A/N: so lots of crappy real life stuff happened. If anyone's still reading, here's another chapter.

Chapter 14
who needs sleep?

She woke fighting the urge to scream, her green eyes wide with terror. Her mind tricked her into thinking she could still smell smoke and burning flesh. The images of the flames still danced behind her eyes and that face… Was it a memory or just a nightmare filling in faces with her fear?

Noodle shuddered and flipped on the light beside the bed half expecting to her to be standing there. She breathed a bit easier when she saw the familiar surroundings. Part of her wanted to go to Russel for comfort, but she knew she needed to deal with this on her own, she wasn't a little girl anymore.

She swung her legs to the side of the high bed and slid down, her feet landing in the fuzzy slippers waiting there. She took the empty glass from the beside the lamp and stepping over discarded clothes and candy wrappers, headed to the small bathroom that joined the two girls bedrooms.

She made a face as she picked up the bra that had been left on the counter. Her Aunt had about the same house keeping skills as she did, but here was something she was pretty sure they'd never have in common. She put the glass down and held the bra up in front of her. She sighed in disappointment then glancing to either side, as if someone might be watching, she lifted it up and plopped one of the bra cups onto her head. It was like a hat!

She shook her head in disgust and threw the bra on the floor behind her. She filled her glass and left the bathroom, sipping as she went. Placing the water on the bed stand she climbed back up into the bed. She lay back and tried to go back to sleep but couldn't seem to get comfortable. As nice as it was, it just wasn't home.

"Home." she laughs to herself. "Will I ever be home? I don't even know where my home is." Lihn said that she had lived in Tokyo with her parents, why couldn't she remember it? Something did not feel right about that.

Lihn had shown her pictures from when she was young, and still nothing came back to her. There was nothing before the darkness of the crate. All she could remember was the rocking and the bouncing and the darkness, and instructions…

"When the crate is opened, play!" She cannot even remember the voice that told her or the hands that gave her only possession, the les Paul. She clung to it with her tiny hands, in the dark, until she saw the first bits of light creeping through the crack as the lid was pried from her artificial womb and she was born into Kong Studio accompanied by the screams of her guitar.

Kong was the first and only home that she remembered. But even there, she felt that something was missing. Well, of course, something was missing, her memories, her family, a normal life!

But more than this. The sense of belonging that she never seemed to have. Not that they didn't try, her band mates. They were always trying and that somehow seemed to make it worse. You shouldn't have to try to belong, you just belonged. That was how it worked. Wasn't it?

Sometimes she felt guilty for the loss she felt. It wasn't as though she didn't feel loved. Russel and 2-D were like a big brothers, rough housing with her and playing jokes on her, but always making sure that she was taken care of as well, seeing that she had eaten or was dressed properly for the weather. They made sure that her room was filled with things that they thought would make her feel at home and pretty much anything she wanted.

Even the ghost Del seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with her, though she supposed he didn't have a lot of choice.

And even Murdoc must care in his own way, even if it was only because of her talent. It didn't take long to notice that "If I give you some candy, will you go away?" was always accompanied by her favorite sweets. And when the puppy had mysteriously appeared in her room with a large ribbon around it's neck, she'd known where it had come from, even though the older man proclaimed loudly how much he hated animals.

Yes, she knew she was loved. That wasn't what she was missing. It was something else, something she wouldn't find until her memories came back. And that might never were happen.

She punched the pillow a few times and tried a different position. She wished her 'brothers' would settle on a director already. At least if they working she'd have something else to occupy her mind. They'd been in the US for over week, but all the days seemed to run together since they'd come to the mansion. She got up, dressed and ate, had English lessons with Lihn, did her normal lessons then wandered around the big house trying to entertain herself until bed.

She sighed and rolled over again, still unable to fall back to sleep. She pulled the T.V. remote from under her pillow and began flipping through the channels. She stopped when something caught her eye, but she couldn't really pay attention. Too much was on her mind. She scanned through the cable stations, not really interested in any thing she saw. Some of the higher numbered channels played music, maybe she could find something to help her sleep.

