Chapter 16: First Mover Advantage
When the alarm went off at six thirty she whimpered pathetically in protest. The horrid beeping clearly didn't care about how she felt and just kept on keeping on. Thinking the sound might wake up either Seto or Mokuba, having only a vague idea where their bedrooms were compared to this one, she reached over and smacked her hand over it. Her burned skin rubbed against the sheets painfully and she cursed quietly as she pushed the bedding off of her. Getting up she stumbled into the bathroom and turned the light on, wondering if she had time to find caffeine before she left the mansion. Judging by the state of her hair and the need for clothes she guessed the answer was no. As she picked up a toothbrush, still wrapped in it's packaging, she noticed that her jeans that she had left balled up on the bathroom floor last night had been picked up, apparently washed, and then folded neatly.
Blinking, she picked them up and saw that her underwear, bra, socks, and shirt, that had also been in the pile were clean as well. Setting them back down she eyed everything as she put toothpaste on the brush and started cleaning her teeth. She didn't even want to speculate what Kaiba payed for that kind of service. She also wondered how heavily she had been sleeping that she hadn't heard any of his housekeepers come through here as they must have at least twice, because generally the smallest of sounds had her up. It had really been the only way to safely survive her uncle, being able to get out of the way before he could remember she was there. Once she got the vile taste of morning breath out she started changing. Unfortunately, her shirt, while clean, was pretty much ruined. It had been scraped, stretched, and torn over the course of the last few days and she didn't think any amount of cleaning would be able to salvage the actual material it was made of. Sighing at the loss she pulled Seto's t-shirt back over her head once she had her bra on and simply tossed the shirt in the trashcan. She'd just need to wear this until she could get something else. And other than being baggy on her it didn't look too bad. Really, it was just plane navy blue and once she tucked it in a little it was, well, kind of okay on her she supposed. And besides she was so bruised and sunburned she doubted anyone would take the time to notice the t-shirt before being appalled.
Turning her attention back to her hair she saw she had also been provided with both a brush and a comb, which had been placed neatly next to the new toothbrush. Picking the comb up she began to work on the ends of her hair, which was knotted beyond reckoning after five days of abuse. After nearly twenty minutes of pulling, picking, and tugging she had made almost no progress and pressed her lips together, frustrated and with a sore scalp. Realizing she honestly did not have time to do this she began to open drawers, looking for any sort of blade as she only saw one solution to this problem. On the third drawer she stumbled upon a straight razor and pulled it out. The thing was old, and looked worn, and she wondered how it had made it past all the newness that was here.
With a heavy sigh of regret she gathered her hair up in one of her hands, trying to estimate how much she would need to keep to pull it up into a bun. That tended to be her updo of choice for work, especially when something big was going on. It was simple and made her look a bit older than she actually was. Figuring that just below her shoulders was about right she flipped the razor open, checked that it was sharp enough for the task, and rolled her shoulders. "It's just hair, Sarah. No big deal." She coached herself. "It grows back." Nodding firmly as she held it tightly she reached back with a quick motion and sliced off over ten inches of her hair before she could lose her nerve about it. Knotted white strands fell to the floor in a heap and she wished them a silent and sincere goodbye. Pulling her now much shorter hair forward she carefully trimmed the ends so it was a straight rather than raggedly curved. Once it was even, or as close as she could get it herself, she set the razor back in the drawer and quickly gathered up the mess of hair she had made. Her remaining locks certainly needed a professional to get it styled properly, but as long as she had it up no one should notice.
Throwing the remains in the trash after her shirt she sighed in regret. She wouldn't call herself vain, but if there was anything she liked about herself it was her hair. While it got her a lot of odd stares she couldn't help but like how unique it was most of the time. It had taken her years to grow it out as far as she had, but she supposed it would always grow back again. Besides, at this point it was the least of her worries. Picking the brush up she had a much easier time getting it under control. In less than five minutes her now shoulder length hair was tangle free and laying down nicely.
