Chapter 21: Please Isn't a Command

He had to leave.

The thought hit him after a few good minutes of listening to Murdoc breathing beside him, of staring in wonder at their hands touching without Murdoc jerking away, of dancing his fingers along Murdoc's open palm – carefully, so carefully – as if tracing the lines in his skin would get him somewhere.

If he kept chasing him, Murdoc would just keep running.

It was like waves crashing on a beach, like a bitter game of tug of war that would never be won. They were always pushing and pulling each other. They always had been, always would be.

It was his turn to pull.

Besides, he was tired of waking up alone and sore, wondering how much of the previous night was real. Wondering what Murdoc meant with every kiss and touch and caress, hoping it was so much more than what it was.

He was sick of dissecting everything, and he knew that if he fell asleep next to Murdoc, the bassist would be gone when he woke up, and 2D would be stuck inside his head, in that cycle of overthinking everything yet again. Murdoc had spent years practicing closing his heart at will, but 2D didn't have that kind of power.

This time, he would go first. If Murdoc didn't want anything more than sex, 2D would try to pretend it was the same for him.

He had to.

Carefully, 2D shifted away from the window. He wasn't really sure why it was so important he didn't wake Murdoc up before he left, but it was. It was important.

He managed to crawl over Murdoc's sleeping body and step down onto the carpet beside the bed. For a moment, he was straddling Murdoc, not touching him exactly, but hovering over him, staring down at his bare chest and gently closed eyes. For just that moment, he allowed himself to imagine Murdoc waking up and seeing him. He imagined Murdoc smiling at that. A genuine, real smile, without malice or lust or anything else but happiness.

He wondered if that was even possible.

He pulled the rest of his limbs over Murdoc and finally completed the task of getting off the damn bed.

His clothes were strewn all about the room, and it was surprisingly hard to find them all. Bending over to pick them up hurt his arse and lower back, but he powered through it until he found everything.

He got dressed, then turned back to Murdoc. He didn't have to leave him, did he?

We're all that's left, Murdoc's voice echoed in his mind. We need to stick together…

"Like sticky things…" 2D muttered to himself.

Murdoc stirred slightly, rolling over so that he took up all the space on the bed. 2D shivered, suddenly cold.

If I had fallen asleep there… thought 2D. If he'd fallen asleep there, Murdoc would be wrapped around him, keeping him warm…

Keeping me safe…

Although, it probably wasn't in his best interest to start associating Murdoc with safety. He was still wearing bandages from yesterday, and his right eye was still slightly swollen. Forgiving him for something that already happened was one thing, but there were things that hadn't happened yet, that could happen. That would.

Wanting to be around someone who beats on you isn't safety. It's Stockholm Syndrome.

Yes, thought 2D, this time I have to leave him.

He opened the door quietly, and closed it behind him, making no sound but a slight click. It was much easier to do than those heavy submarine-looking doors with wheels for doorknobs.

The corridor was just as dark as 2D remembered. He walked with one of his hands running along the wall to make sure he didn't get lost, and one hand in front of him to make sure he didn't slam his face into a pole or something.

He wanted to find Yuki, and apologize for ditching her for sloppy sex with a demon. Or, at least make up some lie about suddenly having to go to the bathroom.

For a couple hours. Without telling her.

Yeah, she'd see right through that. Well, with any luck she wouldn't ask.

2D didn't have that kind of luck.

Somehow, he found his way back to the hidden doorway in the wall he'd disappeared through, and stumbled into a more recognizable hallway. With only slight hesitation and a minimal amount of worried whimpering, 2D forced himself to walk toward the lift.

You didn't do anything wrong, 2D thought to himself. Okay, well, you did do something wrong. Something horribly, horribly wrong in every possible meaning of the word… But you didn't do it on purpose! Okay, yes, you definitely, definitely did it on purpose…

He called the lift absently, trying to think of some kind of excuse, or hell, maybe even a truthful explanation that at least made sense. The doors opened with their now familiar ding, and 2D stepped inside. He pressed the button he remembered would take him down to Yuki's room, both hoping and dreading that she was there.

