~ Anthro ~
Created by Dark Phoenix
Edited by Michael-Leonard
Feedback appreciated:
thedarkphoenix2008@yahoo.com
Zephram and Sylvia find hope in an unexpected place
 

~ WARNING ~
This story is geared towards adults. If you are not into female muscle growth, muscular anthropomorphic animals, superhuman strength, intense sexual themes, and violence, then this story is not for you. Otherwise, enjoy the story!

~ INTRO ~
Is this the beginning of the end? Well who's to say?

I realize there isn't much in the way of muscle play this time around. But trust me, this exposition is necessary to setup the next chapter. Everything will fall into place, you'll see! ^_^


Chapter III: The Beast Gene

The weight of Zephram's fate bore down on him like a drill. He had a shot at saving humanity from that horrible virus, but failed. The only one who showed any promise was Silvia, his former cat turned anthro. She and Zephram had become very close since her evolution. But it didn't seem to matter much anymore because the way it stood, it was only a matter of time before the HEV caught up to Zephram.

Zephram also carried the weight of Meredith and Benjamin's deaths on his shoulders. He tried to reassure himself that if he hadn't tried, they would've died eventually anyway. But such a reassurance wasn't enough. Because, on the other end of the spectrum, he was certain that he would succeed, to the point of arrogance! And it was because of that arrogance that he caused them a more painful death than that virus would have. His only consolation was that he wouldn't have to live with it for much longer. Zephram wasn't much of a religious man, but he hoped that he would find forgiveness once he left this world.

Silvia sat still in a chair and held him close to her as he cried. All the years of pain, struggle, and regret had caught up with him and he needed to let it all out. She was fighting back tears herself due to her sensitive nature. Silvia brushed her fingered paw through Zephram's hair as she began purring for him. She didn't even realize she could purr at will before when she was just a cat. It just happened on its own anytime she was happy. She closed her eyes and rested her chin on her hand, which was on Zephram's head. Her purring had a relaxing effect on him, and before he even knew it, he cried himself to sleep in her arms.

Silvia gently picked up her lover, carried him to his bedroom, and tucked him in. She wanted to sleep in his bed with him, but her immensely muscled body made her too big to fit in his twin-size bed; it would have to be a king-size to adequately accommodate her. Still, being a cat, she wasn't the type to have any problems falling asleep in different places. So she grabbed another comforter out of the closet, opened it up into a makeshift bed, and laid it on the floor next to Zephram's bed. She leaned over and tenderly kissed his cheek, which drew a faint smile from him, laid down on the comforter, and went to sleep herself.

* * *

The next day saw Zephram waking up later than he usually did. He climbed out of bed and tripped over something, landing face first against a really large breast.

"Ow!" Zephram yipped as he clutched his face.

Silvia hazily opened her eyes as if nothing out of the ordinary happened to her. She blushed when she noticed Zephram using her breast as a support to get back up. She yawned and stretched her limbs, then got up as well.

"Did you have to sleep down there, Silvia?" Zephram said as he rubbed his nose, making sure it was still in one piece.

Silvia blushed. "Sorry, Zephie! I wanted to sleep with you in your bed, but it was too small for me to fit in."

Zephram glanced at his bed, then at the massively muscled Silvia. There was certainly no arguing with that.

Zephram walked over to his closet to grab a change of clothes.

"So what are you going to do today?" Silvia asked, rather casually considering the circumstance.

Zephram didn't pause one bit as he started to take all his previous clothes off, leaving him naked briefly as he began putting on his new shirt and pants.

"Do you believe in the afterlife?" Zephram asked unexpectedly.

Silvia looked confused. "What's an afterlife?"

This time, Zephram did pause. "You mean you've never thought about what might happen after you die?"

"Not really. I guess the thought never occurred to me," Silvia answered.

Zephram reached in and grabbed a lab coat from another part of his closet, his largest one. He tossed it over to Silvia.

"Here, can you put that on? I'm heading out and I'd like you to come with me," Zephram requested.

Silvia had never worn clothes before, and shuffled it in her hands rather confusingly. Zephram noticed this and walked over to her, took the coat, and placed it around her body, guiding her hands into the sleeves. But her arms were too thick for them, so he pulled the coat back off.

