A/W: Hey, guys! In the previous chapter, Gau completed his training in the Veldt and rescued Celes and her friends, who had been attacked by several monsters while searching for him. They discovered that in the past, Kefka experimented on monsters and humans, and this, combined with the Cataclysm, created the Fallen Ones and the Feral Ones, corrupted humans and monsters in a state of pure ferality, and they killed the leader of the tribe of monsters in which Gau had grown up and injuring the survivors, which is why he had become the leader of a resistance of non-corrupted monsters. Thanks to a mixture of healing herbs made by Sabin, the monsters have recovered from their injuries, and Gau has decided to continue fighting Kefka together with his friends. After a lunch break, they will search in a cave in the Veldt. But will there be anyone here? Let's find out!

Chapter 33: Shadow: Lonesome Mercenary

The Veldt seemed silent that afternoon. No one else apart from the Returners was there. Our heroes were roasting sausages on the fire while discussing the situation. It seemed that they discovered gruesome details about Kefka every day, and at least one of them talked about their misadventures.

''Nothing is the same here anymore...'' Terra murmured sadly.

''And it won't go back to normal unless we win.'' said Celes.

''Did you found out horrifying things here?'' asked Setzer.

''I did, two months ago. I had found something that looked like a Halloween mask. I didn't understand at first, but looking better... I saw that it was a face. And no, it was not a severed head, it was a face without eyes. It made me turn my stomach.'' said Edgar.

"There's also a thriving black market here, full of counterfeit products, such as dried droppings passed off as powdered dragon claws and monster pheromones passed off as repellents. Several weeks ago, I went to the pub in Tzen for lunch, but I accidentally ate food with laxatives. I don't know how, but someone had put a laxative of carrots and peas in my food. As a result, I had explosive diarrhea.'' added Sabin.

(Flashback)

Sabin had decided to have lunch in the tavern, and ordered a meat pie. At first everything seemed normal, until he noticed a peculiar aftertaste. ''It tastes like carrots and peas,'' he said. When he finished the dish, he began to feel strange, and he understood why. There was a laxative in the meat pie, and when he felt his backside heavy, he realized that he was getting diarrhea and panicked.

(''Grass Skirt Chase- SpongeBob Squarepants OST'')

''They put laxatives in my food! Help!'' he shouted. Everyone was looking at him puzzled, not knowing what to do with it.

The man at the counter was shocked. ''Holy cow! I'm sorry, it was an accident!'' he exclaimed.

''It's a bit late for this! I have to run, I'm gonna poop myself!'' Sabin replied, a little irritated, and the man pointed the way to the bathroom, in the back.

It was a bad situation. Sabin ran as fast as he could to the back, hoping to make it in time, but when he arrived at the bathroom door, he discovered that it was locked and knocked, discovering that the bathroom was occupied. Although he was aware that he would say something inappropriate for a prince, he could not help but curse under his breath. He knocked on the door again.

''Just give me a moment.'' said the man in the bathroom.

Sabin couldn't take it anymore. ''Would you mind to hurry up?! I can't take it anymore, I gotta go!'' he blurted out.

''Is it serious?''

''Yes! There's no time for that!''

''Alright, I'll open the door for you immediately.''

The door opened, and Sabin could finally enter. When he had finished, his feces had clogged the toilet, and when he came out with a sore bum, there was a disgusting odor through the pub, and at least half of the customers gave him a dirty look, as if accusing him of making a scene, then yelled at him that he smelled, and rudely: at least a couple of men told him to go to hell. ''Well, back to you, you moron! If I randomly end up with a laxative in my food, don't blame me if someone has to go to the bathroom and then this happens! What the hell!'' blurted Sabin. He left the tavern grumbling, and the owner, who did not blame him for what had happened, did not know what to do.

(''Grass Skirt Chase- SpongeBob Squarepants OST-s'')

(Flashback end)

''That's embarrassing... Sabin, my sympathies.'' said Edgar.

''How long have you been suffering from this?'' asked Terra.

