A good Lie

Lihn found herself standing in a public bathroom. One of the florescent lights buzzed annoyingly as she looked in the large mirror over the sinks. "Damn." she was filthy. Her lab coat which had been white was now mud colored, with a splash of zombie goo here and there. She took it off and stuffed it in the trash can, "good riddance." The white, low cut blouse she'd been wearing beneath the coat wasn't so bad., only a small splash of mud, which was easily removed with a cantrip. She unbuttoned the top two buttons revealing some cleavage. "Not bad." The grey knee length skirt however had see better days. The hem of it was completely soaked with mud. After a moments thought, she watched the skirt shrink upward, the muddiness disappearing, of course now the style was wrong. Turning slowly to see herself, the skirt became snugger and small slit appeared on the right side. She pulled some paper towels from the dispenser and wetting them, scrubbed her face. It was then that she noticed she'd lost her glasses. "O well," she was tired of them anyway and it wasn't as though she needed them.

She stepped back to take a better look at herself and nearly slipped. "Ugh." her bare feet were covered in grime and she'd lost her shoes. She could simply conjure up a new pair but that would be hard to explain if anyone noticed. She grabbed more paper towels and scooted herself up onto the counter to get her feet in the sink. She was bent over her knees, scrubbing away at the dirt when Russel came in. "'scuse me, miss? Oh!" he quickly turned away from her blushing and Lihn realized that not only could he see down her shirt but also up her skirt. Feeling embarrassed herself, she hopped down from the counter, her freshly wet feet slipping on the tiles, and fell backward. She tried to catch herself on the counter and missed completely, smacking her elbow and her head on the way down.

"Oh my God!" Russel rushed to her side and bent to help her. Lihn stared up into his face. He was quite handsome, the pupil-less eyes did nothing to retract from it. Besides, Lihn had seen and dated, far worse than that in the past… It had been years since she'd felt this kind of girlish attraction and she felt herself blushing.

"Are you all right?" he was asking, "let me help you." He took her arm and helped her to a sitting position. The room spun a bit and Lihn clung to Russel's shoulder to steady herself. He turned his face toward hers to say something but the words died on his lips as he realized how awkwardly close they were to her lips. "Doumo." She half whispered looking into his eyes. They seemed to glow with an inner light. Lihn was fascinated by them but her scrutiny seemed to make Russel self conscious and he turned his face away from her, mumbling about getting her up off of the cold floor.

He helped her up, lifting her lithe form easily. He made to let go of her and she nearly swooned. Quickly, he slid an arm under her armpits supporting her. Frowning she put a hand to the back of her head and feeling a huge bump, winced. "C'mon, we better get you some ice for that bump." Russel said with concern. They left the bathroom and followed the hallway back to the buildings' lobby which she had passed through with Noodle on her way to the bathroom. But instead of going back the way they'd come, Russel steered her toward the lift and pushed the call button.

"Hey, Rus, where you running off to with our guest?" Murdoc had just stepped into the lobby and walked over to join them.

"She fell and hit her head. I's takin her up to the kitchen to get some ice." Rus explained.

The look of concern on Murdoc's face seemed genuine but Lihn (correctly) guessed it was because he was afraid of getting sued. "No blood no foul, as they say, right?" he chuckled half hearted as the lift doors opened.

The three of them piled into the elevator and Murdoc pushed the "1" button. Lihn's stomach lurched and she tried to remember what a concussion felt like.

"I'm 'fraid we 'avn't been prop'ly introduced." Murdoc said, apparently forgetting his introduction in the zombie field, and extended his hand, "Names Murdoc Niccals, and you've met Russel Hobbs." he nodded toward Rus.

Lihn tentatively shook his hand, "Lihn." she offered. He obviously hadn't caught it when she'd told him earlier.

"Lihn?" he seemed to purr her name, rolling it in his mouth like wine, "Pleased to meet you." his roving gaze was making her somewhat uncomfortable. The lift doors opened and they shuffled out. The door across from them led to a corridor with doors on either side. As they drew closer to the end of the hall Noodle emerged from the door on the right. "Dr. Lihn, what happened? Are you hurt?" she ran forward to take Lihn's hand.

"Ah, little, Noriko, I slipped and hit my head." They continued to have a conversation in Japanese and Murdoc shot Russel a look that said "See what I'm saying?" They all went through the door on the left into the kitchen and Russel lowered her into a folding chair that sat by a small table in the center of the room. Murdoc sat across from her while Russel busied himself making an icepack which he then handed to Lihn before leaning against the sink with his arms folded across his chest. Noodle rummaged in a cupboard before sitting on a chair on Lihn's right with a small box of Pocky. She offered one to Lihn who waved her hand in refusal and then one to Murdoc who accepted it absentmindedly.

