"Hello, Long" he said while smiling. "She's a powerful girl, isn't she? She probably couldn't defeat all these men, but I needed to show you this to prove my point. She's strong, but not strong enough."

Then Lyonel charged at Wakaba. When he reached her, he laughed loudly, and punched right through her. His hand came out the other side, and was bloody. He pulled it out, and Wakaba fell to the ground.

"I have the power to do this to you, Long. Because of your connection with Jeju, we are on the same mental wavelength. I know all about Wakaba, and I'll kill her if you don't get to her. And if you do, I'll kill Kam. So have fun, Long."

Long Chan-Chan woke up in a pool of sweat. He was lying in a bed in Muse. He was there after his escape from the Temple of the Silver Moon people. Originally they had planned to go scope out their temple near there right away, but they decided to go rest at Muse, first. In the bed across from him was Jarreth Youngsfried, who was propped up on his elbow looking at Long quizzically.

"What's wrong?" he asked Long.

"I had a nightmare" said Long, feeling a bit childish. "But it was more than a nightmare. It was a premonition. It was Lyonel. He said we had a connection, thanks to Jeju. He said he was going to kill Wakaba. Or, if I went to save her, he'd kill Kam. I'm torn."

Jarreth nodded and thought for a bit. Finally, he sighed.

"I guess this is goodbye" said Jarreth. "I'll protect Kam. I know him, kinda'. You go help Wakaba. She needs you."

Long stared into the distance. Then he nodded. He could see the logic in Jarreth's strategy. He would go to Forest Village, while Jarreth went to South Window.

"You do realize that's what Lyonel wants" said Long. "To divide and conquer. And, I don't believe you're ready to face him. So get help from Kam, and be careful. Otherwise, you'll end up dead. I'm sorry we couldn't train together for longer, but. . . If, Lyonel does come after you, run. Don't sacrifice yourself. Get Kam out of there, and run like mad. Your best bet is to go to Toran if that happens. Live. You are the last of the Youngsfried's, so you can't die. And, someday, we'll finish the training we didn't have time to start."

Jarreth nodded, and got up. He put on his cloak, and walked to the stairs. He threw Long a wave, and left. Long sighed, and fell back on his bed.

"Here to Greenhill. Greenhill to Forest Village" said Long, mapping out his trip to Forest Village.

Long got up, and got him things from the desk. He had just enough money to make it to Greenhill. He could tough it out to Forest Village from there, though. He walked to the stairs, and left the room. He exited the inn, and headed for the city entrance. He walked to the outside of the village, and looked in. He saw the city in all its splendour, and realized that he despised this city. It stood for all the wrong things. Humans needed to live in harmony with nature, not destroy it. That's why he liked Forest Village so much. He shook his head, turned around, and started west toward Greenhill.

Jarreth walked into South Window, and quickly looked for Kam's house. He had been travelling for a week now, never resting until he got here. He had amazing stamina, and that's what had brought him here so quickly. He finally found the house of Kam, and walked in.

"Hey, who are you?" asked Kam from his desk. "I don't like having people barging in without knocking first."

"I'm a friend of Long's and you are in danger" said Jarreth.

"Oh, poppycock" said Kam. "No one would want to hurt me."

"Not hurt, kill" said Jarreth. "It's some people from the Temple of the Silver Moon. They have a grudge against Long, and since he's your friend. . ."

Kam turned white. He just sat there gazing ahead at the wall. Finally he nodded. He got up, and packed several things into a bag, then walked up to Jarreth.

"Well, let's go, sonny" said Kam.

Jarreth nodded and walked out the door. He almost walked right into a man wearing silver robes. The man thrust a dagger into Jarreth's stomach, and threw back his hood. It was Kynn Chee, a member of the Black Star Squad. He smiled, but before he could do anything else, Jarreth punched him in the temple, and Kynn went down without another sound (well, except for the satisfying thud he made when he hit the ground). Jarreth sagged down beside him.

"You're hurt!" said Kam.

Kam pulled out a spray bottle from his bag, and sprayed Jarreth wound with it. The bleeding stopped, but Jarreth didn't feel any better.

"Pois. . s. . son" murmured Jarreth.

