Chapter 2: Shocking reveals

Whirl stared on in horror, her optics widening at the towering Decepticon standing before her. Heatwave, clearly uneasy with his presence, spoke after what seemed like a full cycle of silence.

"Shockwave found you in the forest. He said that he found you wounded and came here to do repairs. Tell… us… how did that happen?" Heatwave asked carefully, making sure he didn't forget to include Shockwave into the picture.

"I-I-" Whirl stammered, staring up at Shockwave as the Decepticon scientist hummed. The bot looked around the room before noticing a lone chair and sitting down.

His red piercing optic was now focused on the young Decepticon, making her flinch slightly as she swallowed back the building fear in her throat, causing Shockwave's optic to narrow.

"Well, tell us, how did you end up wounded in the forest. Do not lie, for it is illogical," Shockwave demanded in his usual cold tone of voice. Whirl only stared for a brief second, fiddling with her fingers as she let out a quivering huff of air.

"I… I did it. I r-ripped off the piece of metal… It was l-loose, and it hurt… so I just decided to r-rip it off," Whirl answered as Shockwave's optic narrowed even more than before. This reaction made Whirl slink back in fear as Heatwave grumbled.

"What moved you to do something so illogical? You knew it would only cause more damage, and on low energy levels, you would have offlined if I had not found you. Be more careful next time," Shockwave stated, standing up from his chair.

"Now, Heatwave, we should let her recover a bit more. Another Megacycle and she will be fully operational," Shockwave stated as he went to leave. He stopped for a moment and glanced back at Whirl, his optic softening from its narrow stare as he spoke.

"When you are done recovering, I request that you come to see me. Do I make myself clear… Whirl," Shockwave said, a clear reluctance in his voice as he said her name. Whirl muttered out a "yes" in response as Shockwave faced the doorway.

"Good, now, I must speak to Optimus Prime to receive a compromise of sorts," Shockwave stated as he walked out of the room.

"Listen to him, kid. He might be… well, he might be a Decepticon but-" Heatwave stopped himself, remembering that she was also a Decepticon. He would have to get used to that, seeing as it was the first time a Decepticon tried to become a Rescue Bot. "A-hem… a war veteran, but he is also extremely smart," Heatwave corrected as Whirl passively nodded. When Heatwave left the room, she rubbed her shoulder, specifically the one with her Decepticon Insignia. She traced her finger around it as she closed her optics.

How was she going to tell Hot Shot? How was she going to tell her team that she was a Decepticon? She remembered what happened when they first met Laserbeak. The team, mostly Hot Shot, turned around and changed moods instantly once they realized he was a Decepticon. Hot Shot had called him lower than a lifeform, a monster, and above all else, a sparkless freak.

If he had the same attitude towards her, what would she do? Would she run away again, or…

"No, I would never even dream of harming a fellow Rescue Bot," Whirl muttered as she felt her spark skip a beat. "But what if he leaves me with no choice?" She spoke softly, her hands shaking with her conflicted mind. Her head was beginning to hurt from all the thinking she was doing.

She dared not think about having to fight the other Rescue Bots because she was a Decepticon. Deep in her spark, she knew that at least Wedge would be supportive of her, but the other three? She didn't quite know.

After all, he was a former Decepticon. He would understand the pressures of being a Decepticon in modern society. She felt as if maybe he could help her break the news to everyone that she was a Decepticon. 'Maybe that'll soften the blow a bit….' Whirl thought as she stared at the floor.

It was around about now, right when she was about to power down and rest until she was done recovering, that she heard the familiar sound of metallic wings flapping. Whirl lifted her head and looked at the doorway. She only knew of one bot that could do that.

"Laserbeak?" She called out, and as if he was summoned directly to her, the cassette tape bot came flying into the room. Laserbeak was a style of Cybertronian known as a mini-con. A small, palm-sized robot that helped out other Cybertronian's due mundane tasks.

During the Autobot and Decepticon war, Laserbeak sided with the Decepticons, and his owner, Soundwave, not related to Shockwave, was the second in command to the Decepticon army. However, after the war, he became a servant to the public, often going to ships to help Energon gatherers scout out areas for Energon mining expeditions.

"Caw! (Hello)" The bird bot spoke, flapping its wings as it put them to its sides of its small body. While Laserbeak could only speak in 'caws' and 'chirps,' most Cybertronians could understand him with 100% fluency. Whirl was one of those bots.

