“Are you sick like me?”

        Fay struck Joshua. She struck him again. And again. And again.

        Her fist kept crashing down onto his face. Every so often, she heard a ‘crack’ that told her one of his bones had broken in his face.

        “Am I beautiful, as I tear you to pieces?”

        He only laughed at her efforts to damage him. He felt no pain. At least not from Fay. It drove her mad that she couldn’t harm him, and it only fueled her desire to hurt him. She was determined to wipe that smirk off his face. She wanted him to realize that she could destroy him if she wanted. But the more she hit him, the more he smiled. It was an endless cycle.

        It was going to drive her mad.

        ~~~

        Ironhide didn’t even realize what was happening by the time it happened. His misplaced step had struck FarLust’s helm, and had sent the femme from a developing stage back to her protoform state. As his ped pulled away, it brushed against her sensitive form again, locking her protoform in this state for Primus-knew-how-long.

        “Primus slagging-.” Ironhide cursed as Jazz fought against CatClaw. Picking up the protoform, he repositioned it so that it wouldn’t be prone to any other accidents for the time being.

        A blast echoed through the lab, followed by a loud crash.

        Jazz had fired at CatClaw. And sent her slamming into the wall.

        The Autobot-turned-Decepticon slumped against the floor as she fell back down, a large mark against her abdomen where Jazz had struck her.

        Biting his lip in frustration, the Lieutenant turned away from the femme -- the being he had once sworn his spark to. ‘She’s not in there anymore,’ Jazz had to tell himself. ‘Whatever the Decepticons did, she’s not CatEyes anymore. She’s not your Kitten.’

        Jazz forced himself to look away from the lifeless form of CatClaw. That femme was not one he was familiar with any longer.

        It wasn’t long before Optimus joined them. They could hear the barks of the Cyberwolf in the holding area beneath them, but they did their best to ignore it. “What occurred here?” Optimus questioned, looking around. “What is it that the Decepticons have developed?”

        “We’re not sure, Optimus . . .” Ironhide replied slowly. Jazz stayed silent, refusing to look anyone in the optic. “But her reversion is my fault . . . I accept whatever punishment you decide to give for my lack of care with the situation.” In the processor of the weapons master, it truly was his fault, and the loss of whatever information they may have obtained before FarLust had reverted may have been crucial. Ironhide hoped he would be punished for it. He deserved it for his carelessness.

        Ironhide had no idea that the punishment he would come to insist upon would lead to one of the closest relationships he would ever have with another sentient being.

        ~~~

        Charlie coughed as the dust was scattered, several trees already have been splintered and broken into pieces. This was all very similar. This was the same sort of assault they’d encountered weeks ago, before Fay had used the Backtrack and reversed the course of events. It had sent time back, but it hadn’t undone the physical damage they’d received during the attack.

        Her eyes narrowing into predatory slits, Charlie got up from the ground. A couple weeks ago, she’d had no idea what she was doing.

        Today, Charlie had a way to fight. And she would.

        Her hands and forearms transformed to cannons, and Charlie swept her way through the cloud of dust that had settled around them, looking to identify the enemy and show them exactly who they’d decided to mess with, and exactly why they should regret their decision. Because it wasn’t just the Autobots they’d expected to encounter.

        It was CatEyes -- CatClaw -- reborn. And she would remind them exactly why she had always been a force to be reckoned with, both as a pedigree and a half-breed.

        ~~~

        Fay crashed against the fence, her spine being poked and prodded by the chain link and the metal bars that held it up. With a sharp inhale, Fay tried to pretend it didn’t hurt as badly as it did.

        But it was nothing more than an act. It burned like a bloody hell, and Fay was fairly certain that she was bleeding where the edges had dug against her shoulder blades.

        “Am I beautiful?”

        “End of the line, Lovely,” Joshua taunted as he walked closer to her, closing the distance. Fay fought to push herself back up from the ground. It felt like she’d been stabbed. The grass was always so soft, and the chain link so sharp. What a damned contrast to suffer right now. “You can’t escape me, so you may as well embrace me. Accept me as who you truly are and the suffering will end.”

        “Even at my ugliest you always say I’m beautiful.”

        “Get the hell away from her, Josh! She has more than one choice!”

        Scowling, the young man turned away from Fay and towards the new voice. Storming towards them was Carrie, red hair almost burning, even in the darkness of the new moon. She was like a small flicker of light among the shadows that were bearing down.

        “Shut the hell up, you weakling! She needs to embrace the merciless power she possesses! It is our lord’s will that she does so.”