He watched the heavy metal hatch that was Murdoc's bedroom door disappear from view as the lift's door closed. Tearing away from thoughts of Murdoc, he tried to focus on the bigger problem.

Keeping his friend.

At least I didn't hurt anyone, he reasoned in his mind.

His backside throbbed in response.

Well, he didn't hurt anyone too badly.

The lift doors dinged open, and he stepped out onto one of the lower floors where the guest rooms were.

"…that she's harmless. Come on out from under there!"

2D blinked out of his doomed thoughts and perked up at the familiar voice. Relaxed, genuine, caring. Maybe she wasn't mad at him after all…

"She has a machine gun in her mouth!" came another voice. Still familiar, but a bit less so than Yuki's. "Her mouth! She's like a walking, talking weapon! You don't make peace with weapons!"

Daley, 2D realized. What was he doing out of the tunnels?

"You can make peace with anything," Yukimi insisted. They were in her room, just down the hall from where 2D was. With a slight gulp, he continued forward. "I promise, she won't bite."

"Can you promise me she won't shoot?" Daley fired back. He sounded terrified. Were they talking about Cyborg?

Who was he kidding? Of course they were. Who the hell else had a machine gun in her mouth?

"She won't shoot you," said Yuki. 2D didn't miss the slight emphasis on the word you.

2D gently took hold of the open door's frame and cautiously peered around the wall. Yukimi was standing in the center of the room, facing Cyborg Noodle, who was standing beside the far wall. Her synthetic hair was parted slightly, and even from the door 2D could see her eyes were trained on Daley, who was hiding under Yukimi's bed. 2D noticed an open ventilation shaft beside Cyborg, which must have been how Daley came into the room, and was now the escape that Cyborg was keeping him from diving into.

"I-I'm not even supposed to be here!" cried Daley.

"2D?"

2D's eyes tore away from Daley and focused on Yukimi. She was staring right at him, and the complete lack of malice melted most of the worry 2D had about confronting her. He should have known she wouldn't be too mad at him, but he supposed he'd come to expect that all of his mistakes, no matter how small, would be met with anger and hostility.

"Hey! Are you alright? What happened? I'd, uh, give you a hug, but I'm in a bit of a pickle here."

What happened? 2D could feel the guilt welling up inside of him, threatening to boil over. If it did, he might end up blurting out the truth. Which, as he now realized, probably wouldn't be that shocking to Yukimi, but she wasn't the only one in the room.

"We can talk later," she said for him, so that he didn't have to ask. As usual, she could read him like a book. "So, have you met Daley?"

"Y-yeah we've met," 2D choked out, almost as uncomfortable as Daley was with Cyborg in the room.

"Then can you tell him Cyborg's harmless?" she asked.

She does have a machine gun built into her mouth, Yuki, thought 2D, but before he could voice his opinion, Daley cut in.

"She kidnapped me!" Daley cried from under the bed. His arms were covering the poofy hair on top of his head, as if he were scared the whole world was crashing down on him. "I was gonna work with Murdoc at first, but he said my song was cancelled. But this… this thing didn't seem to get the memo!"

Wait, a cancelled song? 2D only knew of one. It was the one that started all of this, the song that kept him here, like some kind of magnet, or anchor.

Some kind of sticky thing.

"What song is that?" 2D asked.

Daley blinked, obviously not expecting him to care about such a little detail when the pressing issue was the weaponized android kidnapper before him.

"I-I don't know," Daley admitted, "He didn't say. M-Murdoc just said I… Uh, I think the words he used were that I seemed 'right for the job', and that he'd 'send for me soon'. B-but the next day, he called and said he'd changed his mind. Uh, wait, no. He said he changed his heart, or something like that."

Was it Broken? The chances were fairly slim. If Murdoc had been working on this album long enough, there could be more than a hundred potential songs written down somewhere, or strummed once or twice on his bass.