Thanks to Wedge, she learned how to understand Laserbeak, which also helped Laserbeak feel more comfortable around the Rescue Bot academy.

Whirl let out a soft giggle. She always found the bird bot to be funny when she was down in the dumps.

While he had only stayed around for a few days, his company was well appreciated by young Rescue Bot. "Hi to you to Laserbeak," Whirl giggled, a small smile on her face as the bird bot walked up to her shoulder, looking at it with a tilted head.

"Caw? (You're a Decepticon?)" Laserbeak asked as Whirl sighed, her expression dropping back to the same gloomy state it was before his sudden visit.

"Yeah… I'm a Decepticon…." Whirl said as the bird bot walked up to her head and tapped it with his beak. He did this a few more times until it started to annoy Whirl.

"Caw, Ca-Caw. (Do you realize how much you worried everyone? You worried us all, scrap head)"

"Hey! Stop that! I know, ok? I know I made everyone worried. Please, stop it!" Whirl said, trying to swat the bird bot away. Laserbeak flew over to a counter in the med bay before dropping something in its beak in response.

The object in question was a small metal disc that had a button on its top side. The bird stepped on it, causing a small camera to appear popping out of the disc. A small screen started to project out of the disc, making Whirl tilt her head in confusion.

The resulting picture was a picture of the Decepticon Insignia, constantly flashing in and out of existence until it fully hardened itself, making the picture clearer.

"Why are you showing me this? I get it. I know I'm a Decepticon. Can you stop rubbing it in?!" Whirl spoke with a frustrated look on her face as the bird bot shook its head.

"Caw! (Listen to it, you bolt!)."

"Listen?" Whirl asked, confusion lacing her tone as the screen began to shake, and a picture of what looked like to be another Decepticon appeared. The Decepticon in question had a purple helmet on his head with two large purple cones protruding from his helmet, pointing to the sky. He had a cracked face and red piercing eyes. The background behind him was a black starry sky with red dunes mixed with hints of grey metal peaking out of the sand.

"To anyone who gets this message. I require assistance. My name is Cyclonus. I am a Decepticon Sweep. I know that if I am rescued and sent back to Cybertron, I will await trial; regardless of it all, I am sending this distress call. This message was recorded on XX-XX-XXXX. Please, send help. My Energon reserves are already low enough as it is, and without Energon, I will offline. I was deserted on this planet by my former leader, Megatron. It would be preferable if a fellow Decepticon came to help me, but any help would be greatly appreciated."

The message ended as the screen turned off. Laserbeak flew over to her arm, walked up to the Insignia and pecked it. "CAW! CA-CAW, CAW! (Just 'cause you're a Decepticon doesn't mean you can't still do Rescue work!)." Laserbeak squawked as Whirl nodded. The bird bot was trying to encourage her, and it seemed to have worked, judging by the determined look in her optics.

"Y-You're right. I shouldn't be upset that I'm a Decepticon. I'm still a Rescue Bot!" Whirl said, stopping for a second as she put her hand on her chin.

"Well… Rescue Bots are Autobots, right? I'm a Decepticon, so wouldn't that make me… a Rescue Con? Yeah! I like the ring to that! Just because I'm a Decepticon, it doesn't stop me from being what I want to be! And that's being someone who helps others!" Whirl exclaimed as Laserbeak nodded, flying out of the room, leaving a now pumped-up Whirl in the med bay.

Whirl looked over at her vitals. The screen connected to the pipe on her chest read as 95%, much to her dismay. She tapped her wrist impatiently. She wanted to do this Rescue, and she wasn't going to wait for some percentage counter tell her otherwise.

"Ugh… I know I should wait, but… screw it, that Cyclonus bot needs my help! I'm probably going to need to commandeer the Sigma-17, that'll make Heatwave mad, but he needs help. I can't wait, and nor can he!" Whirl declared, ripping off the tube that was connected to her chest. It sparked for a few seconds, but it didn't hurt her in the slightest. Grabbing onto the disc on the counter, she made a run for it.

She quickly made her way to the Sigma-17, the Rescue Bots space ship. It was a small white ball with a massive glass window and several high-power boosters on the back. She walked up to the fuel meter on the outside of the ship as she smiled. It had enough Energon in it to last her fifteen stellar cycles in space, not like she'll need that long thanks to space bridge technology.

