Chapter Text
The wild parts of Machina were very beautiful.
Blue Cop knew that, as a Star Guardian, his job was to quell the threat of the Wild Cardbots and not to admire nature, but he just couldn’t help it. This wasn’t even the true wilderness, seeing as he and his companions were only traversing the edge of the city, and yet the delicate crystalline growths glittering in the sunset and the sharp, clean mineral scent from the winding rock formations around them delighted him to no end. He’d been on many missions out into the dangerous parts of Machina, but those times were more often than not filled with fighting and running and things that greatly diverted his attention from his surroundings; it was rare to be able to truly take in the beauty of the planet.
He had to make sure to stay aware of any trouble lurking nearby, however. This was a relatively small group to be checking out a confirmed threat, only four mechs total when six was the standard for dealing with a clear territory encroachment. The fact that his squadron commander was here with them made Blue Cop feel a bit better, considering he could probably pull the weight of three mechs in a fight with ease, but it was better to be safe than sorry and not get too distracted.
“We’re almost there, Flame Nova, sir,” one of his squadmates, Aero Swift, said from up ahead. The commander, walking in front of Blue Cop, gave a nod. Blue Cop had always greatly admired Flame Nova, and his imposing presence and confidence was his most impressive trait. Blue Cop wished he could be like him, but he felt he was too socially awkward to ever command the attention of mechs the way Flame Nova could, and his fighting skills couldn’t even begin to compare. He never understood why the mech had chosen to be his mentor when he first joined the Guardians, but Blue Cop never took the fact that he got to train with Flame Nova then and fight alongside him now for granted.
“Finally. We’ve been walking for ages,” came from behind Blue Cop and he resisted the urge to roll his optics at his other squadmate, Crux, complaining for the umpteenth time about something trivial. He didn’t really like Crux, but he tried to be cordial with the mech nonetheless, even though it was hard to do with someone as abrasive and short-tempered as he. Blue Cop was honestly surprised Flame Nova hadn’t gotten him reassigned to a different squad yet, seeing as the commander had much less patience for unruly types.
“Stay focused, Crux,” Flame Nova said, not turning around. “The report stated the Wilds have been spotted two nights in a row. Remember, do not engage in combat unless necessary, we don’t have a confirmed amount or faction.”
“Here’s the settlement,” Aero Swift called from up ahead and the group emerged from the crystal forest they’d been traversing into an open area with a structure blocking their path ahead. Blue Cop examined the wall in the fading light of twilight, curious about the fortification. The big cities typically didn’t need anything like this, the loud and bustling atmosphere of even the fringes of where mechs resided keeping most unwanted visitors away. He’d never actually been close to one of the more remote towns before, where physical defenses like this were necessary.
Flame Nova strode closer to the large gate and knocked on the reinforced metal four times, pausing between the first and last two knocks. The gate opened a small amount after a few seconds, then swung open more as the dark blue mech Blue Cop could see noticed the Star Guardian symbol gleaming on Flame Nova’s helm.
“Good evening,” the commander said, dipping his helm in greeting. “We’re here on a report of a disturbance in the area.”
“Yes, thank you very much for coming, it’s usually very peaceful around here but the past few nights have been… tense, to say the least.” The mech gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Would you like to come in?”
“No, that won’t be necessary, we’ll start our patrol immediately. Any resident Guardians joining us?”
“No, unfortunately. Our only Star Guardian is currently sick, hence why we felt the need to call in to headquarters in the first place.”
“I see. In that case, do you know if there are any additional details for us to be aware of that were not mentioned in the report?”
“Uhhm,” the mech hummed thoughtfully, “no, honestly, I don’t think so. We don’t know any more than you do; there’s just been loud sounds and screams outside the walls at night. It went on for longer yesterday than the day before, I think. No one was idiotic enough to go outside and check it out.”
“That was the right choice. Was there anything specific about the sounds? Any words spoken?”
“No, sorry, no one could really tell. It was far too close to the wall for comfort, but not close enough to discern anything specific, although it was in that sort of direction both nights.” They motioned to their left, the opposite of the direction of the city the Guardians had come from. “I could’ve sworn it sounded like there was fighting at some points, though.”
Flame Nova nodded. “Thank you. We will report back here after our patrol.”
“Good luck. And thank you again.” The gate closed with a whoosh. Flame Nova turned to the squad, now visibly tense.
“If their observations were correct, there is a strong likelihood of infighting. Stay sharp. We do not want to be caught in a territory dispute with these numbers.”
Flame Nova was right, and Blue Cop had already started to feel uneasy when the gatekeeper had mentioned fighting. Despite this, he steeled himself and followed after Flame Nova, sticking close to the wall and looking out into the growing darkness for any signs of movement.
Aero Swift leaned over to him as they walked, murmuring, “Only one Star Guardian? Can you imagine?”
