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When Sabin returned to Figaro Castle for the first time after 10 years, he felt welcomed by the familiarity of this place. After seeing other parts of the world, this little area produced in him a feeling of safety, that which comes from knowing every corner of this castle and its surroundings, its people, and its customs.
At the item shop he found some old known weapons and was proud to see new weapons and new improved versions of old ones, designed by his brother. Sabin was pleased to see that behind the superficial compliance with the Empire, Edgar had not been wasting time. The nation had been under great external pressure for years, but it was doing better today than it ever did before. Sabin couldn’t be prouder. But seeing the Bio Blaster was a little surprising. When Edgar showed him his tools, he didn’t bring up that one, and when Sabin got the explanation from the shopkeeper of how it worked, he didn’t like what he heard.
A weapon that used poison made Sabin reminisce about the night when his father passed away. Even when his brother was not as vocal as him about the wretched state of affairs, Sabin knew Edgar could see eye to eye with him. Knowing that and seeing how the country had improved over time made Sabin speak as assertively as he possibly could when his brother looked to him for reassurance.
“I often wonder if he'd be proud of me.”
“Don't you ever doubt that! I'm sure he's beaming with pride, wherever he is.”
He said those words from the bottom of his heart. But why would his brother choose to use poison, like their enemies did?
Sabin had chosen a path that allowed him to clear the rage off his mind and put that energy into something meaningful. And instead of poisoning himself and others, in order to harness his abilities, he had to maintain a state of mental, emotional, and physical purity. He didn’t want to be self-righteous, but he couldn’t support Edgar’s use of that specific weapon. It felt insidious, as if Edgar were trying to get even.
They toasted to themselves, to their parents, and to their country.
The next morning, Sabin still pondered about the Bio Blaster. He had always trusted Edgar’s judgment and still did, but he worried about the possibility of his brother becoming cynical after all these years of dealing with warmongers.
“Hey brother, I saw the new weapon in the shop.” Sabin was strangely unenthusiastic.
"Oh, the drill? I finished the blueprint before leaving the castle, but I haven’t tried it. Do you want to help me test it?”
“Not that one, the Bio Blaster.”
“That one’s not new; it’s been in our inventory for some time.”
Sabin was quiet for a moment before asking. “Do you use poison?”
Edgar figured out why Sabin sounded so uncharacteristically languid. He breathed deeply. “There are different tools for different scenarios. Some get the work done better than others, depending on the problem at hand.”
“In what scenario does poison get the work done better?” Sabin asked without looking at Edgar.
“In the scenario where there are barriers that would prevent other types of attacks.”
“And that’s why they used it against dad. If we do the same things that they do, then where does that leave us?”
"Brother, we don’t do what they do. A tool is not inherently evil. The wielder is responsible for how he uses it.”
Sabin understood what Edgar had just explained, but he wasn’t convinced. Seeing his father slowly agonizing and witnessing the genocide of Doma had convinced him that he didn’t want to ever see or hear about poison again, let alone be the one to use it. Certain ways of getting the work done just felt wrong.
Edgar interrupted Sabin’s thoughts. “Brother. Do you think this is... unethical?”
Sabin turned to look at him, feeling that Edgar had just read his mind. “Yes! It’s so wrong. How easily it spreads, how it kills and contaminates everything in its path. It’s cowardice!”
Edgar stared, silently studying him. Sabin felt helpless about trying to debate Edgar on anything, but he had to speak his mind. Edgar was as disgusted as Sabin about how they had done their father, but was tempted to convince him of seeing the tool for its practical use, just as he convinced himself years ago. However, Edgar always trusted Sabin’s gut feelings more than his own. He wanted to understand where Sabin was coming from, not to replace Sabin’s thoughts with his.
Edgar spoke in a low tone, as if thinking out loud. “There is no responsible way of using something that cannot set its target nor be contained.”
“Yes. That.” Sabin agreed.
Edgar lowered his head and looked away, then smiled apologetically at Sabin. “I’m so glad to have you here.”
Before leaving the castle, Edgar instructed his engineers to devise new tools that could target specific enemies and encouraged them to discontinue the use of Bio Blaster.