Steffen pushed Rose against the side of the building and managed to snatch a kiss before she pushed him away with a giggle. She playfully punched his shoulder and ducked under his arm as he was still leaning against the wall.

"I have to go to work, Steffen! Plus, you have a job to do as well by getting Lucas away from here."

He started pouting and put up his most innocent face he could muster.

"But what if we show up just a tad later? We could have some fun before... I mean, there's no-one here, my car is big enough since you're so tiny anyway."

"Hey!" Rose stomped on the ground and crossed her arms as Steffen just laughed. "You just managed to make sure nothing will happen now by calling me tiny!"

She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him with her to the entrance of the climbing hall. Just before she wanted to open the door, she froze as just a hint of a familiar smell hit her nose. Steffen turned towards her as she had abruptly stopped walking.

"Rose? What is it? What's with the strange look on you face all of a sudden?" The blonde-haired man examined her closely as Rose just looked around as if she was searching for something.

A chill ran up his spine as he touched the rigid female next to him. She did not respond to his question and after a few minutes of standing frozen solid, she finally came back to life.

"Care to tell me what that was about?!" Steffen asked her as Rose turned around to face him, worry etched on her face.

"I don't exactly know. I just.. caught a hint of a scent I recognize but I can't place. It... Doesn't feel good though, like something is about to happen." She sighed and rubbed her eyes while stifling a yawn.

"Cat instincts again? I really don't get that stuff. Ever since Azura fought off Nathan I get the feeling you guys have been using it more and more."

"True..." She replied, "I just guess she woke up a part of us which had been dormant for a long time. But tell me you don't feel anything. I saw you shiver just a moment ago too. You might not have the heightened senses, but you can feel the energy in the air no?"

Steffen rubbed his head as he looked up to the top of the climbing hall. "Well, I'm not that strong of an energy caster to pinpoint it exactly, but yes, I can feel there has been a shift. If I was a stronger caster, I'd be able to feel the electricity in the air as well." He paused and ruffled through her short hair. "Look, it's probably nothing. Maybe you're getting the jitters cause we're close to Lucas and he's plotting to kill you again or something like that.

Rose shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face. Steffen caressed her cheek and stared lovingly into her eyes. "I'm so glad you were already his ex when we met. From the moment you joined us at the coffee place I was sold."

Rose's eyes widened in surprise as Steffen lightly kissed her. He was not one to, so randomly, express his feelings. He winked at her and gestured to the door. Speechless, she nodded placed her hand in his as they made their way to the entrance.

Right as he reached for the knob, the door was thrown open and Lucas stepped out. He glanced shortly at Rose and Steffen before turning his cold undivided attention back to Rose.

"You're late." His nostrils flared a little as he stared her down. She couldn't help but cower a little at his display of power.

"Dude, Lay off her. She's late because of me." Steffen, despite being a tad shorter than Lucas, stepped between them and grabbed hold of his friend's shoulder. "Now, why won't we have a drink and play some poker for old times sake."

Lucas directed his gaze at his college friend and nodded stiffly. Behind Steffen, Rose relaxed a little and stepped back, glad she had brought her boyfriend along.

Her relieve was short-lived as a hand was placed on her shoulder and a sudden heat embraced her. Rose bit her lip as she felt a hot breath next to her ear and a strange dangerous whisper in a voice she only partially recognized.

"Don't follow me. This needs to happen."

She wanted to whirl around, but the hand squeezed her so tight Rose froze to the ground as chills ran up her spine. The same power she had felt radiating of Lucas was now coming from behind. The power that made her completely incapacitated. She knew who was behind her, and she realized shit was about to go down.

Steffen was oblivious as his focus was still purely on Lucas and getting him to focus on anything else but Rose. He ignored the raising of the hairs on his arms as he invited Lucas for the poker game. The cold man's attention was indeed on Steffen for a moment before his head whipped up and stared right past him.

*

He wasn't home. Azura closed the door to their house behind her after getting dressed. The Phoenix had decided it indeed needed Lucas after they had wiped a complete town off the face of the earth. Where it had been, now only lay ashes and a few charcoaled remains of what had once been houses, shops, and other buildings. They had made sure none of the shadow creatures remained and after they had killed everything there was, they went for the source, a large crack in the earth's crust.