Tossing the brush down she quickly pulled on her socks and sneakers, which she noticed had also been wiped free of sand and grime. Leaving the bathroom she saw it was now almost seven-fifteen from the alarm clock and felt a jolt to get a move on. The hair situation had really taken more time than she had initially allocated herself. Opening the door to the bedroom quietly she stepped out and looked around. The place was dark and quiet, and she could only assume everyone was still sleeping and none of the staff were here yet. Shrugging, as all she needed was a phone and she knew where one was, she went back the way she had been taken yesterday and easily found the stairs.
Trotting down them quickly she was about to head to the kitchen to call a cab when Seto's head butler came around the corner and spotted her. She had only had a few interactions with Mr. Ando, who really managed everyone that worked here more than anything. She was starting to believe that his motto had to be neither seen nor heard, but it was only a guess on her part. He was an older man in his sixties with steel grey hair and a calm but stern disposition. "Miss Drake?" He asked. "Can I help you?"
She skidded to a halt, halfway through the doorway that would take her to the kitchen. She backed up so she could see him, feeling nervous, as if she had done something wrong when she clearly hadn't. Maybe it was just that she always felt awkward unless she was with one of the Kaiba's when she was here. Certainly the way they lived was nothing like she had ever experienced, and no matter how often she was here she couldn't seem to get used to it when she was left on her own for a few minutes. Then again maybe it was because she had stayed here last night, and no matter how innocent it was, and the staff surely knew she was in a spare room as they had cleaned all her clothes, she knew what it must look like. "No, thank you. I was just going to use the phone to call myself a cab."
"I had your car brought over last night." He told her with absolutely no judgement at all. "Would you like your keys?"
She blinked, startled, as she had assumed her car had also been demolished like everything else. "My car is okay?" She asked hopefully.
He sent her an odd look, as if he wasn't sure what kind of question that was. "Yes, Miss Drake."
She smiled at him happily. "Yes, please." She agreed. "Thank you!"
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a set of keys. They were the spare ones she had left here a few months ago, figuring she was here more than anywhere else and if she somehow lost one or got locked out she could come get them here. She took them, feeling a lot better. Her car was certainly the most expensive thing she owned and if she didn't need to replace it her estimation on how much those thugs had cost her was much lower than she originally thought. Mr. Ando then pulled something else out of his pocket. "Mr. Kaiba said you would need this as well."
When she spotted a credit card with Kaiba's name on it in his hand her whole demeanor went from bright to dark in an instant. Seto appeared set to pay for her things, and if talking about it wasn't going to work he would just shove it on her. He was far too used to getting his way, the bully. "I don't, which I'm sure I made perfectly clear."
Something very much like approval flashed in the man's eyes and he tucked the credit card away. "Of course, Mrs. Drake."
She tried to push past the awkwardness of that entire interaction, fully blaming Seto for it. "Well, thank you for the keys, and for cleaning all my things, that was really nice. I need to go-"
"Mr. Kaiba was very insistent that you not leave until Mr. Nakahara arrives." He told her. "He said he would accompany you this morning."
There was no way she had time to wait for Roland if she was going to get everything done she needed to. That, and she didn't feel she needed a babysitter even after she had been snatched. "Unless he wants me to show up to this merger in his t-shirt that's not going to happen." She told him even as she knew it would get this poor man a waspish reaction from Seto at best. "Tell him I stubbornly refused, or leapt out a window, or hit you over the head to escape with a decorative vase, or something. There are decorative vases somewhere in here right?"
The butler's stern mask cracked for a split second and his lips curled up. "He won't be at all pleased."
"Be sure when he mentions that in his oh so subtle way to hand him that credit card and tell him the feeling is mutual."
The butler cleared his throat, and she thought he was covering up a chuckle. "Very well. Have a pleasant day, Miss Drake."
