Hello everyone.

Sorry that this took so long to get out to you guys, over five weeks to be exact, and I wanted to explain the reason why. Funnily enough I actually had this chapter nearly doing in the first week and would have published it on the second week, but then a storm happened. A heavy rainstorm with thunder hit my area for a week straight and knocked out both the internet and the power repeatedly, leaving me with no way finish the chapter. When the storm finally stopped I went back to write the chapter, only to fined it not there anymore.

To say I was 'upset' would be an understatement.

Now I had to redo the whole chapter again and it was a pain in the ass trying to remember what I had wrote originally. On the fourth week my IBS decided to rear its ugly head and remind me that its been too long since I last suffered. That was not fun, not in the slightest. So now we are on to week five and it was pretty busy week. There were a few birthday parties I had to get ready for so I couldn't really do much, god I hate present hunting. I'm also switching to a Friday release schedule instead of releasing on Wednesday.

Now that I've gotten my explanation for why this took so long out we can move on to other news.

I wanted to inform you lot that from now on that I'll be answering questions and responding to reviews on chapters, so you better leave some. In all seriousness, I'm hoping this will encourage more of you guys to leave comments and reviews instead of the handful I get. Also this story is being posted on Wattpad & , so I'll be pulling theses comments from both sites.

Hopefully I'll manage to get it on AO3 soon.

Now on to the reviews/questions.

TVfan: You missed the entire point of the chapter. It was meant to establish where in the Beast Wars Raf had ended up, as well as the beginning of his arc. Also, him coming up with a possible solution for the 'viral mine' would be unlikely since he has had no experience with this sort of thing so he wouldn't even know what to do.

Gullwingyunie: Yes, Jack and Miko will be showing up later in the story.

rukatofan89: This guy gets it! Raf is still new to all of this and actually being on the front lines for once, compared to just sitting in the Autobot base and being tech support. Retrax is meant to be the bully that helps Raf's arc develop.

That's all for now guys, on to the story!

Chapter published: 9/1/2023

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It's been a few days since Optimus was infected by the viral mine and they had to fight the Predacons for the cure. Even when everything turned out alright Raf couldn't help but feel like he was useless during the whole ordeal. He couldn't land a hit on anything with his pour aim and his fighting prowess was terrible, Retrax had made that abundantly clear. Pathetic is the best way to describe his performance during the whole incident.

So Raf just sat there in his room; wallowing in his own self-pity. He was completely useless out there, unable to contribute to anything to help. Even with his high intellect, the one good thing going for him back home couldn't be used to help when it came to the viral mine. He knows his knowledge on such a thing is nonexistent, but he still could've done something!

"And yet I did nothing..." Raf looked down at his clawed hands and balled them into fists. "Even with this new body and its great strength I couldn't do anything." His mind then brought up his one on one with Retrax. "HE made that abundantly clear..."

Raf grit his teeth as he felt a wave of anger rise up within him. That fight couldn't even be called one; it was nothing more than a one-sided beat down! If only he knew how to fight, to defend himself, then he would be less of a burden to the other Maximals by actually being useful. He needed to do something to make himself a better combatant if he was to be less of a liability.

Then it hit him, the simulation room! Cheetor told him that it was used for combat training, to hone their skills, and he could use it to train himself. It would at the very least help him with his aim, but what was he going to do about hand to hand combat? Maybe he could see if anyone was up for teaching him how to fight.

He got up from his bed and made for the door. He was done wallowing in his self-pity; it was time for him to use his new found resolve and start training.

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Cheetor was walking the metal corridors as he made his way back to his room. He had just got back from his patrol and now he wanted nothing more than to go and lay down on his bed for a nap. Unfortunately, fate had other plans as he then bumps into Raf. The young turtle stumbles back a little from the sudden collision before looking up at Cheetor in surprise.

"Cheetor?! Sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you." Raf apologizes for causing the inconvenience.

