Meltdown

Meltdown is a story that follows Kras, Pavel, Lav, Sprint, The Lamp, Chernit, and Cinnamon.

## Background

Meltdown is written by Techno Tinker and Capriccio. The story mainly follows Kras and Pavel at first, with Sprint having a prominent side plot as well.

## Plot

### Something Long Forgotten

Captain and Sprint are on the way to Anikanov Labs for Hiram's refit and have a discussion about a malfunction in Captain's systems that had been the cause of violent and distressing behavior. They soon arrive at the labs, and just as Pavel, Sprint, and Captain are about to descend to the workshops, Kras interrupts them, telling Pavel there is dire family business that must be attended to. Sprint and Captain leave them alone. Kras tells Pavel that they had received a transmission from the Ukrainian government asking to send a MRM out to investigate nuclear fission in the Tschernobyl nuclear reactor in Pripyat. Pavel suggests sending Lav, and Kras agrees, though he expresses worry about finding Chernit among the ruins. This leads Pavel to question him, but he dismisses it. Finally, Kras warns Pavel that the last part of the transmission had spelled out "Lepyokhin" in Morse code, and finally reveals some of the truth about Chernit. Kras tells Pavel to worry about Hiram's refit, and begins tracking Lav down.

Pavel and Sprint begin to work on Hiram's refit. Not long after Hiram wakes up, Kras comes in and tells Pavel he'd found Lav. Sprint gets to work repairing Captain, and Kras agrees to answer any questions Pavel has now that the refit had been completed. Kras reveals more information about Chernit, and Pavel is upset that the purple matter notes had been destroyed when the decision was made to abandon her. The pair discuss the potential of Lav and Chernit getting along for the better, then leave to check on the others.

### Lavender

Kras leaves the labs to find Lav, eventually locating him in an old gas station in the middle of the desert. He tells Lav that he is needed at the labs, and Lav argues with him for a while until Kras shoots him in the foot and taking him against his will. They arrive at the labs, and Lav, in true Lav fashion, argues with Kras and Pavel some more, but is mostly ignored as Kras and Pavel discuss the trip to Ukraine. Eventually, they go further into the labs to prepare Lav for the trip, including equipping him with a Geiger counter and adding protection to his core from radiation. Lav makes a snide comment about the relationship between Sprint and Pavel, and Sprint gets to work on him. Kras and Pavel talk about Lav and Chernit while Sprint works, and then about the trip itself with Lav and Sprint when the modifications are complete. Lav tries to run for the door, but Pavel uses a modified key fob connected to the new changes to his core to temporarily paralyze him. Pavel and Sprint then call it a night and go to bed.

### Taking Flight

Kras, Pavel, and Lav start the day, with Kras driving them all to the airport and talking to Lav on the way. Pavel, however, had left without saying goodbye to Sprint. When they arrive at the airport, Kras reveals he had kept a leash he'd used to restrain Anastasia in public, and uses it to keep Lav in check. Then, the three of them go through the airport and get onto the plane, where they get settled for the ride. Lav once again pokes at Pavel and Sprint's relationship. The plane takes off and they are on their way.

### Snowglobe

Kras and Pavel have arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, a few hours' drive from Pripyat. Together, they decide to visit the various shops around town after Kras suggests buying souvenirs for Sprint and Hiram. Together, they pick out a Tschernobyl-based snowglobe for Sprint and a new sweater for Hiram before going to lunch.

### Tyrian Purple

Lav is exploring the ruins of Tschernobyl, and he sees Chernit moving around the rubble. He goes to investigate, and the two of them talk to each other about Lav's origins, with Chernit soon discovering Kras and Pavel were responsible for bringing Lav. The two of them quickly bond over their shared purple matter and general attitude toward their family. Chernit agrees to come with him back to the states, then leads him down into the basement of the facility, giving him a purple piece of glass from her collection and showing him the Elephant's Foot. The two then return to the surface. Later on, Pavel, Kras, and Lav pack up and leave to go home.

