The base was humming with energy as plans were made to retrieve Smokescreen and the remaining half of Claire's team. Claire updated Agent Fowler on the situation and promised to keep him up to date on the situation at hand. Everything was in order, and she took the mantle.
"Everyone! Meet up!" She shouted.
All humans and Cybertronians met with Claire. Some of the Autobots were in their holoforms, and some were not. She watched them all converge to her position before speaking up again.
"Alright. Now that I have everyone here, let's review the plan again. I arrive at the coordinates as instructed. However, to insure that there's no danger placed on me, Bumblebee and Bulkhead will accompany me. Arcee and Optimus will be behind and guarding the surrounding area while we handle negotiations."
"Ratchet and I will monitor what we can see on screen and notify you of any life signals that pop up nearby," Raf stated."
"Right you are mon ami," Claire replied. "Jack and Miko, I need both of you on standby in case Ratchet needs any extra help, or if I send a distress call."
"You got it!" Miko said cheerfully.
"Understood," Jack replied. "Be careful out there Claire."
Claire nodded before going back to preparation. She needed to make sure that everything was ready for when they met the assailant; she could not afford any mistakes with lives on the line. She had her doubts, but she had to put them aside for the plan.
Once everything was put in place, they were getting ready to move. Claire took a breath before looking at Bumblebee and Bulkhead. They nodded, showing that they were ready. Claire looked over at Ratchet.
"Open the Groundbridge and set it to those coordinates for me, Bee, and Bulk," she said. "After we go through, set some coordinates behind us so that Prime and Cee can observe and guard the area."
Ratchet nodded and put in the coordinates before pulling the lever. The Groundbridge would open, and Claire looked up at the two bots.
"It would be best if you two drove in vehicle mode, then go into holoform. The assailant may be Decepticon, but we cannot be sure that they are human or not."
With that, the bots would go into vehicle mode. Claire would get in Bumblebee, taking a breath. She looked forward, her voice speaking clearly.
"Let's do this, mes soldats et amis."
They would go through the Groundbridge and arrive at the coordinates the assailant provided. Claire got out and looked around. She then heard her team call for her, and she hurried to them.
"Soldats!" She shouted as she got close to them. "Are you alright?"
She checked them over. She was relieved that they weren't injured, but she saw that they were tied up. She looked at one of the soldiers, asking for an explanation. Nobody would say anything for a while before a private would speak.
"After that man killed half of the team," the private explained. "He tied the rest of us up, an-"
"It was so that you wouldn't leave before I could bring out the true prisoner."
Claire quickly stood up and turned to see a masked man with three Cybertronians behind him. Claire saw Smokescreen in the middle, concern showing on her features.
"Smoke!" She called out.
Smokescreen slowly looked down to see Claire. He managed a smile before almost collapsing. One of the Decepticons, Knockout, had to support him. He then noticed Claire and smirked.
"We meet again, sergeant," he said. "I hope you're here for that check-up."
"Not happening," Claire said lowly.
Bumblebee and Bulkhead would transform from their alt mode and stood by Claire, glaring. The masked man chuckled, amused.
"Looks like you brought your friends as well," he said. "I expected you to be prepared, which is a good thing. Now..." He looked at Knockout and the other Decepticon, known as Breakdown. "Place the Autobot with the soldiers, then we can talk."
They both nodded before placing a severely injured Smokescreen with the remnants of Claire's team. Claire frowned, watching the masked man cautiously. Bumblebee and Bulkhead also watched Knockout and Breakdown. It was a stare down between two groups, which created tension that was thick enough for a knife to cut through. This lasted for a long time before someone spoke.
"So what's a human doing with the Decepticons?" Bulkhead asked. "Don't you see that they want to destroy Earth?!"
"I am counting on it," the masked man said. "You see... This world is flooded with corruption, separating people from everything they stand for. This has created a rift that destroys people's lives."
"And you intend to close it by taking over the world?" Claire asked skeptically. "What good would that do?"
"It would unify people with Lord Megatron's absolute power. Humanity is weak, and corrupted by leaders that are pathetic and unable to control themselves."
Bumblebee buzzed and whirred, anger in his expression. Claire knew where he was coming from and glared.
"You know full well humans are better than this," she said. "What you're saying is forsaking you as well."
"I'm not like them. I'm stronger than them. I... Am Nightmare."
Nightmare would lift his arm up, but it was different from his real arm. It would transform into a cannon and charge up. Claire couldn't believe what she was seeing. She quickly regained her senses once she saw the cannon fire. She dodged the blast quick enough, and soon the battle would be on.