She paused on a soft rock station that was playing Genesis. "Take, take me home… 'cos I don't remember…" the chorus sang over and over. The young girls heart felt as though it were sinking inside her. "But how can you take me home when I don't remember where it is?"

But Lihn remembered, she could take her there! At least, if she was telling the truth, she could. They'd gone to Japan on their tour, but perhaps if she were to go and stand in the place she'd been born it would jog her memory. Hope began to burn in her chest but was immediately snuffed out.

Murdoc would never go for it, it would get in the way of 'band business'. Or worse, he'd insist on coming. But wait, if Lihn were her legal guardian, then Murdoc couldn't stop her, he would have no say. But how did they go about doing that? They were in the US, she imagined they'd have to do it England where she lived, or in Japan, because that was where Lihn lived and it went by the adults citizenship, didn't it?

But then, if the older woman planned on staying near Noodle as she'd said, she would have to legally move to England, then they could file the paper work there. But no wait, if she was still a citizen of Japan, her address wouldn't matter would it?

But wait.

Did she really want to put Lihn in charge of her life? Sure, she liked her. The older woman made it hard not to. She was smart, had a good sense of humor, and she seemed to have good sense in general. Well… at least she seemed to, until earlier tonight when she'd taken Murdoc's side concerning the guy she'd been talking too.

The nightmare had pushed the incident out of her mind. Now reminded of it, she was angry all over again. If she was going to be taking Murdoc's side in matters like that, maybe she would be taking his advise all the time! Then again, Lihn had been spending a noticeable amount of time with Russel-san and she was sure that she could convince him it would be a good idea for her to spend some time in Japan. The he could convince Oba-chan. It would have to be after this movie nonsense, but how long could that take?

The glimmer of hope began to kindle in her chest again and she settled down in her bed, pulling the blankets close around her face. She dreamed again. But this time, there were no screams, no death. Just a kindly older man. He was teaching her to meditate. He was telling her how patience plays an important role in everything. She sat cross-legged, eyes closed, listening.

"Only when you are patient can you see the bigger picture. If you rush around you will miss things. When in combat, you must never rush in, without taking a moment to assess your opponent. You must observe, waiting for the precise moment to strike. When in an argument, do not open your mouth and blurt out the first thing to come to your mind. Be patient, listen to the opposing side, make your statements with conviction, not emotion. And when stuck in a difficult situation, again, be patient. Life is not like a river, set to flow in it's bed, taking years to change course. Life is like the wind, ready to change direction at any moment. When you tire of the cold, northerly winds, you have only to be patient, and you will soon feel the warm breezes blowing up from the south…"

2D shivered slightly and crossed his arms over his bare chest as he watched the cab leave the driveway, making sure tonight's company made it home safely. He plucked a stray, long, red hair from where it was tickling his shoulder and wondered idly if he'd gotten the girl pregnant, would the child have purple hair? He grinned at the silly thought as turned to go back inside the large house. "Well, Erik has dark hair, and his Mum's a red head. Was it Erik or Shawn? I'll check later."

During the bands first tour, the fame and success had gone a bit to the good-looking singer's head and he had managed to acquire seventeen illegitimate children (that he knew of), all ranging from one to two years old and had a bit of trouble keeping up with them. Still, he did his best. He'd send post cards to each of them when he traveled even though none of them were old enough to read yet. The secretary back home in Kong had helped to make sure he sent gifts and cards for each of their birthdays. In fact he'd just gotten an e-mail from her this morning informing him that one of his daughters lived in L.A. and gently urged him to visit with her. He would, he just had to make sure it was alright with Murdoc first.

'D didn't like to make his friend, it usually cost him a black eye or a swollen lip. He didn't mind much though, ol' Muds was his best mate, big deal if he got a bit rough sometimes, he was like a brother. And 2D did say some awfully stupid things sometimes. He wasn't really 'slow' as people would called him, but ever since he'd fallen out of that tree when he was a child, his thoughts seemed to take a detour before reaching his mouth and never came out the way they sounded in his head.

He was feeling a bit hungry after all the exercise he'd just gotten so he headed down the large main hall toward the kitchen. The house was quiet. He was certain that there were still people hanging about, but there was something about three o'clock in the morning that made people hush. They'd be huddled together, talking in low voices, radios and televisions were no louder than they needed to be, even laughter seemed to be wrapped in a thick blanket.

