Haru Sasaki (prodigy07015348) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2008-01-27 22:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | demeter, haru sasaki, madeline scott |
Who: Demeter and Haru
What: Face-to-face meeting and deal-making
When: Same day as previous scene
Where: Demeter's holding room
Warnings: none
Demeter had to wait twenty minutes before the door to her room was opened once more. During that time, she was mulling over all sorts of horrible things she could possibly do to the person who was responsible for the kidnapping of herself and her loved ones. Normally she was very pleasant to mortals. In fact, of her family, she was probably one of the few who still harbored a great and tender affection for the humans of the world.
That affection, though, was practically nonexistant at this point. She was livid with a fury that she hadn't entertained in well over a decade, and though she promised to release her earlier visitors from their curse, she had made no vow to spare their fate from her upcoming visitor. So the goddess was fully prepared to hurl the full brunt of her most powerful curse upon the incoming human.
However, when the door had finished opening, and the person walked in, all her thought processes froze in their places and she just stared, wide-eyed with shock, at the young man who had just walked in.
"Salutations. My name is Haru Sasaki." The young man who'd walked in couldn't have been more than twenty-four or twenty-five. He was obviously asian in appearance, with his pale skin, dark brown almond shaped eyes, and jet black hair. He spoke perfect English, however, with practically no accent, aside from a very stoic, almost deadpan tone to his voice. "Would you prefer I address you as Demeter, or will Ms. Scott suffice?"
The goddess in question, though, was silent. She just stared at the young man with a stunned expression, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. Haru noticed this and raised a curious eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"
"Haru," Demeter murmured, her voice soft, yet pained. "Are you really Haru Sasaki?"
The young man, who had moved over to a nearby chair and was attempting to sit down. "Yes, I am." He paused for a moment. In his mind, on the way to see the immortal, he'd been playing out all sorts of scenarios that could potentially take place. He had been fully expecting to face down a very irate and potentially violent woman with supernatural powers. What he wasn't expecting, though, was to have that same immortal woman looking at him with what seemed like a sad and grieved expression. There was also the way she spoke his name with such familiarity. It was slightly unnerving, though he didn't reflect it in his face. "Why?"
"Haru," Demeter said once more. "It's me... oh wait... no.. you wouldn't recognize me right now, would you?"
Now Haru was officially confused. He had to give the immortal some mental props. It was the rare being that managed to confound his very analytical mind these days.
There was a sigh from the goddess. "I guess I have no choice. There is too much at stake." She rose to her feet and closed her eyes, focusing her energy not on the human before her, but on herself. She began to glow, so much so that Haru had to squint to keep his gaze on her. Within the light, something was changing. Demeter's hair was darkening to nearly black, and her features were changing to be something slightly more mature. When at last the changes were complete and the light had faded, now it was Haru who wore the expression of stunned disbelief.
"Aunt... Aunt Theresa?" Haru tried, and failed, to sit down in the chair, missing it by an inch and toppling over onto the plush carpetting. Where once the woman Madeline Scott was now stood the woman he knew many years ago as Theresa Evans, his family's closest friend, late father's most trusted business partner, and his very own long lost beloved godmother.
Demeter, as Theresa, nodded quietly. She'd moved forward when he fell over, but stopped short of helping him. It was a very uncomfortable and awkward reunion under quite possibly the worst of circumstances.
"Why have you done this, Haru? Why did you kidnap my sister, my son, and myself from our home?" she asked gently. "How did you know who I was? What is all of this about?"
Haru shook his head. "I can't tell you everything. However, I can tell you that what we did, we did for your own good. What I can tell you is that the people I work for have been monitoring the Egyptian immortals. We know they destroyed your home here in Miami, which was how discovered you. We have reason to believe that the home of your pregnant sister was to be their next target and wished to remove you three from threat of capture by them." Stating the cold facts and returning to the original reason he came here in the first place seemed to help Haru regain his composure as he righted himself upon the chair. "I've been monitoring the Egyptians with my team since they arrived in Florida, and I know what they have been doing here and in the other parts of the world, not just against you and the other Greek immortals, but against those immortals of other lands."
Demeter listened to Haru silently. There were so many questions she had. She wanted to believe that her former godson was telling her the truth, that he wouldn't lie to her. She was so confused, and very concerned about her sister and son. "Where is my son and my sister?" she asked.
"They are in this building, but in seperate rooms in seperate floors much like this one."
"Please Haru," Demeter pleaded. "You have have to let us go. My sister is obviously quite pregnant, and she cannot have her children in a place like this. I fear for what the stress of this ordeal might do to her and her children... and my son... He's been through so much lately..." Tears were whelling up in her eyes. She was so stressed out and upset.
As much as he wanted to keep up a stoic facade, Haru was quite inwardly unbalanced as well. He adored his godmother when he was a child, and having her there before him was unnerving, especially knowing that she is, and always had been, one of the immortals his organization had been monitoring for ages. "I cannot authorize that," he said simply. "It is not safe for any of you to be out there while the Egyptians are hunt--"
"And how safe do you think you all will be here once the rest of my family finds out that you've taken us?! Taken her?!" Demeter snapped back, rising quickly to her feet. "If you haven't realized it yet, my sister you hold is Hestia, quite possibly the most gentle and beloved of my siblings, and the father of her children is no less than Hades himself. If you know anything of the history of my family, you know that even unintentionally crossing the lord of the Tartarus himself is a death sentence for every mortal involved." She took a deep breath to steady herself, her mind racing. Haru, in her memory, was always a very logical child, so she had to reason calmly with him and try to convince him of her point of view.