"It's no trouble little buddy." Cheetor waves off Raf's apology, not finding it necessary. "By the way, where are you off to? You seem to be in a hurry."

"Oh, I'm heading to the simulation room to train." Raf answered while rubbing the back of his head. His expression then shifted to one of contempt as his gaze went to the floor. "That last battle showed me just how useless I am in a fight. So I intend to change that by going into the simulation room to train and be a better fighter."

Cheetor did note the Raf self-deprecating way he spoke about himself, something to deal with later. "Well... if you're going to be training then I'll come along with you. You'll need an instructor of sorts to help you through the basics."

Raf was surprised by his offer to help him train. He hasn't known the Maximals for that long, only a few days to be precise, and he didn't think anyone would be willing to use their precious time to help a newcomer like him. Guess they're a lot nicer then he first thought. "I could use an instructor. To be honest, I wasn't thinking of what exactly I was going to do when I got there."

"Well then I guess it was a good thing we ran into each other." Cheetor says with a laugh. He then clasps Raf's shoulder. "Come on, I'll lead the way." He then began walking off down the hall to the simulation room, with Raf quickly following.

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Raf wasn't sure of what to expect upon entering the simulation room, but the size of it wasn't one of them. The room itself was probably one of the biggest on the ship, though he hasn't seen every room so it probably wasn't, with its ceiling being shaped like a dome. There wasn't anything inside it, save for what he guessed was the control panel near the entrance to operate the room. He couldn't help but wonder at all the possibilities that this room was capable of.

Cheetor simply walked over to the control panel and started inputting some commands before looking up at Raf. "Okay we're going to start off with some target practice first so get your gun out."

Raf nodded and pulled his weapon off his back. "Okay, I'm ready."

In a few moments the room darkened and a red grid appeared on the far side of the room. Within a few of the grids squares red circular targets appeared.

"Try to hit the targets within the grid. You don't have to rush so just focus on aiming and landing the shot."

Raf nods as he lines his gun up for the shot. Once he was certain he pulled the trigger, the recoil making him shake a little. He watched the round fly to the target within seconds and becomes frustrated when it only nicks it.

"Not bad Raf; better then when I first started out. I couldn't even get my shots to land anywhere near the target, so don't get discouraged from just nicking it." Cheetor then started putting in new commands and the grid shifted accordingly. "For now try to get use to the recoil of your weapon, it's usually what will mess up your shots if you don't account for it."

Raf heeded his advice and for the next few shots he tried to adjust to his weapons recoil. He never realized how much of a kick his gun had until now. Each shot shook him and his arm was left shaking for a few moments after each shot. As things progressed though it began to affect him less and less as he was better able to brace for the kickback of his weapon. This resulted in him being able to hit his targets much more accurately and Raf relished in the achievement.

Cheetor saw this and decided that it was time to kick things up a notch. "Looks like you've gotten use to the recoil; now let's see if you can hit the target while it's moving." He announced as he put another set of commands.

The once stationary targets began to shift and move around the room at a slow pace. Raf studied the moving targets and tried to hit one, but once again only nicked it. Appears moving targets were much harder to hit then idle ones. Deciding to take a different approach, he instead aimed a little ahead of where the target was going and fired. This time the shot landed and Raf cheered a little at the successful hit before going back to shooting the targets.

Seeing that Raf was now able to land some shots, Cheetor decided to increase the difficulty. With each shot Raf made Cheetor would increase the targets speed, making it more difficult to land a hit.

Raf could see the targets get faster with each shot he landed and it was becoming difficult to actually land hits now. It soon got to the point that he couldn't even hit the targets anymore and it infuriated him. "Cheetor, I can't hit the targets if it's going to fast!"

"You need to anticipate where the target's going to be. Analyze the targets speed and react fast enough to hit them. Waspinator and Terrorsaur can go much faster than this, so if you ever want to hit them you got to be able to predict and react fast enough."

