It did not take long for Grimlock to realize this had to be the worst idea in his long history of bad ideas.
He remembered Swoop sitting all of them down and going over the changes their bodies would all be going through soon as each Dinobot Called for the first time, but Grimlock must have zoned out at some point - surely he would have remembered their healer mentioning this. If it was hard to think due to his anger before, it was downright impossible now. Every single circuit in his body felt as if it was burning, and his well ached with need. He had not been able to keep his panel shut for the past two cycles, and it was just as well - the heated jungle air was actually much cooler in comparison to the intense heat between his legs.
The fact that the mind-numbing need made it impossible to focus on the task at hand only made Grimlock angrier, and he had already tried to alleviate the pressure several times by attempting to use his fingers to bring himself to overload, but that did not work - in fact, it only made the choking need worse, and for the third time, he found himself staring up at the sky and trying desperately to both ignore his body's screaming need as well as hopelessly wish it would just go away on its own.
His radio signals intensified in strength; sooner or later, somebody was bound to notice, and then... he might be in trouble.
As the minutes passed, and the signals drifted in the air near the Predacon lair, a mech indeed picked up the silent begging. A slender shadow stretched in the descending darkness, red optics flashing and a malicious soft laugh escaped her elegant black throat. Talon, one of Thunderclap's femme heirs was once again glad that she was born without a spike. The Call affected femmes a little differently. Even if they were right next to a Calling mech, they retained their clear mind.
She quickly located the target and ran off. Whatever it was, now it turned into another potential breeder. Talon purred when she thought about the praise and spoiling she would get if she captured another valuable addition to her Sire's harem. And without even a fight!
In her black panther form, she approached the Calling mech - what a pity, another Dinobot...! But, Talon had a good optic for the important detail, and the mech right in front of her was tall and strong who would, no doubt about it, bear strong heirs. She only had to lure him into a trap. So Talon walked out from her cover, shifting into her carefully maintained standard form. "Well-well, what do we have here...? It seems somebody's having a problem."
Grimlock later realized it took him far longer than he liked to notice and react to the Predacon's presence, but when he did, he jerked back and stumbled to his feet with a snarl. He hiked up the "wings" which made the chest of his beast form in an attempt to intimidate the Predacon and make himself look bigger, but it was basically impossible to be taken as a serious threat when his panel was wide open and his well dripping copious amounts of energon onto the ground.
He tried to demand who she was and if she had anything to do with Swoop's disappearance, but all Grimlock could manage in the throes of his Call was a peculiar combination of growls and snarls mixed together with sultry purrs and desperate mewls. A part of him was thoroughly disappointed upon sluggishly realizing she was, indeed, a "she" - she could not satisfy his body's hunger.
Talon walked closer on light feet, her claws tracing the Dinobot's chest ever so lightly to finally slide downwards and slip into the heated, trembling valve. "Oh, I'm so sorry I can't do anything for you..." she purred. "But I'm sure my brothers could. They're both strong warriors, they could sate your appetite. All you have to do is to follow me, and you can meet them. I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms." She lifted her hand and licked off the lubricant energon with a delighted shiver - it tasted wonderful. "So, brave Dinobot? Are you coming...?"
Grimlock's visor abruptly shut off as his whole body quivered in response to the Predacon's touch. Femme or not, at least her fingers felt good, much better than his own, and he let out a disappointed growl when she withdrew all too soon for his liking. His body and spark flared with need again, and her proposal, once he finally processed just what she meant, was too tempting to resist, and he did not need any more incentive to obediently follow her. If he could just find some relief to make himself think more clearly, then he could resume his search for Swoop.
To get to the lair took a little time – Talon was fast when alone, but she needed to make sure the Dinobot kept up. But eventually, the light of the twin moons bounced off of some metallic surface in the distance – the fortress of the ancients, barely rising above the ground, but stretching out quite far underneath.
The femme was sure that by the time they get there, somebody would be waiting for them. And indeed, just as she spotted the entrance, she could see Longfang standing there, tall body shaking from anticipation while Charge, nursing an injury – the brothers probably fought for the mating right – was lurking in the shadows, head spinning from the Call so close.
"Another Dinobot…?" the sabertooth tiger growled, optics trained on Grimlock's massive form.
"Probably the companion of the flying one," Talon shrugged. "Sire wanted them anyway. Give him an heir, brother." With that, she targeted Charge – the Call made her eager as well.
