It was easy so far. Half an hour into her run and Fay felt like she could go forever. Determined, she kept going, running circles on the track, letting her mind wander.

        Her endurance had skyrocketed since coming here. Fay supposed that was a small silver lining to the misery she endured being locked up in this place day after day. Her strength was up, too. Even though she was still lean, her body was toned, the power lurking under her skin becoming evident as the time passed. The fact that her Cybertronian heritage was laced in didn't hurt matters any.

        She was a warrior. And she was not afraid of who she was anymore.

        That's what she told herself, anyway, not realizing that she hadn't seen the true danger her nature posed just yet.

        "Hey Sexy!" Called an irritatingly familiar voice. Fay ignored him and kept running. She kept going for another half hour, trying to disregard the fact that he continued to lean against the fence, watching her.

        After the hour passed, Fay still had energy to burn. So, rather than call it quits and risk a conversation with Joshua, she started doing sprint drills. She ran for a hundred meters at a time, doing plain sprints, butt kicks, shuffles, everything she could recall. It took another twenty minutes before she finished. After stretching out, Fay went off and started her cool down.

        Once it was all said and done, she couldn't avoid Josh any longer. He strode up to her as she attempted to walk off the field, a smirk plastered on his face. Grabbing her shoulder, he turned her to face him. "You look pretty sexy when wet, Far."

        "You're disgusting," Fay snapped back. "The only reason I'm wet is because I've been sweating. Because I've been working my ass off. That's nothing you'd know about, is it, Pretty Boy?"

        Joshua smirked. "Oh, I know about hard work. And you're definitely making me work for you. Bet I can make you sweat in the sheets. What do you say? Up for a friendly wager?"

        "I'm up for you letting go of me before I cut you into pieces," Fay snapped at him, a bit of her spark flickering. "If I were you, I wouldn't push it. This girl might be a bit too crazy for you to handle." Hell, if Fay was going to be stuck here after what she'd already done to him, she sure as hell wasn't going to lay down and take his shoddy behavior.

        “I like crazy,” Joshua told her easily, his voice sliding past her ears like a poisonous honey. She hated him. Hated and loathed and detested him, and yet . . . Something about him felt entirely . . . right.

        ~~~

        Charlie sat in her room, analyzing the list she’d made. It included all the patients she knew of.

        Carrie.

        Joshua.

        Heather.

        Matthew.

        Lindsey.

        Sarah.

        Kara.

        Link.

        Shane.

        Those were the only ones she knew by name, and even then, it was hard to pinpoint them. Most of what she knew came from slipping a few ‘records’ from the nurses and analyzing them while Fay was distracted. Carrie and Joshua were the ones she knew best. Joshua she absolutely couldn’t stand, and Carrie . . . Carrie drove her insane. Even though Carrie was obviously looking out for Fay, Charlie was here to take care of Fay, too. Carrie wasn’t even real. Why was someone who wasn’t real so damned stubborn about keeping secrets?

        Taking a deep breath, Charlie looked over the names again, trying to summon behaviors, faces, personalities, to go with them. Without a word, Charlie took her list and decided to pay a visit to the figments of Fay’s imagination.

        ~~~

        “Get away from me,” Fay warned again, pulling out of his grip and heading for the building. Again, he followed and placed a strong hand on her shoulder.

        “I don’t think you understand this. You don’t have a choice.” Fay whirled around to face him, growing frustrated. His expression only brightened when he saw it in her. “That’s it!” He whispered, delighted. “That’s what I love! Feed it! Feel the anger! The hatred bubbling inside you! That’s-!”

        Fay struck him. She hated everything he was. Hated everything he pretended to be. He was fake. No one could truly behave the way he did. Fay had to tell herself that. It was the only way she kept from ripping his head off.

        Joshua went down. He hit the grass butt-first, but his smile only grew as he held the spot on his jaw that Fay’s fist had made contact with. “So lively . . . You’re getting me back . . .”

        “Shut the f-.”

        “Filly.” A hand came to her shoulder, calming her at the call of her nickname. “He’s not worth it. Come inside. Clean yourself off. It’ll be all right.”

        Taking a deep breath, Fay fought the urge to keep fighting, no matter who her target was, and relented to the Prime’s wishes. “All right,” she muttered, turning away from Joshua as she strode back towards the building. To her surprise, Joshua didn’t say anything about a non-patient being outside the visiting area. ‘It’s better if he doesn’t say anything,’ she reminded herself. ‘So long as I can see him. So long as he is here and no one stops him, everything will be fine.’

        “Are you all right?” Optimus asked as they left the troublesome young man behind. Fay focused on their path, unable to look at him right now.

        “I’m just fine,” she told him. “He’s just an idiot who thinks he’s a badass for getting his ass kicked on a regular basis.”

        “He’s insignificant, Filly . . .” He told her, kissing into her hair briefly. “Don’t let him get to you. Just calm down and move forward.”

        Clenching her fist for a moment, Fay fought the anger that surged in her chest. It wasn’t that easy to just ‘calm down and move forward’ or to ignore someone so damned arrogant. But Optimus was reasonable enough. And even though Fay wanted so terribly to throw someone against a wall and just . . . hurt them, she suppressed it and let things happen. Slowly, her rage dwindled. She took another deep breath, attempting to release those thoughts, as Optimus reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. A silent reminder that he was still here with her. Even though things could be frustrating, he was here. And she would be all right.

        ~~~

        Malakai had watched the entire exchange between Farrah, Joshua and the Prime. The dreaded Prime. As Farrah’s frustration had grown, he’d watched the colors and textures warp, invisible to her but so obvious to any visitors. It signaled how deep she was in this world. The deeper she was, the harder it would be for her to escape. Until they could find her, they wanted her deep inside this broken world.

        And then the Prime had come. And the colors, the textures, had stabilized. To nearly-realistic levels. It was frustrating to watch their work be negated.

        That was how they knew that the Prime had to be taken out of the equation. He had to be distracted. Or better yet, he had to be rejected by Farrah. Perhaps they could even get the mech to reject her of his own accord. Regardless of the means, the Decepticons would reach the same end result. The Prime and their weapon would not end on good terms.

        ~~~

        Charlie strode around the facility, watching the patients that resided here. It was frustrating, to say the least. Everyone was endlessly different. Most showed very distinct personalities and behavioral traits. Many of them seemed polar, either positive or negative, at least for the most part, and others fell into a gray area somewhere in between.

        “What the hell do these people have to do with Fay?” Charlie muttered, observing them. She’d been at this for hours, and she couldn’t pinpoint what was happening, or, supposed to be happening. None of it made sense. “Damn it, Carrie!” She huffed, keeping the words quiet. “Stupid, riddle-bound girl! What is any of this supposed to mean! You’re just as stubborn as Fay!” Groaning, Charlie continued to observe those around her, hoping something would click.

        It didn’t hit her for several more minutes.

        “Son of a bitch . . .” Charlie muttered breathlessly. Everything fell into place. “They’re her.”