Chaotic Training Part I

[Jack Darby]

"Faster,"  growled Unicron as he watched Rafael throw a punch at a dummy he had made the child create in the Nexus, near the Fountain. The child's power level was going to need to grow tremendously if the boy had any chance of surviving. The Omiverse was a warzone after all, and someone needed to make sure the boy could be ready. There were likely Primes who wouldn't hesitate to harm Rafael, and Unicron both. As a result of this he needed to make sure the boy could hold his own as best he could. Punches came at the dummy from Rafael, but none of them were fast enough - because they lacked the speed and agility that he would need. The boy had a grasp on how to throw a basic punch but was going to need something with a bit more oomph. Perhaps if Unicron were to find a way to convert one of the attacks or powers of a hero from a fiction that Rafael liked, it might give them the advantage they needed. "Your power must grow Rafael, before you can survive here. I cannot always hold your hand like I've been doing, every time you get into trouble. You've got a long way to go." 


Watching Rafael perform the punches, Unicron shook his head. There was something the boy was missing.  "Take Five, we'll figure out what you're missing. You've still got a lot of effort to put forth to ensure you're ready for the future. My energy cannot be easily tapped, but you must be able to use it properly. This is not going to be easy for you, I know, Rafael. Yet you need to learn how to use it." 

[Jack Darby]

"I've never succeeded in Gym Class, Unicron. How are we going to make me strong enough to be prepared?" asked the young scion of the Chaos Bringer as he looked at the hologram of Unicron that was near him. The boy had presented a good question. How were they possibly going to get the power of Rafael up to the level where he needed to be? Perhaps they could derive from some of the Animes, Mangas, and other animated entertainment forms that the child enjoyed watching in order to give him the capabilities he was going to need.  "We're going to mold your body into a living weapon - to the point where you can take on me in a fair fight. Of course, this environment isn't really good to train someone in," stated Unicron as he thought about how he could best train the child to be a suitable asset.  "You've got a long way to go."

Unicron then thought of how he was going to word his statement.

[Jack Darby]

The boy had potential, of that Unicron had been assured when he had witnessed him lately. Sure Shantotto had been ranks above the skill level and power level of the both of them. However, Rafael had proven that he had a fire inside of him that he was trying to use. The fire inside of him simply needed to be coaxed out of his body on a regular basis, and he needed to be taught how to use it. In addition, the boy also had something else that Unicron had to admit was good. The boy was an innovator, and a creator. Rafael, for his many flaws was someone who could take ideas that other people would consider fictional, or not worth the effort, and then build them for himself. If properly guided, Rafael presented the perfect heir to the Chaos Bringer, in Unicron's eyes. After all, he had few other options, and the boy was full of limitless potential. Were it simply a matter of the boy's innovative skills, Unicron would have moved on to someone else, long ago. Yet there was another reason he had stuck with the boy. The boy seemed to be adapting to the power of the Chaos Bringer, and becoming able to handle more, and more of it at an alarming rate. Should he master this, he could be Unicron's Champion. Rafael might even become more powerful than a Prime. 

"You've got a lot of potential, Rafael. It's time we renegotiated our earlier arrangement. When we were on Earth, and Mech had taken Bumblebee's T-Cog, you said you would do almost anything to get his T-Cog back. This is when we formed our agreement. Now that Bumblebee isn't around, however, we must renegotiate," declared Unicron. Unicron then continued.  "You wanted the power I possessed used to save humanity from themselves, but humanity here is safe. What I am offering you is a new deal. You will be my student. In return for becoming my student and eventual Champion, you will be gifted with my knowledge, and skills at your disposal. Just think about it, Rafael. You could punch Megatron into a billion pieces if we were ever to get my full power." 

A pause was done by Unicron, to let this sink in. Rafael listened to this. If the Chaos Bringer was serious he could gain the power he needed to protect his friends, and family. Megatron could easily be decimated, if he were to learn how to wield the power of the Chaos Bringer. The power that Unicron possessed could certainly be used to save a lot of people. And maybe... maybe just possibly, it was time for him to change, and not be so much of a coward like he had been in the past.

[Jack Darby]

"I....." hesitated Rafael for what seemed to be about a minute in total, before he made up his mind. "accept your offer Unicron. I will become your student, but we shall try to use our shared abilities to save lives whenever possible. It's the compromise I will make with you. I will allow you to regain your strength, and have more control, Unicron... but I want to be able to help people when I can." 

