"Baby-girl, you certainly weren't kidding when you said this place was fucked up..." Russel shuddered, eyeing all of the corpses wearily. It wasn't that he hadn't seen dead bodies before, but being around them without his ghostly companion soaring through his head was more unsettling than he would've liked to admit.
"That's right... But do not pity them. These once sentient beings were brainwashed by the terrible music and tv and radio shows that continue to spread through the planet as we speak. I must say I am relieved that all three of you haven't been infected." Noodle gave the three of them a proud and sentimental smile, one that the bandmates once thought they'd never see again.
"Are you kidding, love? The fact that even Faceache hasn't fallen for it shows how immune Russ and I are."
2D glared at Murdoc. "I have feelings, y'know."
"Oh, congratulations on your first big word, Stu-Pot!" Murdoc clapped slowly, a mocking smirk on his face.
"Knock it off, you two." Russel growled irritably. "Noodle came back here for a good reason, and I'll be damned if we don't help her fulfill it. Like it or not, we're gonna be one big happy family again."
Noodle nodded at the drummer gratefully as 2D and Murdoc fell vengefully silent. Obviously it would take a while for the two to warm up to one another...in fact, she was starting to doubt that that would ever happen, but at the moment, she was just glad they were back.
Releasing the album Noodle had been working on for months was definitely her top priority. If there was one thing that could light the darkness of corrupted mainstream media, it was music. Creative, endearing, and meaningful songs that would open the eyes of the public and cure the steadily strengthening disease of brainless pop culture.
But...halfway through her demos, including the ones Dangermouse had a hand in, she started to realize that she alone wouldn't be able to complete the album. Of course she could play the guitar, as well as the bass and the drums, and she was told she had a lovely singing voice...music was literally what she was designed for, after all.
Then as she thought those things over, her mind began to drift back to stranger, but still less lonely days. Days where Russel would beat and slam and all but smash his drum set, a look of deep concentration and passion all over his dark face and in his white eyes, like playing was his very reason to be.
No one played the drums like Russel.
Days where Murdoc would twang and strum his bass guitar, pelvic thrusting when he was in a particularly good mood, as the room would vibrate noticeably, like it too was entranced by the captivating sound of his low and rhythmic playing. He'd be smirking, his mismatched eyes alight with excitement and smugness, like he did it just to show off and have fun.
No one played the bass like Murdoc.
Days where 2D would grab a mike and sing his heart out, hypnotizing all listeners with his melancholy and soulful voice. Black eyes that were normally vacated with blankness and confusion were replaced with determination and confidence. Not one person could resist the raw emotion he put into his singing.
No one could sing like 2D.
Noodle's surrogate brothers had been in the back of her mind for ages, but whenever they tried to resurface she would force herself to bury them. Memories with the band, good and bad, had been too painful for her think about...but now she had a reason for them to come back, and she would finally have a chance to rekindle their broken bonds. Music was her top priority...
But family was an added bonus.
"Whoa...Noodle, how long has that thing been there?"
Noodle paused when the singer stopped his pacing and stared at something ahead of them. She followed his gaze until she was sure they were all looking at the same thing.
Blocking the beauty of the setting sun, towering proudly and righteously before Kong Studios was a statue of Pazuzu. All eight feet and three inches of him. He was positioned so that it appeared he was leering the foursome down with his blank, sandy eyes. Jagged teeth stuck out of his mouth, and small demon wings were perched upon his back.
"I...I don't remember that being here." Noodle admitted quietly. A prickly sensation of fear began to overcome her senses. She couldn't place her finger on why, but all she wanted to do was sprint back to Kong's building, hide under her covers like she was ten again, and never come back out.
"Guys, we should really go..." Noodle murmured, tugging at Russel's gigantic arm. Damn that creepy statue for making her feel like a vulnerable child again...
Murdoc and Russel, who felt the same uncomfortable sense of unease, nodded and turned to the dark building that towered over the land.
But 2D didn't move. He stood stark still, like he was a statue too.
"2D, come on. I need to show you the demos." Noodle called, staring back at him impatiently. To her surprise, he just continued to stand there and gaze at Pazuzu, like those blank eyes were hypnotizing him into believing he was made of stone.
"Oi, 2Dents, didja finally go brain dead?" Murdoc hollered, though Noodle and Russel knew him long enough to know he was disguising his fear with sarcasm.
Little did any of the bandmates know, 2D had been unfortunate enough to catch a conversation going on in the statue of Pazuzu. The sounds of their husky and horribly scratchy voices filled his entire mind, until they were all he could hear.
The fat one has too much experience...he could easily fight us off...
Yes...and the girl is too wise...
The green one has the same horrible mind set as us...but different taste and real genius...
