Chapter Text
Mega Ambler checks on Blue Cop at some point. Blaion doesn't know what time it is, but he's confident that it's both too early and too late for both of them. The Metal and Wild Cardbot share the room in silence. The Doctor is reading the vitals and is staring at Blue Cop's still body. He does not comment on the location of Blaion's servos, nor does he seem to care to even raise an optic ridge.
They share a silence that Blaion can only describe as both suffocating and pressuring. While he's not a big fan of the doctor, he knows that the doctor and Blue Cop are comrades, the better word would be friends. He doesn't know how close the two of them are, but he can't help but feel shame in his presence.
He can already imagine what the doctor may say.
"You coward."
"Failure of an ally"
With the doctor's sharp tongue, those insults are merely scratching the surface of Blaion's imagination. The harsh words, however, never come.
"What made you freeze up?"
Blaion is shocked, looking up at Mega Ambler.
"What?"
Mega Ambler turns his optics towards Blaion. He has no malice in his optics, but there is a tired, almost wary look that is difficult to miss.
"I heard you calling yourself a coward," Mega Ambler speaks, his tone even, almost monotonous, "from someone like you, it's difficult to imagine any context that you would dare call yourself that."
Blaion resets his vocalizer before attempting to speak. The doctor doesn't question why it takes him a couple of seconds to answer.
"Freeze up, wouldn't be the correct way of putting it."
"Then, explain."
He thinks back to Solidhorn—the naivety they all shared before fighting.
"Overpowering strength," Blaion says, optics dimming slightly. "I don't know how it works with Metal Cardbots, but with Wild Cardbots, we know when there is someone stronger than us. The fear that cements within our bodies is instinctual; to run is to live."
"Why didn't you run?"
Mega Ambler is leading the conversation, coaxing in with questions that make Blaion feel almost like a child. He doesn't feel belittled by the doctor; in some ways, it feels helpful.
"I couldn't leave him behind."
Blaion momentarily tightens his grip on Blue Cop's servos.
"I knew what we were going against, so did Blue Cop. If I had left him behind, I would be a traitor. A coward."
"You both survived in the end, did you not?"
Mega Ambler leans against Blue Cop's berth, arms crossed, staring down at Blaion.
"Would you call Phoenix Fire a coward?"
"Of course not!"
Blaion yells. Mega Ambler's optics are neutral, perhaps expecting Blaion to react so explosively.
"Then why do you keep calling yourself a coward?"
The lion and the doctor can only stare at each other.
"What he did was…" Blaion uses one of his servos to knead the space in between his optics, "I cannot express how grateful I am. He saved her, knowing full well he could have instead chosen to stay out of harm's way."
Mega Ambler nodded, accepting his answer.
"Is it because you couldn't stop Solidhorn from getting to Blue Cop first?"
Mega Ambler sighed at Blaion's silence, seeing that the lion had resumed his position, resting his helm on the servos that encase Blue Cop's. He decides to stop speaking to Blaion, now moving to check on vitals one last time. When the medic bot places a servo on Blue Cop's shoulder, his optics only display defeat.
"Haven't changed since then," he mutters quietly before heading towards the door. Hushed murmurs seep from its opening.
The door closes with an audible click.
Around now, Blaion would be patrolling with Soleil, looking for new Wild Cardbots and probably contacting Jun about it. That routine was new, involving Jun and Blue Cop in their plans and working as allies rather than rivals.
Blue Cop as an ally was conflicting. A Star Guardian turned Wild Cardbot who stated to be working towards a society where humans and Cardbots can live together. Where the title of Wild and Metal doesn't carry the same meaning as it did on Machina. All of that sounded too good to be true.
Though it's difficult not to believe Blue Cop when all he has done so far only feeds into his claim.
He's conflicted, truly.
"What have you done to me…"
Blue Cop's fingers twitch in response, leaving Blaion to jerk his head up and stare with wide eyes.
"Blue Cop?"
—
Blue Cop's HUD has restarted, displaying multiple popups of his current state. There's not much he can remember previously, only blurs of recognizable faces and a panicked voice.
Solidhorn, he remembers. The pain he felt when the hammer had slammed into his pack. Initially, it was isolated, but slowly he felt the burn travel through his limbs, until it had taken over his whole body. The desperation to get back onto his pedes filled his processor during those moments.
He couldn't.
First, he remembers the fear. How easily his attack was subdued, and when compared, he was like an ant. One that Solidhorn easily trampled. His laugh vibrates in his audials, kicking him aside. He registers Jun's voice.
The boy is screaming his name.
That's what he can recall as he slowly onlines his optics.
Blaion is staring at him, and he doesn't question it when the lion places his helm on his with an audible thunk.