### Invisible

Pavel, Kras, Lav, and a crated Chernit arrive back at Anikanov Labs, where they find a disheveled Sprint there. They expect Sprint to be warm and welcoming, but instead, he only wishes for them to leave. Pavel's nose starts to bleed, and Sprint and Kras get him tissues to catch the blood. Kras tries to give Sprint the snowglobe, but he refuses, and the two of them get into an argument. As they argue, Pavel suddenly becomes rather ill, and the two of them pause their arguing. Lav tells them Pavel is suffering from radiation poisoning and they take him to the medical wing, where Kras comforts Pavel and promises to find out what is wrong with Sprint.

### Candle on the Water

Beacon, upon sensing Captain disappearing again, lights a candle in his honor, and vows to find out what happened to him this time.

### Kill the Lights

Beacon and The Lamp travel to Anikanov Labs to find out what happened to Captain and Hiram. Beacon drives Lampy up to Anikanov Labs in Captain's old car, and the two of them have a tense conversation about why Beacon continues to isolate herself after all these years. When they reach the Labs, the receptionist lets them in because they are members of the extended Anikanov family and they immediately begin to look for Sprint or Pavel. The two of them then run into Kras who tells them that Pavel is very sick and that he has not seen Hiram, Sprint, or Captain around. The three of them then go looking for Sprint because they believe him to have some answers, but instead of finding Sprint the three of them run into Chernit, who has been activated by Sprint to keep people from asking questions about him.

Chernit insults the group, poking at some of their insecurities, before singling The Lamp out. She accuses him of being a replacement for her, and Beacon steps in front of Lampy as a defensive measure. Unfortunately, this means she is directly in the line of Chernit's attack, which topples her over and leaves her core exposed. Chernit breaks the glass of the Fresnel lens and cracks Beacon's core before moving on to The Lamp. She takes out his eye in an attempt to parallel her broken eye on him before he falls to the floor, pooling orange matter across the floor. Kras manages to shut off Chernit before she was able to take him out, and returns to looking for Sprint, who just so happens to have been watching from behind a door the entire time.

Before Kras is able to find Sprint, though, he encounters Cinnamon who had come to investigate the noise. Cinnamon wonders who Kras is, and the two bond over their mutual knowledge of Russian, though Cinnamon doesn't seem to understand much about the outside world. Suddenly, something switches in him and he suddenly starts asking Kras uncomfortable questions. This soon wears off, though, and Cinnamon goes off to search for Sprint, leaving Kras to wonder what to do with the bodies of Beacon, Lampy, and Chernit.

### Nest

Kras sits next to Pavel as his sickness worsens. He recounts good memories from throughout Pavel's childhood before realizing he might lose Pavel just as he had lost his father and grandfather. Pavel manages to stay conscious for a few moments to hold Kras's hand and talk to him before he drifted off again, leaving Kras alone with his thoughts once more.

### Coumarin

Cinnamon tries to understand what he had witnessed in the basement and why he felt such a connection to Kras despite the two of them having never met. As his mind breaks further, he feels something deep inside him reawaken. He understands what he was built for, now. He realizes he was built to be a warbot.

### Blackbird Blues

TIP and Cassidy go to Anikanov Labs to investigate the disappearances of Beacon, the Lamp, Captain, and Hiram. When they arrive, Kras greets them, at first asking them to leave because he is afraid they will go missing as well. However, TIP recalls Chernit looking like Kras but with black plating, talking about how Chernit was never violent or unpleasant around her. She suggests talking to Chernit, and Kras retrieves her from the basement. TIP shows Chernit a picture of the two of them from when they met, and Cassidy offers her the opportunity to live with them at Walter Manor. She agrees and they leave to go home.

