Corinth fired off a flurry of punches. Yin blocked a few of them, but the others got through. He was staggered slightly, and fell to one knee. He had to struggle to block the next blow, but it still knocked him back a few feet.

Corinth took the momentary distraction to use his rune. He raised his hand, and was about to cast the spell, when he suddenly gasped in agony. His hand dropped to his thigh, where a knife was jutting out. He looked to Yin, who's hand was pointed at Corinth. He was breathing heavily, but nonetheless, jumped up and dashed forward. Corinth went to punch him, but Yin blocked it, knocked his hand up into the air. His hand, then, shot out and grabbed the handle of the knife and twisted it.

Corinth yelped in pain, and punched out at Yin. He connected, and the blow knocked him back. Very back. Yin flew through the air, and hit a log wall. Yin slumped to the ground unconciously. Corinth raised his hand in the air, and began his spell.

"Rage rune. . . SHOW ME YOUR POWER!" he yelled.

A large flame fell fom the sky, and hit Yin. Fire erupted all around the down warrior. It incinerated his clothes, and burned his skin. Long had to be physically held back by Radcliffe, Drake and the Highland soldier. They all watched as the flames engulfed him, then disapeared. They saw Yin lying there, motionless.

"I guess this means that we are up one to nothing" said Lyonel. "It's too bad. He was a very prom. . ."

He was cut off by a weakened voice. "I'm not dead yet."

Yin rose to his feet slowly, and staggered toward Corinth. With Corinth's spur of anger finished, he was now overcome with the pain of the knife. Yin decided to use that advantage. Corinth swung a strong left, but Yin rolled under it, and came up right at Yin's thigh. He grabbed the knife, and turned again.

Corinth yelled out in pain again, and reached for Yin. He kicked out with his other leg, and kicked Yin in the stomach. Already weakened by the fire, Yin gasped, and was breathless. But, he still had enoguh strength to put his foot on the knife, shove with all his might, and use the momentum to roll away.

Corinth fell to the ground, and the two men were now eye to eye. Yin on his hands and knees, Corinth almost mirroring the position. Then Yin, calling upon some last remaining energy reserve, and sprang to his feet, charging as he went. He raised his right hand in the air as he ran.

"Killer rune. . . SHOW ME YOUR POWER!" he yelled.

His fist started glowing a brigh red as he drove it into Corinth's face. There was a sickening snap, and they immediately knew that Corinth's nose was broken, as was Yin's fist. Corinth staggered backward, fell to the ground, blood pouring from his nose and thigh now.

Yin fell to his knees, craddling his right hand. They were both battered and beaten, and Yin was slightly crisped. They were both bordering on the edge of human endurance, almost dead.

So they sat there, breathing heavily, watching each other. CForinth raised his right hand and smiled.

"I have spells with range, you don't" he said smiling. "Rage rune. . . SHOW ME YOUR POW. . ."

He stopped. No one knew why, but he stopped. Then they saw the glint of something metal sticking out of Corinth's hand. It pierced right through it. Then they saw it split, and it made sure that it couldn't be removed. Corinth was shocked, and then noticed that he couldn't cast his spell.

"That has the Silent Lake spell engraved on it" said Yin, smiling. "Good luck casting any spells."

Effectively, it was now a draw. They were both too badly injured to continue. It was a stand-off, to see who would give in first. By now, everyone was restless. They all knew that it was a draw. But what would it mean?

"A draw" said Lyonel.

"Yep" said Long nodding.

"We'll just have a carry-over" said Lyonel. "The winner of the next match will determine the winner of this match. Agreed?"

"Yeah" said Long.

They walked over to their respective fighters, and helped them up. Long carried Yin over to a side of a building, and looked to the other three men.

"Who'll fight next?" asked Long.

"It depends who they chose" answered Radcliffe. "If it's Ashton, then Drake will fight. If it's Chubei, then I will fight. If it's Aramus, then. . . I'm sorry, what is your name?"