Haru listened to his godmother silently, taking in not only her emotional outburst, but the words she spoke within it. He had suspicions about the identity of the pregnant immortal, but had no idea that the father was Hades. Mythology spoke quite clearly that the three brothers who ruled the heavens, seas, and underworld during the age of the Olympians were well known for their short tempers and little tolerance for humans who they believed slighted or offended them or their family. Much as he knew that he had a responsibility for keeping these vulnerable Greek immortals out of the hands of the Egyptians, he had a bigger responsibility for the safety of the mortal men and women of the organization. The Subrosa could not afford a direct attack upon their ranks when they still had so much work to do and so many more serious threats against humanity to take care of.
"I know you say that you took us for our own safety," Demeter continued. "However, we are truly safe among our own. Hestia has never had children before, and she needs to be with the rest of the family in order for them to survive. So long as she and my siblings know that the Egyptians are targeting them, steps can be taken to ensure their protection. We are still strong to do that much for ourselves. Please, Haru..."
Haru teepeed his fingers together and looked over at his godmother. "So survival is an issue for the children of immortals?" he asked.
Demeter winced a little bit and averted her gaze. "Just because their parents are gods does not mean, in this faithless day and age, that their children share their immortality."
The young man processed this valuable information. He was learning quite a bit of new information that he would have never had access to before. He could learn so much from his godmother...
Looking over at her godson, Demeter could see the wheels in his head turning. Despite being nearly a decade older, she still knew how to read one of her most beloved mortal children. Even though he tried to keep a stoic expression, she could tell where his thoughts were leading him, and she was with a desperate idea that could possibly win her sister and son their freedom.
"Haru. If I agree to stay here and provide what information I can for you and this... organization you work for, will you release my sister and son and let them return to my family?"
Haru studied Demeter with his piercing dark eyed gaze. Inwardly he was weighing his options. Having the pregnant Hestia in the Subrosa's custody would give them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study aspects of reproduction among immortals. However, holding Hestia also presented a new danger to the organization as a whole due to the fact that the father was a noted vengeful and wrathful immortal. It also wouldn't be hard to assume that the others within the Greek clan would try to come to the rescue of their sisters. It was enough that the Subrosa had to watch for threats from the Egyptians themselves. Could they afford to have a second angry clan of supernatural beings aiming their wrath at them?
On the other hand, this made the option being provided by Demeter all the more attractive. By keeping Demeter instead of Hestia, they would have access to one of the more mortal-friendly immortals of the Greek clan. She had a wealth of knowledge at her beck and call, and, from the tone of her offer, it seemed she would be willing to share quite a bit of it in return for the release of her sister and son. Additionally, there was a small selfish part of Haru's heart that wanted to keep his godmother close for a time, to catch up with her and find out why she'd seemed to vanish off the face of the earth all those years ago after his father died. He tried to dismiss this emotion in his equation, but it was still an influence no matter how much he wanted to deny it.
"By choosing to remain here, in exchange for your son and sister's freedom, you promise you won't try to escape and join them later? You're not going to go and disappear off the face of the earth again like last time?" Try as he might, Haru couldn't quite mask all the emotion out of his last question. It was enough to pull at Demeter's heartstrings, though.
"I swear by Zeus's name that I will not leave so long as you wish me to remain here in your custody, even if my family were to try and rescue me themselves." As the words left her lips, Demeter could almost feel the chains of her vow binding her about her neck to the wrist of the young mortal man before her, even if he couldn't see or feel the links himself.
"Then," he started. "I believe that this is acceptable."
Demeter breathed a sigh of relief. Her son and sister would be free. She knew that they would not be happy about the cost of their freedom, but it was for the best. "Thank you, Haru. This means so much to me."
Haru nodded and rose to his feet. "I will go and inform my supervisors of this. In the mean time I will order some of my men to prepare your son and sister for--"
There was a pinging from his pants pocket. Haru pulled out his cell phone and held it oddly to his ear. "Yes?... I see... No. Do not confront them. This situation will be resolved shortly. I do need two men to come and escort Ms. Scott to where her son and sister are being held. Those two will be released, but she will be staying with us. Oh, and have... what is her name... Sally... go and reserve a room for our guest at the hotel I am staying at... Yes... High security as always. Also, please inform the staff that we shall be breaking down operations here and will be moving to Site B tonight." When the phone was flipped shut, he turned to Demeter.
"It seems that two individuals, a man and woman, were observed leaving your sister's home and are headed in the direction of this building. The man, in particular, is one that's been observed visting the home often in the past."
It didn't take long for Demeter to figure out who it could possibly be. It was only a matter of time really before he discovered what had happened. "I see. Then the sooner I see my son and sister the better."
Haru nodded and got up to his feet as well. At the same moment, a man and a woman both in dark suits came into the room and looked expectantly first at the young man, then at the goddess. "Then let us proceed."
Demeter nodded herself and stepped forward so that she was flanked by her escorts. As Haru went off down a seperate hallway while she was taken to the elevators, she felt a heaviness settle in her heart. She needed to stay strong, but she also knew this was going to be very painful for everyone involved.
Her son... Her sister... She could only hope and pray that they would understand that this truly was for the best.
Summary: Demeter meets her captor face to face and is stunned to find out he's a person from her past. After this shock to both their systems, they manage to strike a bargain to win the freedom of two of the three who had been kidnapped.