"So, exactly how are you related to our Noodle?" Murdoc asked. Noodle's head shot up ad she choked on her Pocky, coughing and sputtering. Murdoc jumped up and began patting her on the back roughly, while Russel grabbed a juice box out of the fridge and tossed it to him. "You all right, Noods?" Murdoc asked clumsily shoving the straw into the box, "drink 'is, girly."

Noodle accepted the drink box and sucked it down greedily. When she felt she could safely speak again, she slammed the box on the table top and blurted out at Lihn, "You are my relation? Why did you not tell me? Why did you send me here? DID you send me here or have you been looking for me all this time? Why can't I remember anything before I was in the box?" The questions flew from the excited girls mouth and Lihn's mind raced as she tried to wrap it around the situation at hand.

They thought she was related to the girl? Apparently she didn't know her family and Lihn was wearing a Japanese face, she was speaking Japanese. Should she go with it? It was risky, she didn't know anything about these people. Would they be happy if she was, or relieved if she wasn't? She didn't have time to come up with a back round, she didn't have enough information about these people to make up something . On the other hand, she did need an excuse for being here, 'I just dropped out of thin air' didn't usually go over well, neither did, 'I'm from another time.' although that almost didn't apply here. She could fake injury related amnesia, she had just hit her head hadn't she?

They were all staring at her now. She had to say something, even if they couldn't understand her. Well, was she 'of the lamp' or not? She looked across the table at Murdoc. The idea of touching this man's mind repulsed her. She looked to her right at Russel, she was curious about him. Her eyes narrowed. Outside, time slowed too a stop, on the inside, in her mind, her soul, it sped up. She blinked and she was standing in a hallway. Doors lined the walls. Walls that went on in either direction for miles. She reached out her hand to the door knob in front of her, she pulled the door open and flung it wide. It was like looking in an open window. Or perhaps it was like looking into a large television screen. It was a first person view. She was on a stage, looking out over a crowd, they were cheering and hooting and she could see a sign that said 'Gorillaz Rock!'. And there was music. She glanced down at the drums she was playing then squinted through the lights and smoke on the stage. There was Murdoc, he was playing a bass guitar, at the other side of the stage was little Noodle she was playing guitar very well. Toward the front of the stage was the other man, she'd heard them call him 2-D, he was holding a microphone and tapping his foot with the music, but was not singing. The vocals she could hear seemed to be coming from behind her or above her.

She shut the door, cutting off the music and the cheering, she shook her head at the abrupt silence. The Gorillaz. So they are musicians.This accounted for a lot. Lihn had known many musicians and everyone of them had their own brand of strangeness. It was either an occupational hazard or job requirement.

But what about the girl? Lihn moved to another door, or perhaps it moved toward her, she was never really sure. She pulled it open to the same effect, a large flickering window of memory. She was Russel walking into a room that she barley recognized as the lobby she'd walked through earlier. There was a large crate in the middle of the floor with FED-EX stamped on the side. "what's 'at?" she heard Russel's voice ask. "It's a package!' she heard a bright voice answer, and 2-D came into view, "I 'ad to sign for it, and every fink." he seemed proud of himself.

"Help me get it open, man." that was Murdoc's voice, sure enough there he was with a crow bar prying at the lid of the crate. "let me do it." Russel's voice said. It was like a video game, she watched as the box got closer, Russel's hand reached out and took the crow bar, wedged it between the lid and the top of the crate and pried.

"Did you hear some fink?" 2-D asked

"yeah, I hear stupid questions being asked, now shut up." that was Murdoc again. The nails came lose and with a great shove the top nearly exploded off the box. Out of the box leapt a little girl, guitar in hand. She somersaulted to the floor landing in an outrageous pose and started playing scales that would make Steve Via jealous. The men watched dumbfounded until she finished with a bow. Standing straight she reached into her pocket pulling out a scrap of newspaper and held it out towards Murdoc. He took it, snatching it from her hand, glanced at it and smiling broadly said, "I think we've found our new guitarist." Lihn shut the door on the scene. So she literally showed up in the door step. Little girl shows up, doesn't speak English and apparently they'd decided to keep her like a puppy that had followed them home. And Noodle said she didn't remember anything before she'd gotten there. Perhaps Lihn could pull this off, if she used her head and thought quickly.

"Who the Hell are you ?"Lihn spun at the sound of a angry voice. She was inside Russel's mind, who else could be here?

