The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (40 page)

“
He
may not want to, Justin. But I am pleased that he at least still
lives. That gives me hope that perhaps one day he will emerge from
his self-imposed exile. Only time will tell though.”

Justin carried on with the story.

He was reluctant to tell Mr. Fitzgerald about Dominic
and what had happened in the gorgon's home, but he had no choice and
managed to stumble through it.

“
Medusa
is dead?” The man stared at Justin incredulously.

He nodded. “Maria was amazing. Her anger seemed to
break through the monster's spell somehow and she just...tore her
apart.”

“
Yes,
Mnemosyne was a fierce warrior. Her heir would be the same. I am very
pleased to hear that your friend is so talented, Justin. We will
certainly need her if we are to retake Sanctuary and save our
friends.” He closed his eyes for a moment and Justin wondered
if he should let Mr. Fitzgerald get some rest. When he brought it up,
the man smiled.

“
I
have rested long enough, young man. I was just thinking about Medusa.
Truly a monster from the old world. Luckily for you all that she had
grown fat and indolent over the years. She had resources and powers
that Maria's unexpected attack negated. Yes. Sometimes a quick strike
can overwhelm superior forces.” He appeared to be thinking
deeply for a minute, then he asked Justin to continue.

“
Well,
that's about it, sir. We arrived here, the servitors took us in and
gave us food and let us rest. We're feeling much better now.”

“
As
am I, Justin. Now, would you be so kind as to ask your fellow Titans
to come in please?”

“
Sure,
Mr. Fitzgerald,” Justin replied and went and got the rest of
the group.

Everyone came in and stood around Mr. Fitzgerald's bed.
Stabel touched the machine on his waist once or twice and then stood
back and let the teens talk to his patient.

Justin introduced everyone and Fitzgerald nodded affably
to each one. He smiled widely at Aaron who grinned back.

“
It
is very nice to meet you all. Justin has told me of your journey. You
have truly acquitted yourselves as true Titans would and I am very
proud of each and every one of you.”

Julia and Yolanda blushed but looked pleased with the
compliment. The others smiled proudly.

“
Now,
I know that Prometheus told each of you of your ancestry and what
talent was passed down to you. I wonder if each of you in turn would
tell me who that was, please.”

They all looked at each other hesitantly. Finally Maria
spoke up.

“
Certainly,
Mr. Fitzgerald. My blood line comes from Mnemosyne.”

The man nodded. “Yes. Justin mentioned your battle
with the queen of the gorgons. Speed is your talent, obviously. And a
wonderful job you did back there, young lady,” Fitzgerald said
in admiration.

Maria shrugged. “I was angry over Dominic's death.
To be honest, I don't really remember much about it.”

“
Understandable,”
Mr. Fitzgerald said. “But your instincts and powers took over
and you destroyed an evil that has been brooding in the depths of
Sanctuary for millennia.”

Maria just nodded and stood there, thinking.

“
Sir,
that reminds me,” Justin cut in. “Now that we've seen the
gorgons and everything, I was wondering about Ghelena.”

“
And
if we could trust her?” Mr. Fitzgerald grimaced slightly.
“Justin, Ghelena is a friend and a valuable ally. A long time
ago, she broke away from the gorgons, denounced their hatred of the
Titans and their lust for power. Oh yes,” he said firmly as
Justin looked confused, “make no mistake. They attempted to
wrest control of Sanctuary from us in the past. Ghelena was
instrumental in stopping them. She has my complete confidence.”

Justin shifted his feet uncomfortably. “If you say
so, sir,” he said quietly.

“
I
do. Now then, who's next?”

One by one, the teens told Mr. Fitzgerald about their
ancestry and what talents they had learned to use. He was
particularly interested in Julia and Yolanda and their mutual
ancestor, Tethys.

“
So
you young ladies both have the ability to manipulate water?” he
asked.

“
Yes
sir,” Yolanda answered. Julia nodded briskly.

“
Have
you, by chance, tried to combine your powers and use them together?”

“
Absolutely!”
Julia grabbed her friend's hand and squeezed it. “Almost from
the start, we've been helping each other. I think we're better when
we do it together than when we try it alone, sir.”

“
Yes,
Julia. I'm sure you are.” Mr. Fitzgerald looked at the two
friends and smiled a for a moment, tapping his lip thoughtfully. Then
he turned to Aaron.

“
Of
course, I know your ancestor was Coeus, Aaron,” he said. “But
his intelligence was used in a variety of ways and I don't believe he
ever developed a specific talent.” Mr. Fitzgerald sounded
almost apologetic.

“
That's
true, sir,” Aaron answered. Then he became excited. “But
Prometheus gave me a talent! He taught me how to use fire,” he
told Fitzgerald proudly.

For the first time, the man seemed caught off-guard and
looked at Aaron in amazement.

“
He
grafted his gift on to you?” Aaron nodded vigorously.
“Astounding! I believe this is unheard of in Titan lore.
Indeed, I did not know that such a thing was even possible. Well,
congratulations, Aaron. I'm sure that the talent has come in handy.”

“
And
then some, sir. Justin and me work well together. We've teamed up a
few times already on this journey.”

“
Hmm,”
Fitzgerald glanced from Aaron to Justin and back again. “Thank
you, Aaron. That is very interesting.”

“
Mr.
Fitzgerald? What do you mean? About Prometheus grafting his talent on
to Aaron?” Justin asked quizzically.

