Cykopath- Birth

by Luca Braña

He fought desperately, he fought bravely, he fought dirty, he needed to protect his daughter against this scum. But no matter how much he tried, how many times he punched them, there were just too many. Ten versus one was hardly fair, and the delinquents knew that. They laughed at his efforts and continued to beat him, all the while the little white cat whined.

  What occurred next was a miracle.

  One moment, the scientist was being held by two other delinquents as a third pummeled his stomach while the others cheered on. The next, all the delinquents were twitching on the ground as static coursed through their forms. Harold looked up to see he was resting his head in the lap of a small child with pure white ears and golden eyes.

  “S-Shiro?” he asked, pupils widening as he looked at his now human daughter.

  The girl opened her eyes and whispered, “P-papa…”

  The girl was his daughter. A miracle had happened, and she somehow turned into a demi-human, and she had saved him, her speed and strength so great he didn’t even notice how she did it.

  From that moment on, their relationship deepened. Before, she was only a cat, never able to communicate with him, understand him, but he had accepted that. Now, she could speak, could understand more, and was much more expressive.

  He taught her words, taught her how to read, bought her clothes, toys, magazines, video games, accessories, everything that a daughter needed. She eventually made friends, other children who she could play with. They were both happy.

  She also expressed a desire to train and become stronger, to protect him if they were ever in a scary situation again. He designed and commissioned a pair of sturdy bracelets for her to wear, which would monitor her health in real time. Being a little paranoid, his work colleagues would joke about him, but Harold didn’t care. He would spare no expense in protecting his daughter.

  For three more years, they had lived in peace and happiness. The father had bright prospects for the future, he felt like he could move on from his past, as long as he had his daughter with him, they were happy together, but…

  The Creator.

  He had heard the rumors of her increasing instability. He knew she disliked anything that threatened her power or her universe and was trying to protect them. But he also knew she was becoming more impulsive and distant.

  He used the lab he worked in to figure out what had caused his daughter to turn into a demi-human and thanks to this, he discovered the existence of an extra gene in her body, one that disappeared over time in other, normal cats. It was something that was never meant to be awakened.

  Searching further, he found that humans also possessed the hidden gene. An idea sprang to his mind… What if he could create an army? What if they could stop the Creator from destroying their universe when she grew tired of them?

  He would do anything to protect his daughter. And thus, the idea for Project R.N.G. came to be. If he could make his vision a reality, he might protect his daughter’s future.

  His daughter…

  His light…

  12

  “Please… just leave… You already got what you wanted!” Shiro begged once again through tearful eyes as her memory of her previous life faded. “Please… Don’t take him away from me! I love him… He means the world to me…” The girl sobbed; her knees weak.

  Cyko just stared at her, cold gaze unchanging. He had heard her, he could see the emotions in her eyes, he could see how much the old fool meant to her. For a moment, his heart warmed, but he shook it away.

  “So what?” Cyko asked, raising his eyebrows in fake innocence. “You think that I’ll change my mind?” He mocked. “I won’t say it again, Shiro. Move out of the way.”

  For Shiro, those cold words hurt more than anything else. The boy she wanted to be friends with, that she used to comfort and play with… He wanted to kill the person that meant more to her than anything, her precious father.

  The world around her was getting darker. Was she fainting? She wouldn’t faint like a kitty again! She refused to pass out and wake up to find her family gone, not again!

  “Then fight!” A roar erupted in front of her, causing Shiro to blink as she noticed that she was somewhere else, and a mirror image of her appeared. She looked older and instead of pure white, the fur on her ears and tail was spotted.

  “If you want to protect what is precious to you, then fight! Cyko is not your friend anymore. Remember? Either we convince them to leave this place, now, with force… Or we’ll lose our father forever.”

  “W-who are you? A-and how?! How can we help Papa?! I can’t beat them all as I am! I can barely stand!” Shiro cried out, feeling useless as she stared at the ground.

