(Please see all previous disclaimers)
Seeing that they were away from the Decepticon base and with Lancex in tow, Grimlock and his team met up with Optimus and his team. Optimus was greatly concerned when he saw the shape Lancex was in, but the Prime quickly transformed to be able to safely transfer Lancex and Grimlock back to the base. Grimlock wasn't sure if he and Lancex would fit in Optimus' trailer, but it was bigger than it looked, and soon both the dinobot and Lancex were inside.
Since it was narrow quarters, Grimlock held Lancex close as they headed back to the base. Grimlock kind of liked his position as he was close to Lancex and could smell the pheromones that Lancex was giving off. Grimlock did lick his lips, but he didn't allow himself to go any further, as Grimlock remembered that he had a truce with Optimus and Optimus was likely aware of everything that was going on. So, while frustrated by the pheromones, Grimlock just held Lancex so the bot didn't bounce around the trailer.
Being the transporter of the two, Optimus was well aware of what was going on in the trailer, and for some strange reason, he felt jealous. Lancex was inside of Optimus' trailer, but Grimlock was holding the bot. But then Optimus thought about it – he had made a truce with Grimlock and it would do no good to not give the bot trust now. Besides, Optimus could tell that Grimlock was only holding so tight so that Lancex wasn't more damaged as they headed for the base. Optimus moved as fast as his heavy systems could take them. Both hoped that Lancex would make it, or this would all be for naught.
Meanwhile, back at the con base, Megatron berated his men who not only had allowed the Autobots to escape but also allowed Lancex to escape. Judging by the way the straps had been sliced, Megatron presumed that Starscream had freed the bot and tried to take advantage of the bot. Soundwave thought the same thing as no other con who proficient with a blade. Needless to say, Starscream ended up with quite a bit of twisted metal after it was all over.
But back with Optimus, he and his team soon reached the base. Ratchet helped Grimlock and Lancex out of the trailer. Once the load was gone, Optimus transformed back to his bipedal mode. Ratchet took Lancex with him, while Optimus and Grimlock followed. The two realized that they would need to rely on each other as they waited for Lancex to hopefully come around. Optimus sighed, as he had never seen his life going this way, but Primus did have a sense of humor at times, and Optimus had to admit to himself that this seemed like one of those. Still, the challenge was not over, he realized. As he and Grimlock still had to win over Lancex's spark. Could they do that and would he let them? Optimus had no clue, but hoped he and Grimlock at least had a chance.
