"Very well, please give the laptops in the crate to the children; I brought one for each of them, let them know it's from me and Harry if you can. I have to go get Red and run an errand with him, but I'll be bringing him back later today. Please let Yoshihiro know I will be back later if he decided he wants to go home with me after all," Grayson said as he stood up.
Marcos nodded and smiled at him then stretched his hand out when Grayson stretched his hand out, then Grayson went to find Red, he was playing with a few other children, including Pari, and Xavier; those three never left each other's side.
After Grayson found him, he transported them to Jesse's apartment; when they arrived, Grayson knocked on his door. Red was holding on to Grayson's hand tightly, and Grayson could feel his nervousness. He turned to Red and squeezed his hand, smiling down at him.
"Hey, there is no reason to be nervous, you said he is your Dad's best friend, we're here to check on him and make sure he is ok, that's all. I'm here with you Red, don't worry," Grayson said giving him another squeeze.
"Thank you Gray," Red said, looking at Grayson with a nervous smile then turned when the door opened up.
A man about 6'1" tall answered the door; he had pale blue eyes, and dark blue-black hair. This was Jesse Bailey, 30 years old, and he was most definitely a Sentinel. Not only was he built like a Sentinel, but Grayson could tell he also had some training from the way he moved. When he spotted Red, he turned to Grayson with anger on his face and lunged, aiming a punch at his face.
Grayson frowned at him but didn't move except to block Red from Jesse. Jesse's fist made contact with Grayson's face, and Grayson heard the telltale crunch of broken bones; he hissed in pain and pulled back, looking at Grayson with wide eyes.
Grayson still stood in the same place he had, showing no signs of pain or discomfort from the punch; of course he'd felt it, but it had not been a very hard punch, Jesse had not put his full strength behind the punch at all.
"If you're done then we'd like to speak with you, I am Grayson Phillips, and you already know Red," Grayson said calmly.
"Red, come here, get away from this guy, what is he?" Jesse said, reaching for Red.
Grayson stretched out his arm, stopping Red from going to Jesse, he knew Jesse wasn't a threat, but Red was still a child, and he hadn't gone through the change yet, he could still be hurt.
"It's ok Gray, Jesse is safe, he would never hurt me," Red said, patting Grayson's forearm as Harry did.
Grayson lowered his arm and followed Red into the small apartment; after Jesse closed the door Grayson spoke freely although he didn't talk loudly. However, before he spoke, and without permission, Grayson delved into Jesse's mind, and was thankful that his mind was a clean read unlike Jo's ex-husband, John, had been. Jesse had lived an ordinary life until his change; he never knew he was a Sentinel, nor did he know why the change had happened, not until Red's Dad told him. Like Jo, his memories had failed to come back.
He'd attacked Grayson because he thought he was some sort of pedophile that had preyed on Red and hurt Red's Dad, Rick. Grayson could tell he was a good person, and even before he knew of Sentinels, he had used his abilities for good. He helped people whenever he could; he even worked as a firefighter as Red's Dad had. His training came from boxing, and kick boxing, he'd been a fighter until the age of 24, then he'd quit and joined Red's Dad in the fire department.
"You know of Sentinels?" Grayson asked.
He knew Jesse knew of Sentinels, he'd seen it in his head, and Red had also told him Jesse was also a Sentinel, but it was rude to just come out and say that, plus it always led to arguments and anger when they discovered Grayson had seen inside their heads.
Jesse crossed his arms angrily, the broken bones already having healed, and nodded his answer to Grayson.
"Very well, Red's Father was taken by a man that we only know as the Void. About three days ago or so, a few of us Sentinels rescued Red and 3051 others from the Void's prisons. Red asked me to bring him here and check in on you to make sure you were ok. That is why we are here," Grayson said, looking Jesse in the eyes.
Jesse's anger and displeasure at Grayson's presence disappeared when Grayson spoke of Red's Father, and his concern turned to more anger and confusion.
"So where is Rick?" Jesse asked.
