She froze, and Saeran watched as she tried to come up with an answer that would please him. He knew that whatever she said would be at least partially untrue, but he still waited to hear her answer, regardless.

“C-128?” he said, taking a step towards her. He didn’t mean it to be menacing, but it was clear that it terrified her, and she just said the first thing that came to mind.

“It-it’s a booster for long-term elixir use.  Taken on top of your usual dose it helps keep clarity of purpose. Or, well, that’s what I designed it to do… I haven’t tested it yet… how do you feel?”

“No difference, yet.”

“Well, ideally it’s meant to be taken directly after your usual dose of Elixir, so I don’t know that you’d specifically notice the effects yet.”

“Make me another vial of this - I’ll take it next time I take my elixir, and let you know.”

Her eyes widened, but she turned to do as he said. As she was mixing up another of the magenta potions, without the pink dye this time, she dared to ask her question.

“Sir?”

“Yes, C-128?”

“Why are you here? N-not that you can’t be, just, have I done something wrong?”

“No, I was just interested, and I needed a break.”

She took a deep breath, and then handed him the vial of mint liquid that looked very similar to the standard Elixir of Salvation.

“It’s not Magenta.” he said, skeptically.

“Savior said the other colors were only allowable in the lab. If you’re leaving the lab, it has to be mint.”

“Ah. Sensible. Wouldn’t want anyone knowing about the differences.”

“Well, you do now.” She chuckled. “Please don’t tell the Savior you’re testing for me. I fear she’d be angry with me, and…”

“It was my choice.” He said. “Would you tell me no?”

C-128 shook her head. “Of course not, Mr. Saeran.” “Good.” he said, leaving the room. “I will be back tomorrow to tell you my experiences.”

After that day, Saeran regularly stopped by her lab for his “booster” as he called it. She’d been tweaking the formula to work better on him as he told her his experiences, and every day he felt even better than the last.  He wasn’t sure what the mixture was actually supposed to do.  Her lie had been thinly-veiled at best, and mostly spoken out of panic. He didn’t know if he’d just been testing her initially, but after that first day of clarity after an elixir dose, he just couldn’t stop wanting the booster to accompany it.  Regardless of its purpose, it was making his job so much easier.

He knew that per the Savior’s instructions she had been creating a much stronger version of the elixir, which would work as a booster to hypnotic suggestion receptiveness in small doses, but that didn’t seem to be what this was doing for him at all.

Saeran had never felt so capable and in control with the Elixir than he did with the boosters that C-128 developed for him. He’d been managing to stay three steps ahead of that traitor, and the savior had even decided they didn’t need to get someone into the apartment to distract the RFA - she was content with his progress as it was, and he’d never been more proud.

So, when C-128 didn’t bring his next day’s booster vials, Saeran was immediately worried. Not only would it affect his progress but it could get her in trouble with the Savior as well.  He’d have to go pick them up himself, of course. It’d give him a chance to check in and see if there were any new updates she’d made, or if it was just the same not-Magenta mixture.

When he got there, he found the door shut and locked, with another Believer standing in front of the door. Immediately, Saeran was on guard.  What was going on with the Elixir lab?

“Believer, Report.”

“Ah! M-Mr. Saeran! Believer A-230 here. The Savior is waiting for C-128 to finish testing something, and no one is allowed in or out until she’s completed it.”

“And you’ve kept watch the entire time?”

“Yes, nothing has changed. It’s been quiet in there, though.”

“Understood. I’m here to relieve you, Savior’s orders. Go back to your usual duties, A-230.”

“Yes, Mr. Saeran.”

The believer nodded to him and walked off.  Once he was sure the man was gone, he unlocked the door and slipped inside.  As the door shut behind him, he froze in shock. C-128 was laying on the ground with a broken flask and a puddle of bright blue liquid nearby.

“C-128. Are you alright?” He crouched down next to her, noting the flicker in her eyelids that he was used to from a cleansing gone bad, and checked her pulse.  It fluttered weakly against his fingers, and he would swear the rhythm was erratic.

She looked up at the tone of his voice, squeezing her eyes shut before staring imploringly at him. “No. Magenta…” Saeran grabbed the vial of magenta liquid from his first visit to the lab, and tipped it down her throat.  She coughed, but seemed to breathe a little bit easier almost immediately. “Won’t be enough. I need… Hospital... Bring the… red bag.” one shaky hand pointed to where the first aid kit was attached to the wall.  Why would she need the first aid kit if she was going to the hospital?  

There wasn’t time to ask these questions, not with C-128 passing out again. Saeran didn’t argue, couldn’t argue with an unconscious woman. He lifted her up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and grabbed the large kit she’d pointed at.  He may have been practically skin and bones before, but with her booster he’d been putting on muscle in ways he hadn’t been able to before, so lifting her wasn’t an issue.  