"You can really call me Sarah." She assured him, thinking pleasant wasn't the word she would use to describe what was about to go on in her day even at her most optimistic. "And thank you. I hope you do too."
He managed to hold the door open for her before she could escape herself and she went down the front steps at a near jog, spotting her car down the driveway. Going to it she jumped in and headed out, intent on getting her life back in order to at least the barest extent. After several hours and a stop at her bank to get a new debit and credit card, a drug store that carried her brand of makeup and hair ties, a department store to pick up replacements for all her clothing basics, and a cell phone store to replace her phone, she was quickly approaching ten in the morning and still needed work clothes. As the boutiques she went to didn't open until ten she figured she was making good time, but would really need to grab some things quickly.
Parking outside her favorite of the stores she got out of her car and quick stepped to the front door, noting it was five minutes until they opened. Wondering if she had spent enough money here in the past to warrant early entry based on an emergency situation she peered through the prettily made glass door and tapped on it, hoping a sales person was already here. No one heard her, or they were ignoring the tapping, and she rocked back on her heels with a sigh. Figuring she was going to have to wait like everyone else she turned and was surprised to see Mia Valentine getting out of a car right behind where she had parked. Mia seemed equally surprised that she was here.
"Sarah?" She asked as she shut the door of her convertible. "What are you doing here? And what on earth happened to your hair?"
Thrown, she answered. "I couldn't get out the tangles so I cut it off."
"Wow." Mia said as she came over, looking at the cut critically. "You aren't the type to do things by halves are you?"
"Not really." She supposed that wasn't an assessment she could disagree with having changed her identity, run from foster care, and illegally immigrated to this country.
"You missed a couple of pieces." She told her, not nitpicking, just letting her know.
"I know, but I can't see them and I don't have time to get to a salon. I'm just going to put it up." Mia hummed as she pulled a set of keys out of her purse and proceeded to open the door to the boutique. Hope rose in her chest. While she wasn't close with Mia they had gotten along over the last few days. She was sure the other woman would help her. "You work here?"
"Oh, hon, I employee the people that work here." She said with a confident smile and a sassy wink.
"This is your shop?" She asked, really impressed. "You have the best clothes in Domino. I come here all the time."
"I knew I liked you." She told her with a smile as she pushed the door open. "Come on in." She followed the other woman inside and Mia set her bag down on a counter as she questioned her. "Do you need anything in particular or are you just browsing?"
"I have to be at my job in an hour and my neck looks awful. I was hoping you had a scarf or something… And also pretty much everything else it would take to make an outfit. I had a wardrobe malfunction to put it mildly."
"I'm sure we can muddle through." Mia cocked her head to the side, studying her. "Whose shirt is that then? Did you crash with your boyfriend last night?"
"Erm." She was thrown badly by the question and irritated that Mia noticed it wasn't at all her size. "Yes?" It came out as a question, not because she was confused by her relationship with Kaiba, but because she wasn't sure if she was still under a confidentiality thing with him about where she worked and wasn't supposed to tell Mia even if they were done with school. Certainly a fake boyfriend would cover her bases, if she could have lied convincingly that is.
Mia raised an eyebrow seeing it was a fib without any trouble. "Really?"
She didn't have time for this either and threw her arms up, her frustration spilling over at last, the multitude of frantic errands after her life was smashed to pieces breaking her. "Look, I don't have a boyfriend. I stayed at Seto's place last night because those thugs destroyed literally everything I own but my car, including all my clothes. He let me sleep in this and the shirt I was wearing the last week is ripped so I'm still wearing it since it's all there was. I have less than an hour to get to Kaiba Corp dressed for a merger that Seto has been trying to set up for over two months, I had to cut off all my hair because I didn't have time to deal with it and still get everything I needed for this meeting, I only got to sleep for three hours, and I still haven't had any caffeine. So for the love of god, do you have a scarf?"