Blue Cop shrugged, trying to not let too much of his attention go to the conversation. “The gatekeeper said it’s quiet around here. And they probably have their own Enforcers to help with civilians, too.”
“I suppose you’re right. It seems like it’d be lonely, though. Oh, we didn’t get the name of the gatekeep, did we?”
Blue Cop shook his helm. Aero Swift was much more pleasant to be around than Crux, polite and friendly, though more quiet and shy too. They were primarily a fighter, like him, but were also trained in emergency medicine, giving them the important role of backup medic in the squadron (or primary medic, in small groups like these). Blue Cop wouldn’t say he particularly had many friends, both in the Star Guardians and outside, but Aero Swift was someone he liked being around. There were others in his squadron that he liked as well, but he wasn’t so certain they enjoyed his company as much as he did theirs. It didn’t get in the way of his work and his duty, so it didn’t really matter. He held a respectable position and protected his people, and that was more important to him than anything else.
“More walking, are we serious?” Blue Cop held in a sigh as Crux sidled up to his other side. “Why couldn't we have taken the direct route through the city on some actual roads?”
“The border needs patrolling, too,” Aero Swift said.
“Yeah, I guess. Deus, I hope these guys actually show up tonight so we can have a good fight or something.”
“I said stay sharp,” Flame Nova said, glaring back at the three walking together. “And keep your voices down, for Machina’s sake. Is this a professional squadron mission or a training exercise?"
“Sorry, sir,” Aero Swift said quietly.
“Sorry,” Blue Cop added, reprimanding himself for getting caught slacking. He needed to work harder than this if he wanted to keep the respect of Flame Nova.
The commander suddenly stopped, holding a hand up in the air. Blue Cop froze, his audial receptors sharpening with adrenaline to hear something up ahead, beyond Flame Nova’s position. They all stood still for a few seconds as the faint sounds continued.
“Reveal yourself,” Flame Nova called, quiet but loud enough to be clearly heard among the other noises of the night creatures and insects. The sounds paused for a moment before they solidified into quick, soft pedesteps. Blue Cop spotted a lithe mech peer out from behind a tall spiral rock, sharp yellow eyes glowing dimly in the dark.
“Who the hell are you?” the mech hissed, then scoffed. “Aw, not you fuckers.”
“By the power vested in me by Deus Machina, I command you to retreat from this place,” Flame Nova said, straightening up to his signature intimidating pose.
“You’re not commanding me to do anything, tough guy,” the Wild Cardbot snickered. “What, decided to have a little adventure out into our territory to feed your ego?”
“We are quite literally a few steps away from a settlement wall.” Flame Nova reached back to tap at the metal.
The mech’s optics flitted up across the wall behind the group. “Aw, damn it. Hey, you know what, if we’d known it was so close, we would’ve stayed away, is that good enough for you?”
This Wild Cardbot was being unusually calm and not jumping into a fight right away, Blue Cop noted with uncertainty. Flame Nova seemed to notice the fact, too. “What are you doing so close to a settlement in the first place?”
“I told you, we didn’t realize. Go stick your big helm somewhere else or-” her words cut off with a yowl as she was thrown to the ground. Blue Cop instinctively summoned his gauntlet as Flame Nova stepped back.
“Ambush, retreat-” Flame Nova was also cut off by someone slamming into him, a fizzle of purple sparks flying from the weapon of the attacker. A shadow in Blue Cop’s periphery moved quickly towards him, solidifying into a tall mech with bright green eyes as an axe weapon of some kind whooshed through the air. Blue Cop blocked the hit, rolling out of the way. He blocked another hit from the other side as the loud sounds of fighting filled the forest around him, a voice nearby screeching something like, “You fuckers distracted me!” before getting lost in the din.
Flame Nova had ordered a retreat, but Blue Cop’s attacker wasn’t about to let him get away easily. The axes swung at him without pause, barely giving him any time to move his gauntlet to block the next hit, let alone get a hit in himself. He suddenly spotted an opening and managed to land a solid punch on the faceplates of the mech, momentarily dazing him. It was very dark and he didn’t want to turn his headlights on in fear of drawing attention to himself, but in the reflected moonlight Blue Cop could see a short set of horns curving up from the mech’s helm and two tusks on his faceplate. He couldn’t remember exactly what kind of Wild Cardbot this was or what factions he could be, and it didn’t really matter in the moment as the mech’s optics snapped back down to him with renewed vigor. Blue Cop started to anticipate another flurry of attacks but the other mech lunged at him instead, grabbing his chassis and lifting him up. Blue Cop panicked at the unexpected motion, trying to punch the mech’s helm again but not being quick enough as he was swung around and thrown up into the air.
