Megatron led Tomato onto the Nemesis, both in robot mode now. Megatron was glaring at Tomato, who was exclaiming at everything he saw.

"Wow! It sure is dark in here!"

"Wow! I like your TV!"

"Wow! You have dark energon?"

"Wow! You have cannons?"

"Yes, of course we have cannons!" Megatron told him. "Honestly, there's nothing in here that's worth getting so worked up about."

"There is to me," Tomato insisted.

"What was your old home like?" Megatron asked. He had to admit, he was wondering how exactly Autobot sparklings were brought up.

"Well, I had oilcake every solar cycle, and everybody was always squeezing me and kissing me even when I didn't even do anything special, and I had lots of fun toys to play with, and—"

"What kind of toys?"

"Little things that squeaked and played music and stuff like that," Tomato replied, shrugging. "It was okay."

"Well, your oilcake will be replaced with dark energon, and your toys will be replaced with dangerous weapons," Megatron informed him. Maybe Tomato will like a place that's so different from the Elite Guard ship, he thought to himself. "All that kissing-and-hugging nonsense will be replaced by tough training drills."

"Ooh! Training drills?" Tomato shrieked excitedly. "I've heard some troopers talk about that, like the bombs that spray paint, and transform-ups and stuff? Yeah! Oh my gosh!"

This young 'bot is so naïve, Megatron thought, slapping himself in the forehead again. But I can take advantage of that, since that's the plan.

"Transform-ups are for 'bots who are so soft, you can pound them into oilcake without even trying," Megatron said back. "You will learn to fight mercilessly while raw energon is pouring out of your tubes, emerging as the victor. Remember, surrender is not an option!"

Tomato's optics were so wide, they practically covered up his whole face.

"Coool," he whispered.

…

Megatron and Tomato arrived soon after to the main monitor room. The TV was still on (Autobot Extreme Makeover was playing), so Megatron walked over and shut it off—not only did he always hate the Autobot channels, but nobody was there. Starscream was supposed to be doing Monitor Duty, but to nobody's surprise he had shirked off…again.

Note to self: Punish Starscream for insolence. AGAIN.

"Wow! Monitor Duty!" Tomato walked over to the computers, communication systems, and other Monitor Duty supplies. "I've always wanted to do this!"

It seemed to Megatron that the kid had been so spoiled and coddled that he really didn't know anything. He thought the hardest things (like training) and the most boring things (like Monitor Duty) were actually fun, because he didn't have any experience with them—or anything else, for that matter. Well, except oilcake, maybe. He did seem to know quite a bit about oilcake.

"Well, it's not time for Monitor Duty yet," Megatron told Tomato. "We have other things to discuss right now."

"Okay!" Tomato sat down on the floor, back facing the TV, and Megatron sat down next to him.

"So, what's your vehicle mode?" asked Megatron.

"Mini-car," Tomato replied brightly. "I guess when I'm all grown up I'll turn into a big car or something like the grown-ups at home, or—"

"Tomato!" Megatron told him sharply. "THIS is your home now!"

"Whatever," said Tomato, shrugging. "Like I said, I'm too small to be a big car, and definitely not a truck, so now I'm just a nice compact car. Red, too!"

"Everyone knows your vehicle mode is tomato-red, Tomato," Megatron replied flatly. "So are you. Well, anyway, now that you're a future Decepticon warrior, you need to be something very different. Like…like…"

"Your gun!" Tomato cried happily, pointing at Megatron's fusion cannon.

"This? My fusion cannon?"

"That would be so awesome!" Tomato confirmed, grinning, optics squeezed tight.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," said Megatron pensively. Maybe he was being exposed to a Decepticon mindset already! "Are you sure you want it?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, then, hold still for once while I scan it," Megatron replied, removing the gigantic thing from his arm and getting ready to scan it to be Tomato's alternate mode. "Now remember, this thing is bigger than a mini-car, so it will make your robot mode increase slightly."

"That's great news," Tomato told him. "I've always hated being too small."

"Well, you were probably going to get bigger anyway when you grow up, Tomato," Megatron reminded him. "So…"

Megatron quickly scanned the gun for Tomato, making it his new "vehicle" mode. Being built as an Autobot, Tomato was by default smaller, but as he turned into the gun upon scanning, and then popped back into robot mode, he was still the size of a sparkling, but definitely not as small as before.

"AWESOME!" Tomato hollered, turning into cannon mode again and shooting a blast of ammunition across the room, shattering the wall separating the kitchen and the main monitor room and barely missing the TV.

"Watch it!" Megatron yelled. "I'm going to have to disable the gun unless you learn how to use it properly."

"Responsibly?"

"No, properly," repeated Megatron, grinning evilly. "Two different things."

"Umm…okay…" Tomato looked confused, but then turned into cannon mode again, and this time he didn't turn back until they heard voices down the hallway. It was Starscream's voice, and Crazy Blitzwing's laughter.

"So I took her back to my place and it was like, wham, pow, and she didn't even—!"

"Primus, Starscream, buy zee girl a drink first!" Random Blitzwing cackled, and then they both burst into hysterics.

"DO YOU MIND?!" hollered Megatron.

"Oh, hey, Lord Megatron, Blitzwing and I were planning to head out to Iacon tonight for some femme hunting," Starscream told Megatron. "We don't know when we'll be back, so—hey, who's the little red 'bot?"

"This is Tomato," Megatron informed them. "He's our newest Decepticon."

"Why does he have zee Autobot symbol?" asked Blitzwing.

"And why is his name Tomato?" added Starscream.

"He was an Autobot sparkling until I captured him," Megatron explained. "I'll brand him with the Decepticon insignia tomorrow. As for his name, he's a very dark red, the exact same color of tomatoes and there you have it…Autobot-turned-Decepticon Tomato."

"Hi, I'm Tomato!" Tomato introduced himself.

"Yes, we know," said Starscream, and Blitzwing walked over to shake the sparkling's hand. Tomato shook Blitzwing's hand enthusiastically, then let him walk back to Starscream.

"Umm…ok…" Starscream looked a little confused. "Whatever. Let's go, Blitzwing."

"I am zee best wingman," Blitzwing told them happily, just before Starscream pulled him out the air lock.

"Where's Iacon?" asked Tomato curiously.

"It's the capital city of our planet, Cybertron," Megatron explained. "Apparently Starscream and Blitzwing are heading out to one of the nightclubs there again to pick up some of those cute little compacts."

"Do you like nightclubs?" Tomato questioned.

"I guess, um, I don't really care," Megatron told him. "I'm more concerned with the war."

"The war?"

"Umm…yeah, the war between we Decepticons and…oh, forget it," Megatron grumbled, noticing that Tomato was already looking in another direction and staring into space again. "I'll explain it some other time. You don't have the attention span right now, do you?"

"I don't know." Tomato shrugged. "For…what?"

"For anything I say!" Megatron yelled, whacking Tomato's head again.

Tomato rubbed his head, then squinted, looking up at Megatron. "Hey, um…who are you, anyway?"

"I am your Lord Megatron, and will be addressed as no less," Megatron replied importantly. "I am the one who will train you, so that you will be worthy to become one of my Decepticons."

"Training drills, like you said?" asked Tomato. "Those will definitely be fun."

"They will challenge you beyond your limits, similar to the battlefield on which your skills will eventually be required."

"I'll be the best Decepticon warrior ever!" yelled Tomato, running around and around in circles crazily until he crashed into the TV.

Megatron shook his head and sighed exasperatedly. "We've got a long way to go."