Mechanical Doldrum

The Rezcan assault is a huge thing, a city assault on a DENSE population is always going to be Very high stress no matter what. Doesn't help that most of the players are scattered throughout the city when it first descended. The initial moments of shock were where most of the bloodshed happened, as a lot of people died. A nuke dropped into the city, ripping a section clean before it was barely contained by magic users on standby. Shaking the entire city to it's core.
The focus of today, the Captain, at the time of bomb drop was actually in the recovery ward himself. He sustained heavy injuries from a battle previous, likely regarding the court as well, and was recently just finally able to keep up in combat once more after a solid month of inactivity.
Boom.
The shockwave decimated the building, thankfully out of range from the nuke, but the people still feeling it's effects. The situation goes from peaceful clinic to a bunch of injured citizens with two of the royal guards away from the center without a clue of what's going on. The Captain and Hazel, who was just visiting at the time, are now Very confused. The Medic and Kepala stuck as they have to deal with the other injured soldiers and nearby citizens. How much worse can it get?
:)
The sight of mechanical soldiers walking in the streets is sure to cause both high rankers to be Very on their toes. This green hue in the air is unmistakable, the unison marching of a hivemind stomping into the city, and the eerie air of death. The Rezcan have made a move unto the city, and standing right there leading the charge into the city. Gaul Johannison, the Avatar of Gaul Axel, marching with his sadistic grin and stolen Itan tech.

Our two big boys stood in their path. A wall of pure unfiltered power and a mechanical samurai with skills that would make even the ancients in the Solraine look like neophytes. Faced with the very face of the Rezcan armada. Few one liners here and there from the opposition, but a deathly silence and rigid hatred from our heroes. Glaring the nonchalant man down.
"What's wrong, you're looking at me like I just killed someone." Gaul's smile crooked, taking pleasure in the nuke.
Hazel is... admittedly more emotional than he'd like to admit. Sometimes in the heat of a moment, his fury can overtake his boundless patience. He'd rush in with a vicious amount of speed, overcoming his opponent and closing the gap within Seconds only to stop dead in his tracks. With one little... touch, and he's floored. Not even a swing of his hammer made it out before Hazel was left crippled where he stood, as dust and blood poured down from his gut area. A rot overtaking where the gloved man touched.
The captain managed to slip in and get Hazel swiftly to relative safety, but the damage was done. Hazel could live but there is no fighting in this state as a rot has overtaken his entire torso.
The situation was Deadly serious as apparent from this mans takedown of a powerful man like Hazel, not to mention the path of bloodshed behind him and whatever else was in the field. Fire and battle all across the city as the caught off guard city of Zion was facing calamity, unable to regroup. It's not time to fuck around then, no spear, no club. Both hitting the ground with a Thud and slash. Armed with only his sword, The Captain took stance between his foes and the now rightly petrified citizens. The mental image of how he stood before the Kinsval before his home fell flashing in his mind, reminding him of both how far he's come and how much he hasn't changed at all. Still doing the very things that lead to his situation to begin with.
"Oh. I'm not fighting you. That wouldn't be very fun~!"
The captain stared blankly at Gaul as the man stood down from the fight. He just took down Hazel and now he Doesn't want to fight?
"That isn't an option for you." Quick, concise, and sharp as the blade the Captain holds. A robotic tinge to his strained voice.
"It very much is! I am not interested in fighting You, but my friends however~!"

