Murdoc had no idea what she was saying, but he had the sense to act like he gave a shit. Hell, this was a woman. Satan knew when he'd see one again after returning to Point Nemo, let alone score one as sexy as this.
This was to be his last night out in… wherever he was. The sub was already overloaded with food and other necessities, and he planned on leaving right after he had had his fun with this woman. He'd been away from home for a day and a half, almost too long.
If 2D starved to death in his absence he'd kill him.
The woman giggled, subtly bringing the man out of his thoughts and returning his full attention to her, which is what she preferred. He smiled.
"Hey love, why don't we go off somewhere nice and quiet, eh?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. The woman was only too happy to oblige.
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Sam and Tucker left the house to walk the distance to Danny's home, stopping at the front door to knock before the boy's father opened the door swiftly. Both of the teens backed up a step when the barrel of some ecto gun was thrust into their faces.
Mr. Fenton, upon realizing that he was threatening minors and not ghosts, quickly lowered the weapon. Looking slightly embarrassed, he greeted them before stepping aside to let them in.
"I'd be careful if I were you, kids, Danny's still sick," he called to them, watching as they ran up the stairs. Lucky for them, Mrs. Fenton was out buying cough medicine, so she wasn't there to forbid them from seeing Danny and possibly catching whatever he had in the process.
Sam got to the door first, knocking before entering. There was a moment of tense silence, and then the halfa gave a start.
"Whozzat?" he sneezed.
"Danny, it's us," Sam said, opening the door. "How are you feeling?"
The raven haired boy gave her a look.
"Sorry, standard question."
Tucker squeezed past Sam to get into the room before shutting the door. The teens had grown to realize that this was a wise move, owing to the fact that Danny's family could walk past the door at any moment. If they were discussing ghosts, which they were about half of the time, then they preferred to have the illusion of privacy.
"Hey man, do you think you could get us into the Ghost Zone?" Tucker asked, deciding to get right to the point.
"What for?" Danny asked, burrowing further into his blankets. "Are you going after that celebrity?"
"We think he's there, at Skulker's place." Sam said. "We're the only ones who know about him being there I think, and probably the only ones who could get him out."
"Totally unlike you, Sam. I thought the hero thing was my job." Danny grinned.
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Murdoc, satisfied, gave the woman a few bills, each of a varying amount, before leaving for the sub. It took some tight maneuvering on his part, but the bassist was at the controls and swimming away in a matter of minutes. He swept past moored ships, making a beeline for the open sea. He was beginning to regret locking 2D in the war room. The idiot could break free of his own room; he had several times, but was more or less screwed being in the war room. There wasn't even the slight possibility that he had gotten loose to get something to drink.
"Damn, sodding idiot." Murdoc growled, putting on some more speed. It wasn't that he was worried for the poor man's safety. Rather, he was reminded once more that his death would mark the end of the band. He'd never say it aloud, but there was only one 2D, one singer for Gorillaz. Anyone else was just rubbish.
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Hours later, Murdoc arrived back at Plastic Beach. The Cyborg, more or less stable, but still in no condition to be of service, was locked away in her closet, leaving the man alone in the task of unloading the food. Scratch that, he'd go and get 2D and make him do it.
Walking with a purpose in his step, the bassist raced across the pink beach, entering the main door directly. Pushing aside a pile of useless junk, he revealed one of the several sets of not-so-hidden stairways. This one led straight into the study, exiting via a trapdoor under the desk, which the man impatiently flung open.
"Hey, Two-dents, guess whose back?" Murdoc called, approaching the door. He pushed on The Bastard, opening the secret door to find that the steps were open. "I should have known that he'd make this difficult," he grumbled, descending into the war room. The unfortunate door was kicked open with the heel of Murdoc's boot, and the man stormed in.
The room was empty.
For a brief moment in time, Murdoc was silent, not even daring to breathe, and then that moment ended. With a screech Murdoc lashed out, kicking the war table. The singer wasn't smart enough to pull a Houdini stunt like this; he couldn't even understand how the simplest magic trick worked.
Someone else had a hand in this.
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Danny suggested that his friends make a scene as they left his room, so as to make it obvious to his father that they were no longer up there, before he brought them down into the lab.
Gleefully, Tucker took the lead, running from the room. Sam turned to face Danny, smiling and nodding before following the other boy out and down to the living room.
"See you later, Mr. Fenton!" Tucker said. "We're going to go and get Danny a CD to cheer him up!"
"Ohh, good idea! Can I come?" Mr. Fenton beamed. The teens shared a glance, they hadn't been expecting this.
"Uhh," Sam began, rubbing the back of her neck. "Shouldn't someone stay here in case Danny needs something?"
"Oh, right."
"You're the best man for the job anyway! See you later!" Tucker said, leaving with Sam out the front door. As instructed, they stood under Danny's window, out of sight if Mr. Fenton were to open the door. The halfa suddenly appeared behind them, wrapping an arm around each of their waists before flying them down into the lab. He quickly unlocked the portal, sneezed, and turned his head to face the other teens, who had by then gotten into the Specter Speeder.
"You know where to go then?" he asked. They nodded, and he got back into the air. "Sure you don't need me?"
"Danny, we'll be fine. We aren't even sure if the guy is in there." Sam reassured him.