"I's like a public library." 2D reflected. Then added, "I hate libraries. Too many words in one place." Old books had always put the young, blue haired boy on edge. He'd always felt that the books were looking at him, willing him to take them from their well organized mausoleums. He'd swear he could hear them whispering to him, then Mummy would give him more head-ache pills and his brain would feel like mush. But he could still hear them… hold me, read me, PLEASE!

He shuddered at the memory. He could almost hear them now, over the slapping of his bare feet on the marble floor. wait. That wasn't whispering. It was music. He looked left, into the large space they called a 'great room' "Probably 'cos i's a great big room." There was a small group of people in the corner near the stereo but it had been turned off and they weren't conversing. Each of them were listening with far away looks on their faces as if they were seeing something other than the room they were in. The music he could hear was coming from the music room. The door had been left ajar and the sounds of a violin were floating through the room. "Whot's Nood's doin' up so late?" he asked himself. He changed direction and moved toward the open door listening to the lovely sound. "She must be awfully sad. Probably still upset about earlier." He decided.

He nodded a greeting to the young men and women who barely seemed to notice his arrival. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" said a dark haired boy wearing glasses.

"But, so sad." added the blonde haired girl beside him. "It reminds me of how lonely I felt after my Grammie died." she laid her head on the shoulder of the bespectacled boy and he slipped his arm around her waist.

The blue-haired man continued past them a little apprehensively, they had all seemed to be under some sort of spell. "O' course, music does that to a person, dunnit?" When he reached the door that was his destination, he noticed that no light spilled through the open crack. He pushed the door open slowly, "Noods? Whotcha doin' sittin' inna dark?" The light from the room behind him fell across instruments and music stands and finally across the violin player. She had her back to him and was sitting on a stool, her back straight, shoulders back, posture perfect. She might well have been performing before an audience, and for a moment, in his mind, he saw it.

Her hair was done up in extravagant braids and twists. She wore a long, silk, gown of pale yellow, her pale skin glowed in the stage lights. Silver and diamonds glittered on her ears and around her neck. The audience before her sat entranced upon their velvet cushioned seats, some with tears in their eyes, some with mouths agape. It was only a split second, but he remembered the vision vividly for years.

"Lihn?" he asked surprised. She didn't turn, didn't nod, didn't acknowledge him in any way. Perhaps she hadn't heard him. He stepped further into the room and raised his voice a bit nervously. He always felt a bit nervous talking to her. It wasn't just that she was beautiful, it was that she made him want to stop looking at other beautiful women. "Lihn, are you all right?" He gingerly touched her shoulder and she froze. The sudden silence assaulted 2D's ears much like turning off a light leaves you temporarily blind. When he decided that he hadn't suddenly gone deaf, he drew his hand back and spoke again, feeling a bit embarrassed, though he wasn't sure why. "Sorry, din't mean ta disturb you. I just fought…"

"It's all right, Stu-pot." she said, putting the violin down. He noticed that she wiped her eyes with her hand before turning to him, but in the bright light spilling through the open door her eyes still glittered with tears. "You are not disturbing me." she assured him. "I was only feeling sorry for myself." she gave him half a grin.

"Oh." he replied, not sure what to say. "You play beautifully." he offered, "I can tell you're related to Noodle."

"Can you?" her half grin turned into a bemused full grin.

"Oh, yes!" he nodded his head emphatically. "I fought it was her playin', I can definitely hear the relation."

"You can hear the relation?"

"Well, yea. I mean, i's kinda hard ta explain… but 'ere's sumfink about the way you play. Like the music was always there, in the air, hiding, but you convinced it ta come out, ta be heard. Noodle can do it too." he rub the back of his head and even in the dim light his face shown red with embarrassment. "Sorry, I know it sounds pretty stupid."

"No, it is not stupid." she told him. "It is very… poetic."

He thought it over for a moment then grinned, standing up straighter. "It is, innit?" Just then his stomach grumbled loudly, stealing his moment.

Lihn smiled broadly, "Do you never eat?"

