2-D sat on the floor, staring out the large crack in Noodle's bedroom wall and watching the rain as it fell with a gentle hiss through the hole and on the ground below. She was moving around the room on the other side of the partition, examining it carefully. She seemed particularly interested in the large head bolted in the floor and all the various equipment scattered about the room. He turned his head to look at her as she explored and shuddered. She looked so much like his Li'l Love it was almost scary: the uneven, unkempt purple hair, the deep green eyes, and the lithe smile were all Noodle's, but she was not Noodle. She was the Android.

He was still musing on these thoughts when suddenly another thought forced all others away. "'ey," he said suddenly, "did Muds eva' give ya a name?"

She cocked her head from her position across the room, obviously confused.

"Ya know, wha' does 'ee call ya?"

She shook her head, and he realized that Murdoc had never even bestowed a name on the Android. Her room back at Plastic Beach had "Noodle's Closet" painted on the door, but that was not her name.

"Seems ta me dat you deserve one, don'cha fink?" he smiled at her.

She processed this thought for a second before grinning at him and nodding her head.

"Le' me fink," he said, rubbing his chin, "yer obviously Japanese, so should be a Japanese name." He chuckled to himself, "Ya know, las' time I 'elped to name a girl, all we could come up wit' wos 'Noodle.'"

She cocked her head to the side.

"No, Li'l One, dat's 'er name. Ya need one of yer own, dig?" he said, rising and striding across the room to grab her shoulders and lean down to look at her in the eyes.

She shrugged and nodded at him.

"Hmm...maybe a cartoon or video game character?" he said looking at her. "Noods always liked dose fings. Hmmm...Kagome? Yuna? MOMO? Nah...not special enough. Lessee, what else is dere?"

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his shirt and turned to look at her. A strange look was on her face as she pulled him over to her charging station. 2-D understood why she had set it up here. With Noodle's memories, this place would feel most comfortable to her. She looked at him and motioned for him to stay in place before reaching behind it to open what appeared to be an access panel. She reached inside and pulled out a small lock box. Gently, she placed the box on the ground and stroked it as though it were a pet before pulling at a chain hanging from her neck. Hanging off the chain was a small key.

2-D sat back on the floor and watched curiously as she took the key, unlocked the box, and lifted the lid. He peeked in the box and saw a lighter, a pair of dice, and a folded piece of cloth before she pushed him back with a firm look on her face. He raised his hands to show that he wouldn't make that transgression again. Satisfied, she reached in and produced a small, but thick book which she held to her chest for a second, looking at 2-D.

"Wotcha got there, Li'l one?" he queried.

She looked at him pointedly. Immediately, he understood.

He crossed his heart, "I promise I won' tell."

She looked at him for a few more seconds before slowly stretching her hands out. 2-D smiled and took the book from her. He gasped: She had handed him a dog-eared and tattered baby naming book.

He knit his eyebrows and his heart gave a lurch as he thought about what this meant. She wanted a name. Tears began to fill his eyes for the slighted puppet before him.

He cleared the lump that had formed in his throat with a cough and asked, "Ya wan' me to fin' ya a name, Lil' One?" She shook her head and took the book from his hand. She held it close to her chest for another second before opening it to one of the turned-down pages and handing it to him.

He didn't have to search for the name she wanted as she had circled and highlighted it.

"Miyuki," he said, tilting his head to look at her, "why tha' Li'l One?"

She pointed to the definition of the name: snow. He smiled at her, "Ya like snow?" She nodded her head, and 2-D wondered if she had ever seen the stuff.

"I'll have ta take ya skiing sometime, won' I?" She looked down at her hands—2-D thought he could detect a sadness on her face as she did so—before looking up at him and smiling lopsidedly.

"Miyuki, huh?" he said, trying to change the mood. "I like it." He suddenly yawned, exhausted. It was time for bed. He stood and stretched, ruffling her hair and eliciting a real smile from her, "Well, tomorrow, then. Goodnight, Miyuki"

He exited the room, smiling back at her one more time, and closed the door behind him. Miyuki stared sadly after him for a few minutes before repacking her box and placing it away. She then walked to her charging station and hooked herself up. She sat cross-legged on the floor and stared sadly after the man before powering herself down.