        “ ‘Our lord’?” Carrie scoffed. “He is not my lord, and he sure as hell isn’t going to remain Fay’s lord, so you can shut your damned mouth before I shut it for you!”

        “Is that a threat?” Joshua asked, smirked. “I never thought I’d see the day, Care Bear. Aren’t you far too gentle for these things?”

        “As you tear me to pieces, you are beautiful.”

        “Shut the hell up, Josh,” Carrie replied with a scowl. In the darkness, Fay could almost swear she saw a glimmer of blue light inside Carrie’s deep brown eyes.

        “Make me, Princess,” Josh taunted.

        “Fay!” Carrie called out. “Run!”

        The distance closed between Carrie and Joshua as they approached each other, something deadly in their eyes, but a glimmer of intelligence in Carrie’s that Joshua lacked.

        Fay had the distinct feeling that this could very well end in a bloodbath. And she was frightened by that prospect, even though she didn’t know why.

        Fay stood up, and after clamboring over the fence, pain shooting through every part of her body, she ran.

        Fay ran, and ran, and ran. Her legs carried her swiftly, and as Fay continued to run, she heard loud crashes behind her, followed by a few distinctive voices that haunted her nightmares. Alongside them was one she’d never heard before. One she’d never come to know, but would become quite acquainted with in the future.

        “Even at your ugliest, I always say.”

        A resonant blast hit the ground behind Fay, and the impact sent her flying through the air, crashing against a nearby tree, back-first. Hissing in pain, Fay ground her teeth together as she attempted to stand back up on shaky legs. The adrenaline was fighting off a fair amount of pain, and so long as she kept moving, Fay knew she could get the frag out of here.

        So, without stopping to check for any injuries, Fay continued running, albeit at a slower pace than before.

        “She’s over here!”

        Biting her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain as Fay stumbled to the ground again, her palms raw from breaking her fall, Fay forced herself back up and kept going. It wasn’t much further now. She’d keep moving. She could hide soon and wait for them to leave.

        Fay’s spark nearly stopped beating when she saw it.

        The platform. The small, decrepit wooden stage.

        Without losing a moment, Fay dove for it, yanking out a couple boards from the sides even though her hands protested against the physical exertion. Biting back the tears, Fay continued her work before sliding under the stage and carefully placing the boards back. Obviously not to their previous state, but enough that they covered the newfound gaping hole.

        Sliding carefully deeper into the space underneath the stage, Fay tried to calm her breathing. The air was damp and filled with a mossy scent.

        Reaching the center of the space, Fay lay down, facing the ground. She was too terrified to look up should her attackers find her.

        As she lay there, Fay realized how much her body ached, how much it screamed against all the damage she’d taken tonight.

        Fay nearly stopped breathing when she heard the large metal peds sinking against the ground, walking slowly around the nearby area. Fay knew they were nearby. Far too close for her personal comfort. If she made so much as a squeak, they could find her. And then she would be done for.

        Unsettled, Fay realized how insane her life was. How insane this place was. How was it possible that this place existed, as well as these people who knew her so well even though they’d never met before? It didn’t quite make sense. The lax security, the people who worked here, the residents . . .

        Things started clicking together. And then, in the darkness, Fay felt she was being watched.

        Terrified and shocked, Fay turned her head. Laying next to her was what seemed to be a corpse. Fay’s spark stopped beating for a moment as she stared at it, the face inches from hers.

        Then, it’s eyes opened, a bright blue glow exuding from them. That was when Fay realized that the corpse-like form next to her, was her. She was in two places.

        And she was utterly petrified.

        Fay screamed as her other half made eye contact.

        “You’re beautiful and sick like me.”

        The wood splintered as a massive metal hand swept down and grabbed her.

        Fay didn’t even realize that the splintering sound of wood wasn’t the stage until she was being lifted into the air, and she saw a very familiar forest beneath her.

        The very place she’d slit her wrists in nearly two months ago. And below her were Optimus, Jazz, Searchlight, Ironhide, even Clawkin and--.

        “Charlie!”

        “Fay!” The blonde noticed Fay’s ascent immediately and rushed for her, but could do nothing against their aerial power. “FAY!”

         ~~~

        A/N: I'm not even certain words can express how happy I am with this right now. I promise you, this is the last chapter of I Bleed Into Darkness, and that I Bleed A Blue Inferno will be following up soon.

        To all my loyal readers, thank you so much for your support on this project. I personally think it's turning out amazingly well so far, and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.