Grayson shook his head and Red sighed.
"The Void sucked his life out of him, he killed him," Red said sadly, plopping down on the couch and looking at his feet.
"Killed?" Jesse asked his voice distant.
Richard Furs, Red's Dad, had been very close to Jesse, they'd grown up together much like Grayson and Harry, only without the pretty factor. Still, they had been very close, like brothers, and to find out he'd been killed by the Void had shocked Jesse.
"Are you sure he's dead?" Jesse asked Grayson desperately.
Grayson sighed and hung his head, he wanted to say no, but the truth of the matter was that he didn't know if he could pull of what his brain was concocting and he didn't want to give anyone any high hopes. If everything went according to his plan, which in most cases it didn't, he would be able to bring all the ones the Void had absorbed into himself and release them, but that was only if it went as planned, and there was no guarantee that it would.
"I'm sorry Jesse," Grayson said apologetically.
Jesse sat down heavily and hung his head; Red slid closer to Jesse and took his hand, both heads bowed in sadness. Grayson sat in the oversized sofa chair, his long legs sticking out at an angle because of his height.
"Can we catch this guy and make him pay?" Jesse asked, looking back up at Grayson, tears in his eyes. Grayson felt his face harden considerably, and he gave Jesse a solid and steady look.
"I plan on it, thoroughly," Grayson said coldly.
Jesse's eyes widened when he saw and felt the degree of Grayson's anger, but he remained silent. Red, having already seen Grayson's angry face, was not surprised at the angry energy Grayson released, but in an attempt to explain, Red introduced Grayson properly.
"Grayson is the First, his boyfriend Harry is the Second. They are the ones that rescued us; I don't think any of us would be here if it weren't for Grayson and Harry. He's safe Jesse, you can trust him," Red said, patting Jesse's leg in a Harry-like fashion.
He seemed to have taken on some of Harry's quirks and habits, Grayson couldn't help but smile when he saw it. Jesse looked at Grayson in confusion and voiced his thoughts.
"What is the first?" Jesse asked.
"The First is the first Sentinel created; he was created by Gaia from pieces of all the gods and goddesses that have ever existed, including KiGa the great Mother of the universe. The first and the second are essentially mini gods, with the power off all the gods in one, but meant to bring justice and protection to all the inhabitants of the universe. Though we guard the Earth, ours is not the only world we protect. I created a council of Sentinels to govern the other Sentinels protecting the other worlds. In the beginning, the First guarded everything alone for many, many eons, until the gods and goddesses saw fit to create another, so they created the Second. The first Sentinel is the one that the Second and all other Sentinels came from, well, technically, all Sentinels, were created from both Harry and me. Only Harry was created from, only me and all the gods and goddesses, and the rest of you came from both Harry and me."
Grayson finished his informative and lengthy explanation then stopped talking. Jesse was looking at him as if he'd gone bonkers; his disbelief was practically tangible. Grayson found this amusing; where did he think they got all this power? Did he think it was just natural evolution?
It was entirely possible to think that the human race would one day evolve to have some of the abilities that the Sentinels had, but teleporting and time travel was highly unlikely. Moreover, the abilities they might evolve into may not be those Sentinels had, but only time would tell, they'd grown by leaps and bounds so far, who knew where their next leap would take them.
"He's not crazy Jess
e, I saw the Void do some things that can't be explained in any other way," Red whispered.
"The Void is not a Sentinel."
Grayson's words made Red and Jesse look at him in surprise; they looked confused, as well they should, everyone but Harry was under the impression that the Void was a Sentinel, but Grayson was sure of one thing.
The Void was not a Sentinel.
He never had been, and no matter how many Sentinels he absorbed, he never would be. Nevertheless, the problem thus far had been in finding out just what he was and how the fuck he was blocking Grayson or Harry from finding him and knowing his true identity. He was somehow managing to block them, but Grayson didn't know how.
"Are you sure about that?" Red asked him. Grayson nodded his head, his look of amusement gone and his stoic mask securely in place.