Rushing along the corridor coming towards her was a young man. He wore a sports jersey, Lihn wasn't sure which sport, she could never keep track of that sort of thing. And he was wearing a billed hat backwards over his dreadlocks. He looked somehow familiar and when he demanded again who she was the thick New York accent jogged her memory. "The Ghost?"

"I said who are you? What are you doin in here?" he was close enough she could make out his features. His eyes were purely white with an inner glow, just like Russel's, and his skin was cast with a blue hew, a stark difference against his black hair, it was almost cartoonish. She would have laughed if she'd met him somewhere else but being caught inside someone else's head was never a laughable situation. Especially when she was caught by a third party. He bore down on her angrily and shoved her against a door, the door knob dug painfully into her back but she didn't shove him away, her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"Answer me bitch!," he gave her a shake, "What the fuck are you doing here?"She cocked her head to one side and stared back at him, "what are YOU doing here? You're not Russel."

"That ain't nunya business. You're the trespasser here, and you better come up with some answers."

Lihn thought quickly, she'd seen him talking to Murdoc earlier and she didn't want him telling anyone she'd been in here. It would take more explanation than she was willing to give. Better to knock him out now, she could find out more about him later. She narrowed her eyes and mustered up a good blast of energy that sent him sprawling to the floor. She took a moment to make sure he wouldn't remember this and went back to her own mind.

She opened her eyes back on the dingy kitchen and allowed time to start again. "Are you my mother, my aunt, my older sister? Do we have a large family, where are they?" Suddenly, Noodle took on an expression of anguish, "you're not here to take me away, are you?"

Lihn took the opening, "You don't want to be with your family?" She asked placing the ice pack on the table and leaning down a little to see Noodle's face clearly.

Noodle was quiet, she looked at her juice box, the straw dripped a little and she absently ran her finger through it. "I don't remember anything before I got here, except my name," she spoke slowly, "They took me in, they have cared for me, and I care for them, so, though I have often wondered about my real family, I already have a family here." She looked up at Russel and smiled, "and I do not wish to leave them."

Lihn leaned back in her chair and pretended to consider what the girl had said. Inside however, she was smiling, this was perfect! A lie formed I her mind, she turned it over a few times then spoke. "I am not your mother." she placed a hand over Noodle's. As she did, something sparked, something almost remembered but she pushed it aside and continued. "I'm your Aunt, on your mother's side. Your family disappeared a few years ago, I don't know what happened and I had given up hope of ever seeing any of you again. But some months ago I saw a picture in a store, of your band. I recognized you right away! After that I made inquiry's, I had to find you." she paused. Noodles face was impassive. She didn't look happy or sad, she just listened as Lihn spun off a story about how she came to be at Kong Studios. "But when I found you, you didn't recognize me. And, well, there were zombies, and running, and…" she trailed off with a shrug.

Noodle nodded slowly, a small crease formed on her forehead, "But, are you going to take me away?"

Lihn had to play it right, seem reluctant even though she wasn't. She looked at Murdoc across the table from her, he was eyeing her with some interest, unable to follow the conversation, he winked at her and flashed a devilish smile. Lin curled her lip in disgust and turned to look at Russel. His arms were folded across his chest as he leaned casually against the counter but his face was a mask of concern. He looked from Lihn to Noodle and back again, he raised an eyebrow questioningly. There was no doubt in her mind that these men cared for Noodle, the way they'd jumped into action when they thought she was choking was a pretty good sign, but Lihn knew that at first glance, no one would think it a good idea to leave a little girl in their care. And zombie infested garbage dumps certainly didn't make for a good environment for a child. "I have already left my job," she said aloud with pretend hesitation, "perhaps, I could stay and observe. If I see that you are indeed safe and well taken care of I may be persuaded to let you stay."

She barley finished what she was saying when Noodle leapt from her chair onto Lihn's lap and wrapped her in a great hug. "Yay!" she shouted. Lihn laughed and hugged her back. How long had it been since she'd hugged a child? Not in the past decade certainly. The only children she'd had contact with then, well, she certainly hadn't been hugging any of them. Lihn shook the dark thoughts from her head and squeezed Noodle tighter, a small tear slipping from her eye.

"Looks like a happy reunion." Russel said with a little smile.

"Makes me want to hurl." Murdoc snarl, "Look you," he directed at Lihn pointing his finger, "I'll have you know she's under contract, and she ain't goin no where."

"Here's the fun part." Lihn thought putting Noodle off her lap. "Why don't you go off to bed now and let me talk to your brothers" Lihn said to Noodle.