He sailed through the air for a peaceful second before slamming into the ground, vents stuttering with the impact. Someone kicked his side and he scrambled back up to his pedes, whipping around to try and discern whether any of his companions were amid the chaos he now found himself in. A punch to the back of the helm told him there was at least one hostile around, and he swung his gauntlet wide as he turned, connecting with something with a satisfying whack.
The ground underneath his pedes rumbled as something exploded loudly somewhere to his right. There was an increase in the yelling and shouting and Blue Cop stumbled back, desperate to avoid whatever that was. The gatekeeper hadn’t said anything about bombs! What kind of Wild faction even made explosives?!
He didn’t get very far before someone screeched right next to him, the only warning he got before he was thrown back, the world blurring into smudges of movement and pain. Everything went fuzzy for a few moments, and he didn’t even realize he was now lying on the ground until he tried to reach a hand up to his throbbing helm. His audials were ringing so loudly he couldn’t even tell if there was any fighting going on anymore, and his visual input wasn’t any more helpful as he couldn’t see anything but pixelated dark grays and blacks around him. No one kicked him this time, at least. Seriously, why hadn’t anyone warned them about the explosives?
Blue Cop let himself lay there for a few moments and recover. Eventually he felt stable enough to push himself up to a sitting position, wincing at the ache all over his frame. His audials were still ringing, but he could make out flashes of light and sparks somewhere behind the rock formation he must have tumbled behind. This was actually a pretty good turn of events, he realized, considering he could get away pretty easily and rendezvous with his squad back at the gate to decide what to do next. He finally managed to get up on his pedes and started sneaking away from the direction of the fight, about to comm Flame Nova that he was alright, before he tripped over something and fell back down.
His helm spiked with pain as he crashed onto the ground for the third time. He groaned in frustration as he turned to look at what his pedes had caught on in the first place, then froze as his gaze met the barrel of a gun, charging up with a soft buzz.
Blue Cop had thankfully regained enough of his senses by this point to scramble away just in time to avoid the shots of bright energy that whizzed by his audial. He rolled to the side as another laser singed the rock where he had been a moment ago, and he resummoned his gauntlet, curling inwards and shielding his core in anticipation of another shot.
No more shots came, however. Blue Cop cautiously lowered his gauntlet slightly to look at the mech in front of him (over whom he’d tripped over, he now realized), confused at the sudden pause. The mech, probably almost as large as the commander, was sitting against a tall rock formation and making no move to run or fight, the gun in his hand pointing down at the ground. Blue Cop had already caught a glimpse of the spiked fang design on his faceplates, and the sharp, angular optics staring at him only confirmed that this was, without a doubt, a Wild Cardbot. A Wild Cardbot that was just… sitting and staring at him. Blue Cop resisted the urge to fidget uncomfortably under the intense gaze of the other.
The Wild Cardbot’s optics flickered and he lowered the gun fully to the ground. It looked like he was struggling to stay upright and alert, and Blue Cop wondered now if he had only stopped attacking because he was injured and didn’t have the energy to spare. It was strange to be in a stalemate like this with a Wild Cardbot. First the one earlier who had held an actual conversation, if only because she was waiting for an impending attack, and now this one, just watching him silently. This patrol was certainly one of the stranger ones he’d had.
Blue Cop’s training insisted he should eliminate any threats to Metal Cardbot society and existence, but it didn’t feel like this situation was a threat of any kind. He was usually good at seeing the enemy as simply that, the enemy, but in this moment, standing here in the dark, he only found himself looking at a hurt and scared mech collapsed on the ground. His superiors wouldn’t approve, he knew, of him having sympathy for a Wild that had likely caused destruction and even death in the past, but...
Perhaps he was too soft. Perhaps another, better Star Guardian wouldn’t have hesitated to fight back in the first place, but Blue Cop couldn’t force himself to do anything now, not when the Cardbot in front of him was harshly venting with pained effort and staring at him like that, like resignation and fear were battling for control in his processor. It wasn’t right.
Blue Cop unsummoned his gauntlet and took a few slow, cautious steps towards the other mech, who watched his actions warily. Blue Cop stopped at his side and crouched down, at which the Wild Cardbot showed the first signs of movement since his attack, shrinking away from the Star Guardian with a desperate look in his optics.
“Get away,” he hissed, voice crackling with strain, and Blue Cop raised his hands up in a show of peace.
“Are you injured?” Blue Cop asked, trying to soften his tone to be less threatening. It didn’t seem to work, seeing as the Wild Cardbot only glared at him suspiciously.
“…What?”
“Are you injured? I can help if there’s something-”
“What are you on about? You’re a Star Guardian, aren’t you?”
“I am, yes.”
The Wild Cardbot let out a slightly manic laugh and turned his gaze up to the night sky. “Stars above, I really am too far gone. Why do you mock me like this, Machina?”