"The name is Gabriel Holloway" said the man. "You guys can call me Gabe."

"Okay, Gabe" said Radcliffe. "As I was saying, if it is Aramus, then Gabe will fight. Obviously, it will be you against Lyonel. But I have a strange feeling that pride will not permit Lyonel to fight any time but last."

"Okay" said Long. "Who ever does fight, the other three will remain to help Yin. He's very hurt. We need to administer some first aid to these wounds, and quickly."

As if they had wished for it, a medicine pouch landed in front of Long. He turned to see Clemente looking right at him. Long looked at him skeptically, but took the medicine, and administered it to Yin nonetheless. The others watched this with silence, and soon, Yin opened his eyes, and gave them a weak smile.

"So, I gather that I don't look so good" said Yin with a grimace.

"No, you look quite good" said Drake. "For a fried piece of chicken."

That brought laughter, and another grimace for Yin. Then the four men in good condition nodded, turned, and walked back toward the Black Star Squad. The remaining four men met them.

"The next fight will consist of Ashton against the warrior of your chosing" said Lyonel.

Long nodded. "We chose Drake."

Ashton stepped flipped over Lyonel, and landed in a crouch in front of him. Long walked over to Drake, who looked nervous, but was ready to fight to the death, which it may lead to.

"Watch out for him" said Long. "He's quick, and could get inside your guard very fast. He's also ruthless, and won't pull any punches. You must be faster than he. And take this."

He slipped a small tablet into Drake's shirt. Drake looked at him suspiciously, but Long just cautioned: "Use it only if you must." Drake eyed him again, but then just shrugged, and turned away. He approached Ashton, and dropped into his unorthodox fighting style. He had learned quite a bit from Long and Yin in the past few days, but he was still untested. This fight would be their group's biggest gamble, as the lives of Drake and Yin rided on it.

Long looked at Drake, and said a silent prayer. His eye then caught the gaze of the new young warrior Chubei. He was quite a sight. He was very muscular for a boy his age. He couldn't be much older than seventeen. He was gazing right at Long, then his eyes narrowed.

He opened them quickly in shock, and then he whispered something to Lyonel who was beside him. Lyonel just smiled, and looked at Long. He gave him a look that said: "I know what you're trying."

Long gulped and watched the fight as it began. It was quite quick. Ashton attacked Drake with much ferocity. He threw a ten-hit combo with a mix of punches and kicks. Drake was throw to the ground, but Ashton did not give up there. He kicked Drake in the ribs several times, and then he finally gave him one more kick, and that sent Drake sliding across the ground.

Drake hit the far wall, but struggled to get to his feet. He was not giving up. But, neither was Ashton. He was slowly stalking toward Drake, like a wolf coming in for the kill. He took out a small hunting knife from his pocket, and swung it around in a few deft moves. Then he continued on his course toward Drake.

Drake got to his feet, and looked quite battered. Then he pulled the tablet out from his shirt, and threw it at the ground. A large gust of wind hit Ashton, and flung him at least twenty meters through the air. He hit a building wall, and went through it. The left-over from the wind hit Drake, and healed him completely.

He stalked toward the downed Ashton, but did so with caution. Sure enough, Ashton rose from the rubble, but bowed his head to Drake. Drake looked stunned, and waited for Ashton to explain.

"You have bested me" said Ashton. "Even if I could still, and probably would win the fight, I have some honor. You did defeat me."

Lyonel looked enraged. Ashton had just let Yin and Drake live. Drake turned around to start walking toward Long, who was smiling. Then Ashton took up the hunting knife, and charged at Drake.

"Drake look out!" yelled Long, running to get to him.

Drake dropped to one knee, and swung his elbow behind him. It connected squarely with Ashton's lower extremities. Ashton gasped, dropped the knife, and fell to the ground. He lay there for many minutes while Drake approached his companions triumphantly.

"Good job, kid" said Gabe.

"Thanks" said Drake with a nod.

