Othila
A Gorillaz fanfic by JeniOctavia
With help from Krissie and Joseph
From "The Book of Runes" by Ralph H. Blum:
"Othila Separation. Retreat. Inheritance. This is a time of separating paths. Old skins must be shed, outmoded relationships discarded. When you receive this rune, a peeling away is called for. Part of the Cycle of Initiation, Othila is a rune of radical severance..."
Chapter One
"Rubbish," Murdoc Nicalls muttered in disgust as he watched the masses of people walk, drive, and bus down the busy downtown Portland street, "Absolute fucking rubbish," he decided to add a second later, glancing over his shoulder to the window of the small McDonalds at his back, more specifically the three individuals that were currently at the counter inside. 2D, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle, the three remaining members of the world famous band Gorillaz, were currently ordering a fast food dinner after a long day of browsing around Downtown and South East Portland's various shops and malls. Murdoc himself had been dragged out at the pleading request of Noodle who wouldn't relent until her 'whole family' was on the trip with her, "I still cannot believe I got dragged out to this cesspool of a town..." growled at the thought as he pulled out a cigarette from the front breast pocket of his jacket and proceeded to light the end, taking a very long, satisfying drag from the filter. He huffed an equally lengthy sigh, the acrid smoke curling out from between his lips and over his face as it rose in to the air. Just then Noodle, the young Asian female guitarist of the group, poked her head out from the swinging door and looked up at Murdoc with baleful green eyes.
"Murdoc-sama..."
Giving a grunt, Murdoc rolled his eyes over to the diminutive form that stood in the door way just as 2D, the blue haired, vacant eyed singer joined Noodle at the door.
"Eh. Yes, luv?" Murdoc grumbled, knowing what she was going to ask.
"Please come inside and have dinner," Noodle asked softly, clearly trying to make the words sound as if she were whining, despite the fact that she felt like doing just that. Murdock's perpetually growing bad mood had been a source of disappointment for her all day, and she'd only wanted to enjoy time with her family without the eldest member of the group pitching a smarmy fit about every place they went. To this Murdoc only grumbled and took another drag off his cigarette, casting his odd eyed gaze back to the busy street in front of them. Somewhere in the far, far distance a sound like thunder rumbled, but it could have just been a semi truck on the free way. With all the noise of cars and pedestrians it was hard to tell.
"Muds, please. We got you yer fave," 2D chimed in with Noodle nodding enthusiastically in agreement, her short violet-black pigtails bouncing atop her head. This actually warranted attention, causing Murdoc to glance over with minimal but showing interest, one eyebrow raised on his face.
"Extra onions?"
"Lots of onions!" Noodle cheered excitedly in her thick Japanese accent as she threw her baggy sleeve covered hands in to the air. Murdoc stared at the glowing nub of the cigarette for a second, let out a dry, humored laugh and brushed the cherry off on the side of the brick building, stuffing the bent stick back in his jacket pocket.
"You owe me, shorty," the older man said with a light smirk, patting Noodle on the head as he entered the building. He spotted the final band member, their large bodied, dark skinned drummer Russel, taking up a good portion of a booth at a table laden with trays and packaged food. Noodle went skipping by, humming happily to herself as she jumped up on the seat next to Russel, scooting in next to him and wiggling her arms in the air to get her giant sleeves back far enough to eat. 2D also swept past Murdoc, slower than Noodle had done so, and took a seat across from the hyper active girl who'd instantly started digging in to her food. Murdoc took a seat next to the blue haired singer, glancing at him as a scowl replaced the sarcastic smirk he'd had earlier. 2D was giving a rather cheeky grin at the situation, causing Murdoc to instantly foul his mood.
"What're you so damn happy about, face ache?" he snapped, snatching a burger off the pile of food and unwrapping it as he stared at the younger man.
"Wut? I can' be happy once in a while, Muds?" 2D responded, grabbing a container of fries and popping a few in to his mouth.
"Eh. No," Murdoc quipped, biting in to his own burger.
"Lighten up, Murdoc," Russel interjected as 2D's smile slipped in to a definitive pout, "We're trying to have fun, man. You've just been draggin' us down all day."
"Seriously! Noodle just wanted us to have a good time, an all you've been doin' is bitchin' and moanin' an carryin' on like a right whiner all day," 2D added in, causing Murdoc to throw his head back in a clearly over dramatic moan of annoyance.