"Well, I…"

Lihn didn't wait for an answer, she hopped down off the stool and took him by the arm, steering him out of the room. "Kinasai, I will fix you something. I could use something to eat myself."

He felt flush at her touch and instantly felt jealously toward Russel. "What were you sad about?" he asked as they crossed the great room. He noticed the small group of people were now whispering and looking at Lihn, obviously realizing that she'd been the one playing the music they'd been hearing.

She replied, oblivious to the young peoples attention. "I am afraid that I've made a mistake and I am going to lose something that I think I want."

"Oh, I'm sorry." he didn't get it.

"No matter. I am used to it." she said mostly to herself.

He was still confused but wished to seem helpful. "You know, if you've lost something, I can help you look for it."

Her laugh wasn't what he expected but since she was smiling, he didn't question it. "I'm sure you would, Stu-pot." Her eyes had regained their spark as they stepped into the kitchen and she looked up at him. "What are you hungry for?" she moved toward the refrigerator. "Something warm and comforting or something sweet and naughty?" her eyes sparkled mischievously as she glanced over her shoulder at him.

He gave her a goofy grin, "I supposed bein' naughty is more fun with two!" he said following her to the refrigerator.

She laughed out loud. "Indeed, it is, Stuart!" she opened a cupboard and pulled out dishes. "Stuart?" she paused to look at him. "Why do they call you '2D'?" she handed him the plates and moved to the fridge.

He shrugged, "Murdoc started it. 'E said i's short for 'Two Dents'. I fought it was cool, so I hung on to it." he followed her to the island counter and put the plates beside her.

She raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to her task. "How did you get the 'Two Dents', if you do not mind my asking?"

"Well," he hedged, "I guess Murdoc started 'at too." Lihn's head snapped up, her eyes wide with surprise, he waved his hands cutting off the tirade that people usually gave him when he said that, "It was an accident!" he said quickly, "A car accident."

Her face softened. "Oh, did you hit the dash board?" her hands never stopped moving as she made their snacks.

He shook his head, "No, nofink like 'at. The bumper went through my head." he explained.

She stopped then, her hand on the microwave door, and her jaw dropped. "He hit you with a car?"

"He didn't mean too." 2D defended his friend. "He was jus' tryin' to break into the shop. He din't know I was standin' there. See, I was working at Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium, I know how it sounds, but we din't just sell organs, 'ere was all sort of instruments. Anyway, I guess him and his chums were fixin' to rob the place by drivin' a car fru the wall. I don't remember much after the car bounced off my head, but when I finally came too monfs later they told me that sum fink on the bumper must've hit me in the eye before the rest of it hit my face, and it actually pushed my eyeball back a tiny bit. The crazy part was 'how it 'appened again to my uver eye when it hit that curb."

"You mean, it was more than one accident?" she asked incredulously, putting the lid back on the ice cream carton. She moved toward the refrigerator to put it back.

"Yea, see, after Murdoc got pinched fer tryin' to knock over the music shop, 'e 'ad to help take care o' me as part of 'is community service." he watched as Lihn returned items to their proper places. "I dunno what exactly 'appened, but I guess 'ere was an accident. They said I went fru the wind screen and landed on the curb, an I hurt my uver eye. It brought me back though, so I guess it wa'nt too 'orrible a fing." he shrugged. He watched as she washed the ice cream scoop and put it back in the drawer she'd gotten it from and shook his head.

She looked at his bemused expression as she returned to the island counter and asked self-consciously, "What?"

"How d'you do 'at?"

"Do what? Dessert?" she held out a plate to him. It carried a brownie sundae that looked as though it had been made for a photo shoot.

"No," he laughed, "but 'at looks amazing!" he accepted the plate. "I mean, 'ow d'you know where everyfing is at? We've only been 'ere 'bout a week. I've lived at Kong for years and I still don' know where the ketchup is!"

Lihn laughed, "I suppose I am just good at remembering. I am used to getting up early so I usually join the girls that come to work in the kitchen." she poked his arm playfully, "You might have noticed if you made it to breakfast more often!"