''It's one of several health problems I suffered from before I became an adult. I have irritable bowel syndrome, also called spastic colitis, and have had to live with it for years. In addition to suffering from abdominal pain, I also had bouts of diarrhea that lasted weeks, or even a month if they were particularly severe, and they sometimes alternated with constipation. Of the different illnesses I had to endure, this was the most frequent problem, to the point that whenever I got sick and something was wrong with me, my personal doctor had me have my stool tested regularly since I was a child.'' Sabin replied.

''The royal doctor was frustrated by that for sure, wasn't he?'' asked Celes.

''Actually, no. It is a job that requires a lot of patience. Sometimes I ended up embarrassing my doctor, but he was always kind and patient with me.'' Sabin said.

''What exactly would those health problems be? And those diseases?'' asked Cyan.

''It's a secret. You wouldn't understand.'' Sabin replied.

''We not understand? How?'' asked Gau, confused, as he put half a sausage in his mouth.

''It's a sensitive topic for him. It has frustrated him for more than ten years, and even though we are twins, he has never opened up much to me about it. I know what he went through because we grew up together in the castle, so I saw him get sick so many times, but it's something he couldn't stand.'' replied Edgar. ''I know him well, and if it's a secret he wants to keep hidden, I will respect his wishes.''

Everyone remained silent as they finished eating the sausages, then continued the journey, with Gau making their way to the cave.

(Objective: Follow Gau and reach the cave on the Veldt.)

Characters:

Terra

Celes

Edgar

Sabin

Cyan

Gau

Setzer

During the journey, there was a heavy air in everyone's mind. It was clear that what Kefka's crimes haunted their thoughts.

''This place is hell on earth.'' commented Setzer.

''Of course. It's like the world is all upside down.'' said Celes.

''What Gau said has been bothering me. I can't get it out of my head.'' Sabin said. ''I don't know if any of you have had any horrible experiences with Kefka on your skin, apart from what he did in Celes.''

"Kefka tortured a lot of people, and I know that. I witnessed his terrible experiments and the torture my soldiers endured. A good part of them did not survive, while those who made it out alive were either traumatized or disabled. I was the general in the army, and sometimes I was captured too.'' said Cyan gloomily.

''You should retire.'' declared Sabin.

''I can't, not now. I am a samurai, and first of all I must serve my kingdom," Kyan replied.

''Isn't there more to being a samurai or a knight more than just serving your king?'' asked Edgar. ''I am a king myself, and this is a deeper thing than you think.''

''I don't even know if the prince is alive.'' Cyan added.

''He may have survived.'' said Edgar.

''Maybe, but we don't know.'' replied Celes.

After five minutes, Gau sighted the cave. ''Over here! Traces inside!'' he exclaimed.

''Good. I wonder if someone is here.'' said Terra.

''You know, the first time Cyan and I met Gau was here in Veldt. This cave reminds me of when we went to Crescent Mountain. Several mountains sank after the Cataclysm, but I believe the cave is what remains of it.'' said Sabin. He entered the cave, followed by the rest of the group.

(Obiettivo: Explore the cave and look search for any survivors.)

(''Environmental Tension- Metroid Fusion OST'')

''How is it possible that dinosaurs still exist?'' asked Setzer.

''I have no idea, but whatever Kefka did, it was terrible for the life forms of the world.'' replied Celes.

The cave was narrow and dark, and Setzer and Cyan ended up to bump into a wall or a ceiling multiple times because there was no space and they couldn't see anything, but the problem was quickly solved when Terra lit a fireball in her hand.

''I don't like this place at all.'' said Setzer, a little nervous.

''But the traces pick up in there.'' said Terra in response. ''I hope everyone in there is okay.''

(''Environmental Tension- Metroid Fusion OST-s'')

There were monsters haunting the cave, among ghosts, skeletal abominations, killer mantises and a chimera, and every now and then you could hear high-pitched screams.

Cyan jumped when he heard a scream like this behind him. ''What the fuck is that?!'' he exclaimed.

Sabin turned and saw what it was. It was a woman-like spirit. ''A banshee! Her screams can paralyze or even kill!'' he exclaimed, and Celes cast Diaga to banish her.