### The Power of the Atom

Kras, finally ready to say goodbye to Pavel, gets up and goes to find Sprint once and for all. He goes down into the basement, at first angry, and instead of running into Sprint, finds Cinnamon. Cinnamon, after the events of Coumarin, has had a significant mentality change, and reveals he believes Pavel is a traitor to both the company and his family. Before things get too tense, Sprint, who had been listening the entire time, comes out and stops the two from escalating any further. Kras talks to Sprint for a while about his actions, then asks him to come upstairs to say something to Pavel, but Sprint refuses. Cinnamon runs upstairs and Sprint and Kras chase after him, finding him in the infirmary with Pavel. Kras warns Cinnamon to leave, but instead he turns off the machines and IV lines keeping Pavel alive. Kras and Cinnamon start to fight, but Sprint soon comes in and shuts Cinnamon down. Sprint turns all of the machines back on, and Lav arrives.

Lav begins to highlight parts of Sprint and Pavel's history, including the proposal rejection 20 years earlier. Kras, after telling Sprint to leave and retrieve Hiram and Captain from the basement, eventually takes the modified garage door opener from Pavel's pocket and paralyzes him. Meanwhile, in the basement, Hiram and Captain are awoken to say goodbye to Pavel. They go upstairs and Hiram is horrified to see the condition Pavel is in, getting to work administering much better medical treatment than what he had been given. Then, Captain and Sprint leave to repair Beacon and the Lamp.

Sprint and Captain finish fixing Beacon and the Lamp, and they all go upstairs to visit Pavel again, who is well on his way to recovery. Kras is able to tell Sprint has a lot on his mind, and dismisses the rest of the bots to talk to him and Pavel. Kras finally gives Sprint the snowglobe, then he and Pavel talk about their trip to Ukraine.

## B-Plot

### Captain Jack

Sprint, upset that Pavel had left without saying anything, goes to speak to Captain about his relationship with Pavel, and how he feels Pavel had been giving him the cold shoulder after he'd put a lot into their relationship. Captain tries to comfort him, then offers to spend the day with him and Hiram as a distraction, and he agrees.

### Sugar Crash

Sprint lays in the lounge at the labs after Captain leaves to go back home to Walter Manor, having eaten a few too many donuts. Hiram comes in and offers to help him, but he refuses, and shuts Hiram off so he doesn't return to the manor in Captain's wake. Sprint returns to his sulking.

### Partly Cloudy

After more isolation in the Labs' lounge, a concerned Lampy comes to visit. Sprint at first refuses, but eventually, Lampy comes into the lounge and sings him a song, reassuring Sprint that things would be okay.

### Cinnamon Sugar

Sprint, finally taking a walk around the Labs, discovers an old MRM warbot in an old storage room. He completes the robot, eventually activating it and naming it Cinnamon, adopting him as a new son. Sprint then leaves Hiram in the old storeroom to rust.

### Down With The Ship

Captain drives to the Labs after having a conversation with Sprint, angered after hearing Hiram had been shut down. When he arrives, he has an argument with Sprint, who shuts him down and leaves him in the storeroom alongside Hiram.

### I Don't Have a Name for It

After Pavel's recovery with Hiram begins, and the bots that Sprint had stuck in the basement were reactivated and repaired, Sprint comes to a conclusion. He wants to propose to Pavel again because the events of the past few months had made him realize how much he means to him, but he's afraid it will end as badly as it had the previous time. Sprint calls in Captain to talk to him, and reveals his plan, before Captain fully supports his decision and encourages him to go through with it.

### Kind of Like Being in Love

With support from Captain, Sprint finally proposes to Pavel. Pavel is hesitant at first, but upon thinking about how much Sprint means to him he accepts. The two begin to think about planning their wedding.

## Trivia

* Meltdown is the second major arc written collaboratively by Techno and Capriccio
* Sugar Crash and Partly Cloudy were conceptually worked on by both authors, but Techno wrote the final text alone
* The cover art for Meltdown is based on Kraftwerk's *Radio-Activity* album art
* The last two stories in the B-Plot following Pavel and Sprint were written by Capriccio
* Meltdown is the longest arc written thus far, with 19 chapters