A skysplitting screech overtook the area as an arrow was cut down by the Captain. An arrow of light form the skies, from an archer with deadly precision. Two more leapt from the undead crowd growing behind Gaul and straight for the Captain. Barely any time to react, a razer sharp blade slid past his head, narrowly missing. Before he was able to counter however, another barreled straight into him, following through into the buildings around. Smoke enveloped the area as the three of them regrouped and readied for whatever the Captain could do in his state of being thrown. Three biomechanical things, the life beaten clean out of them with the machines dangling from their bodies. A horrible sight for anyone as they were clearly not built but forced into the Rezcan threat.
The cloud remain unperturbed as it slowly dwindled away, the captain heaving in his own pain. Grasping at his chest with troubles keeping his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. He needed a plan Now, especially since there were civilians nearby that he had to get to the evac bunker. Using the cover of debris, he caught his breath and fixed his drapes. Hopelessly trying to find a solution to this in the mere moments he had of peace.
One of the undead made their way to the cloud, slicing straight through it. Where there should have been a body, a blade only contacted stone. Shock and confusion, the blademaster tensed up and pulled back, looking around to find where the Captain had retreated. Call it intuition, or a remnant of when they were still alive, but had the swordmaster not pulled the other two down, all of them would have lost their lives then.
A faint whistle as the blade whirred by above their heads. Cutting through the air in a flash. Anything poking above split and severed without hesitation. His infamous electricity arcing from the blade and scorching anything it touched. As cool as it was, it was for naught as the three of them dispersed with haste, following through with their own counters. A volley of arrows, rubble, and a flurry of slashes from themselves. While the captain was able to use his own blade to deflect and divert a fair few of the attacks, he wasn't without harm. His clothing was all but tattered, leaving his mechanical bits exposed and him revealed.

"Huhu, look at you." Gaul's voice would etch through the machines he was fighting in unison.  
"A man made into a machine, lost all that made you you long ago it seems." Another flurry of arrows, all cut down with precision as he stood his ground in front of the citizens.  The dust settled and the four of them stood in a wide open area, clear from buildings from the fight. All watching with the same eyes fixated upon him. "Why are you even fighting us if you know what the outcome is? You've seen the might of the Rezcan, you have seen the might of machine. We're more alike than the people you're protecting right here. You may be stalwart in your ways, but in the end it is all futile."  Those last words resonated within the Captain's chambers. Just like before as the memories of a burning field worm their way back in. The fire as hot as the day it happened, a burning memory with the shadows of the Kinsval looming over him and the family he's protecting. A sharp pain brought him back to reality, an arrow made contact with his body, right into his leg.  
"Strike a nerve?" Gaul's voice echoed around him as the infection infiltrated. The captain could feel another presence within his body.
Pressure mounting, a headache slamming, and a slip of self. The captain faltered slightly where he stood as the arrow fizzled into the air. He can still focus, still fight, but the disease had already taken it's hold. Viciously spreading through his electronics, mind, and body.  
With the captain seemingly down for the count, the Archer would take aim at the people behind him. Cause as much devastation as possible to cripple their largest threat. A long wind back as the arrows materialized within the bow and Sent. Soaring through the air, careening for the poor little medic trying desperately to keep Hazel stabilized. Like slow motion as the arrow etched through the sky.  

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Murmurs, a faded reality as the Captain stood in his daze. Trying desperately to move but his body is so heavy. The mounting presence building in his head holding him down. His sword feeling like lifting the world behind it.
All thought halted by a flash of light, a memory of a time long past. Him, bonding with his old family.
Another. His home village, serene, still.
Another. The charred memory of home, fire engulfing what is a torn photo of him and several others.
Another.
Another.  
"You've lived quite a fascinating life." A massive voice enveloped his mind, crushing out any memories or thought he had. So loud, so powerful. A robotic voice that could make god quiver.
"Small simple organisms like you are like a canvas, a beautiful painting of your experiences and desires. A piece of art that shouldn't be. A testament to the faulty frailty of life." There is no discernable source. It's coming from nowhere yet everywhere all at once. As time stopped all around the Captain, he felt himself slipping. Desperately holding on.
"In face of such adversity, all these people you throw yourself to protect and what. All you get is overwhelmed and outnumbered. Just like before, you're just another pawn to be thrown at the powers that be's foes. Let your will slip, your guard fall..."
"Give in and rest, a rest you very much desire and deserve for facing the cruelty of life and the miserable woes of duty. In the end, all will return to dust. Circumvent this fate, release yourself to the true state of being, being of perfection." The voice was much louder now, it's robotic nature much more apparent. It's massive wails slamming into the temples of this poor man's mind. The foundation cracking underneath his feet, yet there he stands firm and tall.  Fighting back against the corruption of his slowly slipping mind.