But the banshee wasn't the only threat to attack at the time. Celes was attacked by a mutant monster, a hybrid between a spider and a scorpion, with the body and legs of a large spider and the tail of a scorpion. Since she was on the ground and the mutant spider was on top of her, it was impossible to use magic without being stung by her tail, so she hit it with her axe and then burned it with Firaga, but had to use an antidote due to a poisonous bite.

Suddenly, Gau stopped, pointing at something. Celes approached and saw a knife. Examining it, she saw that there was blood on the blade. ''A combat knife. It's a clue, someone has passed by here. The blade is covered in blood, so I think it happened recently.'' she said, analyzing it.

''Who could it be?'' asked Cyan.

''I think it's Shadow. He was with us when the Blackjack was destroyed, and I'm sure this is one of his throwing knives. We have to find him as quickly as possible.'' Sabin replied.

As soon as he finished these words, the seven heard barking. Interceptor ran towards them, and seemed very agitated.

''Interceptor! Is Shadow okay?'' Terra asked.

Interceptor began whining, then clung to the legs of Terra, Celes, Sabin, and Cyan.

''He looks really agitated. Something must have happened to Shadow.'' said Edgar.

''We get it. Lead the way, Interceptor!'' said Sabin.

(Goal: Follow Interceptor and search for Shadow!)

(''Nightmare- Castlevania Circle of the Moon OST'')

Interceptor began to run, showing the way to the group of heroes. After a few seconds, they noticed several blood stains on the ground, a sign that something bad had happened, and Gau began to feel a little uncomfortable. As they went on, the blood stains became larger and more numerous.

''What could possibly have happened here?'' asked Setzer.

''I don't know, but it must be serious.'' replied Cyan.

Interceptor stopped running after about a minute, and Celes saw a corpse. A man was lying in front of the wall in a pool of blood, and was cut in two, his legs detached from the rest of his body. ''What the hell happened here?!'' he exclaimed.

Sabin went to take a closer look. ''It seems that someone had the misfortune to be attacked by monsters. He seems to have been dead for at least two hours, and judging by his injuries, it seems that he was torn to pieces by something large. This place is not safe.'' he said, analyzing the victim's pallor and his wounds.

''So what happened to Shadow?'' asked Edgar.

When the Interceptor barked again, everyone approached, and seeing him whining, they realized they had found the person they were looking for. Shadow was lying on the ground, in a pool in his blood. His black robes were all torn, leaving his skin uncovered, and his abdomen was filled with cuts and lacerations.

''Oh, Holy Triad! Shadow!'' shouted Terra, horrified.

''He's badly injured! We have to do something, he lost a lot of blood!'' exclaimed Cyan.

Interceptor began to whine. He licked his master's face in an attempt to wake him up, and as he did so, threatening footsteps echoed in the cave.

(''Nightmare- Castlevania Circle of the Moon OST-s'')

''I have a bad feeling, guys. Get ready!'' said Celes, taking his sword.

Shadow woke up, looking around confusedly. ''What... What's going on?'' he asked.

''Thank goodness, you're awake. We were exploring the cave when we found your knife, then Interceptor came to us and led us to you.'' explained Edgar.

The footsteps grew stronger, and a roar was also heard. ''A monster is coming! We must protect Shadow!'' shouted Sabin, looking for a place to hide his body safely. Given the structure of the cave, full of rock walls, there was no safe hiding place, and even if there was one, whatever monster was coming could destroy it. He was also worried because he had seen traces that he immediately recognized as Behemoth's footprints. ''But... There is no place where we can hide it. Those look like a Behemoth's footprints, and Shadow is in no condition to fight.''

''Then we'll have to improvise.'' Terra replied, preparing to cast white magic. ''Protect.'' A protective barrier surrounded Shadow's body. It could not replace a safe hiding spot and was temporary, but it was always better than nothing. A few seconds later, the footsteps became even louder, louder and faster.

(''Omega Metroid Boss Theme- Metroid: Samus Returns OST'')

A giant Behemoth emerged from the darkness and tried to pounce on Gau, who reacted in time to dodge the blow. ''Here it is! The Behemoth that injured Shadow!'' shouted Sabin.