Placing her hand on the ship's door, she opened it before stepping inside. Quickly closing it behind her, she turned on the ship's systems as its boosters began to light up. "All systems go, sorry everyone, but this Rescue is for a Decepticon only," Whirl stated proudly as she stopped to think.

"Come to think of it. Maybe I should drag Wedge into this… Nah, I don't need to. Besides… I don't want them to worry about me." Whirl spoke solemnly as the ship began to get off the ground. Blue flames came out of the boosters as she steered the ship towards the sky.

"Setting course to the coordinates of the planet Cyclonus was on. Don't worry, I'm coming, and hopefully, it isn't too late," Whirl said with determination as the ship began to read the chip. A bright blue screen appeared in front of the windows, displaying the coordinates.

"Planet Zepheron, it's in the same solar system as Cybertron! That shouldn't be too hard to find, great!" Whirl said as the ship began to fly towards the sky. Reaching the planet's atmosphere, she pressed a button beside the steering wheel to activate a space bridge.

The bright green and blue vortex appeared as the Sigma-17 flew into it, leaving the Milkyway galaxy.

Upon entering the space bridge, she stared in amazement at the flashing green, yellow, and blue swirls that whisked around the small wormhole she found herself in. As she flew the ship, she could see the exit just up in the distance. Grabbing the ship's throttle, she shifted the gear up to the number 50, and with a jovial smile, she shouted, "shifting 50% of Energon systems to engines, let's get there at top speed!" Whirl exclaimed with a smile on her face as the ship speed up.

As the ship flew the fastest it could ever go, she held on for dear life as the speed at which the ship flew was enough to cause her legs to dangle in the air. Grabbing the throttle once again, she returned it to normal at a slow enough pace to allow things to return to normal.

"Scrap, that was close…" the young bot sighed a breath of relief as she wiped non-existent sweat off her forehead. The ship exited the Spacebridge as it closed behind her. When she looked out of the window, a smile appeared on her face as she stared at the planet before her.

It was a beautiful metallic red colour, and it had a few clouds just above its surface. She stared at the planet for a nanoklik before shaking her head. She needed to remain focused. There was no time to appreciate the admittedly cool planet.

She steered the ship to make a direct landing on the surface of the planet. While that was a risky move, she knew that it was the only way to properly land it in a way where she didn't have to use her Helicopter mode and have to drag the potentially extremely heavy Cyclonus in the air and up to the ship.

As soon as she entered the planet's atmosphere, the ship began to shake as small rocks bumped off the glass. "Come on, come on, you rusty bucket of bolts, don't crash, don't crash!" Whirl pleaded as she covered her mouth. "Oh, Primus, I need to watch my language!" Whirl muttered as the ship landed on the surface without a hitch.

Shutting down the engines on the ship, she opened up the door to the ship and stepped out, taking a glance around her surrounding area. It was just as she thought. The planet was completely barren. No buildings, and no signs of life, aside from a few corpses of Autobot prisoners of war.

She took one step forward, only to feel something underneath her feet crack. Removing her foot from where she stepped, she saw a crumbling hand of a Cybertronian. Letting out a gasp, she stepped back. "Dear primus, what the scrap happened here?" She muttered as she shook her head. "No, stay focused… you got this, Whirl, don't get distracted," She told herself as she transformed.

"Ok, all I have to do is find Cyclonus. It shouldn't be too hard, right?" Whirl hummed as she flew off in the direction of the life signal that she had picked up.

Shockwave was awaiting his chance to talk to Optimus. From what he was aware, the rest of the Rescue Bots were still in stasis. He found that to be rather inconvenient, as he rather not have any sudden surprise attacks from the Rescue Bots, thinking of him to be a threat.

He realized the logical fallacies in that thought process and scoffed. Of course, there would come a time where he would get them to trust him, and eventually, he would get them to understand his thought process. But for now, it was all a waiting game.

Of course, his sparklet was not his only reason for being here, but the others did not need to know of his plans. All they needed to know was that he was going to play nice for a while. He was only bidding his time at the moment. But if he even wanted to have a remote chance to pull off his plan successfully, he would need a truce for the foreseeable future.

Shockwave stood just outside the door to the room where the Rescue Bots would call Optimus through a call screen, akin to that of teletran I. He wondered why the bot didn't just show up in person to meet with him. Perhaps Prime even knew just how pathetic the Rescue bots were? It certainly was possible.