"No." His voice weak and quiet in comparison.
"No." The voice would mimic, drowning out the Captain's dissent. The world seemed to shift beneath his body, shaking, folding. Even his own body was at the will of whatever this is. Within a blink, he found himself in a vastly different state than he was moments prior. A small frail human child, specifically him as a child. Stumbling, weak, and already on the floor before a hunched over figure. Fear.
"Everything you are is imperfect, everything that makes you is flawed. Even back then before you became this thing, you've grappled with the uncertainty of your own self." Much more commanding, cold instead of the twisted warmth of before. Punctuated with the figure turning it's head right at the young Captain. The darklight lightning typically associated with the man oozing off the figure all around, scorching the ground, burning everything from the wooden floors to the woman it's devouring. Slowly crawling before suddenly lurching towards the young boy before the world shifts once more. Melding and twisting, bringing the captain back to his feet in a much older state.
"Your inner monsters forced you and those around you down dark paths. Hatred, misery. The very life you sought to protect all this time ago only brought back to you once again where you stand." The forest and farms set ablaze as the horizon is overtaken by the shadows of looming robotic figures. The city reminiscent of past and present with the looming figures while unsure in detail, clearly robotic in nature. Their shadows consuming everything beneath them. The ground caving and succumbing to the darkness quickly surrounding the young warrior. Swallowing him whole as he falls into the dark below. Finding himself replaced with mechanics. Himself now, forged in the darkness that he fights.
"You call yourself an abomination, you loathe every seething molecule within your pathetic little body. Every waking moment you breathe you viciously hope will be your last breath and yet you keep fighting on and on and on. You can be so much more than the vicious cycle you trap yourself within, learning to love oneself through unity. Your body right now has already caved, and all that remains is you. The small smidgeon SP3CK that resides in your own turmoil. As the voice reams on and on, the darkness that swallowed continues to spread. Etching into the lines and detail that make the Captain. Slowly enveloping his mind as he tries to fight back in vain.
"Succumb. Submit. Let us in and give you what you deserve. What we Need." 
A seething darkness, as far as the eye can see. Nothing, not even the smallest inclination of light or thought in the overwhelming void of demise. The world that once was is gone, overtaken by nothing as what remains is continually consumed by the overwhelming presence of thought.

And yet, a dull murmur persists, a light dull pain at the back of the mind. Slowly growing like a headache about to reach its crescendo. Like a spear, light poured in through a single point, illuminating the abyss in the inky black. A hand reaching out of the light and plunging into the dark. Pulling out the man from the deepest depths of despair. The void clinging on but sliding off like some sort of tar. Instead, a young man comes out. Complete with all his parts both mechanical and organic, face to face with another. A shape that vaguely resembled his friends. None of them yet all of them at the same time. Instead of despair, a wide eyed look of hope is what the Captain wore. An ever-expanding ball of light, etching its way through the dark, burning it all away with his lightning.
Overtaking everything with a soft warmth. Spiraling light spilling over the mind and body.

