There wasn't really much to do in the basement of the HQ on Plastic Beach- especially when you're locked in a laughably tiny room with not much besides a bed and some arts and crafts material. 2D spent most of his days painting masks for whenever Murdoc would let him out of his room. He wanted to hide his damage from his bandmate, making it seem like he wasn't slowly losing his mind as each day passed. The ability to cover up his weakness behind a literal mask was fascinating to the singer. Each mask would have a different design, which would elicit a different reaction from Murdoc everytime, and it broke up the monotony of the constant verbal abuse.
2D rubbed his head, feeling the start of a headache coming over him. Murdoc had hidden his painkillers in the control room, only deciding to give them to the singer whenever something needed to be recorded for the album. The album was a sore spot for 2D. Besides singing and some synths, he didn't have much to do with the album. Murdoc wrote the whole thing, and no matter how much he hated to admit it, the singer thought it was a pretty solid record. It was well written and he despised the fact that a man he slowly began to loathe had the capability to craft something so good.
2D could hear footsteps approaching his room, and his whole body tensed up. He grabbed a mask and put it on, covering his face as he sat on the bed. "Rise and shine." A familiar voice rung from outside the door. It was nighttime, and Murdoc knew that 2D was already awake. 2D wanted to snap back at Murdoc, but he stopped himself before he could start mouthing off. "Just finished up another masterpiece. Meet me at the studio in 10, don't even think of tryin' to escape. I have the robot to make sure you don't." Murdoc fished the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He threw a notebook at 2D's head. "Thirteenth page." Cyborg Noodle entered the room, and Murdoc locked the door behind it.
2D slowly removed the mask, looking away from the cyborg. He always felt uncomfortable around the robot. It reminded him of the real Noodle, and it made part of him doubt that she was still out there. He turned his head to observe the notebook, picking it up. Returning back to his prior position, he opened it up to the thirteenth page. "Hm." He read the lyrics, becoming more and more confused as he continued. Once he finished, he closed the notebook and set it down on the bed. "Wot the.."
2D exchanged a quick glance to Cyborg Noodle, as if to silently interrogate it. The robot stared blankly at 2D, causing him to jump up. He quickly looked away, and then looked at the notebook again. The contents of the new song left him at a loss for words, unable to form anything coherent. He looked to the floor, trying to collect his thoughts. "Jus'... wow.." The singer barely managed to say. He took a deep breath and looked to Cyborg Noodle again, giving the robot a slow nod. That was the motion for the cyborg to let him out. Cyborg Noodle got the keys from it's pocket and unlocked the door. 2D got up and stretched, wincing as he listened to his bones crack. He picked up the notebook and silently left the room.
The halls of the HQ were becoming more and more of a blur as 2D stumbled his way through them. It felt like it was gonna take him upwards of a day just to get to the studio, but it only took about three minutes. With Cyborg Noodle right behind him, he entered the studio. Murdoc rolled his eyes as soon as he saw the familiar blue hair enter his field of vision. "Alright. All we need is your vocals, no need to do anything else, ok? Got that one through your thick skull?" 2D simply nodded as he entered the recording booth. He set the notebook down on a stand in front of the mic. Opening it to page thirteen, he felt his body warm up a bit. He put on a pair of headphones and gave a look to Murdoc.
"Alright. On Melancholy Hill, take 1." Murdoc spat out, as he started recording.
The dreamy instrumental began playing in 2D's headphones, giving him a rush of emotions that came right out of nowhere. He barely managed to stay focused on the song. Thoughts began rushing through his head- a mix of disbelief and denial. He didn't have much time to ponder on them, though, as soon enough he had to begin singing.
"Up on melancholy hill, there's a plastic tree..
Are you here with me?
Just looking out on the day of another dream..
Where you can't get what you want, but you can get me..."
He moved away from the mic to breathe.
"So let's set out to sea-"
2D stopped himself before he could continue singing. He just stood there, silently. Murdoc immediately stopped the recording. "Wot the bloody hell was that?" He yelled at 2D through the glass, standing up from his chair. 2D shook his head. "My-my 'ead is fucked.. I need-need some pills-" Murdoc cut 2D off. "For fucks sake! Why do you make everythin' so difficult?!" Murdoc spewed, glaring at 2D. "I'm-I'm sorry, Murdoc. I-I-I know this song is really im-important to you.." 2D rubbed the back of his head. Murdoc let out an exaggerated groan. "Fine, but don't try pullin' shit like this again." He reached into his pocket and grabbed a bottle of painkillers. 2D went over to the door separating the booth and the control room, slowly opening it. For his troubles, Murdoc whipped the bottle at his head, sending it flying behind him.
