For several solar cycles after that, Tomato hadn't seen Blueberry. They talked on their com. links every so often, but she never told him what she was doing. It was most likely that she was busy with school, but (unfortunately) she could be planning for the wedding against her will.

Tomato was determined to rescue Blueberry from Carjack's evil servos, but how? Of course, he wasn't allowed to approach the Elite Guard ship because it would be "curtains" if he got caught, but he had to do something!

Since he feared his sword might not be big enough for this battle, Tomato decided to seek help from Megatron. By now, Tomato was a good swordsman, but he still wanted to ask something.

"Lord Megatron?" asked Tomato, approaching his leader.

"Yes?" asked Megatron.

"Well…it turns out I have a rival for Blueberry," Tomato explained. "I'm going to battle him soon, and I don't think my sword is big enough for a strong one-on-one battle, so I wanted to know if I could borrow one of yours. I'll return it right after I defeat Carjack."

"Are you going to kill him?" asked Megatron.

"If I need to, then yes," Tomato replied solemnly.

"Then you can borrow one," Megatron told Tomato. "Just don't lose it or damage it in any way, because there will be dire consequences if you do."

"Thank you, my liege," Tomato said excitedly as he took the sword and walked away with it. It was still a little heavy, but he could lift it now. For a little bit, he practiced defeating Autobots with it, and he found that it wasn't much harder than his own sword, and besides, it was definitely much more deadly.

Tomato decided that he would persuade Blueberry to lead him to her ship, where Carjack lived. Perhaps he could think of another excuse to get there. When she finally told him she was coming over, he tried to think of a way he could get her to go to the Elite Guard ship and defeat Carjack, his rival.

And he got the perfect idea.

As soon as Blueberry showed up at the Nemesis to spend the solar cycle together, she seemed shocked. Tomato was dressed up like an Autobot, similar to the way Blueberry had dressed up as a Decepticon for the club—he had on optic lenses on to make his eyes blue, and although he was still armed (obviously), he had put an Autobot sticker over the Decepticon insignia on his chestplate.

"Why did you dress up as an Autobot?" Blueberry asked, looking baffled.

"I wanted to meet your parents," Tomato replied. Of course, what he really wanted to do was defeat Carjack, which was why he had kept himself armed, but he actually did want to meet Blueberry's parents. After all, she had met Megatron, right?

"They want me to marry Carjack, remember?" Blueberry reminded Tomato sadly. "They wouldn't care to meet any other boyfriends I might have."

"If I acted even more respectful and responsible than Carjack does, maybe they'll forget about him," Tomato protested. "What kind of mech do your parents like the most?"

"My father would like a mech who is brave in battle and would take good care of me," Blueberry replied, "and my mother would like a mech who is responsible and would be a good father to sparklings. In fact, she is a nurse, so she loves taking care of everyone, too."

"I could be all of those things," Tomato told Blueberry honestly. "I just need to prove that to your parents."

"What if they figure out you're actually a Decepticon, though?" Blueberry asked.

"Don't worry," Tomato insisted. "They won't."

So the two of them headed off to the Elite Guard base, walking hand in hand. Tomato found himself feeling nervous, because he was meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time, which everybody knows is a big step in a relationship.

After quite a bit of walking, they arrived at the Elite Guard ship. Tomato was biting his lip and gripping Blueberry's servo, but she smiled sweetly and led him inside.

"Mother? Father?" she called. "I'm home!"

"How's my girl?" shouted Blueberry's father, coming into the room, and her mother pulled her into a hug. Blueberry's mother was the same dark-blue shade, only a little bigger, and Blueberry's father was a combination of bright red and gold.

"I had fun on my mission," Blueberry replied. "And I brought my new boyfriend."

"Who?" asked her parents.

"I met this mech several days ago," Blueberry told them, pointing to Tomato. "Believe it or not, he's an Autobot who I met on a mission a few solar cycles ago. We thought he should be introduced."

"Put 'er there, young mech!" Blueberry's father boomed, and Tomato slowly shook his servo.

"So, what's your name?" asked Blueberry's mother politely.

Tomato panicked. If he gave his name away, the Elite Guard would reveal his Decepticon status and probably try to take him back again. So his CPU scrambled for a fake name, any fake name that the Autobots would believe!

"M-My name's Hotwire," Tomato lied nervously. "I-I'm an Autobot trooper."

At least that was sort of true. Tomato figured that an Autobot trooper was kind of the equivalent to being a Decepticon warrior. Blueberry gave Tomato a strange look at "Hotwire", but he quickly shook his head and put one finger over his lips. He would explain it later.

"Autobot trooper, huh?" Blueberry's father said approvingly. "Well, young mech, I just happen to be an Autobot trooper too! Let's see those moves!"

