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“Capitano, can I ask you a question?” Dottore hummed, sitting next to Capitano as they waited for their respective partners to leave the meeting with each other. With a raised eyebrow Capitano nodded, concerned because the doctor's questions were always terrifying. “Why did you start covering your face? It’s quite pretty. I always thought you were some monster without a face.”
“Zandik.” Capitano glared, well aware of their rank differences yet still allowing himself to be angry at the inconsiderate question. The answer was obvious. The left side of his face was considerably scarred, his eye seemed blind- who would not hide that horror from the world? Dottore himself hides his minuscule scar, he should understand.
“Sorry. I’ll.. try to word it better. How did you start covering your face? Was it straight after whatever happened?”
“No, no not at all. Do you know how it happened, Dottore? If Pierro told you, there’s no issue. I’ve known you’ve always been interested in my history.” The doctor's admiration for everything ‘different’ has never been an issue. After all, he created entire laboratories specifically for ruin machines simply because he found them unique. Uniquity was a trait the second harbinger admired, it seemed, and everything about Capitano screamed different.
“I’ve never asked. I am not that inconsiderate. Am I allowed to know?” Explaining the history was never fun. It’d been centuries, and yet the memories were still burned fresh into his head.
“Yes. It happened during the cataclysm, soon after I was invited to join the Fatui’s ranks.”
-
There was fire everywhere he looked.
A young Captain stood at the front of his brigade, shadowed by the darkness and void of the abyss. It screamed at him, and asked him to fight for his birthplace. The endless galaxy of monsters and blood.
Facing thousands of soldiers was fewer amounts of abyss monsters. Bodies of mortals and monsters alike piled on the floor, grass stained by hundreds of battles resulting in crimson corpses. Wielding a mere sword blessed with Tsaritsa’s power, he stepped forward and heard the roars of corroded beasts as they charged towards the men he swore to protect.
The battle was vicious. With the help of all of their men, the monsters were reduced to low 20s. The Fatui’s Jester fought beside them, supporting their fights due to the Tsaritsa’s wishes. Their help was greatly appreciated, and yet it still was not enough.
Endless fighting was difficult even for The Young Captain. He had watched hundreds of innocent soldiers die, and in a second of distraction he was cornered by a monster taller, stronger than he. It knocked him down, falling to his side and face landing in wild flame. To his sides he heard the yells of the wise Jester, telling him to run. Running did not seem possible, as all he could focus on was agony.
The monster hit again. And again. It had ripped him open in the time it took for Jester to save him. He could not feel his face, his arms, his legs. Everything was peaceful, and as he looked to the void sky and heard the faint crackles of flames, the Young Captain accepted his victorious death.
-
“I assume it didn’t kill you, seeing as you are sitting beside me today, strong as ever. How did you survive first being attacked by an abyss monster, being burnt, and then surviving the corrosion from being attacked? It is rare for somebody to survive it with today's technology, let alone survive it when Tevyat was less developed.” Dottore’s voice seemed different than before, and Capitano believed the doctor was perhaps feeling emotions for the first time. Humorous, really.
“I did not survive. I died on the battlefield, yet I was able to be revived by the archons. That is why I am the strongest ‘human’ within our ranks. I am a mere mortal, and yet I am everything but. I lived through death, and was blessed with eternal life for my aid I gave during the cataclysm.” With a weak sigh Capitano took the mask off his face, staring towards Dottore and watching as those red eyes danced over the long healed burn and claw masks covering his face.
“You were given a second chance by the gods. As much as your story was moving, Captain, you didn’t quite answer my question.”
“I’m getting there, impatient brat. Ajax is better at listening than you.”
-
After the cataclysm, the recovering people of Tevyat saw the scarred man and thought of him a mighty hero.
He, the man who had aided their nations, a war hero blessed with life from the heavenly Archons. The Young Captain walked the streets in his uniform, his recovering face free to the wind and the ever watching eyes. They did not cower away from the horrifying face in front of them, and instead blessed him with their homemade baked goods or brewed wines, they thanked him. He with his almighty strength helped them rebuild their villages, supported them and was a man always open to assist.
The Young Captain one day turned to his friendly harbingers, and said “I am seen as an angel in the eyes of Tevyat. They, the lowly mortals destined to die, look at me and my deformity and say I am beautiful, that I am worthy of my years. Do they fear me to the point they praise me?”