Once he regained his composure, 2D retrieved the bottle and opened it, taking two pills. He set the bottle down on the ground and looked to Murdoc. "Hey, uh-uh, Murdoc?" Murdoc didn't respond. "Where di-did you get the in.. inspiration for this song?" 2D looked down, instinctively flinching. Murdoc stared a hole through 2D. "What are you goin' on about?" He aggressively inquired through his gritted teeth. "I mea-mean... it's a love song. That's n-no' your usual output, right?" Murdoc rolled his eyes. "I know you're quite a bellend, Faceache, but I really just want to know.. wot's going through your tiny, pea-sized pile of mush you call a brain." The bassist leaned in intently.
2D stood there for a second, trying to think of an answer. He took a deep breath before beginning. "Well, it's no' like anythin' else you've written. It's, uh... soft, emotional, beautiful. It, err.. feels weird knowin' you made it." He scratched the back of his neck. A few beads of sweat began falling down his forehead and onto his bandana. Murdoc just rested in place, staring at 2D. Examining him as if he was trying to pinpoint 2D's weak spot.
Murdoc could barely hold back a light chuckle as he sat back down in his chair. "My oh my, you're such a funny lil' git." He suddenly snapped back to his previous, aggressive tone. "Now, back to work, dickhead! On Melancholy Hill, take two." With that, Murdoc began the recording again. Things went on like normal up until the previous roadblock. This time around, 2D was actually able to utter something.
"Cause you are my medicine when you're close to me..
When you're close to me.."
2D closed his eyes, feeling emerged in the instrumental as the painkillers really began kicking in. He began fantasizing about a happy place. It was resemblant of the island, but made out of something more competent than literal garbage. Noodle and Russel were there alongside him. Murdoc was also there, but he was a lot calmer, resembling the man he was when he and 2D had first met in the late-90s. Murdoc still had his signature snark, but he wasn't as rough. His guard wasn't up as high as it would end up being. He was happy. 2D was happy, aswell, in this little fantasy world he made up for himself.
"So call in the submarines, 'round the world we'll go..
Does anybody know her?
If we're looking out on the day of another dream.."
2D let out a sigh, a smile creeping onto his face. He then missed a measure, instead standing there silently. With that, Murdoc began yelling into the mic and into 2D's headphones. "Oi, knobhead!" 2D snapped out of his daze, his smile going along with it. "Could you at least try to stay focused, fuckface?!" Murdoc groaned, frustrated with 2D's antics. "Sorry, I was jus', err, gettin' into the music, y'know?" Murdoc snapped his fingers, automatically turning Cyborg Noodle on. The robot looked to Murdoc, who pointed at 2D. 2D turned to face the cyborg, but ended up turning into a punch. Everything went black, and all he could feel was cold metal. He could faintly hear some speaking, but he couldn't decipher what any of it was.
2D woke up a few hours later with a pounding headache. He was laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a few seconds of blinking, he connected the dots and figured out that he'd been returned to his room by the robot. He looked down and noticed a sticky note on his arm.
"Dickhead,
We're gonna finish that bloody song tomorrow, hope you don't have a concussion or lost your vocal chords.
-Your dear friend, Murdoc." The note read.
2D rolled his eyes, turning to face the furthest wall. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad.." He began, but his tiredness ended up overtaking him before he could continue. His eyes slowly closed, and he soon lost consciousness.
The journey to the studio was the same as it had been the previous day, but it felt like it had lasted even longer. 2D's head was still throbbing in pain from the sucker punch he'd received the previous day courtesy of Cyborg Noodle, but he tried to forget about it as he entered the studio. It didn't work. 2D simply glanced to Murdoc before putting on his headphones. "Right, I'm just gonna use the take you did yesterday so you can just start where ya left off." Without warning, Murdoc began the song, starting from the second verse.
2D silently counted in his head until the part he'd yet to record came up.
"If you can't get what you want, then come up with me.."
The rest of the recording went fairly smoothly, much more than usual. Besides having to do a few extra takes, it didn't take much time for 2D to finish recording the vocals. Once he finished the final take, he took off his headphones and looked to Murdoc. "Uh, Murdoc?" Murdoc looked up, his eyebrows furrowed. "I love the song, by the way." 2D immediately sped out of the recording studio, with Cyborg Noodle following close behind. Once everyone had left, Murdoc cracked a smile- a gentle one, with no malice in it at all.