Besides, when 2D first saw the music sheet for Broken, it looked just as beaten up as he did. He remembered torn holes in the paper, stains of various sizes and colors, a burn mark or two, and not to mention the whole page looked like it'd been crumbled into a ball and then laid out flat again multiple times.

Broken wasn't polished, which meant it wasn't ready to be recorded (as if 2D hadn't already gathered that from Murdoc's reaction when he caught him reading it), and maybe it was never intended to be. Why would Murdoc put such an intimate piece of himself out into the world?

The simple answer was that he wouldn't.

"Please don't let her get me," Daley pleaded, attempting to shrink further against the wall underneath Yukimi's bed. "It's why I've been hiding in the tunnels. She's been looking for me… I don't know what she wants, I just want to go home!"

"I won't let her hurt you," Yukimi said adamantly. "I promise, okay? But I don't think that's what she's here to do." She caught Cyborg's attention with a whistle. "You! Get out of here. Go to the living room."

2D winced at the tone in her voice. She sounded strong and brave, yes, very brave to face an android that could probably make it rain bullets if you so much looked at her the wrong way, but she also sounded… demanding, mean. It didn't fit her at all, and it made 2D press his back against the doorframe, shrink a little smaller against the cheap metal.

Was the anger in her voice directed at him?

2D's attention was drawn to Cyborg when she started emitting a slight whirring sound. For a moment, 2D thought she really would make it rain bullets. And yet, after just a moment of processing, Cyborg Noodle, death robot doppelgänger, obeyed Yukimi Nagano, a slight, delicate flower of a woman with a heart of gold and a mind of steel. With a click of her heels and a stiff salute, she marched right out of Yuki's bedroom, all attention focused on her new mission. Daley was forgotten, which meant he was safe.

Yukimi sighed a tiny huff of relief before turning and bending down to make sure Daley was okay. She helped him out from under the bed and shook his hand.

"My name is Yukimi," she said with a smile on her lips and in her eyes and every fiber of her being, "And I am sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, but it was nice to meet you anyways. Take care of yourself, yeah?"

Daley shook her hand and nodded. Yukimi turned and walked past 2D out of the room, waving her hand for him to follow her when she passed him. "I want to show you something. Meet me in the living room?"

All 2D could do was nod and pray he hadn't lost one of the few friends he had here on this island of rubbish.

"2D?" Daley asked, "What happens to me now?"

2D blinked. "Er, what d'you mean?"

"I have no reason to be here," Daley answered, one of his hands rubbing the opposite arm nervously, "If Murdoc finds out I'm here, I-I don't know what…"

Daley trailed off, and 2D frowned. For a moment, he swore he was looking at some kind of alternate universe version of himself. They shared more in common than 2D originally thought. Daley was someone who feared punishment on a constant basis. Someone who wasn't surprised when arguments came to blows.

Someone who feared Murdoc.

"He did that to you, didn't he?" Daley finally asked, refusing to meet 2D's eyes. 2D realized Daley was talking about the bandages on his face. He'd already forgotten they were there. He was so used to cuts and bruises that bandages hardly meant anything to him.

"He won't do this to you," 2D managed, telling himself he wasn't lying. But then, it was true 2D had never seen Murdoc hurt someone else. At least, not as badly as he hurt him. "He's not like that with everyone."

"Oh," said Daley, obviously not believing him, or at least not understanding and trying not to pry. 2D couldn't think of a single person who could even begin to understand the strange symbiosis between himself and Murdoc. They needed each other, yet at every possible opportunity, they tore each other apart.

2D bit his lip, wondering if Murdoc really would beat up someone else as badly as him. He didn't know the answer to that, and that terrified him.

"We could write a song," said 2D, speaking without thinking, not for the first time in his life.

"What?"

