NOTE: Although I don't have a start date yet for the Animula sequel I thought I'd write up a little short story to keep you all from forgetting this AU. ;)

Animula: Seeing Red

Watching his computer screen intently Peter was monitoring a dozen open windows of live stock prices. He was waiting for just the right pattern before swooping in to buy up a controlling interest in a few new rising star companies. From there it wouldn't take much to coordinate a merger and quadruple the gains. He was counting on the fact that when the conditions were just right that one of the companies in question was going to panic and their stock was going to go into a sharp dive. However by buying and selling a large quantity of some seemingly unrelated stock he could boost their confidence and then buy in a majority shares before the stock became too pricey again and in the process drive down the other companies so that he could do something similar with them. Buying some of the unrelated and seemingly worthless stock was a risk but he was confident that the results would be worth the efforts and the companies he was targeting would all recover their value almost as quickly as they fell and then would only grow stronger with a well executed merger. Trying to align so many factors and buy and sell in the right places at the right times was game of chance for most, but seeing the interplay of stock numbers as though they were a school of fish rather than individuals helped Peter predict how they would react when a stone was thrown in the pond and take advantage of it.

After tracking this particular set of patterns on and off for a month Peter had turned his whole attention on it this morning feeling like things were finally coming together. He been patiently waiting and staring at his screen for hours knowing that he'd only have minutes to make the series of complicated sales and purchases that would put his Masters in the best position to control the ongoing future of the four companies he was stalking along with the millions in profit that stood to be gained. Peter was so focused on the trade that he jerked violently when Malcolm, the Animula that sat one desk over, sent an instant message the popped up in the center of his screen. Peter was about to just dismiss the message since he was very getting close to the time that he needed to buy the first set of stock when he noticed that the message was blank. Peter had taught the eight other Animula in the large office to use the blank messages to alert one another when Masters were approaching if it looked like any of them hadn't noticed to help keep each other from being caught off guard without leaving a digital trail of communication since once the window was closed blank messages just disappeared rather than ended up stored on the server.

Peter glanced up just in time to see their supervising Master Rogers opening the glass door to the Animula office with an anxious expression on his face. Rather than step inside himself he moved to the side to let the man with him pass first. Rogers by himself was never really cause for true alarm, however the man with Rogers was the CFO, Carl Fletcher, and well worth the distracting message the Malcolm had sent him. Malcolm probably didn't know Fletcher by name, the high level executive had never come down to this floor in the three years that Peter had been here. However Peter always made it a point to learn the names and faces of all the upper executives of any of his owner companies. Although it didn't take knowing his name to see from the suit he wore and the way he held himself that Fletcher was one of the top dogs. Rogers looked just as meek and submissive as one of the Animula that he was in charge of as he spoke quietly to Fletcher. Peter tried to keep his attention on his list of stocks that were starting to align with one another but he couldn't keep from looking up at Fletcher as he surveyed over his own 'stock' and the distraction was keeping him from being able to keep track of his plan. His hope was that this was just a routine visit of some sort and that the intruder would quickly leave. After a few tense minutes Peter's heart slammed against his ribs as Fletcher pointed at him.

"That one." Fletcher announced.

"Oh…uh…" Rogers hesitated. "That's Peter, he might not be your best choice for this. I'd recommend Travis or…"

"No, he's perfect."

"Sir, Peter's working on an important account that's due today." Rogers tried again to dissuade his boss. "I really think one of the others…"

"I'll have him back in an hour." Fletcher insisted before addressing Peter directly. "Peter, come."

Roger took a breath to protest again but couldn't find the courage to go against his boss's wishes a third time. Peter had never had any dealings with Fletcher but the condescending way he phrased his command like he was speaking to a dog rather than using a full sentence told him everything he needed to know. Not really sure what was happening but certain that it wasn't good Peter stood to followed the insultingly brief order, completely forgetting about what he had been doing with the important account out of sheer panic. The moment Peter got to his feet Fetcher turned and left the room, expecting Peter to follow behind him. Peter's nerves weren't put at ease by Rogers' worried look as he walked towards him. Peter paused briefly and gave Rogers a questioning look, of his long list of owners so far Rogers was the first one who didn't seem to care that Peter often looked directly at him.

"Please, please behave, Peter." Rogers begged in a whisper. "I don't want to lose you."

