The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (46 page)

Justin
exchanged glances with his friends. Put that way, he felt embarrassed
by his outburst. And the others seemed to feel the same way.

“
Sorry,
sir,” he said. “I forgot how hard this must be on you
too.” He took a deep breath. “We'll wait with you. I'm
sure you know what's best at this time.”

Fitzgerald
smiled wearily. “Inasmuch as I know anything, Justin. And thank
you. You will get your chance, I promise you.”

Justin
nodded, turned and found a place to sit on the ground where he wasn't
underfoot. He tried to be patient as he watched the Destroyers. Aaron
joined him, followed by Maria. Soon they were all sitting together,
concentrating on the preparations going on around them.

In a
matter of minutes, two of the Destroyers saluted both Democritus and
Prometheus and approached the fountain. They stood for a moment on
the rim and then stepped forward together and disappeared. Then the
six, Serena among them, who Justin knew were going to enter through
the Gate pool, headed out. Democritus stood still and Justin could
see him counting out the time by tapping a finger against his leg. It
seemed to last forever.

Finally,
Democritus and the remaining three Destroyers walked over to the
fountain. He stopped, turned and bowed to Prometheus, who smiled,
then looked at Fitzgerald. “If we haven't returned in thirty
minutes or less, we've failed. It will then be up to you to decide
your next move.”

“
Understood,”
the man answered brusquely. “Good hunting.”

Democritus
nodded, shot a quick glance at Justin and his friends and stepped
into the fountain. The four of them disappeared with a splash.

“
And
now we wait,” Prometheus said in his sad voice.

“
And
worry,” Fitzgerald added.

The
minutes seemed to drag as they all waited to find out how the attack
was going. If any of them spoke to each other, it was in whispers.
Justin was trying to keep track of the time, going through the
possible scenarios in his mind and trying to decide how long each
would take.

If the
first two Destroyers took out the sentry quietly, and if the next six
managed to sneak through the complex and take out the three guards at
the door safely and if Democritus and his three were able to surprise
the final two guards at the fountain, it would take this long. Or
maybe this long. Or this.

He
finally shook his head in frustration. The truth was, he didn't know
how long it would take and it would drive him crazy if he kept
thinking about it. So Justin started to talk to each of his friends
in turn; both to keep them calm and to distract himself as well.

Everyone
was tense, of course, but there was an underlying current of
excitement among them all. They all seemed eager to go; Jason was
almost vibrating with anticipation. He had begun pacing a few yards
away from the group. He was muttering to himself and Justin saw
little flashes of electricity crackling between his fingers.

Aaron
sat and stared at his glove, fanning his fingers, twisting his wrist
and surreptitiously popping up little flames on to his palm and then
making a fist and extinguishing them again.

Maria
had moved off a bit as well and she was watching everyone in turn,
her staff spinning slowly around her fingers.

Everyone
else was either speaking quietly or watching the fountain and
waiting.

Justin
was never sure how long they waited but a tremendous crash of water
signaled the arrival of a group of people around the fountain.

Everyone
leapt to their feet. Several Destroyers had appeared along with at
least a dozen teenagers, all looking scared and gaunt. Serena was
among the group and she quickly signaled to Stabel and Richard.

“
Medic,
please summon some of your fellow servitors. We need to get these
youngsters into shelter and out of the square.” She looked
around until she spotted Fitzgerald.

“
Sir,”
she called to him. “Democritus is fighting a fallback battle
and protecting the remaining teens.” She watched as Stabel
began to check on the newcomers. “Three of us have fallen.
Democritus is wounded, as are the others with him.” She took a
deep breath and that was when Justin noticed that she was bleeding
from a gash in her side. Richard was trying to check her over but she
shook her head and pushed him toward the others. “My fellows
are in worse shape than I am. Tend to them.”

Meanwhile,
after the initial shock, Aaron had spotted Norm and Gerry, his and
Justin's old friends, clinging to each other and looking both
exhausted and relieved at once. He whooped and rushed over, followed
closely by Justin.

