether she was disappointed or not that the sick woman hadn't finished her off. The bounty hunter's body was mercilessly on the edge of climaxing. Matilda said coldly,

“Well, you certainly are a defiant one. If we had more time I might get one of my toys and really show you a good time, but if you're so determined to not cum that's fine with me. Enjoy what's left of your dignity for a few more precious moments.”

The overseer removed her fingers from Scarlet's female sex and proceeded to lick the woman's feminine fluids off her own offending digits. Matilda's cruel eyes rolled back as she savored the taste. She lustily remarked,

“You wasteland girls are always so delicious.”

Scarlet’s body huffed and puffed as it suffered sitting on the edge of orgasm. She once again attempted to spit on Matilda in defiance. The bitch nearly had her, Scarlet thought darkly. And the psycho probably knew it and stopped just to satisfy her cruelty.

Her captor smiled as Scarlet drooled again in defiance. The overseer grabbed a washcloth from her desk and began to lovingly clean the captive woman's face with it. With a final dab the the overseer once more took in the full visage of her captive before speaking,

“Let's begin your tour.”

Matilda moved behind the wheelchair and began pushing Scarlet towards one of the two doors in the quaint office. As they started to get going Scarlet continued her efforts to squirm free of her restraints. The door opened in front of them and she gasped involuntarily at the massive medical industrial complex spreading out before her. It was the size of an airplane hanger with too many different rooms and stories to count. Scarlet couldn’t imagine how deep inside the mountain they must be to fit all of this equipment and a feeling of claustrophobia overtook her for a moment. Matilda noticed her shaking and asked,

“Like the view, sweetheart? This is Mommy's special one-way glass access hallway. It allows me to check in on all the different operations we have going in our beautiful vault. I've only brought a few people back here so I hope you feel special.”

She chuckled and continued to push Scarlet deeper down the hallway. Scarlet wondered silently what other sick fetish Matilda must have if she’s referring to herself as ‘Mommy’ now. They walked down the hallway past a few storage rooms till they came to a large chamber on the left where workers were observing and maintaining a thick aqua liquid contained inside a chemical vat. Matilda began to narrate Scarlet's ‘tour’,

“I told you that our research was centered around stem cells and that's true. Our research has produced two different substances that have allowed us to create the utopia you saw when you first entered our lovely vault. The first substance that worm, Rick, told you about…”

Scarlet’s mouth hung open,

“The key to eternal youth? That it?! It’s real?”

She looked in wonder at huge amount of the bright colored substance churning before her for a moment before continuing,

“Dare I ask what the second is?”

Matilda replied,

“In good time. You wild ones are always so impatient. I'm going to have my hands full with you I think. Or rather, I hope.”

Her words made Scarlet cringe as Matilda laughed again. Scarlet was growing to really hate her laugh. The overseer resumed her explanation,

“As I was saying,”

She stopped Scarlet’s wheelchair facing the liquid and walked in front of the naked woman, gesturing to the huge pool of the mysterious substance contained in front of them both,

“Yes, the elixir of life. An inaccurate and fanciful title but descriptive enough for the idiots out there on the wasteland. I don't know how much you know about stem cells, but this ‘elixir’ is basically a supercharged shot of the substance combined with viral particles programmed to target aging cells. We can technically freeze someone at any age we want as long as they take the appropriate synthesized formula of the elixir a few times a day. If an aged person takes a dose of a formula targeting a younger age once every hour or so they will slowly shed their years away. The process takes several months, as rejuvenating one's body in such a way takes time. We used to make large doses of different formulas to freeze individuals at different decades but eventually decided that the mid-20s was the perfect age for maximum fitness and mental function. There are still a few oddballs who prefer to be a little older or younger but almost every adult in Vault 321 is in their early years of adulthood. I myself am a perfect 27 right now in body, although I am actually the original overseer, over 200 years old.”