Claire had to have Arcee and Optimus come back and take Smokescreen and the remnants of her team back to base; she had to make sure they were safe first. Once she knew they were safe and sound, blaster fire would go on. Between Claire and Nightmare, however, it would be hand-to-hand combat. The two were exchanging blows, making themselves evenly matched as the world around them was plagued by metallic warriors in combat.
Claire dodged plenty of Nightmare's attacks, trying to figure out his combat style. It was familiar, but something else was there too.
"Trained with French military?" She asked, keeping her stance.
"Among other things," he replied before throwing a punch.
She dodged again, taking a deep breath. She had to keep up her strength. The fight continued when she heard a loud thud. She quickly turned her head to see Bumblebee pinned by Knockout. She immediately felt concern.
"Bumblebee!" She yelled.
The brief period of distraction was enough for Nightmare to knock her down and turn his arm into a gun, aiming at her.
"Protecting your teammates is admirable," he said. "But you never learn to preserve yourself, even at the best of times."
"You don't know anything about me," she said, glaring.
"I know a lot of things about you. It's a matter of if they will be of use or not."
Claire frowned, then quickly pulled out a pistol from the waistband of her pants, aiming it at Nightmare. He would chuckle at that, practically amused.
"I see you carry a gun with you now," he said. "Seems that Agent Fowler wanted you equipped. I am impressed."
"Enough with the fancy scrap, you fils de pute," Claire replied lowly. "I got your gruesome message. I'm here. What do you want?"
"My goodness, do you kiss your mère with that mouth of yours?"
"Don't bring her into this. Answer my question."
He chuckled. "If you must know... Your little group of soldiers has information I need for a little... Project of mine. It would be something only humans can get a hold of."
"If it's military secrets you want, then you're screwed. There's stuff that even I can't access."
"I should expect that from the chain of command," he sighed. "If a sergeant like you won't have anything, then I will find someone else, but don't worry mon petit soldat. We'll meet again. Je promets."
His gun turned back into a normal-looking arm and he backed away. Claire slowly got up, still keeping her gun aimed at Nightmare. The pang of familiarity hit her again. His voice... His words... They reminded her of someone close. She couldn't focus on that right now, as she had her gun aimed. Nightmare chuckled at her.
"The battle was fun," he said. "But now I must leave you with a denouement today," he looked over to where the Cybertronians were. "Knockout! Breakdown! It is time to leave."
A Groundbridge would open behind Nightmare. Knockout and Breakdown would leave first. Nightmare stared at Claire as Bulkhead and Bumblebee ran over. Nightmare was about to go through the Groundbridge, but Claire would shoot him in the shoulder with her pistol. He yelled, gripping his shoulder as it bled. The shoulder she shot wasn't bleeding red. It was bleeding... blue?
"Adieu... Autobots."
He spoke with a growl in his voice before he went through the Groundbridge. Claire shot again, but it closed before making contact with him. She got angry, tightly holding her pistol to the point where her knuckles went white.
This man... He was a monster. He was a threat even with the Decepticons in tow. Her thoughts would race over this Nightmare, multiple thoughts and questions popping up. She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned to see that it was Bulkhead in his holoform.
"We better get going sergeant," he said. "The Cons are gone."
Claire's anger died down as she remembered the empty battlefield. Seeing the bodies, she closed her eyes and looked to the ground. She tried to keep herself calm.
"... How's Bee?" She asked.
"Bumblebee is alright," he replied. "Knockout didn't get him with his buzzsaw."
"Bulk..."
Claire looked up at Bulkhead, sadness replacing her anger. When it came to the dead back home, she handled it well. However... This time was a lot different. She placed her head on his chest, closing her eyes. She felt saddened, but... She also felt tired.
Bulkhead was really confused. He never saw her like this before. He looked at Bumblebee, practically asking him what to do. The scout merely shrugged and gave a beep that said he didn't know. Bulkhead sighed before looking down at her.
"Do you want to get out of here sergeant?" He asked.
When she nodded, Bulkhead walked over to his vehicle mode, then got out of his holoform. He would carry her in his servo once he got into robot mode.
They would return to the base alive, but they would have a grim outlook. Their first encounter with Nightmare was not a pleasant one.
----------------------------------------------------
Translator Notes:
Mes soldats et amis - My soldiers and friends
Soldats - Soldiers
Fils de pute - Son of a bitch
Mère - Mother
Mon petit soldat - My little soldier
Je promets - I promise