Demi and I did our best to sneak around to the cliff without being seen. It wasn't too hard since the fighting was taking place far enough away from the cliff that it wasn't a focal point anymore. The battle had slowly pushed itself further down the beach, making it easy for us to avoid the fight entirely. Every minute or so, another life was taken and the feeling that the game would be reaching it's ending soon became much more intense. We approached the side of the cliff opposite the battle, being as cautious as possible and keeping an eye on Fire King in case he noticed us. When we made it to the rock face, we started to climb.

I fell almost immediately while trying to climb up the precipice. The rock I was holding on to gave way as I was reaching for another. If I hadn't been less than a foot off the ground, I would have shouted out and given away our position. Luckily, the ground was close by and I was just startled, instead of screaming. Demi was several feet above me and I began again hurrying to catch up.

When we were more than halfway up the cliff, I heard Zack shouting. "More of them! Going up the cliff!" He was letting Fire King know where we were.

Fire King turned towards the cliff and saw Demi scaling it. A cone of fire shot out from his hands and struck her while she was reaching for the next rock to grab. I felt the heat of the blast and forced myself to remain calm and keep climbing despite the rumble all around me. One more step! One more step! Finally, I reached the top and took the real Demi's hand as she helped me up. We had sent Demi's double to climb on the side of the cliff so she would be easy for Fire King to spot. She would get burned, but we would make it to the top. It had worked and now that Fire King's attention was on the cliff, we could get him to come up here. My plan was going well, but I felt another life dying away and worried that we might be too late to save anyone.

We didn't take time to rest. While Fire King's attention was on the cliff, we needed to let him know we were there. I stepped near the edge, trying not to freak out as I looked down. It didn't work. The ground seemed so far away and I noticed that, aside from Zack and Fire King, there was no one left on the beach. We failed to save anyone but the main thing going through my head was how high up I was. My legs wobbled and my heart raced. Why did I keep making plans that involved heights?

"I got you," Demi said, sensing my fear.

Gingerly, I waved my hands and shouted, "Can't get us from up here!" My voice was squeakier than I would have liked, but I kept going, "How bout you show us how tough you really are, you fire...ah, flame...umm....shoot, what was it?" I couldn't seem to remember any of the insults we had come up with while we were watching his army from the hill weeks ago.

Just as another cone of fire erupted towards us, Demi grabbed me and pulled me back. The flames were hot, but they couldn't reach us if we backed away from the cliff's edge. I realized then that I didn't have a plan for Zack. Would he be alright? Or would he climb up with Fire King, pretending to be on his side?

I crawled back towards the edge and held my breath. Fire King was walking towards the cliff. Good. We needed him up here for the plan to work, but what was Zack doing? His sword was out and he was rushing towards the man on fire.

Zack swung his blade, cutting through the man-shaped fire with his sword. The flames simply allowed the blade to pass through and no damage was done. Zack dodged out of the way just in time to avoid a cone of fire. Then, using the flat of his blade, he attacked again. When the wide body of his sword passed through the flames, it caught something and he managed to knock Fire King backward several paces. The damage was minimal since he was just using the flat of the blade, but he had connected which meant that the fire user wasn't invincible; we just needed to find where in the flames he could be hit. "Found you!" Zack shouted.

Someone appeared from the water, near the cliff and headed for the fight between Zack and Fire King. He was soaking wet and it was hard to tell who it was. All I saw was a head of dark hair and a blue shirt. Then his weapon appeared and I realized that it was Saris. It looked like he was having trouble walking, but he had survived.

I couldn't tell what all was being said, but it was clear to me that the duo wasn't having much luck against Fire King. Zack had found where to hit him once, but he seemed to be having trouble doing it again; even with Saris' help. Together, they dodged around the blasts of fire quickly and maneuvered around him, striking as often as they could manage. Unfortunately, it didn't look like it was having any effect on Fire King, other than irritating him.

Zack shouted Saris' name and pointed to where we were. Then they changed course and got close to the wall of the cliff. With his back to the rock wall, Zack angled his sword so that the flat of his blade was facing upward and Saris leaped into the air, landing on the large weapon. At the same time, Zack pushed up and Saris jumped, just as fire erupted towards them, covering the bottom of the cliff in flames. The feeling of finality became even more urgent. Zack was gone, but Saris had managed to get high enough to avoid the fire.

Saris took out his sword. I saw a familiar orange glow around the blade and realized that he must have taken Zack's power before he died. He shoved the weapon inside the cliff and climbed on top of his sword, then leaped into the air resummoning the blade to repeat his process. Fire King attacked from below, but Saris shifted his position enough to miss the attacks, if only barely and I could see the heat steam off of his right arm and shoulder. Finally, he was at the top of the cliff and Demi and I rushed to grab him and pull him to safety, just as another cone of fire erupted from below. We had pulled him up just in time.

