A Soldier's Will (Transformers Prime Fanfiction)

Interrogation

Nightmare walked down the halls of the Nemesis to meet his prisoner. Along the way, he studied up on him.

"Smokescreen," he said to himself. "A rookie who worked in Cybertron's elite guard and protected Alpha Trion himself," he chuckled. "How fascinating. Although... He has not been on the team long. How useful will he even be?"

He thought about it, wondering what he could do to get the information that can appease Megatron. However, a feminine voice would break his thoughts.

"So you are the famous Nightmare?" The voice asked. "I never thought that a human would be capable of assisting the Decepticons with its many tasks."

Nightmare quickly looked around. He growled, annoyed by the voice that spoke to him.

"Come out!" He said. "I am in no mood for your pathetic antics."

"Ouch," the voice said before stepping out into view. "You know how to wound a femme."

"Are you the one they call Airachnid?"

"My my. You have heard of me then."

"Who wouldn't? You're the one that sneaks around more than Commander Starscream. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a prisoner to interrogate."

Nightmare began to walk away from the spider-like Decepticon, not amused. However, after a few steps, he was webbed to the wall. He struggled, now becoming angry.

"Release me at once!" He yelled. "Lord Megatron is expecting me!"

"And why should he be expecting a human to do his dirty work, hm?" She asked. "I find it silly. A tiny human like you would be better suited for my collection."

"I've heard about your sick collection. Didn't that get blown up by another human?"

Airachnid growled. She was about to attack before she got hit by blaster fire. She looked over and glared at who shot her. Nightmare looked over to see that it was Megatron.

"I see you've finally met Airachnid," he said. "It's a shame that she's treating my most loyal soldier like this."

"Indeed, Lord Megatron," Nightmare replied. "I was on my way to meet you and the prisoner when she attacked me."

"My Lord, pardon me being blunt," she said. "But why would you have a human on your ship? Shouldn't you dispose of it?"

"Nightmare has become a valuable asset to our cause, despite the foolish setbacks," he glared at Airachnid after saying the last word. "Now I will leave with him to interrogate an Autobot prisoner, and you will not interfere."

Megatron walked over to Nightmare and freed him from Airachnid's webbing. After getting the webbing removed, he placed Nightmare on his shoulder before glaring at Airachnid and walking away.

"Apologies for meeting Airachnid like that," Megatron said. "It has been difficult keeping track of her."

"She was just as you have said," Nightmare replied. "She's like a less annoying version of Commander Starscream."

Megatron chuckled at that, practically amused by the comment. This intrigued Nightmare, as he normally did not laugh for amusement. The laughs he normally heard from the warlord were cynical and dark. He shook it off the moment Megatron brought him to where Smokescreen was kept.

"As Dreadwing has probably told you, Shockwave forced the Autobot into his holoform so that you can interrogate him more effectively."

"Thank you, Lord Megatron. I will take care of it from here."

Megatron would put Nightmare down and leave the room. He would walk over and give Smokescreen a good once-over, studying the Autobot with intrigue.

"It takes a lot of resilience to not only resist Commander Starscream's whining," Nightmare said. "But also resist what Shockwave put you through. Well, except for the holoform part," he chuckled.

Smokescreen looked at Nightmare, confused by this individual. He knew that he was a human, but that still left him with multiple questions. Why did he wear a mask? What was he hiding? They would go unanswered.

"Are Decepticons recruiting humans now?" Smokescreen asked, frowning.

"I am the only one on this ship," Nightmare said plainly. "Now stop asking questions. I will be the one asking them now," he had a hold of Smokescreen's face. "You cooperate, and I won't let Knockout dissect you little by little."

"And if I refuse?" Smokescreen asked coldly, glaring.

"You get dissected and I take everything from your processor."

Before Smokescreen could say a word, Nightmare got straight to his questioning. He would ask the questions, and torture the answers out of him. However, the progress was slow, and it angered him.

"Where is the location of the Autobot base?!" Nightmare asked again. "What are the Autobots planning now?!"

Smokescreen would not say anything, keeping his mouth shut. Nightmare was getting annoyed. This wasn't amusing; it was irritating. He then remembered something and smirked under his mask.

"If the Autobots aren't planning anything big," he said. "Then why would the French military transfer their best sergeant into your care?"

Smokescreen looked shocked when he heard this. How did he know about Claire? As if reading his mind, Nightmare would answer.

"I know military secrets," Nightmare said. "And I know the soldiers involved, especially your precious sergeant. It would be a shame if I had one of my friends track her down. As a matter of fact, I think Knockout wanted to give her a free check-up."

Smokescreen glared at that, then he worked on struggling against his restraints. Nightmare sighed, getting annoyed.

"It is useless to struggle Smokescreen," he said. "The torture and interrogation can stop if you just tell me what you know. Please do, and make my job easier."

"I'm not telling you scrap Decepticon!" Smokescreen said. "And you're not going to harm Claire. I won't let you!"

This intrigued Nightmare. This Autobot was close to Claire. He smirked under his mask. This made things more interesting for him. It would also provide an advantage for the Decepticons. He began interrogating Smokescreen about her.

"Since you are so close to her," Nightmare said. "You will tell me what you know about her. If you don't... Well, I won't be so nice."

Smokescreen wouldn't give in, which led to Nightmare torturing the poor rookie even more than before. It wouldn't just be beatings; there would be so much more in store, causing plenty of injuries. Even with all that, he didn't give anything away. Nightmare slapped him before grabbing him by the shirt collar.

"What do you know about the sergeant?!" He asked. "Why was she transferred to Agent William Fowler's custody?!"

Smokescreen winced. He wasn't sure of how long he could take this. He wanted to protect Claire from the Decepticons, despite what danger she had faced prior.

"Like... I'd tell you," he said before spitting on Nightmare's mask.

Nightmare growled before releasing him. He wasn't getting anywhere with the prisoner, so he had to try something else.

"If you won't tell me anything," he said lowly. "Perhaps I will have to ask her myself..."

Nightmare watched Smokescreen struggle before leaving him alone in the room. He ordered Vehicons to guard him before contacting Megatron via commlink.

"Lord Megatron, I request that we contact the Autobots," he said. "Interrogation has done nothing."

"Are you doing this to pry information from Optimus Prime himself, or is there more to it?" Megatron asked.

"Leave that to me. One way, or another, we will get that information. I don't care if it comes to us from Prime... Or her."