"Um…okay," Tomato replied. Of course, he knew not to shoot his gun inside, but he whipped out Megatron's sword and pretended he was fighting an invisible enemy, showing off his swordsmanship skills; then he put the sword back and showed off his martial arts skills, fighting with his fists and showing off his various kicks and punches. By now Tomato was pretty skilled, so everyone looked pretty impressed, including Blueberry.

"My, you are talented!" Blueberry's mother cried. "Who taught you?"

"Um, I, um…" Tomato drew a blank.

"Hotwire trained at Autobot Academy," Blueberry piped up, coming to Tomato's rescue. "And he graduated at the top of his class, too. All the sergeants thought he was one of the best cadets because he always knew how to take orders and he was very brave too. I know he could always save me if a Decepticon attacked me."

"Oh, is that so?" asked Blueberry's father.

"Yes, sir," Tomato replied, bowing. Since he used the word "sir" and bowed, that was his way of showing respect; then turned to Blueberry's mother. "I'm sure you know your daughter is safe in my servos, correct, ma'am?"

"Of course!" Blueberry's mother smiled. "You are a very charming young Autobot, Hotwire."

"However, I'm afraid you and Blueberry are going to have to remain friends," Blueberry's father suddenly said.

"But—but why?" Blueberry cried. "I love Hotwire so much!"

"You know who I arranged to marry you," Blueberry's father told her strictly. "I've been Carjack's trainer for a long time now. I know I can trust him. Hotwire seems fine, but for Spark's sake, I can't let you stay with someone I've hardly met. And you haven't been with him very long, have you?"

"No." Blueberry hung her head.

"We just want you to be safe and happy, dearest," Blueberry's mother told her daughter, drawing her into a slow hug. "You know that."

"I-I'd be happy with Hotwire," Blueberry said back. "Much happier than I'd ever be with Carjack."

"Carjack will be a fine husband, my daughter," Blueberry's father insisted. "All your life, he will love you and protect you from danger. When he comes home from training or from a battle, you'll be there to serve him dinner and help him unwind, and if you ever get into danger, he will protect you from harm."

"I can take care of myself!" Blueberry protested. "And Carjack can get his own energon! I don't like him, Father!"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me," Blueberry's father warned.

Blueberry made her voice softer and explained, "I want to finish my degree at University of Crystal City and get a job first."

"Watch yourself, young lady," Blueberry's father told her. "Being a mother is job enough for you, and that's final."

Blueberry put her servos over her faceplates, and Tomato could tell she was going to cry soon; he didn't know what to do. On one hand, he wanted to help Blueberry, but on the other hand, if he blatantly went against her parents' wishes, they would hate him.

"Blueberry would really make a good scientist," he told them quietly, fake-smiling.

"No, young mech, she would not." Blueberry's father shook his head. "That's not a femme's job, and Carjack strongly agrees with me on that."

"Yeah, he would," Blueberry muttered under her breath, so that only Tomato could hear her.

"Perhaps you should meet Carjack, Hotwire," Blueberry's father suggested. Over his com. link, he contacted Carjack, who came as soon as he was called. Upon arriving, he saluted and yelled, "Carjack reporting for duty, sir!"

Carjack was a little bigger than Tomato. He was almost all-black, with some rather obnoxious red-and-orange flames painted on his upper arms and lower legs. Curious, he looked down at Tomato and asked in a gruff voice, "Who's the red 'bot?"

"I-I'm Hotwire," Tomato said. "Um, you're Carjack, correct?"

"That's right, little guy," Carjack said importantly, crossing his arms and grinning snidely. "Does that bother you?"

"No!" Tomato cried. "I-I think it's a cool name."

"Whatever." Carjack rolled his optics and turned to Blueberry's parents. "Good afternoon, yes?"

"Oh, absolutely," Blueberry's mother replied cheerily.

"I must say, sir, I am most pleased that you are allowing me to marry your beautiful, delicate young daughter," Carjack told Blueberry's father. "It is such an honor."

"It is an honor which you deserve," Blueberry's father responded, setting one servo on Carjack's shoulder (they were almost the same height, with Blueberry's father being a little bigger). Blueberry looked over at Tomato and rolled her optics. Tomato nodded, then turned his attention back to Blueberry's parents and Carjack.

"Well, I've got to get the next training session set up for tomorrow's training drills," Blueberry's father told everyone.

"Yes, and there are patients I should be attending to," Blueberry's mother added. "I'm a nurse, you see."

"I know." Tomato nodded and smiled. "Blueberry told me already."

"Now, isn't that nice?" Blueberry's mother said sweetly as she followed her husband out the door. "Why don't you three just stay here and chat?"

TO BE CONTINUED…