Scarlet wasn't sure whether to believe the woman or not. Why was the Matilda going through all of this theater with Scarlet, and, more importantly, why did she have to be strapped to a fucking chair to hear it,

“So what? You've been stealing wastelanders and killing them or something? There's always gotta be a weird death-cult kinda thing with you vault types, right? Come on then, out with it. Tell me how I'm going to die here. I'm ready I suppose. I'm older than most who die nowadays.”

Matilda put her hand over Scarlet’s mouth. Scarlet’s eyes widened in embarrassment as she smelled her own sex on the woman’s fingers.

“Calm down Scarlet, no one dies in Vault 321. All life is precious to us, all life has its purpose…”

Matilda stepped back behind Scarlet and began taking her further inside the vault’s inner workings, continuing her narrated tour,

“Now of course the problem we faced when we started as a vault was where to get all these stem cells. Our scientists struggled for years and crazy and horrific experiments were tried and thrown out until we stumbled upon a new fantastic hybrid substance, discovered once again by experimenting with viral molecules and our beloved stem cells. We call it 'formula.'”

She extended her hand as they passed another huge chemical vat, this one filled with a thick cream-colored liquid, continuing,

“In contrast to our life sustaining elixir, this hybrid of stem cells and virus did not target aging cells, rather it swiftly took  over a host’s body, reducing their age quite rapidly.”

Rather than stopping to explain further, the overseer pushed Scarlet further, past the giant container holding the formula. They took a turn to the right and entered a huge room, spanning several hundred feet in each direction. Evenly spaced out across all the square feet of the room were what Scarlet recognized after a moment as baby warmers like one would find in a hospital. Each held a tiny baby inside, and just like in the vault’s massive city the infants were clothed in nothing but virgin white diapers. A long plastic tube on one of the warmers near Scarlet caught her eye and she looked from warmer to warmer to see that each baby was nursing a pacifier connected to an IV tube filled with the creamy ‘formula’ chemical, likely being pumped up from the vat she had seen earlier. Much to her disdain, she saw a few Mister Handy robots floating through the room, checking on different babies, changing their diapers, and inserting pacifiers that had fallen out. Aside from the warmers there were supply cabinets littered along the walls along with a generous number of diaper pails, each one looking identical to the one Scarlet had seen at the daycare earlier. Matilda noticed a figure approaching and said with excitement,

“Oh, I think your friend John is done with his processing, let's check in on the little cutie.”

Scarlet remained helpless as Matilda turned her wheelchair towards a shiny Mister Handy robot entering the room. In its arms was a tiny baby with the same skin tone as John. The infant was screaming at the top of its lungs, flashing its shiny pink gums as drool and snot sprayed out of its tantruming face. Like all the other babies in the room it wore nothing but a thick newborn sized diaper. Scarlet could see a small round scar around its belly button area. She stared in disbelief. Was this really the man she’d just seen in the hospital? She tried to sink into her seat, horrified at the combination of all the captive babies and soulless robots as Matilda took control of the wheelchair and set a course following the pair. The Mister Handy promptly took the disconsolate baby to one of the few empty warmers in the room, setting it down gently and inserting the pacifier feeder directly into the baby’s wailing mouth, holding it there. The baby seemed to try to resist the synthetic nipple, but after just a few seconds fell quiet, suckling gently. Matilda waited for a bit, then began speaking again,

“What a cute little baby he makes, I like him much better this way, easier to carry too. As I said, the formula quickly reduces the age of an individual. Once the host becomes a newborn like our little John here, the viralized stem cells use the host's stomach and digestive tract as a breeding ground, quickly multiplying and growing within the regressed individual’s body. 

Scarlet looked with horror at the new baby's belly and could swear she saw it swelling as John helplessly nursed the pacifier. Matilda tickled the his stomach affectionately then continued,

“Give them just a few minutes, and then the host baby will do what babies do best…”

John grunted and Scarlet almost gagged as she saw his diaper bulge out from the huge mess pouring out of his tiny butt. Matilda placed her hand on Scarlet’s shoulder, still continuing with her explanation,

“...They make presents. Still stinky unfortunately but instead of fecal matter, giant clumps of ripe stem cells for us to process into our elixir of life. John here will be leaving us little presents like this about every 5 to 10 minutes from now on. I'm told that from our scientists' brain scans of these little host babies that expelling the stem cells produces a sensation not dissimilar to an orgasm. Most of our babies after only a few expulsions blush with glee each time they mess, then eagerly nurse, unable to wait for their next messy diaper. Sometimes when I’m bored I just sit in here and listen to all their little toots.”

