Chapter 1: Reunion

Chase was concerned. The whole day, nobody had seen Whirl since she went to talk to Perceptor. The others had been looking for her the whole day, yet, nobody had been able to find the young bot. It had been 12 megacycles since her disappearance, and there was no sign of her. Chase suddenly heard the sound of transforming from the docking bay as Blades walked into the Academy.

"Any sign of Whirl, Blades?" Chase asked as the other resident helicopter shook his head.

"Not even a life signal. She either wanted to hide from our scanners or…" Blades stopped himself from continuing the sentence. "Not like she would anyway, but after hearing that kind of news, I would've broken down much like she did," Blades admitted as Chase sighed.

"Why did Perceptor even tell her that in the first place?" Chase and Blades heard the voice of Heatwave in the background as he walked in to join the conversation, standing firm with his arms across his chest as Blades shrugged.

"I asked him earlier. He told us that he was supplying the information Whirl wanted to know. I can't blame him for doing so. Whirl looked so lost when she asked. I couldn't imagine the kind of stress that'd put on a bot, not knowing who their creator was," Blades answered as Heatwave huffed.

"That still doesn't mean he needed to lay it on her like that. She could've just said his name, what side of the war he was on, and left it at that. Drudging up all that tacked on information wasn't necessary. He, of all bots, should've known that." Heatwave countered as the other Rescue Bots looked at each other, all of them knowing that he was right.

It was at this point when the Junior Rescue Bots showed up, sans Whirl. "Where did she go! This is getting ridiculous!" Hot Shot exclaimed, transforming into robot mode, throwing his arms up in the air. "I don't get it. Why would she run away like that, is there something you guys aren't telling us? Dad? Do you know?" Hot Shot asked as Heatwave sighed.

"Guess it would help if you knew. Whirl's is related to a Decepticon, in turn, making her a Decepticon. I'd go into further information, but I think it would be a bad idea right now," Heatwave replied callously as Hot Shot winced.

Wedge was the most confused at hearing this. "Wait, wait, wait. Whirl was a Decepticon?" Wedge asked, confused as Heatwave shook his head.

"Not was, is," Heatwave corrected, causing Medix to raise an eyebrow.

"That doesn't make any sense. When we were first recruited, Whirl didn't have an insignia, same with you, Wedge, so how could you've been a Decepticon, along with Whirl?" Medix asked as Wedge sighed.

"I had mine removed. I don't know about Whirl or how she was able to sneak past the sensors, but I-"

"I forgot to mention something," Heatwave interrupted, looking at the Rescue Bot trainees.

"Whirl had no idea she was a Decepticon. Her prime directive was tampered with by an old Autobot commander, meaning she had no idea that she was meant to be a Decepticon." Heatwave started. He glanced over the junior rescue bots to make sure they were listening before he continued.

"As for her Insignia, it was covered by an extra thin sheet of metal that was placed on her shoulders so that nobody would see it, not even her," Heatwave finished as Wedge nodded.

"I see… I heard about that practice, but I didn't think an Autobot commander would do that. No offence," Wedge commented as Heatwave shrugged it off.

"None taken. However, I do hate to admit this, but we must end the search for the night, we need to refill our Energon reserves, and if we overwork ourselves, we'll end up powering down." Heatwave commanded as Hot Shot stepped up.

"But won't that happen to Whirl! I don't care if she's a Decepticon… she's my friend… and I can't just have her hurt, or… or…" Hot Shot stopped as Heatwave put a hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be fine. If she's smart, she'll go into rest mode over the night, or she'll come back. Either way, she won't go offline," Heatwave spoke softly to the young Rescue bot as Hot Shot nodded.

"Now, everyone, to your rooms, rest up. We have a full day of searching to do tomorrow," Heatwave said as all the junior rescue bots ran off to their rooms.

The only thing that Blades and the rest of the Rescue bots could think about was Whirl. 'Where are you, Whirl…' Blades thought as they went to recharge for the night.

The sound of transforming could be heard in a wooded area, fifteen kilometres away from the Academy, as Whirl landed in the forest. When she landed, the young bot tumbled to the ground, exhausted from flying away so far. She slowly rose to her feet, albeit weakly, as she grabbed onto a tree for support.

Whirl had exhausted her Energon reserves, for the most part, only functioning because of the small amount leftover. A warning flashed in front of her eyes as she shook. "Warning, Exhaustion levels are too high, Stasis Lock imminent."