They had torched it and due to the extreme heat, it had actually crumbled and closed. It had taken a while to do so though, and it had taken a lot of energy. When the threat, according to the Phoenix, was gone they had crashed and had shifted back to a human.

There had been no time to rest as the Phoenix pressed on, the power and adrenaline still raging through her system. It was like she was high on drugs. She wanted more; had enjoyed the slaughter and couldn't think straight. She had laid on her back in the snow, laughing like a maniac as she had made snow angels.

The Phoenix had cut her little moment of fun short as it pushed her to shift again, only this time back to her snow leopard. The madness was not what they needed and something to fight against.

They had hoped to catch him at home but when they found him gone, she had just let herself in and grabbed some clothes as it was a bit too much to travel through the city naked. Days had gone by without sleep but it was not something she missed. They were more now.

It had taken her moments to make her way unseen to the one place she knew she would find him. Azura cocked her head to the side as she observed Rose and Steffen for a bit. She made sure to stay downwind but still they felt her. A little flame impatiently danced on her fingertips as she observed and listened in.

It was quickly confirmed Lucas was inside and would come out, giving them a chance to catch him without anyone getting caught in between. The plan was set, it was just about executing it correctly.

Right as Steffen was about to walk in, Lucas came out. Azura cursed silently as this meant a change of plans. Here it was easy to bait him, anywhere else in the city would be much more of a challenge. They made a choice and she stepped away from her hiding place and made her way over.

Rose froze under her touch and as she whispered in her ear. Azura let her go and stepped passed her the moment Lucas looked up and their gazes met. Red versus green. Azura smirked as Lucas pushed a stunned Steffen to the side.

"Care to play, Baby spice?" She gave him a wink and placed her hands on her hips.

Lucas stared at her a moment, uncertain rage filling his eyes. He didn't respond. Instead he slowly stepped towards her and extended his arm till the tips of his fingers touched her face. Azura leaned into the gentle touch, closing her eyes for just a fraction of a second as feelings of warmth and love washed over her.

He was still in there.

His fingers started to tremble, causing her to open her eyes and look at him again. His lip twitched shortly before a malicious grin took over. That was the moment she knew they had to run.

Heat blazed inside her as she took off the fastest they could go. Feet hit the ground behind her but it was much easier to stay ahead this time as the felt the power inside come to life. Adrenaline pumped through her system. Azura made sure to leave the city as soon as possible and knew exactly where to go. Weaving through trees, rocks they managed to stay ahead of him. It was like she had the wings all over again with how light on her feet she felt.

Soon she reached her destination, and as she burst through the tree line on the open clearing, she stopped running and turned around. The Phoenix inside her wanted blood, the power on the tip of her fingers and yet it pushed her consciousness forward. Azura snarled inwardly at the flaming heat but ceased her inner attack the moment Lucas stepped out from the forest. He looked around confused at first, the woman not afraid of him with flames coiling around arms.

"Remember this place, Lucas? This is where we had that snowball fight. This is where we sat after you had dragged me to Doctor Jensen office to explain about your theory about the Phoenix. This is where we share so many memories! This is where I got to see a different you, where you made me laugh so hard I forgot about how I felt for just a moment."

Lucas growled at her and took a step threatening step towards her. Azura bared her teeth and clenched her fists. The flames on her arm became brighter and more powerful He took another step; she let out a powerful scream and fiercely swiped her arm towards him. A wall of flames burst out in front of him, forcing him to back up just a few steps again before it died out.

"Don't you dare to come closer!" She hissed. "I don't want to kill you, Lucas, I want you to fucking remember! I want you to fight it! I need you now more than ever so fight it! Resist whatever it is they've done to you! Marric is dead!"

With every sentence she spewed at him she felt her heart tear. Emotions washed over her, meddled with her mind, causing an inner turmoil. He could break her and the superiority they had felt was wavering. He was tearing her apart, bringing her back to the here and now without doing anything. The Phoenix trashed in her body, their souls splitting.

She wavered. Her eyes flashed from red to blue and back again as her head violently twitched to the side again.