Matilda giggled like a naughty little girl as a Mister Handy came by and began to change John's loaded diaper. Unable to look away, Scarlet noticed the infant’s entire nether region was covered in a mushy substance similar in color to the elixir of life. The robot taped a new diaper onto the baby and floated off with the soiled one, depositing it into one of the diaper pails. Matilda followed it with her eyes then said,

“Ah That messy diaper leads us to the next part of our lovely tour.”

Scarlet finally found her voice amid her horror and revulsion, 

“This is disgusting... babies farmed for their soiled diapers? There's no love and care here. Your claims that life is precious are just a hollow shell if you claim that this is what counts as such. So what? You're going to reduce me down to soiling myself every couple of minutes? I'm just going to be your farm animal for baby shit now? I’d rather die. I’ll kill myself before I let that be my end.”

Scarlet was trying to keep a brave face but this was beyond her worst nightmares. At least in her old life before coming to this accursed place she could have died in peace or even better, in glory. Here she was seemingly going to be reduced to the lowest, most twisted kind of livestock she’d ever witnessed. Matilda ignored her inquiries and led her out of the nightmarish baby farm back into the glass hallway, this time stopping at a glass wall overlooking a giant machine working at high speed. She commented,

“This is one of my favorite inventions we've developed. Definitely increased morale for us adults in the vault. Its name has too many numbers so I just call it the diaper machine.”

Scarlet’s feelings of disgust returned as she saw piles of soiled diapers on conveyor belts moving into the machine and packages of clean diapers coming out the other side. Matilda explained,

“Obviously the whole point of our ‘diaper farm’, as you called it, is to get the stem cells. That's where this beauty comes in. Separates the different particles at a molecular level and leaves us with nice clean diapers to tape onto babies’ bottoms, and fresh stem cells to keep us alive forever.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. This psycho woman was enslaving and harvesting poop from at least hundreds of people, and now she was excited about a diaper cleaner. Scarlet expressed her thoughts,

“You're crazy, you know that? Ever wonder if people are supposed to live this long.”

Matilda didn’t seem upset at all by her insult but instead casually replied,

“You try harvesting and scraping stem cells off a cloth diaper for a few years and I'll see if you still feel the same way after.“

The chair began moving again as Matilda informed Scarlet,

“Here we go, onto the last leg of our tour now.”

Scarlet began struggling yet again to try and get free. She couldn’t get trapped in a place like this. She’d find a way to escape before they could make her their diaper filling slave.

“nngh... this damn chair…,”

She grunted as they entered a place unlike anything Scarlet had seen so far, and not in a good way. The room was only the size of a living room, although the decor was anything but welcoming. Cold metal lined the walls, and the floor was set with small white bathroom tiles. The room was empty save for 6 metallic pods built into the walls that look similar to cryo chambers, the difference being mainly the metal restraints on the inside of the pods, the thick glass door that hung above each pod. Each door had in its center a mysterious metal circle. Matilda didn’t try to contain the excitement in her sadistic voice,

“Usually I have my underlings do this but since I think I'm going to keep you, I'm going to process you myself.”

Scarlet’s eyes widened. This must be the place they took John, the final stop before she became a helpless baby. She desperately tried to get her drugged body to rock back and forth as she was led towards one of the pods lining the wall. Matilda ignored her twitching and released Scarlet’s restraints carefully, manhandling the chemically weakened redhead’s body as if she was nothing more than a life sized doll. Scarlet’s was hoisted up against the back of the pod, and Matilda began securing her inside. Scarlet was in a panic, but true to her nature tried one last attempt at intimidation,

“Last chance to let me go. I will not be a slave. I'll fight all I can, for as long as I can. And if that doesn’t work I’ll kill myself before I let you use me like you do all those poor people.”