"I mean, he won't hurt you if you're supposed to be here, yeah?" 2D continued, unable to stop himself. "Well, if he ever finds out you're here, we can just say you 'n I are writing something for the album." Murdoc would never allow whatever they came up with to be featured on the album, but it didn't hurt to lie. "Then he can't do anything, right?"

"I-I guess," Daley said. Suddenly the idea took hold, and Daley's face brightened. One of his rare, fragile smiles broke free. "That… actually sounds pretty great."

2D could only offer a smile in return. He only hoped his little idea would work, or that Murdoc would never find out about Daley in the first place. But if it did come down to writing a song for Daley's safety, he'd willingly pay that price.

"Thank you, 2D," said Daley, smiling softly. "For everything. See you soon."

2D nodded, and the other singer headed for the vent Cyborg had blocked him from, disappearing into the bowels of Plastic Beach once again.

2D made his way back to the living room, and found Yuki and Cyborg sitting on the couch, facing each other. Yukimi was squinting, and staring into Cyborg's eyes like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. 2D couldn't imagine what she was seeing. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing to be seen at all.

"What color were her eyes?" Yukimi asked suddenly without looking up.

"Whose?"

"The girl she was supposed to replace," Yuki answered, finally looking up at him. "Noodle."

2D suddenly found it very hard to swallow.

"G-green," he answered quietly, looking at the ground, at the telly, at anything but Yukimi and the monster Murdoc made, "Her eyes were green."

"Curious," said Yuki, looking back into Cyborg's eyes. "So are hers."

So what, 2D thought bitterly, he makes it look like her and that makes it okay?

He didn't say anything.

"I know I scared you back there," Yukimi said. "I'm sorry. I had to say it like that. She wouldn't have listened if I asked her nicely."

She broke her strange gaze with the lifeless imitation again to meet 2D's own dark, empty eyes.

"Murdoc doesn't ask permission," Yuki explained. "At least, not most of the time. He doesn't say please to her, because please isn't a command. I figured I had to sound like Murdoc to get her out of there. I don't think she would have actually hurt Daley, though."

"Yuki…" 2D started, but didn't know where to go from there. He tried for an apology. "I-I didn't… I mean, I… When we…"

Well, there went that idea. He couldn't even form a thought, let alone get that thought to pass through his lips. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and hoping that it might help somehow. But all it did was make his head hurt more than it already did. He hadn't had a migraine in months but the headaches always came and went. They weren't as bad, but they made it even harder than it already was to communicate properly.

"It's okay, 2D," Yuki assured him. "I don't take it personally."

"But I didn't mean to… I tried… He…"

He knew she didn't take it personally, even when he was worrying about telling her the truth minutes ago he knew she wasn't mad at him. But he wanted to justify it either way. He wanted to explain why he chose darkness over light, and why he would do it again, and he wanted to say it without sounding like a disloyal arse.

Yuki stood up from the couch and walked over to him. "Hey," she said gently, reaching up to rest a hand on his shoulder. "I mean it. I'm just glad you're okay."

"I know, but I hate that he… That I can't just…" 2D tried, pulling at his hair slightly. His head was throbbing now, but he'd had worse.

"That you can't just say no," she finished softly for him, knowing what he was going to say before he did. Again. She reached up, this time with both hands. She gently took hold of his wrists, though she had to stand on her toes to do it, and guided them down from his hair. "You don't have to beat yourself up over it."

She was right, of course. He already got enough of that. But he relaxed anyways, not just because of her words, but the look in her eyes as she said them. The throbbing in his head ebbed away.

"Oh, I wanted to show you something," she said, letting go of his wrists and gesturing for him to follow her back to the couch. "Before Daley popped out of my wall, I was looking into Cyborg's programming. Or, more like trying to figure out how she works, you know? I'm not exactly an electrical engineer or anything, I was just talking to her, trying to find out what commands she recognizes and stuff like that. But I found something pretty cool. Watch this."

She turned to face Cyborg again and asked, "Play Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz."

