"Funeral? All the way up there?" The young woman sat down a coffee mug she'd been previously holding, phone squashed between her ear and shoulder. She leaned back in her computer chair, listening to her mother's reply.

"Yes, dear. I know you didn't know your grandfather very well, and, well… I didn't either. But it would make your father happy a great deal." She informed. When there was no response, her mother prompted a 'hello?'

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Just thinking." She responded with a grumble, opening up her laptop, and checked her schedule.

"Okay, well, your ticket will all be payed for, and we have some gifts for you to take back with you." The woman continued, her daughter half-heartedly listening as she scrolled through the calendar up on her screen. "Your grandfather has a thing or two in his will for you as well, and I don't know if it's shippable or not- I surely don't want to keep it from you."

"How long will it be for?"

"You can stay as long as you want with us if you want. However, I'd like you to stay at least three days, if you could, dear."

"Mmmrr…" She rubbed a hand on her face, stifling a sigh to not offend her mother. She could probably take work off for three days…

"Sure." She finally agreed.

"Great! I'll send you what I need to. I have to get going, much to prepare. I love you, sweetheart, and I can't wait to see you!"

"You too. Love you, mum."

The call ended, and she knew she had a long trip up to Michigan.

Michigan was bitter cold, per usual. That's why she liked Los Angeles much better- The winters weren't quite as cold, and you never saw snow, unless it was a freak thing.

Her mother was glad to see her, her brothers less so, and her father was grim most of the time. She reunited with family she hadn't seen for ages, and though she enjoyed it, she didn't much appreciate all of the attention.

What was strange, however, is that her grandfather had really not left her anything. Save, he left her some cash, about 2 grand, and an old, rustic pocket watch. It wasn't much, and she almost thought it was a waste of time to take off work to come down here.

At the memorial service, however, it was almost made up for. Plenty of food. Cookies, cakes, orderves, sandwiches- What was this, a wedding? She'd helped herself to a plateful of food, and sat down at a table, eating quietly as she checked her accounts on her phone.

"Sweetheart," She looked up, swallowing a bite of sandwich as her mother hurried over. In her hand was a box slightly bigger than her own hand, and on the top was her name scrawled in rushed writing. "Your grandfather left you this, too." Curiously, she plucked the box from her mother's fingers, and moved to open the lid. "Ah, ah." Her mother put a finger on the box, then lifted the note on the top slightly with her fingernail.

'Open Alone', it read, in the same rushed handwriting. "Does it matter?" She grumbled, eyes flicking irritably up to her mother, whom gave her a stern stare in return.

"It's your grandfather's last wish; Can't you respect that?" She chided, her daughter casting her eyes downwards.

"I guess." She shrugged, taking the box and tucking it carefully into her bag. The day went on until it turned to night, and eventually, everyone had gone their separate ways. Phone in hand, she made her way down the hall to her own room, having already of bid her family goodnight, and last condolences to her father. Despite sitting most of the day and doing nothing, it was surprisingly tiring.

As soon as she got into her room, she'd stripped out of her formal wear, and into some night clothes. "Freedom." She breathed, flopping down onto her bed, and grabbed her pillow, holding it to her body as she curled up. She wanted to sleep, honestly, she did. But something was nagging at her… What, she did not know.

Blinking her eyes back open, she sat up, looking over at her bag. Curiosity finally getting the best of her, she stood, moving to her desk, and dug through it, finally withdrawing the box. She was about to rip it open, until she remembered the whole 'open alone'. Holy shit, She suddenly thought, what could be in here? She was almost scared to find out. Maybe it was just something personal of his he didn't want prying eyes to see. Maybe a secret heirloom to pass down to her family?

Maybe it was something illegal. Something worth a lot of money, but illegal. "I knew that old coot was a gangster." She muttered, lips quirking a bit as she finally pulled the box open. At first, she almost couldn't look, but she finally did, and what she saw…

Was disgustingly disappointing.
She'd expected something much more. Something that would pop out, that she would have to keep a secret from her family. No, though, it wasn't anything of the sort.

It was a watch.

A fucking watch.

It looked techy, but was definitely not something she'd wear. She scrunched up her nose, feeling more than irked and disappointed. She nearly threw the thing, but opted to instead take it out, looking over it. It… Seemed normal enough. It honestly did. The time was incorrect, but it didn't surprise her; She'd have to change it to LA time anyways.

"Gotta be fuckin' kidding me, gramps." She muttered, but decided to humor the man and put the watch on anyways. It wasn't really uncomfortable, but it was a little loose. She started to adjust the time on it, stopping as something caught her eye. There was a small tab of paper under a layer of padding where the watch lay on top of, and so, she took off the padding. Underneath was another small note, and a smaller micro-chip.

'Place chip in watch. Be careful.' The writing looked… Not as messy, but still not as thought out. "Hmm. Be careful?" She mused, taking the chip out carefully. She looked at the watch clasped onto her wrist, searching for some sort of opening. When she finally pinpointed it, she pushed the chip in, and it gave a small 'click'.

Nothing happened.

"What does he-"

A startled gasp left her lips. Suddenly, it felt as if two needles had just shot into the top of her wrist, and the band had coiled around her wrist tighter. No, she was sure that happened. She panicked, reaching over and trying to claw the watch off, only for a strong bolt of electricity to be shot up her arm, and through her body. She staggered back, the world a mere flicker of light, before swamping black. She could feel herself collapse, her breathing ragged and rushed.

She twitched, eyes barely sliding open, and in a blur, she could just make out the outline of something. Bluish, pale… Glitchy.

"You're in for a ride, kiddo." It spoke, voice stagnant and almost zippy. She promptly blacked out, however, and that was the end.