"Well this isn't good. I'm beginning to think there isn't a single article of clothing that could fit you," Zephram said.

Silvia grinned as she inflated one of her biceps with a powerful flex. Her peak rose until it reached what looked like 40" of fur-covered steel. A vein thicker than a pencil ran around her bicep as it forked into two directions at the top, carrying unbridled power to her super muscle. She saw the reaction in Zephram's eyes and smiled.

"I do believe you are blushing there, my Zephie," Silvia teased.

Zephram realized the futility of getting even the largest lab coat on her. He looked at it and got an idea. He took some scissors and began cutting off the whole of the sleeves. He then once again placed the coat on her, and also noticed that the sides wouldn't come together in front of her massively muscled chest and her huge triple-F breasts. He got another idea and took the lower part of it and tied it around her humongous hooters, though just barely. He stood back to take in the sight and pondered something in that moment: 'Would anthros even bother to wear clothes?'

Zephram walked up to her and hugged her close in his first happy moment since yesterday.

"I love you Silvia. I love you with all my heart," Zephram said as he kissed her cheek.

Silvia practically melted in his arms as she started purring real loudly and nuzzling her cheek against his. "I love you too, Zephram. I am your mate and am yours forever. If I could give up my life to save yours, I wouldn't hesitate one bit."

"I'm sure you would, baby. But you're still young and you at least have a shot at a normal life after I'm gone," Zephram said.

He never thought of himself as a "mate" before. He actually liked being referred to as such. Before they headed out, Zephram spotted something he almost forgot he had, and it was perfect! He grabbed it and handed it to Silvia.

"What's this for?" she asked.

Zephram couldn't help but chuckle. "It's called a Jedi's robe. I've been a longtime fan of Star Wars and bought this many years ago. This should fit you."

Silvia knew he was just trying to protect her from any possible persecution, at least for now. Zephram slipped the robe over her muscular body and sure enough, it fit, though it was still snug on her to the point you could see the muscle bulges underneath. Silvia pulled the hood over her head and looked in a mirror.

"I look mystical!" she said, giggling.

They headed out the door to begin their trek. It was a cloudy morning and there was an eerie stillness in the air. There were hardly any people at all outside, which came as a surprise to Zephram. It seemed ironic that mankind was faced with extinction. Instead of mass hysteria and people being savages and looting or committing other senseless crimes, they have chosen to wait silently in their homes. Waiting to die, waiting to live, waiting for an absolution from this terrible fate that approached them all, hope was fading fast. Zephram was secretly glad he didn't share any knowledge of his attempts to evolve mankind with anyone. His failure would likely have shattered the fragile calm and possibly would've resulted in his own demise before the virus could get to him.

The truth of the matter was he didn't really have any specific destination. He just wanted to pick a direction and go. Silvia was content with walking with him wherever he went. A couple guys, walking the other way across the road, glanced in their direction and gave awkward stares at the hooded figure walking with Zephram. But they didn't do anything else and kept on going.

Silvia turned to look at Zephram. "I wonder how other people would react to my muscles?"

Zephram found himself blushing at the mention of her powerful body. "Well, um### they would either cause a similar reaction to mine in some people, and they might scare others. I really don't know."

Silvia could see his blushing and flexed her bicep. Despite the loose fitting robe, a hefty bulge appeared in the sleeve as the massive peak made itself well known. Zephram put his hand on it and got really turned on by something so hard under something so soft. He appreciated having his spirits lifted like this. Both broke out into some laughter as they continued onward. Zephram was thinking that he might just take Silvia to the bedroom and make passionate love to her repeatedly until his time came. It would certainly be a helluva way to go!

As they made their way to the outskirts of town, they took a road off the beaten path. Zephram had been around a lot and knew just about every corner of his hometown. But he had to admit that this was a new direction for him. After another several minutes of walking, they came upon a lone building that looked really aged and seemed abandoned. Feeling curious, Zephram thought he'd check it out. He motioned for Silvia to get behind him as he peered inside. To his surprise, he saw what looked like old Indian-type decorations on the walls. It was like stepping into another era. It wasn't long before someone appeared from the back.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here?" came a woman's voice.