"What does he wa…"

Peter was interrupted when he heard the elevator ding to announce its arrival to the floor. Rogers hurried him along, knowing that there would be hell to pay for them both if Peter missed that elevator. Having been doing well here and actually getting along very well with Rogers Peter broke into a light trot to make sure that Fletcher didn't leave for the top floor without him. Peter slipped into the elevator and backed himself into the far corner to keep as much distance between himself and Fletcher as possible as they went up to the top floor. Peter was used to humans not acknowledging him but the silent elevator ride was still painful awkward as his stomach tied itself in a firm knot.

It wasn't often that Peter got to see the top executive offices, they tended to not want to directly associate with the Animula that they owned. Walking at a brisk pace a few steps behind Fletcher Peter couldn't help but look around at the richly decorated offices. It didn't escape his notice that the handful of humans that they passed along the way all stopped talking as soon as they caught sight of him. Peter had found over the years that the higher up the cooperate ladder a human was the less tolerant they were of Animula despite depending on them for their success. Although now that he really thought about it he wondered if it was perhaps because of that fact that owed their stature to the Animula they felt the need to further distance themselves from them.

Coming to Fletcher's office Peter made the mistake of looking up directly at his secretary. The young blonde woman glared at him before making a point of turning away from him, insulted by the idea that he would even dare accidentally catch her eye. Feeling more unwelcome among the humans than usual Peter dropped his gaze as he stepped past the secretary. Fletcher didn't seem to notice the exchange and just headed into his office through a set of frosted glass doors that he didn't bother to hold open for Peter forcing him to pick up his pace to catch the door before it snapped shut.

Fletcher's office held a breathtaking vista view of the city beyond the thick glass windows that instantly caught Peter's eye despite the fact that his own office a few floors down had a similar view. Despite still being tense from not knowing what was about to be expected of him there was still something about the view that managed to remove some of his stress. He loved he city even through he wasn't actually allowed to truly interact with it. He always looked forward to the sun setting and the humans going home so that he could just sit and watch the city lights. Right now though the end of the human work day felt like an eternity away.

Fletcher had a large glass and metal desk at the far end of the room with a large leather chair behind it. In front of the desk were two almost decorative looking metal chairs. Peter had seen the set up before, Fletcher would sit in the high leather chair while his guests would be forced into the lower position in front of the imposing desk. Peter found no comfort in the idea that humans struggled for positions of power over one another as well, it just made the idea that they could ever respect the Animula feel so much further away than it already was.

Peter's attention was drawn back to the situation at hand when Fletcher suddenly snapped his fingers. Peter brought his head up and Fletcher snapped again and pointed to a spot to the side and slightly in front of his desk. Peter had a natural distaste for nearly every human he interacted with, but very few of them truly rubbed him the wrong way the way Fletcher was right now. Fletcher's non verbal demand that he come and stand in the spot he was pointing at made Peter want to purposefully take a step back to refuse. Although knowing it was pointless to disobey such a simple order Peter still found taking the first step to follow it extremely difficult. Swallowing his rising irritation along with what little sense of pride the Market had left him with after going through eleven Masters Peter walked up and stood by Fletcher's desk.

Fletcher regarded Peter for a moment with an oddly thoughtful expression. Peter wanted to ask the man what he wanted, but experience told him that if a human didn't speak to him it was never a good idea to speak first. The more times Peter was returned to the Market the more he feared the idea as his treatment there became progressively harsher, but at the same time the continual failure to keep any one Master happy was making it harder to want to even try despite the dire consequences. He'd been lucky over the past few years with Rogers and his live and let live type attitude which now made standing before Fletcher and his obvious entitled sense of self importance more difficult. Trying his best not to lose a good home Peter didn't question Fletcher's intentions. Making a noise of disapproval Fletcher suddenly reached out and took a hold of the knot in Peter's light blue pinstriped tie to pull it loose. Surprised by the unexpected move Peter jerked back.

"Hold still." Fletcher huffed and he managed to undo the tie and pulled it free of Peter's shirt collar.