Cyborg straightened up at the command. Something clicked, and a whirring sound introduced a small speaker that protruded from the middle of her stomach, right above her artificial belly button. As soon as the movement stopped, the song began to play.

Maseo's mad laughter filled the room, followed by 2D's voice singing the first lyrics of the song. And just like that, memories he hadn't thought about for years dashed out of their disorganized filing cabinets and threw themselves at the front of 2D's thoughts.

He remembered filming the music video for this. The damp, warm air in the tower was stifling, and the smell of alcohol and sex and perfume was intoxicating. The producers wanted it to feel as real as possible for the cameras, so they'd set it up as this great Gorillaz party, and filmed the results the next day. It was almost like the featured's party on Plastic Beach but much, much worse. People ended up in piles, draped across each other in a tangle of limbs and body parts.

He remembered the ache in his chest when he realized Murdoc was covered, yet again, in pretty girls who worshipped him. He remembered trying not to let it get to him, and failing.

He remembered looking out the windows and seeing Noodle flying through the sky on an island made of dreams. Their little girl, strumming on her guitar and mouthing the lyrics, the only one left untainted. Always left untainted by whatever horrors came their way.

Windmill, windmill, for the land,
Turn forever, hand in hand…

"She can play any song you ask her to," said Yuki, pulling him back to the present. "She's like a living mp3 player."

"Any song?" 2D asked, more to himself than her. He coughed awkwardly, trying to push the memories away. Think of a song. Any song. Don't get lost in your head again. "How about Narc by Interpol?"

Feel Good Inc. stopped playing, and after a short whirring sound the new song started. A catchy melody flew from the speakers, a hard guitar jumping up and down. The beat followed shortly after, and Paul Banks breathed meaning into the song, tying it all together.

Touch your thighs, I'm the lonely one
Remember that last swipe 'cause that was the right one

2D began to sing along, glad for an excuse to gather his thoughts and stuff them back into their cages. Yukimi didn't know the song, but she smiled at what she thought was 2D's enthusiasm and moved her body to the beat anyways.

2D was surprised he even remembered the song in the first place. He vaguely remembered playing it on some radio takeover show years ago, but he hadn't actually listened to it in quite a while. But like all of his favorite songs, it was stuck in some distant part of his mind, attached to a memory like the best kind of parasite.

Oh love, can you love me babe?
Love, is this loving babe?
Is time turning around?

The song continued onto the next verse, but Yuki cut it off with another song.

"Play Devil's Pie by D'Angelo," she ordered. Ordered, not asked, not requested, because please isn't a command and Cyborg wouldn't obey a suggestion.

An entirely different song began to play. Instead of the punk rock sound that had influenced 2D's music style, a smooth, harmonious beat hummed through the air deliciously. It was closer to something Russel would listen to. A fluid, low bass riff danced sensually with a snare beat, and when the lyrics came, Yuki was ready for them.

"Fuck the slice, want the pie," she sang, harmonizing effortlessly by mixing her own high, feminine voice with the deeper voice of the singers'. Together they made the song sound like the taste of chocolate. "Why ask why, till we fry, watch us all, stand in line, for a slice of the devil's pie."

She stood up to sway to the beat gracefully as she sang, and shot him a wicked smile. It took 2D a moment to realize she was telling him something with her eyes, and it took another moment to realize what she was saying.

Show me what you got, 2D. Outdo me, I dare you.

A challenge, huh? She dared to challenge the lead singer of the world-famous band Gorillaz to a sing-off?

2D was not good at many things, which meant he didn't have much confidence. But one thing he'd realized after so many years in this band, after so many years spent with his biggest critic, was that even the great Murdoc Niccals had not once ever insulted his singing abilities.

This was one challenge she was not going to win.

He smiled his best mischievous, toothy smile to let her know he meant business.

"Play Gangsters by The Specials!" 2D ordered loudly to make sure he was heard over Devil's Pie.

