The day finally came when Tomato was able to cross the trench filled with barbed wire. He'd been practicing for a long time, and it had taken forever, but finally, panting with exhaustion, Tomato lifted himself out on the other end of the trench. His face was covered in dirt, his body covered in scratches, but he was online—and happy.
"Good job," said Megatron, reaching out his hand. Tomato took it and allowed Megatron to pull him up and away from the barbed-wire trench. "You're ready to finish the rest of the obstacle course now, so I'll show you the new one I've been working on."
Megatron led his young cadet over to an obstacle course he had set up. Tomato looked pretty surprised when he saw it. There was a spider web-like string of ropes for him to crawl across; a rotating spiked platform, suspended over a pit of bubbling dark energon; a fighting drone; the metal teeth jump; and of course the Hoop of Fire. There were no flames yet, obviously; the Hoop of Fire was only going to be lit when Tomato was trying to beat it.
"This is the Ultimate Decepticon Test of Mettle and Endurance," Megatron said casually, as if he wasn't talking about a difficult and possibly deadly obstacle course. "You are allowed exactly one megacycle to complete each challenge, but you are expected to complete each challenge before you receive the honor of the Branding Ceremony."
Tomato walked over to the Hoop of Fire. "This looks…pretty dangerous."
"That's because it is dangerous," said Megatron, joining Tomato at the Hoop of Fire.
"What if I don't make it to the end of this course?" asked Tomato, sounding a little scared. "What if I don't even make it past the first challenge?"
"That's what battle is all about," Megatron replied, and walked over to the first challenge, the Ropes. For a moment, he found himself wondering whether or not Tomato was going to be able to finish the Obstacle Course; then he remembered how his cadet had worked hard enough to make it across the barbed wire, something he never thought he would be able to do.
"Okay…" Tomato edged closer to the entwined ropes.
"The object of the Ropes is to crawl across them to the next challenge, the Dark Energon Challenge," Megatron explained. "As you can undoubtedly see, they are filled with snags and snares at every turn. There is only one way to get past them, and you have to figure out what it is."
Tomato stepped onto the ropes. Immediately, a coil of rope snapped up out of nowhere, squeezing tight around his ankle. Tomato struggled to pull his foot out of the tight knot; he was feeling the energon supply to his foot begin to get cut off, the rope was tied so tight.
"Lord Megatron!" cried Tomato, still struggling. "Help!"
"The more you struggle, the tighter they squeeze!" Megatron said back.
Tomato loosened his foot, misinterpreting Megatron's instructions. The rope hung there, but he couldn't get out.
SNAP!
Another coil sprang up, tying itself tightly around Tomato's neck. Tomato pulled at it, trying to free himself from the deathly rope, but it was ruthless.
"H-Help!" Tomato coughed.
"There's only one way to get past the Ropes!" Megatron repeated, hoping Tomato would discover the secret, but he didn't seem to have discovered it yet. The rope was squeezing so tight, and Tomato was coughing and pulling at his neck, until he stopped moving. His systems seemed to be shutting down, his optics closed, his servos dropping from the rope and down to his sides, hanging limply.
Megatron knew better than to come to Tomato's rescue every time the young 'bot encountered trouble, but this time Tomato needed someone to rescue him, or he was going to choke to death. Knowing the secret to defeating the Ropes, Megatron quickly made his way over to Tomato without incident. He removed the rope from Tomato's neck and got him back inside the ship.
Tomato was unconscious but Megatron set him down on the couch. Poor Tomato, he was thinking. The little Decepticon-to-be had worked so hard to complete the barbed wires and now the Ropes, and he had almost been strangled on his first try.
Megatron put one servo on Tomato's forehead and sighed, just as Shockwave walked into the room. "What happened to Tomato, my liege?"
"We were working on his obstacle course and a rope choked him," Megatron explained. "Since his systems began to shut down, I had to take him inside to recharge a bit."
"He hasn't yet discovered the skill needed for the Ropes?" asked Shockwave.
"Don't worry," said Megatron. "He will."