Now understanding what Cheetor was trying to do, Raf did as he said analyzed the speed the targets were going at and tried to hit it. The shot missed, but he didn't stop trying as he made another attempt to hit a different one. With each miss he made Raf felt like he was starting to get better at his reaction speed. He nearly nicked a target with his last shot and grinned at the progress. A few more shots later and he had finally managed to land a direct hit on one of the targets. He didn't waste time in cheering as he made a few more shots at the rest of the targets and managed to hit a few of them.

Cheetor was astonished at how fast Raf was improving at this. It hasn't even been that long since they started and already Raf was a great shot. It took him entire solar cycles just to get to where Raf was now!

With wounded pride, Cheetor decided to change things up a little. "Okay, Raf, we're going switch things up a little." A fresh set of commands put in the targets went away and were replaced with a holographic squad of armed dolls. "Let's see if you can hit a target that hits back!"

Raf wasn't given a moment to question the sudden change before the dolls started firing at him. He dove out the way of the oncoming fire and tried to return some of his own. It was proving to be difficult as he couldn't stay idle or else he'll be hit, so he was left with a run and gun tactic. The constant movement made bracing for his weapon's recoil hard, but he'll just have to get use to it like before.

Eventually he managed to hit one of them and they blink out of existence. His small victory was dashed as now the dolls began to move around and actively dodge his shots. Now things were getting too much for him as one of the dolls landed a shot on him. A shock ran through Raf's body from the hit and he was left stumbling. The other dolls capitalized on this and they all landed hits of their own. In moments Raf was left a twitching mess on the floor as the electrical currents ran through him.

Thankfully Cheetor decided to take pity on him and halted the simulation. The cat bot then walked over to his down comrade and offered him a sheepish look. "Maybe I should have toned down the stun rounds a little?"

Raf just glared at him while still twitching on the floor.

"When you've recovered I'll start back up the simulation and even throw in some cover for you to duck behind. Does that sound good?"

All he got for an answer was Raf continuing to glare at him with a look that promised retribution.

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The doors to the simulation room opened and in stepped Dinobot. The former Predacon soldier took in the room and its occupants. He sees Cheetor and Raf currently using the room, with the former operating the control panel and the later being in the middle of a simulation. The pair was too focused on the simulation itself to have notice him enter.

Wanting some answers, Dinobot walks of over to Cheetor and asks with a growl. "Care to tell me what you two are doing here?"

Cheetor jumps at the sudden voice and whirls around to see Dinobot standing near him. "Hey, don't sneak up on a bot like that!"

"I wasn't. You were too focused on what was in front of you to notice anything coming up from behind, a mistake that can get you killed easily." Dinobot deadpans.

Cheetor just grumbles. "You could have warned me a little." He then straightens up and looks at him curiously. "By the way, what are you even doing here? Looking to get some training of your own in to?"

"Precisely, but it would appear our new comrade is doing his own training at the moment." Dinobot states as he observes the active simulation going on.

"Yeah... I bumped into him earlier and he told me what he was planning to do, so I offered to help him." Cheetor winces slightly as Raf get hit in the shoulder before dropping behind his cover. "He's been at it for a while now. I've never seen a bot improve so rapidly before; he could become a crack shot in no time!"

Dinobot's interest was now peaked. "Is that so, and what of his close-quarters combat capabilities?"

"Uh... we haven't gotten around to that part yet. We've been mostly working on his sharpshooting skills so far."

The former Predicon soldier looked down at him with a grin, one Cheetor shivered at seeing. "Then that's what we will start on now."

Meanwhile Raf was still crouched behind his cover as the dolls continued to fire on his position. He shook his shoulder a little to work the rest of shock out of it before readying his blaster. With a grunt stood up and prepared to fire off his weapon, only to see the dolls dissipate into nothing. Confused he turned around to ask Cheetor what was going on, only to see Dinobot standing at the control panel.

