Marcus knew he was miserable and it had only been two days since he returned to the HQ. He tried his best to put his mind off Azaa, and the supremely enjoyable night they had spent together. Her skin, her scent, her soft breasts, how she moaned... STOP, STOP, STOP, Marcus tried to focus on his training. Things had been so bad in his head, he had to put Xeen on a long term mute to protect his alien friend from his constant fantasizing.

Now, Marcus was on the training field that had been the duel arena not long ago. He had once again started training while wearing armor, and it sucked hard. Before his exile, he had not realized how much his armor was restricting him in movement and senses. But now, he felt trapped, slow and sluggish. He moved through an attack combo and half way through he messed up "CRAP" he cursed. "This is really not like you." Janette said behind him.

He sighed and turned to his best friend. "Azaa?" She asked and he nodded. Of course he had told her about the visit, and Janette wanted all the details about the sex and the cuddling. He had freely shared his experience with her as soon as he got back. Besides their deep friendship, he had another reason to do so, there was something he had wanted in return. With a tomato red head he had asked Janette, "How do I go down on a girl?" Against his expectations she did stay cool and gave him the 101 with extra tips and tricks. No jokes, no laughter.

"Why don't you go back to her?" Janette said with a gentle smile. "But it has only been two days and we said we would meet next weekend. That means five days," he lamented and Janette laughed. "Marcus, if you want to see her, go! There is no rational reason not to go. You both want to be together, and even if she has some duties you will find time to be together. Or are you telling me she works through the night?" Marcus blinked, "You are so much smarter than me!" And a bright grin was on his face. "Will you be alright without me?" Marcus asked honestly worried. "This very intelligent person has all things under control. Go and shag your green girlfriend." They laughed and Marcus moved like the wind.

Of course the rest of the gang did not miss that he was leaving again, and grins spread all around the villa. The only one who looked unhappy was Grace. "When you are back, I will put you through double the training units," she said with squinted eyes. Marcus accepted this blood price and promised to work extra hard, once he was back. He quickly bought a flight to London, and was gone in less than thirty minutes after the talk with Janette. He felt like a teenager on an adventure, running away from his duties to make out with his girlfriend.

It was exciting, even the fans and delays did not reduce his joy one bit. He would go to her and surprise her with his visit. Marcus walked over the giant airport close to London, and debated if he should buy some flowers from one of the shops. Azaa liked flowers. BOOM. A massive thunderclap made people scream and drop to the ground. Marcus turned and looked upwards. "MARCUS!!" The floating man shouted. His heart, flying with joy a moment ago, turned into a stone. "GAMMA!" he shouted back and the blonde Spacial Mage turned into his direction and raced to him like an arrow. Marcus had the black phone with him for emergencies, but for Gamma to make such a risky teleport meant things were dire.

Marcus' heart beat jumped to max, Gamma's face was stern, his eyes focused on him. He wanted to ask something but the moment Gamma reached him they teleported. He felt the weirdness of the jump and a second later he fell towards the roof of a large building. A breath later, thin but powerful arms caught him mid air. The last thing he saw before he teleported again was Ye-jun standing on the roof, looking at him with a face that made Marcus scream internally. The jump was rough, crude, even violent. The next moment he was under a cloud covered sky and was dragged to the ground. He turned his head and saw Rin racing with breakneck speed towards a large, dogged building from the last century. Its reinforced walls once were meant as an emergency command stand but today it was the HQ of the Cerberus clan. Rin's face was strained, her hair untidy and inside Marcus the wave of terror grew a mile high. No, no, no please no.

They landed far too fast on the roof but both of them could take the impact. He got to his feet and Rin started to drag him towards the door. "What happened?" He shouted, and now they were running through white hallways with gray floors. "We were attacked, they separated me from my mistress and attacked her. They immobilized the mistress, cut and destroyed her body. I brought her back." Rin stopped talking and Marcus lost all sense of reality. Cherry? It can not be, not Cherry! She is so strong, nobody could…

They passed another hallway and found Janette. Somebody was with her, trying to talk to her, but the moment she saw Marcus she screamed and ran into his arms. "CHERRY! My Cherry, they... they hurt her. They tried to take her from me!" She screamed and wailed. Marcus embraced Janette and fought with his own tears. "How bad is it," he asked in the hope somebody could tell him. The man who had talked to Janette was Ming, one of the heads of Cerberus. "Very bad. The best healers are with her right now, but the attackers were vicious and extremely well prepared," he said and caused another screaming attack from Janette. Marcus held on to Janette and felt his own tears running down his cheeks. He could not imagine Janette without Cherry. They belonged together, this was not right.

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Minutes moved by, but they felt like hours. Finally a door opened and two stern looking people walked out. A middle aged man and woman, in white uniforms, approached them. Marcus could read their faces and knew before they spoke. They can't save her.

Janette turned to the man and looked at him with pleading eyes. The small man with the ash blonde hair spoke, "I'm very sorry-" Janette broke out in tears again, "we have done all we could, but the damage is too extreme. We can not heal her anymore. To be honest it is a miracle that she is even alive in this state. I have put her into stasis but…." Janette listened to him and swallowed hard. "What do you mean you can not heal her? Why can't you heal her?" Her lips were shaking. "Healing somebody consumes their endurance, and the damage she had suffered together with the healing we have already done, has completely exhausted her body."