Zephram saw that she wasn't alone either. Several men appeared behind her, all eyeing Zephram with suspicion.

Zephram did his best to stay calm. "My name is Zephram Reinhardt. I didn't come here to cause any trouble. I was just taking a walk and saw this place and wanted to check it out. I didn't think there would be anybody in here."

The woman noticed the large hooded figure standing behind him. "And just who is that standing behind you?"

Zephram had to be sure that no one would panic. "Before I tell you, please try not to panic. She won't harm you."

The woman sneered at him. "That almost sounds like a threat in itself."

Figuring that was as close to a yes as he could get, Zephram stepped aside as Silvia stepped forward. She eyed everyone and saw fear in their eyes. She could tell that none of them were expecting any visitors. She pulled back her hood, showing her feline features. Everyone gasped in surprise. Chatter broke out among them and the woman had to shout in a language that was not English to get them to quiet down.

She turned back to face Silvia. "I cannot believe what I'm seeing! We've always wondered if the stories were true! Can this really be that you are the first to rejoin with your animal spirit and become one with the planet?"

Zephram and Silvia were clearly confused.

The woman saw their expressions and smiled. "Oh, sorry. Please forgive me. I guess I was getting ahead of myself here. And please forgive our initial suspicion towards you. I'm sure you already know the dire situation we all face. Naturally, it has pretty much everyone on edge. My name is Fugara; we are shamans.

Zephram's curiosity was aroused. "Does this mean you could give spiritual advice?"

Fugara looked again at Silvia. "I might be able to do more than that. Let's go in back, shall we? I think we have much to discuss."

Fugara looked to be in her thirties with long braided dark brown hair. She looked rather pretty and had a nice slim figure. She wore a simplified version of a shaman's attire as did all the others who were there.

Fugara led the duo to the back area. Upon entering, Zephram was amazed to discover all these different artifacts that adorned the walls and shelves. It literally felt like he had stepped through into a different time period. Silvia seemed even more impressed by it as she closely inspected one of the paintings on the wall. It was that of an old man with a noble look about him.

Fugara smiled at her curiosity. "That was my great-great-grandfather. He was a wise leader back then. Out of all of us, he was probably the closest to reconnect with the planet. Whatever he did, it changed him in ways I never thought possible.### Zephram walked over to where Silvia stood and looked at the painting as well.

"How was he changed exactly?" Zephram asked.

Surprisingly, it was Silvia who answered. "Look at his eyes. They're like mine."

Zephram looked closer at the man's eyes and to his shock, his pupils were slitted just like a feline's.

"But how?" Zephram asked.

Fugara walked up behind the two, "We shamans - and all of mankind for that matter - are inhabited by what we call spirit guides. But the more technical term is animal guides. Each of us has one. It is a hidden manifestation of our long-lost link to the world we live in. It is said that this link is a source of spiritual knowledge and understanding of the Earth and all life in it."

Fugara led them to a table with chairs around it, inviting them to take a seat, which they did.

After they all sat down, she continued, "
It's been said that many ages ago, our ancestors not only communicated actively with their animal guides, as we are communicating right now, but were actually able to become one with them and take on their animal features. And for a time, our ancestors and their animal guides were as one. They possessed a connection to the planet so profound, that they could actually communicate with the spirit of the Earth itself. And not only that, they gained other benefits as well. Their physical strength became several times greater than that of an ordinary human and, depending on what animal they took the bipedal form of, they shared their physical abilities as well. Some could run really fast, others could breath underwater, and there were even some who could fly like a hawk. It was true peace and joy for them; the way we humans should be. As far as I'm concerned, we are just an empty canvas waiting to be painted on."

Zephram and Silvia were highly intrigued by this.

"So what became of them?" Silvia asked.

Fugara's expression of pride turned to one of disappointment. "For the most part, we shamans have kept our ways to ourselves; especially our attempts to regain the unity with our animal guides that we have lost. And we did this for good reason. With the continuing advances of science and the selfish desires of modern man to use technology for the sake of convenience, we shamans became persecuted and treated like freaks. They even killed many of us because they misunderstood and feared our powers. It wasn't long until that connection we attained became lost and we became separated from our animal spirits. It created a deep-seated resentment toward outsiders and, even though we still were able to communicate with our animal guides, it was still a crushing loss to us. It took many long years to forge anything resembling a truce with you outsiders.###

It was apparent that Fugara, and everyone else in this building, weren't easily accommodating of outsiders, and now Zephram understood why.

