"Thank you ma'am," Grayson and Harry said in unison, bowing to her as they had to Rachel.
"Well I think it might be better to patch some clothes up for you than to try to find something that fits you. I can use some of my husband's old denim and fashion you a proper pair of pants. I will do the same with your shirts. I am sorry but I don't have much in the way of cloth, so our old discarded clothing will just have to do," she said to which both boys nodded.
"Thank you; we are grateful for whatever you can help us with," Grayson said.
They all jumped when there was a loud pounding on the front door and a pleading and demanding male voice yelling for a Sentinel through the closed door.
"Sentinels!!! Please come out; Sentinels, I have been waiting for you please come out!!!!" the male voice pleaded.
Jo, Grayson, and Harry all turned to look at each other in astonishment, the suspicion clear on their faces.
"Sentinels?" Mr. Viloux said, his voice held a tone of recognition and surprise.
"You are Sentinels?" Mrs. Viloux asked them.
They all turned to her in confusion although they were acting. Rachel gasped and looked at them differently; she looked like they were her saviors and not simply soldiers that she was afraid of now. Grayson shook his head as the pounding at the door grew louder and more adamant.
"Francis let the man in; you three sit and start explaining to me what is going on. If you are Sentinels then we want to know the truth; we are friends to the Sentinels, and have been for a long time," Mrs. Viloux said.
Jo sighed and jerked her head toward the couch which Mrs. Viloux had indicated they sit on. Grayson and Harry had been watching Jo and saying nothing, they just sat down. Grayson felt like he was in trouble and sitting under a microscope in the principal's office or something. Harry had his head bowed.
A man roughly the build of Harry, maybe bulkier with a thicker waist and standing at about 6ft tall, walked in breathing hard and looking read in the face; he moved as Jo did. When Jo saw him, she gasped and stared at him in shock. Jo normally had a great poker face so for her to be caught off guard and react like that had Grayson on edge.
"Ryosuke Takemura," Jo whispered; the man stopped and stared at her with the same shocked expression.
"Josephine Wilson, you're still alive!!! OH YES, YES, YES, YES!!!!! I thought you were lost to us; I thought you were gone. When you didn't appear on the other side, we thought Kushiro Tatsu had killed you in battle, like the others. Your children waited for the longest time. They even built a small cabin and waited for years but you never once showed. Where have you been?" Ryosuke asked Jo.
So this guy is a Sentinel.
Grayson remained quiet, but he was on high alert; this man was a Sentinel who knew Jo, and he somehow knew they were there. Why did he not remember him? Maybe he had not gotten that memory from Jo, yet she remembered Ryosuke, so he must not have all her memories as he'd thought before. Grayson observed the Sentinel and the Viloux family closely; somehow, the Viloux family knew about Sentinel's and they claimed to be friends to the Sentinels.
Harry had grabbed onto Grayson's forearm and was squeezing hard; he was nervous and scared. Grayson continued his close observation, watching everything and everyone. Jo looked upset, shocked, and worried all at the same time; that was what worried Grayson.
"Josephine, we need your help, in fact, we need your specific help. You are the greatest fighter I have yet to see in all my time as a Sentinel. I saw you three drop out of the sky and ran to find you, but by that time you were gone, when I looked around I couldn't find you and a while later I finally saw you getting onto Mr. Viloux's wagon. I ran as fast as I could to get here and ask for your help, all three of you," he turned to look at Grayson and Harry and nodded respectfully.
Grayson repeated the movement, nodding to him; Harry looked at Jo and she nodded once imperceptibly. Harry smiled shyly at Ryosuke and pushed himself into the couch as much as he could, trying to make himself smaller.
"Ryosuke, why do you need our help?" Jo asked calmly; Grayson could tell she was nowhere near calm but she really did pull of a poker face well.
"There is an installation of fascist Sentinels and they have an internment camp of Sentinels imprisoned there, they go into the Sentinel's homes and take them by force. They raided my group, and I just barely got out in time. There is intelligence that they are taking the Sentinels so that they can give them the final death but not before they take all their energy to fuel their own. Jo you are the only one that I can think of that has the slightest possibility of taking them down. Please help us," Ryosuke pleaded.