Janette listened and Marcus could see her mouth forming words without a sound. "What about Link!" She exclaimed suddenly. The man looked sad. "Amelia has already over thirty vitality, which is the only reason she was able to survive this long. Even if we find somebody with more, it will only be a few crests, not enough to save her." Janette's hand moved like a striking snake, grabbed Marcus' jacket and pulled him closer. "This guy has nearly 70 vitality!" She shouted and the man looked dumbfounded. "What?" the Priest looked at Marcus and he nodded "It is true."

"Have you not heard of the Titan? That is him. Nobody has more vitality than HIM!" Janette shouted in her hysteria. "I do not follow current trends but if that is true?… 70 vitality, I have never even…." The man turned to the shocked woman next to him. "What do you think Emma?" And the woman nodded, "I think that is more than enough to try."

A minute later, Marcus was in the healing room. "I would advise you not to look at the patient, her state is unpleasant," the Priest named Selmar Klein said, but Marcus had already seen her. It was far worse than he had expected. Both legs and one arm were missing, the body was torched and cut, no skin was left on her, the face unidentifiable. Marcus looked to the floor and tears followed his steps.

He was shown a place to sit down and the Priest talked again. "With your permission, I will take as much vitality as possible from you to increase the chance of success." Marcus nodded, "Take everything. Save her." The man put his hand on Marcus' neck. "Ah. It is true, what a huge amount of vitality," he whispered. With a louder voice he talked to one of his assistants. "Celine you will perform the healing, follow the basic emergency procedure. Use your instincts when it comes to consumption and coordinate with Mrs Ley. I will have to fully concentrate on Linking this incredible amount of vitality."

They started and Marcus could feel his vitality vanishing from his body. Soon he felt like he was made out of paper. Was this how being normal felt like?

Marcus closed his eyes and listened to the healers work. Short precise commands were given, everybody worked fully concentrated and all he could do was wait and pray. After a few minutes somebody put a blanket over his shoulders, it was Janette. She stood next to him and watched them work, unfazed by the gruesome sight. He reached out and held her hand, she was cold as stone.

"This is incredible, the endurance regeneration exceeds the consumption. The main repair to the organs is already done. The bones have recovered too," Celine whispered and the head Priest nodded. "Don't be tardy, the natural healing is progressing even quicker, we need to attach the limbs. Mrs. Ley, please take the lead from here on."

Marcus dared to look up a bit and to his surprise he could see normal human skin. Mrs. Ley, obviously a Mender (rank 5) sewed Cherry's limbs back in place with her special ability Stitch. There would not even be a scar once she was done. Janette's hand felt warmer now and she cried again, but she was smiling too. "My angel, my angel is coming back to me." Marcus smiled and looked up to the man who linked his vitality. He had sweat on his forehead and an assistant wiped it away. "Is she going to make it?" Marcus whispered. The man smiled, "Make it? This is a bloody miracle young man. She is healing faster by herself than we can heal her. In my whole career I have not seen something like this. Nearly 70 vitality, unbelievable."

Two more hours the healers worked on Cherry to ensure she would end up with not so much as a tiny scar. Along the way they covered her body with a blanket and Marcus dared to look at her. Besides the absence of any hair Cherry looked perfect. The Priest removed his hand from Marcus and smiled. "She is fine, her natural vitality will invigorate her body." Marcus thanked the man with a thousand words and watched as Cherry was lifted onto a mobile bed and covered with a warm blanket. They moved her out of the room and Janette stayed with her.

Marcus stretched and got onto his feet. He could feel how his endurance shot up again, now that he had his vitality back. "Mr. Freimann, correct?" The Priest had changed his attire and greeted him again with a smile. "Could I ask you for a favor? Or maybe plead to you?" The Priest asked.

Marcus blinked, "Of course, what is it." The man smiled again a bit awkwardly. "I think you do not understand how incredible your existence is to a Priest. Your unbelievable amount of vitality could save lives. I would like to ask for your permission to approach you for help in extreme cases like the one of Amelia. Your cooperation will save lives, I promise you that," he said and his eyes showed his sincerity. Marcus agreed to help if it was possible, and the man thanked him with a deep bow. Once the Priest was gone, Marcus laughed a bit about the absurdity of the situation, but then he moved to find his friends.

Rin waited outside the room and all the pain in her face had vanished. She glowed like a new morning, took him by the hand, and guided him to the room where Cherry rested. Guards were at the door, and Marcus had the feeling the whole building was basically a fortress by now. He passed the guards without a problem and silently entered the room. The inside was basically empty besides the modern, oversize bed, a few chairs, and a coffee table.

Janette had crawled under Cherry's bed sheet and held on to her wife. Marcus walked over to a chair and sat down, watching the peaceful women. After a minute Cherry opened her eyes and smiled at him. He stood up and gave her a smile too, together with some awkward tears. She reached out with her free arm and Marcus took her hand. Her hand was warm and strong. "I'm actually already completely back to 100%, but I do not mind being spoiled like this." Marcus laughed and all the fear and tension drained from his soul.

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