Cyborg cut the song without hesitation and switched to the desired track. A funky up and down beat boomed from Cyborg's high quality tummy-speaker, and a look of genuine surprise, which 2D might add was quite satisfying, flashed across Yuki's face.

"Why must you record my phone calls?" 2D sang expertly into the imaginary mic held in his hand, pointing at Yuki dramatically with the other. "Are you planning a bootleg LP?"

Yuki's look of surprise faded into one of bemusement. Her eyes narrowed in mock annoyance at his smugness, but the amused smile on her face was unmistakable.

"Said you've been threatened by gangsters," 2D continued, leaning over his air mic as if he were on stage. He popped back up and sang through his toothy, smug grin. "Now it's you that's threatening me!"

"Tonight by Saint Etienne!" Yuki demanded. Cyborg didn't miss a beat. She cut Gangsters off and switched the track once more.

A violin played what sounded like a sorrowful tune, but within a few seconds it became an electric pop song. Yuki danced around the room, all inhibitions so far gone they may as well not exist. She skipped around 2D in mocking circles as she sang her heart out.

"Check my make-up and check my watch again," she began, "I can hardly wait… Play the album and play it all again, I can hardly wait…"

2D let her sing for a minute, the competition forgotten for a brief moment as he was swept away in the music with her. By the time she got to the chorus, she was holding his hands and making him dance with her, and he was so happy to have someone to share songs and secrets and pieces of himself with that he didn't care he was a terrible dancer. He didn't care that almost every time he danced with abandon something broke or someone got hurt.

"Maybe they'll open with an album track," Yuki sang, the words much faster than in the verses, "Or a top five hit, no turning back. Ooh ooh ooh-oh ooh…"

2D could have danced all day with her, but alas, the competition was still afoot, and so he had to choose his next song to show off with.

"London Calling!" he shouted over the now much louder music. Had it been getting louder with each song? He hadn't noticed. "The Clash!"

The beat immediately switched in, as if Cyborg had been anticipating another switch. The familiar hard beat slammed into their ready ears, shaking the walls.

"A classic!" he shouted to Yuki just before the first lyrics prompted him to sing. "London calling to the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down!"

There was no more competition. She'd realized that before he did, and busted out her air guitar to join in, smiling brighter than he'd ever seen her, as ecstatic as he was in their shared moment of blissful sounds. They were both sweating a bit now. Hair fell across their faces, and though it was quite normal for 2D's untamable blue locks, Yuki's hair now looked as shabby as his did.

She didn't seem to care at all.

The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growin' thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning, and I… I live by the river!

Yuki jumped up and down with the beat, now jamming on her air guitar passionately. 2D sang the rest of the song, giving just as much of himself to it as he did with all of his songs while performing.

"London calling at the top of the dial," he sang, finishing the song, "And after all this, won't you give me a smile?"

I never felt so much a'like a'like a'like…

2D fell to his knees and dropped his invisible mic as the music died away, exhausted. Yukimi collapsed onto the couch, out of breath and laughing hysterically, high on the performance.

Cyborg looked at the both of them like they were the dumbest idiots in the world, and something about it was so strange, so hysterical, that she was showing any sort of emotion for the first time ever, that 2D started laughing too.

Cyborg Noodle cocked her head to the side, just slightly, like a puppy. It was just enough to fool him for a moment. She looked just like her when she did that. Just like the real thing.

2D's laughter died in his throat. It wasn't funny anymore.

Yuki sat up and exhaled a long, powerful breath, smiling at Cyborg.

"We should do that more often," she said through panting breaths, looking over at 2D. She immediately noticed something was wrong when she saw his face. "2D?"

"She's not her," he said, his words outpacing his thoughts again. "He tried. I know he tried, but she's not Noodle."

Yuki frowned and looked back at Cyborg. At the robot that looked like Noodle, that had her DNA according to Murdoc, but was not and would never be Noodle.

"I know," was all she could say, but for all of her skills at deciphering people, and reading them like a book, even she didn't know. Not really. But that was okay. 2D didn't take it personally.

