Chapter 2: Whirl's Story

Later on, after the tour, Hot Shot was in the Action Matrix playing Cube with Wrangle and the twins while Whirl just watched them from the bleachers. This did not escape Hot Shot's attention, despite the fact he was slightly more focused on the game.

"I really want to know what's bugging Whirl." he told himself. "She hasn't said a word to Wrangle or the twins. It's like their very presence is making her feel uneasy for some reason."

On the other side of the room, Whirl continued to watch her boyfriend and his new friends play their game. True to Hot Shot's thoughts, she was indeed feeling somewhat uneasy.

"I still can't believe he's here." she thought. "Him, out of all other bots in the universe. But why? This has got to be some kind of sick joke."

"Whirl?" asked a voice.

It was Hot Shot, who had taken a break from the game to see how Whirl was doing.

"Oh! Hot Shot!" gasped Whirl. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just under a second." said Hot Shot. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Whirl replied. "Just fine, thank you."

But Hot Shot was not having it.

"Whirl, I know you're not telling me the truth." he said in a stern yet still somewhat kind tone of voice. "I can tell that something about Wrangle being here is bugging you, and I need you to tell me what it is. After all, if it's one thing that's crucial to the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, it's communication. And another thing, you know I'm always here for you if you need to talk to me about something. That goes for the other guys as well."

Whirl knew Hot Shot's points were much too good to ignore.

"Well, since you put it that way, I'll tell you." she then said. "But can we talk somewhere in private?"

"Sure." nodded Hot Shot. "How about your quarters?"

"My thoughts exactly." agreed Whirl.

With that, Hot Shot and Whirl departed from the Action Matrix and headed to Whirl's quarters, and on the way, they gathered up Hoist, Medix, Wedge, Brushfire, and Slash. Soon, they were all gathered inside Whirl's quarters, and Hot Shot and Hoist sat down on Whirl's stasis pod with her on either side while the other four bots sat themselves on the floor.

"So, what's up?" asked Hot Shot.

Whirl took a deep breath.

"You're probably thinking this has something to do with Wrangle." she began. "And in case you were, yes, it is. Thing is, I know him."

"You know him?" asked Wedge.

"Yes." nodded Whirl. "We were friends a long time ago."

"How long are we talking here?" asked Medix.

"Long before I met you guys." Whirl replied. "Of course, we aren't exactly friends anymore."

"Why?" asked Hoist. "What happened?"

"I hope you guys are sitting down comfortably." replied Whirl. "Because this is gonna be a long one."

And this was the story she told.

Flashback

The scene faded to show Whirl, who did not have her Rescue Bots badge at the time, arriving and gazing at the entrance of some kind of school. Above the door was a sign that bore the words "Kaon Police Academy" in Cybertronian text.

"Here I am." said Whirl. "Kaon Police Academy."

Whirl then entered the building, and was soon greeted by Wrangle.

"Hey there." Wrangle greeted. "You must be new here. My name is Wrangle. What's your name?"

"Whirl." Whirl replied. "Whirl Jr. It's nice to meet you, Wrangle."

"You too, Whirl Jr." said Wrangle. "Or should I just call you "Whirl"?"

"Just "Whirl", please." replied Whirl.

"Got it." nodded Wrangle.

Just then, an alarm rang.

"That's the first bell." said Wrangle. "We better get to class."

Whirl nodded, and the two did just that.

End Flashback

"So you were a student at the Kaon Police Academy?" asked Hot Shot.

"Yep." replied Whirl Jr. "Getting to learn to be a police bot there was a dream come true. Especially because of how that's where Strongarm received her training. I remember when she used to tell me all about her time there."

"That's nice to hear, Whirl, but you should probably get back to the story at hand." Medix pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, you're right." said Whirl Jr. "At first, me and Wrangle got along together rather fine. He was really nice and helped me out with my homework assignments, but when it came to his own...well...that's when things started going downhill."

"What do you mean?" asked Slash. "What happened?"

"Well, while he was nothing but a promising and responsible student to the teachers' faces, behind the scenes, when he was supposed to be doing his assignments himself, he would bribe someone else to do his homework assignments for him in addition to their own." Whirl explained. "And it got to the point where that someone else got overwhelmed with having to do both their assignments and his."

"And who was this "someone else" you speak of?" asked Medix.

Whirl sighed and lowered her head.

"That "someone else"...was me." she confessed.

As soon as those words left Whirl's mouth, Hot Shot, Hoist, Medix, Wedge, Brushfire, and Slash's jaws dropped.

"Oh, Whirl...I am so sorry..." said Hot Shot.

