"Jeff! Open up!" Rose banged on his door and rang the doorbell several times.

Steffen cursed as he paced around while glancing at Lucas' house several times. "We don't have time for this, Rose! The longer we linger here, the worse we may find... If we even find them!"

"You really want to face them alone? I don't! We need Jeff! He took out Lucas before." Rose banged on the door again. "come on, Jeff! Open up already." She muttered.

"I can take Lucas on. I did it before in college. I might not be a werecat but I have other tricks up my sleeve." Steffen sounded slightly irritated.

"You might but you can't take both Azura and Lucas! We need Jeff!" Right as she spoke his name, Jeff opened the door.

"You need me for what?" Jeff had smiled first when he opened the door but after seeing the dead earnest faces of Rose and Steffen, that smile was gone in an instant.

"Azura... She's back! Showed up at the climbing hall and confronted Lucas. He actually attacked her again but she was too quick and ran away with him following! She warned us not to follow, that she had to do this but I don't have a good feeling about this!" Rose said while she hopped from one foot to another.

"Shit!" Jeff ran back and returned moments later with a pair of shoes on his feet and his coat thrown around him. "Where did they go?"

"We don't know. But you guys can follow their scents right?!" Steffen asked before Rose could answer.

Rose and Jeff exchanged looks and gave each other a short nod knowing Steffen was right.

The three of them left the house and headed to the climbing hall so they could pick up Azura's and Lucas' scent. They moved quickly and it didn't take long to find the invisible trail. Jeff walked in the front, moving swifter than one would guess judging by his size. Steffen and Rose followed not far behind.

Rose was quiet, worrying about what they would find. She didn't know what Azura had planned but it couldn't be good. That look on her face when she had stood in front of Lucas was one that had her instantly worried. It was one of pure desperation as if what she was about to do was her last chance for something. The last change to get Lucas back to normal.

"What did you mean by taking on Lucas and Azura?" Steffen panted slightly as Jeff raised their tempo up.

Rose gulped as she recalled the conversation she had with Killian. "Azura... Can lose herself... She's... She can be dangerous if... What I mean is, she... She might attack us. It's... Not personal, she just... She holds more power than we know and she can be emotionally unstable... Especially in situations involving people she loves... Like Lucas."

Jeff clearly had heard everything as he hurriedly cast a worried and surprised look at Rose for a moment before focusing back on the scents he was tracking.

Steffen's eyes almost bulged out of his skull "You tell me now?! If that happens a whole damn army won't be enough!"

"Well according to Killian, there are a few who can calm her down... Lucas being one of them if he is back to himself. I hope one of us can do it as well..." Rose explained.

"Killian? Who is this Killian guy?!" As Jeff spoke he suddenly stopped running and looked around while placing his fingers to his lips indicating them to be quiet.

It was silent and the night covered them in darkness. Rose licked her lips anxiously as she took in the environment. They were close to the exact same place where Azura had fought Nathan. It was just a little further before they would reach the cliff. A place Lucas and Azura had spent time together on multiple occasions. It suddenly clicked as to why Azura would come here. The two of them shared memories her and Rose straight away assumed Azura had hoped she would be able to get through to Lucas faster here.

It was quiet though... unnervingly quiet. Rose felt the hairs on her arms stand up and it wasn't due to the cold. Steffen walked up next to her and squeezed her hand gently. He could feel it too. It was hard to explain what it was. There was something in the air, something that made them all feel uneasy. Something had happened and Rose did not want to find out what but she knew she would have to. Even Jeff was affected by the strange atmosphere hanging in the air. She had never seen him so on edge. Not even when he had dragged Lucas off of Azura when he was out of control after she had shown up the first time.

"They are close but something's off," Jeff spoke softly as if he was afraid to disturb the silence.

"I know where they are." Rose gestured to both men to follow her.

She took the lead and headed towards the cliff. The trees became sparse and soon they entered the barren cliff side covered in snow. Rose noticed the footsteps first, then the signs of a struggle and a few red droplets on the sparkling white snow. She followed the obvious trail until her eyes stopped at two figures near the edge.

The black tangled hair and her thin frame betrayed it was Azura who was hunched over Lucas who lay on his back on the ground.

"Stay away!" Azura's strange voice skipped as she yelled at them.

Rose stopped dead in her tracks. Steffen and Jeff joined her, all three unsure of what to do. It was difficult to see what Azura was doing. Her hands moved frantically around the motionless body of Lucas and she seemed to alternate between hugging him and pounding him on the chest. It was clear that he wasn't responding to anything she did.

A nasty taste filled Rose's mouth at the sight of it. They were too late. She glanced over at the two men next to her but none of them moved. They all had the same shocked expression on their faces.

She had to do something.

Rose gathered all the courage she had and stepped closer while softly calling out. "Azu? Are you ok?" It felt like the most stupid thing to ask but she could not think of anything else.

Azura spun around, her eyes directly meeting Rose. They were flaming red and she looked angry. Rose noticed the tear stains on her cheeks, her trembling lip, and her tightly clenched fists. She had no obvious injuries on her face but she showed some signs of bruises around her neck and throat. Her clothes were torn around the neckline as well.

"I told you to stay the fuck away!" Azura screamed at Rose. She was an emotional wreck and her voice was all over the place.

When Rose took another step, Azura exploded. With a swift movement of her hands, a wall of fire erupted between them, shielding Azura and Lucas from Rose and the rest. Rose jumped back and fell on her butt as the fire erupted just mere centimeters in front of her. Before she could comprehend what happened she felt Steffen and Jeff next to her, pulling her back to safety.

Once she was far enough, Steffen helped her up to her feet and gave her a quick calming hug.

"Where's that army when you need one..." He grumbled.