Time passed by as Shockwave stood there, doing nothing. It had been a long time since Shockwave ever got impatient, and right now, Heatwave was making that gap shrink ever so slowly by eating up his time. He had important things to do, like making sure his sparklet was ok. He knew that he hadn't been in her life for a long time, but he wanted to make it up to her.

But without that meeting with Prime, he could never get to have even a remote chance of spending nearly enough time with her.

Just as he was about to barge into the meeting and see what was taking the blasted Rescue Bot soo long, Heatwave stepped out of the room. "He's ready to speak to you, Decepticon," Heatwave spat as Shockwave narrowed his optic.

"I suggest you change your tone, Rescue bot," Shockwave bit back as he walked into the room. There, on the screen, was the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. The look of boldness on his face would usually be enough to make even the strongest Decepticon's quiver, but it was a cheap attempt at intimidation to Shockwave.

"Optimus Prime." Shockwave greeted curtly with a small bow.

"Shockwave, this is most certainly a surprise. I hadn't expected you to so bravely come out of hiding just to show up at the Rescue Bot Academy of all places. Tell me, why did you come here in the first place," Optimus inquired as Shockwave hummed as he returned his posture to normal.

"It was only logical to come to this academy. I had tracked my sparklet to this very location, but when I found her injured in a forest on my way to the academy, I knew that the closest place for her to be repaired would be at the Rescue Bot Academy. Unfortunately," Shockwave stated as Optimus hummed.

"I see. I can assume that when you say 'she' and 'her,' I assume you mean Whirl, correct?" Optimus asked as Shockwave nodded.

"That would be the case, yes. Whirl is my sparklet. However, that is not what I came here to discuss, Prime," Shockwave declared as Optimus put a hand to his chin.

"And what is there to discuss, Shockwave. You are a wanted War Criminal on Cybertron. I have half a mind just to send you back to Cybertron and have you await your Trial and sentence," Optimus responded as Shockwave let out a deep chuckle.

This was rare for the Decepticon scientist. He never truly laughed before, so for Optimus to hear the bot laugh, it unnerved him to his very core.

"Optimus, you know the only sentence I would receive would be Termination. Tell me, Prime. What happens when a sparklets creator dies before they can reach maturity? Do you even know?" Shockwave asked as Optimus scowled.

"No, Shockwave, do tell, what happens?" Optimus asked as Shockwave's only optic narrowed.

"The sparklet goes offline, for good, as a part of their spark that has yet to merge with their newly created spark dies and joins the Allspark. If I were to be executed for my crimes against Cybertron, Prime, which you and I know would happen directly after the Trial, what do you think happens to Whirl?" Shockwave asked as Optimus scowl deepened.

"Get to the point, Shockwave," Optimus demanded as the Decepticon scientist hummed.

"As you wish, Prime. Imagine this scenario, if you will. Whirl and her other Rescue Bot comrades are out on a mission, and they require her help with something. They call her over, and when she goes to help them, at that moment, I was executed. She would feel a pain in her chest, and her eyes would go blank," Shockwave started as Optimus's optics widened ever so slightly.

"Her friends would try and help her. They would try to revive her. They would try to give her Energon to wake her. Tell her favourite jokes to get a reaction out of her, but it would be all for not as she prematurely joins the Allspark. The mental ramifications to those poor, innocent Rescue Bots would be monumental." Shockwave finished as Optimus's optics went wide.

"Now you understand why that simply won't do for another few stellar cycles," Shockwave stated as Optimus nodded.

"Well, now that you put it that way, I am all ears. What is this proposal?" Optimus asked the Decepticon scientist as Shockwave's optic glowed slightly brighter than before.

I am glad we are on the same playing field, Prime," Shockwave stated before clearing his throat. "I propose a truce for the time being. I could work at the Rescue bot Academy as a combat instructor, as even though I am a scientist, I am no stranger to combat, as you should know," Shockwave started as Optimus nodded.

"I am sure you also know that there will be times when the Rescue Bots will have to get into fights. Fighting is not built into every Cybertronian, after all. It is only logical, Prime. There will come a time where the Rescue Bots will have to rescue someone from a hostage situation and will have to fight whoever has kidnapped the bot in question." Shockwave stated as Optimus let out a reluctant sigh.

"I suppose that you are right, Shockwave. But how can I know you won't be going behind our backs and begin work on another sick experiment like Project Predacon?" Optimus asked as Shockwave waved off the question.

"I do not nearly have enough resources to do another mass scale project like that. Besides, combat teachings are not the only thing I come with," Shockwave said, piquing the Autobot leader's interests.

