Fay sat in the bed, not her own, but one she’d been forced into. A straightjacket held her arms down firmly. With a shudder, she continued to stare at the wall, reddened circles having formed under her eyes in the last two days. Her breaths were short and startled, small gasps, every time another shiver crept along her spine. “Stupid . . .” She whispered, trying to ignore the fact that a large ‘mirror’ was mounted on the opposite wall.

        She knew precisely what it was. One of those strange things that allowed the people on the other side to see her, even though all she saw was her reflection. ‘A one-way mirror?’ She questioned herself. ‘Or was it two-way?’ With a slow breath, she rested her head against the plain white wall. She knew they were watching her. Since she’d been moved here, there wasn’t a single night that she didn’t feel consistently watched. Every movement she made was most likely being scrawled down in some half-rate therapist’s notes.

        Since the other night, she’d been kept in total isolation. Her doses had been upped, and outside of her meal and medicine delivery, she was kept alone. Completely isolated.

        “Had it coming,” Fay murmured so quietly even she could barely hear the words. It made a weak half-smile cross her lips. Of all things, she loved saying things so quietly they couldn’t hear no matter how hard they tried. Maybe then they would give up on trying to fix her and simply let her be. Fay missed her privacy already.

        Of all things, she missed being with people. Even though she had a killer tendency to isolate herself from people so thoroughly that she spent days upon days alone, this was different. This was not a grief-induced sorrow that had her sitting in a bed at all hours of the day. She was only allowed out of the jacket if she was subdued. That was when she was allowed to consume her meals. When those times came, Fay felt like a zombie. She felt detached. Even though she was here, she felt like she wasn’t.

        In some weird way, it felt like her mind was gone. This whole place, including herself, was little more than a shell. It was otherwise empty. With a slow exhale, Fay allowed her mind to blank itself further. Everything had happened for a reason. She couldn’t argue the fact that it was hard to keep going like this. How was she supposed to get better if they wouldn’t even give her a chance? Sighing, Fay wondered where Optimus and Charlie were. Would they ever be allowed to visit her again? Would she ever be allowed out of this place again?

        ~~~

        The officer was back. Fay, for the life of her, couldn’t recall his name as she sat on the bed. It was the first day after the incident that had caused her to be in this straightjacket in the first place. It was the first day that had caused the incident that would isolate her from other life unless she was properly sedated.

        “Farrah,” he called calmly. Despite the ‘danger’ she presented, his body held no additional tension. Why should it? She was more than properly restrained, kept from moving quickly or well. He was perfectly safe. Why would he have any problems with her, even if she did try something offhand? “We found something in your system after they ran the blood tests, Farrah.”

        That got her attention, if only slightly. It had become increasingly difficult for Fay to focus on anything since they’d put her here. With her vision slightly blurry, she blinked a few times as she focused on the young officer that sat near her, on the other end of her bed. “Wha . . . ?”

        “We found the same sort of chemical mixture as when you harmed yourself. Where did you get the drug, Farrah?” His question was startling, albeit confusing, as she squinted, trying to focus on him.

        “What the bloody hell are you talking about . . . ? I’m not on any drugs, you stupid-.”

        “Then explain the mark on your leg, Farrah,” the officer interrupted. “Made by a needle.”

        With a slight groan, Fay craned her neck to see the large bruise that had formed on her thigh. The same spot that Barricade had injected her with some unknown, burning fluid. “I’m not on any drugs,” she insisted. “I didn’t do that. Some . . . Thing did . . .” She chose her words carefully, not needing them to think she was even more unstable, should she start making mentions of large, metal, sentient beings. Shifting her weight, Fay turned her attention away, resting her head against the wall again. “I didn’t do anything,” she murmured again. “I’m not some stupid crackhead . . .”

        “No,” he agreed. “You’re on something far worse. Where did you get the substance, Farrah?”

