So what did they find? Have we waited long enough? I think this is the longest chapter I've written yet, so brace yourselves.

Noodle carefully guided Callum and Gillian down one of the crumbling stairwells that led from the ground floor to the basement. After pushing a few doors open they passed the back end and made their way to what had been 2D's bedroom. The corridor was fairly dark, with most of the light bulbs burnt out, and the few that still worked gave the place an eerie feel.

"Talk to us Mr. Pot, where are you?!" Gillian called out.

"I'm in here!" he called back from behind the door at the end of the hall. "I think I sprained something, but you've got to see this first!"

Noodle grabbed the knob and found that unlike most of the doors in the place it opened easily. What they found was a lit room that should have been empty but clearly was not.

"I found the light switch." 2D announced as he made his way over to them with a bit of a limp. "Just look at all of this, I didn't know we still had this here." He pointed up to the ceiling. "You can see the hole I fell through, it's huge."

They were still taking everything in, because there was quite a bit to take in. There were instrument cases packed up against the walls, as well as sound equipment, microphones and just about everything you'd need to make an album.

"What on earth?" Noodle asked breathlessly.

While Gillian was curious as to what all of this was, her professional instincts took precedent. "You're limping" she said to 2D. "Sit down and let me look."

She examined him while the other two surveyed the room. Callum took a look at the hole in the ceiling. Whatever was tearing this place apart had managed to eat through the reinforced concrete of the car park and weakened it to the point that one person had been too much to hold up. He realized the singer had just barely avoided landing on some of these cases and the broken concrete that had preceded him when he'd fallen through. "You may have some luck on your side yet lad" he said with a grin.

2D didn't really hear because he was seated on a speaker with Gillian kneeling in front of him and twisting his right ankle, and he was trying not to squeal in pain. "It's not bad" she diagnosed, finally letting his foot go. "But we'll put some ice on it when we get back."

"Yeah, thanks" he said, gingerly trying to put weight on it.

Noodle had opened some of the cases by this point. She'd had most of her guitars removed when she had left Kong years ago, but here she'd found a couple of studio versions amongst everything else, all of it seemingly and inexplicably hidden away down here. "It doesn't make any sense" she said aloud.

"I take it this isn't normally where you'd store your instruments" Callum guessed.

"No" 2D replied, "This is where my bedroom was."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "You've got to learn the fine art of rhetoric Blue." She stood up and glanced around at the makeshift storage unit. "Where would all of this normally be found?"

"Upstairs" Noodle replied. "Usually it would all be kept in the studio. With the state of Kong right now I would've thought most of this would be in storage somewhere off-site if no one was using it."

Callum asked the obvious question. "So what's it doing down here?"

As much as she thought, Noodle couldn't figure out why. "I don't know."

Gillian wandered around a bit. "Well, who would've had everything moved?"

No one had the answer to that either. Gillian knew that if it had been her guitar or lute she would've kept them somewhere safe if her cottage was no longer inhabitable. So why would any of these musicians, who've all made music their trade, leave their precious instruments in the basement? After some more thought, Gillian pulled out her cell phone. No bars. She excused herself and made her way out through the corridor and cautiously climbed the stairwell until she was back in the ground floor lobby and could get reception.

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The phone rang twice before it was lifted off the receiver. "Hello?"

"Steren, it's me. How're things?"

"Fine. Quiet. Are you coming back anytime soon? I had other plans for today you know."

"Sit tight, we've got a situation. Put Hobbs on the phone."

An audible huff could be heard, then a fluttering sound; after a minute heavy footsteps approached and the phone was lifted again. "Gillian? Is everyone alright?"

"Yes sir, we're fine. We had an encounter with hell's version of a lawyer down at the mouth, but thankfully he wasn't there to make trouble, just to tie up loose ends. How's Mr. Niccals?"

"Good I think; he's asleep, and has been pretty much the whole time. He was awake earlier, and had a bit of a panic attack when he found out where you'd gone, but I got him calmed down."

"Good work. I don't blame him for being panicked, considering his condition. Listen, we've come across something odd, and I was hoping you could shed some light on it."

"Um, okay…what's up?"

"Mr. Pot inadvertently fell through the ceiling of his bedroom. He's fine, but we discovered something when we went down to retrieve him. A whole collection of instruments and sound equipment seems to be stored down there."

There was a pause. "What? Wait, seriously?"

"No, I'm pulling your leg. Yes seriously, and both of your band mates are at a loss as to why they were placed down there. I understand those instruments would normally be stored in the studio or, considering the condition the studio is in right now, somewhere off-site."