2-D looked around the small, strange room—the study of a large house in Surrey—examining closely all of the various trinkets and knickknacks scattered on shelves, tables, display cases, and across the floor. There were gemstones, paintings, vases, sculptures, statues, and books everywhere.

"'Oo eva' dis is, 'ee's gotta lotta quid," he thought to himself. It was almost two days after they had arrived in England. Murdoc had insisted that they come here. All 2-D knew was that this man might be able to aid them on their journey.

Russel was staring blankly into the warm fire, impatient to get on the road. Miyuki was sitting cross-legged on the floor, coolly watching a kitten who was rubbing itself against her leg. Murdoc was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed looking quite at home with a large cigar in one hand and a glass of some rare old brandy (with a name that 2-D couldn't pronounce on his smartest day) in the other.

"This is the life, I tell ya'. Ol Campy sure knows how to swing," he stretched luxuriously.

"Yes," came an ancient gruff voice from behind him, causing the three men to swivel their heads toward the sound, "I've spent many years and millions of my own pounds collecting all that you see before you."

Before them was a tall, spindly, black creature with long arms and a hunching posture. His telescopic eyes were an angry red and his tongue was black and forked. 2-D recognized him immediately as a Strangefolk. The leader of the Strangefolk to be exact: Eustace Camp.

"Many of my peoples' lives were lost in attaining these treasures," he said with an almost imperceptible shrug, "and I'd rather not have them pawed by the filthy fingers of some two-bit ragamuffin band with delusions of grandeur."

Murdoc feigned a hurt expression, "Good to see you too, Campy," Murdoc rose from his seat, but not before pointedly downing the rest of the brandy and refilling his glass. "As congenial as always, I see." Murdoc extended his hand.

Camp grimaced and repulsed him.

"What do you want, Niccals?" he growled.

Murdoc smirked, "Ah, not one for small talk, are we? Very well, we need a plane."

The ancient Strangefolk spluttered, "Get the hell out!"

"Now, now, Campy, you owe me, you know," the bassist took another irreverent swig of the drink, "saved yer ass a few years ago, didn' I?"

"I would have made it out without you and you know it," Camp hissed.

"No, I don't remember tha'," Murdoc sneered. "Wha' I do remember is your on yer _ knees beggin' fer me to save yer miserable life. I also remember you tellin me that you'd give me anythin' I wanted when I did. Even gave me a hug and a kiss if I remember right," his sneer deepened, "Well, I'm makin' ya a Strangefolk of yer word. Coul' bring ya a li'l redemption. Might even reduce yer time with the Minotaur. We need a plane," Murdoc reiterated, pleased at the look on Camp's face when he mentioned the Minotaur.

"Wha' eva tha' is," 2-D mumbled.

"You made a deal wit' a dif'frent devil when ya got inta it wit' me, " Murdoc's voice was dangerous. Behind him, Russel cracked his knuckles.

Camp eyed the two for a few seconds, wondering if their threats were true. Finally, the old creature raised a brow, and asked, "What kind of plane?"

Murdoc grinned, exposing his pointed teeth, "Tha's my boy," Camp winced, "We need one big enough to carry the Geep," he said, jerking his head toward the window.

Camp strode over and looked out at the large dune buggy below them. He nodded his head, "Shouldn't be a problem. When do you need it by?"

Murdoc was terse, "Now."

Camp spun quickly, "NOW?"

"Tha's wha' I said. Now." The Strangefolk elder hung his head, defeated.

"Fine. It will be ready in a few hours."


Camp had made good on his promise. The plane was an old decommissioned cargo airplane. It was plenty big enough to carry several Geeps, 2-D wagered.

He was staring now out one of the small windows of the plane, watching as the rolling hills of green grass and lush forests began to fade into the brown wasteland that surrounded the city that lay at the base of the Feel Good, Inc. tower. In the distance, he could see the smokestack belching great billows of smog into the atmosphere around the city. He shuddered. He hated that place.

He was brooding darkly over his memories when suddenly a squawky voice startled him out of his musings.

"We should be arriving in about five minutes," said the Strangefolk copilot who had just emerged from the cockpit.

"Very good, steward," Murdoc goaded the creature from his perch inside the Geep (Miyuki was sitting in the back seat), eliciting a glare from its fiery eyes. "When will we be touching down?"