"Oh come o-would you two just bugger off an' leave me be!" he groaned rather loudly, "Did you expect me to be all Mister Sunshine and Bubbles today? You knew I didn't want to leave, yet you let Noods plead and beg with me until I caved! Please, for the love of Satan, just be happy I'm here,"
"Alright, fine," Russel relented, picking up a fry and pointing it at Murdoc in a mock threat, "but don't be an ass about it, man. No more complaining for the rest of the night,"
Raising his head back up, Murdoc stared at his food for a second, Russel for another, and Noodle for one additional second before he, too caved in and nodded.
"Right, right, no bitchin', no complainin'. I am Mister Bubbles, at your bleedin' service," he drooled sarcastically, waving a hand across the table in a fake bow.
"Now that's more like it,"
---
"Where'd we park?" 2D asked, rubbing a hand through his perpetually mussed blue hair as the quartet made their way in to the large, multi story parking garage that was just down the street from the McDonalds where they'd gone for dinner. Outside heavy clouds thick with possible rain started to roll in while the golden sun began to set behind the mass of skyscrapers and old buildings, giving the city a strange ethereal glow of smoky orange mixed with constantly shifting shadows. The lighting change and the fact that so many different cars had come and gone in the time that the group had been wandering around Portland that the entire level looked completely unfamiliar to 2D, leaving him to wonder where exactly their rental vehicle was.
"Its here somewhere," Russel drawled, shoving his hands in his pockets and searching for the car keys as he came out from the stairwell that led up to that particular level. His fingers found a familiar flimsy metal and paper tag and tugged the set of keys out while he walked in the general direction of where he thought they'd parked. Murdoc followed, finishing off the cigarette he'd saved right before dinner, and Noodle brought up the rear, bouncing up the steps while humming some random song. She bounded past Murdoc, who only rolled his eyes at the hyperactive teen, and went over to Russel, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and giving it a tug while pointing in the complete opposite direction of where he was walking.
"Russel-san, the car is over here. You're going the wrong way," she explained, smiling cutely at him when he turned around to look at where she was pointing.
"...huh," Russel grumbled, making a face as he stared at the dark red Jeep Grand Cherokee that the young girl was currently gesturing at. He gave a shrug, absently wondering how he'd managed to get so turned around, and went to unlock the doors, "A'ight, everyone in," he called out to the group after pulling himself in to the passenger seat.
"Muds," 2D said, approaching the older man as they headed over to the Jeep. When he received a non committal growl, 2D simply continued, "I was wonderin' if I could bum a fag offa ya. 'mout."
Murdoc cast a glare in 2D's direction, scowling as he puffed out the last bit of cigarette smoke and tossed the remaining filter on the ground.
"Why can't you get yer own, dullard?" he snapped as he pulled the car door open, sliding in to the front passenger seat. Noodle was already in the back, clicking her seatbelt on when 2D took up his own spot on the other side of her.
"I lost my ID," he explained sheepishly, looking down at his lap, "Can't buy 'em without, the stores won't let me. ...please?"
"Sweet Satan, how in the bloody hell did you manage to lose it?" Murdoc hissed angrily, turning around in his seat to narrow his odd colored eyes at the rather dimwitted vocalist.
"I don' know!" 2D defended, his voice rising in pitch as he gave a rather comical flail from the backseat, nearly thwacking Noodle in the head when he did. She gave a squeak of surprise and ducked 2D's left arm, muttering some protest or another in Japanese at him, "It jus' happened! I went for it yesterday and it was gone! ...please, Muds! Please please please! Just one! Pleeeeeeeeeeeasssseee!" he suddenly started begging, his tone shifting from whining to all out pathetic pleading, his hands folding in to a prayer position as he leaned forward and attempted to beseech Murdoc for a smoke.
"No!" Murdoc countered, reaching over to shove 2D's head down between his knees which in turn only caused him to fling his arms about more. Noodle let out a semi-surprised shriek, curling up against the door to get away from the two boys rough housing, "Yer fault you lost it, DEAL WIT IT!"
"Leave him alone, Murdoc-san!" Noodle said in a huffy tone, "It is not his fault he misplaced it!"
"Yeah!" Wut she said!" 2D cried out, his voice muffled from the position Murdoc had him pushed down in. Murdoc glanced between Noodle's sour expression and the hunched over form of the younger vocalist before grumbling something rather rude about the two of them that, thankfully, Noodle didn't quite hear, and let 2D go. The blue haired male sprung back up, his hair sticking out at random angles and his clothing a little rumpled.
"So 'ats a 'no'?"
"Duh, face ache," Murdoc grunted, sliding back down in to his own seat and folding his arms over his chest, "Why aren't we moving yet?"