Mia stared at her for a moment as she stood there panting slightly and knowing that little outburst had made her look like a raving lunatic. "Feel better?" She asked.
"Not really." She muttered sullenly.
"Come on, hon." She said, putting her hand on her arm and guiding her to the nearest rack of clothing. "I have just the thing to hide that bruise." She relaxed slightly and allowed the woman to assist her, really thankful despite her emotional display. Mia began pulling things from racks without even having to look at the sizes and handed some of them back to her as they went, talking as she did. "So you work for Kaiba?"
"Yeah." She agreed, figuring lying was just stupid at this point as she had spilled pretty much everything. "I'm his translator."
"That sounds awful." Mia replied.
"I like it most of the time." She assured her as she took in a pretty tweed pencil skirt she had been handed. "Except when I'm stuck in my office for days on end by myself, but that doesn't really happen too often."
"I meant the working for for Kaiba part." Mia told her as she got to the back of the store and pulled a curtain of the dressing room open for her.
She shrugged, thinking she had never had a problem with any of his expectations or demands, at least after the initial hiccup. "I don't know why everyone thinks that. Seto's a decent boss, honestly. As long as you do your job he's really reasonable."
"Uh huh." Mia said knowingly, which had her rolling her eyes at that implication that she was likely an exception to the rule. "Try that grey one on first. I'll go make some tea to help perk you up."
Her internal grumbling about not being treated any differently petered off when she saw what the 'grey one' was. Mia had handed her a dove colored turtleneck sweater that was made of what she was sure was cashmere. When she checked the tag she saw she was right and couldn't stop herself from petting the fabric. It was deliciously soft and when she pulled it on she was pleased to see it fit her perfectly and the fabric was so smooth it didn't even hurt her charred skin. She was also relieved that it was certainly made well enough for her to wear to this meeting and it would cover the bruise as it just brushed her chin. Looking at the clothes Mia had hung up in there with her she quickly selected the blue tweed pencil skirt that had a matching suit jacket with it. They also fit well and she let out a sigh of relief. As long as there were shoes here she would be set.
Pulling the curtain aside she stepped out in bare feet and moved a few feet over to the mirror to check it from all angles. As she was craning her neck around to see the back Mia came back in with a cup of tea and handed it to her. "Thank you." She said, sending the other woman an apologetic look. "Sorry about the ranting thing. I've had a rough kind of morning."
"Don't worry about it." Mia told her, reaching down and flicking the skirt slightly so it sat just right. "This fits you well." She eyed her up and down, assessing her. "You're certainly built on the sleek side. There's a few lines I buy from that would suit you beautifully."
That was helpful. "Do you have shoes?"
"What kind of shop would this be without shoes?" Mia asked with mock outrage. She laughed as Mia went toward a different corner and sipped at the tea as she rummaged around. "What size?"
"Twenty two and a half." She replied, having been initially baffled by the sizing system here. It had never occurred to her until she moved that there were other ways to measure feet, as silly as that had been.
"These should work with that ensemble." She came back over and handed her a pair of grey pumps. She slipped them on after setting the tea down and was satisfied. "I would think even for a merger at Kaiba Corp this will do."
"Thanks a lot, Mia, I mean it. You're a total lifesaver."
"You stay there for a second." The woman instructed as she went into the dressing room and grabbed Seto's shirt. Wrapping it around her shoulders she reached into a shelf near the dressing room and pulled out a pair of fabric scissors. "Let me clean your hair up. Do you want it flat like this, layered, or with bangs?"
This was an unexpected miracle. "Layers if you can keep them long enough to go up."
"I have skills, hon." Mia assured her as she began to quickly snip small strands of hair. In less than ten minutes the woman had fixed the ends and artfully framed her face. She had to admit she was impressed as Mia swiped the t-shirt off, gathering all the hair she got with it so it wouldn't fall on the suite. "Done."