Matilda just hummed as she continued securing Scarlet. The hunter's panic turned to anger and Scarlet began to froth at the mouth as she lost control and shouted threateningly, 

“I won’t be a baby for you! I’ll take all you sick bastards down!”

Matilda laughed, her smile never faltering. Her cruel voice echoed in the metal chamber as she replied coldly,

“Oh I am so looking forward to breaking you, Scarlet. I can't wait to see your face, when you fill your first diaper for us and realize there's truly no hope, no future for you except pushing messes into your diaper for us and suffering through endless diaper changes just to do it all again, but I digress.”

Matilda finished securing Scarlet. The naked woman was standing leaning back against the inside of the pod. Cuffs held her ankles, thighs, wrists, neck, and forehead in place, preventing movement even if Scarlet wasn’t drugged to hell. Matilda stepped back and pushed a button on the control panel for the pod. The glass door with the round metal object in the center began to descend upon the entrance of the pod. As she got a closer look at the metal contraption she noted it looked like a plug or valve of some sort. Scarlet felt incredibly claustrophobic as she heard the air swish signifying the door sealing. She was now trapped inside. None of her struggling or wit or strength or legacy mattered at all in the end. Scarlet looked up and saw a slanted mirror on the ceiling showing her her own naked feminine frame secured in the restraints. She tried to think of a prayer as Matilda started speaking again,

“Say bye bye, to your old self Scarlet. I wonder if I'll keep your cute little name or give you a new one…”

Scarlet struggled and squirmed against the new restraints in a renewed panic. As she did she felt warmth between her thighs and running down her legs. With horror she realized she was peeing herself. Matilda noticed her change in expression and looked down, giggling at the woman’s misfortune.

“Getting a headstart are we Scarlet? Maybe I’ll nickname you ‘Little Miss Pee Pee Pants’. Well probably ‘Little Miss Poo Poo Pants’ will be more appropriate but they both have a nice ring to them.”

There was a metallic sound like a latch releasing followed by a gurgling noise. Scarlet flinched as she felt a warm liquid begin to seep between her toes. She looked up at the mirror and saw with horror that the dreaded cream colored ‘formula’ was starting to fill up her tank from the bottom. As the fluid passed her toes she realized in disgust that the consistency of it was similar to semen, being both globby and slick. She groaned and squirmed some more, the claustrophobia making it feel like her brain was collapsing on itself. As the liquid reached her mid thigh area she heard another mechanism and saw a long mechanical arm with a tube attached begin to lower itself from the ceiling in front of her pod. It lowered to the level of a circular metal valve in the front of her glass prison and began advancing menacingly towards it. Matilda watched Scarlet’s expression lustfully, savoring every moment of the poor woman's abuse. Matilda’s delighted expression infuriated Scarlet so she asked a question, her voice muffled by her containment,

“Hey! What's that arm gonna do? Bore me to death?”

Matilda walked over to the glass and teasingly poked it with her finger. As she did, the metal arm docked with the circular valve and a thick metal needle connected to the tube extended out into the inside of Scarlet’s pod, slowly moving towards her exposed belly. Matilda replied,

“No, I’m afraid death isn’t in the picture for you anymore, sweetheart. Which reminds me, while you're being processed I never did get to tell you what the other variant of our miraculous formula is. You see, Scarlet, once we obtained eternal life, we got bored. People fell in love but due to side effects from the elixir of life we couldn't have kids. To fix this problem we synthesized a new variation of 'formula'. This new variant works more or less the same but stops the regression of the victim at about 6 months old. 

Scarlet once again remembered all the babies in town and especially the poor infant with the mohawk. She saw his disgruntled face as he stared at her, wailing in his loaded diaper. Her heart began to beat so fast she thought it might jump out of her chest.

“Oh fuck no! I'm not playing guinea pig to your sick family game! Not happening! Let me out now and I'll let you live, I'll leave this place and never come back. I'll do anything.”