"That stupid lazy bastard!" Whirl suddenly burst out in anger. "If he would've just pulled his own damn weight, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

The other six bots were even more shocked than before. They had never seen Whirl act that way before.

"Whoa, Whirl, take it easy!" said Slash.

"Yeah, no need to go berko here!" added Brushfire.

Whirl immediately composed herself and sat back down.

"Sorry..." she said. "Kinda got carried away there."

"It's okay, Whirl, we understand." said Hoist. "It happens to everyone."

"But you're right about one thing." put in Brushfire. "That "Wrangle" bloke is a true-blue bludger."

"And it gets worse than that." said Whirl. "Whenever he would turn in an assignment that I completed for him, he would take all the credit for it."

"Now that's just rude." frowned Hot Shot. "Who does he think he is to put a kind bot like you through that?"

"I found myself asking that question many times." replied Whirl. "And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse than that, it did."

"How?" asked Wedge.

"Did you ever speak up to Prowl about this?" added Medix.

"I wanted to, but Wrangle made me keep my lips tight about it." said Whirl. "He blackmailed me by telling me that he was related to one of the higher-ups at the Academy. That was enough to make me worried almost half to death about speaking up, because I was worried I might get kicked out for doing so..."

"But surely, you must have told someone." Hoist pointed out.

"You're right, I did." said Whirl.

"Who?" asked Wedge.

"My Papa." Whirl replied. "You see, the Academy would let us go home and visit our families for the weekend if we chose to do so. One weekend in particular, I figured I'd take advantage of that opportunity, so on the last day of classes before the weekend, after I finished my assignments for the day, of course, I went back home to the Wreckers base and told my Papa and the rest of the Wreckers everything."

"And what did they think of that?" asked Medix.

"They were not happy with what Wrangle was doing, obviously." said Whirl. "In fact, they told me that when I returned back to the Academy, that I should speak up regardless of Wrangle's threats."

"And did you?" asked Hot Shot.

"Yeah, I did." said Whirl. "And, believe it or not, Prowl took my side. In fact, through him, it came to light that Wrangle had long been a bot of interest from Prowl and the proctors for other reasons besides cheating on his homework. He was also known to cut class on several occasions, and apparently, several key files had gone missing. What made them suspect he was connected to them was because he'd somehow been able to get a 100% score on every test and exam, despite his reputation of goofing off during the time frame assigned for us to work on our homework. So, I acted on a hunch and decided to search Wrangle's room when he wasn't there."

Flashback

Whirl could be seen with her back to the wall as she watched Wrangle leave his room. Soon, he was out of sight.

"Alright, here goes nothing." said Whirl.

Whirl then entered the room. Gaining access wasn't hard at all, since Wrangle had left the door open by mistake, which Whirl was all too happy to use to her advantage. When she entered, she immediately found a key file lying on the desk. This was quickly followed by the discovery of a whole stash of key files kept in a neat and organized fashion in the closet. Quickly, Whirl put the key files in a bag she had brought with her along with the one she had found on the desk, then left. She soon made it back to Prowl's office, where she placed her stash of recovered key files on the desk. Prowl looked pleased as he looked through them.

"Fine job, Whirl." he said. "While we normally wouldn't recommend snooping around in other students' rooms, since you did recover the missing key files, you won't be disciplined for it."

"Thank you, sir!" Whirl replied happily with a salute.

Just then, Wrangle entered with two proctors with red highlights.

"Headmaster Prowl, I'd like to report a theft." said Wrangle. "Someone snuck into my room and stole something!"

"You mean these?" asked Prowl.

Prowl showed Wrangle the key files Whirl had recovered. When Wrangle saw them, he went pale.

"Uhhh..." he began.

"Yep, just as I thought." said Prowl, who now had a profound scowl on his face. "There's no need to explain anything, Wrangle. I already know you were the one who stole these key files. We managed to secure footage of it."

Prowl then pulled up a holographic screen that showed footage of Wrangle stealing the key files from the vault in which they were kept.

"So, Wrangle, what do you have to say for yourself?" Prowl then asked.

"How do you know that that footage is not fake?" asked Wrangle. "There's no way it could have possibly been me!"

"It's real, alright." said Prowl. "Given your reputation, you have been known to skip class and waste time during the times you are supposed to be working on homework assignments, yet you have somehow been able to achieve perfect scores on tests and exams in spite of this. Speaking of, it has come to my attention that you have blackmailed another student into doing your homework for you."

Wrangle immediately glanced at Whirl with anger in his optics.

"You dirty little snitch!" he shouted. "What did I tell you would happen if you spoke up?!"