The boy did admittedly have a point. Since his heart was that of a hero, even if his body was weak, Unicron could use that. Use what the boy wanted the most to mold him so that he could hold his own. Sure it was not something he had ever done before, but the Chaos Bringer could figure out how to do it on the fly if he had to. Other matters also made the boy the best choice for being his student. The boy had limitless potential as witnessed when he on his own had made a Dark Energon Sphere. Not even Megatron had been able to do that when he had Dark Energon pumping through his circuitry, something that Unicron had hoped he would have been able to do. Unicron then divulged to the boy.  

"If we are going to truly do this arrangement, then we shall lay down some ground rules. You will not be allowed to summon Bumblebee or the Autobots as they would not understand what I am doing for you. You will follow my lesson plans, and push through your limits. However, as a payment for this, you will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine, Rafael." 

Rafael merely nodded once. Whatever it took to save his friends.

[Cupa]

Upon entering into the Nexus, It took but only a few minutes of walking to remember exactly how long it took to get from gate to gate. I sat down with my legs crossed and held out my hands in front of me, focusing my energy into the glowing orb that appeared in front of me. After five minutes or so, a gunpowder black horse appeared in front of me with a green saddle on it, waiting for me to jump on. I took a moment to stare at my hands in amazement. As I realized that I had just summoned a living creature, the horse poked my forehead with his muzzle. I instinctively started petting his head. “I guess you deserve a name, huh?” I though for a moment, several names going around in my head.

“What about… Discharge?” I said, a smile coming to my face as I suggested the name. The horse seemed to take a moment to consider it before neighing in approval. “Okay, that’s settled then.” I climbed into the saddle and pointed towards the gate for the Dunes across the Nexus. “We’re headed over here, Discharge. Hyah!” Discharge took off at a speed faster than any horse I had ever rode before, and nearly knocked me clean from the saddle before I regained control.

After about forty five minutes I saw what appeared to be a child of some kind appearing in front of me, with some kind of dummy close by to him. I slowed Discharge to a mild trot as I approached him from the side. He turned towards me as I stopped moving with a odd look upon his face, as if he had just made an important decision and was still contemplating what would happen because of it.

I waved from the horse and gave a smile. “Hello there!” I got off of Discharge and walked towards the boy. I extended out my right hand to shake his, keeping my left behind my back with a piece of flash tnt in it. “I’m Cupa. What’s your name kiddo?”

[Jack Darby]

"So where do we begin?" asked Rafael. The lily-white colors of the Nexus were beginning to grate on the nerves of both himself, and Unicron. Not like either of them would admit that they both agreed on this one subject - how irritating this place they were in was. However, for their purposes it was the logically best place to begin the education that Rafael knew he needed. Up until now he had been a nerd, and relied on the Autobots to do most of his protection for him. Yet, as they were not here, and due to his agreement with Unicron he couldn't summon them, Rafael realized what he hadn't before. He was on his own. Jack Darby was not here, and Jack was one of his best friends. Miko, as bouncy as she was, was someone Rafael trusted explicitly, and without reservation. As a result of this,  Raf felt an odd pang in his chest when he considered the friends that he had left behind. What were they doing now was one of the questions that was literally on his mind. 

"We begin with you parting with your past, Rafael. As you stand now, you couldn't even hold your own against even the weakest of my champions, child. You must move past your weakness. However, we cannot continue your training here," groaned Unicron. While the pure white made a lot of things, the sheer shine of the place was enough to drive him crazier. Therefore it was not an ideal place, nor good enough for the purposes of educating Rafael. Really what they needed was somewhere that Rafael would be pushed to the limit. An environment where there would be challenges that needed to be overcome if he was to get stronger. New ideas began to form in the mind of Unicron. Back when he had been part of the planet Earth he could manipulate the terrain, due to that planet Earth being part of his body. Lava was a part of Earth, and so perhaps he could teach Rafael how to shoot lava out of his hands, or through some sort of armored gloves. Nothing said "leave me alone" like getting a superheated liquid directly in the face, or the groin of any individuals stupid enough to try things on Rafael. 

Of course, it was not going to be possible for a while. Unicron knew this much. For starters, Rafael was going to need more physical training. It was a shame, but it was the truth of the matter. As he was now, even the weakest Cybertronian could make mincemeat out of Rafael. Sure potential was possessed by the boy, but potential in the long run was not enough. It needed to be converted to talent, and skill. If he still had his powers, Unicron could have simply shared some of his own strength with Rafael. Unfortunately, reduced as he was,  Unicron couldn't do anything for the boy, except advise him, and take over when needed. What the boy needed was a confidante, a friend that he could rely on. Someone to coax him out of his shy shell, and help Unicron get him to where the boy could be if he stopped holding back his own potential. The boy had a lot of fire inside, and just needed to draw it forth. Rafael noticed the individual, and looked at Cupa for a moment. After a moment he approached her and shyly extended a hand. "My name is Rafael. Nice.... to meet you Cupa."  This was softly stated by Rafael who was trying to resist the urge to cower in fear.