The mechanical arm and tube continued to move menacingly towards her belly button. Matilda responded,

“Family? Oh my dear, Scarlet, nothing like that. A few people here are that stupidly romantic but I, like most of our members, have no interest in family. Diaper fillers like the one you’re going to be aren't as much a child to care for as they are… a pet, a trophy, a testament to our triumph over death and a stupid face I can look at when I’m feeling tired and blue and laugh at how utterly pathetic you are. You'll be completely helpless, unable to walk, barely able to crawl around as you wear the only toilet you’ll ever use and your one purpose in life. You’ll blush with pleasure as you helplessly push out huge loads of stem cells into your diaper for us every few minutes as your eyes beg me to kill you while your body begs for more. I wonder how long it'll take for you to break? We have an eternity. I'll change you, powder you, toy with you, all while you fight inside your little head and sooner or later,” 

Matilda waved her hand,

”pop! Your little mind will break and there will no longer be any Scarlet the fearsome bounty hunter, only my cute diaper filler ‘Little Miss Poo Poo Pants’. I don't think I'll ever grow bored of you. Of course, if I ever do I can just change your dose and put you on a warmer. There’s an empty space next to John and I can always find another hot bounty hunter to keep as a toy. I’m sure you’ll enjoy having a robot change your messy diapers for all eternity.

Matilda let out an evil laugh as Scarlet got the deepest sinking feeling she’d ever experienced in her stomach. Her despair was interrupted as the menacing mechanical arm reached Scarlet’s belly and violently stabbed into her belly button. She screamed in pain. Little metal arms secured the makeshift needle to the poor woman as formula began to flow down from the ceiling through the tube. It continued its journey, heading straight towards Scarlet's impaled belly. The formula in the tank had risen up to the top of Scarlet’s shoulders now, fully immersing the tube along with the entirety of Scarlet’s body. She felt a wave of pressure in her belly as the formula from the tube reached its destination and began being deposited directly inside her. At the same time, the rising flood of formula in the tank reached her mouth. She tried to hold her breath to keep from drowning, almost blacking out. After about 45 seconds her mouth opened involuntarily and the thick liquid rushed into her mouth and nostrils. She was immediately overwhelmed by the taste, it tasted... heavenly. Her head felt light as she became intoxicated from the combined lack of oxygen and creamy drug laced substance she was literally drowning in. Her pupils widened, betraying her pleasure to her tormentor, who commented.

“I think Scarlet likes it. And she thought she was going to put up such a fight. But I know what babies like you like. They like to eat their din din and poo poo in their diapers.”

After involuntarily swallowing and choking on the liquid for about 15 seconds, Scarlet suddenly stopped having difficulty breathing. She looked in the mirror in her drugged stupor, confused how she could be completely immersed in this cursed substance and not suffocate when she noticed with horror, newly formed gills on the sides of her neck. Her new fish-like anatomy was filtering through the formula and keeping her alive as her lungs and stomach continued to be filled with the dreaded viral stem cells.

In spite of all of her fight and effort, the bounty hunter’s mind began to break. The experience she was having was beyond inhumane. She tried desperately to hold onto her feelings of resentment and anger as the substance she was immersed inside continued tampering with her emotions. She felt so good. So very good, in spite of her situation. She knew the ‘formula’ must be flooding her mind with happy chemicals but that knowledge didn’t make the temptation to zone out and surrender to happy land any easier.

She looked again at the mirror as her mind continued to slip, this time she was stunned to see an image of herself in her prime staring back at her, strong and muscular, with her signature large chest and red hair. In a moment of lucidity she tried to use her younger form’s strength to break free but her reflection had already shrunk further and Scarlet began to enter her teens. Matilda shamelessly objectified the tortured woman, ever ready to put her cruelty on display for Scarlet,

“My, you were a real beauty your whole life weren't you… It almost seems cruel to deprive the world of that lovely young woman.” 

Matilda smirked,

“But I'm sure you were an even cuter baby. We'll find out sooner rather than later. And more importantly, you aren’t the world’s to have anymore. You belong evermore to me and my will alone.”

