This chapter is either good or bad or just plain mean. SEND IN THE DEATH THREATS!

They weren't certain how long they sat in the cavern for. The giant didn't reform, Elsie having kicked his ashes into the Greek fire as best she could. Max hadn't moved and they suspected he had fallen asleep or the likes. Alokia was sat where Elsie had left her, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was staring at Alvie, tears streaming down her cheeks and sniffling every now and then.

As much as it pained Elsie, they had to keep moving. They would have to leave Alvie here. She opened her mouth to tell them, but she didn't speak, visualising what that would do, suggesting to her cousin and sister that they should leave. She doubted they would find this cavern again to retrieve Alvie and the rate this quest was going, would they even come back at all?

Instead, she moved forward and knelt next to Max, placing her hand on his shoulder. She gave him a gentle shake. The air around him changed- guarded, yet clear that she had his attention.

"Max-" She started, but was cut off by the fire suddenly going out. The cavern was plunged into darkness and Alokia gave a stifled scream. Elsie slung her pack from her shoulder and blindly rummaged through it, retrieving her flashlight. "You guys, OK?"

"Y-yeah…" Alokia stammered, squinting in the sudden brightness of the torch. She glanced at Max, who had sat up. He looked exhausted, defeated, his eyes bloodshot and guilty. He was staring down at his brother and Elsie could see that all the hope he had for this quest was gone.

She looked at Alvie herself, his features softened by the glow of the flashlight. He looked so peaceful and she could just imagine that he was sleeping. It would have worked had it not been for the fact that he wasn't breathing.

Alokia pulled her sleeves over her hands and wiped at her eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know…" Elsie admitted. She glanced at Max, but he wasn't paying attention. His eyes were closed and he was swaying slightly. "Any ideas what made the fire go out?" She asked, directing the question mainly at him, but Alokia shook her head in response. Max didn't react.

Elsie sighed and got to her feet, casting the flashlight around the cavern. She couldn't see anything- no looming shadows or glint of weapons.

"Do… do we… have to Iris Message the others?" Alokia asked carefully, looking up at Elsie with tearful eyes.

"We're going to have to at the first chance we get. We can't leave him here." Alokia looked back at Alvie. For a split second, her expression remained depressed, but then it was terrified and she screamed.

Max opened his eyes and stared blankly at her. Elsie directed the flashlight at Alvie and they saw that he was blue. He hadn't been blue earlier, but judging by the little breaths he gave every second, he couldn't breathe.

He had been without oxygen for gods knew how long and he was now suffocating.

Max acted first, sitting his brother up and hitting him on the back in case he was choking.

Alvie choked and shuddered, coughing up blood. He opened his eyes as he filled his lungs and they all saw that they were scarlet, bloody tears trekking down his cheeks. Max held him tightly, laughing in relief. Yeah, Alvie may be coughing and crying blood, but by the gods he was alive.

It took nearly half an hour for Alvie to calm down and for the blood flow to stop. Max was still holding him, talking to him reassuringly. His relief at his brother's well-being was beyond obvious, radiating from him in warm, rolling waves. He set about cleaning Alvie up as quickly and as gently as possible with water from his canteen and a strip of cloth he found in his pack.

"How are you feeling?" Max asked softly, his arm around Alvie's shoulders.

"Ugh… wh- what happened?" They carefully explained together. Alvie didn't grasp the fact that he had been dead for a long while, but his confusion seemed to link to something else as well.

"What's the matter?" Max's concern was back and he held his brother's face in his hands, trying to find any fault he had missed.

"I…" Alvie looked at his hands. They were bloody and shaking. "I… I was…" He faltered, looking away from his brother and around the cavern. He had gone on another 'float' after some icy force kicked him from his own body. He saw his brother attack a column of ashes, but then he was floating out of the cavern, through the Greek fire and into a tunnel hidden in the darkness and away from their sight. He had no idea where he was going but it all felt right.

About fifty metres along, he reached a three-way fork. He headed down the left path, sensing threatening traps and dead ends in the other two.

The air in this tunnel was thick and distorted. There were no traps, dead ends or turn-offs, Alvie was sure of it, but the air unnerved him. Something told him if he were here in his body, he wouldn't last long.

The tunnel was a hundred metres or more, easy; running straight ahead and fading into darkness. Alvie surged forward and reached another cavern, smaller than the giant's one, but warmer with beautiful, exotic flowers twisting around various forms of trees. In the centre, ringed by red-hot, homely flames was a reflecting pool with clear crystal water. At the bottom of it was some sort of amulet. The water distorted its features and Alvie couldn't see what it was exactly, but for some reason, it absorbed his attention and he knew he had to get this.