“
Perhaps
you've heard some of the lore on Prometheus, Justin. The story that
he gave man the gift of fire and was punished for it. As I'm sure you
all know by now, it was his teaching humans how to use runes that was
judged to be his crime. And killing his brother, Hyperion.”
Fitzgerald shook his head in resignation. “Understandable at
the time, perhaps. But I never did see either as crimes worthy of an
eternity of imprisonment. But there you are.”

He shifted slightly in the bed and Stabel quickly
stepped forward and adjusted the pillows into a more comfortable
position. Mr. Fitzgerald smiled his thanks at the servitor.

“
However,
Prometheus' inborn talent was indeed the power of fire. He was the
only Titan to ever master its use and now he's passed that knowledge
on to you, Aaron. It was a mighty gift.”

“
Yes
sir,” Aaron said fervently. “I know that. And I'm
treating it that way too.”

“
Good,
Aaron. Good. All of your talents must be used with caution and never
abused. Power misused has a bad habit of turning on the one abusing
it.”

Stabel spoke up just then. He had been checking the
machine on his belt.

“
Mr.
Fitzgerald, sir. I know that you feel you've rested enough. But your
system is working hard again to heal the damage done to it, and I
strongly recommend that you take some nourishment and get some sleep.
I am sure that these fine young people will be available when you've
had your rest.”

Mr. Fitzgerald grimaced and glared at the servitor.
Stabel returned his stare serenely and finally the man sighed in
acceptance.

“
He's
right, I suppose. I need to allow myself to heal. And you have all
been through a lot lately as well. So go and refresh yourselves, get
some rest too and we'll reconvene in a few hours time. All right?”

Justin bit back his frustration. He had so many things
he wanted to ask Mr. Fitzgerald, but he knew the man was right, so he
accepted the idea with as much grace as he could.

Everyone said good bye and headed for the door. Justin
waved as he went out the door and Fitzgerald returned the gesture.

The teens headed back to Borgen's house. Dhalena made
them a delicious lunch of pea soup, hot fresh bread and apple crumble
for dessert and everyone agreed that it was the best food that they
had had in a very long time.

Dhalena glowed at the praise. She was in a very good
mood to begin with, since the news that Fitzgerald was awake and on
the mend had spread throughout the servitor community.

“
It
was a blessing that you arrived when you did, my dears,” she
told them happily. “If there is ever anything I can do for you,
do not hesitate to ask. And I think I speak for the whole town when I
say that.”

“
Thank
you, Dhalena,” Maria said appreciatively. “We're just
happy that we could help.” As the servitor bustled off happily,
Maria looked around at her friends. “So, what now?” she
asked.

“
Well,
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to get some more
sleep, eat again and poke around the town,” Aaron said and
stretched loudly. “Besides, until Mr. Fitzgerald is ready, what
else can we do?”

“
Sounds
like a plan, bud,” Justin nodded. “I think we need a bit
of a break. Fitzgerald isn't the only one who needs some time to
heal.” He looked significantly at Maria who blushed a bit.

“
I'm
okay, Justin. Really,” she said.

“
I
know you are, Maria. You're okay but you aren't all right. None of us
is.” He looked at the group and, taking a deep breath,
continued. “It will take all of us a while to get over
Dominic's death. Even I know that. And soon we may be involved in a
fight with the renegades to take back Sanctuary. For a bunch of
teenagers, that's a lot to deal with. I know that too. So let's take
this chance to just be normal, whatever that is. Eat, rest, hang out,
that sort of thing.” He laughed lightly. “I don't know
what normal is for teenaged Titans, but this may be as close as we're
going to get for some time.”

“
Works
for me, Justin,” Jason said and he looked at Richard who was
just cleaning off his plate. “So, feel like exploring a bit,
Rich?”

Richard
just shrugged. “Sure, why not. I'm not that tired right now. I
think I'm getting better at the healing thing. Hardly any fatigue at
all. Besides, I have to admit, these servitors fascinate me.”

“
Cool.
Anyone else?”

Maria
decided to accompany the two friends on their exploration of the
town. Julia and Yolanda declined saying they just wanted to take a
break and talk a bit.

“
What
about you, Just?” Aaron asked as everyone else left the room in
different directions. “Anything you feel like doing?”

Before
Justin got a chance to answer, Borgen entered the room and greeted
them.

“
I
have just returned from my duties,” he said with a smile.
“Since you all seem to have some spare time, I wondered if you
might be looking for a little distraction?”

“
Distraction?”
Justin asked curiously. “What sort of distraction, Borgen?”

The
servitor winked and motioned for them to follow him.

In a
small room off of the main hallway, they found several comfy chairs
surrounding a plain stone table, on top of which was a square of
silvery metal inlaid into the table's surface.

“
Arena!”
Aaron practically shouted. “Justin, it's Arena! Borgen, that's
amazing! It's like my favorite game since I first arrived in
Sanctuary. Thanks so much!” Aaron actually hugged the servitor
who looked nonplussed but pleased as well.

“
Yeah,
thanks Borgen,” Justin said. “Seeing the game almost
makes things feel normal again.” He thought for a moment and
added “Well, normal-er anyway.”

Borgen
chuckled. “No thanks are needed. I'm pleased that you enjoy the
game. Feel free to spend as much time here as you wish.” He
bowed slightly and left the room.

Both
Justin and Aaron grabbed chairs across from each other; Aaron was
rubbing his hands in anticipation.

“
You
ready to get your butt kicked?” he asked Justin with an evil
grin.

“
Bring
it on, big guy,” Justin responded with a similar expression on
his face as he activated the board.

The two
friends soon lost themselves in the game. Justin felt a bit rusty
after being away from it for several months, but he recovered his
skills quickly, as did Aaron.