  “The boy who is now our enemy named us Snow… So, call me Snow. And to help Papa… We come together as one! If we turn into one, we’ll become much stronger, we’ll be able to save him!” Snow said with a determined expression, causing Shiro’s hopeless face to lift along with her spirits. Could they do it?

  “I-I will do anything! I don’t want our father being taken away from us! P-please…”

  Her older self nodded with a saddened face of her own. “However, there is a price for this power,” she said, causing the smaller one to look down as she thought it over.

  “What is it?”

  “I already know your answer. Anything for the sake of our father…” the older girl responded as she put her other hand on her, holding her smaller self by both shoulders. “The price is knowledge. You are still a kitten, there are many things you don’t know, that you don’t understand… But once you accept this price, your blissful ignorance will be removed. The world will no longer be a bright, hopeful place.”

  In this moment, Shiro existed as both present and future.

  “If Papa is not here… Then it won’t ever be bright again. I accept it! I accept any price!” Shiro yelled as she wiped off her tears, looking at Snow with determined eyes. She would save her father.

  The world around her glimmered white as the older cat-girl smiled down at her, both with sadness at her lost innocence and the knowledge to come and with determination that signified their desire to protect the one thing they love the most.

  “Then, from today on, the world will know us as Shiro Snow. We will fight together,” Snow declared as the world around them turned brighter and brighter.

  Shiro could feel the strength coming back to her body. No matter what, she would protect her father!

  Then the world turned white.

  13

  Shiro stayed silent after Cyko’s demand, her hair covering her eyes just enough so he could still see the tears running down her cheeks.

  “I said, get out of the way!” Cyko seethed, walking towards the cat-girl, clenching his fists around his holo blades. If she wouldn’t move by herself, then he would move her himself. He raised his arm so he could send her away with the flat side of his weapon.

  But then, something unexpected happened.

  The boy let out a surprised grunt as he felt his body fly away, impacting the sand several meters away. It had hurt, the boy noticed as he got up to glare at the feline. To his surprise, the girl began to glow as an intense aura of power surrounded her body and she raised her eyes to meet his.

  “I said no, Cyko,” she snapped, all of her previous sorrow gone. “I will not move away, I will not let you hurt my father. I realize now, what he did, what I did, what you did. I understand everything! But I won’t let you hurt him. He is my father foremost.”

  “Shiro…” her father whispered as he looked at her glowing form in awe. He knew what was happening. How did she get the serum? It didn’t matter. As a father, he never felt so much pride in her.

  Cyko, however, was far from feeling sympathetic. Her declaration only caused his wrathful expression to worsen. “If you claim to know what he did… WHY ARE YOU STILL TAKING HIS SIDE?!” he erupted as he let his own aura of power wash over him.

  “Because he is my father, and I love him,” she said matter-of-factly, matching his
hateful glare. “The price I had to pay was knowledge. I know how much suffering he caused and I know exactly what price you paid for your new powers. You are no longer the Cyko I knew before. You will become something much worse than my father.” She pursed her lips, noting how the last part of her words made him flinch ever so slightly.

  “You are no different from him,” he returned, the weight of his hatred and sorrow visible in those simple words. They had suffered so much; they had lost so much… And she still took his side. A part of him could understand her, but he still refused to allow the man to escape without punishment, without justice being served to him.

  “That may be the case, but I’m fighting for the person I love. What about you? You killed many to get here, can’t I say the same thing about you?” she rebuked with narrowed eyes, her answer causing Cyko’s expression to darken further. It was obvious to both of them they would have to fight to the death for what they believed in; the feline realized.

  “Those who don’t want to fight, who just want to be free… Go now! The leftmost elevator will take you outside if you follow the road! I will not hurt anyone who doesn’t want to fight!” she shouted, providing an easy ultimatum to those present. She waited a few seconds, letting out a small sigh of relief as a majority left, taking their injured with them. Cyko planted his feet in the ground, glaring at her.