With a sudden jolt, he was back in his body, but he couldn't breathe. There was a clamouring around him, someone's soft tones filled with relief and concern and then the same someone sitting him up and hitting his back. Alvie choked up blood, opening his eyes to see his vision obscured by a warm scarlet veil.

Alvie looked back at his brother. Max's hands were as bloody as his, but they weren't shaking. They were holding Alvie's arms as if to keep him from slipping him away.

"There's… there's a tunnel… over there…" Alvie turned and pointed. Elsie shone her flashlight in his mentioned direction, but the light didn't cut through all of the thick shadows. "We… it… about a ten minute walk… go left, but… it's safer than the other two tunnels… not good though…" Max and Elsie helped him to his feet, but they were looking at him as if he were talking alien.

"What'd you mean by safer than the other tunnels, but not good?" Alokia voiced their thoughts. Alvie hesitated. The air in that tunnel disturbed him, but he couldn't understand why.

"I don't… there's something… something in the air… and…" They watched him carefully for a short while, Max supporting him.

"…in a deadly haze…" Alokia mumbled. "Oh…" Her voice had gone very quiet and there was a glimmer of fear and worry in her eyes.

"What?" Elsie demanded.

"That, um, something in the air… it might be, uh, deadly or… erm…"

"Poisonous?" Max suggested cottoning on. Alokia nodded timidly, chewing her lips. "Well, that's handy. What about the other two tunnels?" Max asked his brother.

"Um… one's a dead end with loads of traps-"

"What kind of traps?"

"Bad ones."

"That narrows it down." Elsie grumbled sarcastically. Max shot her a dark look. Elsie returned it, her deep brown eyes sparking dangerously.

"Stop it!" Alokia demanded. They stared at her and her annoyance at their constant bickering faltered, but she continued in an attempt to scold them. "We're not going to get anywhere if you keep trying to kill each other." She said quietly. Alvie nodded in agreement, massaging his forehead irritably.

"And the other tunnel?" Max quizzed.

"Uh… loads of turn-offs, but they all circle back."

"We'd get lost easily." Alokia added helpfully. Alvie nodded again, feeling dizzy. Max's arm tensed as Alvie's legs collapsed from under him.

"What's wrong?" Max sat him on the floor, kneeling next to him. Alvie shook his head. Elsie hummed in thought.

"How'd you know about the tunnels?"

"Um…" Alvie replied brilliantly. He had walked right into that one.

"Alvie…" Elsie warned, folding her arms stubbornly. Max glowered at her for talking to his brother with that tone, but she ignored him.

"It's, uh… weird…" Alvie settled with.

"We should get going." Max pulled Alvie to his feet, his arm going around his shoulders. "You good?" He asked, noticing Alvie's queasy expression. Alvie nodded, leaning on his brother.

It didn't take long for them to make their way down the first tunnel to reach the three-way fork. Alvie stepped back from the left tunnel, hesitating. Max was still mostly holding him up.

The left tunnel stunk to high Olympus and it made breathing difficult and just a horrible thing to do. Elsie coughed into her hands, Alokia's eyes watering from the putrid stench.

"Poisonous." Max repeated thickly, trying not to breathe. "Now what?"

"Um…" Elsie looked up. "Reckon we could ask them for gas masks or something?" As soon as she said that, they were wearing oxygen masks with filters. "Stylish." Elsie muttered, summoning her bow and quiver of arrows. "Let's do this."

They forged ahead, Max holding an axe in his free hand. Alokia held her knife, her quiver and bow slung over her back. She walked close to her sister, glancing around through the hazy, green mist nervously.

After about fifteen minutes, Alvie tensed. Max looked at him, but a glint of metal behind Alvie caught his attention. He dropped his brother to the ground and swung his axe, deflecting the blade that nearly decapitated Alvie.

Luke grinned at him, drawing his weapon back and attempting to skewer Max.

"Get Alvie out of here!" He ordered, drawing his other axe and stepping up his attack. Elsie fired at Luke, striking him in the chest. Luke staggered back a few feet. She and Alokia ran forward and pulled a shaky Alvie to his feet and headed off, Elsie firing over her shoulder every now and then.

Max followed them slowly, walking backwards while slashing, countering and deflecting Luke's attacks. He didn't wear a mask or any form of protection against the poisonous gas. Luke noticed his confusion and spread his arms. Max saw the shimmering, pale blue veil about Luke and silently cursed him.

Ducking a jab, Max kicked Luke's legs out from under him. Using the time bought, he darted backwards, joining the others. "Alvie, how much more of this tunnel?"