Right as he finished his last word the wall of fire died down revealing Azura standing behind it. Her head was twitching violently in short jagged bursts and her gaze was fixed on the three of them. She did not blink once and Rose noticed Azura clenched her fists so tight that she was slowly starting to bleed. Her nostrils were flaring as Azura bared her teeth as if she was a rabid animal while she moved towards them in a stalking manner.

"Azura, it's me, Jeff. Listen to me. You need to calm down. You're not helping Lucas this way and it's obvious he needs help." He raised both his hands trying to calm her.

While Jeff spoke Rose peeked past Azura to the lifeless Lucas. His skin had a sickening gray hue to it and when she focused on his chest, she could not see it moving at all. There was a strain on her heart and it got pulled tighter and tighter the longer Rose examined Lucas from afar. He was not breathing. There was not a single sign he was still alive. Rose focused on his scent, knowing it all too well but she only got old whiffs of him. They were too late.

"Steffen..." She softly whispered. "He's not breathing."

"I know." Steffen had watched Lucas as well while Jeff was distracting Azura.

"He's dead!" Azura's voice cracked as she stumbled slightly while turning to face Rose.

Shivers ran down Rose's spine as a wicked smiled spread on Azura's face. It was her, but the way she moved and acted was anything but the Azura she knew. Killian had been right when he told her about Azura and her anger. Or maybe it was more insanity. This wasn't her. This was something that had been emotionally hurt so bad its only defense was to attack. This is exactly what he had been so afraid of and Rose now realized why.

Azura was a predator out for blood and right now, there was no one to calm her down.

"Azu, please! You have to stop! It's not your fault. Lucas was brainwashed, he wanted to kill you. I know you acted in self-defense. Either he would kill you or you would kill him. I know you didn't mean to. You don't have to attack us, we're here to help. We care for you, Azu!" It was a desperate attempt to see if there was anything of the normal Azura left inside.

Rose couldn't tell if it wasn't having any effect. Azura seemed to switch between emotionally broken down completely and enraged just as fast as her head was twitching to the side.

"We don't want to hurt you. You're our friend, Azu. We care about you. Please, let us help." It was like talking to a wall.

Rose had no idea what to say. With every word that left her mouth, she did not seem to calm Azura down at all. Instead, it seemed like she was only getting more and more worked up. She wanted to maintain her attention on herself though. If she managed to lure Azura away, maybe Jeff or Steffen would be able to reach Lucas. Jeff was already slowly moving away from Rose but Steffen remained close.

"This is not you, Azu! Lucas would not have wanted this!" As she mentioned his name, Azura froze. She breathed heavily and her red, deadly eyes were fixated on Rose. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Jeff had made some progress and between him and the lifeless body of Lucas remained only a few meters.

Rose made the mistake of breaking eye contact. She shifted for a mere split second to look at Jeff.

Azura's arms caught fire as she released a deep terrifying scream. The flames licked past her arms, curled around her chest like a second layer of skin. Now it was Azura who broke the eye contact with Rose as she twirled around towards Jeff and moved so fast nobody had time to react.

Rose gasped as she grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up with ease. Even though Jeff was much taller and bigger than she was, the way she handled him made it seem like he weighed nothing. The ease with which she tossed him to the side was insane.

Rose shrieked loudly and rushed straight over to Jeff who was clawing at his throat as he coughed loudly. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up as he spit some saliva on the snow.

"Stay away from them, Azura!" Rose could hear the fear in Steffen's voice and she quickly turned around to see Azura advancing on her and Jeff while Steffen had light energy coiling around his hands ready to attack. "I'm warning you! If you don't stop I'll attack you."

Azura paid no mind to him. She licked her lips and gave them a wicked smile as the fires around her blazed even higher.

"No don't!" It wasn't Steffen or Jeff who spoke. The voice was crooked, weak, and followed by coughing so intense Rose was convinced the person who spoke would choke on his own fluids.

"Lucas!?" Steffen shouted as he stared at where Lucas was.

"He's dead. I killed him!" Azura finally spoke again, not looking back but her gaze fixated on Rose and Jeff.

Rose managed to glance past Azura to, indeed, see Lucas slowly getting up. She was sure she had never seen him more messed up, but he was moving and he was breathing. It was hard thinking of a moment that had brought more relief in her life than this.

He was alive.

"I'm not dead, Azu. At least, not anymore, I think" His strength was returning as his voice sounded more normal but Azura wasn't backing down.

The flames around her arms blazed once more as she snarled. "You're dead!"

Rose watched wide-eyed as Lucas clumsily got back up to his feet and tried to regain control of his body to make his way over while Azura stepped closer towards her and Jeff. Jeff was still temporary out of order and recovering from one simple attack and Steffen, after overcoming his shock of seeing Lucas coming back to life, had run to him and had helped him get to his feet.

Rose did the only thing she could think of to stall more. She could tell Azura was done playing games and it scared her to bits to see her friend like this, but she needed to stall. Lucas could calm her, if she would acknowledge him, she hoped.

"Azu, Lucas is here just turn around! He's alive, he's back to himself again! Please just turn around and see for yourself!" It was a desperate plea but Rose saw a hint of confusion on Azura's face. A hint of something else than anger. It made her unsteady for a moment as her head had a violent twitch to the side. Azura gasped but recovered almost instantly again from, what seemed to be, a moment of clarity.

"She's speaking the truth, Azu. I'm here." Lucas was close now.

He could almost touch her. His words which were meant to calm her pushed her over the edge. Rose's eyes widened in horror as Azura raised her hand, the flames ready to strike but right as she was about to lash out Lucas gripped her wrist and wrapped another arm around her waist pulling her back, breaking the spell.