        “I don’t know,” she hissed through her teeth. “I really, just do, not, know. It was injected against my will. Apparently twice now.” For a moment, Fay tried to slip through her memories, to try and recall a similar situation, but with the volume of medicine she was on, she couldn’t recall anything beyond the last few hours. Everything was becoming fuzzy, the further it got away, the harder it was to recall what had happened.

        The only things she remembered from beyond this space was from those moments between the conscious world and dreaming. It was a struggle for Fay to hold onto those moments, to hold onto those memories. It was hard to recall names, personalities, faces especially.

        “Who are you . . . ?” Fay murmured softly, the familiar glimpse of black hair and blue eyes flashing across her vision.

        “Excuse me?” The officer asked. Fay was completely oblivious to the fact that he was still here. She barely even noticed the ‘doctor’ a mere five feet beyond him, who stood in silence, scrawling words on paper against his clipboard.

        “I just don’t know what happened,” Fay said, just as quietly as before, even though the words were meant for the officer this time. It was the truth, Fay could hardly remember that night now. It was difficult to recall any of it. All she remember was her panic, that feeling of shame as she ran, her head slamming against a tree, her vision blurring . . . And then . . . Nothing. The only visions she could recall of that night came to her in her dreams, all of which were promptly forgotten upon her waking.

        ~~~

        “You bastard!” She exclaimed, her eyes flashing red as she reopened them. “I’ll kill you for that, you insignificant mech!” And Farrah meant those words. She would teach this mech a lesson for daring to cause her pain, with a needle of all things. How dare he treat her like little more than a pin cushion? She was FarLust. She was a deadly femme capable of throes of destruction.

        His spark would not make it to morning.

        With a shout, Fay struck out at the plain-looking brunette man that served as Barricade’s holoform. He managed to block her blow, but not without a cost. With a swift grip and an immediate reaction, she grabbed the needle atop the syringe, yanking it out just before slicing it across his torso.

        The blood and energon were quick to start flowing out from the shallow wound. “You witch!” He exclaimed. “I bring out your true nature and this is how you repay me? Lord Megatron ought to send your helm rolling-!” He was cut off when Fay grabbed his throat, pressing him firmly to the trunk of a tree, a growl resonating from her throat as she glared at him.

        “I ought to end you right here, right now,” she warned him, snarling. “You’re a thorn in my slagging side, you stupid mech. Give me one reason I shouldn’t cut out your spark.” Her voice was little less than a hiss as she threatened him.

        “You wouldn’t,” Barricade growled back.

        “Oh, but I would,” Fay hissed, shoving the needle deep into the holoform’s small piece of spark. “You do not show insubordinance towards the greatest weapon of the Decepticon cause.” For a moment, Fay nearly felt bad. But when she recalled what she’d been put through, she simply didn’t care. They had used her, and the fact that they expected to be able to do so without retaliation was beyond ridiculous. She was a living being. She had emotions. She was entitled to the things that made her more than human. The things that made her more than just a Cybertronian.

        Letting the now-offlined holoform fall to the ground, Fay yanked the needle back out, growling at the ‘corpse’.

        It was then that Starscream’s holoform appeared, his hand coming to Fay’s shoulder, turning her roughly so that she looked at him directly. She hissed at him immediately, glaring at where he stood, far too close for her comfort. “Get the pit away from me!” She shouted, defensively placing the needle between them. “Or I will frag you up!”

        Starscream chuckled, apparently not feeling very threatened by the girl in front of him. Her teeth bared themselves, trying to intimidate him, her instincts taking over. “I suggest you calm yourself down, Femme. You’re going to want to listen to what I have to say.” Fay paused, watching him, her eyes flicking around the wooded space. “That’s a good femme,” Starscream soothed. “Now what would you say to overthrowing Megatron, hm? If you join forces with me, that mech will fall from his throne, and he will never reclaim it. If you so wish, I will allow you to be the one to take his spark. Does that appeal to you? I’m sure it does given all the grief he’s put you through. Just think of the opportunity to avenge the . . . siblings he took from you. Doesn’t that idea appeal to you, Femme?”