"Erm… about, uh, three minutes or something…" Max just nodded, seeing Luke get to his feet. He hurled his axe, smirking grimly as it thudded into Luke's chest and sent him sprawling again.

"Make it two minutes and get out." He told them firmly. Elsie glowered at the orders, but clenched her jaw stubbornly and carried on.

Luke pulled the axe from his chest, as if it were merely a thorn. He grinned evilly at Max, who raised his last remaining axe in defiance.

They reengaged in battle, Max desperately trying to buy time for his family to get out of the poisonous tunnel. He regretted throwing his axe now and it was well out of reach, about five metres back with a Luke in the way. His defence was sloppy or non-existent on either side and he was close to losing this one with Luke's relentless attacks.

Luke feinted to the left and Max fell for it. Luke backhanded him and Max heard something crack. It took a few seconds for him to realise, through disorientation, that Luke had cracked his oxygen mask.

Laughing coldly, Luke swung his sword up and completely disposed of Max's mask.

Choking on the poisonous gas, Max swung at Luke wildly, his vision swimming already. Luke dodged easily and punched Max away.

Stumbling, Max shook his head, trying to think through the fog in his mind. Somebody was yelling his name and his instincts were screaming at him to run after the others. He could only oblige, staggering after his brother and cousins.

They reached the end of the tunnel about a minute later. Max saw that they were in some cavern, the air fresh and clean. It didn't help his spinning head and he sank to his knees, coughing and shivering.

He felt arms around his neck and then someone calling his name. He looked round and saw three Alvie's staring back at him worriedly.

"Max!" Alvie's voice was at the end of a dangerous tunnel.

Alvie felt a hand on his shoulder, but pulled away. Dread had filled him at a random point in the tunnel and he looked back in time to see Luke slice away Max's oxygen mask.

How could he have been so stupid?! He came up with the prophecy and had totally forgotten about one line: To stop the dead one in a deadly haze.

Luke was the dead one. He was supposed to be dead, considering the amount of times Louisa rammed her sword through his head.

The deadly haze… easy, the poisonous gas they could have all escaped if it wasn't for Luke-the-mask-destroyer.

Max choked and shuddered in Alvie's arms, already looking pale and sickly, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his forehead. He was burning up, but shivering and rubbing at his arms, trying to spur warmth into them.

"Alvie, the water…" Elsie's voice cut through the panic and Alvie remembered where he had seen this garden-cavern place before. He glanced round and saw the reflecting pool in its ring of fire.

"Help me…" He pleaded, looking at his cousins. Elsie moved forward and together they managed to half-carry, half-drag Max over to the water. Alokia was firing ice arrows at regular points around the cavern entrance. Luke hadn't come after them, obviously pleased with his work.

She glanced round and saw her sister charming the water to put out the fires. Alvie tripped while trying to get his brother in the pool and ended up soaked to the skin. It didn't bother him as he sat his brother up. "Max?" Max groaned, his head bowed in exhaustion. The tension had left his shoulders and for the first time in a long time, he seemed relaxed, at peace.

"Alvie?" He mumbled, raising his head slightly to look at his baby brother through bleary eyes. The water wasn't helping him whatsoever, but Alvie wasn't ready to give up on that hope just yet. Max's hand shook as he lifted it. Alvie was shaking as well as he took his brother's hand in both of his. "Hey, don't worry about me. Bound to happen…"

"Max…" Normally, Alvie didn't catch on to emergencies until it was too late, but his brother was dying and there was nothing he could about it. "Max, hang on, please… we'll… we'll get help and…" Max shook his head, silencing his brother. A sob escaped Alvie's lips and he held Max's hand tighter.

"Not enough time…" Max told him. Already, his breathing was ragged. "Besides… your quest… not mine…" Max gave a thin, weak smile. "What good am I, huh? Made your life hell for the last year…"

"You're my brother…" Alvie protested feebly, tears shining in his eyes.

"Great brother I am."

"That wasn't you." Max sighed, smiling contentedly.

"Glad you think that, bro." He closed his eyes; happy, peaceful, forgiven.

Gone.

"No…" Alvie started hyperventilating, tears streaming down his cheeks. "No, no, no!"

"Alvie-" Elsie splashed into the pool, holding her hands out to her younger cousin, but he flinched away, holding Max's hand tightly in his.

"Elsie, give him a minute." Alokia said quietly, her own tears escaping.

"I was just going to get them out of the pool…" Elsie mumbled, but she backed away as Alvie hid his face in his brother's shoulder.

Max was gone.

He wasn't going to come back like Alvie had.

He was gone.

So… Alvie's alive, but… can't say the same for Max.