Cursing herself, she pushed her body as far as it could go. Taking a few more steps, she lost control of her legs and fell to the ground. She had taken the effort to cloak herself so that the other Rescue bots couldn't find her. The young bot didn't want to be found, not right now. She wanted to be alone, to think. She finally gave up the running and sat down beneath a tree. Her laboured breaths making small cold clouds come out of her mouth.

"Stasis Lock imminent."

"I know… shut up…." Whirl muttered as she stared up at the sky. "I'm sorry… for running away… everyone…." Whirl spoke to no one in particular as she grabbed at her shoulder. Her fingers dug into the steel as she started to tear off the fake plate of metal that she had been grabbing at ever since her departure. Small sparks started to fly off of her as she bit down on her lower mouthpiece, trying to ignore the immense pain the process was causing her.

Earlier, when she had seen herself in a lake, she noticed that something was off about her right shoulder, how it looked slightly bigger than her other shoulder. To say that it hurt like hell was an understatement. "AGGH!" She shouted, ripping the metal plate off.

Energon spilled from the now freshly opened wound. The thick liquid came out from the bot-made holes that kept leaking, despite her attempts to block it with her hand. Whirl breathed heavily as the wound leaked Energon. The thick pink liquid dripped from her upper shoulder down to her lower arm and began to pool around it. Just like she thought, behind that fake metal plate was a Decepticon insignia, hidden away from view as she winced.

"Ow… that… hurt…." She slowly said, her vision hazing as she went into Stasis Lock.

In the distance, the humming of a vehicle was heard, cracking of sticks and stones, and the munching of gravel could be heard coming from the darkness as the tip of a canon could be seen. It gleamed in the shine of the moon as the sound of something transforming could be heard.

Walking out of the darkness, Shockwave stood, towering over the passed-out bot as he stared at Whirl with what could be believed to be sympathy. "I've finally found you, my sparklet. Let us return you from whence you came," Shockwave spoke silently as he carefully picked her up.

He noticed the two conflicting badges, the Decepticon insignia and the Rescue Bot one. "I see that you have become a Rescue Bot. It is up to you to decide what you want to be, but we will discuss this once we return to your home. Not Cybertron, I cannot return there. As illogical as it is, I will take you back to the Rescue Bot headquarters, which I have tracked down," Shockwave said, turning to the edge of the forest.

"It will be a long journey, but one nonetheless," Shockwave said to himself as he began to trek back to the Rescue Bot Academy. As much as it annoyed him to go to an Autobot academy, he knew it was her only chance of survival. Her wound, despite how mundane it was, was still leaking Energon consistently.

Doing the math in his head, she would've leaked out in under fifteen hours. The trek to the Academy was a steady five if he kept moving. It was logical.

Heatwave was the first one up. Out of all the bots to be up, he had to be the one up first. After all, he was the leader of the Rescue Bots. As he walked down the halls, he noticed that the door to the recovery room was sparking light. He raised an eyebrow. "Perceptor isn't awake already, is he? I swear, if he didn't rest as I told him to, I'll knock him into the next day," Heatwave said as he walked up to the door.

"Perceptor, I swear to god, if you've been up all night, you're a dead bot," Heatwave said as he opened the door. He did not find Perceptor there. Instead, he found someone who he wasn't expecting to be there, standing over a table doing repairs on something.

His purple body and a long cord going from his back and connecting to his arm were all he saw, but it was enough to identify the bot completely. Only one bot had that look, and it was rather obvious as to who it was. "Shockwave! How the hell are you-"

"Quiet, Rescue bot. My Sparklet is sleeping," Shockwave said, glancing back at the robot as Heatwave froze with fear. He had never seen a Decepticon this up close and personal. Sure, Wedge was a former Decepticon, and Whirl, he didn't know what to make of Whirl ever since the information dropped, but Shockwave? He was a threat beyond measure.

"I find it very illogical to sneak up on me like that, Rescue bot. For I could rip your spark out of your chest in a nanoklik if I wanted to." Shockwave said coldly as Heatwave stared at the Decepticon. "Although, I wish to know something. Her name is Whirl, is it not?" Shockwave asked, pausing before continuing. "I thought I had named her Blackout. What happened during my time in hiding? Lying to me would be very illogical," the Decepticon scientist finished.