…
Tomato was continuing his practice with the Ropes, but was doing other things as well—he was training in martial arts and swordsmanship, which he said he wanted to be as good as his commander's. So, later one solar cycle, Megatron led Tomato outside by the obstacle course and took out one of his titanium swords.
"You haven't got a clue how to sword-fight, Tomato," Megatron said, gripping his own sword.
Tomato grinned and whipped out his steel sword. "Try me!"
As quick as he could, Tomato struck with the sword; Megatron deflected it.
"Assess the situation! Engage with care!" Megatron yelled, while Tomato flashed his sword back. "Have a strong defense!"
Megatron held the sword up high, appearing to swing the sword down. Tomato should have known he wasn't actually going to get hit, but he flinched anyway, sticking out the sword above his head.
"What do you think you're doing?" Megatron asked Tomato angrily.
"I-I don't know," Tomato said back.
"Courage is just as important in a sword fight as is a sword," Megatron told Tomato. "If you hide in fear, your opponent will gain the advantage, you know."
Tomato stood up and saluted. "Understood, my liege."
"Okay, then, I'm the Decepticon, you're the Autobot, and I challenged you to a battle," said Megatron. "You know what to do next."
"Come get some!" Tomato yelled, and Megatron struck the sword down. Remembering how one slash of the sword could kill someone, Megatron had to remind himself not to kill Tomato when he was sword fighting. They continued to sword fight, and even though Tomato was a novice, he was improving.
…
Tomato was working on the Ropes, but he ended up getting snagged every time—he'd been ensnared by his neck (again, although this time not tight enough to choke), both arms, and both legs. The ropes squeezed so tight, he was covered in bruises.
Megatron could see that Tomato was getting frustrated with the Ropes challenge. It wasn't good, frustration. If Tomato didn't want to train any more, it wasn't going to end up pretty.
Tomato crawled across the spider web of ropes yet again, when suddenly a rope, flashing up quickly, snatched his whole arm. The rope pulled Tomato down, and he sat up, his whole arm still tied up with the string.
"Give me my arm back!" Tomato yelled, trying to pull his arm away, but (as usual) the rope just tightened itself.
"It's not going to let go, you know!" Megatron called.
"That's it!" Tomato cried out, as he tried and failed to stand up. "I'm finished! I quit!"
"You're not going back on me like that now, soldier!" Megatron insisted. "You've come too far!"
"Oh, shut up!" said Tomato angrily.
"DON'T YOU ADDRESS YOUR SUPERIOR LIKE THAT!" Megatron hollered. Probably, if Tomato hadn't been in the Ropes already, Megatron would have wanted to strangle him. "GET YOUR STUPID RED AFT OUT OF THE ROPES, NOW!"
"Can't you see I'm never going to get out?!" screamed Tomato, whipping out his sword in fury and slashing as hard as he could at his trapped arm. The rope snapped.
Megatron smiled. "That's the way, Tomato."
"What the…did I just…?" Tomato stared down at the sword. "Is…is that the secret, Lord Megatron?"
"Use your weapon, and you will defeat the enemy," Megatron replied. "The weapon was Tomato's sword, and the enemy was the Ropes. Are you still going to get tangled in those coils now?"
"NO WAY!" Tomato told him, stepping forward again. His leg got caught, but he tentatively used his sword again—the rope was defeated. Tomato kept walking on, but Megatron knew that maybe soon, if Tomato kept on going, the Ropes would be defeated, too.
"Don't give up now!" Megatron said back, as Tomato, with a more determined look on his face than Megatron had ever seen, continued to brave the Ropes, slashing through them mercilessly with his sword. This was a good idea for sword practice, he thought.
Tomato's megacycle allowance of time was quickly running out—only ten cycles left, and Tomato wasn't yet at the end—close, but no cigar. Megatron informed him of this, and he slashed at the ropes even harder. Finally, just as the last minute was drawing to a close, Tomato gasped with exhaustion and collapsed onto the ground right next to the Dark Energon challenge.
"Good job, soldier," said Megatron, walking over to him. "You figured it out this time."
"I did!" Tomato stood up and grinned. "Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought."