A/N: Hey, guys! In the previous chapter, Locke accomplished his mission in South Figaro and freed Celes Chere, a general of the Empire who had rebelled against Kefka after learning of his plan to poison Doma and agreed to join the Returners, escaping along with him. Now let's get started with the first part of Sabin's scenario!

WARNING: this chapter will have detailed descriptions of violent deaths and disturbing scenes that are not only unsuitable for children, but are not recommended for the faint-hearted, so I will warn you by inserting a disclaimer between three asterisks (***) when the scenes I'm referring to will start and I'll put three more asterisks in brackets to indicate when they will end. Remember that this fanfic will still have the T rating, and I will never do a fanfic with a M rating. Scenes like these are the main reason why this the reading of this fanfic is not recommended for children under 13. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 7: Cyan Garamonde: Poison of Hatred

(''Suspense-The Flood- Rayman OST'')

''SABIN!''

''Sabin! You're on your own now! We will meet back in Narshe! Good luck!''

Terra's worried scream and Edgar's voice were the last things Sabin could hear besides the sound of the Lethe River's current. Now Terra, Edgar and Banon were safe, but despite his efforts to swim upstream, the martial artist was not fast enough to catch up with them, and was pushed towards various rocks. With his body full of adrenaline, he tried to swim sideways to avoid the rocks or swim upstream to slow down, but the current dragged him faster and faster, and it became increasingly difficult for him to avoid them all. Another group of rocks was getting closer and closer, but he couldn't dodge in time, he banged his head and everything went black.

(''Suspense-The Flood- Rayman OST-s'')

Sabin awoke to the sun shining on his face, and when he got up, he saw the Lethe River behind him and realized he was on the wrong side. He was supposed to go to Narshe, in the west, and instead he was washed up in the east. ''What is this place?'' he asked himself. Suddenly, he thought of his brother, Terra and Banon, who had probably already arrived. ''Terra? Banon? Edgar? Where are you guys? Edgar! Edgar, where are you?!'' he cried out worriedly, cupping his hands in front of his mouth.

Realizing they couldn't hear him, he let it go, hoping they were okay. He entered a small house nearby, inhabited by a crazy old man who thought he was a watchmaker or repairman, asking him to fix things in his house. Sabin felt that he could not do these things, they are things that Edgar would do, but the worst was when, approaching the stove to do as the old man wanted, he ended up scorching a finger, and the elderly man kicked him out of the house, threatening to throw him out in the Veldt. ''Who is that old fogey? Who does he think he is? And what is the Veldt?''he asked himself, leaving the house very annoyed. He then noticed a mysterious man dressed in black, and with him was a dog. Edgar had told him about him. It was the Shadow mercenary. He approached the dog, who looked at him threateningly, and decided to ignore him, thinking he doesn't like strangers.

(''Shadow's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST'')

''You're Shadow, aren't you?'' he asked, and the man nodded. Couldn't you show me the way to Narshe? I got separated from my friends and would like to look for them.''

Shadow crossed his arms. ''The Empire has camped in the forest south-east of here.'' he said.

''The Imperial Army? Why?'' asked the monk.

''They have set their sights on Doma Castle. It's south of here.'' Shadow replied.

''So they are about to attack this kingdom too. I have to get to Narshe immediately, my brother would be worried about me if I don't come back!'' Sabin said. ''Narshe is west of here, but I can't swim upstream, and even if I could get back, I can't fight the Empire alone.''

''Then the only possible way is to go through Doma. If you want, I'll take you there. But I warn you: I am a mercenary, and as such, I want to be paid when I join you, and when I don't feel like it anymore, I leave.'' Shadow said, with a particularly serious tone in the last sentence.

''How much money do you want me to give you?''

''800 gil.''

Sabin pulled out of his pocket some coins, the equivalent to an amount of money equal to 800 gil and passed them to Shadow. ''Anyway, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Sabin, and I'm from the kingdom of Figaro. I heard about you, Shadow.'' he said.

''I see. This is my dog, Interceptor.'' Shadow replied as he petted his dog. He was cold and had no friends but Interceptor, the only one he cared about. Sabin, however, cared not that he might be unreliable, but the fact that he now had a guide.

(The ninja assassin Shadow joined the party!)

The exploration to the south was not very problematic. The two encountered no monsters other than stray cats and aggressive-looking wild rabbits. ''Interceptor, get them!'' ordered Shadow, who had pulled out a kunai, a small and light ninja knife.

Interceptor obeyed his master's orders without hesitation and jumped at the rabbits and cats, starting to bite them everywhere and slowly kill them. Sabin looked at the scene in disgust, and was at best able to throw a kick at one of the cats. ''Shadow, no offense, but do you let your dog eat anything?'' he asked, as he watched the dog decapitate wild animals and devour their flesh.

''I have to feed him. Besides, he eats any kind of meat.'' Shadow replied. ''Anyway, the Imperial Camp is not far off.''

(''Shadow's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST-s'')

''We have arrived at the camp.'' Shadow said, seeing the Imperial Camp in a dry area.

(Objective: Explore the Imperial Camp with Shadow and find a way back to Narshe.)

Characters:

Sabin

Shadow

(''Main Theme- Metal Gear Solid OST'')

''I'll scour every single area of this place. There must be a path leading to Narshe.'' Sabin said. There were several tents in the area, and he also saw some Magitek armors in their charging stations.

''Quick, hide!'' Shadow hissed, and the two hid. They could hear the voices of two Empire soldiers in brown armor.

''Did you find out too?'' one of the soldiers asked.

''You mean...'' said the other, being silenced.

''Shhhh! Keep your voice down! If Kefka hears us, we will be doomed!'' the other scolded him, and Sabin, although he had never seen or met Kefka, knew that he had tried to kill Edgar, Locke and Terra because they had escaped with her. The soldier looked around to see if Kefka was in the area. Since he wasn't there, he went on. ''Kefka is rumored to be conspiring to oust General Leo and replace him.''

The second soldier was very irritated by that sentence. ''That joker? If that freak becomes a general, I swear I'll quit the army!'' He said.

''Shhhhhh! Quiet! If he hears you, we'll be jailed!'' the other one snapped.

''Okay, okay!'' exclaimed the other. Suddenly, he saw that Kefka was about to come out of a tent. ''Here he comes! Quick, to your post!''

Sabin nearly laughed at Kefka's appearance. He was ridiculous, and he looked like a psycho clown.

''You there! Keeping a sharp lookout?'' Kefka asked, turning to the first soldier.

''Yes sir, Kefka.'' replied the soldier, but his tone hid a certain discontent.

''Spare me the small talk and do your job!'' the clown snapped. ''And if you slack off, I'll make you regret being born!''

With this threat, Kefka left, leaving the two soldiers even more displeased than before. ''Grrr... who does he think he is, that pompous, haughty jester?! What does he want from us? General Leo has all the good qualities and Kefka is left with the other ones!'' complained the second soldier. As mentioned before, everyone knows that Kefka is extremely unpopular even in his own army, and he didn't care about anything or anyone except himself.

The other soldier, in a panic, put his hand in front of his mouth. ''Shush! How many times do I have to tell you? Keep it down!'' he scolded him. ''General Leo is a good man, but that Kefka is twisted!''

The two soldiers were joined by another Imperial soldier, in black armor with a large axe in his hand. ''You two! We are about to launch the attack on the castle, and you should join the assault squadron. Get moving!'' he ordered, and the soldiers followed him.

''That's not good at all. If they defeat Doma, things will get even harder.'' Sabin commented, worried, and Shadow nodded. They were attacked by a Magitek armor and two Imperial soldiers, but the monk easily destroyed the machinery with his physical strength, while Shadow threw a knife in the face of one of the two soldiers, and Interceptor, after blocking an attack aimed at his master, killed the enemy with bites that penetrated his armor.(1)

A Satellite, a warning device built by the Empire with the Magitek, also attacked, emitting a light that nearly blinded the mercenary, who still struck with his kunai twice. Sabin concentrated his energy and used a new Blitz technique. ''Rising Phoenix!'' Sabin was surrounded by an orange aura, and two illusory copies appeared next to him and attacked in tandem him with a series of punches and a kick followed by an uppercut that sent the Satellite into the air. In midair, the monk made the copies disappear and hit the Satellite with another punch that knocked it over. The silhouette of a large firebird appeared behind him and set his hands on fire, and when he slammed his fists against the Satellite, it unleashed a big explosion.

The warning device was not completely destroyed, and it fired a Magitek Laser that Sabin managed to avoid, followed by a missile. Interceptor leapt in front of his master, taking the hit, and the missile exploded in his face. Despite that, he was fine, save for a bit of scorched fur, and charged the Satellite before biting it to pieces. ''Good dog.'' Shadow said, petting Interceptor.

''If you want to know, this is a technique I have learned over time.'' Sabin said, and Shadow seemed almost impressed.

Beyond the bridge that spanned the river, Sabin saw a huge castle, and not far from it, a rather large city. He also noticed that soldiers were trying to besiege the castle. ''This must be Doma Castle, and the capital is not far away. I'm worried, the Empire is attacking.'' he said.

''Hide, Sabin!'' Shadow exclaimed, dragging Sabin behind a stack of crates.

Careful not to be discovered, the monk stuck out his head to see better. An Imperial soldier was talking to another man, certainly one of his superiors, Leo Cristophe. He was tall, with dark skin(2), dark brown eyes and short blond hair, and wore a green military jacket with yellow patterns, blue shoulder straps and blue boots. ''General Leo! The Domans have taken refuge in the castle!'' said the soldier.

Leo was thoughtful. ''I see. It's their favorite defensive strategy.'' he said.

''General, at your order, we are ready to storm the castle.''

What Leo said surprised Sabin. ''Be patient! Attacking now would cause too many unnecessary deaths.''

''But General, I am ready to give my life for the Empire!'' the soldier protested.

Leo put his hands on the soldier's shoulders. ''Listen to me. You're from Maranda, aren't you?'' The soldier nodded, and Sabin remembered Edgar telling him what happened in the town of Maranda. Eighteen years earlier, the city was conquered and made a puppet state of the Empire, and recently, the citizens had protested against the brutality of the imperial guards and wanted independence, so the Empire, under the command of a certain generaless, devastated Maranda, killing many innocent people and forcing most of the men to join them. ''If you die, I'll have to break the bad news to your family. What will I have to say when I'll reach their door with your sword? How could I look them in the face? You are a human being before being a soldier, so don't sacrifice yourself in vain. Emperor Gestahl wouldn't want that.'' he said.

Hearing these words, Sabin thought that Leo would immediately earn his respect, as he was the exact opposite of Kefka. Another soldier told Leo that the Emperor had sent him a carrier pigeon, and the general entered the tent he had come out of, leaving the command to the soldier he had spoken to.

(''Main Theme- Metal Gear Solid OST-s'')

***WARNING: THIS SCENE CONTAINS A MASSACRE OF INNOCENTS. IF IT GROSSES YOU OUT, YOU'RE NOT FORCED TO READ IT, JUST SKIP TO THE NEXT PART.***

Shadow came out of his hiding place, but was forced to return here because he heard Kefka's evil laugh. ''As soon as Leo leaves, I will turn this water into a river of poison, and whoever touches it will be dead and gone!'' the clown cackled, horrifying both Shadow and Sabin.

''We have to stop him!'' Sabin declared, about to take action.

''Stay still, Sabin! You'll get yourself killed!'' Shadow shouted, grabbing him by the wrist.

''If standing there means condemning Doma to its fate, then I'm sorry, but I DON'T want to! We have to stop Kefka before he poisons the river!'' Sabin replied.

''And we will, but not like this. We must wait for the right time.''

Leo, hearing Kefka's laughter, stepped out of the tent. ''The Emperor has summoned me. In my absence, DO NOT cause trouble.'' he said.

''I'll sort this out much quicker than you would have done, you'll see!'' Kefka snorted.

''Let's not sacrifice the lives of our men.'' Leo replied.

''Let's just kill our enemies!'' the clown yelled.

''Kefka, I don't want anything inhuman in my absence! It is true that the Domans are our enemies, but they are still human beings.'' General Leo reproached.

''We must have no mercy on the allies of the Returners. And, I've never had mercy for anything anyway.''

Disgusted and in a bad mood, Leo gave up, and Kefka, now in charge, ordered a soldier to prepare the poison to be thrown into the river, ignoring the imperial soldiers imprisoned in Doma Castle.

(''Boss Battle 2- Kid Icarus Uprising OST'')

(Objective: Stop Kefka before he poisons the river!)

Characters:

Sabin

Shadow

''You are INHUMAN!'' Sabin snarled, his face red with rage and his blood boiling.

Shadow agreed with him. ''This is too much, even for someone like me!'' he shouted.

They chased after Kefka and Sabin punched him, but the madman cast the Thunder spell, hitting them.

''Stay here! I'll try to get the poison!'' Sabin said, chasing Kefka, who still had the bottle of poison in his hand. Although he managed to hit him a couple of times, the clown man was not affected and did not slow down. ''Wait, you coward!''

''Did you just say ''wait''? Do I look like a waiter?'' Kefka laughed. The monk also found himself struggling with some soldiers of the Empire armed with swords and axes, which slowed him down. When he got to the river, the clown slightly uncorked the bottle. ''There's no music like hundreds of voices screaming in pain in unison!'' he shouted, his laughter almost a scream, and tossed the bottle up.

''Nooooo!'' yelled Sabin, who, running as fast as possible, jumped far away... but it was all in vain. He felt like he was in slow motion. His leap did not have enough momentum, and he just missed the bottle, which uncorked and the poison fell into the river, whose water became an eerie purple, and to the add insult to injury, Kefka, seeing him coming, stretched his leg out backwards and kicked him in the face, then walked away in satisfation. The martial artist slammed his fists in frustration as he saw people choking and dying after drinking the water from afar, and saw Shadow behind him. ''I'm sorry, Shadow... I tried...'' he murmured sadly.

''You did what you could. You couldn't do anything more.'' Shadow replied, and the two, along with Interceptor, stood watching the grisly scene. Kefka's concert of death had begun, and their attempt to stop him was a failure.

(***END OF DOMA POISONING SCENE***)

(''Boss Battle 2- Kid Icarus Uprising OST-s'')

At the same time, while Sabin and Shadow were in the Imperial Camp, Doma's sentries, dressed in green and light blue, were panicking in the castle. ''It's over, we're done for!'' one of them shouted.

(''Cyan's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST'')

''Wait a second! It's not over yet!'' a voice shouted. A tall, stout middle-aged man came out of the throne room. He wore light blue and black armor with gold trim, bronze shoulder pads and a light blue cape. His black hair, tied in an elegant ponytail by a blue headband, was quite long, and when untied, it reached his shoulders. His thick, well-groomed black mustache and some wrinkles on his face indicated his experience in battle, but also his good looks, untouched by his age. He was Cyan Garamonde, the leader of Doma's army and a samurai at the service of the king, holding a long curved blade, a katana.

''Sir Cyan! What do you suggest?'' asked one of the two sentries.

''If we manage to defeat the commander, the enemy will retreat. I will look for him on the battlefield.'' Cyan said, leaving the castle.

''Good luck, sir!'' the sentries said.

(Objective: Kill the enemy commander to stop the Empire's assault!)

Characters:

Cyan

Some Imperial soldiers were trying to climb the castle walls, unsuccessfully, and a couple of them attacked Cyan, but he, after years of fighting, was a real veteran, and even at fifty years of age, he still seemed be at his prime. He ran into the enemy commander, who tried to hit him with his axe, but the samurai blocked the blow with his katana and hit him with a horizontal slash, then prepared to use a typical samurai fighting technique, the Bushido, from the samurai code of morality. ''Fang!'' He forcefully thrusted his katana into the enemy commander's chest and killed him, leaving him in a pool of blood that still dripped from the katana, which he put back in its sheath.

''The commander has fallen! Run!'' the Imperial soldiers yelled, running away, and the sentries cheered loudly. Cyan suggested they take refuge in the castle and keep an eye on the enemy for safety.

(''Cyan's Theme- Final Fantasy VI OST-s'')

A few minutes later, Cyan was on the lookout tower of the castle with a sentry, who said the Empire was preparing another assault, but he ignored the message, noting that the water was strange. He was horrified when he saw that people in the castle were choking and dying, some sentries fell off the towers and the water was an eerie purple. ''That's... POISON!'' he shouted.

''Such a cowardly act... For shame!'' the sentry snapped, his voice full of disgust.

(''Speedy Comet in Orbit- Super Mario Galaxy OST'')

(Objective: Explore Doma Castle and check if there are any survivors!)

Characters:

Cyan

''We must warn the King! Quick!'' Cyan exclaimed. He immediately descended the stairs, followed by the sentry, and opened the doors of the throne room, hoping that the king was not dead. ''Your Highness!'' he cried.

The king was lying on the ground and in pain, but he was still alive. ''Who... is it...?'' he moaned.

''I am Cyan, your Excellency!'' Cyan replied, with a bow, and knelt.

''Oh, Cyan... my sight is leaving me... I can't see your face...'' said the king, coughing heavily.

The samurai saw on his right a broken goblet with a purple liquid, that very poisoned water. ''Excellency! You have to hang in there!'' he exclaimed, more and more concerned.

''Cyan, sir...'' the sentry murmured, horrified.

''Go check if there are any survivors in the castle, quick! Also, check if there are any survivors in the city!'' the samurai ordered.

''Got it!'' the sentry said, walking around the rooms.

''Cyan... you defended this kingdom when my father was still King... Thank you for your service... Forgive me... I was unable to protect the kingdom...'' the king groaned.

''No, spare your strength, Excellency!'' Cyan cried out, more and more panicked.

''I'm worried about your family... go to them...'' the king murmured.

''Excellency!'' the samurai shouted, seeing his King exhale his last breath, and realizing that he was dead, he immediately ran from one part of the castle to the other.

In addition to his life as a warrior, Cyan had a family of his own, of which he had a photo inside his pocket watch, and was thinking of his beautiful wife Elayne, and their young son, Owain, with the same blue eyes and blond hair as his mother. He loved them very much, but his life as a warrior made it difficult for him to be with them and made him withdrawn about his feelings, which he made out only when he was alone, and uncomfortable with the expressions of affection, even on his part. wife, who wanted him to be more open. Furthermore, due to the traditionalist lifestyle of his land from 1200 years (Doma had never industrialized), he was technophobe, as he didn't know how to operate mechanical devices very well, and he didn't like them in general. ''Elayne! Owain! Where are you?'' he cried out, full of concern. No reply. Just an eerie silence.

After a few minutes of searching, footsteps were heard. He was the sentry from before. ''Bad news, sir. I think we're the only ones left. All the members of the army, the servants and the staff members are dead, including the King.'' He said in a sad tone.

Cyan gasped in shock. ''What about the town? Are there any survivors?'' he asked.

''Yes, but due to the poison, the population was halved. It's a total massacre. I'm sorry, sir.'' the sentry replied.

Cyan wasted no time and ran as fast as he could to the room where he resided with his family, to the right of the throne room, but when he got to the door, he was stopped by anxiety, as he didn't know if Elayne and Owain were alive.

(''Speedy Comet in Orbit- Super Mario Galaxy OST-s'')

***WARNING: THE SCENES FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS ARE EMOTIONALLY INTENSE AND HAVE GRAPHIC AND DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENT DEATHS. YOU ARE NOT FORCED TO READ THEM IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, BUT THEY COULD BE DISTURBING AND TRAUMATIZING FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED. IF THEY HURT YOUR SENSITIVITY AND YOU ARE UNABLE FULLY READ THEM, JUST SKIP DIRECTLY TO THE END.***

(''Warmth is Gone- Fire Emblem Fates OST'')

Hesitantly, Cyan slowly opened the door, and when he entered the room, everything that happened next seemed as if it were in slow motion. He saw Elayne lying on the ground, and felt such a heart-ache as if he had been kicked in the groin without his armor on. ''No! ELAYNE!'' he yelled, kneeling beside his wife's body. Her eyes were closed. He held her in his arms. ''Elayne, wake up, please! Don't leave me!'' No response. ''You can't be dead! No...!'' he touched her cheek and felt it cold, and her body was stiff as marble. She was dead...

The samurai's eyes were full of tears that he couldn't hold back, not now, and he was sobbing desperately, now being a widower. He had lost his beloved wife after happy years together. ''This... this is unpardonable...'' he murmured. The Empire wouldn't get away with this. Suddenly, he saw Owain's body on the bed, and hoped he wasn't dead too. ''OWAIN!''

Cyan immediately ran to the bed and pulled the blanket towards him slowly, but as he did so, his heart stopped as if he had been pierced in the chest by a sword. Owain fell off the bed in a supine position, right at his feet. His eyes were open, but they were empty and devoid of that cheerful light typical of every child, and they stared without seeing, his father, who held him in his arms. ''My son... No, no, no, no, no... No, you can't both leave me...'' he murmured in a hoarse, broken voice. He hoped it wasn't true, but sadly, it was. Owain was dead too, and every father's worst nightmare had come true.

''OWAIN! NOOOOOOOOOO!'' Cyan let out a heartbreaking, piercing scream that echoed all over the castle, and he didn't care that it was tearing his throat. He hadn't been able to save anyone, not even his wife or son. And Owain was too young to die like this, with his whole life ahead of him. He was just seven years old. ''Forgive me... I failed! I couldn't save anyone... not you, not your mother, let alone the king... I'm a failure! I'm not the hero you thought I was! I'M NOTHING!'' he sobbed, repeatedly banging his fists on the ground and on the wall(3) as he cried loudly and several tears fell on their lifeless faces. Never again would he admit to Elayne how much he loved her. Never again could he give his son sword fighting lessons, and never again could he hold him in his arms.

(''Warmth is Gone- Fire Emblem Fates OST-s'')

(''The Unforgiven- Final Fantasy VI OST'')

After minutes that felt like hours, Cyan stopped sobbing, but his eyes were still red and bloodshot from crying, and his face was still full of tears. He stood up and unsheathed his katana with a roar that didn't even sound human. ''I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM! THE EMPIRE MUST PAY FOR THIS!'' he growled, his body possessed by an unbridled and unadulterated murderous rage. His mind controlled his body, making him run as quickly as possible to the Imperial Camp in the north, eager to exterminate all those soldiers for that cowardice and then join the dead in the afterlife.

The Imperial soldiers attacked, but they had chosen the wrong person to mess with, and Cyan, driven by that murderous fury, fought ruthlessly and began to kill them in gruesome ways: he grabbed one of them by the neck and slammed him to the ground, making him lose his helmet, and smashed his head by stomping it. He broke a second soldier's neck. He stabbed a templar, an axe-wielding Imperial soldier in heavy armor, with his katana, skewering him like spit-roasted meat. He slit another soldier's throat. He beheaded another tempral. He cut off another soldier's arm. He cut off yet another soldier's ear and a piece of his nose, and even cut off the limbs of another one, leaving him to bleed to death. ''I SHALL HAVE NO MERCY FOR THEE! WHO POISONED THE RIVER?!'' he roared. He was unleashing a bloodbath in the camp, and his armor, as well as the place, was stained with the blood of his enemies, but he was not defending himself at all, continuing to slash left and right without ever parrying the blows.

''It seems that this warrior survived.'' Shadow said, watching the scene.

Sabin agreed with his companion, but was horrified when he saw that Cyan was at a disadvantage against all these soldiers: a templar had made drop his katana, and behind the samurai, there were some crates, but it seemed that he had made peace with his fate. ''We gotta help him!'' he shouted, equipping his claws on his hands, and ran as quickly as possible to help the samurai of Doma.

''Wait, Sabin!'' Shadow said, but his warning was ignored, and with no other choice, he followed him.

(Objective: Help Cyan defeat the Imperial soldiers!)

Characters:

Sabin

Cyan

Shadow

''Teriaaaaa!'' Sabin shouted, lunging at the templar just as he was about to kill Cyan with his axe, and hit him with a powerful flying kick that knocked him away.(4) ''Let me help you!'' he said to the Doman samurai.

''Art thou friend or foe?'' Cyan asked.

''I'm here to help you out! Take it!'' the monk replied throwing the katana upward towards him. The samurai grabbed his weapon on the fly and did a jumping slash that knocked out a soldier and a templar. Directly behind him, Sabin punched and kicked a soldier in the head, knocking his helmet off, then hit him with an axe kick in the throat, immobilizing him and allowing his ally to finish him off by slashing him in the stomach with his katana.

Shadow arrived soon after, throwing a shuriken at another soldier. ''I'll cover you two.'' he said.

(The samurai Cyan joined the party!)

''Come on, we must fight together!'' Sabin exclaimed.

''I had come to the same conclusion! Attack!'' Cyan shouted, and the fight continued.

