Suddenly, City-State soldiers started pouring out from thin air. Wakaba and Lyonel warded them off together. They fought in perfect unison. Their form was seamless. They battled the City-State soldiers until there were none left. But, the threat wasn't over. Numerous strange people that Long didn't recognize appeared and started attacking.

There was a young boy using tonfa. Another boy using a staff. A man in blue using a sword. A bear-like man using a sword. Two people using bows. An elf using a bow. A man in orange using a thin, ninja sword. Two wingers. Over 90 others poured out.

They were all defeated, one after another, though. Wakaba and Lyonel battled them all back. Finally, only they were left.

"You did well, my apprentice" said Lyonel."We have defeated Jowston's heroes."

"Thank you, master" said Wakaba. "Ever since I joined you, and left whatever-his-name-was I've become even more powerful. He was weak. You are strong."

"NO!" yelled Long.

He advanced to them at a full-out run. He reached them, and attempted to punch Lyonel, but his hand passed right through him. Long tried to punch him again, but his hand passed through, again.

"No no, Long" said Lyonel, waving his index finger side-to-side. "I control this. If I don't want something to happen, it won't."

Lyonel reached his fist back, and punched with all of his might. The punch connected with Long's chest, and he went flying twenty feet away. Long landed hard, and stayed down for a minute or so.

"Who was that weakling?" asked Wakaba.

"A worthless nobody" said Lyonel. "Who won't be able to protect you forever."

Long got up slowly, and wrapped his hand over his ribs. He stumbled toward the other two.

"Let's go, master" said Wakaba. "I don't want to see this despicable scum any more."

Wakaba walked off of the field, and disappeared. Lyonel on the other hand walked over to Long. The field disappeared, and suddenly Long's pain was gone.

"How can you be doing this to me?" asked Long.

"I told you already" said Lyonel. "You, by yourself would never be able to connect in the "gray". But since you had such a strong connection with Jeju, who was a master, I can connect you to the "gray". But, since you are not powerful enough, I can control what you see here, as well. Only thing is, I can only do it when you are sleeping."

"Well, okay" said Long. "Do you have fun tormenting me with these dreams?"

"Yes, very" said Lyonel. "I almost enjoy it as much as I enjoy fighting you. Which I haven't done in a while. But you've been doing enough fighting with others to make up for it."

Long nodded. He liked fighting Lyonel, as well, because he could use his maximum potential against him, and not worry about weapons, or such, getting in the way. He admitted that he had been doing a lot of fighting with others to make up for Lyonel's absence, but it just wasn't the same.

"But, I must be leaving now" said Lyonel. "I have a very important meeting with Master Sai about the City-States' future. What do you think we should do about it? Should we destroy it completely or should we let the Highland dogs take it for themselves?"

Long's only response was spitting at Lyonel. It hit him right in the face. But, as soon as it hit Lyonel's face, it disappeared.

"Remember" said Lyonel. "I control this."

With that, he disappeared.

Long awoke in a hospital bed. He sat up in a flash, and immediately regretted it. He felt like he had been ran over by a herd of elephants. He looked around the room, and saw a doctor sitting in the corner. The doctor saw him get up, and walked over to Long.

"Try not to move" she said. "You were badly wounded. You had been hurt, and the wound was poisoned. You barely survived."

"How long have I been out, Dr. . . ." said Long.

"Killow" said the doctor. "Dr. Laui Killow. And you've been in a coma for a week now. You seem to be okay now, though."

"What happened to my companion?" asked Long.

"Ah, yes" said Lauren. "The tall, blond haired one? He left a few days ago. He said he couldn't wait any longer. He left you a note. Would you like to read it?"

Long nodded, and she went to fetch the note. When she returned, she handed him the note. He turned away from her, and looked at the note.

Long,

I found something out about the Temple here. The temples in the City-States each have their own use. Muse is the central temple, Forest Village is used to sabotage, and kidnap children, Tinto is their main attack base with over 100+ soldiers, and Rockaxe is the information gathering temple. You'd never know who is a disciple, there. They are merchants, knights, traders, noblemen, and regular people. It's almost impossible to tell who is one. So I decided to leave. I would have waited for you, but you were out for too long. I have a theory about the Forest Village temple. Fram sent us to Rockaxe through the Forest Path. We faced numerous dangers, and could have died. We get here, and find out it was just a wild goose chase. That leave's Forest Village open as a perfect target. I'm going to go back there to investigate, and confront Fram. Who knows? Something might be up. I think you should go to Muse. You should scope out the temple there. Then go to F.V., we can meet up there. You might find Wakaba there, too. Try to stay alive, Long. We can win this.

Goodbye,
Radcliffe.

Long put the note down, and looked at the doctor.

"When can I leave?" asked Long.

"In a few hours" answered Lauren. "Your body still needs to heal. With a few hours more of rest, it'll be fine."