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The Archer pulled back and released a charged arrow, soaring through the air towards the young Medic nearly cracking under the pressure of the situation. Only to look up and see an arrow poised for her core. A sinking feeling of dread is all she could feel as she held her eyes tightly closed. Waiting for an arrow to strike her down. Waiting for an arrow that would... never come? Peeking open, she'd find that the arrow had missed barely. A meter away from where she would have been slain on the spot. Confused, she'd look up to find the Captain had moved from his spot. His blade set in the defensive stance, and his glare even more vicious and Determined than before.
His stance is strained and still, straining to hold it yet holding firm to protect those behind him. Those he holds dear. Those he promised to protect no matter what. The infection visible running along his mechanical body visibly stopped just shy of his head. His breathing low, calculated, Focused. Focused as sharp as his gaze upon the archer.
"Christ almighty, you are tenacious I'll give you that." The robots would speak again in unison, readying themselves for whatever is to come from this unpredictable man. The Captain, still shaky, reposed himself. Keeping maintenance on his breathing as he stood straight and changed his position. Sword pointed forward. Eyes straight. Body loose and heart calmed. His sword's tip in fixed stiffness, shimmering with his quaking as he regained himself.
"The difference between the others who've fallen and I... is I haven't lost sight of what truly matters to me. I'm no corpse, not yet. I may be overwhelmed, in a hopeless position... but the fight isn't over yet. And I have NO intention of falling back into another sadistic God's plan to use me as a tool.
I make my own decisions." His words, while still quiet, were strong and reinforced with a vigor. A passion to keep those around him safe. No more waiting. No more patience, as if there were some to begin with. No more harming the poor innocents under the Captain's watch. Lightning ran up alongside his body, burning away and semblance of the Rezcan sickness. Energy oozing off his blade with a vigorous intensity, burning the air around it as it hungers for the heads of those who wronged the city.
The archer wound up for another attack, letting lose an arrow aimed for the Captain's chest.

The arrow fell, cascading for the Captain's heart only to be split in the air and cast away with a wide slash. Lightning arcing out and splayed. Ripping through the ground and towards the robotic prisoners poised against him. Shattering and sundering anything that is unfortunate enough to be touched. Searing the archer's leg in the progress as they are making a recollection effort. With their teammate injured, the swordsman and brute amp up their efforts to fill the power vacuum. Careening towards the Captain at great speeds. Once again a slash at first. Easy dodge but the brute still making his hit. Slamming into the Captain once more. Knocking him a fair bit back but maintaining his stance.
Another volley of arrows raining from above to the captain, keeping him on the move while the swordsman followed close behind. Clashing a fair few times, even having gotten a few slashes from the opponent's blade before separating with a large outburst of energy. Using the disarray, the Captain would leap and come to a full stop, landing on his feet in a squatted position. Hands death gripping the handle of his blade, shakily holding it up despite there being no strength behind his arms.  With a deep breath, he'd ready himself. Arrows falling upon him as he cleared his mind. Eyes closing as he'd hold his sword to the side, preparing his next attack. The Swordsman and Brute nearing and the Archer on the ground firing everything they have. Now or never. With a lurch forward, his sword would once more flood with lightning. Condensed and focused along the blade. Shooting from his hands and imbuing his sword with hate and malice, intermingled with his desire to keep those around him alive and well. Remembering those who keep him going. His friends. His purpose.
In a blink, he's gone.

The ground seared with his movement, a flash of light zipping along the ground and rending those before him without mercy. A line of light cutting through the three biomechanical horrors before him. Several slashes severing their bodies from their legs and their heads from their torsos. A blacklight lightning running along each slash, scorching the rest of the bodies.
At the end of the Captain's dash, he'd leap into the air, soaring above to in a flash sword pointed down as he sprawled out. Releasing his exhale in the process before falling down like lightning. Crashing into the ground with a thunderous roar, kicking up a cloud of dust.
As the cloud cleared, there stood the Captain, bloodied, battered, skewered, and beaten to a pulp, yet standing victorious. The three pawns' heads skewered by his blade and stuck into the ground. Finally put to rest. His glare fixed at the ground where they lie, to think he could have become another one of them is... depressing.
With solemn resolve, he'd painfully kneel down to close their eyes, once stuck in horror now at peace. The rest is a blur, as the threat was neutralized, Kepala would immediately run to his aid, to at least stop the further damage of his body. The medic already in a panic since the Captain was in Serious condition. Just barely getting Hazel under control herself.
The captain stood firm however, despite the panic. His body may be in the roughest shape it's been in in a long while, that still doesn't mean he can falter. A numbing silence overtaking his mind... A peace unlike he's felt before finally coming. Resolve. Purpose. A reminder that while he is a tool, he is the one who choses to help these people. His power, his body may be monsterous... but he can still protect the ones he loves.