Jo looked at Grayson and Harry; Grayson shrugged and Harry sighed and nodded.
"How do you know where they are?" Jo asked Ryosuke.
"I am bound to one of them; Jo I can feel them torturing her. We don't have much time Jo, please; if they don't want to go then you and I will just have to suffice. Only it would be better if we had four of us and not two, but they run the risk of getting caught as well. These guys are tough, not easily beaten," Ryosuke said.
"That shouldn't be a problem for them, even for Harry who is averse to fighting. You will help right Harry?" Jo asked, pinning him with her penetrating stare, Harry nodded.
"Yes Jo, I will help, but I am not as good at fighting as Gray, he's your best bet you know that," Harry said quietly.
"I know very well what I have Harry McDonnell. I have trained both of you since you were little, just because you missed two years does not make you as inept as you think you are. You need motivation to fight, and now you have it; if you do not fight alongside Gray, the other Sentinels might catch him and then you lose him forever. Is that what you want?" Jo asked him, Harry turned pale then shook his head.
"Jo, how dangerous is it? I can't fight properly if I am worried about Harry getting hurt," Grayson asked.
Jo turned her penetrating gaze on him; she was pissed. Why was she mad at him?
"Grayson Phillips, have I ever led you astray? Have I ever put you in a situation that you could not handle? If I say you need Harry there, then you need Harry there; if I say Harry can handle himself, then Harry can handle himself. I have been cultivating you both since you were little, I will not risk your lives if I think even for a second that you could not come out of this on top. Am I understood?" Jo asked.
She was pissed, but she was not pissed at him; if there was someone that Grayson knew, it was Jo. She was not happy and the only reason he could think she would be mad was this new person, Ryosuke, or maybe it was his news that made her so. Either way he did not like when Jo was mad, it put him on edge.
"Ok then, so what is the game plan Mr. Takemura and how are you bound to this woman?" Grayson asked.
He turned to him and looked at him for a second, deciding whether Grayson should be included in the information. It wasn't like Harry and he were lackeys.
"Mr. Takemura, if you want our help then it's best you give me the information that we need for this to succeed. Jo has trained us well; if I do not ask this then she will. If you do not trust in me or Harry then this will not work," Grayson said, his gaze never dropping Ryosuke's steady gaze.
He nodded and extended his hand to him; Grayson warily took it and shook it. He could feel the man trying to squeeze his hand, he could also tell that he was putting a great amount of strength behind it, but it didn't even register on the pain scale. There wasn't even discomfort; it was as if a child was trying to squeeze his hand; no pain, no discomfort. He wanted to make the man feel better about himself but if people were being killed then they didn't have time for trivialities like 'who is stronger?'
Grayson sighed, dropped his hand, and looked at Jo, arching his eyebrows in exasperation.
"Jo maybe you should get this person to talk. He comes to ask us all for help, but acts as if we are not good enough to help. Do you want your female back or not Mr. Takemura? I get antsy after a while, I like to move, and act. Jo, I want to go home already, so can we save them already a
nd get home to our Mother's and your children? I'm pretty sure Harry wants to go home too," Grayson said, Jo sighed and nodded.
"He is right Ryosuke; now is no time to try to size him up. If you really feel the need to do that, then just have them stand; Gray, Harry, please be so kind as to stand for the indecisive man," Jo asked them.
Both Grayson and Harry stood and Ryosuke gasped as he saw their size, height, and Grayson's mass; though by no means over the average Sentinel, Grayson and Harry were still impressive to see.
"My god, you're a behemoth, how big are you?" Ryosuke asked; Grayson shrugged.
"Don't know, haven't measured myself; I think Harry is still around 6'3", maybe 6'4", so that gives you an idea. You know, for someone in need of help you are awfully picky about who you have to help you. Are there any other Sentinels around to lend you a hand? You should be more appreciative that we are willing to help you. Jo, Harry and I are going to go outside, fill us in afterward; this guy is pissing me off. Come on Harry," Gray said then walked out of the house.