Long nodded, and lay back down. Dr. Hurdon walked over to her desk, and sat down. Long turned to face the other direction, and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Long walked passed the border guards, and nodded as he passed. He had been walking for quite a bit now. After about four hours of R&R, he had woke up, and packed up his things. Then he had left the city after stocking up on items. He left the border between the two States behind. He had lots of time to catch up on, due to his resting.

He was a bit lonely, due to his lack of companionship. Now, he would be screwed if a group of swordsmen attacked him, but it made no difference. He could, and would take care of himself.

He walked on for a bit, then he saw Muse off in the distance. He kept on walking. Upon closer inspection, though, he saw that it wasn't Muse, and that it was the smoldering remains of a building.

He ran over to the building, and saw that it had yellow tape around it that said "Caution! Federal Investigation by Muse Officials! Do Not Enter! Trespassers will be arrested!". Long ignored this, though, and entered under the tape. He walked through the ruins, until he came to a opening. He looked on the ground, and saw an insignia. It was that of a ying-yang, with a sword emblem on it. It was the Silver Moon insignia!

"Damn!" yelled Long. "This was the Muse temple! My god! Genshu must have already been here."

Long searched through the ruins, and didn't find much else. But as he was leaving, he saw a man at the entrance. The man was easily Long's height, if not taller, and he was built heavily. Long approached the man.

"Long Chan-Chan if I am not mistaken" said the unknown man.

"Yes" answered Long. "Who might you be?"

"I am your death" said the man. "My name is Corinth. I am a member of the Temple of the Silver Moon sent to kill you. Falcon may have failed, but I won't. Get ready, LONG!"

The man threw off his cloak, and revealed his lean, muscular body. He launched himself forward at Long. He attacked ferociously. Not quickly paced, like Falcon, but powerfully. He relied more on brute strength, then on speed. Long, on the other hand, decided to use his quickness as an advantage. Corinth would go for a huge swing, but Long would duck under, and attack Corinth in the stomach. They fell into that pattern, with Corinth striking a few glancing blows. Soon, Long felt that he was gaining the upper hand. But, suddenly, Corinth flipped backward.

"Fury rune. . . SHOW ME YOUR POWER!" yelled Corinth.

Then Corinth started glowing red. He charged at Long, and attacked with twice the power than before. He attacked, and attacked, and attacked. He was backing Long against a wall. Corinth reached back for another punch, but Long moved out of the way at the last second, and the punch crumbled the wall. It fell on top of Corinth.

Long rolled away, and came up in his fighting stance. He waited for a bit, then he walked over to the wall. Muffled under the wall, he heard the words:

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

Then the wall exploded, and fragments shot out into every direction. One of them clipped Long on the leg, and another, on his formerly injured arm. The shot aggravated the injury, and he cried out in pain. Then Corinth shot out, straight up into the air, and landed in front of Long. He punched out once, and it hit Long right on the jaw. He flew back about ten feet.

Long landed hard. He got up slowly. His arm was killing him, and his leg was starting to hurt as well. Corinth advanced on Long slowly. Long reached into his pocket, and took one of the pain-killers he had purchased in Rockaxe. He felt immediate relief. Corinth, then, sped up, and charged at Long.

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

Corinth jumped at Long. The rune powered up Long's fist, and he drove into Corinth's face. Long heard something snap, and knew that he had broken Corinth's nose. Corinth's forward motion ceased, and he fell to his feet. His nose was swollen, and bleeding.

"Star Lightning Kick!" yelled Long.

His foot lashed out at Corinth, but it just grazed the big man. He had rolled at the right moment to avoid it. The lightning still surged through him, but it wasn't very strong. Corinth was dazed by it, though. He got up, and stumbled backwards.

"Maybe Falcon and Lyonel were right" said Corinth. "You are strong. You may have surprised me this time, but it won't happen again."

With that he left at a full-out run. Long watched him run away, then he walked out of the ruins. . . Right into the tip of a sword. It stopped right at his throat. Long looked up at its bearer. It was a young City-State soldier, bearing a Muse insignia on his uniform. He had a bandana on his head. He was holding the sword straight and firm.

"You are under arrest" said the soldier. "By Muse law, for trespassing, you are under arrest."

"And who might you be?" asked Long.

"I am a loyal Muse soldier" said the soldier. "I am part of its special police force. My name is Willem. Now come along, or we will be forced to get violent."

When the soldier said "we", six other men in Muse uniforms stepped out from behind walls. Long raised his hands in acknowledgement of the threat, and Willem put his sword back into its scabbard. He then motioned for Long to start walking.

"So what were you guys doing out here?" asked Long.

"We had been told of a disturbance" said Willem. "So we rushed out here right away to check it out, and low and behold, we see a fire works display, and we find you."

Long smiled. The fireworks display had been Corinth's usage of his Rage rune. But they hadn't seen Corinth. That meant he must have high-tailed it just before they showed up.

"So," continued Corinth. "We get to bring you up on charges of trespassing, and disturbing the peace. You will face a year or two in jail for this. And luckily, we have a cell that is free."

"Oh, yay" said Long.

They walked on in silence for the rest of the trip.

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"Long Chan-Chan" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami This chapter was posted on June 12, 2000