(Please see all previous disclaimers)
While Lancex waited for Aquaformer to return, Grimlock had returned to the other dinobots. The others could tell he was not happy. "What wrong, Grimlock?" Snarl asked, seeing the T-Rex wasn't happy.
"Me Grimlock spar with Lancex. Bot strong. Me Grimlock had him Lancex pinned down but unable to claim bot" Grimlock revealed.
"Why no able claim bot?" Swoop asked, upset for Grimlock.
"Prime stop me Grimlock" Grimlock replied, upset at being stopped. "If no Optimus show, me Grimlock would have bot."
"What Grimlock want us bots do?" Sludge asked.
"Next time fight, no listen to Prime unless Prime in bad danger" Grimlock stated.
"Why listen when Prime in danger?" Slag asked.
"We no want be Decepticons. They no let us be" Grimlock stated. The others agreed, as the T-Rex was their leader and they would follow what he said.
And as the dinobots were making their plans to help Grimlock claim Lancex, Aquaformer returned to the quarters. She noticed something was off with Lancex. "Something wrong?" She asked.
"Just thinking" Lancex replied, unsure how to tell her.
"I will listen and answer questions if needed" Aquaformer offered up.
"Well… Ratchet said I was a submissive mech and you said that I was likely stronger than most bots due to that. Is there anything more to know about being a submissive mech?" Lancex asked.
"Well, they are the only mechs who can carry sparklings. They are strong to protect themselves from bots who are supposed to be their future mates for the most part, though some bots are still stronger and do attempt to breed a rare submissive mech because they can. Usually those types of mechs need more than one mate to satisfy them, and they have heat like femmes have cycles" Aquaformer explained.
"Heat?" Lancex asked.
"A time when your hormones are high and you are most fertile. It can be strong enough to make any dominant bot want to claim you and you aren't as likely to want to fight back, because your systems want to be sparked. Of course, on the side where you don't get sparked after your heat, you might get moody because your body wanted to be sparked but isn't."
"Well, that is helpful to know. At least I won't walk into this thing blind. How did I recognize a dominant bot?" Lancex asked and Aquaformer did her best to explain, as not all were dominant the same way. Some were more primative in their approaches and some were more subtle in their approaches. Lancex was grateful for the information. But he had a question, "what about you? Do you think you will find anyone?"
Aquaformer sighed, still too obtuse to realize that two bots were pursuing her. "I want to, really I do, but I doubt any reasonable mech would want me. I have a lot of baggage from my past. If I can help others, for now, that will be good enough for me" Aquaformer replied.
"I am sure there is a bot or bots out there for you, you just have to wait for the right time" Lancex encouraged.
Aquaformer nodded and shrugged. She hoped Lancex was right. "Maybe it is time to rest, my systems are low" Aquaformer said and headed for bed. She was out cold soon enough. But not Lancex. He felt bad for the femme. She deserved to be loved, just like other bots. He decided that he would try and help her like she helped him. Little did he know the mess that would get him into, not because of her but because of another bot.