Scarlet flailed and thrashed as she watched herself continue to get younger. The happy chemicals continued to bombard Scarlet's brain, dampening her intelligence and teasing her teenage arousal. To her surprise, the restraints securing her released as she began to lose more height. She looked in the mirror and noted that she was now only a preteen. She’d never felt so exposed and helpless in all her life. She wasn’t even standing anymore but was literally swimming naked in the creamy liquid as the mechanical umbilical cord remained lodged in her belly.

“What a cute little fish you make, Scarlet.”

Matilda remarked as Scarlet, desperate, swam towards the glass covering the tank. She traced her small hands along the side of the glass and began beating it with her weak little fists. She felt so good… so lightheaded… but she would not surrender. Matilda watched her every move,

“Oh, look at that little girl struggle in her little womb. That's why I like you, Scarlet. It's not fun when you simpletons cave so easily. It’s much more enjoyable to watch you try to fight until the inevitable end. You’re trapped like a fish in a bottle, I’m afraid. Any other bright ideas before you become a helpless guppy?”

Scarlet felt her strength drain further and she looked at her image again, seeing a child around 6 or 7 staring back. Her thin little girl arms and could barely swim as her body continued to absorb more and more of the virus from her tank. Her regression continued rapidly and soon she was unable to swim at all but sat stuck, floating helplessly. Her eyes remained glued to the mirror as baby fat began appearing on her small naked body. She screamed within the fluid prison as her teeth began to recede into her gums.

“Uh oh, is the baby upset? Does she want her mommy?”

Matilda laughed as Scarlet finally broke down and began wailing. A few moments later the red haired baby went peacefully silent. The still shrinking infant’s mouth hung open as she floated in a drugged comatose state. The overseer of vault 321 had seen it hundreds of times before. No human physiology could resist the addictive endorphins of her glorious formula for long. She always delighted in seeing the strongest of wills get overtaken by the dumb infantile stupor that exposure to her miraculous substance caused. Matilda licked her lips as Scarlet’s now hairless sex grew plump with the baby fat that continued to spread out over the once proud woman’s tiny helpless body. The last tooth slipped back inside the baby’s bare pink gums. The small creature in the tank looked like an alien compared to the beautiful woman who had once occupied it. A short little red tuft of hair on its head looking was the only remaining anatomy linking the two. the needle impaling Scarlet pulled out suddenly, but she didn’t react at all, her mind was too scrambled to have any awareness of her final transformations. Matilda traced her hand over the glass as she watched the stem cells infesting Scarlet and the tank quickly heal the wound left behind, leaving inscribed on her belly a small scar identical to John’s and every other victim of the regression tank.

“Where’s my baby? There she is!”

Matilda teased for her own pleasure. Scarlet wouldn’t be able to understand her or even form a coherent thought for an hour or two, after which the red haired captive would be limited to brief moments of lucidity between feedings and stinky little presents. 

“Let’s make sure you’re nice and healthy and then get you ready for your new life, Scarlet my fearsome little bounty hunter.”

Scarlet’s eyes opened slowly. She felt a breeze on her stomach as her hazy vision adjusted to the light, finally focusing on a large pink nipple dripping with creamy liquid being pulled from her mouth. The nightmare of her last few moments of awareness came rushing back to her and she began kicking and screaming, horrified as high pitched noncoherent sounds began coming out of her mouth rather than her pleas for mercy. Matilda’s huge cruel eyes stared down at her, and Scarlet realized she was sitting cradled against her oppressor’s chest. Her eyes traced down Matilda's frame to her own small body confirming her worst fears. Her only clothing currently was the dreaded diaper she had sworn to never wear. Matilda giggled,

“You took quite a while to bounce back, I was worried you might have already lost your mind and wouldn't be good for anything but a warmer. But you still have some of that old cougar Scarlet left in you… good.”

The overseer smiled cruelly as she stood up from the rocking chair she was seated in. Matilda set Scarlet on the floor on her back like a real infant and then laid herself down on the soft white carpet of the nursery, placing her head at the same level as Scarlet’s. Relishing the horror plastered on the babies pudgy little face Scarlet’s new ‘Mommy’ coo’d at her,

“So what was it you said, Scarlet? ‘You’d die before you fill your diapees so I can live forever’? Well here you are, wearing the first of many thickly padded diapers to come. What are you going to do? Go on, I’m waiting.