"I owe you dinner for sure. Seriously, anywhere you want." She said adamantly, finding that she really liked this shoulder length look. She hadn't expected that, but it was a refreshing change from years of long hair even if she would grow it back out.
"Sounds good." Mia agreed. "Want me to pick some more stuff out for you? I can hold it and you can get it whenever you have time, or I can send it to Kaiba's if you know the address."
"That would be great." She agreed, knowing she likely wouldn't have time to come back tonight and she would still need clothes tomorrow. "I need stuff I can wear to work. Nothing else matters as much as that."
"I'll take care of it." Mia assured her. "I have all your sizes. Have you had things altered here before?"
"Yes."
"Then we have your measurements on file too."
Feeling better she paid for what she was wearing and Mia bagged a few other things she hadn't tried on and put her jeans, sneakers, and the t-shirt in another bag after shaking the hair off of it. She scribbled down the address for the mansion and took the bags, thanking her again as she rushed out. She got to the parking garage at ten minutes to eleven and punched her code in. Parking quickly she pulled out a hair tie and brush and yanked her hair up into a bun, using her rearview mirror to do it. She opened the bag full of makeup and went after her face, but she could only do so much with being as badly sunburned as she was. Knowing there was nothing to do about it she pushed everything down to the floor to make it less visible and got out, locking the car behind her. Not that she really thought anyone was going to bother her stuff in the secured Kaiba Corp garage.
Holding her phone and keys in her hands, because of course she forgot to grab a purse at Mia's shop, she headed to the elevator. It took her only a second to realize that she didn't have her security card, mostly because it was likely destroyed in her apartment somewhere. "Crap!" She snapped at no one in English. Turning on her heel she quick walked back out of the garage and to the front of the building.
By the time she got there it was five past eleven and all hope of having a full hour to get her things together before the merger vanished. The security guard at the front desk looked nearly as young as her and clearly had no idea who she was when she told him and requested to be let in. Following protocol he asked for her identification, which of course she also didn't have. Then he asked her politely to leave and she narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Lifting the phone up she dialed Seto, who's number she had memorized months ago, and waited for him to answer, tapping her foot.
"Who is this?" He demanded grumpily. "And how did you get this number?"
"It's Sarah." She told him. "I had to get a new phone number when I got a new phone for some reason. I don't understand phone contracts in this country at all. Can you please call down to the security desk and tell them to let me in? I don't have my security card or ID. They think I'm trying to cause mischief."
"That wouldn't have happened if you waited for Roland this morning." He informed her tartly.
She rolled her eyes. "Would you just let me in?"
"You could have been kidnapped again." He scolded her, and ignored the very reasonable request. "And I wouldn't have been there to help you this time."
"As I recall I was the one that got us all out." She threw back. "More than one time come to think of it. Now stop trying to ineffectively punish me because I wouldn't do what you wanted and let me up so I can translate this stupid thing for you."
The phone clicked off and she huffed down at it, as if he could hear her. The security guard open his mouth to say something, likely to tell her to leave again, when his phone rang. The man picked up the reciever and she wondered what Seto said to him because he paled visibly. He stuttered an agreement and waved her through frantically as he apologized profusely into the phone. Shaking her head at the whole situation he went to the nearest elevator, braced herself, and walked in.
Late that night she was sitting at the table in the lower kitchen with her forehead on one hand as she scrolled through her phone, looking for apartments. She was tired, but felt as if the day had gone fairly well even if she had no former experience with a merger. Still, nothing they had gone over today had seemed unreasonable to her. The sticking point for the other company appeared to be keeping as many of the people on their workforce as they could when the two companies merged. Seto didn't appear completely opposed to it, but clearly intended to replace some of the employees with his own, which also didn't sound unreasonable to her. He and the head of this other company had been negotiating the point for over two hours before they agreed to break for the evening in what she felt was mutually respectful way. She could tell Seto approved of the other man and the way he ran his business, and for him that went a long way. By that point it had been almost nine and she was grateful for the break.