"So, you and Harry are gods; are we all mini gods?" Jesse asked, Grayson gave a small nod and shrugged.
"In essence I guess you could say that we are all mini gods, but we reincarnate, only our souls or essence is created from the gods and goddess, so until we change we are human. Only after we go through the change are we like mini gods, however the first and second will always be the most powerful of all the Sentinels, and that includes hybrids of any kind."
Grayson answered all of Jesse's questions, and there were quite a few, but mostly they were about Sentinels, their abilities, the rules they lived by, and their duties. He had quite a few on what Sentinels were created for, and when Grayson told him what they were meant for, he seemed happy about it. Most Sentinels had the overpowering drive to protect and bring justice in one form or another; it was just part of who they were.
After talking for roughly an hour about various things and getting to know each other better, Grayson told Jesse he had an open invitation to visit his home and Red. He explained about Red attending the KiGa school and let him know all he had to do was ask to see Red and Grayson would take care of the rest, he also offered Jesse a chance to go to KiGa if he wanted to see where Red was going to school and the land of KiGa.
They left a little after that, but not before Grayson gave Jesse his contact information and let him know if he ever really needed him, all he had to do was think of him. Once they finished with Jesse, Grayson took Red back to KiGa and spoke with Yoshihiro.
Yoshihiro had decided he would like to stay at the KiGa school for a while and see how it worked out. He had already made a few friends with the older students his age, and he was getting along well with Patrick, whom Marco had roomed him with for the duration of his stay.
Before Grayson left KiGa he went in search of Baltos and checked on him; he found him training hard, just as Grayson had said he needed to. Grayson staid for a while, giving him pointers and helping him however he could. As he was leaving, Grayson asked Baltos if he had reflected at all on his punishment.
"I have, I tried to see my actions from an outsider's point of view and I was ashamed of what I saw. I need to concentrate on who I really am not the position I may get from it; I will continue to train as you have said, and I will repent for my actions. I want to apologize to the teachers and students of KiGa for my actions, but I don't know if they will believe me or not," Baltos said with his head bowed.
"Baltos, if you mean it they will believe you, and if they don't then say it again; say it until they do believe you although they should know when you speak the truth. You have 400 years to make up for, it will take some time to do that; don't give up so easily. You are doing well so far; don't stop with your training; I will be checking in with you regularly when I come pick up the children. For now, just keep doing what you have been doing," Grayson said. Baltos nodded and looked at Grayson intently.
"I'm sorry for my actions Supreme Commander, I will continue to try my hardest as you have instructed," Baltos said bowing as Grayson turned to go.
"Thank you for apologizing. I'll see you soon Baltos," Grayson said, then returned home, going back about an hour after he'd left.
When he arrived, all was silent, no one seemed to be home, Grayson checked every room and found no one, he called out but no one answered him either. Sighing, he relaxed and focused on Harry, finding him easily; it appeared everyone had gone shopping at the mall.
Since it was only down the street, he walked over to the mall and found them quickly. He didn't know why they were shopping, but he figured some things just felt better doing them in person, he knew his Mom felt it helped her relieve her stress when she went shopping.
It seemed to be the same for everyone because they had all gone; his Dad, whom he found first, seemed to be occupied in the outdoors store, he was looking at fishing equipment. Frank was on the other side of the same store and he waved at him as he looked at some of the hunting gear they had.
"Hey Dad, what are you buying?" Grayson asked him, making Kenneth jump. How had he snuck up on him?
"Jesus H. Christ son, you should wear a bell or something," Kenneth said in a startled voice.
Grayson chuckled; he could honestly say he'd never heard his Father say Jesus H. Christ.
"I was only looking for some fishing equipment, Frank and I thought we could take you boys fishing and give the women a girl’s day to themselves. We could all use a break, and you've been going nonstop since you found us. I know Harry could use a break too, and fishing always helped us relax before so I figured why not?" Kenneth said.
Grayson smiled at him and nodded, helping him look around and choosing a few things he remembered they used to use when they'd gone fishing together.