"I think it's time that you explained how your lady friend achieved what we have strived for many generations to reclaim," Fugara urged.

Zephram began his explanation. "I'm sure you know about the HEV virus that a group of extremists created to wipe out humanity, right?

Fugara nodded. "Yes, what a shameful thing for anyone to do."

Zephram continued: "World War III was the worst war this planet has ever faced. Everything we feared from this war came to pass and millions upon millions of people perished. From my understanding, that war was their motivation for engineering an unstoppable virus that would kill off all humans including themselves. They believed that we're all beyond redemption. You see, I was a scientist myself, specializing in genetics. As was apparent with a lot of people, I recently quit my job since there was no point in continuing it. I'm fully aware of the top doctors and other scientists' attempts to create a cure for this virus, and all of them failed. So I came up with this radical idea. Since the virus clearly targets humans and humans alone, I thought of taking the human gene out of the equation. I blended human genes with animal genes and experimented with Silvia here. Unfortunately, she didn't start as a human; she was a housecat."

Fugara looked Silvia over again. "She was just... a cat? But, how did she get so big?"

Zephram smiled. "After initial tests showed an increase in physical strength, I took the liberty of suppressing most of her myostatin genes because..." he paused as he blushed heavily.

Silvia spoke up cheerfully. "Because he wanted a superstrong woman with really big muscles!"

She emphasized her point by pulling back her sleeve, showing her enormous bicep and flexed it as it swelled to a hefty 40 inches, a really thick vein crossing over her peak and forking in two directions. All eyes were on that bicep as Zephram blushed even more.

"I...s-see..." Fugara stuttered.

Zephram coughed. "Well um, yes. And as you can tell, she has human-level intelligence as well and, of course, superhuman strength."

Fugara was still in awe at the size of Silvia's muscles. "So tell me then, have you managed to produce a similar result with a human?"

Zephram's recent memories of his failed attempt once again flooded his conscience.

He hesitated to answer, when Silvia put her hand on his shoulder. "It's OK, Zephie, tell them. I think they will understand. Don't worry, I'm here baby."

Zephram clutched her hand and nodded in silent gratitude. "I attempted the opposite of what I did with Silvia and mixed animal genes with their own human genes. In this case, I used the genes from Silvia here before her transformation. Both of the human test subjects showed promising results at first. But then they... their bodies rejected the DNA and they died painfully as a result. I was so convinced I could succeed where everyone else has failed and save mankind. I thought I could just dodge this virus entirely!"

Fugara could see the pain in Zephram###s eyes and knew he was feeling a lot of guilt over this.

She looked at the other shamans, then back at Zephram. "I'm not sure if this will help any, but each person has his or her own animal spirit guide. No one can choose which animal they'll have. My great-great-grandfather's animal guide was a cat, hence the slitted eyes. Now normally, it's against our beliefs to tell anyone what our animal is. But in light of his discovery..."

Zephram slammed his hands on the table, interrupting and startling everyone. "THAT'S IT!!!"

He looked excitedly at Fugara. "I think I know now how to successfully join human and animal! Fugara, until I return with news of whether this works or not, please promise me you won't tell anyone outside this room. The last thing I'm sure any of us wants is a riot over this."

After a couple moments, Fugara bowed respectfully. "You have my word then. And I believe that everything that transpires is a part of something bigger. You would be doing more than just saving all our lives. May the spirits of nature guide you well."

Silvia threw her hood back on as Zephram returned Fugara###s bow, "I believe there is a scientific explanation for this. Thank you for your support."

Fugara could only smile. "Yeah, well the human race is on the verge of extinction. What's the point in holding onto values now?"

Zephram took off running out of the building with Silvia easily keeping pace.

As they ran, Silvia had a curious look on her face. "Are you trying to get back as fast as possible?"

Zephram was already breathing harder. "Yeah."