"What about the black eyed one?
Ah...a blank mind...only a corner of thoughts...so easy to snuff out...
Yes...he shall do...Time to spread the disease...
The numbing fuzziness in his head buzzed for a few more seconds, before reality crashed back into him. He looked around dazedly, trying to recall what the hell had happened in the past minutes he was out of it.
"D! If ya'll are done daydreaming, we gotta get back inside!" Russel snapped.
2D sighed with relief upon hearing the familiar voice. He must've spaced out again. He'd been doing that his whole life after all.
"Sorry about that, guys." He panted after he caught up with them. "Don't know what came over me."
"It is alright, 2D." Noodle smiled at him. "Just try to focus better. It will be key for this upcoming album."
"You got it, love. I'll...I..." 2D slowly stopped walking, a flow of dizziness spreading through his head.
Noodle noticed him drift off and faced him curiously. "Are you okay?"
The singer stiffened all of a sudden, his eyes going wide and his mouth stretched open in a gasp. Suddenly his eyes clenched shut and he started shaking like he was having a seizure. Noodle stared at him fearfully. "Guys! What's happening?" She cried.
Russel and Murdoc paused and, when they spotted the spastic singer, dashed to where Noodle stood.
"D, what's going on?" Russel demanded, grabbing hold of 2D's body in an attempt to keep him still. But he just kept groaning and shaking, and his hands suddenly flew to his head, clutching it like he had a migraine. He was vibrating so hard that Russel was forced to release him.
2D screamed and howled as loud as he could, some part of his mind hoping that the noises would scare the pain away. This pain wasn't the kind of ache that he gained when Murdoc punched him, or the buzz that numbed his head when he got migraines. It was an intrusion of sort, a pain that knew which part of his body hurt the worst and what pressures to push, like he was a security system with an easy access code. He felt like he was being shoved and kicked out of his own body. Was he dying? If he was, he hoped it would be over soon. His head was going to burst any minute. God, make it stop, make it stop!
Give in, young man.
He briefly registered that the intruder in his soul was talking to him, but he could barely hear him. He just kept begging him to stop it and that he would burst into flames if he didn't leave and that he'd do anything to make the pain stop-
Your body must belong to me, then.
2D didn't care, he just wanted the pain to fade. If giving up would do it, that didn't seem so bad. Anything was better than this kind of pain.
Rest in peace, young man.
He gasped with relief when the burning stopped, but his relief was short lived, as he suddenly felt unbearably sleepy. For a moment he felt himself floating, like his soul was leaving his body to leave for the high heavens. But this time, it was just passing into a soothing blackness that calmed all feelings of pain he felt earlier. He gladly let himself be swallowed by oblivion.
Noodle took a timid step forward when 2D suddenly stopped moving and slouched forward, his arms limp and his chin in his chest. She touched his hand. "2D...?"
Snapping her fingers in front of his face wouldn't have caused his reaction. His eyes suddenly snapped open, but they weren't his eyes. They were a clean white like Russel's, but they lacked the warmth and soul. Noodle briefly wondered if he was scared since his eyes would change that color when it happened for some reason. But she detected no fear. In fact, she didn't detect anything as 2D glared down at her with his soul sucking eyes.
A hideous clown like grin spread across his face. "You should have given in, young lady...It's impossible to fight the disease." That wasn't 2D's high pitched voice. It was deeper, its accent was thicker, and it was completely monotone.
"Noodle! Get away from him! He's possessed!" Russel exclaimed, already darting for the guitarist. But Noodle held her ground, half of her paralyzed with fear, and the other half determined to get 2D back.
She leaped onto his back and held onto his shoulders with an iron grip.
"2D! I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, fight back! Come back! Please!" She hollered.
The possessed body of 2D tried reaching behind him to throw the little thirteen year old off him, but apparently the demon didn't know that having his body meant getting all of his awkward traits, as he leaned too far front without noticing it and fell forward, face first into the ground. Noodle earnestly held on, her grip tightening the harder he struggled.
The demon growled. "You...little...l...love..."
Noodle's eyes widened. That last word didn't sound like the demon.
"N...Noo...dle..." His eyes started to shine with humanity again, but they returned to soulless as quickly as they came.
"Ungrateful whelp! Obey me!" The demon yowled, trying in vain to pry Noodle from his back again.
"2D! Wake up!" Noodle cried, growing louder with the realization that 2D was still in there somewhere.
"D! I know it's hard, but you have to fight it! If I could do it, I know that you can too!" Russel added, his white eyes staring into 2D's white eyes. Murdoc just stared at the whole scene, unperturbed.
"Shut up!" The demon roared, visibly shaking as a war for ownership raged inside 2D's blue haired head.