It was silent for an uncomfortable minute.

"I wonder if…" Yuki mumbled to herself, breaking the silence. She leaned toward Cyborg, who, despite all of their bullshit, was still sitting patiently on the couch.

"What?" 2D prompted, aching for a change of subject.

Instead of answering him directly, she gave another order to Cyborg.

"Play White Flag," she said, "By Gorillaz."

Cyborg straightened up slightly, suddenly tense, as if her settings were restored to the original, boring robot girl who didn't feel anything and didn't make 2D question everything he knew about her.

"File: White Flag," Cyborg answered, her emotionless computer voice a bit jarring after what 2D had seen in her minutes before. Was that what Yuki had seen in her eyes? Something human? "Encrypted file; please enter password."

"Password?" Yuki repeated. She furrowed her brows, confused. She glanced at 2D, who couldn't have looked any better. "So it's there, it's just hidden."

"But it's not out yet," said 2D, "It was just recorded a few days ago. It's not even mastered."

"It doesn't have to be," Yuki argued, "Maybe she's storing a demo, the unmastered recording, or even just lyrics. It could just be all the material he has so far."

Suddenly, she understood what she was getting at. She thought Murdoc was saving everything they made, as soon as they made it, like when you save five times in a video game just to make sure it's really saved. She was trying to find the little pieces of the album not yet assembled, and she was looking for them in Cyborg's memory.

And now that Cyborg had asked for a password, her theory had been all but confirmed. What 2D didn't know was how she knew Murdoc would store the material in Cyborg in the first place.

"Why would he store the recent stuff in there?" 2D asked her. "Why in her?"

Surely there were more convenient places to store the recordings they'd made so far. If they were trapped in her, Murdoc couldn't master them, couldn't polish them for the album. Why would he store unfinished songs in a servant robot?

"He thinks something's going to happen to him," said Yuki. "She's a failsafe."

When she saw 2D's confused, blank stare, she elaborated. "Haven't you noticed? He's always looking over his shoulder, looking out windows like he's expecting to see someone, or something, heading right for him. I haven't exactly known him for a long time, so I can't say how much of that is real and how much is just a side effect of living here for so long, but to me, he seems almost… scared."

Now that 2D thought about it, he had noticed it, he just hadn't consciously put two and two together. Back when they'd recorded Empire Ants, Murdoc had all but panicked when 2D pointed out the ship on the horizon. When Cyborg had told him they were "friendlies", Murdoc seemed shocked.

Did that mean he was expecting enemies?

"Anyways, it's getting late," said Yuki, "I'm gonna make some food. Do you want anything?"

He told her whatever she made would be great, and she headed to the kitchen to get started. It was nice to have someone who could cook on this godforsaken island. You couldn't even order pizza here.

As she worked, she hummed a beautiful little melody he'd never heard before. He wondered if it was another one of her favorite songs, or if she just made it up.

He stood up and stretched his long, gangly limbs. After a wide, lazy yawn, his eyes settled on Cyborg, who still hadn't moved from her spot on the couch. She turned her head to look at him, her green eyes showing slightly through her hair, and pulled the speaker back inside of her tummy.

He still didn't know how to feel about her.

But there was one good thing about her that he knew now. She stored music, and more importantly, she stored his music. If he could figure out the password, he could look into her files and find out what other songs she had locked away in her memory.

But then, he realized, he didn't have to know the password. Not if he just wanted to know. If he wanted to hear and see the songs, he'd have to learn the password, but if all he wanted was to know whether or not it was there…

He walked around the couch and sat across from her. Quietly – he wasn't sure why it was important Yuki didn't hear him, but it was – he asked her to play the one song that started it all.

Asked, because although please wasn't a command, he wanted it to be a choice. Asked, because even though she wasn't human, not entirely, there was something there when he looked in her eyes.

"Play Broken," he said, "By Gorillaz."

"File: Broken," Cyborg answered, "Encrypted file; please enter password."