At this point, Grimlock barely knew what was going on around him, and he cared even less. The need was so intense, the first thing he actually focused on once close enough was the scent of a mech - an actual mech with the parts he so desperately wanted. He knew he did not particularly like the scent, and once he actually saw the mech in question, he knew why - a Predacon. Grimlock tried to growl at him, but it came out as a mix of a growl and a purr. To the depths with it - Predacon or not, he needed satisfaction. He could rip off the beast's head afterwards.
Longfang simply purred back - his head was spinning as well and his spike already exposed to the cooling night air. He stepped closer and rubbed himself against the uncovered valve, smearing himself with shimmering energon. His fingers roamed over the Dinobot's tough armor to find a good grip on it, then he simply pushed into the warm body, hissing from the pleasure which crackled along his spine. The mating began, fast and rough, a mere necessity; the Call ignored feelings and customs.
Grimlock let out a roar as his already weakened knees gave out on him. It had been far too long since he felt another's spike inside him - ever since the night his panel locks were broken, and while he had not forgotten just how wonderful it felt to be filled so thoroughly, he had forgotten just how intense it was - or maybe that was the Call's doing.
Regardless, Grimlock fell, but his large hands gripped the Predacon tightly and pulled him with him, not about to let him pull away without fulfilling his need. His valve had already been slicked more than necessary in all the time it had taken for him to be found, so the Predacon's spike found no resistance, only pleasing friction that made Grimlock rumble deep in his chest in satisfaction.
The darkness was soon filled with deep moans and growls, hisses and other sounds of pleasure, and it didn't take too long until Longfang threw his head back, and with a desperate huff of his intakes, his heated chestplate split and parted, revealing his spark. The Predacon shook himself then ground his front against Grimlock's. His instincts commanded him to make an heir and he was not about to protest. His core sensed the other's energy and rhythm, and tuned itself to a synch.
At first completely lost in the pleasure, Grimlock was startled out of the haze of their frenzied coupling when he felt something inside him shift. He felt his barriers begin to fall, and it was not until his chest began to split that he realized just what was happening. How could he have forgotten that? The Call prompted mating - it was the only time they could mate, and as Swoop explained to the pack not long ago, the Call often did so without their say.
Grimlock never reacted well to anything telling him what to do, his own body included. He may have allowed a Predacon into his valve, but he was not about to mate with one.
It was much harder than he liked to dredge up the higher thought processes to raise his hands and grip the Predacon's shoulders, but once he did so, he used every micron of his strength to push his upper body away from his own; not a moment too soon as he lost control, and his chest opened, his spark flickering and exposed. It was so hard to concentrate against the still blinding pleasure of the Predacon's spike sliding in and out of him, but Grimlock was determined - if he could just keep the Predacon from connecting their sparks, he would be fine.
The old Gods decided to humor him. Charge and Talon were too lost in each other to care, and Longfang was so surprised by the Dinobot's reaction that he didn't really fight with the grip. A few more thrusts and he was lost in the overload crushing down on him, anyway; his amber optics widened and he howled with his release, his nanites filling Grimlock's life holder. But, there was no new spark to make the offspring. Both cores lashed out, trying to lock, but they were too far away. The throbbing energy tapered off, leaving both mechs tired and their vents working overtime.
Grimlock shook under the Predacon for a brief moment as he overloaded as well, but his grip on the other mech's shoulders remained strong until he was certain he felt his chest begin to close. Then, he let his dwindling strength leave his arms again once there was no more danger of bonding and growled tiredly at Longfang, vents roaring to cool his heated body.
The tiger retracted his spike and crawled off the Dinobot. He growled at his siblings who were finished as well. They were in considerably better shape than him - regular overload didn't take as much from the body as one with an exposed spark. Charge was growling contentedly and Talon didn't even seem to be really affected. She rose to her feet, brushed off dirt and grass from her slender black form and walked to Grimlock.
"That was interesting," she purred. "Sire will not be pleased. But, I'm sure he still has plans for you." With that, she unlocked a small gun on her wrist, and promptly shot the young chief.
"Now, I'll call Sire," she grinned at her brothers, "Unless you gather up the strength to carry him."
The Dinobot leader howled in a combination of pain and surprise, but he had no way of guarding himself against such a weapon, one which he had never seen before. He barely had time to wonder what it was before his body began to seize up, and he blacked out.
---
"That's some leader..."
"You Steadfast shut up."
"Wasn't he supposed to get us out?! I'm too worked up to leave, not gonna stay here another day!"
"You all just keep quiet. Him Grimlock may be here, but him will get us out. Trust Swoop. Plans don't need change." The young healer huffed and leaned above the motionless body of his Chief who was just thrown into the big cell. Actually, he agreed with Steadfast... Some leader! Swoop could still smell the overload on him and recognize the faded, fractured last signals of the Call. His first thing to do was to check Grimlock's life holder, and he was even a bit surprised with just how relieved he felt that there was no sign of an heir.