Although confused as to why Fletcher had removed it Peter just held his hand out for the tie so that he could fold it and place it in his pocket. Ignoring Peter Fletcher turned and casually tossed it the metal wastebasket next to his desk. Peter's heart stumbled in its already fast paced rhythm as he stared at the discarded strip of fabric. Usually the loss of a simple tie wouldn't have upset him, however this particular one was special to him. A few years back he'd found a way to interact with other Animula through offering a swap of one of the few items that they all owned: ties. Trading was something Animula naturally understood since they dealt with stock all day and it was a simple way that he could engage with even the most emotionally distant Animula. Since ties were given to them by Masters they never got to chose them, with the trading they ended up with a small measure of control as to what they wore.

At this point Peter didn't have a single tie that had been provided directly to him by a Master, and they were all special in one way or another. However the tie that Fletcher had just callously discarded was the only one that Peter had received from another Animula as a gift rather than a trade. Shortly after starting to make a real connection with an Animula named Nathan Peter had been told that he was being sent back to the Market. His ninth Master had informed him it was nothing personal since he hadn't done anything technically wrong. The return was presented as just a business decision in a slowing economy, however Peter knew that he was being sold again for the same reason he was always sold. No matter how he tried to fit in Peter always ended up making the other Animula a little more like him rather than becoming more like them and it made his Masters uncomfortable. Peter never really thought that they might actually fear him, but often times they did.

Sometimes it took years other times it only took months, but the change was inevitable and so far without fail the humans took notice of the new 'learned behaviors' in their Animula population and traced the source back to him. Their solution was always the same as well: they got rid of him the same way you'd remove an infected limb to keep it from poisoning the rest of the body. He had certainly lost Master for other reasons and at times through pure fault of his own, but by and large there just came a time when his Masters realized that he was more trouble than he was worth, despite the fact that he was worth a sizable sum.

Nathan was one Animula who had adapted more quickly to the idea of being treated like a social and emotional creature than most. He also had a longer list of Masters than average just like Peter did as well. Nathan had blamed himself for Peter's relatively short stay with the company, knowing that his own 'learned behaviors' had gotten worse around Peter causing the humans to take action. Facing losing his first friend and having never experienced guilt before Nathan hadn't really known how to cope. Peter had been preoccupied with his own fears of being sent back to the solitary of the Market in the morning when Nathan had timidly knocked on his door. Having enjoyed the tie exchange that Peter had set up among the others when he first arrived Nathan explained that he had come to the conclusion that a gift would be more meaningful and might help them both with the stress of the sale. He had been right and Peter had treasured the item ever since.

Peter had no idea what became of the Animula that he connected with. Part of him feared that he just spread whatever was wrong with him and that they in turned started having just as much trouble keeping homes as he did. At the same time he equally horrified by the idea that without him they just slipped back into the hopeless emotionless pattern that the humans loved to see in them and that the Market went to great lengths to instill in them.

Begrudgingly succumbing to Market training right now to keep from doing something he would regret Peter stayed motionless as Fletcher pulled a bright red tie from a selection of them that he kept in one of the wall cabinets and tied it around his throat for him. Peter swallowed hard as Fletcher finished the Windsor knot uncomfortably tight. He completed the new neckware with a gold tie bar.

"That's better." Fletcher remarked to no one in particular.

Peter looked down at the bold blood red silk tie with the gleaming gold tie bar and didn't feel like it suited him at all. He preferred cooler colors and far more subtle shades than the attention grabbing 'power tie' that Fletcher was practically choking him with right now. Not about to start an argument over it Peter just wordlessly accepted the new accessory, but he kept his mind on the one he had just lost. He had almost steeled up the courage to ask if he could at least keep his old tie when Fletcher reached up and pressed his fingers into the front of Peter's left shoulder. Peter automatically backed up not so much because he'd been trained to do so when given the cue but more because he hated Fletcher's rough touch and it was only natural for him to want to step away from it.