"Yeah, we're only, like, half a percent away from being sure, but there's always that little room for error." Tucker added, rolling his eyes in a joking manner.
"You should go back to your bed. The sooner you beat this ghost cold, the better." Sam said.
Seeming to agree, Danny waved to them a final time before flying up through the ceiling. Sam watched him go with slight interest.
"I can't believe he left so willingly." She admitted.
"Ten bucks says he'll be following us anyway." Tucker sighed, steering the floating craft into the Ghost Zone. "Give it a few minutes."
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Eleven minutes later, Danny, still in ghost mode, stood in front of the portal. He wore a red hoodie over his black and white suit; more to make him think that it was keeping him warm than anything else. It didn't make a difference while he was in his ghost form. Sneezing once more, the boy opened the large door, flying into the Ghost Zone before he could convince himself otherwise. He caught up with the Speeder easily enough, though he kept his body invisible for obvious reasons.
Eventually the Speeder landed on a remote edge of Skulker's island. Sam and Tucker exited it quietly before going off into the stand of dead trees before them. Apparently they had formed a plan on the way over, though it wasn't working very well.
"Guys, the skull cave is this way. That's probably where this guy will be." Danny said, blowing his cover willingly. "The way you're going only leads you to a load of traps."
"Told you he'd come," Tucker whispered to Sam. They followed him easily enough, slightly relieved that he was there to guide them, but knowing that it was still a stupid move on his part.
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A few days previous, Skulker landed at the base of the same cave, the unconscious form of 2D slumped over in a glowing blue box that had been brought along. The ghost set the thing down, pressing a button on his arm to remove the box. He failed to see why Ember would want the human alive; he was nothing more than an idiot.
He'd let her have her fun with him, to a certain extent, before finishing what he had started. She probably only wanted to do a song or something with him, he suddenly realized. After all, Skulker himself couldn't carry a tune, and this man was from a famous band. A shadow of jealousy flickered through what would have been his heart, and he stared down his nose at the bluehead, sneering before stalking away to find Ember. He knew the man wouldn't wake up for a few more minutes at least, and carrying him all this way had drained him of too much energy already.
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Ember, of course, was on the other end of the island. She had found some weak ghosts trying to steal her guitar strings to use later as dental floss, and was beating them off the island. Skulker hung back, slightly turned on by her anger. He also had the common sense to not interrupt her when she was in a mood. The glowing guitarist ended by kicking the last of the vermin off with her boot. A few tense moments passed, and then Skulker felt that it was safe to make his presence known.
"Ember, I've returned." He announced, walking towards her. At once her mood changed. Her hands, balled tightly into fists, extended, and she turned around to embrace him. Standing up on her toes, she kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Hey, you have then! 'bout time. Did you bring me a Gorilla or two?"
"Just one. I can't imagine why you'd want him though, he's a complete fool."
Ember smiled lightly, rolling his eyes. "Well, because he's in a band, and I fired the guys from my last one. I want to play with a band again.
"And this is the way to get that?" Skulker questioned. Ember gave him a look. "Well, if that's your decision, then I'm fine with that."
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2D awoke, feeling very cold. Combining that with his growing hunger, aching head, and nicotine craving, and one could say that he felt like complete and total shit. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing his temples. He opened his eyes a crack before fully opening them, deciding that it was dark enough to not aggravate his headache any further.
He was out of the war room.
Looking around, 2D noted the strange colors, mainly in the sky. Nothing was right! Did he take too many pills? Something told him that this was not the case, for once. Something else told him that he should look up, so he did. Staring back at him was a glowing woman with flaming hair in such a hue that it rivaled his own. She was dressed like a punk, with tattoos under each of her eyes. Clearly, she was interested in him, for a smile adorned her pale face.
"Hey there," She said, offering her cold hand to him so as to make it easier for the lanky man to stand. "The name's Ember. Yours?"
2D looked severely perplexed. "Where am I?" he asked, looking uncomfortable. "This isn't a dream, is it?"
"This is the Ghost Zone; it's the reverse of your earth." Skulker announced.
"So I'm dead? Did you kill me?"
"No, you're still alive. For now." Skulker said, cryptic. Ember nudged him in the side.
"Relax, he's not going to kill you. So, back to basics. Your name?"
"2D," the singer finally answered, glancing between the two ghosts. Ember raised an eyebrow, and then floated up to kiss Skulker.
"Thanks again, Skulk." She whispered. It was as if she had just celebrated her birthday, and had been given the perfect gift.
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Skulker was quick to leave, muttering something about needing to skin some wild cat of some sort. This left the two musicians together. He was fine with this only because he had seen the look in Ember's eyes. She held only greed when it came to 2D, wanting nothing more than his fame and glory that came with being in a functional band. As he turned to leave, he caught the man ask her how close he was to London.
"Depends on how fast you can fly. It's not in walking distance." Ember said, taking him by the shoulder to lead him towards her studio of sorts.
"I see." 2D replied. He allowed her to take him along, and was quiet for the next few seconds.
"So, how did you meet Skulker then?" 2D asked, rubbing his arms to try and rid them of the goose bumps that had manifested there due to the cold. Ember smirked, laughing under her breath.
"A dating site."
"Really?" 2D was surprised. He hadn't expected ghosts to use the internet, and failed to notice the sarcasm in her voice.
"What can I say? I love a man in armor."
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