He disliked ungrateful people, and he disliked even more, people who thought they were better than others.
He doesn't know Harry or me and just assumes he is better than we are. He's never seen us fight and yet he comes to us for help; if only I could look the other way; damn Jo and her training; always teaching me not to look the other way when someone needs my help. This is what I get for wanting to help people. Disrespect and disdain; asshole!
"You know Mr. Takemura, without knowing what type of Sentinels came through the time portal or who was on the other side of that front door, you came idiotically knocking. You could have very well been knocking on the enemy's door, and yet with the mistake you made you have the audacity to look down your not so intelligent nose at my friend. You should think before you insult people. You do not know whom we are, and you do not know how we will react. You would be wise to think before you speak and gauge your actions before you act, or you will end up in the same place and situation as your bonded female. You are lucky he is who he is, and that he has a good sense of right and wrong because if he wouldn't be going in there to save her, I can almost guarantee you that neither Jo nor I would be assisting you in your endeavor. You angered the right person Mr. Takemura, because had you made me mad I would just leave you to deal with this situation on your own," Harry said, looking at the now beet read Ryosuke directly in the eyes.
Then Harry turned to Jo.
"Jo we need to hurry, I don't know why, but I don't think she has much time left," Harry said and went out to join Grayson.
When Harry walked outside, he found Grayson on the ground, on his knees, holding his head and grunting.
"Gray! What's wrong?" Harry asked running to Grayson's side.
"Memories; too many, so much," Grayson grunted then gasped and dropped completely to all fours and dry heaved as he had when they first arrived.
The shirt that Mr. Viloux had given him was stretched to its limit and looked like it was about to rip at the seams. Harry did the only thing he could think of to help Grayson through the pain and overwhelming feeling of having so much information forced into you; he sat down next to him and laid Grayson head on his lap once he'd finished dry heaving. Harry started to sing the lullaby that Grayson and Jo had sung to him earlier as he petted his head.
Slowly Grayson relaxed and lay on Harry's lap breathing hard. The look of pain on his face was slowly replaced by that of exhaustion; he was worn out. After a minute or so, Grayson spoke quietly.
"You and I are two pieces of a whole; Jo was right, you are the second Sentinel. Gaia is our Mother and creator, she formed us and had all of her children and their descendants give part of themselves to form us, just as she did. Together they formed me, then after an epoch alone they saw I needed both assistance with the policing of the people and love for myself, because I was incredibly lonely. Therefore, they gave me you, my perfect mate and partner in every way. They took part of me to form you, but it was more than just flesh, like themselves, they took part of my essence as well to give you eternal life. Gaia did this to bind us in love and make us fit together perfectly, but it had an adverse effect, something the Gods and Goddesses didn't foresee. Though Gaia herself did and allowed it to happen to bring a perfect balance to our justice and love, and because of this we are bound to each other infinitely," Grayson said, pausing when he saw Harry had a question.
"What is the adverse effect?" Harry asked, petting Grayson's head.
"The adverse effect is that we are complete and whole but only when together; we survive apart but always search for our other half. You are the more peaceful one, you have more of Gaia and Aphrodite in you I have more of the Gaia and Zeus in me but we both have very much and equal parts of Athena. We are made this way to balance each other out properly, nature, love, procreation, justice, wisdom, war strategy, power, the sky, hence the wings. Together we are stronger, and unbeatable, alone we are unbeatable but not as strong, because we are not as balanced. Jo is the first Sentinel we created; she has a piece of each of us in her. She is the first of the seconds, and she is very powerful, because she we created her from our love, we fashioned her as Gaia and the others did us," Grayson said, waiting for Harry to ask another question, when he didn't speak, Grayson continued.
"We have no superiors, but if we should have to report to anyone, it would be solely to Gaia. Our tattoos serve more than one purpose, the swords are real, as are the wings, and they also act as a beacon to anyone who truly needs help, though we can hear everyone's cries for help. We can draw our swords as if they were hanging on our backs, I must show you how we do it, but to do this we have to be intimately connected. Harry, you have to kiss me; I am sorry but before we go, you have to have the knowledge. Kissing me will trigger it, it is painful though. Are you ok with that?" Grayson asked.