Kam nodded, and sprayed another bottle onto the wound. Jarreth instantly felt relief. But it didn't last, because another man in silver robes appeared, and slit Kam's throat. He then threw the dagger at Jarreth, and it connected with Jarreth's chest. The man nodded, said something about Long being next, and picked up his fallen comrade. He then marched off toward the city exit. Jarreth was left lying in a pile of his and Kam's blood. It was still dark out, so nobody had seen them yet. Jarreth tried to crawl over to house, but couldn't make it. So he decided to tough it out until daylight.

He started crying due to the fact that he failed Long, and that he'd be the last person ever to carry the name Youngsfried. He yelled at the world in general, and by some stroke of luck, someone heard him. They rushed him to a doctor. The whole time, all he could say was:"Warn Long" over and over. He blacked out when they reached the doctor.

He survived, yet barely so. He was told that because the wound was so grave, he'd never be able to walk again. The poison had reached his nervous system, and had cut off the flow of information to his legs. He suddenly wished he had never survived, but also he hoped that Long would be alright. He cursed himself for his weaknesses and then damned the world to hell. The doctor then put him to sleep with a shot to calm him down.

"Damn you all to hell" said Jarreth before he blacked out. "Just let me die in pea. . ."

Long Chan-Chan walked into Greenhill city, and sighed. He had been walking for a week now, and he was worried about Jarreth. He didn't know what had happened to his former apprentice-for-a-week. He didn't know if Jarreth could take on the Black Star Squad. But, he couldn't about that. He had to move forward, to Wakaba. He had very little money left, and he decided to spend it at an inn. He needed to rest. He walked over to the inn, and asked the innkeeper for a room.

"Sorry, stranger" said the innkeeper. "No rooms left. No vacancies. All booked up. You should have known not to come when the Temple of the Silver Moon was in town."

"What!?" yelled Long. "There here!?"

"Yep" said the innkeeper while nodding. "That Lyonel character was asking about a fellow with a ponytail like yours. And that he was built, like you. And that he talked kinda' like you. . . Have you seen someone like that?"

"No" said Long, hurriedly.

He walked out of the inn, and around a corner, down an alley. He sat and thought. Lyonel was here, and so were the Silver Moon troops. That meant the Black Star Squad was here, and he didn't know if he could take on all six. He wasn't even sure if he could handle Lyonel. Last time they fought, Long had his Killer rune juiced up, so it wasn't a fair fight. Long got up, and walked out of the alley. He walked inconspicuously, and decided to head for Forest Village right away.

"Stop right there, Mr. Chan!" yelled a voice from behind him.

Long turned and saw three of the Black Star Squad looking at him. He recognized them. The one on the right was Kyp Lohan, the one in the middle Pory Harfle, and the one on the left was Tyg Kingsley, Lyonel's brother.

"Don't think you're getting away" said Tyg. "I'm getting bored of always fighting monsters. I want a real challenge. So get ready."

"You won't get way" said Kyp.

"Die, you bastard!" said Pory.

They all charged at Long at the same time. They all started punching and kicking at him, but nothing got through Long's defences. All he could do was defend, though. Finally, Long saw his chance, and lashed out at Pory. He connected solidly with Pory's nose, and he heard a snap. One down. Pory fell, but the other two just started fighting even harder. Then Long kicked at Tyg's legs, and he fell to the ground. He then, quickly, shifted his focus to Kyp, and lashed out with a punch-kick-kick-kick-punch combo. Two down. Kyp fell clutching his arm, which was probably broken. Then Tyg got up, and he and Long circled each other.

"You can't beat me, child" said Long.

"Don't ever call me a child!" yelled Tyg.

He charged at Long, and Long saw his opportunity.

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

Then with all his energy from the rune, he lashed out with one punch that connected with Tyg's chest, and it caved in. Tyg was too weak, and didn't have hard enough bones to stop it, so he ended up with Long's hand indented in his chest. Tyg slumped to the ground facing upward. Long looked down at him. With his last ounce of strength Tyg looked up at Long.

"Die, bastard" said Tyg weakly, he spit up into Long's face, then he died.

Long walked away toward the city entrance, and was about to leave, until he heard a large yell from behind him. He turned and saw Lyonel huddled over his younger brother. Lyonel got up and glared at Long.