"Yea, well," he said thickly, around a bite of brownie, "If you make 'is fer breakfast every day, I'll be there!" he said admiringly. When he swallowed he told her, "Really, i's all 'is medication I'm on. Some of it wires me up and some of it makes me feel I've got lead balloons tied to me eyeballs. Sometimes I fuck up and take the wrong one at night then I can't sleep, or I take the night pill inna morning' an can't stay awake. Sometimes I forget 'em all togever an 'at's when the head-aches come back." he concluded by shoving another large spoonful into his mouth.

Her green eyes filled with concern. "You get head-aches when you miss your medication?"

"Well, yea." He said, "Tha's whot the pills are for. Eva since I fell outta that tree, I get these awful head-aches."

"You fell out of a tree?" Lihn asked incredulously. "My you are accident prone!"

"Yea," 'D smiled. "I guess so. But 'at was when I was a kid. 'At's when my hair fell out." His companion looked at his full, though oddly colored, head of hair and raised an eyebrow. He answered her un-asked question, "It all fell out over my whole body then grew back blue." He shrugged. He didn't miss her eyes travel down his arm and stray lower until her cheeks pinked and her eyes snapped by up to his own. He gave a nervous laugh, knowing what she was thinking but continued. "Yea, well, it was a rough year in primary, I'll give ya that and I can' member anyfing fore it 'appened. An' now I get these head-aches. The doctors all say I'll be on meds forever, 'n I don' mind much, I jus' wish they din' make me so confused."

"So which one did you take tonight?" the dark haired woman raised an eyebrow looking at the clock on the wall which told them it was nearly four in the morning.

He paused the spoon half way to his mouth, his eyebrows shot up and his eyes grew wider. "Fuck!" he sat his plate on the counter quickly and began patting his pockets.

"You forgot?"

"Yea, I stuck 'em in my pocket so I wouldn' 'ave ta go upstairs to get 'em." he pulled a couple of colorful capsules out of his pocket and tossed them in his mouth.

"But were those daytime or night time pills? You have not slept yet." Lihn asked concerned.

He picked his plate back up and took a bite thoughtfully, "I was supposed to take 'em at eight, but I knew we was havin' the party so …." he swallowed, his brows furrowed in thought. "I fink 'ey were daytime pills."

Lihn shook her head, grinning. "I do not feel much like sleeping anyhow. Perhaps we could keep each other company."

2D's heart jumped and he couldn't stop the smile that spread on his face. "We could watch a movie or sumfink." he suggested. "I got Revolt of the Zombies. I 'aven't seen it yet, so I dunno how it is, but we could watch it togever if you like."

"That sounds nice." she smiled. "So, how do you like your dessert?"

"Are you kiddin'?" He asked around another large mouthful. "It's like, Heaven' s havin' a party in my mouth!" he swallowed, "You shouldna been a scientist, you shoulda been a chef."

Lihn snorted. "Almost the same thing, throwing things together and seeing what happens. Sometimes you get a winner, but most times you do not and it is back to the ole Bunsen burner!"

2D nodded, "I never fought of it like 'at. So what sort of fings did you cook up in your lab?"

A strange look crossed her face but she quickly looked down at her nearly empty plate. "I was working on a way to clone human organs without growing an entire human, so that the host would not have to be murdered to harvest the organs."

The pale man's face screwed up in thought. "But, if you made 'em, 'ey ain't really people, are 'ey? I mean, I' wouldn' really be murder, would it?"

She didn't respond right away, seemed to be fighting some inner battle, staring at her plate. D' shuffled his feet uncomfortably, wondering if he'd said something wrong. "Maybe she won' wan' ta hang out now! Why are you always saying such stupid fings? Murdoc's right. I am an idiot." he berated himself. And just when he was about to apologize and make his retreat, she spoke.

"When one creates a clone, it lives." she spoke slowly. "It breathes, it's heart beats, it's brain functions. Just as yours did, when you were created." she paused a moment, "I believe that if you create a clone, you have created a life. And if that life is then taken away, it is murder. What ever the reason." these words came out quietly. Her spoon rattled against her plate as her hands shook.

