"You're his what?!" Skyler repeats with a loud voice.

"His brother. Do I need to spell it for you?"

"Well, you do have his attitude," Elizabeth says with a slight smile but that quickly changes back to a blank expression.

Phoenix frowns. "How do you mean?"

"Cynar said the exact same thing when we've first met him."

Phoenix shrugs and starts talking again. "I swear you can trust me. I want him dead as much as you all do."

Skyler walks back to Katherine and Elizabeth, and they start whispering on a low tone. They probably think he can't hear them but Phoenix has pretty good ears.

"What if it is a trap?" Katherine asks them.

"It is most definitely a trap. It's just a distraction. He's buying time," Skyler says. She looks at her watch. "We have fifteen minutes left. We have to decide now what we're going to do. We still have to find Cynar."

Phoenix chuckles. "Didn't he left some clues this time?"

They all turn their head to him, surprised he had heard them.

"There are some signs hanging above the stairs," Katherine says slowly.

"Of course there are... And tell me, how do you plan on killing him?"

Skyler takes a step towards him and clenches her fists. "By attacking him with all we've got and shooting him through the head."

Phoenix laughs short but without humour. "That won't do it."

"We know we have to attack him in both worlds. In this dream state and in the reality, at the same time," Elizabeth adds.

"I must say I'm impressed. That is indeed true."

They all started to smile so Phoenix quickly continues before he could give them false hope. "Still, you have to understand, he plays games only he can win. No one else. Human weapons cannot stop him, not even the so called super powers of men."

"And I suppose you know the only thing that can stop him," Skyler remarks sarcastic.

"I am the only one who can kill him."

"Sure you are." Skyler is getting sick of this little talk, she doesn't trust him and nothing could change her mind, and meanwhile the time is ticking further.

Phoenix sighs in frustration. "Then let us put it this way: if you let me out and it appeared I was lying; you and all your friends will die. If you don't let me out and try to stop my brother by yourself; you will die. But if you let me out and I was not lying; you will all live. So, what's it going to be?"

They're all silent for a moment in which they let the truth of his words echoing through their minds.

"Are you ready to take a leap of faith?"

Elizabeth nods at Katherine and she walks to the bench that is placed against the iron bars of Phoenix' prison.

"No, don't let him out," Skyler begins but Elizabeth stops her.

"Look at his eyes, Sky. He's not lying."

"How can you even see that from this distance? It's not your call to make."

"Call it my superpower, and yes, it is. Let him out, Katherine."

Skyler sets her jaw and after a small hesitation, Katherine leans on the bench and with a loud noise the door of Phoenix' prison comes loose.

Phoenix steps outside and he finally can feel his body in the other world. He closes his eyes and he can hear some startled noises next to him. He's summoning his 'stand-by' mind out of the reality - which is just a fancy sentence for killing off his body in the other world so that he'll be able again to walk between dreams and the real world. If he wouldn't have done that and he was going to shift between the worlds, he would have woken up in his other body which could have been lying anywhere. They couldn't risk that, he had to be able to follow his brother on foot.

"What are you doing?"

Phoenix hushes the voice and lets his other body perish to dust.

"What is that light?"

Phoenix takes a deep and shaken breath and opens his eyes again. The golden light around him slowly but steady decreases until it's gone.

"What was that?" Skyler asks him suspiciously.

Phoenix raises an eyebrow. "You want to discuss that now? While the lives of your friends are at stake?"

"Fine," Skyler snorts angrily. "Let's find Cynar and kill him. But I'm watching you. One wrong move and you're flying across the air."

"I wouldn't expect any different from you."

They run out of the room and start heading upstairs as fast as they can. All ready to make an end to this all.

~

Kathy lets go of Iris' and Diamond's arm when they have fallen out of the grey cloud. Iris shivers by the sight in front of them. It is as if they're in a ghost town. Everywhere around them are bodies collapsed on the ground, sound asleep due to Cynar's mist.

The fog is still very thick and they can only see a few meters ahead. They start walking slowly and carefully they look around if they can see the dragon already. If only the mist wasn't this heavy... But still, a dragon should be easily to spot, right?

Diamond suddenly freezes in her step. Iris and Kathy notice her stopping and follow her gaze. Right on the spot where Katherine had said they could find Cynar, is standing a person. His red eyes looks like they're glowing, and they would recognize those eyes everywhere.

"You're a human," Diamond states and in a blink of an eye, the person is standing in front of them. Shocked they take a few steps back, they don't even know how he managed to move that fast.

Quickly they take out their guns but Cynar just smirks. He makes a simple hand movement whereby a lock of his black hair falls in front of his eyes. A sudden gust of wind knocks the weapons out of their hands and they stare at their empty hands.

"Are you ready to die?" he asks them and Iris calls upon her magic but an cold and iron grip around her heart lets her gasp for air. It feels as if he's stopping her heart. She collapses on her knees to the ground and she's seeing flashes in front of her eyes.

Kathy and Diamond want to help her but they're frozen in their body. They can't move, they can't speak, the only thing they can do is watch.

Cynar tilts his head a bit and looks down upon the Asgardian. "I asked you if you're ready to die, and you answered by trying to attack me? I suppose that's a yes." He shifts his eyes to the two friends who look at them with all the fury they've got.

He smiles. "Say goodbye to your friend. Well, that's in your mind then, you cannot speak. But do not worry, after that, it's your turn."

Iris feels the grip around her heart getting tighter and the unending darkness is surrounding all around her.

A voice shoots through her head and Iris had always hoped the last voice she should hear, would be Loki's, but unfortunately it's not.

Go to sleep, Asgardian. You'll be reunited with your husband soon enough.

~