During all the arguing, none of them had noticed that Russel was hunched over the steering wheel with a scowl pulling his lips tight across his dark features. His hand was on the ignition key and repeatedly turning, and amongst all the din of the little row, no one had heard the repeated 'click-click, click-click' that the car was giving in response to the large drummer trying to start it. He gave it a few more turns as Murdoc stared at him curiously before straightening back up and pointing to the hood.
"It ain't startin," he said as if that simple sentence explained the mystery of the universe.
"...why not?" Murdoc asked, raising one eyebrow at the man.
"Well, I don't know. I'm not a car psychic, Muds. I can't just ask the car to tell me telepathically what's wrong with it,"
"Can you fix it?"
Russel let out a heavy sigh and swung the driver door open, hopping out of the Jeep and lumbering over to the front. He dropped his large hand on top of the hood and called out for Murdoc to pop it for him, lifting the metal top once the older man had leaned across the two front seats and released the lever of the hood catch. Silence settled inside the Jeep, save for the occasional shuffling noises made by Noodle who seemed to be shifting rather restlessly in her seat.
Five minutes later Russel was still hunched over the engine his arms and bald head occasionally visible to the occupants of the Jeep as he moved and fiddled inside of its engine. Murdoc gave an impatient huff while 2D started to hum quietly to himself while he stared out the window at the grimy brick wall that was positioned next to where they'd happened to park. Some random punks had gone to the trouble of writing various bits of graffiti on the rough, chipped-paint surface and 2D was killing time by trying to decipher what had been scrawled there.
Ten more minutes passed, and Noodle had started to doze off in the back seat, her head resting against the seatbelt strap and her mouth hanging open slightly. 2D had grown bored with the graffiti and had pulled out his silver mobile phone, playing a video game of some sort on it as his tongue was sticking out between his teeth and his eyes were narrowed at the small screen in concentration. Murdoc had moved to driver's seat and was attempting to start the car on Russel's instruction, but as before they only received a weak clicking noise rather than the roar of a healthy, working engine. Russel finally straightened up and scrubbed a hand over his bald head in frustration and confusion, moving to the side of the Jeep to stare dumbfounded at its exterior. Murdoc frowned, snatched the car keys out of the ignition, and slipped out from the open door, walking over to where his band mate stood.
"Wut, wut? Wut's wrong with it, Russ?" he demanded, his voice doing nothing to hide the irritation he was clearly feeling.
"I don't know,"
"Wut do you mean, you don' know?"
Russel gestured to the hood with a finger, "There is nothing wrong with that engine, man. Not a damn thing."
"How can there be nothin' wrong!" Murdoc cried, throwing his hands in the air. His outcry caused Noodle to jerk awake, a muttered mix of Japanese and English slipping past her lips in a slurred voice, "It won't start but there's nothing wrong wit it, that makes no bloody sense, Russ!"
"Look man!" Russel snapped back, turning the pointed finger from the car to Murdoc's face in threat, "Don't be yellin' at me, I didn't make this happen! That engine is picture perfect, there is nothing wrong."
"There is too something wrong!"
"Enlighten me, if yer so damn smart then, crackahass!"
This caused Murdoc to begin sputtering incoherently, as he couldn't actually come back with a correct answer of any sort but wasn't about to give Russel the satisfaction of knowing that he was completely clueless. Russel folded his arms across his chest, a smug smirk coming across his face as he waited for Murdoc to finish stammering through some half assed explanation of what he thought was wrong with the car, which of course was a completely ill informed and fabricated lie.
Noodle sighed heavily as she stared out the window at the two of them, shaking her head as they continued to argue rather loudly, their voices echoing through the car park.
"He cannot go five minutes without throwing a fit," she said softly, though she received no reply as 2D was still too wrapped up in whatever game he was playing on his mobile to notice that she had spoken. Another huff escaped her lips, lifting some of the heavy purple bangs that covered her emerald eyes.
Her eyes still trained on the two forms outside, it wasn't until her line of sight was directly on them that her heart gave a thump, sank down to her feet, and made her realize that the strange sensation of moving wasn't being made in her mind. The Jeep was moving down the exit ramp on its own volition without motor power to assist it.
"2D-san..."
"Yea, Noods?" 2D said distractedly, barely noticing that Noodle's voice had taken on a slightly panicked note.
"2D-san, the Jeep is moving," Noodle explained in the calmest tone that she muster, even as parked cars started to go by rather swiftly, the Jeep picking up speed on the slight incline of the exit. Three seconds later what Noodle had said finally registered in 2D's often slow paced mind and his head jerked up, the mobile phone fell from his bony fingers, his dark eyes growing huge in his head. The car was now moving swiftly down the exit ramp and the brick attendant booth that stood at the end, right before the open air archway that led in to the car park itself. Noodle let out a shrill scream that resounded through the stone building, finally getting Murdoc and Russel's attention mid-argument.