Scarlet stopped crying and looked at her warily. Matilda put her hand over her own mouth to control her laughter as the bounty hunter struggled to roll over, all the while keeping her wary gaze fixed on the overseer. With great effort the babified woman managed to pull herself on all fours and then to Matilda’s delight tried to stand. Scarlet managed to get onto her two legs for only a moment before falling back on her thickly diapered behind, shouting in frustration and beating her fists against the ground,

“Oh… I’m afraid walking is no longer an option for a chubby little morsel like you, baby girl. You should know your place: crawling at my feet.”

The baby's eyes widened in terror as it looked up at Matilda. The adult's sadistic grin widened as Scarlet turned as quickly as she could on her diapered behind and began uncoordinatedly crawling away from the woman as fast as her chubby limbs would take her, struggling with each ‘step’ forward. Matilda called after her new baby as she stood to slowly follow.

“That's more like it, Scarlet. What's the baby gonna go? Does she want to explore her new nursery?”

Like a frightened little animal, Scarlet crawled towards the closed entrance to the nursery. The door was decorated in cartoon farm animals, all wearing diapers. Reaching it, Scarlet managed to stand, leaning against the door to support her weak pudgy legs, as she balled her tiny fist and banged on the door babbling frantically. Matilda crept up on her slowly, lifting her legs high like a pretend predator and playfully calling out,

“I'm gonna get ya. I'm gonna get that baby.”

Scarlet yelped and turned around, realizing the door was a dead end. She fell down on all fours and tried to crawl towards something she could hide under. Matilda took great delight watching her thickly diapered booty rock back and forth as she pathetically tried to escape on all fours. There was a faint gurgling sound and Scarlet suddenly stopped. Matilda’s put on her most syrupy voice as she jeered,

“Uh oh, what's wrong, little baby? Do you need to poopie?”

Scarlet sat frozen on all fours. Matilda got back down on the ground herself, placing herself in front of the babified woman. She cherished the single tear running down Scarlet's cheek and the baby’s terrified silver eyes staring up at her. 

“Enjoy your boom booms, sweetie. It's all you'll ever be good for now,”

Matilda said as a wet fart sounded from inside Scarlet's diaper. The baby grunted and Matilda watched Scarlet's pupils grow wide and her eyes dim as the virus rewarded her for filling her diaper by flooding her brain with endorphins and dumbing down her intelligence. The thick diaper drooped significantly as Scarlet began to push, her IQ and awareness going along with the mass entering her diaper. By the time she finished making her ‘present’ Scarlet was coating the floor with her own drool. The baby giggled mindlessly and sat back on her own messy behind, spreading the huge present all around her diaper area. Matilda patted her head patronizingly,

“Looks like you are a perfectly adjusted diaper filler, Scarlet. Vault 321 thanks you for your contribution.”

Matilda glanced at the changing table but then had a better idea. She grabbed her radio activating it,

“Send me a nurse bot.”

Scarlet came back into consciousness differently this time than when she had awoken before. It was like waking up from a dream. One moment she was mindless and bouncing, giggling at pretty colors and the funny feeling in her diaper and the next she was herself again. Her whole nether region felt disgusting and she looked down in horror to realize she was trapped bouncing in a baby jumper clothed in only an absolutely loaded diaper. She cried out, only to cry all the louder as a dreaded Mister Handy came floating into the room. 

“Good afternoon, Little Miss Poo Poo Pants,”

It said in its aggravatingly cheerful tone as Scarlet stared at it terrified with tears flowing down her face.

“I've been instructed by your mother to wait to change you until one hour after you begin crying. I'm setting the timer… now.”

The robot set a course to the corner of the nursery to resume its role of watching over Scarlet as the disconsolate baby continued wailing. From inside her office Matilda pressed her ear against the baby monitor she had installed, attentively listening to the cries. It was truly music to her ears.