First contact.
Subject acted as anticipated. Signs of fear.
Second contact.
Subject rejected physical contact. Signs of anger.
Third contact.
Subject eliminated experimental. Signs of distress.
Fourth contact.
Code yellow. Subject reacted strongly. Signs of instability.
Fifth contact.
Code red. Subject attempted escape. Signs of unease.
Sixth contact.
Failure. Subject eliminated.
-
Why?
Why am I here?
Why am on the operating table?
It was just one failure.
But they don't tolerate imperfections.
Chimera.
A living organism made up of parts I of 2 or more creatures with different biological structures.
That's the simple explanation at least.
The subject or chimera I was testing on was snake, wolf, and mouse.
As you can imagine it didn't go well.
I understood that there was no room for mistakes when I started this job.
I just didn't realize that if I failed and they lost a chimera I would take its place.
I don't deserve this.
-
Where am I?
I can't speak.
I can't see either.
I feel strange.
T-this!
I have more limbs than before!
It feels weirdly natural to control them.
On my head are fluffy animal ears.
I'm not sure what animal yet though.
At the base of my back are 9 soft fluffy tails.
My teeth are sharper and my tongue feels like sandpaper on my fingers.
My eyes are bigger but not much.
On my back are large feathered wings.
There are a few birds I can think of with this large of wings but I don't know which ones I have.
My nails are harder and longer like claws.
My feet are webbed like fins but they still seem like regular human feet if you ignore the strange gooey skin between my toes.
I can still think clearly despite all the alterations made to my body.
It all feels so strange.
I'm still a girl.
I made sure to check.
For scientific reasons only!
Yeah!
For science!
Anyway!
Moving on.
My eyes are open but all I see is darkness.
After all this time my eyes have fully adjusted but it seems like I'm in a sealed room. The entire space is black.
I can only vaguely make out the place where the floor and walls are connected.
On one of the walls is a door that blends in with the rest of the room.
The only thing in here other than me is a small bed which I woke up on. I haven't moved from my spot. Only enough to touch my new body and understand my situation.
This is one of the rooms chimeras are put in to recuperate after surgery. Surgery that alters their species.
My memories are blurry but I remember most things from the last year. Most of my life this past year was just researching chimeras. Other than that I would go home to a small house. All I remember of my family is them yelling at me for never being home. I have little emotional attachment to them as I don't even remember their faces clearly.
I have more sympathy for the poor creatures that were forced to become monsters because of humans selfishness.
I can hear the sound of the lock clicking before the door is even open.
10 strong men in safety suits come barging through the door one holding a syringe.
I know exactly what they're going to do with me but I don't resist.
There isn't anything I can do to stop them.
If I resist it would just make it more painful for me.
The light hurts my eyes but I don't blink and instead stare at the faces behind the masks.
I recognize some of them as former subordinates.
They obviously recognize me too despite all the alterations to my body and DNA.
I'm bot sure how much I resemble my former self but I know that even if I look different this is probably the first time any of them have seen a former superior completely naked.
It must be surprising for them. It may not seem that way but I used to be a rather strict boss.
I always took my work seriously but when it was time to rest I became my normal easygoing self.
I just sit still and let the shocked kids inject a sedative into my arm.
The last thing I see before passing out is the conserved face of one of the youngest assistants who worked under me. I always thought of her as my little sister.
I just show a weak smile before my body falls limp.
-
I don't know how long it's been since I was dragged here but I've been going in and out of consciousness. I can't move my body or open my eyes. I'm in a huge tube of slimy liquid with lots of devices monitoring my life signs.
Most fully animal chimeras were put in one of these for no more than a week but I know it's definitely been longer than that.
I hear bits and pieces of conversations and I've head them discuss the date a dozen times but each time the month was definitely different. March, May, September, October, February, April. In that order. It's been at least a year since I became like this.
It could be years before they let me out.
Or they may never let me out at all.
-
5 years.
At least that I know about.
They let me out to test my physical abilities occasionally but I've never seen what I look like so I can't be completely sure of what I am. No one tells meso it's difficult to fully understand my situation.
I started my job when I was 6 and worked for 4 years before the failure. That would make me at least 15.
I remember parts of my childhood.
I was an orphan.
When I was a baby my parents left my at the doorstep of an orphanage that was owned by the Evolution Research Institute.
They started teaching all the kids biology and science from a young age so they could later join the Institute.
I was called a prodigy and they let me start work when I was still a kid.
They put me in a family of former researchers and I worked my way up to the level of senior researcher in 2 years. At first most didn't think I was reliable but I proved I deserved my position. They put others they also called genius in my team. Some of them were older than me but Lilly was 7 when she joined. She was a year younger than me and I thought of her as my little sister. She was the only other girl on my team. The rest were adult men.