"I… well, when the Autobots found… Whirl as a protoform, they took her and gave her to Hot Rod. That's all I know," Heatwave said, a nervous tone in his voice as Shockwave's single optic shrunk skeptically as he turned around, his Decepticon symbol proudly on his chest as he stared at Heatwave.

A minute of silence proceeded, creating tension in the air as, finally, Shockwave spoke. "That is… reasonable," Shockwave spoke, again with his cold tone as he turned back to what he was doing.

"I still have to alert the Autobots of your presence," Heatwave spoke, his optic's narrowing as Shockwave sighed.

"You will find that to be… most illogical, for I will not leave without my sparklet. After all, a quarter of my Spark resides in her. I have no means to take it. All I wish is to be by her side as she grows. I wish to monitor her progress as well," Shockwave explained, stepping aside from the table to show what it was he was doing.

Laying on the table was Whirl, her arm patched up, and her body hooked up to an Energon tube. Her optics were dull, with only a small amount of light inside them as Heatwave's optics went wide.

"H-How the hell-"

"I found her within the forest just fifteen kilometres away from the academy. She was leaking a heavy amount of Energon from her arm. A piece of scrap metal was on the floor in front of her, seemingly covering up her Insignia. Tell me, where is the bot who did that?" Shockwave asked.

"I don't know, Shockwave. I only know that she was with Hot Rod her entire life. Ok? Whatever Hod Rod did to modify her has been done. I only became aware of her… Insignia when Perceptor mentioned it." Heatwave said as Shockwave hummed.

"I see, that does answer my question, but now, if Hot Rod were to do such a thing, I wish to speak to him, so where is the bot who did that to her?" Shockwave said with an annoyed undertone.

"He's dead, Decepticon. Been that way for years, so you can't exactly speak to them, now can you," Heatwave said as the Decepticon scientist narrowed his only optic to the bot before him.

"The way you put it is… logical. I see, well then. Carry on your day. I need to monitor her vitals for another megacycle," Shockwave spoke with a tone of finality as Heatwave narrowed his optics.

"I don't think so, Shockwave. You're under arrest for your war crimes back on Cybertron. Do not resist," Heatwave said as Shockwave turned his head towards the bot in question.

"And what can a weak, pathetic, and tactless Rescue Bot like yourself do to me that could have even the slightest chance of successfully attacking me," Shockwave taunted as his optic narrowed.

"The chances of you successfully getting me in a position to arrest me are 0%. It is heavily illogical." Shockwave commented as the Decepticon turned his back on the Rescue Bot.

"Alright, you bastard, that's enough out of you, I-" Within a blink of an eye, Shockwave stabbed Heatwave in his lower abdomen, causing him to sputter up Energon from his mouth.

"Be glad I did not aim to kill you, Rescue bot. I still wish to keep things peaceful while I work here. I am willing to come up with a compromise and speak to Optimus Prime. I know many things that you might wish to know. Now, allow me to fix your wound," Shockwave stated as he removed his hand from Heatwave's abdomen.

The Decepticon grabbed Heatwave by the shoulder and sat him down in a chair. Taking out his repair tool, he approached Heatwave and began his repairs.

"Operation systems: Online…. Rebooting all systems for Stasis Lock reawakening." A mechanical warning voice spoke as Whirl slowly opened her eyes. She slowly began to sit up. The moment her eyes were open, she realized that she was in the medical room at the academy.

"Ugh… what? How? I was sure I gave myself enough distance to hide… I even cloaked my life signal…" Whirl muttered out as she looked at Heatwave, a newly applied metal piece on his abdomen as he stared at her.

"You're awake, good to know," Heatwave said as he stood up.

"How did you find me? I cloaked myself and everything…" Whirl said as Heatwave scoffed.

"Yeah, you did. What the scrap were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself scrapped overnight? Your team was worried sick over you; you know that? We spent day in, day out looking for you. We messaged you several times, and you didn't respond. You had us worried sick. Blades thought that you offlined yourself completely." Heatwave said, scolding her, which caused her to flinch.

"But I didn't find you. None of the Rescue Bots found you. He found you," Heatwave said as the door opened as Whirl's optics widened.

"What you did was extremely illogical. Had you been alive during my time in the war, you would've been terminated for being insubordinate." Shockwave spoke coldly as he stood at the door, his red glowing eye staring directly at Whirl.

"For a long time. I had believed that you were scrapped. But I can now see with my own optic that you are not only alive but functional. We have much to catch up on."

-To Be Continued-