''And this is not just a Behemoth. It's a Behemoth King!'' added Edgar.

(Objective: Protect Shadow and defeat the Behemoth King! If Shadow dies, you lose!)

The Behemoth King let out a loud roar, but no one was that intimidated. It began to slash and claw the barrier created by Protect, which absorbed the blows, and Setzer cast Thunder, which cracked the ground, leaving it stuck when it set foot in it, which allowed Celes and Edgar to go on the attack with his sword and spear, and Cyan scored a blow with a Bushido Tiger.

''Watch your back, the Behemoth King is even more powerful than the other Behemoths. It's always weak to fire, but sometimes, it tends to change.'' said Edgar, after casting Scan.

''Look! That Behemoth is a Feral One!'' exclaimed Sabin, as he blocked the monster's attacks with his axe.

''We have to take it out, and quickly!'' said Celes, casting Thundaga, which hit the Behemoth, and the monster cast Blizzaga, hitting Edgar before he could block the blow, then broke free.

Through his fighting claws, Gau fought on a par with the Behemoth, with the advantage of speed, but when their physical attacks clashed, he was overwhelmed because he did not have the brute strength of such a large creature, so he had to rely more on quick attacks with the power of wind or thunder. Edgar could not launch a jump attack typical of dragon knights because the ceiling was too low to allow it, and while Terra and Celes were fighting well from a distance, they could not use magic too much to avoid serious fatigue problems.

Setzer approached and struck the monster with the knife, but he did not do much damage and was kicked away, barely avoiding a Thundara. Edgar tried to use his .45-caliber SOCOM, but in less than a minute, he had emptied an entire magazine, and after reloading the gun, he replaced it with his flamethrower, which was much more effective. After taking considerable damage from Terra's Biora spell, King Behemoth grabbed Gau, cast a Blizzaga in his face, bit him, and brutally threw him to the ground.

''Gau! Tell me you're okay!'' shouted Sabin.

''Gau! Are you alright?!'' exclaimed Cyan, worried.

Gau got up, but with difficulty, as he was injured and was loosing blood. Sabin took the Gaia Hammer and struck King Behemoth in the head with a jump attack. After that, the monster roared and its appearance changed. It changed color from gray to a dark yellow, all bloody and with a smell similar to that of liquid feces.

''What happened?!'' exclaimed Terra.

''That's the undead form! The Behemoth King is always weak to fire, but in this form, it has lost his weakness to poison, and it instead gained a weakness to holy. When it's undead, its defenses worsen, but it is even more aggressive and powerful than before.(1)'' replied Edgar.

The Behemoth King lunged at Celes, but she reacted quickly. ''Stop!'' A clock surrounded the monster and the hands moved frantically before stopping, then the spectrum of colors of the clock reversed, stopping the Behemoth in place as if time had stopped. This gave Terra the opportunity to hit it with a Firaga first and then a Diaga.

''Sabin, Gau, get ready.'' said Edgar, and both Sabin and Gau nodded. The effects of Stop ended, and the Behemoth King, returning to its living form, cast magical attacks that hurt everyone. It then destroyed Protect's barrier with a powerful beam and approached Sabin to bite him in the neck, but the disciple reacted quickly and hit it in the jaw with the Gigantaxe, then he and Gau charged forward and bashed it with their heads, causing it to fall to the ground.

''Now!'' Sabin cried, repeatedly hitting the Behemoth King in the stomach with both the Gigantaxe and the Gaia Hammer, while Cyan thrusted his katana it into the monster's chest and Gau used Drain, surrounding his hand in dark red energy and hitting it with it, healing his wounds.

King Behemoth opened his mouth, but Sabin jumped with a somersault to avoid the blow and stomped the monster's throat. He forcibly opened its mouth wide from both jaws and pulled as in a jaw breaker, and the strong grip immobilized the Behemoth King, allowing Edgar to take out his plasma cannon and shoot it in the mouth along with Terra's Firaga. But despite this, the Behemoth King was not finished, and rushed again to attack Shadow, who was still too weak to continue fighting.