I spent 2 years with them and when I was 10 we failed. Originally we were all supposed to become subjects but I was able to convince them to spare my team.
I'm still not sure what I am a combination of yet but I'm sure I don't look human.
-
*Anna POV*
"What? You said you found her?! Is she okay?" I ask standing from my seat to grab our butler Uncle Sam by the arms.
"Where is she?" My husband Henry asks standing to stand at my side.
"We did find her last know location however we don't know her current situation. She should still be inside the basement lab of the Evolution Research Institute. She entered the lab at the age of 6 and by the age of 8 she was promoted to a high level position. At the age of 10 she suddenly stopped leaving the building and the only news we have is that she had a dangerous surgery and it is suspected that she may have become a human test subject." Uncle Sam says regretfully.
"You mean she has been suffering for more than 5 years as a lab rat?" Henry asks angrily.
"We…. Believe so." Sam says with a sigh.
"Why are we not going? Take me there right now! I'm going to save my daughter!" I say trying to storm out the front door.
"Wait Anna. Uncle Sam what does she currently look like?" Henry asks calmly looking at the butler.
"This is the most recent photo that has been confirmed to be real. It's from before the surgery. This one... this one was stolen from their system last month and we are unsure if it is true as of yet." Sam says handing over two pictures.
The first is a photo of a small girl with long black hair and shining green eyes. She looks happy as she eats barbecue with another little girl. Both are wearing lab coats. Hers has a name tag with Neon printed in large letters. It's taken with only the back view of the other girl with long brown hair.
The second picture shows a laboratory filled with huge glass tubes filled with transparent yellow liquid. Floating in the liquid are various creatures seemingly made up of a bunch of different animals. In a huge tube in the middle of the room surrounded by computers is a teenage girl. Her eyes are shut and her long black hair floats behind her. She's curled up in a fetal position with wires attached to her naked body. There are 9 fluffy fox tails seemingly from snow foxes as it's the only explanation for the pure white fur. There are furry light grey wolf ears with specs of white and black positioned on her head that are bent down in pain. On her back rest large white wings probably taken from a swan or other large bird. Her feet are webbed but it isn't noticeable unless one looks closely. The webbing is like that of a frog but it isn't clearly visible in the photo. Her nails are visibly longer and sharper but no more than a lot of girls do with acrylic nails.
Her face in the two photos is 80% similar to me. She's like a younger me but she has Henry's dark hair.
There is no doubt that the girl in the second picture is the same as the first but she was definitely used as an experiment for this so called Evolution Research Institute.
She's definitely my daughter. Whether she has wings and a tail or if she has two arms and legs. It doesn't matter what she becomes she will always be my only baby girl.
"This is just awful." Henry says looking at the picture of my baby.
"How could they do something like this?" I ask not really expecting an answer. I look up at my husband with teary eyes. We have to save her. She's our daughter even if she went missing when she was only a baby.
"Sam gather all the family bodyguards and tell them we have found their Little Miss." Henry says with a faint smile.
"Auntie Jane please tell my useless sons to come home. Tell them we have found their baby sister." I say turning to the nearby nanny.
"Let's go save our daughter." Henry says as we walk out of the house towards the courtyard.
-
*Neon POV*
When I open my eyes all I can see in darkness.
A pillow?
I carefully lift my weak body to observe the strange room. It doesn't look like the lab. More like the bedroom of a rich heiress. The curtains are pink and the sheets are white. There are tons of expensive decorations placed around the room giving it the feeling of elegance but also childishness.
'Knock! Knock!'
I turn towards the door as it slowly opens to reveal a beautiful woman.
"You're finally awake!" The woman says running towards me excitedly.
I flinch back in fear at her sudden actions but the woman only slows to a walk with a gentle smile on her face as she cautiously approaches.
My eyes dart around the room and land on the open window.
Without hesitation I dart towards the window in an attempt to escape but just as I'm halfway out I feel my body get pulled back into a warm embrace.
"Baby! Baby it's okay. Calm down." Says the middle-aged woman as she holds me in her arms panting from the run to catch me.
I let out an animalistic growl as I struggle to escape without hurting the woman.
"I won't hurt you Baby. Baby, I'm your mom." The woman says making me freeze in place.
I turn to look at her in disbelief and hatred as she releases her hold when she sees that I'm not planning to run.
"I know you must be confused, but at least give me a chance to explain." The woman says pulling me over to sit on the bed.
I slowly nod my head feeling curious about what she's going to say.