“
Hey
guys! You're alive!” Aaron said happily.

“
Well,
he's as observant as ever,” Norm said dryly and they all
laughed.

“
How
you holding up, guys?” Justin asked as he gave both of his
friends a brief hug.

“
We're
good, Justin. Now, at least,” Gerry answered. He pushed his
long braids out of his face. Both he and Norm were skinnier than
Justin remembered but they seemed to be generally healthy.

“
So
what's been going on with you the last month,” Aaron started to
ask but Serena cut him off as she directed the ex-prisoners into a
group. Several servitors had arrived quickly.

“
Please
go with the servitors,” she told them. “You will be
checked over and taken care of.”

Stabel
asked them all to follow him and began to lead them off toward
medical.

“
We'll
talk soon, guys,” Justin said to Norm and Gerry. His friends
nodded and waved and then wearily followed the crowd out of the
square.

The two
Destroyers who had arrived with Serena had left with the group to
have their wounds tended to, and she was left to explain what had
happened.

“
The
initial attack went as planned,” she told them. She had allowed
Richard to finally check her wound and he stood next to her, eyes
closed as he attempted to repair the gash. Justin saw her color
slowly return, so he could tell that the healing was working.

“
The
guard at the stairs was taken out without incident. The six hall
guards were also subdued fairly easily. The attack on them roused the
final two guards, but Democritus appeared at the proper time to deal
with them.” She winced as Richard moved his hand slightly but
she continued speaking in a strong voice.

“
It
was when we went to free the captives that things began to unravel. A
two man patrol came on us unawares and one was able to retreat and
raise the alarm. We had all of the young ones freed by then and
hurried back to the main room to use the fountain as an exit. That
was when the main group of renegades fell upon us.” She thanked
Richard as he stepped back. Her wound was healed.

“
Get
some fluids into you as soon as possible, Serena,” he advised
her and she nodded her understanding. Richard then stepped back and
sat down, looking a bit tired. Justin smiled at him in appreciation.

“
We
were correct in our estimation of their numbers. We had neutralized
ten, and another sixteen or so attacked us during our retreat.
Democritus had myself and my two fellows bring the teens here while
he and the remaining Destroyers held them back.” Shes hesitated
and then said “He forbid me to return to aid him after
delivering my charges.” Her tone was bitter but she kept her
face clear of emotion. “Unfortunately, when we were attacked in
the main area, several of the teens panicked and scattered and the
Destroyers were trying to round them up while fighting off the
renegades when we left.”

“
Thank
you for your report, Serena. Please join the others at medical; they
may need your assistance,” Fitzgerald said. Serena nodded,
bowed to Prometheus and headed off.

Fitzgerald
turned to the Titan. “This is a bad situation,” he said
to Prometheus. “With the youngsters scattered, running in fear,
the Destroyer's attention is divided between protecting them and
themselves at the same time. I fear this will end very badly.”

Justin
exchanged a glance with Aaron. “Why didn't those idiots stay
with the Destroyers?” Aaron hissed under his breath. “They're
going to get everyone killed.”

Justin
nodded but said thoughtfully “Fear is a funny thing, bud. It
can make you fight or run. Remember, the other teens have been locked
up for a month. They obviously aren't being fed well. They're scared,
suspicious. Then some strangers free them, tell them to follow along
and then they're attacked.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked
at Aaron. “The question is; who wouldn't panic?”

“
Yeah,
I suppose so.” Aaron poked at the ground with the toe of his
shoe. “I want to do something, Just! We can't simply sit here
on our butts while those guys up there are fighting. We could really
help!”

“
Could
we? I dunno, Aaron. We aren't warriors, man. I think we'd better
leave it to the pros, until they ask for our help.”

Aaron
grumbled at that and Justin turned away to listen to Fitzgerald and
Prometheus.