"Hai!" Noodle said, she ran around the table and gave Russel a hug, "Oyasuminasai, Onii!"

"G'nite little sister." Russel rumbled patting her on the back. She rushed over to Murdoc and quickly kissed his cheek, "Sayounara!" He took a swat at the girl, "Get outta here, you drunken midget." he replied. He half smiled as he watched her go. When the door to the kitchen shut he looked back at Lihn, "Now, as I was saying…"

"Your contract will never hold up in court, as Noodle is a minor and Noodle is not her real name." Lihn shot at him in perfect English, with only a hint of an accent.

"You speak English!" Russel accused her.

Murdoc stood up angrily, "Ere, what game are you playing at?"

"Child abduction is not a game, Mr. Niccals." she said picking up the ice pack and holding it to her head. She winced a little. She hated to accuse them knowing what she already knew, but she had to make it look good.

"we din't abduct nobody!" Russel said angrily.

"Then how did she get here?" Lihn demanded angrily, keeping up the ruse.

"She just showed up in a box." Russel shrugged throwing his hands wide.

"shut up Rus," Murdoc said out of the corner of his mouth, plopping back to his chair.

Lihn stood up dropping the ice pack back to the table, "In a box? As if she was ordered from a catalog?" Lihn's voice was incredulous.

"NO, she wasn't ordered, she just showed up, like someone sent her." Russel explained.

Russel, shut it!" Murdoc repeated uselessly.

"Even if I were to believe this, why did you not try to find out where she came from? Did you not think someone was missing her?" Lihn asked incredulously. "This is a little girl, not a puppy. Did you not think that she must have family?"

"We asked her bout all that, she din't remember nuthin." Russel shrugged.

"Russel!" Murdoc shouted coming out of his chair, "Do the words "you have the right to remain silent" mean anything to you?"

"I ain't got nuthin to hide, we ain't done nuthin wrong."

"As a matter of fact," Murdoc said dryly, "we may have.The question is, what do you intend to do about it?" he looked at Lihn. "Because I'll tell you this, you ain't taken my axe princess, and that's final." he hissed leaning across the table. Russel nodded in agreement. "What you want? Money? We got that. A house? A car? It's yours. But you ain't taken our Noodle. And I want to see ID, birth certificates, whatever you got to prove you are who you say." his eyes bored holes into her own.

Lihn was impressed, if the girl really had been her kin, she'd be grateful that she found someone who so obviously cared for her. She made a mental note and a carry-on suitcase popped into existence somewhere out on the zombie infested grounds. "Gladly. But I lost my bag when I was fighting zombies." she shrugged, "so that will have to wait. For now you will just have to assume that I am telling the truth."

"Heh, I know what happens when people assume but I suppose for the sake of anyone getting some sleep tonight, I'll let it go for now." He ran a hand over his face, suddenly looking tired.

"What are you going to do?" Russel asked Lihn.

Lihn regarded him with a thoughtful expression, "I came to find my niece. I do not suppose I had a plan after that. I was not sure what the situation would be when I found her. But I would like to make sure that she is happy and well cared for before I make a decision."

"Great," Murdoc cut in, "We can do all that tomorrow." He fished in his pocket and came out with a key ring. "The room next door on the right is open, er, room fifteen, sleep in 'ere, we'll deal with all this after some shut eye...and a drink." He tossed the keys to Lihn and left the kitchen grumbling.

"Is he always like that?" Lihn wondered allowed.

"Yep, pretty much, but you get used to it." He moved away from the counter he'd been leaning on, "Come on, the door to that room sticks real bad, I'll give ya a hand."

After finding the correct key, Russel manhandled the door and awkwardly excused himself for the night. Lihn felt around the wall looking for a switch. CLICK She may as well have left the light off. Room fifteen was painted grey, the tiles on the floor were either grey or very dirty. It wasn't overly small but it seemed as if it had been used for storage. Murdoc's referral to the room as 'empty' was somewhat misleading. It may have been devoid of people but it was definitely not empty.

There was definitely a bed under that pile of boxes and bags, and there seemed to be a dresser behind a stack of dry wall panels. A Christmas tree, complete with decorations was poking out of the closet and Lihn nearly fell in the large empty fish tank on the floor. Miscellaneous things were scattered, piled and leaned around the room. Another door was propped open by a cardboard box and she could make out a sink and toilet. Lihn heaved a sigh and scanned the room again. Shaking her head she levitated the debris off of the bed and unceremoniously dumped it on the pile of stuff on the other side of the room. Then she shook out the blanket and lay down to wait out the rest of the night.