"15 years ago when I gave birth to you, the entire family was overjoyed. Unlike with your brothers I wanted to take care of you without the help of a nanny. That was the biggest mistake of my life. One day when you were no more than a month old I was home alone with you. You were asleep and I had to use the restroom. I thought I could go really quick and be back before you woke up however when I walked in the room I saw a stranger holding you in their arms and escaping out the window. I had given birth not long ago and my body had yet to recover. I was a step too late and I was forced to watch them escape with you. I tried everything I could to catch up however by the time we found the culprit you were nowhere to be found and the kidnapper was already dead. All these years we have been looking for traces of you and finally we found you. However it was too late. You had already been suffering in their hands for 5 years. No matter what you look like you will always be my daughter but I still wish I had been able to find you sooner. You must have been so afraid. Please Baby, give me a chance? The woman tells me gently rubbing my head as she talks using a pleading tone at the end.
As I listen to her words I slowly start to let my guard down. She seems sincere and we do look alike. She doesn't seem to be lying. My animal instinct is telling me that this woman is safe. I slowly open my mouth hesitantly.
"O-okay." I whisper hesitantly as I stare at the woman's face. For now I will trust her.
"Okay." The woman says gently as she strokes my head.
I hesitantly move closer tuching my wings against my body so they don't get in the way as I curl my body up with my head resting on the woman's thigh.
Just as I feel myself falling asleep I hear footsteps approaching the door so I sit up and stare at the door guardedly.
"Come in." The woman says with a laugh and when the door is pushed open a man walks in followed by 5 younger men who are clearly his sons.
"Baby this is your father and those are your brothers." The woman says.
I slowly let my body relax and I nod gently in their direction before curling up again so the woman -who I guess I should call my mom- can continue petting me.
"So this is her?" The youngest brother asks arrogantly. I just ignore him because mom said they were my family.
"Be nice to your sister." My dad says flicking the boys forehead.
"What's your name?" Asks one of the older boys in a gentle tone.
I freeze for a moment. Even my tails stop swaying when I hear this question. Not because of the question but because of the voice. Just from hearing him speak I feel comfortable so I slowly get to my feet and cautiously walk over to take a close look at the boy.
I curiously press my face close to his neck and take a small breath of his scent. Just that one sniff makes me want to get closer to him.
"Used to call Neon... Not like." I say quietly. I haven't spoken in 5 years so it makes sense that I'm struggling.
I gently rub my face again my brothers chest as I gently nudge his hands with my tails.
"I see. So you don't like the name Neon. Then what should I call you?" He asks with a gentle smile.
"Call.... Snow." I say struggling with my words as I swish my tails around excitedly.
"Alright. I'll call you Snow then." He says.
"What... Call... Brother?" I ask with difficulty. I only heard parts of sentences for so long that I'm having trouble now but I'm confident hell know what I mean.
"My name is Leon. I'm your second brother." He says gently as he pets my head and tails.
"Others?" I ask curiously as I point at the other guys.
"My name is Kai. I'm your first brother." Says the boy who looks the most mature.
"Blake. Third brother." Says another boy.
"I'm Grey, your fourth brother. The ass over there is Mason your fifth brother." The last boy says pointing to the youngest as he introduces him.
"Hey! Four you suck." Mason says angrily.
"Nice.... Brother." I say quietly as I cling to my second brother in fear.
"Little five your scaring our sister." Kai says flicking Mason on the forehead lightly before walking over to rub my head lovingly.
I lean my head into his touch and my lips curl up into a relaxed smile as my first and second brothers gently rub my fur.
"Hey Snow cam I ask you something?" My dad asks hesitantly.
I turn my head to look at him and nod gently in agreement.
"I don't mean anything by it but I just want to know. What are you?" He asks curiously but also hesitantly as if afraid of hurting my feelings by asking.
"Snow is chimera. Was researching chimera... Failed task.... Become chimera." I explain as best I can as my brothers continue to pet me.
"Chimera? What does that mean?" Mason asks in confusion.
"Chimera.... Mix..... Animal." I struggle to explain in a way that he'll understand.
"You mean it's a mix of animals?" He asks with wde eyes.
"Fox." I say pointing to my tails. "Wolf." I say pointing to my ears. "Lion." I say showing my claw-like nails. "White eagle." I say unfolding my wings slightly. "Bat." I say showing him my fangs. "Frog." I say pointing at my webbed feet. "Panther." I say pointing to my eyes. After all this time I have a good idea of what I am. There may be other animals blood in my body that I don't know about but as far as my appearance goes I have a good understanding of what animals were used.
"That's horrible!" My mother says running over to wrap me in a warm hug.
"Snow.... Strong." I say comfortingly. It's true. I am considerably stronger than I was as a regular person.
"Yes. Snow is strong but even strong people need love." My mom says gently.
"Snow.... Fly?" I ask looking at the open window longingly.