Suddenly
there was a tremendous splash of water and Justin whirled around just
in time to see Democritus collapse on to his knees and then fall face
down on the ground. Next to him, four teenagers stood there staring
in shock, their clothes tattered and burned in places.

Richard
rushed forward, followed quickly by the rest of the teens. As Maria,
Julia and Yolanda checked on the dazed young Titans, reassuring them
and looking for injuries, Richard knelt down beside Democritus.
Justin watched as Richard laid his hands on the man's shoulders, then
frown and shake his head. He bent down to listen when Democritus
muttered something. Richard nodded, Justin heard a long sigh from the
Destroyer and saw him go limp.

Richard
looked over at Fitzgerald and Prometheus. “He's gone,” he
said sadly.

Justin
looked at the body in shock. He'd never seen a man die before. Aaron
gasped beside him but he couldn't look away from the body. Democritus
had been the strongest and most skilled Destroyer, and now he was
dead. Justin couldn't quite grasp it.

Julia
began to cry as she turned away and buried her head in Yolanda's
shoulder. Her friend patted her back, an expression of shock and
grief frozen on her face.

Maria,
swallowing her feelings, called over to Fitzgerald. “We have to
get these kids to medical. All of them are injured and I think some
are probably in shock.”

“
Could
you take them, Maria? Richard will accompany you.” He looked at
Julia. “Take Julia and Yolanda as well, please. They could be
helpful.”

Julia,
hearing that, looked over at Fitzgerald through her tears. Then she
dragged a hand over her eyes, threw back her shoulders and began to
help the four teens to stumble down the street. Yolanda gave
Fitzgerald a quick smile of gratitude and hurried to help her friend.

Richard
approached the man and the Titan. “Before I go, sir, Democritus
had a message for you.” He glanced at the retreating teens,
then back at Fitzgerald. He lowered his voice until Justin could
barely hear him. “He said to tell you that we've been betrayed.
They knew he was coming and allowed him to rescue the teens. He
said,” and now Richard looked straight at Justin, “tell
the heir of Cronus that they are waiting for him.”

Justin
felt a cold lump settle in his stomach. Prometheus looked at him. For
the first time, Justin saw a look of shock on the old Titan's face.

“
Thank
you, Richard,” Fitzgerald said. “Please, go with the
others. They'll need your help.”

“
Yes
sir,” he responded and hurried off to catch up with the
retreating group.

“
Daemon,
would you take Democritus to medical as well, please? He has earned
all of the respect that we can show him.” Prometheus' voice was
thick with sorrow.

“
Of
course, master,” the little servitor replied. He walked over to
the body and lifted it gently. Then he walked away cradling the
Destroyer in his arms.

“
Mr.
Fitzgerald,” Justin said a bit frantically. “They know
about me already. Why would they want me now?”

“
Why
indeed, Justin.” Fitzgerald answered thoughtfully. “Could
this whole thing be a ruse? Grabbing the teenagers and taking over
the top level just to get you to return to Sanctuary? But why?”
He looked up at the Titan.

Prometheus
sighed loudly. “I don't know why,” he said. “But I
can hazard a guess.”

“
You
can?” Justin looked at the old Titan hopefully. Aaron walked up
and stood by his shoulder, listening intently.

“
I'm
afraid so, my young friend. You see, Cronus designed and built this
facility. Not by himself, of course, and not overnight. But Sanctuary
was his concept and he made it a reality. I believe that Hyperion's
heir wants to destroy it. All of it.”

Justin
gaped at Prometheus. “But, why? What would be the point?”

“
The
point? The point is that Sanctuary houses more than just a few
genetic creations and some servitors.” He looked at Justin in
something akin to amusement. “You have barely scratched the
surface of this facility. There are weapons hidden within Sanctuary's
vaults that could level a mountain. There are potential allies living
in isolated levels, if we could reach them. There are secrets large
and small just waiting to be discovered. And the key to each and
every one is you, Justin.”