        A small growl slipped out of Fay’s throat yet again. “I don’t recall you helping to protect them, Seeker,” she retorted, obviously not believing his words. “Perhaps I would think better of the situation if you had made some effort to preserve their sparks.” Quickly, Fay pushed the stained needle into the Seeker’s holoform as well, piercing the small piece of spark that resonated inside the chamber. Fay’s frown grew as she watched him fall to the dusty ground. “Stupid mechs,” she growled. “Never trust a weapon. Because as quickly as it can fire on your enemy, it can also fire on you.”

        A thought came to her, and Fay, FarLust, rather liked the despicable idea. Grabbing the ankles of both the offlined holoforms, she began dragging them over the ground, not caring when the lifeless forms hit against tree roots or bumped into rocks. She just kept moving, kept walking, taking them back the direction she’d come from. They would pay for their misdeeds. The Decepticons would understand her for the threat she was.

        Not twenty feet from the fence that would take her back to grounds of the institution, Fay heard her voice. Not her own voice, but a familiar voice nonetheless.

        “D-Don’t do it, Fay,” the redhead called out. “Don’t give in to the darkness. It’s what they want. Don’t give them what they want. Continue being strong. Continue being you. You can’t let them win, Fay.” When the brunette turned her head, she noticed that Carrie was far from being well.

        Her hair wasn’t the only thing that was red.

        Blood coated her skin, she stood with one leg, the other obviously damaged as she clung to a tree. Through the darkness and the blood, Fay could still make out her freckles, which seemed to be growing darker and larger. “Don’t let them take me away from you, Fay . . . Don’t give in to their desires. If you lose me now, you might never get me back . . . Don’t let that happen. You can’t let them finish me. Resist them, Fay, please!”

        “I don’t care,” Fay muttered angrily. “I just don’t fragging care! You’re useless anyway!”

        “Fair, please!”

        “What did you call me?” Fay shot back quickly, her eyes widening with anger as she stared at the girl in front of me. “What the hell did you just call me?”

        “Fair . . .” Carrie muttered.

        “Don’t listen to her!” A young man’s voice came from the darkness. The same one that belonged to the boy that had driven her borderline mad before. The one she’d been ready to gut for his provocative comments towards her. As he stepped out of the shadows, she could see the obvious grin on his hauntingly handsome face. “Go ahead,” he told her, jerking his head towards where the Autobots and Decepticons were, a few loud ‘thuds’ sounding from a confrontation, followed by a few sharper ‘clangs’. “Show them what you’re made of,” he insisted. “I’m sure they’ll love it. I know I would.”

        While Carrie looked ready to keel over, this boy looked completely healthy. Happy, really. He seemed delighted as he threw an arm around Carrie’s shoulders, and she was far too weak to protest. “Don’t do it, Fair,” she murmured. “You can’t . . .”

        “Do it,” he insisted again. “They’ll give you extra points for presentation.”

        Fay paused, her teeth bared in a snarl as she glared at the boy, watching him suspiciously. “What the pit do you think you’re doing?” She asked as she continued dragging the bodies towards the fence.

        “Just offering moral support,” he told her, his smirk growing as she took the bodies closer to the chain link.

        “I meant, what the pit do you think you’re doing-,” Fay paused a moment, heaving the bodies over the fence, tossing them towards the Autobots and Decepticons and where they were waging a small war. “Touching her?”

        It took only a moment before Fay charged him, and the boy was taken off guard as she came to the aid of a wounded and beaten down Carrie. While Fay didn’t know how the redhead’s wounds had been inflicted, that didn’t matter. She had to protect those who needed her aid. Perhaps not even that far. She needed to protect Carrie. Something about her reached into Fay’s spark and subdued a bit of the chemical that was working its way through her system. Despite her frustration and her desire to maim those who angered her, Carrie brought out another instinct: to protect those who needed her.