Grimlock twitched and slowly brought his visor online, flickering it a few times as he tried to figure out where he was and what happened. His last clear memory was his body sending out the Call, and then everything else was a blur of images which took him a klik to decipher. He vaguely remembered Predacons - three of them - and mating with one. He also remembered holding back the one he mated with, preventing the mating from becoming full, and that was a relief. After overloading though, he remembered nothing, and that was worrisome.
All worries vanished, however, when his visor focused just after he caught a familiar scent, vision locking onto a familiar and sorely missed face. Grimlock let out a surprised growl as he tried to sit up to embrace Swoop. The movement was too sharp for his still reeling systems to handle, and he ended up just rolling right back down with a pained noise.
Swoop's laughter was light and sweet. "You Grimlock rest. Got shot by Predacons, taken to evil healer, then brought here. Head needs time to cope. You Grimlock messy... Mating with Predacon, huh? Middle of the Call, huh? What if end up with heir, huh?! Me Swoop stops thinking, tribe stops thinking. Now Chief locked up as well." He leaned closer though to murmur into the young leader's audios. "Me Swoop glad you Grimlock alright."
Well, Swoop certainly seemed to be okay if he was already lecturing at him. Grimlock huffed his vents in indignation before he replied, sulking, "Us worried when you Swoop not come back. Me Grimlock and him Sludge go searching. Find smelly green Predacon. Him Sludge killed and took back to him Slag for parts, and me Grimlock keep searching." Here, Grimlock paused, quite embarrassed by his lack of foresight. "Me Grimlock feel Call coming - tried to use to bring out Predacons and find Swoop." Well, it worked, didn't it? Just not the way he planned.
"Not bad idea," Swoop admitted, stroking the dark helm with gentle touches, "but Grimlock forget how Call dangerous. Cloud mind, make body weak. But all Bots fall for Call... Me Swoop fell for it too." He grabbed Grimlock by the shoulder to pull him up. "Come, us have not much time. Rest of tribe will come at sun-up, us have to be ready. You Grimlock meet others and listen to plan."
Grimlock took a klik to pout, grumbling, "It seem like good idea at time..." before he looked up once more when he registered what else Swoop said and blinked. "Plan?" It was only then that he finally noticed all of the other mechs with them. He had been too focused on finally reuniting with Swoop to acknowledge them.
"Predacon keeps mechs here to give him heirs," Swoop nodded with a dark expression. "Us need to leave; kill Predacon if possible. Him foolish, thinks not much about breeders. Me Swoop fixed him Pathway and him Steadfast. When them Sludge and Snarl and Slag come, us break bars, kill Predacons and leave." He tapped at the collar encircling his leader's neck and called out to the rest. "What this? Need to remove?"
"That's a restrain device," the sandy-colored Longleap stated. "It reduces the body's abilities... in your friend's case, it probably makes him a lot weaker."
"Hmm." Swoop tapped his chin. "Help me, uhh, kill it?" Longleap proved to be a valuable help before; he possessed mechanical knowledge which was how Swoop managed to restore everybody's abilities. Apparently, Thunderclap was not the only one growing careless, but Slither, too; had he known how well the young Dinobot handled his tools, he'd have surely disabled those too.
Grimlock had not noticed the thing around his neck until Swoop said something. He gave a confused growl as he reached up to give it a sharp tug, and the growl turned into an alarmed snarl when it did not budge. He was one of the strongest of his pack, second only to Sludge, and he was not at all accustomed to being unable to break whatever he wrapped his massive hands around. "Get it off!" he growled, not at all liking the feeling of it around his neck now that he knew it was there.
"It won't be too wise to let Thunderclap know, his pet had shaken off the leash," a sturdy femme, Heatwave spoke up. "Think about it, Dinobot - If Swoop and Longleap can switch it off, Thunderclap will think you're still weak, when he drags you off to mate and then you'll be able to surprise him."
Swoop nodded. "Listen to her Heatwave, she's wise. Sit still and us will fix this."
Grimlock was not as smart as Swoop and had more trouble understanding that, but he did understand the part of surprising this "Thunderclap" Predacon they kept mentioning. He had surprised the other Predacon by pushing him away, and it sounded as if he was going to have to repeat that exercise of willpower soon. Reluctantly, Grimlock ceased pulling on the collar and let his hand drop to his lap with a soft growl of understanding, and he sat still so Swoop and Longleap could work.
The obedience paid off - he received a smooch on his faceplate from the healer.