Raf gulped a little at the intimidating look the soldier was sending him. "Wh-why did you stop the simulation?" He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

Dinobot began to approach him. "Cheetor has informed me that your desire to train and your fast growth, I wish to see it for myself." When he finished speaking he stood right in front of Raf, with the smaller bot having to crane his head just to meet his eyes. "So now I will begin your training in hand-to-hand combat. Any objections?"

The turtle bot meekly shook his head.

"Good... now prepare yourself!" Dinobot then raised his arms in a boxing stance and waited.

Raf quickly put his blaster away before hesitantly copying Dinobot's stance, earning him an inquisitive look from his opponent. He didn't receive any warning when Dinobot threw a punch at him, making him jerk away from the attack. Not even a second later he had a fist buried in his gut and he collapsed to the floor clutching it.

"If all it takes is a single blow to bring you to your knees then you are not long for this world. Now on your feet!"

Shakily he got up from the ground and took up the same stance as before.

"Jerking away from a blow to avoid it leaves you wide open. You must instead block it and return one of your own." Dinobot then threw another punch and this time Raf blocked it before throwing one of his own. He easily caught the attack and grinned. "Good, your learning. Now again!"

From here the two continued to block each other's blows and counter with their own. Naturally the attacks speed up as time went on and Raf did his best to adapt. He wasn't perfect, the various dings Dinobot left on him were a testament to that, but he felt he was much better than before. He even started smirk at how good he was doing in this spar.

Dinobot saw this and decided it was time to mix things up a little. Instead of the usual sequence of attacks he chose to diversify his moves. So when he threw a punch he immediately followed it up with a leg sweep that sent Raf to the floor once again.

Raf grunted when he fell to the floor, banging his head in the process. Shaking the dizziness from his head he looked up at Dinobot in confusion and slight anger. "Was that really necessary?"

Dinobot huffed in amusement. "You were starting to become complacent; I had to knock you back down to reality." He then reach down and brought the young bot back to his feet. "Your opponent won't always stick to one method of attack. They will try to throw you off with something unexpected, like a faint or a sudden shift in attacks. You must be ready to adapt at a moments notice or you will die."

Raf nods to his advice and their spar resumes. Just as Dinobot said he needed to adapt to the sudden change in attacks. It took a bit for him to actually do that, those faints really threw him off for a while, but he was starting to get the hang of it. He even started to mix things up himself, throwing a punch before suddenly coming in with his own sweep kick. Faints were apparently not his strong suit as Dinobot was able to read his like an open book, but he'll get better with practice.

By the end of it all both parties were sporting scuffs and dings. Despite how tired Raf was from all of this he felt proud of how much he had accomplished. The smile on his face must have been infectious since Dinobot sported one of his own.

"You've done well Rafael. With more training you will become a fine combatant, one that your enemies will fear." Dinobot praised.

"Thanks! You have taught me a lot today." Raf said with that smile still present on his face.

Dinobot simply huffed. "We've barely scratched the surface of what I can teach you, but that is enough for today. I have other duties I must attend to." The soldier made his leave. Before he left though, he left Raf with some parting words. "Train hard Rafael, for I see much greatness in you." With that he was gone.

As this was happening Cheetor, who seems to have been forgotten entirely, was gaping at what he just heard. Dinobot praising someone? Was reality itself coming undone?! He couldn't help be a bit overwhelmed with everything that's just happened, and he hasn't even had any training himself.

The universe was probably listening in on his thoughts since Raf chose that moment to say something to him. "Hey Cheetor, you up for sparing with me?"

Cheetor didn't like the gleam that was in Raf's eyes. "I-I'm good. You should p-probably take a break now; you've been at this for quite a while now."

"But I'm still raring to go. Besides-" That smile on his face took on a more evil look. "You said you'd be my instructor. That implies that you'll help me with my training correct? So come spar with me."

Cheetor gulped as Raf began to approach him. He never thought the smaller bot could ever look so menacing.

Raf will have his retribution.

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Again sorry for the long wait guys. I would had this thing out weeks ago, but things just kept interfering.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next time.

Goodbye!