"Touching down?" the copilot sneered. "The deal was to bring you here, that was all. The rest is up to you." At this, he reached above his head and pulled a lever. A large, loud buzzing noise issued throughout the bay, and Murdoc sat bolt upright, alarmed.

"Wha' the foo-"

He never got to finish as suddenly the large doors under the Geep opened and the fehicle fell from sight, taking Murdoc and Miyuki with it.

"ooooooooooooooooo!"

2-D and Russel yelled and dove to peer down into the newly formed hole in the floor. They could only see the landscape that zoomed by below them.

"Are you fucking crazy? He ain't got no parachute!" Russel bellowed and rounded on the creature who was now holding two parachutes in his claws.

"Then you better get a move on," it sneered."

After quickly donning the chutes, 2-D and Russel leapt from the plane, scanning the sky below them, searching frantically for the Geep and its occupants. Russel waved to get 2-D's attention and pointed. He was relieved to see several parachutes a few thousand feet below them, floating benignly toward the ground.

The two men nodded to each other and pulled their cords, the large piece of fabric snapping them from a breakneck hurtle to a lazy drift. Below them, they watched the Geep bounce on the ground and Murdoc roll out of it, shaking his fist at the now barely visible plane disappearing into the horizon. They could hear him shouting a stream of obscenities as they used their pull cords to land safely near him.

"Have a nice trip, Muds?" Russel joked as he removed his parachute, leaving it where it lay. Murdoc turned to vent his spleen on the large drummer and 2-D ran to the Geep to check on Miyuki who was still in her place in the back of the Geep, watching the scene unfold as if she were watching a program on the television. 2-D smiled fondly at her and turned to scan the horizon, looking to see how far from the crash site they had landed.

"'ow close are we?" he asked no one in particular.

Russel strode away from Murdoc, cutting him off mid-sentence and reached into the Geep's glove box, grabbing a GPS device they kept there. He furrowed his brow as he tapped a few buttons on the screen, "'Bout fifteen miles that-a-way," he pointed roughly east of their position.

"Well, get the fook inta the Geep and let's get tha fook outta here." Murdoc growled, still furious.

It didn't take them long to near their target, and before they knew it, they could see the broken red and white tower rising in the distance. Fear and excitement warred violently in 2-D's chest as they neared the site, but he was shocked as Murdoc stopped the Geep about five hundred yards away, backing it behind a large rock to keep it hidden from sight. The singer whimpered as he looked curiously at the older man.

"Calm down, Dullard. I just need to prepare ya for what ya might see. This bein' a hellmouth an' all, there coul' be any manner of demon jes waitin' fer us. Now I think it," he jerked his head toward Miyuki who grinned evilly and lifted a rather large gun from the floorboard of the Geep, "might be able to keep us safe, but we may need to hightail it if it gets too hot, got it?" He looked at 2-D, but he was already bouncing from foot to foot standing in the Geep, so Murdoc rolled his eyes and turned to the Android, grabbing her face, "You take point, Russ'll take up the rear. If anything tries to set it off, you go down'n a fookin blaze o'glory, got it?" Her evil grin deepened and she nodded her head.

"Alright, let's go"

At his command, the quartet leapt from the Geep with Miyuki taking the lead. They neared the site and formed a tight group straining their eyes as they watched for any movement. Suddenly, Russel cried out and let loose with a hail of bullets directed somewhere behind him. 2-D pointed his own gun, but saw nothing. He looked questioningly at the larger man who smiled sheepishly at the other three.

"Bird," he said with a shrug.

"Ain't no more," Murdoc laughed quietly and nodded at Miyuki who was leaning on her gun, looking at them as though she were asking, "You done?"

The group resumed their cautious exploration as they neared the site and were surprised to see the valley devoid of any life form except themselves (thanks to Russel).

2-D looked at Murdoc who shrugged and nodded him forward. He placed his hand on Miyuki's shoulder and walked cautiously ahead of her. Looking back to make sure the rest were behind them, he peeked around the windmill structure and gasped.

Murdoc and Russel exchanged glances and edged up behind the singer. They were stunned to see the hellmouth was gone and only an empty crater was left behind. Their only entrance to Hell had closed.