After she got back to the mansion she had been told by Mr. Ando that the clothes Mia had promised had been delivered and placed in her room and that there was food waiting for her. Feeling like she was on some sort of odd vacation with no chores to do or meals to make she had gone upstairs to look through what Mia had sent her and change clothes. She had been more than impressed with the other woman, and her guesses at what she would like. Once she was done inspecting she had changed into a pair of shorts and a plain women's t-shirt she had bought early in the morning. Letting her hair down out of the tight bun had her scalp tingling as she ran her hands over it and walked back downstairs.
When she walked into the kitchen, and why they never ate in the large dining room she never asked, it was clear Mokuba had already had his own meal, likely hours ago. Seto was putting some sort of noodle dish on his plate as she sat down. Mokuba took her in. "I like your hair."
"Thanks." She told him as she reached for her glass of water and Seto's eyes came up to see what his brother was referring to.
He frowned and she could tell he hated it instantly. She hadn't been wrong about anyone noticing if it was in an updo, but now that it was down the change was obvious even to the most oblivious person. All her optimistic feelings about the change blew away at once at his expression and she hated that his opinion on her hair would mean so much, because it shouldn't. "You couldn't wait for Roland because you had to get a haircut?" He asked crossly, as if her vanity could have been her downfall.
"No, I cut it off before I left." She informed him tiredly, thinking he really needed to let that go since she wasn't about to become a less independent person. "I couldn't get the tangles out of it."
Mokuba smiled at her some more after sending his brother a warning look she was sure he thought she didn't see. "Don't listen to him. It looks nice, really it does."
"Thanks, Mokuba." She replied quietly as she sat back and began picking at her meal. She changed the subject. "Thanks for letting me stay here again tonight. It shouldn't take me long to find another place."
Seto noted he had ered where her hair was concerned and was trying to backpedal, something she had never seen him do before. "I'll help you once the merger is over." He told her, his voice back to normal. "Don't worry about it until then. There's plenty of room here."
"Alright." She agreed. "I should really go back over and clean up when we're done tomorrow."
"Sarah, there's no hurry." Seto assured her as he began to eat. "This is going remarkably smoothly. I don't anticipate we'll be negotiating more than another two days at the most." Kaiba turned his attention away from work and to his brother's upcoming Kendo match. She had been at the table since then, both of them having gone elsewhere for different reasons, and she was researching where she should try to rent.
She had found a few possibilities, and a lot of places there was no way she was getting near, when Seto came back and found her. Walking over he sat down in the chair next to her and gently took the phone away. "It's almost midnight. You need to sleep."
"I have too much to do." She told him.
"All you need to do is relax." He informed her. "Why are you so worried about finding an apartment today? I told you I would help you. You can stay here as long as you need to."
"I can't impose on you like this." She told him, feeling uncomfortable about it. "It's too much to ask."
"If it had been the other way around you wouldn't have hesitated to let us stay with you." He pointed out.
Her lips curled up in a wiry smile, trying to image all three of them living in her miniscule apartment. "Wouldn't that have been cozy?"
"Why's it different with you here instead of us there?" He asked, knowing what he said had been true.
"I don't know." She hedged.
"You do, but you aren't saying it." He replied, and she was both impressed and annoyed by his insight and bluntness.
She sighed and scratched at the table with her nail absently, her feeling of discomfort increasing. "I know you're being good to me, and helping, but every time I've had to stay with someone before I would always get hurt. Every time since my parents died." Her shoulders hunched up unconsciously. "And I know you would never hurt me. I know you're my friend. It's just hard to move past I guess."
"I understand." He said seriously.
Her eyes came back up to his. "You do?"