Sharing sweet laughs between the Tsaritsa herself and Jester, they looked down upon their new harbinger and responded, “No, my young Captain. They do not fear you, they admire you. You will always be their wise eye, their helpful soldier. You are their hero, my darling Capitano. You will forever be in their myths as a saviour.”
-
“You used to be friendly with the Tsaritsa? I have only ever seen her on a couple of occasions, and you used to dine and wine with her?” Capitano’s assumption that the sensitive conversation would diminish the doctor’s sarcasm and jokes was clearly wrong. Even if the words disrupted the story, he still decided to respond.
“Yes. She is much more friendly than simple cold ice. The Tsaritsa saved my life and helped me form my new one. Even today, she still sees me as her Young Captain. She blessed mine and Ajax’s relationship, saying that she is proud I finally rediscovered happiness.“ Capitano hummed, watching the shocked expression.
“Hey! Why doesn’t she bless me and Pantalone? It’s favouritism, I tell you! I’m her second harbinger!” Jealousy, jealousy. Capitano faced death with their lady, and yet Dottore is still rattling on about favouritism .
“You are her new second harbinger. You only see the Tsaritsa, you have not seen her. She and Pierro were my first ever friends, we were an unstoppable trio. Age has simply knocked me down.” While Capitano was quite immortal, he still aged. It was simply slow, and he never physically changed. As his years of living continued into the hundreds, the only things he felt changed was his view on life. That is why he is weaker, he does not desire to be the same man he was during the cataclysm.
“Whatever. Continue your sad story, Capitano.”
-
The Young Captain aged amongst the men and women of Snezhnaya, and as generations changed they started to view him as less of a hero, more of a monster.
The Hero wandered the market streets, looking as the children stared at his face in horror and fear. “Do not fret, dear children. I am the saviour, I am no harm” was what he said, and the children cried back “You are no saviour, you are a monster to our eyes!”.
The elderly citizens stopped admiring him so much, and all he started to be was a myth. The mysterious, injured Young Captain appeared in the tales and yet nobody respected him anymore. They hid their faces when he walked, stuttering when he spoke. They said he was scaring them whenever he asked if they wanted him to help. They had started to see him as an outcast.
Young Captain ran crying to Tsaritsa, Jester and Fair Lady. He knelt at their table, clawing at his deformed appearance.
“What is troubling my young Captain?” The Tsaritsa spoke, calming his hands and watching blood spill from freshly made wounds. Fair Lady pressed cloth to his face, all while Jester watched with his watchful eye. They looked at him with such affection, how could they see him so differently than his people?
“I am a monster.” Young Captain cried, calloused hands trembling and eyes spilling with centuries worth of agony. Pride left the hero, and in came distress and consciousness. The understanding of his ugliness.
“Monster? You are no monster, Young Capitano. Do you not remember you are a hero?” Jester had questioned upon pouring tea, shaking his head at the discussion of the word hero. “Hero, young boy, that is what you will always be. They may stare at you in hatred, yet they would not be alive without you.”
“I cannot help them in this way. I am weak, they see me as weak and horrifying! I am no saviour. I am no mighty Captain. I will earn my title back. I will not let them destroy me, I say. I will not!”
-
“Did you regain your title?” Dottore’s questions were never ending, it seemed. Capitano finished one section of his story and hundreds of questions were sent flying at his face.
“Yes. The Young Captain became The Captain, and his reputation grew to the point people shivered if they heard his name. I used to walk down the streets of Snezhnaya with my recruits deadly silent, the wandering streets people hoping they didn’t catch my eye. I had shame in my appearance yet I refused to hide away because people were scared of me.” Capitano flinched as he felt a cold hand on his face, running over sensitive tissue. “Please don’t do that.”
“Sorry Captain, I was interested. I noticed your freckles. They sparkle, as if they are miniature stars burnt into your skin. They cover your beautiful side. Your scars feel as if they aren’t perfectly nor entirely healed. The cost of your immortality was your beauty , your grace.” Dottore’s words hurt. He’d never admit that even now the sight of his face in the mirrors hurt his heart, reminiscing what he was before. His peak was before the invention of Kamera, and his past appearance was simply history. “Hm, moving on. How did the savage Captain go from deadly to soft and falling for a little harbinger?”
“Ajax theoretically wasn’t my first lover, Dottore. Let me explain,”
-
The Void Mask was a gift from Jester. Upon the day of celebration of revival, Jester approached Captain with a gift. “Here, dear Capitano. To help you.”