"FUCK!" they yelled in unison, taking off down the ramp after the car.
"Noodle, cover yer head!" 2D screeched, fumbling with his undone seatbelt, his shaking hands unable to get a good enough grasp on it. Noodle dropped her head down and threw her arms over it, curling her body in to a tight ball as her lips moved in some silent prayer. The Jeep, rolling at about six or seven miles per hour at that point and grinding against the wall, impacted with the attendant booth just as 2D was able to snap the safety harness in to the clip and throw his own arms over his head just as the front end crumpled with a sickening crunch and squeal of metal on brick that resounded through the car park. He grunted as his body was thrown forward, stopped only by the seatbelt that dug painfully in to his chest, which in turn caused him to be snapped back by the momentum.
The last thing he remembered for several minutes was his head connecting with the side passenger window before his vision completely blacked out. When his mind returned to consciousness, Murdoc was yelling something rather incoherently outside of the Jeep, and he could barely make out Russel's voice asking Noodle if she was alright.
He felt a small hand grasp his shoulder a second later, and slowly his vision began to come back in to some semblance of focus, though. A grunt escaped his lips as Noodle rather ungracefully leapt on to his lap and began fighting with his stubborn seat belt. There was a click and it released, taking a lot of pressure off his throbbing chest and allowing him to breathe normally. A groan slipped past his lips just as Noodle grabbed his face and began shaking his head back and forth.
"2D-san! 2D-san wake up!"
"Noods..." 2D said in a slurred, mashed voice, "Yer hurtin' ma hea' more den it a'ready is,"
"Gah! Gomen!" Noodle cried out, quickly removing her hands from his face, "Are you okay?"
2D gave this a long moment of thought, groaning loudly from the thudding pain in both his chest and his head, before finally answering, "...no. Bu' I'll live. Now ge' off, please?"
Noodle nodded and scuttled off, crawling over the seats until she slipped out of the open passenger door where Russel was standing. The larger man watched her then held a hand out for 2D, beckoning him out of the ruined vehicle. Groaning at the sheer amount of ache that was lancing through his body, 2D some how managed to drag himself out to the door, leaning on Russel for support as he stumbled out of the Jeep, only to be painfully snatched up by the collar of his jacket not a second later by a very irate Murdoc.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" the older man was bellowing in his face, shaking him and causing him to cry out at the sensation of his aching head bobbling about.
"NOTHIN'!" 2D yelled back, wincing and trying to back away, "It moved on its own!"
"BULLOCKS!" Murdoc continued to holler in red-faced anger, gripping the jacket tighter and pulling the collar around 2D's throat, causing him to cough and sputter. Just then Noodle stormed over and shin kicked Murdoc roughly, shrieking at him in high-pitched, rapid Japanese as his grip was released on the younger man. Grunting and gasping, 2D fell against the side of the Jeep, rubbing at his throat as he glared daggers at Murdoc, who was, much to his annoyance, getting lectured by both Russel and Noodle, in English and Japanese respectively. His arms flailing over his head as he yelled back at both of them in barely understandable Cockney, clearly irritated that he was getting reamed so badly for something he did on a daily basis anyway.
Rubbing his sore head, fingers running over a bump beneath his mussed blue hair with a grimace, 2D left them to bicker with one another, not surprised in the least that the third major argument of the day had broken out within minutes of the previous one. It gave him time to inspect the damage done to the Jeep and, some how through all the shrieking and yelling behind him try to figure out what exactly happened. He and Noodle were just sitting there when the Jeep started moving, and though Murdoc wanted vehemently to blame it on him, 2D had touched nothing that would cause the car to move completely on its own. The only thing that he could even remotely conclude was that Russel had accidentally tampered with something while trying to find the source of the car's starting problem.
Bu' he's been fixing cars since before he even joined us...he wouldn' mess wit' the breaks unless he needed to, his mind reasoned, causing him to frown. Dullard that he was, the concept of a car doing something completely on its own with no one behind the controls or doing something that would will it to move the way the Jeep did was just ridiculous, Cars just don't do that, his mind said once more.
However the crunched front of the rental Jeep was speaking multitudes about the fact that the car HAD moved on its own, with no outside source causing it to do so. Glass littered the ground; three windows were busted completely open along with the front end lights, coloring the ground in amber and clear shaded shards. Dark red paint had left disturbing streaks across the grimy white brick wall where the Jeep had lost control and skidded against it for nearly ten feet. The point of impact, the attendant booth, had survived rather well despite its rather old looking appearance, and the Jeep itself had only taken one large chunk out of the back end of it, adding bits of white painted brick to the rubble on the ground.