He struggled with something for a moment before speaking. "My stepfather, the man that adopted us, was like your uncle." Shock rippled through her. Mokuba had told her he hadn't liked him, Gozaburo she remembered he called him, but she had never imagined that Seto's childhood had been like hers, not growing up in a place like this, with everything he could ever want or need. When he saw she understood what he was saying he went on. "As much as I try what he did won't ever let me go, not completely. So I do understand."
A sick feeling rose in her stomach. "Was Mokuba-"
"No, never." He said at once. "I made sure I kept Gozaburo's attention." His face stormy. "I always made sure I had his attention."
She said nothing, unsure if words were necessary now. A lot about him made sense to her now. His anger, his isolation, his impatience with people, and his refusal to be intimidated or told what to do or to think. Like her he had fully experienced what it was like to be under someone's thumb, and like her he had refused to let it happen again. It also explained why he and Mokuba were so close, even for brothers that had no parents and only each other to cling to. The discomfort she had been feeling staying here faded away at his admission. After a few moments she broke the silence. "People really suck don't they?"
"Some of them." He agreed quietly as he reached out and began playing with the ends of her hair. "I've found I can put up with a few here and there if forced into it."
Her eyes danced at that, the humor pushing the discomfort of the subject away. "Like if one is the only good translator within two thousand miles?"
"You're not that good." He told her and she laughed softly, thinking he was lucky she got his sense of humor. His fingertips brushed one of the strands of hair that framed her face behind her ear. "This suites you."
"You hate it." She replied.
"No." He disagreed. "I was just used to seeing you with long hair. I like this too. It's more… modern." She wasn't sure how modern it was. Women had their hair this length for at least a few decades, but she'd let him think what he wanted. Besides, she was badly distracted by him playing with it.
"Did Mokuba tell you to say that?" She asked strongly suspecting Seto had gotten berated about that when they were out of earshot.
"I am fully capable of complimenting you without his help." He informed her haughtily.
"Of course you are, Seto." She said, laughter in her voice.
He rolled his eyes and got up, his hand falling away. "I'm going to bed, you should as well. I need you to be alert tomorrow."
"Yes, boss." She teased, picking her phone up and slipping it in her pocket. "I'll be sure to get my mandatory Kaiba Corp employee eight hours of rest so I'm at my most efficient on the morrow."
"For the love of god, go to sleep." He ordered.
Snickering, she walked toward the family wing with him and he veered off briefly to get something out of his office before going up the stairs after her. She kept heading toward the room she was staying in, having no intention of going anywhere else, until she passed a partially open doorway and saw a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. Recognizing the odd glow from the desert ruins she jerked to a halt and saw an odd sort of staff sitting on top of a dresser. Something, some wisp of a memory tugged at her and she reached out and pushed the door fully open, pausing at the threshold as she stared at the strange item. The object was clearly old, if not ancient, and at the end of a narrow gold bar sat a golden orb with two flared wings coming off the sides. Emblazoned in the center of the orb was a depiction of an all seeing eye. As she stared at it, trying to work out why something so strange looked familiar, blueish black light shimmered around it, seeming to get brighter the more attention she was paying to it, which didn't make any sense at all. As her trepidation grew the eye in the center began to glow gold and the shadows around her feet began to rise up and claw at her, trying to drag her closer.
Letting out a strangled shriek she stumbled backward, her feet catching on the thick carpet. She fell, her back hitting the wall behind her. The shadows oozed out of the room after her, trying, she was somehow sure, to pull her back into the room. Terror raced through her and despite her total confusion she snarled at the shadows on instinct, willing them away from her with all her might. A halo of pure white light blazed around her and pulsated outward, filling every crook and crevice as it went. Inside her head she heard a roar of primal rage as she shadows were burned away, driven back by the bizarre radiance that came from seemingly nowhere. In the room there was a corresponding flash of gold from the rod and then she heard a door slam open distantly as every electrical item in the house began to beep, blare, and screech.