"What else are you offering, Shockwave?" Optimus asked, curiosity with also a small dose of skepticism in his tone of voice. That small hint of skepticism didn't go unnoticed by Shockwave, who hummed.

"I also come to you bearing news that could be helpful for you Autobots," Shockwave started, giving the Autobot leader more of an interest.

"However, I will not disclose my information if this truce is not accepted and I have full access to the mainframe of the academy," Shockwave finished as Optimus's optics narrowed.

"I will agree to your truce, but you are pushing it with the mainframe. Until we can fully trust you, you will not have access to the mainframe. I may be optimistic, Shockwave, but a fool, I am not," Optimus stated as Shockwave nodded.

"Then I believe we have reached an impasse. You keep your side of the bargain, and I keep mine, as Swindle used to say," Shockwave stated as Optimus nodded.

"You would be correct, Shockwave. Now depart from this room, I wish to speak to Heatwave, call him in for me," Optimus stated as Shockwave nodded, leaving the room. In the back of Shockwave's mind, the meeting with Optimus could have gone better, but he achieved half of what he wanted.

As he left the room, he spotted Heatwave waiting for him. Heatwave had a shocked look in his optics. He had expected to see Shockwave walking out in chains, not free as he saw him now.

"Optimus Prime wishes to speak with you. A Truce has now been made between you Autobots and me. I am now the Rescue Bots lead combat instructor. As we Cybertronian's know, conflict is inevitable, and without knowledge in how to fight, your Rescue Bots will not survive a moment on Cybertron." Shockwave stated, walking away from the Rescue Bot leader.

"And with a Decepticon in your new team of Rescue Bots, the chances of one of them attempting to attack her is high, henceforth why combat lessons and weapon supplies would be useful," Shockwave said, turning around to face Heatwave once again.

"But why? It would be useless for them to know fighting skills. They're strictly meant for Rescuing others, humans, animals and other robots. Why waste your time in doing such, as you would say, 'illogical' things," Heatwave commented snidely as Shockwave's optic narrowed.

"And you seem to forget that whether we like it or not, there will always be bad blood between Autobots and Decepticons. What happens when, let's say, the Autobot Rescuebots must save a Decepticon, or vice versa, and they attempt to attack them?" Shockwave asked as Heatwave sighed.

"You do have a point… unfortunately," Heatwave admitted through gnashed teeth, making Shockwave scoff.

"If that is the case, expect that your Rescue Bots will be able to double as warriors by the end of their time here. I will not go easy on their teaching, so keep the med bay open at all times. It would be most logical," Shockwave explained as he turned to walk away when suddenly Laserbeak came flying into the hallway.

"Laserbeak? This is most certainly a surprise," Shockwave said in a monotone voice as the bird bot landed on his arm.

"CAW! CA-CAW! (Something bad happened! Whirl isn't in the med bay!)." Laserbeak spoke with a worried tone as Shockwave's optic went wide.

"She what? Where is she currently?" Shockwave asked the bird bot as he squawked.

"CAW CAW CAW! (I checked the security footage she left on the Sigma-17 after I gave her a distress call! I'll admit it was a mistake, but I only thought she would be smart enough to wait till she was fully operational, and she had a team with her, not go solo while still needing repairs!)." Laserbeak spoke in a distressed voice as Shockwave groaned, facepalming before looking back at Heatwave.

"Then there is nothing we can do… we must wait until she returns with her new passenger. Upon their arrival, we will need the med bay open immediately," Shockwave spoke as he turned away.

"Wait, hold on! What are you and that bird brain talking about?! Is Whirl-"

"Whirl has commandeered the sigma-17, according to Laserbeak, to do a rescue on her own," Shockwave interrupted as he walked away. Once he left, Heatwave was left in a state of shock as the Decepticon disappeared, leaving Heatwave to stew in his own confusion, anger, and most importantly, worry.

-To Be Continued-

Another Chapter, another new character. Before anyone asks, the Cyclonus in this fanfic is not the one that appeared at the end of RID 2015. That wasn't Cyclonus. That was some bot using his name. This is the real Cyclonus, the true Decepticon Sweep. For those who have read IDW's Transformers Comics, you know how strong Whirl and Cyclonus's friendship was in the IDW comics. I plan to have a similar thing happen in this fanfic.

With that little thing out of the way, see you in the next chapter.