"You took your time," Saris panted, catching his breath.

"You're one to talk," I countered. "What happened?'

"Xander! The plan!" Demi reminded me.

"Right," I went to the edge of the cliff that faced the water, inspecting the area.

"Well, we got attacked," Saris said, answering my previous question. "I had to dodge the fire and dive in the water or get burned alive. Eventually, I had to come up with another plan, so I swam a ways out to look for an opportunity to strike. That's when I saw you two climb up the cliff."

"Sorry, the army didn't pan out. Hopefully, our plan will work." Pointing to a spot on the ground, I asked Demi, "Here?"

"Looks good enough to me. Hurry!"

Pressing my sword into the ground, I used my power to extend the weapon's length. I hadn't tested it before, but I had a hypothesis about how my power worked. I was right. If I hadn't been, I don't know what we would've done. Lucky for us, we could stick with the original plan to get Fire King in the water. My sword went straight through the ground. I felt no resistance while my power was being activated, which meant that the full length of the blade was in the cliff and had successfully cut through a small portion of the precipice. Then, I took a step to my right and repeated the action.

"Oh, I see," Saris said. "You're planning on dropping him off the cliff to kill him."

"Well....If that works, yes. But the main plan was to just get him in the water."

"Good plan. There are sharp rocks down below. If you drop him, he should die, but it's good that you have a backup plan in case he misses them. You think the sword will be long enough to drop the cliff?"

"I dunno. It's a bigger cliff than I thought it was. Hopefully."

"Guys!" Demi said. "He's almost here!"

"What's your plan to get him in position?" Saris asked.

"Uhh..." I fumbled.

"You don't have one?"

"I'm doing the best I can!"

A fiery hand came up from the cliff and Demi split in two, her double striking at the hand. Flames erupted. Demi's copy didn't have time to back away, the fire was so massive that it covered her completely and she was gone. I heard the real Demi curse as Fire King rose to the top of the cliff, took aim and blasted fire at Demi with both hands. She dodged the first attack, but the second was on top of her before Saris or I could save her. The feeling came over me once again and I instinctively knew that we were the last three in the game.

I hated that I had to watch Demi die this close to the end of the game again. It didn't seem fair. None of this was. It was incredible that everyone remaining in the game joined in this fight against Fire King, but it was terrifying to know that he had killed almost all of them single-handedly. Even Fire King's army was gone and I wondered if they regretted following him. It occurred to me that maybe Fire King was the kind of person who fit into the game more so than anyone else. He didn't play by our rules, he followed the traveller's rules; play to win. It made him seem ruthless or evil to us, but in the eyes of the game, maybe it just made him a good player. But I think that's why he needs to lose. This game isn't just about winning or losing. It's about maintaining your humanity. Because if you lose that, why go home at all?

My weapons were out and I saw Saris' sword from the corner of my eye. He was ready too. Fire King stood on top of the cliff and laughed. He knew that we were the last two enemies he had to face in this game. Without a word, he stuck out his flaming hand and a pillar of fire shot out, coming towards us. I wasn't as agile or quick as Saris. I wasn't going to be able to dodge. He was too close and the blast of fire was coming too quickly. The only thing I could do was put my shield up and use my ability to extend its range.

Heat washed over me, but it wasn't unbearable. It was like standing too close to a fire or crouching down by an open oven. My shield remained cool and I remained undamaged by the flames. The fire did push me back slightly and I had to push against it to keep myself from falling backward, but it was manageable. I could hardly believe it but then I remembered the same thing happening earlier this cycle with another fire user. Maybe we did stand a chance.

When the fire died out, Fire King stood and paused at my existence. Saris seemed surprised too and jumped behind my shield as another cone of fire shot from Fire King at him. "Your shield!" Saris spluttered.

"Yeah. Pretty awesome, huh? There's just one problem. We still need to get him to move."

Saris looked around and breathed out quickly, "Leave that to me. Just keep the shield up in case I need somewhere to fall back to."

I nodded, trying to prepare myself for whatever was going to happen next. Fire King sent forth more flames to cover us, but my shield remained steady, protecting us from the worst of the heat and keeping us alive. I heard Saris rip part of his shirt and looked back, seeing him cover a blistered leg. The damp cloth seemed to give him little comfort, but he relaxed and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly. When the fire died out, Saris opened his eyes and dashed out from the protection of my shield.