Overhead the mansion's lights were flickering erratically and she saw that from under every single door along the hall that the lights in them had come on as well. She threw her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise of the mansion's alarm system which was screeching loudly overhead. Shakily she got to her feet, feeling drained. When she straightened she saw that from the large window at the end of the hallway that outside in the large garden at the back of the house that all the lights that were placed along the paths, the hanging lamps used for decorations, and all the outside lights attached to the large building were also flashing on and off in no particular pattern.
Two doors down Mokuba stuck his head out of his room, his hair even more wild than usual from where he had been sleeping on it, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. "What's going on?" He yelled over the noise as Seto appeared at the other end of the hall, his eyes landing squarely on her.
She edged quickly away from the room where the item was, seeing a bed in it and working out it was another bedroom, her hands still over her ears. Seto moved to a panel on the wall and began hitting buttons quickly. She saw a shower of sparks spit out of it and he cursed, yanking his hand away from it before ripping the screen off of it and grabbing two wires. Wrenching them out of the wall had the alarm dying with a final choking blare and silence descended, save for the sound of several alarm clocks, a distant car alarm, and a radio from Mokuba's room.
As she moved into the spare room to turn off the alarm there the radio died down to nothing and Mr. Ando and several housekeepers also appeared at the top of the stairway. Not bothering to try to turn the machine off she just yanked the cord out of the wall and tried to push her confused terror back as she went back out into the hall.
"-electrical surge in the security system." Seto was telling his staff. "Call the police and tell them everything is fine before they show up. I'll figure out what it was tomorrow. Until then unplug anything making noise."
The staff dispersed to follow his orders as she and Mokuba helped them, moving from room to room and quickly unplugging things in this section of the house. When she finished the fifth room and came out, feeling sick again, Mokuba was standing by the panel as Seto was coming out of the room where that thing was, pulling the door closed firmly, his face expressionless. Overhead the lights were still flashing as Mokuba frowned at the thing. "Seto, this looks like something from outside fried it, not like it surged. And it's on a completely different system than the rest of the mansion. Even if it was a powersurge it shouldn't have done anything to the lights, or anything else in here." She said nothing, having the strangest feeling that the blast of white light had somehow been her doing, although it made no sense at all. "You think it could have been an EMP?" Mokuba suggested, sounding very intrigued. "I don't know what else could have done this, although if it was an EMP it should have knocked out everything, not made it go haywire. Do you have an experiment in the basement I don't know about?"
"No." Seto told him as he moved to a light switch and turn it off. The lights flicked out in the hallway and then he turned them back on. She noted they had stopped flashing and so did Seto. "Are you both alright?"
"Yeah, ni-san." Mokuba agreed, his attention still on the wiring.
Seto was staring at her intently. "Sarah?"
"I'm fine." She told him, lying badly.
"Did you see anything strange before that happened?"
"No." She kept lying. "I was just going to lay down."
Navy eyes were locked on her face and she kept hers blank, having no way to explain any of that. And even if she could it would sound insane, hell, she felt insane even considering it had happened. "Super weird." Mokuba said. "Maybe-"
Seto cut him off. "You can hypothesize tomorrow." He instructed. "And tear the house apart if you want, but you have school in a few hours. Go back to bed."
"Fiiiine." Mokuba drawled out. "But I'm not forgetting you said I could tear the house apart. "Night, guys."
She mumbled a farewell and went toward her own room as if this had been nothing more than a freak occurrence. Slipping inside she avoided all further eye contact with Seto and all but leapt onto the top of the bed. Keeping the lights on she leaned over, keeping her stomach squarely on the mattress, and peeked under her bed. There was nothing there, no dangerously alive shadows, and she proceeded to check the rest of her room like a crazy person. Finally satisfied that she was alone she crawled back onto the bed and very reluctantly reached over and turned off the lights. The room fell into a normal, safe sort of darkness, which brought her no comfort at all. Laying down edgily she pulled a pillow to her chest and hugged it hard as a picture of that ancient rod blazed in her head.