(Kinda inspired by a Chernobyl documentary that one of my teachers made me watch. Couldn't get the sense of dread out of my head, so I'm writing this to cope. Enjoy!)
Tw// PTSD, Hospital Scenes, Abusive/Bad Boss, idiots in charge, burns, References to the Chernobyl disaster
"I don't care WHAT you have to do to make that thing make more power Cobalt, just do it!" Malak yelled at the poor wolf Animatronic.
"Y-yes, sir." Cobalt said, before going over to the control panel.
The factory under Joy Joy Land had to have a power source. And Cobalt, ever the smart Animatronic, was the one in charge of running it.
The Soul reactor, as it was dubbed, used the power of souls itself to make power in much the same way that a nuclear plant would, by heating water to make steam that pushes a turbine.
Upon seeing Cobalt effectively turn the thing onto overdrive, Malak smiled, and then left.
At first, things were fine. It all seemed to go according to plan.
But then they weren't.
The first indication that something was wrong was the ommonius hum that came from the turbine room getting louder and louder.
The second warning was an alarm going off, showing the reactor was reaching critical temperatures.
Cobalt rushed back to the controls, cussing that he was the only one in control.
He tried adding more water. That only made more steam.
He tried to separate the souls from the metal which was causing it to heat up. That didn't work either, causing the souls more pain, and thus the reactor to heat up even more.
Cobalt then made a horrifying discovery.
"Oh god, I can't stop it!" He shouted. "JOCELYN! EVACUATE NOW!" He hollered.
"WARNING: COBALT IS UNABLE TO STOP A RUN AWAY REACTION WITHIN THE SOUL REACTOR. PLEASE EVACTUATE JOY JOY LAND IMMEDIATELY." Cobalt heard Jocelyn get on the P.A to say.
Cobalt then ran deep into the facilty. He saw the other members rush by, but he knew what he was doing.
He knew someone wouldn't get out in time.
Hangry.
When he finally got to Hangry, he saw that the poor pig was terrified and trying to go as fast as he could.
At the same time, Cobalt heard the distinct screams of the souls getting louder and louder...!
"GET THE HELL DOWN!" Cobalt shouted.
"COBALT NO!" Hangry yelled.
Cobalt shoved Hangry out of the way.
Cobalt felt immense burning as the reactor finally exploded.
And then, he felt nothing.
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"YOU'RE A F*CKING IDIOT MALAK!" The Matron shouted at Malak. "THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"MATRON, I WILL NOT HAVE YOU-" Malak tried to retort, but was cut off by the Matron slamming her hands down on the counter.
"OH SHUT UP! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT TOLD COBALT TO PUSH THE REACTOR WAY OVER ITS LIMITS, AND WHEN COBALT TRIED TO TELL YOU HOW DUMB THAT WAS, YOU YELLED AT HIM!" Upon hearing that, all the Reaper Nurses within the room rushed out. An angry Matron was a terrifying woman.
"YOU-" Malak tried to speak again.
"HE TRIED TO WARN YOU! HE TRIED TO STOP IT! HE EVEN GOT HIMSELF MAIMED TO SAVE HANGRY, YOU IDIOT!" The Matron yelled.
And the two went back and forth like this for a while.
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When Cobalt first woke up, he thought he had died and went to some sort of afterlife.
Until the Reaper Nurse in the room told him where he actually was.
"O-oh god..." Cobalt whined. "W-why can't I see out of my right eye...?"
"We weren't able to save it..." The Reaper Nurse said. "Your burns were easily the worst we've seen. All over your chest, and right arm."
"H-h-how's-" Cobalt began.
"Hangry's in the next room over. He's pretty burnt himself. But you got the worst of it. He's only got burns on his chest." She replied.
"....i-it's all my fault..." Cobalt whined.
"Oh shush." The Reaper Nurse retorted. "It was Malak's. Even the Matron agrees. She even yelled at him for it...so breathe easy bud. You did all you could."
Cobalt whined regardless.
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He couldn't look at himself in the mirror without his eye patch or shirt on after that.
He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that day.
How he lost his eye.
How those scars were his fault.
How he could've not listened to Malak.
Everything he did wrong just kept replaying in his mind.
If only he could go back and fix it.
It really was all his fault.
He should've been better.
Faster.
Braver.
Smarter.
He had to prevent things like this from happening in the future.
And thus, Cobalt began reading the 21st book of that night.
He was determined to never let his lack of knowledge hurt anyone ever again.
Never again.