"2D, listen to me," Noodle said, her voice very soft, "It hurts doesn't it? I can tell. But you have to fight this. You have a reason to live. Don't let this monster make you think otherwise. You are the talented, pretty singer of our band, and close companion to us all...even Murdoc. Please, you can do this...if not for all that, then at least do it for me..."
The demon-or was it 2D?-panted, his eyes shut tight...and when he opened them, they were still white, and he was still scowling, but there was some glow of emotion in there. It was barely noticeable, but it was trying to break through. Noodle didn't know whether to feel victorious or not.
"I'm walking to the something, blah, blah, blah, blah blah blah blah. Collapse." He chanted without warning.
"Uh, 2D?" She asked, more confused than frightened.
"I'm drinking too much blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah blah blah."
"Russel, what's going on?" Noodle turned to the drummer, who had had plenty of experience with being possessed.
"Well, girl, I guess he's...interpreting?" He blurted, unsure of his own answer.
"Whaddaya mean, Lards?" Murdoc, who had been standing by, smoking a cigarette, asked.
"Well...I vaguely remember that when a ghost only half succeeded in possessing me, I ended up spouting nonsense about what his intention for possessing me was for...but this? I dunno what he's trying to say." He admitted.
"I'm feeling really blah, blah. I want to blah, blah, blah." 2D continued muttering in a deep, monotonous voice.
"Collapse." Startled, Murdoc held his hand over his mouth. Noodle and Russel stared at him in shock.
"You're not possessed too, are you, Murdoc?" Noodle asked worriedly.
"No! I feel fine! It just came out of me..." Murdoc murmured in confusion.
What the hell was going on? 2D was "interpreting", Russel didn't know what to do, and Murdoc was possible joining him. Why would the demon possess 2D? Most demons or zombies in Kong studios were obsessed with the mainstream media, and...
She facepalmed herself. Of course that was their intention.
"Guys, what do you think of the majority of the modern day singers or songs?" Noodle asked calmly.
Russel arched an eyebrow at her change of subject. But he knew that Noodle wouldn't ask something without having a good reason. "Well, most of them are just pointless drabble that no one should care about. Why?"
"Because I think I know what 2D is interpreting from this demon. They were trying to use his body to spread the disease of mainstream corruption. Maybe they'd make him promote crappy artists or stupid shows...either way, they wanted him for the disease."
Russel grinned in realization. "That's my baby girl. Now whaddaya say we excorsize this baby? It should be simple now that only half of him is in there." He gave 2D a gentle push, and the man started mechanically walking forward like a wind-up toy.
"Now, Noodle, I think that you're the reason 2D is fighting back. Keep your hold on him so that his humanity won't be spirited away." Russel told her solemnly.
"You don't even need to tell me that." Noodle smiled, snuggling into his back and relaxing her grip. Murdoc sighed and followed them. "Why does all the weird shit happen to us?"
"Because we're Gorillaz, Muds."
"Ah. Right, lost my head for a minute there..."
XXX
On the couch in the living room, Noodle was holding onto the still blank eyed 2D's hand, waiting patiently for Russel to get rid of the demon in him.
"So how long is this going to take?" Murdoc demanded, impatient to get started on the demos.
"It shouldn't take longer than two hours." The drummer responded calmly.
"Oh, screw that!" Murdoc picked up a frying pan that happened to be laying on the ground, and smacked 2D's head with it. The singer's eyes widened, and his head slumped into his lap.
"Murdoc! Now look what you've done!" Noodle hissed, but Murdoc placidly pointed upward, and she followed his direction until she noticed a red wisp floating over 2D's head.
"Screw you guys!" It snapped in the same deep voice that 2D had been using earlier. "I'll spread the disease some other way! Damn celebrities..." It faded into the air, and 2D's head suddenly snapped up, his eyes wide and the comforting black that the band had grown accustomed to. Russel felt a sense of deja vu, watching him snap out of the trance like that.
"W-What happened? Where am I? What's going on here?" His head turned in every direction there was, panic in his tone and fear in his eyes. He could barely remember someone controlling him, using his body like he was some puppet on strings, but nothing else.
"2D! Calm down, calm down." Noodle's tranquil voice managed to ware 2D down to shaking uncontrollably. "Some things happened, but it's all taken care of. Isn't that right you guys?" She flashed a grateful look to both Russel and Murdoc. The satanist was still holding onto the frying pan, looking around nervously.
"Um...alright." 2D sighed, his eyes half lidded. "Can we maybe work on the demo tomorrow, love? I'm bloody tired."
"Dullard, for once I agree wholeheartedly with you." Murdoc sighed.
Noodle smiled. "That's fine. I'm just glad we're all together again...and now I have a good idea for out first music video!"