''PROTECT!'' Fortunately, Celes reacted in time, creating the magic barrier before the monster could bite Shadow to tear him to pieces, but it broke quickly, and Sabin had to take precautions. He used Explosive Fist, and when the explosion threw the Behemoth King into the air, Shadow threw his knife, hitting it in the eye, although he was unable to get up.

''It doesn't doesn't give up, huh!'' commented Setzer, rolling the dice. A nine came out, with considerable damage, and this was followed with a Fira spell.

''Let's end this here and now!'' declared Edgar, hitting the Behemoth with Lancet, then opened fire with his assault rifle, and after he consumed two magazines, King Behemoth finally fell to the ground, dead.

(''Omega Metroid Boss Theme- Metroid: Samus Returns OST-s'')

When the battle was over, everyone was exhausted. ''Finally... some rest might help.'' Cyan said breathlessly, and after Celes cast Teleport at the carcass to take it to the Falcon, she, Terra, and Sabin went to treat Shadow's wounds.

''Are you okay, Shadow?'' asked Terra.

''I will live.'' replied Shadow. ''I didn't expect you to come and help me.''

''Hey, I don't need a reason to help anyone. Besides, if it's a friend, we always will.'' Sabin said.

''What were you doing this year?'' asked Terra.

''I started attending the Dragon's Neck Coliseum, northwest of here. If you wondered why I came here, I was looking for the Ichigeki, a powerful combat blade, but then I was attacked by that Behemoth and I was defeated.'' said Shadow.

''One moment. The Dragon's Neck Coliseum? I had heard that there was a little house there.'' said Celes.

''It was, but not anymore. In the most northwestern part of the world, there is an area shaped like a dragon's head, and the old man who lived in that little house had in mind the idea of building an arena. I think it has to do with the warrior spirit of men, he thought it was a place where they could awaken the warrior within them.'' explained Edgar.

''Isn't that dangerous?'' asked Setzer.

''There wasn't much I could do.'' said Shadow.

''About the Ichigeki... Were you looking for this?'' asked Sabin, who had found something nearby. The object he was holding in his hand was a black blade.

''Exactly.'' said the mercenary, taking the Ichigeki.

''Shadow, aren't you coming with us?'' asked Celes. ''We were looking for you.''

''I'm sorry, but I can't. You know me, I'm a lone wolf, and anyway I don't think we'll be able to defeat Kefka, if that's what you want. If you really need me, meet me at the Dragon's Neck Coliseum.'' said Shadow. Without another word, he picked up Interceptor and threw a smoke grenade. When the smoke cleared, they were both gone.

''So, what do we do?'' asked Cyan.

''The Dragon's Neck Coliseum is a long way from here. Let's go back to the Falcon, then we'll think about something.'' answered Setzer.

Celes and the others began to leave the cave, thinking about what to do for the next phase of their journey.

''With the problem with the monsters solved, Gau led his friends to a cave in the Veldt, where they found Shadow's knife and his dog, the Interceptor. Following him, they found Shadow badly injured after being attacked by a Feral One, terrible Behemoth known as the Behemoth King, which they managed to defeat. Shadow had become a fighter in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum and set out to search for the ninja blade Ichigeki, but was attacked. Before leaving, Shadow informed Celes and the others that they would meet there. Their journey continued...'' recounted Mog.

A/N: Another ally has been found! But Shadow seems to have a preference for fighting alone and went in the arena. Will our heroes be successful in convincing him? Find out in the next chapter! See you next time!

(1): In the Veldt, it is possible to find a Behemoth King, but only in its undead. The use of both forms in the boss battle is inspired by the battle against Siren, the third boss of Final Fantasy V: during this battle, she tends to change form from living to undead, changing strategy according to her form. In her living form, she is resistant to magical attacks and uses various spells, including Slow and Silence, while as an undead, she has high defense and uses Venomous Clasp, a powerful physical attack that causes poisoning, but she gets a weakness to the fire and heals damage her in this form.