The proctors then grabbed Wrangle by his arms, with one grabbing his left arm and the other his right.

"Nothing will happen." Prowl said coldly. "At least, not to Whirl here. As for you, Wrangle, for blackmailing another student and cheating on homework and exams, you are hereby stripped of your rank of cadet and expelled from Academy training."

Prowl then looked at the proctors.

"Take him away, boys!" he ordered.

The proctors nodded and began dragging Wrangle away. As this was happening, Wrangle's wrath was kindled against Whirl.

"Damn you, Whirl!" he barked. "I'll get you back for this! Just you wait! I will have my revenge! And I won't stop until I have it! You hear me, bitch?! You will be sorry for what you did to me today!"

End Flashback

"He threatened you?!" gasped Hot Shot.

"Yeah..." said Whirl. "Of course, at first, I didn't think much of it and just thought he was only kidding. But as time went on, I started having nightmares about him, and I became scared...scared that he was being serious about his threat..."

The other Junior Rescue Bots were sad and concerned for their friend as Whirl continued her story.

"Damn, Whirl, that's heavy..." said Wedge.

"Yeah..." agreed Hoist.

"That's actually the main reason why I was recruited." said Whirl. "Optimus got wind of my predicament, and he suggested I come here thinking it would be the best way to keep me safe. Papa was against it at first, but when Optimus told him about Heatwave and the Rescue Bots, that changed his mind."

"So let me get this straight." said Hot Shot. "Wrangle swore revenge on you for getting him expelled for stealing those key files and blackmailing you, and Optimus recruited you to keep you safe from him?"

"That's right." nodded Whirl.

"Well, that would explain your history with Wrangle." said Medix. "But you still haven't explained why you're so nervous about him and his two friends being here at the Academy."

"Actually, Medix, I think I figured it out already." said Hot Shot, who then looked at Whirl. "You're still worried he might still try and get his revenge on you, right, Whirl?"

Whirl just nodded.

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you." said Hot Shot. "Who knows? Maybe he got over it at some point and bettered himself."

"I agree with Hot Shot." said Hoist. "I mean, sure he may have been a jerk back then, but maybe now, he's turned over a new leaf."

"I concur." put in Medix. "After all, it was a long time ago, so that does sound possible. Besides, everyone's capable of change, right?"

"Yeah, what he said." said Wedge. "I mean, you know how I was originally a Decepticon, but Optimus saw the good in me and helped me change to be more like you guys? Think of it like that."

"They have some good points, Whirl." said Slash.

"Yeah." nodded Brushfire. "Just give him a chance."

"And if he does try anything, we've got your back." said Hot Shot. "You can always count on us."

That made Whirl feel better.

"Thanks, guys." she said. "I appreciate it."

"Don't sweat it." said Hot Shot. "It's just what friends are for."

Just then, the door buzzer rang. Hearing it made Whirl feel worried.

"Please, don't let it be him..." she thought.

But much to Whirl's relief, the door opened and revealed not Wrangle, but Bumblebee.

"Hey, guys." said Bumblebee. "What's going on in here?"

"Nothing, Bee." said Wedge. "Whirl just wanted to talk to us about something."

"About that." Bumblebee then added. "I noticed Whirl was a little apprehensive about wanting to interact with Wrangle and his friends."

"Just something that happened between us in the past." said Whirl. "But I'm fine now."

Needless to say, Bumblebee was a little skeptical about Whirl's response, but decided there wasn't a need to question it.

"Well, as long as you're alright." he said.

And with that, Bumblebee left.

"So, Whirl, now that that's out of the way, do you want to try and talk to Wrangle now?" Slash then asked.

"Actually, I'm still a little unsure." said Whirl.

"Alright." said Hot Shot. "Would you like us to give you some alone time?"

Whirl nodded, and Hot Shot left with the others. Once they had gone, Whirl just laid on her back and gazed up at the ceiling.

"Gee, I do like all the support Hot Shot and the others are giving me about Wrangle." she pondered out loud. "And, it's not like I don't agree with them about Wrangle actually turning his life around for the better and becoming a better bot, but you can't be too careful about bots like him. Besides, they've never been in the situation with him that I was. But who knows? Maybe he has changed a little, and I guess I just feel a little too awkward about being around him. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that he might still try to make good on his threat of revenge against me."

But then, Whirl remembered the things her friends had said to her.

"Why should I be worried?" she asked with a confident shrug. "Hot Shot did say he and the others would have my back if he does try anything, so at least I've got that to bank on."

Hearing herself say that made Whirl feel much more at ease about the Academy's newest additions.

End Of Chapter 2