"Oh, did you talk with the other Sentinels in the cave?" Grayson whispered. Kenneth nodded and spoke in the same low tone.
"They all went to KiGa, but pledged to support you and offered you their services. Harry was the one that took us to the land of KiGa and we set them all up so that they could all have their own home and land," Kenneth said, bowing his head and making it look like he was talking about the items in his hands.
Grayson nodded and patted his Dad on his shoulder and grinned at him.
"I should probably get some clothes my size while we're here; I'm going to go looked for the others, see you in a bit Dad," Grayson said after he finished helping his Dad.
He was right; Harry and he had been going nonstop, except for sleep, since they saved them, but there was just so much to do. So much had been left undone while Harry and he were absent that they didn't really have time to relax. However, the most important was stopping the Void, and that was going to take some effort. They might as well get a day to relax before they went at it hardcore.
He went in search of the others, he found Jo, Sheila, Phoebe, Isabel, Leeann, and Gemma in the lingerie store, searching for and trying on bras and underwear. Sheila had a baby doll outfit she was going to try on and Jo was looking at some sexy outfit that should not be considered any sort of clothing, it was mostly string tied together. Phoebe seemed to be occupied with shoes as was Gemma, and his Mom and Leeann were looking at purses. Grayson found it odd they sold purses and shoes in a lingerie store, but they all seemed to be happy with it so he didn't comment.
He grinned and winked at them when he saw them looking at the sexy clothes, shoes, and purses. He kissed his Mom and Jo on the cheek and hugged everyone else, then left to find, Matt, Eric, Harry, and David, whom he found in one of the many men's clothing stores.
"Hey guys," Grayson greeted them, making them jump like he'd made his Dad jump.
What was going on? Why was everyone being caught so unawares? Grayson frowned but didn't comment on the fact that he'd snuck up on four Sentinels, one of them being the Second. Harry especially should not have been surprised, he should not have only heard him coming but also sensed him, this was very odd.
Harry smiled widely at him and showed him a pair of jeans that were clearly too long for him. Was he shopping for Grayson? Grayson smiled widely at Harry and nodded, how could he not love him?
"Yeah should probably get some of those while were here, I'll look a bit
lame walking around school in slacks and a dress shirt, and I don't think people will appreciate me walking around naked,"
Grayson winked at Harry when he finished speaking, making Harry blush slightly. Matt snickered and Eric wiggled his eyebrows, David shook his head, grinning widely and walked off toward another section of the store and Matt and Eric went their own way.
"So, you know Dad is gathering stuff for us to go fishing, I don't know if he plans on going today since it's still early, but I thought we could go home and relax together. What do you think?" Grayson said, grabbing a few pairs of jeans in his size to add to the pair Harry had for him and some shirts that looked big enough to try on.
Normally he would just grab whatever looked right and bought them without trying them on, but he hadn't measured himself since the change and he had to do it at least once.
"I'll be right back; I’m gonna go try these on," Grayson said, sneaking a squeeze of Harry's butt as he turned around and went to try the clothes on.
Harry let out a tiny squeak as Grayson's hand cupped his butt, but he stifled it and gave Grayson a sideways glance; Grayson winked at him again and went into the changing rooms. Just as he thought, the clothes fit him fine, and now he knew what size he needed.
When he came out Eric, Matt, and David were already checking out and Harry was waiting patiently outside the changing rooms for him. Grayson went to search for a pair of shoes and found what he was looking for and grabbed a few packs of socks in his new size. He grabbed a few boxer briefs, some shorts, a pair of board shots, some sleep pants, sleep shorts, and sleep shirts, then they both checked out. Once they were done, they went in search of the others; they found the women first, then the men.
Once they were all done, their arms full of the things Kenneth and Frank had bought, they took everything to the two trucks and went home; surprisingly the women only had a few bags even with all the items Grayson had seen them put to the side for later.
The Sentinels The First and the Second (second edition) Smashwords edition.doc Page 30