“What? No, I…” Blue Cop realized the mech probably thought he was hallucinating. Fair enough, Blue Cop himself would think the same if a Wild Cardbot had offered to patch his wounds for him. Was this really the right thing to be doing, to help the Wild instead of leaving him be? Yes, yes, he’d already committed to his impulse now, it was too late now to back out. Blue Cop shook his helm. “I really am here. Is there anything I can do to help? Are you low on energy?”
The Wild Cardbot looked back at him, optics dim and half-shuttered. “…Are you going to kill me or not?”
“No, I’m not going to kill you,” Blue Cop said, taken aback. The mech leaned his helm back and closed his optics into slivers of icy blue.
“Then leave me. Go away,” he said quietly. Blue Cop leaned towards him, worried that his condition was worse than it appeared, and startled the mech by being right in his faceplates as he opened one optic again. Blue Cop sat back quickly as the mech glared at him.
“Go away!” he hissed then coughed, his vents audibly sputtering with exertion. Blue Cop wanted to respect his wishes but he also didn’t particularly want to leave him to deactivate alone in the dark, which is what he suspected would happen if he walked away now. Star Guardians were all required to carry a small energy kit on their person in case of emergency, and Blue Cop was pretty sure this counted as one. He pulled the energy cell out from the small storage space between his shin plating and placed it gently into the free hand of the Wild Cardbot. The mech in question stared down at it, unmoving.
“It’s an energy cell,” Blue Cop supplied helpfully, pointing at it. “You hold it here and it-”
The Wild Cardbot batted his hand away weakly and Blue Cop stopped talking, waiting expectantly. He knew there was a possibility the Cardbot would just straight up refuse or attack him again, and in that case he would really leave, but he thought it was worth a shot to at least get his energy levels up enough to make it back to wherever his home was.
The Wild Cardbot hesitated, glancing between Blue Cop and the cell twice before gingerly hooking his digits into the grooves on the side of the device. His long claws made it a little awkward, but the cell clicked on anyways and the energy flowed smoothly into his plating. The Wild Cardbot gave a quiet sigh, closing his optics again. Blue Cop’s happiness at him relenting to accept help was slightly dashed as an urgent comm came through from Flame Nova.
“Blue Cop, status.”
He didn’t want to reply to it here and startle the Wild again. He stood up and the mech sluggishly opened his optics to look up at him.
“I need to reply to someone. I’ll be back,” he told the mech, who only closed his optics again. Blue Cop decided to take that as a sign of understanding and walked a little further around the rock formation, rubbing his sore shoulder joint. He didn’t exactly want to lie to his commander, but he couldn’t possibly explain to Flame Nova why he had decided to do what he was doing (hell, he himself wasn’t sure why). He decided on a half-truth that would buy him a bit more time.
“Blue Cop reporting, I am fine and relatively uninjured. I was blown away by one of the explosives and am circling around to return to the gate. It might take a while, I’m going slow to avoid being detected.”
“Good to hear you are out of the central fight,” Flame Nova responded almost immediately. “Aero Swift is working their way back from the middle of the fray. I am by the wall with Crux, who has been injured. I am accompanying him to the gate for medical attention then returning to assist Aero is necessary. Report back once you reach the gate.”
“Yes, sir.” It was bad news to hear Crux had gotten hurt, but the way Flame Nova had said it reassured Blue Cop it wasn’t anything serious. At least the commander wouldn’t expect him back for some time now, giving Blue Cop enough time to make sure the Wild Cardbot was alright then actually make his way back.
He stepped back around the rock, expecting to see the Wild Cardbot still recharging his energy, only to find the spot where he had been sitting moments ago empty. Blue Cop stood still for a second, listening for any sign of the mech nearby, but was only greeted with the whoosh of the wind and the continued sounds of fighting nearby. His energy cell was gone, too. Oh well, he could always get another one and just say he lost his in the fight.
He was slightly disappointed that the Wild Cardbot had just run off without a word, but he supposed it was a logical decision in his position. It wasn’t anything personal, after all; more of a mutual agreement of temporary peace (although, in retrospect, it probably hadn’t been a good idea to turn his back on the Wild in the first place, low on energy or not, and he was glad he hadn’t been attacked again while distracted). It had been hard to discern in the dark, but he’d looked different from the other two Wilds he’d seen up close in the actual fight, so his home likely wasn’t around here. Maybe he wasn’t involved in whatever dispute was going on here and just got caught in the action. Whatever the case, Blue Cop was pretty certain he’d never see that Wild again, which was for the best.
Flame Nova would probably start wondering where he was soon. The fight seemed to have calmed down a little bit (Blue Cop couldn’t hear any more explosions, at least), but he still gave the commotion a wide berth as he snuck back to the settlement wall. He would certainly have to keep this unusual interaction and his own decisions a secret, and he’d do his best to forget about it himself. That’s what a respectable Star Guardian would do.