Harry nodded, he looked both at peace and shocked at Grayson's words, an odd combination of emotions yet he somehow pulled it off.
Grayson sat up, then stood pulling Harry with him and walked into the forest surrounding one side of the house, opposite the large field. They walked for a minute and once they felt alone Grayson slowly pulled Harry toward him. He cupped Harry's gorgeous angelic face and looked deep into his eyes.
"We belong to each other Harry, nothing in this universe can take that away from us, not death nor the other Gods and Goddesses. We are the children of the earth and universe; we are the ones that guard her and all her children from harm. Our purpose in life is to protect time, the universe, Gaia, the earth, and all its inhabitants, from anything that might bring her or them harm. All the Gods and Goddesses saw to it that we would be well equip for such a task. We are not only human; we are also part of everything and everyone; we created all the other Sentinels to help in this endeavor. Remember that ok Harry?" Grayson said, Harry nodded, staring deep into Grayson's eyes.
"I love you Harry; always and forever," Grayson said and heard Harry gasp at his words as Grayson lowered his head.
The kiss started out slow; as if Grayson were trying to nudge the memories forward. He pressed his tongue into Harry's lips gently, running it along the soft suppleness of Harry's full lips until Harry parted them and let Grayson's tongue slip in, claiming what was rightfully his. His tongue played with Harry's, taunting it and wrapping around his and sucking on it until he had Harry quivering with desire.
Harry moaned and felt as Grayson changed the kiss from soft to demanding, needy, and lustful. He pulled Harry to him tighter, cupping his butt and the back of his head and pressing Harry's back against a tree. Harry could feel the solidness of Grayson against him and it only served to make him hard. Grayson's kiss had them pulling apart and panting, then pressing their lips back together with more need and desire than before. The sensations were amazing, and both felt like they would come from just the kiss and rubbing against each other.
Then Grayson released Harry's mouth only to kiss him down his chin to his throat and down further still to his colla
rbone making Harry moan. His hands slid up and under Harry's shirt rubbing his pebbled nipples, making Harry shiver and rub his crotch against Grayson insistently. Grayson heard Harry gasp in pleasure and then in pain, and then he felt the change.
Harry was no longer enjoying himself; he was squeezing Grayson's shoulders with enough strength to cause Grayson pain, but Grayson did not pull away. He'd let the pain come and take as much as he could, if it would help Harry's memories be less painful. After about two minutes of holding onto a trembling Harry, and helping him remain standing as he dry heaved as Grayson had, Harry stood up on shaky legs.
Some of his memories had returned, but his eyes shone with the energy of his memories; they were also full of desire for Grayson. They would have to take care of that for a very long time when they got home. However, the important part was done, they now knew and felt the connection which had only been hinted at before; they were closer to complete in body and soul.
Chapter Nine
Grayson and Harry emerged from the surrounding forest and saw Jo standing there looking angry and shocked, a disgruntled Ryosuke stood by her side. Grayson smiled at Jo and waived, ignoring Ryosuke, since he was still pissed at him, he didn't care if he was acting childish; he was allowed a little childish behavior.
"Sorry Jo, had to go into the forest to do something; but it will most definitely help in the retrieval of our kidnapped Sentinels. So what's the plan Jo?" Grayson asked, Jo studied them both and smiled widely with approval.
"Good, you'll have to tell me about it later; for now, this is our plan of attack," Jo said, and proceeded to explain to them exactly what she and Ryosuke had come up with.
It was a simple distracting method, perform a full on attack, going in with guns blazing. Of course, that would be the distraction part, but that would give Jo and Harry a chance to retrieve the kidnapped victims and Grayson and Ryosuke a chance to fight the kidnappers. Obviously, there was more to Jo's plan, and Grayson was sure that Jo had not shared her whole plan with him because she didn't trusted Ryosuke in some way. Grayson didn't know why, but he knew she would inform him of it when she felt it was necessary; and Grayson also had his own plan that he'd shared with Harry, but he couldn't tell Jo in front of Ryosuke.
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