"He was young, and didn't have to die" said Long. "But he would have killed me, had I not defended myself. I'll let you grieve in peace."

Long started to walk away, but he heard Lyonel howl form behind him. Long turned , and saw Lyonel charge. Long barely had time to defend himself, because Lyonel charged full boar right into him. They went down, and Lyonel went into a fury. There was a flurry of punches directed at Long, and he was barely blocking them. Finally, Long got Lyonel off of him, and they both got up and faced each other.

"He was my brother" said Lyonel. "Have you ever lost a loved one? One that you cared for?"

"Yes" said Long, and the quickness and truthfulness of the reply surprised them both.

"Tell me" said Lyonel. "Or I'll rip it out of your mind."

"Fat chance" said Long. "I'll direct your attention to my encounter with Jeju. He tried to rip something from my mind, and he got killed."

Lyonel nodded in comprehension. Then he grinned.

"Then I'll just kill you" he said.

Lyonel charged at Long. This time Long met him head on. A large group of people had surrounded the two fighters, and this made Long nervous. He didn't want any innocent bystanders to get hurt. The two of them battled back and forth for a while, then Lyonel got through Long's defences. He kicked at Long's gut. and it connected. Long doubled over, and Lyonel quickly changed his foot's direction, and caught Long on the jaw. He went down, and Lyonel stood over him triumphantly.

"I could kill you" said Lyonel. "But I want to make you suffer. I'll leave you with the knowledge that you weren't good enough to save Wakaba. She's helping that dishonourable wart, Genshu. She's left Forest Village, but the Temple will get her. The situation has changed, and I may no longer kill her. She'll just join us instead."

Lyonel started to walk away. Long got up slowly. He was clutching his chest.

"Bastard" said Long, and Lyonel stopped. "Come and fight me like a man. Don't be a pussy."

Lyonel shook his head, and started to walk back. Then, suddenly, Long shot off at Lyonel. He was only playing possum, clutching his ribs. He caught Lyonel by surprise. He kicked him in the chest a few times, then he punched him a few times. Then Lyonel finally registered what was happening to him, and he started blocking Long's attacks.

But the damage was already done, and Lyonel was now injured. He was barely blocking Long's attacks. That's when he backed off.

"You could have joined us" said Lyonel. "You are strong, and we need strong men. The war between Jowston and Highland will fuel the flames of chaos, and in this we will strive for greatness. Master Sai will take us there. People like Genshu and his bunch may slow us down, but he will never be victorious. You shouldn't even be involved. But, thanks to your stupidity, you'll never get out of this conflict. Even if you defeat me, others will come. Master Sai is curious about you. He wants Wakaba to join him, as well. Forcefully or not. Sage will defeat Genshu, and if he doesn't, oh well, he was weak anyway. But, you'll not survive. It's now a blood conflict between the Temple and you."

Long thought about Lyonel's words. He did not want to get involved in their war, but from the way it sounded, he didn't have a choice. Long had a big sense of honour, and these people sounded worse than Long had originally thought. He went back into his fighting position to continue the battle, but Lyonel backed off again, and started walking away. He motioned to the other two men who were still down, and they got up, weakly, and walked through the crowd, and away from Long.

"You may have won this round by cheating" said Lyonel. "And you may have killed one of the Black Star Squad members, and wounded two others, but I'll get you. Kam's already dead, and Jarreth is wounded, so I'll leave you with that knowledge. Go ahead and save Wakaba, the others are done."

He ran off leaving Long alone in the middle of the crowd. Long thought about what Lyonel said, then he fell to his knees and clutched his forehead. The fight had taken a lot out of him. When he was down there, though, he began to sob. He lost a friend, and almost lost another. At least Wakaba was okay, but it was still sad. After a few long minutes of crying in front of the crowd, he got up, and started toward the city entrance. He wanted to get this over with by finding Wakaba quickly. Then he would go back to South Window to apologise to Jarreth. The young Twin Dragon deserved better than what he got.

Long left that city, and noticed that wherever he had gone lately, something bad happened. He hoped he would get a warmer welcome in Forest Village. He walked out of the city and down the path to Forest Village.

Return to Long Chan-Chan's chapters Return to the chapter archive Return to the Suikoden 2 RPG main page
"Long Chan-Chan" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami This chapter was posted on May 19, 2000