"Are you alrigh'?" his brows knit together in worry as she gripped the plate. She shook her head, and suddenly turned away from him. Quickly, she crossed the room to the sink and attacked her dirty plate with soap and a sponge as if she would scrub away what ever had suddenly come over her. The confused man watched dumbly, not knowing how to react. He'd no idea what had upset her and no clue how to sooth her, but he was determined to try.

He crossed the room behind her and put his plate on the counter beside the sink. "Lihn." he said putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry. I dunno whot I said, but I don' mean ta upset ya." He turned her toward him and looked into her teary face. His hand shook a bit as he wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"It is not your fault." she said thickly, tears still slipping from her eye. She put a hand over his squeezed it. "I just…" she stopped and her eyes grew wide. "Look out!" she grabbed him by upper arms and pulled him forward, falling back onto the floor. He landed on top of her hard, being caught off guard and felt his teeth hit her forehead. He could hear the air being pushed from her lungs and the sound of something metal hitting the wall and bouncing to the floor.

"What the fuck, Lihn?" he said pushing himself up. He paused when his eyes fell across the large kitchen knife on the floor, obviously the object that had he'd heard hit the wall. He sat back on his haunches, straddling his companion still, and put a hand to the back of his head. It came away with blood. "What the fuck?" he repeated.

"Get up!" his savior commanded urgently.

"Oh, right! Sorry." his face pinked as he hurriedly got up and offered her a hand looking around the room. She accepted, putting a hand to her forehead where 'D's teeth had split the skin. "Did you see that?"

"See what? Who threw that?" He was staring around the room. There was no evidence that anyone had been in the room besides them. Lihn was scanning the room as well, her face screwed up in anger, right fist clenched. "D'you see 'em?"

"Yes, I saw it." her voice was filled with malice. It was such a contrast to her usually sweet disposition that 2D stepped back. He could swear that her eyes literally flamed for a moment. Maybe he had already taken his pills and forgotten. Sometimes if he took too much, he would see or hear things, especially if he mixed the night and day time pills. He was watching her warily as she slowly scanned the room, he wasn't sure what for.

Suddenly all of the cupboard doors flew open startling the two, and something flew into 2D's chest knocking him to the floor again. He instinctively threw his hands up in front of his face and felt teeth sink into his hand. He cried out as he tried to shake whatever it was loose. Something sat upon his chest, tearing at him with claws and teeth, but he couldn't see anything, it was as if the lights had gone out all around him. He pounded it with his fist as he tried to pull his other hand free of it's mouth.

He thought he heard Lihn shouting but he couldn't understand what she was saying. He felt as though someone were throwing sand at him and suddenly the thing was gone! He sat up, clutching at his injured hand, and watched as the petite woman struggled with a shadow. Her face was hard and her eyesseemed to be glowing with an inner flame. He watched fascinated and frightened as electricity seemed to pulse through her body shocking the shadow creature and it fell to the floor smoking slightly. The grown man scooted himself back, slipping in the salt all over the floor, moving away from the thing and the woman who could produce electricity from her body. He pushed up against the cupboards, pulling his knees up to his chest and still clutching his hand. "'Owed you do 'at?" he demanded, his eyes wide and his mind racing. Was she some sort of mutant like in the movies? What was the thing that had attacked him? Why did his hand burn so badly?

Lihn turned her face to him, looking every bit like the sweet girl he'd been having dessert with only moments ago, before things had gone strange. She stepped over the thing clutching her side, the fabric of her dress torn. Blood seeped through her fingers as she moved to his side and crouched down, wincing. "Are you hurt?" she asked, voice full of concern. She reached for his hand but he pulled away from her deadly touch. Several emotions crossed her face but a pained sadness seemed to win out. "I think you should rest now, Stuart." she quietly and all went black.

2D woke up in his bed and winced at the soreness in his right hand. "Must've slept on it wrong." He glanced at the clock on the bed stand. Eleven o'clock. He'd missed breakfast again, Lihn was probably disappointed in him. "Lihn." His brow furrowed in thought. He'd had a strange dream about Lihn but he couldn't really remember it now. In fact, he couldn't remember going to bed last night.

The last thing he remembered was having a snack with his new friend and remembering that he'd forgotten his med's. "'ey must have been night pills after all." he concluded.