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Everyone was minding their own business when something unexpected happened.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
That was Blue Cop's voice. And everyone had to do a double take because Blue Cop never shrieked. And as far they knew, Blue Cop never lost his composure.
The Cardbots quickly headed over to the noise. They found Blue Cop at the warehouse. His back was towards them, so they couldn't see his face. But from the tension in his frame and his pointed finger, they could tell that he was upset.
Opposite to Blue Cop was Flame Nova (the firetruck). His expression was normal, and there weren't any visible problems with him. He was also holding a gradient, glowing rock with his tractor beam.
Actually, that rock looked familiar. It was the same thing he used back then, wasn't it? It was...
"A Cosmic Stone. That's a Cosmic Stone. You're eating a Cosmic Stone." Blue Cop pointed a shaky finger at the offending object.
"Indeed I am. What of it?" And Flame Nova had the audacity to continue eating it. He brought it up to where his face would be and everyone could hear the crunching.
"Huh. I haven't seen that guy at the pump since we got back. I was wondering how he was eating." Shadow X mused.
"You had more than one." Blue Cop paused, his eyes widening. "Have you been eating those this whole time?!"
"Well, when Planet Machina exploded, I had to think about my food options. There just happened to be plenty nearby, so just grabbed some on the way out-"
"Give me that!" Blue Cop snatched it away. He examined it closely and was dismayed to see the visible bite marks lining the surface.
"Well now, at least we know where the questionable decision-making is coming from." Mega Ambler leaned in. "Which means I'll have to give you a check-up. I'll do you a favor and bump you up the waiting list." He turned to Flame Nova, eying him through his scope.
"No thank you. I don't need it." Flame Nova rolled back a few feet, outside range of the scope. He wanted to leave, but Heavy Iron chose that moment to pull up right behind him. "I said I don't need it." Then Wild Guardy and Buffalo Crush stood on both sides of him. "Hey!"
"Star Guardians really do make the worst patients..." Mega Ambler muttered. Then he jolted up. "Sorry, Blue Cop, I didn't mean, well, you know."
"No, it's fine." Blue Cop handed the Cosmic Stone to Mega Ambler before marching up to his former superior. "You still have more, don't you? Give then here." He pointed at the ground.
Flame Nova was silent.
"Flame Nova, I'm not leaving until you hand them over." Blue Cop crossed his arms.
"Hurry up. We don't have all day." Heavy Iron chimed in.
Flame Nova grumbled before opening his doors. Cosmic Stones tumbled out of both sides, forming two piles.
"Unbelievable..." Blue Cop gathered them up in his hands before giving them to Mega Trucker. "Take these to Buster Gallon's work bench, would you?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
"What, you'll trust a criminal with those Cosmic Stones but not me?"
"I trust him with those Cosmic Stones because I know he won't eat them."
Buster Gallon snorted.
"Look, I know you don't trust humans. That's understandable. But you have food right here. It's edible, there's plenty to spare, and most importantly, there's no inherent risk to eating it." Blue Cop gestured to the gas pump.
"No thank you. To put it plainly, I don't want to. We shouldn't be relying solely on humans for our food. It gives them too much control. And I'd rather not rely on them for something so essential to normal functioning." Flame Nova said.
"... Alright, you have a point. But we don't have any food engineers so we'll just have to make do for now. And we'll be sure to work on that as soon as we can." Blue Cop conceded. But he quickly straightened his back. "But that doesn't mean you can just eat something like a Cosmic Stone. It's too dangerous. You don't even know what eating one will do to you."
"You're showing concern for someone like me? How touching." Flame Nova chuckled.
"I worry about everyone, and that includes you."
"But unnecessary. I've had already had a few, and I assure you I'm still of sound mind and body."
"Your little outburst back at Porcaca begs to differ." Wild Guardy muttered.
"If you really don't want to rely on humans, you could just go to the dump. There's plenty of methane there. And it's free. It suits you perfectly." Heavy Iron suggested loudly.
("Don't steal my line!" Black Hook shouted from the back. Everyone ignored him.)
"I refuse to take advice from the likes of you."
"Flame Nova." Blue Cop sighed. "I won't judge you for thinking you didn't have options. I understand that the alternative would have been starvation. I get it. But now you have options. Safer options. So clearly-"
"Actually, I started eating them after I landed on Earth."
"Then why are you still eating them?!"
"He ready knows how to push Blue Bro's buttons, huh?" Shadow X quipped, crossing his arms.
"He's pretty talented." Mega Trucker added.
"Just... eat a battery, would you? Please? If you really need to eat something, at least let it be normal, safe, available food that doesn't carry the risk of poisoning you." Blue Cop said, exasperated. He held his head with one hand and slid a battery forward with the other.
"Give me back my Cosmic Stone and I'll consider it." Flame Nova stared back defiantly. "I'm not finished with it yet."
"Do we have to go through this again? How many times do I have to tell you that it's a bad idea?" Blue Cop was this close to crying, the building frustration was making his head hurt.
"Oho." Wild Guardy leaned over, looking down on Flame Nova. "Isn't it a bad look for a senior to be lectured by his junior? Especially you, former Star Guardian. And causing trouble for him like this, for shame. You're supposed to be setting an example, but you haven't been doing a very good job of that, now have you?"
"Yeah, he's not!" Buffalo Crush nodded his head vigorously. He paused. "I mean, no, he's not!" He shook his head vigorously.
"...You're never going to let that go, are you?" Flame Nova grumbled, glowering before snatching the battery off the floor (with his tractor beam) and storming off (on his wheels). Presumably to look for somewhere quieter to eat where he wouldn't be started at.
"You didn't need to do that." Blue Cop turned to Wild Guardy with an unamused look.
"He was being stubborn. He deserved it." Wild Guardy simply shrugged.
Blue Cop sighed. "Everyone, please don't mention this to anyone else. If Gigantrex hears about this, he's going to furious."
"You really do worry too much. Flame Nova's not worth the trouble." Wild Guardy gave Blue Cop a pat on the back.
Blue Cop merely whimpered in response.
"You should go lie down. It might be better to try to relax for a bit, calm down and get your thoughts back together." Mega Ambler suggested.
"I'll... yes, I think I'll do that." Blue Cop headed back to the garage, taking wobbly steps. Wild Guardy followed, hovering just behind him just far enough that he could excuse it as a coincedence. Everyone else quickly took their leave.
"Let's see, extended isolation from other Cardbots, consumption of questionable substances, and I should probably add possible unknown side effects from that last injection to the list... Looks like I have my work cut out for me." Mega Ambler counted off on his fingers before shaking his head. Then he noticed how Mega Trucker was staring at the sparkling Cosmic Stones in his arms.
"Don't even think about it." Buster Gallon snapped before he could.
"I wasn't! I was just curious, that's all." Mega Trucker turned away defensively. "Don't tell me you're not!"
"I'm certainly curious, but there's a difference between scientific curiosity and abject stupidity. Even Buffalo Crush knows better than that."
"Hey!"
Mega Ambler decided it would be best not to leave those two alone and walked back with them.