"Yeah, good job Drake" said Long.

"Thanks to you, as well" said Drake. "You really saved me back there."

"No" said Long with a shake of his head. "You saved yourself."

Drake smiled at that. He then looked to Gabe. "I think that you may be next on the list for a battle. That is from my excellent deduction skills."

Their discussion was abruptly halted by Lyonel, who yelled over to them. Long and the others turned to see what he wanted. He moved to the center of the fighting area, and smiled.

"I grow bored of this" he said. "The next battle will be a three-on-three, all out brawl. Myself, Aramus, and Chubei against you, Radcliffe and the Highland dog. I do not wish to prolong this any longer with these incessant one-on-one matches."

"Okay, sure" said Long. "We'll take you on if you want it that way. But, before we start, you must swear on your honor. YOUR honor, that we will go free. I want you to swear. You are the only one that I think may have a small shred of honor in your group."

"Fine" said Lyonel. "I swear that you will go free if you win. Just remember that the other two already are free. Now it's just up to you three."

Long turned to Gabe. "Sorry about this. If you hadn't stuck your neck out for us, then you would probably be home free already."

"That's okay" said Gabe. "I'm not real pressed to get back to the war. They probably think I'm dead by now. I've been missing for two weeks. After this is done, I may stick with you guys."

Long pulled Gabe aside. "I'm sorry to tell you, but if you remain with us, then you are bound to get back into the war. We're heading for Muse after this to bolster up its defenses."

"You're fighting against Highland?" asked Gabe, suddenly depressed.

"Yes we are" answered Long. "We believe that Jowston should stay free, and not become an extension of Highland. We don't want these people to be conquered."

"AHEM!" they heard a voice from behind them.

They turned and saw Lyonel glaring at them. "May we begin yet?"

The two of them stepped up beside Radciffe. "When ever you are ready" answered Long."

Lyonel nodded, and charged. The biggest battle of their lives was about to begin.

Long ran forward and met Lyonel head-on. He threw a punch at Lyonel's head, which he dodged, and then spinned to avoid a straight kicked aimed at his chest. He completed a complete 360' spin, and threw an elbow at Lyonel's head.

This time, Lyonel ducked under it, and came up with a punch in Long's ribs. Long took it in stride, and completed his elbow. He heard a crack, and knew that he had broken one of Lyonel's bones. But, it was like it had never happened. Lyonel continued right on, punching Long in the ribs again.

Long crouched a bit, and flung himself up at Lyonel. His head connected with lyonel's chest, and they both went down. Lyonel kicked Long in the ribs, and he was flipped up and over Lyonel's head. He landed on his back, but sprang to his feet, and turned to see Lyonel do the same. They stood there breathing heavily, just looking at each other.

Radcliffe charged at Chubei. Neither of them drew their weapons right away, as they wanted to gauge the other's defences with hand-to-hand combat first.

They met head on, and Radcliffe threw a quick punch at Chubei's stomach. The young warrior blocked it, and swung a punch of his own, only with lightning quick speed, at Radcliffe's head. It connected, and it staggered the swordsman.

He backed up a bit, and then he remembered what Long had said. Chubei was a Dark Elf. He noticed with a shock that his ears were sticking out from under his hair, and that they were pointed. Chubei noticed the he saw them, and smiled.

Radcliffe decided then that he couldn't waste any time with Chubei. He started running at the young warrior, and drew his sword as he ran. He swung an uppercut with it as he ran, and Chubei whipped out his sword and blocked it with a downward slash. He then slid his blade along Radcliffe's, and came up with a elbow in Radcliffe's face.

Radcliffe backed away dazed slightly, but was ready to block Chubei's next attack. He noticed, regretfully, that although Chubei had the advantage in speed, he had the advantage in strength. The only bad part about that was that he wasn't very used to having a strength advantage. He didn't know how to use it well enough.