Silvia ran up to Zephram, scooped him up into her muscular arms, and propelled herself forward at amazing speed! Zephram was stunned at how fast she could run, considering how big those muscles of hers were. But that didn't seem to be much of an impediment to her agility. Like many things about her, Zephram was almost always aroused when near her, especially when in physical contact with her. It wasn't long before they were already back at his house. She set him down as they hurried inside and Zephram made his way into his small lab and quickly set up his equipment. A stab of pain suddenly hit his stomach as he clutched it.

"You alright?" Silvia asked.

Zephram nodded. "I'm fine. It's just a stomach cramp, probably from running so hard. I have a strong theory regarding the whole animal guide thing Fugara was telling us about. What if there's more to it than that?"

Before Silvia could answer, Zephram was already grabbing a sample of his blood from storage and carefully removing a drop of it and placing it on a glass slide under an electron microscope. He started looking hard at it as if searching for something specific within the blood.

This time, Silvia was really curious. "What are you looking for?"

Without looking up, Zephram answered. "I'm trying to find an inactive or dormant gene among the active ones. No one has ever known because no one knew what to look for. Just give me a minute, OK?"

"Sure thing!" Silvia said cheerfully as she sat down nearby.

Zephram looked and looked until he found it! It amazed him how no one has ever discovered it before.

He finally looked up at Silvia. "It's definitely not the same as my active genes. It's an animal gene alright! No one has ever found it because no one has ever considered the possibility of another type of gene within us."

Silvia was excited by Zephram's brilliance. "So is that what it's called then, the animal gene?"

Zephram thought a moment. It was a discovery after all and thus it didn't have an official name.

One occurred to him. "Assuming this works out, I'll call it the beast gene. And if this works as I hope it will, I'll be able to use a genetic resequencer that will target that gene and activate it, making it the dominant gene and overriding the human ones."

Zephram looked at the tables he used for Benjamin and Meredith. "And there's only one person, with who I can feel morally able to try this on... myself."           

Silvia got up and walked over to him. "Zephram,### she said gently, ###Are you sure about this?"

Zephram was determined. "I won't cause anymore suffering. If this fails, then I die trying. But something tells me I won't fail this time Silvia. And I need you to believe in this as well."

Silvia loved Zephram more than anything. She simply couldn't imagine how hard it would be to live without the man who gave her this body and her new life.

"I'll try my love," she finally said.

Zephram pulled her close and gave her a tender kiss, which she happily returned. "I love you, Silvia."

"And I love you, Zephram. Please be right about this," she pleaded.

Zephram got right to work on the genetic resequencer. He isolated the dormant gene and designed the resequencer to activate that gene and cause it to rapidly become primary and override all the human genes. He neared completion when his body started to ache all over and his focus began to waver.

"Damn, I'm not feeling very well all of a sudden. Ugh!" he yelped as he clutched his midsection again.

Both of them looked at each other in horror as the deadly realization struck.

"Oh no! I'm infected by the virus! The symptoms, they are consistent! I've got to hurry! If I'm right, the pain will keep getting worse until I lose consciousness! And then it's only a matter of minutes after that before the virus runs its course and kills me!" Zephram cried.

Silvia's eyes teared up. For all her newfound strength, she felt completely helpless. Zephram was fighting the increasing pain with everything he had until - at last - he got the serum created and loaded into a syringe. But before he could make it to the experiment table, the pain spiked sharply as he collapsed to the floor.

Before losing consciousness, he held up the syringe, "Silvia...it's...up to...you."

Silvia caught the syringe as it fell out of Zephram's hand. She was fighting back the urge to cry. She knew that she had very little time to act. She picked up Zephram's limp body and gently placed it on the table. She obviously never injected someone before, but having watched Zephram do it several times, she knew to use an alcohol swap to moisten the injection area on his arm.

"Don't you dare die my love! You're the last hope for us all!"

And with that, Silvia stuck the needle in and squeezed the plunger...



~ TO BE CONTINUED ~

In the next chapter of Anthro: With Zephram lying between life and death, Sylvia finishes the job that he started. But will this potential cure act in time to save him, or will the virus claim his life? The moment of truth is at hand in the next chapter of Anthro: Evolution