  Around a hundred rebels remained, circling her form. The enhancer grinned with Magy at his side, whose gaze matched his. They still had strength in their numbers, even if they were tired from the constant fighting.

  “Hah, there are still enough of us left to take care of you, Shiro. Even if you can hold a dozen of us back, the others will take care of your father! Face it, there is nothing you can do now!” He raised his holo blades and looked around as the rest of the rebels followed suit.

  Shiro sighed and closed her eyes.

  “This situation is just like back then. A gang of delinquents wishing to hurt my father, not caring for who gets hurt, not caring for anything but violence… I’ve had enough,” she whispered to herself before opening her eyes.

  Power exploded from her body, forming an enormous pillar of energy.

  “I’ll protect my father! I won’t let you take him away from me!” she yelled, the aura of energy coming from her body masking Cyko’s. A chilling atmosphere covered the desert as those present closed their eyes against the wind of her power. When they opened their eyes again, many of them gasped.

  In Shiro’s place was a much different being. Standing at two meters tall was a ferocious-looking snow leopard covered in armor. Its snow-white fur, speckled with black spots seemed to glow with power as the animal glared at the rebels through glowing golden eyes, sharp fangs bared at them. Floating a few centimeters above the leopard’s back was a snow crystal, rotating and glowing with power.

  All the sand in the desert had turned into snow, the cold air around the rebels making them shiver. And, to Cyko’s anger, a dome of crystalline ice was now surrounding the dumbfounded scientist.

  The father couldn’t believe his eyes. This transformation reminded him of something he had read about long ago.

  He thought of the tale of a mountain goddess, called the Queen of Thunder and Snow, who had stood up against Creator Luni and fought bravely against the ultimate being to the death, being one of the very few gods in their world that inflicted injuries on her. Her described appearance matched his daughter’s new one almost exactly.

  The leopard let out a deafening roar and then… She was gone. Cyko and Magy barely had time to react as a bolt of lightning passed them, covering their bodies in slash marks. It continued on to zigzag between groups of rebels, the electricity in her body inflicting pain as they felt their nerves fry on contact. The less enduring of the rebels were taken out.

  Twenty gone.

  Grunting in pain, both Cyko and Magy willed their powers to run to maximum potential, covering their bodies in blue and pink.

  Glaring at them, the feline vanished again, her speed so great that even at their maximum level, the two friends barely followed her movements. She dashed behind another large group of rebels and had her mouth opened towards them, a sphere of cold energy forming in her mouth.

  Before Cyko and Magy could warn anyone, Shiro roared, a massive gale of icy wind coming from her mouth. The rebels screamed as her attack washed over them, the low temperatures causing frost to form on their bodies. Another 15 died from the intense cold.

  She jolted as a fireball thwacked her square in the face. The fiery voice of Torch sounded out of the flames before he jumped away as dozens of vines slithered out of the snow, wrapping themselves around her body. Before Shiro could cut her way free, however, she lost her footing as a powerful quake happened just under her feet.

  “NOW!” Henry shouted to his siblings as they rushed out to attack the giant leopard. Matthew launched a powerful stream of hot flames in her direction, Anna fired charged shots, Sara sent high-pressure jets of water, and Starry bombarded her with dark stars while Henry himself let loose several Blast Flowers, which he had been charging up for quite a while.

  Instead of a desire for vengeance, they fought alongside their brother to fulfill their promise of standing beside him no matter what. They would have taken Shiro’s offer to leave, but seeing Cyko so hurt and broken over Tela’s death and then so emotional over his desire to avenge all the others… No one could muster up the courage to stop him. They would share the burden with him.

  “Torch!” Starry cried out as he fell to the ground, hit in the chest by one of Shiro’s lightning bolts. Starry was flying towards his airborne form to catch him, but a projectile from the leopard targeted them, engulfing the small children in a rock of ice, their faces frozen in pain from her attack.