He was ready to block Chubei's next attack, but wasn't prepared for the sizzling follow-up that brought Chubei's blade within an inch of Radcliffe's face, before he stopped it with his own blade. So now, they were in a position that had Radcliffe's blade pinned up against his face, and Chubei's an unch away.

Radcliffe forced his young opponent's blade down and away, and struck a fast, hard blow at Chubei's back. The young warrior kept his momentum up though, and rolled with the attack.Radcliffe's attack just struck air. He righted himself, and gazed at Chubei. They stood there breathing heavily, just looking at each other.

Sensing Gabe's slight hesitation, Aramus did a backward somersault, and came to his feet. He, then, launched himself at Gabe, twirling his staff around in numerous quick circles. Gabe tried to block it, but his sword got stuck in the spins, and got thrown to the side. Aramus stopped the spinning, and dropped into a high crouch. He held the staff with one hand, and the other, he pointed toward Gabe.

"Want to see another surprise?" asked Aramus, smiling.

He pushed something with a finger on the hand still holding the staff, and two sharp knife edges stuck out from either end of the staff. They looked like they could cut from a slash or a thrust. Aramus pointed one of the ends at Gabe, and stood up straight. With his other hand he pointed at Gabe.

"For involving yourself with matters of the Temple of the Silver Moon, you are condemned to die" he said in a serious tone. "I am the judge, jury and executor of this charge."

He charged at Gabe and put his second hand on the staff as well. He thrust it forward with all his might. Gabe, then, demonstrated amazing agility for a man of his size, and flipped over Aramus, ran a bit, dove for his sword, and caught his sword. He jumped to his feet, and turned to face Aramus.

They stood there breathing heavily, just looking at each other.

They were back in line. Long was in between Gabe and Radcliffe, and Lyonel between Aramus and Chubei. They stood there breathing heavily, just looking at each other. Long let a small smile creep onto his lips. He was enjoying himself. Lyonel matched his smile.

"Now that round one is over, how about we begin round two?" asked Lyonel.

Long answered with a battle cry, and charged at Lyonel. He was so preoccupied with ttacking Lyonel, that he didn't notice the small shadow moving to his left. He, also, didn't notice that this shadow carried a sword, and was swinging it toward him. He did notice Radcliffe's yell of warning, though, and the subsequent charge that he made. He, also, noticed the sharp pain he felt in his chest. He looked down, and saw the pointy end of a sword sticking out. It was bloodied, and from the positioning of it, he knew that it had pierced his heart, or at the least one of his lungs.

He turned and saw Chubei standing there, a look of complete satisfaction on his face. That was until Radcliffe's sword pierced his own chest. They both dropped to their knees. Radcliffe pulled his sword out of Chubei's chest, and met Aramus' attack with a block and a counter. Long saw Lyonel walk up to him, and grab the sword from his back. He hefted it in a few moves, then he charged at Gabe.

Long, then, fell flat to the ground. He knocked up a flurry of dust, and made a squishing sound when he landed, as well. That must've been from the blood that had been there. He vaguely noticed that he was bleeding to death, and that he couldn't breath.

Through detached (in the figurative sense) eyes, Long saw the battle raging between the two remaining men. He couldn't really tell who was winning, because his brain had stopped really working. He noticed, with a bit of humor, that Chubei face was just inches from his own. The young warrior spit in Long's face just before his eyes closed. Long guessed that he was either unconcious or dead. Either way, Long would be following him down that path soon.

He realized, with a pang, that he would never get to appologize to Wakaba. She had been the motivation behind his starting this journey, and now he wouldn't be able to see her again. Then he realized that the Temple had beaten him. He was going to die. He hoped that Radcliffe, Yin, and Drake would be able to continue without him.

On that thought, his eyes closed. He couldn't even cry out in pain anymore, as he could feel the blood coming up his throat. When darkness overcame him, though, he had this nagging feeling that he would be back, sometime, somewhere, he would live again.

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"Long Chan-Chan" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami This chapter was posted on October 30, 2000