When Fletcher ran his hand down Peter's chest and around to his ribs Peter tried to get down on his knees before Fletcher jabbed him knowing that was what his Master wanted even before he asked for it. Even though he'd already put his foot back to get down Fletcher dug his fingertips painfully into his side. There was absolutely no reason for Fletcher to use so much force when a light touch would have communicated his desire for Peter to move just as effectively. Peter always resented the rare occasions when a Master used physical cues when verbal or even just visual ones would do, and he found his usually even temper starting to get the better of him.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself Peter knelt down and went to sit back on his heels to be more comfortably but Fletcher stopped him insisting he stay more forward only to change his mind a second later and push him to sit back. Although he'd had no guesses as to what Fletcher wanted before Peter began to suspect why he was in the CFO's office when Fletcher took a few steps back and looked him over with a critical eye before approaching again. Having already been looking slightly down Peter ground his teeth together as Fletcher reached down and pushed on the back of his neck to get him to bow his chin all the way to his chest as he further tweaked Peter's positioning. He had been ordered into the submissive posture countless times in his life but this felt different, this was strictly for show and even though he tried to tell himself that it was no worse than any other time he'd been on his knees he couldn't keep from becoming increasingly resentful. Fletcher didn't seem to notice how heavily Peter was starting breath as his attempts to keep his temper from boiling over started to fail.

"Perfect." Fletcher nodded in approval as he admired his work. "Don't move."

Peter closed his eyes briefly as he barely resisted the urge to get back to his feet and stalk out of the room or possibly even do the unthinkable and actually launch himself at Fletcher aggressively. Peter's fears of what he was being used for were confirmed when the secretary announced through intercom on Fletcher's desk that his eleven o'clock had arrived and Fletcher instructed her to make him wait ten minutes before letting him in. Sitting down Fletcher passed the time by playing a quick game of solitaire on his computer. Peter knew the petty move of making his appointment wait was just another part of Fletcher's plan to show his alpha status. Peter had certainly been used as a status symbol by Masters before but there was something about the way Fletcher had just come and randomly chosen him to pointlessly kneel on his floor that was trying his usual obedience.

Risking looking over at the waste bin that contained his tie Peter started to obese over how he was going to get it back. It was a much needed distraction to keep him from looking up when Fletcher's guest was eventually allowed into the lavish office and their meeting began. In his heart Peter had known it was only going to be a matter of time before he lost the tie, something as simple as a change in the fashion trend often lead to him losing his entire wardrobe to have it replaced with something more updated. It was a fact of his life that he could never hold onto any material possession for long. It was a miracle he'd kept it as long as he had. However he was determined not to lose this particular tie simply because it didn't match his Master decor today. Narrowing his eyes he became increasingly bitter over the fact that Fletcher had taken the item from him.

"Peter?" Fletcher suddenly demanded in a dangerous tone.

Peter's blood flashed to ice as he released that he had probably been asked a question about the company's earnings or stock holding or some other meaningless finical detail that Fletcher wanted to use to impress his opponent. Peter had no idea what the humans had been talking about, it hadn't even occurred to him that either one of them would have wanted him to say anything. When he looked up at Fletcher with a lost expression the other man in the room smiled as though he'd just won points in some complicated corporate game.

Peter took a breath to apologize and ask what the question was but the deadly glare he got from Fletcher told him that silence was the better option. Fletcher turned back to his meeting and tried to recover from Peter's lack of response, but it was hopeless he had lost what little respect the other man had for him. The other man got to his feet and told Fletcher to call him once he had his numbers and house in order.

Fletcher did his best to keep his poise as his meeting abruptly ended but Peter could feel how furious he was. Peter knew he was about to be blamed for what happened, but rather than being afraid of having failed another Master it just infuriated him further. If Fletcher had given him any warning at all as to what he expected of him he would have been ready to answer any question. Fletcher had treated him like a statue and he had acted accordingly, and it was more than Peter could take at the moment that Fletcher automatically expected his undivided attention when he'd never done anything to earn it. Pushing himself away from his desk Fletcher stormed over to where Peter was kneeling. Fletcher reached down to hook his fingers under Peter's jaw to cue him to stand, but fearing that he would attack Fletcher if he touched him again Peter quickly got to his feet on his own accord. Keeping his eyes down more to hide his own anger than out of respect Peter waited like a coiled spring for Fletcher's retaliation.

"What the hell was that?" Fletcher snarled. "I have never been so humiliated!"

"Neither have I." Peter growled without thinking.