A moment of weakness.

Lucas charged for her head-on. He rammed his body into hers and threw them to the ground. The air was slammed out of her lungs as she landed on her back with all of his weight on top of her. She struggled against him, trying to keep his hands away from her throat as he seemed to have this fixation on choking her. There were more ways to kill a person, and yet he insisted on squeezing all the air out of her body. The thought actually triggered a small inappropriate chuckle as her hand landed in his face, pushing him as far away as possible.

She managed to knee him in the gut which resulted in his fist landing in her face in retaliation. The Phoenix growled in disapproval pushing forward again to take over.

You have to kill him before he kills you.

Lucas grunted as he finally managed to get his hand around her throat. Azura clawed at his arm as she realized that the Phoenix was right. There was only one way to end this, the plan that actually Marric had suggested. Lucas was an ancient soul like her, she had nine lives with a little help of the Phoenix, he could have the same... right?

That's the plan, and yes there's a chance but you do have to let me be able to grab hold of him.

Air was running low as she started wheezing. There was no solid grip yet as she still managed to struggle enough to keep him busy but she had to think of something. This was a losing battle and just ramming a stone against his temple would not do the trick this time.

With one hand, she managed to keep him from entirely strangling her and the other clawed at his other arm. A finger kept hanging on his sleeve and as he tried to get her arm away, his sleeve ran up his arm as he pulled away while she still held it.

Her blue eyes fell on the feather imprinted on his arm. The Phoenix mark. In the back of her head she heard the Phoenix roar. This was the way.

She took as much air in as she could and drove her knee upwards to meet with his groin. Lucas doubled over in pain, releasing his grip on her throat and she seized the moment to turn the tables. Azura pushed him off and grabbed the arm with the feather mark. As her hand wrapped around the mark, the Phoenix attacked.

The pain was excruciating. Azura screamed just as loud as he did as the flames erupted from her hand. Part of her was leaving, tearing her apart from the inside. It burned, scorching her from the inside. Every cell in her body was set ablaze and she felt herself lose control. Darkness started forming around her already muddled vision. She couldn't let go, not yet, not until it was done. With all the strength left in her, Azura kept her eyes open, her mind alert, despite the extreme pain that raged through her.

It felt like an eternity till the pain subsided. Azura was panting, her head resting on his chest as her hand was still wrapped around his mark. She wanted to cry, yet the tears would not come. The only fluid leaving her body was excess saliva that had gathered in her mouth. Her heart was racing as she tried to find that familiar and comforting inner heat. It was cold. No flames raging inside, no voice in her head, no power to control.

She forced herself to open her eyes just to make sure she was still alive. As the light of the moon and stars reflected in her eyes, a tiny spark ignited itself inside of her again. Azura's body jolted with it. She felt the strength flow back into her limbs and slowly she started moving her arms. Fingers caressed skin, touched clothes, and ended on a chest that was not hers. She turned her head a little to the side to see a pale Lucas underneath her.

She couldn't hold back the gasp as she realized he was not breathing. His chest wasn't moving up and down, his skin cold to the touch. Azura pushed herself up on her knees, staring at him with an open mouth as her hands frantically moved along his body. This was not what was supposed to happen. With every movement of herself, the tiny flame inside began burning brighter, becoming stronger.

"Lucas? You gotta wake up... You got to breathe!" She hugged his still body, the tears finally flowing as the situation dawned on her.

It had been a gamble. She had not known for sure he could revive and the way things looked, she had lost.

Sobs overcame her, wrecking her whole body as she staring shaking with each and everyone that hit her like a truck. She buried her face in his coat as she pounded on his chest. Grief overwhelmed her as the flame inside only grew bigger until it could envelop her in its wings.

Its presence became more and more prominent, inviting her to join it. Azura looked up, through tear-stained eyes she saw it. The madness extended her its hand, the promise to kill the pain as the only beacon of light. The power surrounding it called for her, the flames at its feet yearned for her, pulled her to let go of her existence and become something else.

One with the Phoenix as she had been, with only one purpose on her mind. No pain, no emotion.

Azura swallowed hard before extending her hand and reaching out. Anything to kill this pain of losing another person she deeply loved.