"Yeah, they would. I don't know why they're down there. I know Noodle took some things with her when she left, and D and I took some instruments too. When I left there was some spare stuff still in the studio, but that room's just barely standing right now. Some of Murdoc's things were still there, but only because he was still there. I thought that stuff would've been taken out long ago."

"So you have no idea at all?"

"Not a clue."

"Could it have been an outsider, maybe someone who broke in?"

"No, I don't think so. Nobody other than our band or you would have the guts to go in there. Plus Murdoc was still there, living in his Winnebago, up until he went down to hell to get Noodle. And why would someone break in to move our instruments to the basement?"

"I don't know. I figured with Miss Noodle's incarceration and Mr. Pot being a little slow on the catch for this kind of thing, you or Mr. Niccals would have something to do with this, or at least know about it."

"Well…now that I think of it I guess Murdoc would be the most likely person to have all of that moved down there, since he was there way after we'd all left, but I don't know why he would…" He trailed off for a second. "Wait…he said something earlier, when I told him that all of you had left for Kong, his first thought was…he said something about a search and rescue, and how you probably wouldn't find anything. Why would he say that-?"

"If he didn't know there was something to find" she finished.

There was another pause as they both considered this. "You want me to go ask him?" Russel asked.

"No, leave him be, he needs to rest. We'll sort this out. Keep an eye on things and call me if anything comes up."

"Yeah sure. Oh, if you find any of my drums, if you could-"

She smiled. "We'll take care of it. Cheers."

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Gillian flipped the phone closed and made her way back down the stairwell, lost in thought.

By the time she got back to the bedroom many of the cases were lying open, an assortment of instruments strewn about as the two musicians and the lawyer took stock of what was there.

"What did Russel say?" Noodle asked when she saw Gillian come back in. The other two looked up as well.

"He didn't know about it either." Gillian came further into the room and crossed her arms. "But he seems to feel Mr. Niccals had something to do with it."

Noodle shook her head. "No, I don't get it. Murdoc doesn't care about a lot of things, but he does care about our music. He would've never have just left these here without any…"

Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to finish that thought. "Any what?" 2D asked.

They realized she was staring at something in one of the corners. A stack of equipment had been tucked in there, but nothing really worth staring at.

What they didn't see, and what she had only just noticed, was an image on a black case just barely visible between two amplifiers. The image was a winged creature, and as soon as she saw it she knew she'd seen this case before…on every tour they ever did and around here at the studio.

Without a word she made her way over to the stack and moved everything until she could pull out what she wanted to see. She set the case on the floor and knelt in front of it. The case was covered with stickers, one of which was the winged creature she'd spotted, bearing the words she expected to find; Black Sabbath. Other stickers advertised bands like The Clash, Dr. Dre, AC/DC, Death from Above, etc. But the most distinctive qualities of this particular case were the long neck on one end and the giant V at the other.

"It can't be" Noodle whispered, almost to herself. With trembling hands she popped the clasps and opened the lid to find the red Gibson Flying V bass guitar nestled inside.

"2D" she said in shock, looking up at him from the floor, "This is El Diablo."

His mouth dropped open. "Holy fuck, are you sure?"

"Positive." She fingered the neck a little bit, feeling the vibrations and aura it gave off that reminded her sharply of hellfire and other charming qualities of the underworld. Murdoc's famous gift from hell, his most prized possession.

"Wait, this is El Diablo?" Callum asked, looking a little star struck. Gillian didn't say anything. She seemed to be processing this.

"Alright, now I'm truly lost" Noodle admitted, sounding more and more frustrated. "This guitar is…it's practically sacred to him, as odd as that sounds. He wouldn't let anyone even touch it. Why would he…why would he do any of this?"

Gillian crouched down and took a closer look at the instrument before looking over her shoulder at her brother-in-law. "Callum, did Lil ever tell you the story of Arthur Wessex?"

That was such a random question to the band members they just stopped and stared at her for a moment, but then saw Callum's eyes widen as he put the pieces together. "Yes, she did tell me once." He smiled and shook his head. "You're right Gilly, I think that makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Noodle asked.

Gillian stood back up. "Sorry, we don't mean to talk in code. Arthur Wessex was an ancestor of ours, and I think his story may apply to what's happened here."

She paced around the room as she related the story. "Wessex lived during the mid 17th century, and like us he was a defender against dark forces. When he was in his thirties he found an enemy that he knew he could not defeat and live to tell about it. In our line of work we often have to make difficult decisions, and his decision was to die in order to take this creature out to protect his family and the innocent people nearby.

"Once he made his choice he got his affairs in order and said goodbye to his family. According to legend though, one of his last acts was to take his most esteemed possessions, things like his most used weapons or his most treasured books, and place them in his childhood home. The building was in disrepair and abandoned, and many who knew him wondered why he chose that house to leave some of the things he valued most."