  As the ice hit the ground, shattering and letting the bodies of the two unconscious children be released, Anna’s body was covered in claw marks, leaving her writhing on the ground. Matthew spat out a massive fireball of white-hot flames towards her, melting the snow on its way.

  Roaring again, Shiro rushed towards the two remaining siblings, Geon and Sara, passing through them with a large aura of lightning around her body, electrocuting both with her powerful arcs, causing them to fall unconscious from the damage.

  She took out Cyko’s siblings in ten seconds.

  Cyko’s clones appeared around Shiro, slashing at her, causing the leopard to growl in pain, before thunder exploded out of her body, destroying all the clones surrounding her and sending Cyko flying away. Magy appeared on her left, stabbing both of her blades deep into the feline’s body.

  “I hope you didn’t forget about me, little Snow!” Magy grinned. “But you are not little anymore, are you?! The pain you inflict is much greater now! How about a reward?!” She willed her dark powers to course through her scythes, rushing through Shiro like a current of paralyzing pain.

  “IT’S OVER!” Cyko had taken advantage of her distraction.

  He struck the ground like a meteor, slicing her midsection. Shiro let out a soundless scream as her body split into two halves.

  But the leopard smirked as her body exploded into a mixture of lightning and snow, sending both Magy and Cyko flying.

  Two bolts of lightning sounded, heading straight towards Magy and Cyko, slamming against them. Their muscles cramped and convulsed but they kept their eyes on the two forms that appeared.

  One was Shiro, in human form but looking older than before. Her clothes were the same, but her ears and tail had those dark spots from her jaguar form. Her body and eyes were glowing while she looked around as the other streak of lightning landed near her.

  The other was much, much smaller than her, taking the form of her domestic cat self, but more vicious. Body alight with energy coursing through her and back arched up in hostility, both of the Shiros surveyed their remaining enemies for a split second before disappearing in a flash towards different groups.

  The fight ensued as the rebel army was reduced to less tha
n half—and decreasing by the second.

  Landing on their feet near each other, the two Shiros glared at their new opponents. Reddox and Ellyn stepped towards them.

  “The wind will not be merciful to you,” Ellyn cackled as she raised her bow. Both Shiros hissed at them and fused into one once more, the large leopard roaring as electricity crackled off her.

  The world seemed to blink as she was being hit by beams of magic. Hissing, she glared at the mage and sent a blast of lightning towards him, but he ducked just in time.

  Shiro roared in opposition, the large snow crystal that floated on her back rising into the sky before sending shards of ice and bolts of lightning in all directions. Reddox and Ellyn abandoned their current attacks and formed barriers of magic and wind to protect themselves. Other rebels weren’t as lucky.

  “This is bad,” Magy said as she got up, panting hard as she gripped her scythes. “We might not win this one. We’re tired. If we were rested and fed, it would be a different story, but…” she stopped to catch her breath as she tried to keep herself upright. As much as she would like to believe they’d be able to defeat her if they were at their best and if Tela was still around… The snow leopard was shrugging off everything they threw at her.

  “They, of all people, don’t deserve a happy ending!” Cyko snarled as he struggled to recover from his wounds.

  Floating up in the air, Shiro could make out their frightened but hateful glares. They would not back down from this. They demanded justice and she could understand that, could accept that. Her father’s project hurt them and made them suffer… But she couldn’t help but fight against their death wishes for her father.

  Opening her arms wide, she willed a new power within her to manifest to its maximum potential. It was time to finish this, once and for all!

  Staying still in the air, she ignored all the attacks that hit her. They didn’t hurt, and she refused to allow them to hurt. Instead, she gathered power in both of her hands, a sphere of light in her right and a sphere of ice in her left.

  Cyko let out a frustrated yell as he tried to dodge the hailstorm of lightning and ice, dashing towards Magy and vanishing the both of them behind one of the wrecked tanks, taking cover behind its armored form.