It was his inspection of the back of the attendant booth that made 2D realize that some one could have still been injured despite the low impact of the crash. Frowning, he moved around to the front, exiting through the large archway of the car park. The second his foot landed on the side walk, though, he came to an abrupt halt, his heart falling from his chest to his knees in one sickening motion. His mouth worked, but it took a few seconds for his voice to return.
"Oi!" he called out, looking over his shoulder, attempting to get his band mates' attention, only to find that some how they were still arguing, all of them yelling so loud and fast that only ever other word was understandable from any of them.
"'EY! LARRY, CURLY, MOE! BAD THINGS HAPPENING!" he suddenly found himself yelling, voice high pitched more in nerves than irritation, catching them all in mid sentence. They stopped, staring at the blue haired singer in confusion, Noodle with her head tilted to the side, Murdoc with his arms still above his head, and Russel with his finger in Murdoc's face.
"What are you talking about, 2D-san?" Noodle asked, walking over to where he stood, "the only bad thing was-…aiee…kuso…" she found herself muttering softly, her voice dropping to just below a whisper. This was enough to pique Murdoc and Russel's interest, the two of them exchanging glances before wandering over to where Noodle and 2D stood.
"Guys, wazzis here 'afore?" 2D asked in a slightly shaking voice, wrapping his arms around himself as he looked to Russel who came up on his right.
"…what have you crackah asses gone and done now?" was Russel's slightly awed response, his jaw hanging open at what they all were staring at.
"We didn' do nofin…" 2D muttered as Noodle nodded in numb agreement, scooting closer towards 2D's legs, her fingers grasping at the bottom of his jacket.
Murdoc ran a hand through the back of his hair, one eyebrow raised. Though clearly confused by what they were all witnessing, he didn't seem to share the sense of fear at what had the other three so clearly entranced. Shock was probably the best description of what he felt right then.
What had once been a busy, bustling city street in the middle of the evening was completely and utterly deserted in such a way that couldn't possibly be normal. Cars had literally stopped dead in the street with no indication that the passengers and driver had ever gotten out. A few cell phones were lying on the street, as if their owners had simply laid them down on the ground and walked away. Over the pavement a thin, still layer of fog had rolled in from seemingly nowhere, covering everything in a hazy, dreamlike sensation, only added by the fact that the glow of the sunset had vanished but a brightness about the evening had remained. On top of it all, a disturbing silence, so thick and almost alive in the air, had completely taken over, seeming to suck the very ability of sound out of the town.
"Oi, maybe…maybe there's a sale?" Murdoc suggested, sounding much weaker than he'd intended. Noodle slowly shook her head and turned her now large, terrified eyes on her older band leader.
"No," she answered, her own voice high and trembling.
"Well sue me for bein' supportive..."
Reluctantly moving his arms from the protective stance he'd put himself in, 2D took a couple of steps forward and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE!"
He only received a sudden harsh wind and the sound of his own voice echoing off the buildings in response.
-----
"Dance, dance! We're fallin' apart to half time!"
The sole occupant of a Metropolitan Area Express light rail ground train jerked awake with a grunt in her seat, her right arm twitching as her cell phone played its message ring tone and gave off a slight vibration in her hip pocket. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, the red haired female fumbled for the lip of her pocket before finally managing to wrap her fingers around the small cellular phone.
"Grrn, what do you want…?" she grumbled in a slurred tone, flipping the device open to see that she'd received a text message. After reading it and responding, she put the phone back in her pocket, taking a moment to stretch her arms over her head and yawn. After the squeaky show of sleepiness had left her open mouth, she pushed the pair of tortoiseshell colored glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.
It was then that the girl was finally able to take notice of the rather strange emptiness of the car she was currently riding in. All the seats that had been taken up when she'd boarded and fallen asleep in her seat were deserted, and she was the lone rider. An eyebrow raised in confused curiosity, she moved from her seat as the train exited the tunnel it had been zipping through. The train clicked along, pulling around a corner in to a vaguely residential area. Several apartment buildings stretched up in to the light gray evening sky with some lower business buildings speckled in between them. As the girl pressed her hands against the cold glass of the MAX window, she licked her lips nervously, a strange feeling coming over her.
Her heart thudded in her chest, her expression going from curious, to agitated and even more confused. One hand slipped away from the window and found the pentacle necklace that hung at her throat, grasping it tightly as her eyes scanned the streets.
"…where is everyone?"