She paused. "Many of us now believe that the reason he chose that location was two fold. Firstly, it was a place he knew, where so many important events of his life took place, and if there was the slightest hope in his heart that he would return these items would be somewhere he could find them. The second reason may have been that if he didn't return, then…this was a way to ensure that their use would end with him. The items would be swallowed up by the place he loved and taken down that way rather than be used by someone who would not appreciate them the way he had. Regardless, most agree that after that final act he went to meet his fate."

"Did…did he come back?" 2D asked.

Gillian shook her head. "No, he didn't. He died defeating the monster, and saved countless people by doing so. But we remember his story not just for his heroism, but also to relate to should we, God forbid, ever have to come to the decision he had to make. Also the story reminds us of the importance of settling our affairs if we're ever fortunate enough to have the chance."

She crouched down again near the bass guitar. "Now, I don't know this for certain, but my best guess is, looking at all of this…I think there's a very good chance that Mr. Niccals did not expect to come back from hell."

"No, that's not true" 2D protested. "He told us before he went down to wait for him to come back with Noodle."

"I think Blue…and again I'm speculating…that he hoped to return, but…he's a smart man, and he must've known that the odds were drastically against him." As much as he wanted to, 2D couldn't argue the point. Noodle just sat still, listening.

Gillian went on. "Your bassist's motivation for leaving all of this down here may be along the same lines as Wessex. Even though the building is crumbling all around, the basement is likely to withstand most of the damage, so he would have the chance to retrieve them if he did return. If he didn't…then they'd eventually be swallowed up by the building where he accomplished so much, never to be used again. Putting everything down here…especially this" and she fingered the bass "could have been his way of regaining control over his circumstances, or perhaps of finalizing what he had to do in his own mind."

"Why in here, though?" Noodle asked. "The back end's a bit more stable. Why put everything in 2D's room?"

Gillian rested her elbows on her knees and folded her hands in front of her face, resting her mouth against them for a minute. "Once again I'm guessing, but…maybe if he had to choose between the two rooms in the basement, he…was more drawn to the room of his band mate." She eventually took a deep breath and let it out. "Anyway you two know him better than I do, are my theories making any sense at all?"

2D scratched his head as he tried to think about it. Noodle took her own deep breath, trying to stay composed. If Murdoc did do this, then she realized her impenetrable bassist had a moment of doubt when it came to his mission into hell. To her it now made sense; his pride would lead him to bury all of this, including his beloved bass, away from anyone else who would use it for something less than what Gorillaz accomplished. Despite their problems, their issues in the past and their dysfunctions, as individuals and as a group, without all four of them they weren't a band…they weren't Gorillaz. She couldn't blame him for wanting to have it all sink into the ground if the band couldn't continue. And she couldn't forget that everything he had done this last week he had done for the band…and for her. "I think you may be right" she said quietly.

Gillian stood up. "Well, whether that's the case or not, what we've found here could be helpful." She quickly looked around the room to see what was available to them. "Now I don't claim to be a shrink, but I have had a little experience with staring death in the face, and in our tribe we all know people who have done the same. One of the most common reactions for people who've been through it is to second-guess their lives, and that can leave them feeling lost and rattled. I've been thinking about Mr. Niccals and his change in mood, and that may have something to do with it."

Callum, who had been standing quietly in the back, spoke up. "And there's a time honored course of action for the O'Dare's and their decedent's when they're in this situation."

"What's that?" Noodle asked, expecting some sort of tribal or spiritual solution.

"Normalcy" Callum replied. Noodle and 2D stared at him blankly, certain they were missing something.

Seeing their confused expressions, Gillian explained. "We believe that one of the best ways to help someone who's had a near death experience is to bring about a sense of normalcy, to remind them that they are still the same person at heart, regardless of what's happened. Mr. Niccals may need a bit of a push towards living again once he regains his strength, with a reminder of what he was living for before all this crap happened. And we're surrounded by items that can help us do that, especially this little piece of hell on the floor" and she nudged the case with her toe. "What do you lot think, do you think it will help?"

2D and Noodle shared a glance. "Well…" 2D began, "I think I see a keyboard over there."

Noodle smiled at that. "And there are a couple of old guitars," she added, "and a drum set."

Gillian smiled with them. "Callum, can you help us carry some of this back to the cottage? I think it's high time to bring a little music back into our lives."

So a lot of talk, a lot of angst, a lot of philosophy about life and death...it seemed appropriate.

The second part I tried to set in that void where phone conversations take place, and I wrote it to make it seem like someone was listening on a third line; because in some ways, dear readers, you were. Did I pull it off alright? More coming.