Na'eem stepped back. He didn't feel frightened but there was no denying that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing.

  His vision faded in and out; he felt light-headed. He bit down on his lip till it bled, then stood back up without the help of Yuxi. She looked nervously at him.

  'It's okay, I've got this,' he whispered, 'You should get out of here.'

  'No.' Her voice was suddenly firm, 'I'm not leaving without you.'

  Na'eem frowned, his eyes were firmly locked onto Isaak's. Waiting for a hint of movement, searching for an opening. A weakness of some kind. But that was hard when he'd spent half his life being terrorised by this man.

  'Red Eagle?' Yuxi breathed, 'Remember?'

  How could he forget, it'd been one of the most exciting events of his life. That was the way he remembered it, at least. He grabbed Yuxi's shoulder, a thin drip of flame running down her arm. She winced but he kept the burn low. What mattered was the presentation over the effect. That's what had won them their first ever battle together.

  Isaak didn't wait any longer, he sprinted towards Na'eem.

  He was fast; almost a blur if Na'eem didn't stay concentrated. Yuxi began to float up, her wings spread out to their full length. The cramped space of the room left little room to manuevere but he trusted that she'd be able to make the most of it.

  The flames pooled, her wings were alight. It was quite a beautiful sight if they weren't fighting for their lives.

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  Their former platoon commander knew how they worked alone, he'd trained them both personally. But he'd never seen them work together. And they made a pretty good team, at least Na'eem would say so.

  Still, they weren't quick enough.

  Knives flew in the air like sparrows. They bit into Na'eem's legs as Yuxi weaved out of the way. He ignored the pain and let the fires continue to spread. He couldn't force Isaak to catch fire. Isaak moved too fast to keep the flame going for longer then a split second.

  'Drop!' Na'eem yelled and Yuxi obliged, he fell to the center of the room. But falling was a strong word, he floated in the air for a short while. Isaak floated too, unable to move properly.

  Three more knives whisked through the air, Na'eem braced for their impact.

  They never hit him; Yuxi had taken the fall.

  She fell, feathers and all, to the ground in a burning heap. Na'eem stifled the flames, they died quickly as he drew the oxygen elsewhere.

  Gravity began to shift. He could see it, the building was no longer crumbling.

  Na'eem tightened his grip on Yuxi, he pulled her to the side. Her feathers were stained a dark shade of red, he'd never seen them like that before.

  Isaak began to run along the walls, Na'eem had no choice but to react fast.

  Yuxi behind him, he slammed his fists into the floor and watched as the fire floated up.

  'You still haven't even hit me,' Isaak yelled, 'I'm starting to think I was a bad teacher.'

  'The point wasn't to hit you!'

  Na'eem grabbed onto Yuxi and covered her as the room became a furnace. The ceiling broke open, pipes burst and wires shot sparks. Some hit him, some missed him. But he never once broke eye contact with Isaak. Isaak broke up into blisters first; Na'eem made sure it hurt as they both burned.

  He pushed off Yuxi and made a grab for Isaak.

  Isaak drew his sword out, slicing madly through the air. Na'eem felt something cut, something bleed and something gone. But he let the flame consume them both as they flew up into the sky.

  Large chunks of earth began to crack against the ground, joining the three of them in the sky.

  'What did you have me destroy!?' Na'eem yelled as Isaak's face began to melt.

  'Hah' he laughed.

  Isaak never finished his sentence; the two of them burnt up in the sky.

  The sky turned black, and Na'eem closed his eyes.

  And that's the way the world ends.

  FINISHED.