[Cupa]

I shook Rafael’s hand gently yet firmly while smiling at him reassuringly. “Give me a minute, would you?” I turned back to Discharge and put my tnt block back in my pocket. I pulled out an apple from the orchard I was in before leaving the greens and gave it to Discharge. “Good boy…” I turned back to Rafael and saw him watching me, with a hint of fear in his eyes. “So where are you from Rafael?” I asked him out of curiosity. “I just came from the Greens myself.” I decided to try and gain the trust of this boy. I don’t know why, but something told me that there was something different about him.

[Jack Darby]

A search on the Dataverse revealed information about where Cupa was from. She was lucky to survive, if the gruesome murder of an elf girl was any indication based off of the public service announcement that had been posted by one "Warren Zimmer" an individual that if Rafael ever met him, Rafael was going to take the time to explain how to properly use a computer to him. When she shook his hand gently, but firmly, Rafael relaxed some, and smiled back at her. His was more of a timid smile. Something about her seemed like he could trust her. In a way she reminded him of Miko. The thought of Miko brought pain to his skull. His hand shot up clutching his forehead. Unicron was shouting at him in his brain that he was not going to be allowed to summon the bouncy teenage human - at all as per their agreement.  "How did you survive the Tangled Green?" asked Rafael, honestly astounded that she had survived. Of course she could have avoided those individuals entirely, but he wouldn't know until he actually asked her.  "And as to where I'm from, Jasper Nevada. I miss home. Of course, now I call Camelot "Base" although ilt will never truly be home for me,"  Rafael began to sob some as he thought about the people he would never see again. 


Unicron then appeared in front of her - projecting outwards.  "Do you mind stopping his tear fest? If you do, I'll take charge, and give you some clothes better suited to what you need." 

[Cupa]

Cupa jumped backwards in surprise, letting out a cry of shock and forming a block of tnt in her hand on the way to throwing it before realizing the… thing… in front of her hadn’t caused her any harm, and had instead offered to help her. As she looked at Rafael, she realized it was insensitive for her to ask where someone was from in the Omniverse. Thoughts wandered to Andr for a moment before snapping back to the present. She lowered her arm and, after taking a moment to look away from Rafael said only a simple sentence. “Please do.” After saying this however, something that the thing had said stuck out. Take charge? What could that possibly mean?

[Jack Darby]

"I cannot, at present." stated Unicron, exasperated with the fact he could not control the boy's form when he was like this. Sure they had a symbiotic relationship most of the time but there were limits. One of the limits was that he could not assume control when the boy was in an emotional state like he was at present. "For me to do so when he is like this would cause damage to his mind. You must first snap him out of being about to cry. I refuse to do anything, until you manage to snap him out of it," decreed Unicron. Unicron had no experience dealing with children of any kind. When he noticed an explosive generated by her, Unicron started to consider the potential she had. She could be useful as an asset. If he could somehow transfer her skill with explosives to Rafael, this would give Rafael an edge.

[Jack Darby]

There were many things that made the Chaos Bringer Unicron not amused about the current place he found himself in. One of the things was when Rafael continued to be a weak child. His weakness was a problem that Unicron planned to remove from him,  as soon as he was possibly able to do so. Of course it was going to require a lot of work on his part. 

"I'm sorry Cupa," said Unicron as he assumed control of Rafael.  "But we must be going, as there is a lot to be done in the Omniverse. I do hope we can meet again at some point, because he considers you his friend." 

Unicron then held out his hand towards her communicator transmitting a bit of data into it.  "This will allow us to stay in contact while I take Rafael and have him explore the Omniverse more. The boy has a lot to learn, but by the time he is finished he will possess skills worthy of being the next Chaos Bringer, and perhaps even to succeed me, or surpass me." 

The Chaos Bringer made his host - that was more of a symbiotic relationship start walking away. While Rafael may not want to admit it the two possessed a symbiotic relationship of sorts that was comparable to the scarab worn by Jamie Reyes. At first he had been able to command the scarab but the Reach had assumed control of him according to the movies that Rafael had watched. 

The boy had a lot to learn about the use of the power of the Chaos Bringer. Dark Energon had many applications the boy hadn't even considered and that was something he was going to have to learn to do. 

At present his body was not fast enough - or strong enough to handle but a mere fraction of the power the Chaos Bringer could use. Even use of the Vorpal Saber was a risk in Rafael's current condition, Unicron knew this as they left the area.