Seiko

Seiko - IM-002
"I just wanted to save everyone..."

---

Seiko is the very unstable and very dangerous former head scientist. She developed and near perfected the Elixir and her name is famous and known worldwide for her "miracle", and she has won numerous awards for doing so.

But Seiko has been missing for years.

Upon discovering that Seiko had regrets and doubts about the Elixir, Void called for her to train an apprentice to help her. Void wanted to start expanding and "You'll need someone who knows your routine and can help you when we start getting busy.". Reluctantly, Seiko sought out Rikki, an eager young spiral with nothing to lose and everything to prove.

Once she'd finished teaching Rikki everything she knew in preparation for what was to come, Seiko suddenly found herself on the wrong end of the needle.

"I'm sorry Seiko...But I have no room for doubts."

Seiko was drugged and thrown into the pit of the factory she'd helped create. When she awoke, she found gentle claws shaking her.

"Quick! Get up! They're coming and you'll be hurt if you're still down!"

She didn't need to be told twice. She got up and followed the midnight wildclaw. But where was she? Who was she? And why was she here?

Questions swirled in her head as she was shown what to do at her station, but none could be answered. She knew something was wrong...but what?

---

"Seiko...Was that my name? Who was I before I became IM-002? Is everything I remember a lie?"

Thoughts tossed and swirled around in the head of the blood imperial as she measured and poured. These potions required exact amounts, or else the counts for the day would be off and they would all be punished.

"Also the chemical balance would be off and the consumer will be imbalanced and the potion won't work right."

Her head twitched. Where had that thought come from? That wasn't a thought of a worker. That was a thought of a scientist. Why would the thoughts of a scientist plague her mind? Memories swirled through her mind as she carefully scaled out elixir components.

"Why do these materials feel so familiar?"

Her shoulder ached where the needles had drawn yet another portion of her soul. She grimaced as a silvery powder sifted through her claws. It was so familiar...

"I..."

She let out a tiny yelp as her sore shoulder was bumped, and let out another when a pick dug deep into her side, followed by a rope wrapping around her body to pin her wings down. She turned to see a grey spiral grinning nastily at her.

"Hello Seiko...I need a new sample. Sit still."

"Do I know her...?"

"...Rikki...?"

She clenched her teeth as the spiral cruelly jabbed her in the shoulder and injected the serum. She waited a few seconds and pulled the plunger of the needle back, drawing out a glowing, silvery liquid, filling the needle. Rikki tapped the needle a couple times with her long, sharp claws and removed the rope and pick.

"Good girl, Seiko. Glad you were of use to me again."

Rikki left and she was left with just her thoughts.

"She knew me. She knew my name. She was different than the other one...She's different than the orange wildclaw..."

"Hey.

She was ripped out of her thoughts by a nudge. She looked around and saw Tempest, a young snapper who sometimes shared her station.

"You knew that dragon?"

She blinked and shook her head, resuming her work.

"Honestly...I don't remember. I think...I think I once worked with..."

It hit her. It was like a switch had gone on. As the toxins crept down her wings again, painting her feathers with fresh patterns brought on by the serum, she remembered. Why had she been thinking like a scientists? She HAD been a scientist. She looked down at a spoon of power in her claws and her stomach dropped. She'd developed this. Rikki had been her understudy. And now she was using her own creation against her. She was the one...

The spoon clattered to the ground and powder went everywhere. Guards yelled and Tempest jumped and backed away. She was breathing heavily, the realization striking her like lightning. She let out a deafening roar, causing workers to scatter and guards to advance. She whirled around and accepted the challenge.

"What have you all done?! What have I DONE?!"

She remembered killing three guards before blacking out. And when she awoke, there was nothing. Nothing but emptiness. Her muzzle was chained and wrapped shut as she went to work the next shift. Tempest was no longer by her side, but there was another. A grey pearlcatcher who was known as Revolution. He looked up at her, taking in the deadness in her eyes.

"Seiko. Seiko, I'll get you out. And while I can't promise we'll see that spiral again personally, I can promise you she will be dead."

From beneath her chains, her eyes glinted.

And she smiled.