Believer and her first aid kit in hand, Saeran made quick time to the garage, where he buckled her into his personal vehicle.

Fifteen minutes into the 40-minute drive at breakneck speeds to the nearest hospital, Saeran’s phone began to ring. He tapped the button.

“Yes, Savior?” “Ray~” Her saccharine-sweet voice rang over the car speakers, and Saeran had to suppress a shudder. “Where are you going?” “I am taking C-128 to the hospital. She’s catatonic.” “You can’t do that, Saeran. She will ruin everything for us.” “I must. She’s a genius, and we can’t afford to lose her.” “She was a lost cause the moment she started giving you that ‘booster’.” Rika’s voice was bitter, suddenly. “But the booster that C-128 gave me vastly improved my performance. You said so yourself.” Rika made a disgruntled noise. “You must turn around and come back, Ray.” “No. I will not. She needs help.” “Ray. This is an order.” “Too bad.” He said sharply, and hung up.

Next to him, C-128 stirred. “She’ll cleanse you for that, Saeran.”

“I’d love to see her try.” He said, roughly. “You’re awake. What’s in the kit? I peeked, it’s not bandages and ointments.”

“All of my samples. My legal identification. Incriminating Evidence.”

“How do you mean, incriminating evidence?”

“Savior had me keeping track of the cleansing deaths, and I have her initial elixir trial notebook.”

“This will bring down Mint Eye.” Saeran growled. “Why would you do this?”

“She intends… to give them all what she made me take.  The Eternal Party… it’s going to kill everyone.”

Saeran went silent. C-128 wasn’t lying to him. She sounded certain, in a way she hadn’t when she’d told him about the ‘booster’. He’d known she was lying about the magenta vial when he took it, and especially when it’s what she reached for when she was in trouble.

“What does the magenta vial you’ve been giving me for the last few months actually do, C-128?”

“It’s a nullifier.” She said, resignedly. “I designed it to... purge the elixir’s effects... from my system.”

“You’ve been giving me anti-elixir this entire time?”

“Y-yes.” She stuttered, and Saeran just blinked.

“No wonder the Savior was so upset with you.” He sighed. “Thank you, C-128, but you did not need to do that for me, not at this cost.”

“Hey, you took it first. I didn’t really… do… anything…” She muttered sleepily, and Saeran looked over at her in a panic. “C-128. Stay with me, we’re almost there.”

Whatever she tried to say didn’t resolve into words as her head lolled against the headrest.

“Fuck.” Saeran said, and drove faster.

“The toxicology on this woman is insane.” Saeran heard the nurse say. She probably thought she was being quiet enough that he wouldn’t hear her. She was not. “The ingredients in the test vials are unbelievable. How they got their hands on some of these things is beyond me.”

Saeran thought back on some of the things he’d done at the Savior’s direction and knew exactly how they’d come by the trickier parts of the elixir’s ingredients.

“Excuse me.” He said, standing up from C-128’s beside. “Is she going to recover?”

“Ah, Mr. Choi. Yes, Thanks to her own notes your wife should be awake in a few hours, once the sedative wears off, and then we’ll likely be able to discharge her tomorrow.  You are aware that the police would like to talk to you both?” 

He nodded, and stepped out to make a phone call. Wife. Her identification card had said ‘Eunji Choi’. Sure, there were a lot of Chois out there. He could have said they were siblings, but they looked nothing alike. And he had to give them some kind of relation, or they never would have let him in. He hoped she’d forgive his subterfuge. However, with a potential release day of tomorrow, he was going to have to take a risk. With his heart in his throat, he tapped a contact on his phone, and let it ring.

“Who is this? How did you get this number?” “Saeyoung. It’s Saeran.”

True to their word, C-128 blinked her eyes open just a few hours later.

“Mr. Saeran?” She asked, blearily, as if to confirm he was still there.

“Just Saeran is fine - I told them we were married so they’d let me stay with you. What should I call you?”

“Oh. Anything but my wallet name.” Her cheeks pinked, but if she had any thoughts about being called his wife, she didn’t share them.  He made a split-second decision, and smiled down at her.

“Okay, Princess.” he said, brushing her hair back off of her forehead, just in time for the doctor to walk back in and check on her due to the change in her vitals from the machines she was hooked up to.

“Ah, my apologies for interrupting. Mrs. Choi, welcome back to the world of the awake. Thanks to your detailed notes, we were able to promptly flush your system of the poison, and you should be back to functioning normally shortly.”

She nodded, and the doctor sighed. “The police will want to speak with you as soon as you are able.”

“They will have to wait until the Family lawyers arrive.” A voice said from the doorway, and Saeran looked up to see one Jumin Han, a man he had previously only seen in photographs, looking stern. Behind him, a mop of red hair Saeran would know anywhere.