"So, what now, Marlin?"

Marlin was suspended in the air by the words chanted previous to these, words he neglected to learn in his younger days, and for this he cursed himself. He could think of no spell to release him from this intangible fist. Blood was released from his pores, replacing the sweat. His cloak was slipping off of him, ripped and stained from his wounds. His wand lay useless several feet away on the rocks yards below him.

"Come on, Marley. Can't you think of anything? Wouldn't it be a shame to just die so hopelessly here?"

Oh, that voice. Nothing else made him want to peel the flesh away from his very being more. So mocking and so completely content with the fact that he was about to scrag a fellow wizard.

Marlin could do nothing but gasp for breath. An invisible vice gripped his throat so tightly, and the air was so congested with smoke and ash that he could hardly breathe. His lungs yearned for clean air. The carbon dioxide filled them, making his body heavy. He searched his mind frantically for some sort of recovery or trick. It would be weaker without his wand, but there must be something.

He jerked. His muscles went into spasm. "Marley, Marley," Kimo chuckled, "This is it. Here we go." He said each word, each syllable, slowly, as if to savour them. He lifted his arms high, wand aimed at Marlin's stomach. He opened his mouth in the most wicked smile. Marlin's mouth opened into a horrid contortion. More unfamiliar chants leaked from Kimo's mouth. A sound like a gun shot erupted from his wand. It puked fuchsia ribbons, and he was hurled backwards.

Marlin's suspension was finally relieved, and his muscles relaxed. He very nearly fell into the pits of lava scores of feet down, but he panicked with such improbable luck that he landed safely on the cliff. He lay there unable to move for several moments, bloodied and bruised, panting, heart racing. After what seemed much longer than it was, he looked up. Sprawled on the rocks, Kimo was unconscious. Marlin scrambled to his feet and retrieved his wand. He corrected his cape, muttering a little charm to mend it, and then one similar for the gash in his belly and the burns covering his skin.

He heard a noise behind him and quickly turned. Kimo stirred. His arm was bent at an awkward angle. Marlin watched him for a moment, unable to decide whether or not to finish him off. He stepped closer, cautiously, stumbling over rocks, avoiding the fires. Creeping, creeping… he came upon Kimo's side, and gaped: Kimo lay in a pool of his own blood, his wand next to him, bent at the same angle as his arm. Marlin picked up the wand, but quickly dropped it as Kimo's arm rose. He started, but there was no further movement. A few moments passed, and Marlin reached again for the wand. He tapped it first, and Kimo's arm moved in time with it. Marlin lifted it, and his arm was raised again. He shook the wand, and Kimo's arm shook, too.

In realization, Marlin smirked and made circles in the air with the wand, thoroughly enjoying himself as Kimo's arm flew in impaired circles. Up and down, side to side, Marlin thrust the wand into the thick air, and then snapThe wand's tip broke, and off popped Kimo's hand. Marlin yelped in surprise. He knelt and picked it up by the index finger. Disgusted, he threw it down, and spun around on his heel, nearly slipping in the blood. He grumbled the whole way out of the volcano.