Fletcher was completely taken aback by Peter's acerbic retort and the scene went deathly still as neither man knew how to react. Peter had been just shocked by his own words, it was as if his thoughts had simply escaped through his lips before he could stop them. Even though such thoughts were almost always just below the surface it wasn't like him to actually talk back, the consequences of doing so were too dire to justify the short term satisfaction. Now that he had actually voiced his disgust in his Master's actions he wasn't sure how best to deescalate the situation, mostly because he found he didn't really want to. He knew the Market was going to make him deeply regret this moment, but right now it felt good to fight back even if it was a battle he had no hope of winning. Shaking slightly with a mixture of rage and fear Peter pulled his shoulders back and brought his gold ringed eyes up to meet Fletcher's defiantly.

Already angry Fletcher lashed out when Peter dared to add insubordination to insult by making eye contact with him and struck Peter across the cheek with the back of his hand with enough force to violently turn his head. Accepting the strike calmly Peter just turned back to face Fletcher and stared him down once more as though nothing had happened. It was exceedingly rare for a Master to attack any Animula the way Fletcher just had, the threat of being returned to the Market was usually enough. Also having grown to be over six feet tall Peter no one had dared back hand him since he was a difficult teenager at the Market, and even back then it hadn't really been very effective against him and had only made him worse.

Peter knew in the back of his mind that he should be horrified by the fact that he'd just pushed a Master to the point of violence, but Peter's own adrenaline was so high at the moment that he was beyond thinking about consequences as he became determined to stand his ground. Rather than making him fearful of Fletcher it just made him realize how little physical power the human had over him and that if he wanted to he could kill the smaller man easily. Fletcher seemed to have realized his mistake as well he noticed that the strike didn't have nearly as much impact as he had thought it would. The only thing keeping Peter choosing passive resistance rather than striking back was the very real threat that if he harmed a Master by the next morning every Animula in the city would be wearing a collar as old fears of attack flared once again. Collars were expensive and had started to fall out of favor, but all that would change with just one incident. Although he was grateful that he wasn't wearing a collar now Peter felt that in this moment he could have handle it without ending up on the floor as he continued to stare down Fletcher.

"How dare you! Nn your knees now!" Fletcher demanded as he decided to change tactics but still double down on force when Peter didn't cower from him after being struck. "You're going to be my personal calculator for the next week, scratch that, for the next *month* or however long it takes for you to learn your place and to pay attention when humans are speaking. If I ask you what two plus two is you'd better answer me instantly with some goddamn respect!"

"I will do your math for you," Peter replied in a deadly calm "but I will *never* respect you."

Peter could hear the words he was saying, but he didn't feel like he was actually saying them or that he really had any control over what was said. It was more like he was just an observer to the disaster, like watching a glass fall off a counter in what felt like slow motion even though there was nothing you could do to keep it from crashing to the floor. Fletcher had been render completely speechless by his rage. Rather than abandoning the fight he tried to force Peter down by digging his fingers into Peter's ribs to trigger the supposed reflex that would make him kneel. Peter had never tested resisting the cue but he wasn't surprised that he was able to remain standing.

Realizing that he didn't have power to move Peter Fletcher's anger finally turned to fear. Backing away Fletcher went to his desk and called for security before he dialed the Market and demanded that a representative be sent over immediately. With the heat of the moment settling down Peter started to dread the idea of going back to the Market, he wasn't even sure if he would get another chance after this. He looked over his shoulder at the city beyond the window and prayed that it wasn't the last time he saw it.

Still numb to what was happening Peter glanced at the light blue tie laying in the bottom of the otherwise clean waste bin and briefly wondered if this all would have gone differently if Fletcher hadn't taken it away from him. With nothing left to lose Peter reached up pulled the red tie and gold bar off. Fletcher thought he had won when Peter suddenly went down on one knee, however Peter was just looking to be able to reach into the metal waste basket and retrieve the blue tie Nathan had given him. Standing back up he slipped the well worn tie around his shirt collar and expertly knotted it in place. Fletcher watched him warily but recovered some of his pose when he realized that Peter wasn't a physical threat despite his defiance.

"You will regret this, Animula."

"I know." Peter admitted. "...but so will you."

"How so?" Fletcher sneered.

"I was just about to make over two hundred million dollars worth of equity along with controlling interest in a company your CEO has wanted for a while now when you dragged me up here to act as a fancy statue for your office. That's all lost now, along with your top earning Animula. As Chief Financial Officer you're going to have some very difficult explaining to do."

"Wha…what?"

"Good luck keeping this company out of the red without me..."