To help. The Void was made to hide his horror of a face from the world. Captain hid his deformity for the world, and yet the sight of him still terrified everyone. His reputation held him to high standards, always watching, always waiting for something to go wrong.
Everything went normally, everyone feared him. Everyone apart from one, new recruit. The recruit saw him one day, and was overwhelmingly proud when he was announced to train under The Captain. The recruits stared at this outcast and asked “Comrade, why are you so excited to be under him? He’s not a nice harbinger, he is rotten and corrupt.”
“Not nice? My comrades, He is nice. Look at the other harbingers, do they train recruits? No, they don’t! I overheard a conversation with Jester. He says that Captain chooses to train us, so we have a chance to grow strong and powerful like him!” The New Recruit had a beaming, beautiful face. Captain praised the young man, admiring his excited views and promising to make him the best he could be.
New Recruit was talented, wielding all weapons with ease and constantly proving himself to be of high opportunity. Captain asked for the boys name, and the boy responded,
“Arseniy, Sir Lord Harbinger! Your most loyal devotee.” With a bow of his head and strong grin, the recruit earned the heart of the stone cold harbinger. They grew closer in secret, meeting amidst the dark and cold nights in the palace. Arseniy sat obedient to the Captain, admiring his void- like face and praising him for the slightest of human achievements. Saying thank yous, saying good morning to passers by. He changed the Captain, defrosting his frozen heart and allowing softness to seep back through his eternal veins.
Arseniy was the right hand man, a loyal assistant, secretary and soldier. He fought alongside Captain in battle, and had helped lead a battle against a tough force one harsh winter. Captain wrapped the man warm, making sure he wielded his strongest weapon and fought beside him to ensure no harm travelled their way.
It took a second for him to look away, and Young Arseniy was struck down in such a way he was centuries before. The lover collapsed to the ground, holding onto open wounds that split him open, blood pooling over their war uniforms. Captain fell beside him, gripping onto the small, defined body and hoping the celestials could bless one more person. Holding onto Arseniy he felt shaking hands pull at the corners of his mask, and he took it off to fulfill his lovers dying wish. Expecting to see disgust cover those perfect features, he was shocked as he saw love.
“Capitano. Capitano- you are divine. All of you. Thank you, my lord. I thank you.”
-
“Divine? Didn’t Ajax call you divine?” The Doctor wasn’t as idiotic as Capitano thought. “Not to mention, that Arseniy seemed like he behaved an awful lot like our eleventh. Do you believe in reincarnation, Capitano?” Yes. Gods, yes, he believed, he hoped. After holding his dead lover, he prayed to Tsaritsa that he shall meet him again one far away day, and they can sit under snowfall once more.
“Yes. I believe Ajax is his reincarnation. They are.. so familiar. Admirers, mischievous, lovable. The same ocean blue eyes. Arseniy loved ice fishing. He took me for the first time.” The soft memories, albeit slightly faded, filled his mind and for a second he laughed with a sweet smile. Dottore noticed it and faked a gag. “Be quiet, Zandik. You smile your stupid grin whenever you think of Pantalone. Let me remember.”
“Remember what? Did I miss a story?” Ajax’s voice beamed through the corridor, Pantalone stood beside him with a rather grim expression. Capitano could truly see his Arseniy in that face, his wish came true. He had him back, and he will always have him now.
“Just a couple old tales. Capitano told me about his loverr~” Dottore sarcastically hummed, dramatically standing and skipping to Pantalone, grabbing onto him and swaying them slowly. “I’m sick and tired of hearing that old man’s love stories about ice fishing and death . Bless me with your divinity, Pantalone.” The banker laughed, noticing Capitano’s face and rolling his eyes. The four of them were a humorous quad, always joking and jabbing fun at each other’s love.
“Divinity?! Pantalone is no where near as divine as my Captain! I will slice the hands off all of your clones for this slander, Dottore!” Ajax yelled as the doctor left with his love, humming a bright song and ignoring the threats. Turning back to the unmasked Capitano, Ajax placed kisses everywhere on his face, even over his scars. “I hope he didn’t upset you. I’ll kill him if he did.”
“No, no need to worry. I’m reminiscing about the past, about Arseniy. You remember?”
“Yes! Of course I do. My past self, who was just as lovey dovey and adorable. How about we do something you two liked? A blast from the past. Does ice fishing sound good?”
“That, my darling, sounds wonderful right about now.”