An Imperial Army officer struck the martial artist with his axe, but he recovered and delivered a series of kicks that disarmed him, while Shadow threw shurikens and knives at the soldiers. ''Leave it to me!'' Sabin said. He ducked down and performed a spinning split kick that hit all enemies around him, and Shadow killed two of them with his kunai. Cyan launched a thrust that killed a templar, and Sabin pinned another soldier in a vise from behind, then thrust him into another attack by the ninja mercenary, also fatal.

''More incoming!'' Shadow said.

Sabin knocked another Imperial soldier to the ground and stomped him with both feet, causing him such pain that it prevented him from reacting, and Cyan took the opportunity to slit his throat. The soldiers got into a line formation, and Interceptor charged, hitting some, but not all of them, and was hit with a nasty kick. After that, the enemies formed a column.

''Stay back!'' shouted Sabin, who was preparing a Blitz technique. ''Aura Cannon!'' He stretched his hands forward and fired from his palms a beam of holy light that struck all the enemy soldiers, and the blast sent them away.

(''The Unforgiven- Final Fantasy VI OST-s'')

Cyan, shocked by what he had seen, almost let go of his katana. ''What was that?'' he asked.

''I'll explain it later. Anyway, the two of us make a good team together. I'm Sabin, from the kingdom of Figaro, and those are Shadow and his dog Interceptor.'' Sabin replied.

''I thank thee. I'm Cyan Garamonde, from Doma. Nice to meet you, all of you.'' Cyan said, shaking his hand. ''I suppose you witnessed the poisoning of the river.''

''So it was. Let's get out of here.'' Shadow said.

''I must avenge my compatriots and my family! If I catch the person who did this, I'll...'' Cyan growled in a sudden rage, but Sabin stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

''Wait, Cyan. I understand how you feel, I've seen everything too, but we have to escape! I promise we will avenge the deaths of this tragedy, but if we don't run away, the Imperial soldiers will kill us!'' said the martial artist. He then looked around him and almost vomited at the carnage caused almost entirely by Cyan, with several corpses and masses of bloodstains scattered everywhere, and there were also some severed limbs and heads here and there. ''Besides, you made a mess here. Look at you, you're all covered in blood! We have to get out of here!'' he added.

(***END OF THE PARTS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED***)

In fact, a voice shouted that he had seen them, and the three took refuge behind the crates. Sabin was relieved that he had at least managed to save Cyan, but there was no time for a break. They had to escape as soon as possible.

A/N: Oh, no, what a carnage! Sabin met Shadow, who is helping him get back to Narshe, but Kefka poisoned Doma, killing everyone in the castle except a sentry and Cyan, who, after losing his wife and son, joined the party! If this chapter might be a little too long for you, it is because I had chosen to intertwine Sabin and Shadow's parts in the encampment and Cyan's in Doma castle by making them happen at the same time, and I didn't want to split a small section of game in two chapters. Also, as I mentioned in the previous chapter, I want to split Sabin's scenario into three parts. That said, I you don't mind the length (I've never written a chapter longer than 5000 words) and you enjoyed this chapter! See you soon.

(1): In the game, Interceptor can take and block physical attacks (except unblockable ones) aimed at Shadow and then launch a powerful counterattack chosen among ''Takedown'' and ''Wild Fang'', which ignores defense, and this counts as an invisible positive status effect, thus, due to a bug with the blue magic spell Ripple, which swaps status effects with who receives it, Shadow can permanently lose Interceptor's help.

(2): In Amano's artworks, Leo has dark skin, but not in the sprites of the versions up to the GBA port. This is due to the technical limitations regarding the colors that can be used for the characters, but in the ports after this and in the spin-offs, his skin in the sprites was made darker, although not as much as in the artworks, and since Leo is briefly usable, this makes him the first playable black character in the series, followed by Barret from Final Fantasy VII.

(3): In Metal Gear Solid, in the non-canon ending where Meryl dies because Snake gave in to Ocelot's torture, he has a very similar reaction, tearfully expressing his guilt after finding her lifeless body.

(4): This battle cry comes from Sonic Adventure 2, when Sonic destroys the Egg Golem in the Dark Story, while the flying kick is inspired by a scene in Kingdom Hearts III, where Hayner, a boy living in Twilight Town, attempts to attack Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (the fake one and Xehanort's Heartless), with a kick, unsuccessfully.