AN: Warning: Mentions of Alcohol, drug addiction, fights, and Murdoc having a soft side? It's a bit sad, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Enjoy! :)

Phase 3:

"Face ache! Sing the lines like you're sad, dumb ass! It ain't called 'Melanchony Hill' for nothing ya dumb bastard", Murdoc yelled after hearing the previous vocal take for 'Melanchony Hill'. 2-D seemed to always be getting on Murdoc's nerves, even more than before. 2-D was no longer the forgetful loopey child he used to be. He was checkier, wittier, and mouthier, all things Murdoc couldn't stand.

2-D threw down one of the mikes. "It ain't hard to be in melanchony when you're in the room! Fuckin' bastard!", 2-D yelled through the glass. He grabbed the mike he threw before doing another take of the song. If it weren't through the glass in between the two men, 2-D would have already been punched.

Sometimes Murdoc wondered if 2-D liked getting beat up. Not in a weird, kinky way, but in a way where it was a distraction. It was no secrete that after Noodle's disappearance, 2-D had spiraled into some sort of depression. 2-D had no painkillers on the plastic wasteland, so there was nothing to numb his emotional pain. Instead of numbing, maybe 2-D turned to distractions… like being beat half to death every day. It was a bit pathetic. Murdoc shook the thoughts out of his head. He refused to feel bad for the bastard.

2-D had finished what seemed to be the fiftieth take of 'Melancholy Hill', before storming out of the recording studio. He had nearly screamed his way through the song. It sounded more like an angry 'Sex Pistols' song than a 'Gorillaz' song. Murdoc was pissed.

"Where the bloody hell do you think you are going?", Murdoc screamed at the younger man who was almost out the door. Murdoc ,how ever couldn't be bothered to get out of his chair.

"I'm getting a drink!", 2-D yelled before slamming the door.

Murdoc sighed. He was to unbothered to slap some sense (literally) in his band mate. He instead lit a cigarette and thought of the blue haired boy. Murdoc knew there would be no more recording for the day. When 2-D drank now, he really drank. It wasn't like back in Kong where 2-D was a very light drinker. 2-D really took Noodle's disappearance hard, the whole band did, but 2-D simply wasn't able to build back up after the incident. Even after Murdoc explained that she was alive, out there somewhere, maybe even avoiding them.

Murdoc hated it. He hated how even if he tried not to, he still cared for his blue haired bandmate. Deep deep down, just a little bit, he told himself. He didn't know why he couldn't completely cut off emotional attachments to people. His father sure did. He didn't know why, and that made him angry, maybe that's why he was so harsh on 2-D.

He didn't want to feel the occasional guilt he had for ruining this kid's life. He was still a teenager when Murdoc had handicaped him the first time, twenty the second time. Murdoc knew the beatings and verbal assaults had only worsened the bluenette's painkiller addiction. He knew he caused Noodle's disappearance (he coulda just shot old Jimmy, but no, he decided to be elaborate). Murdoc knew he had driven 2-D to start drinking more. Murdoc knew all this, and 99% of the time he couldn't give two shits. It's times like this, when he did give a shit, that he hated.

Every punch he planted on 2-D was another way to convince Murdoc that he was an emotionless beast that he wanted to be so badly. Maybe that's why he hated 2-D, because deep down, he didn't.

Crash

"Bloody Hell!", Murdoc heard a muffled 2-D yell. It was obvious 2-D had broken something. Now was the time, the time for Murdoc to convince himself that he hated the blue haired bastard. Murdoc got off his chair and cracked his knuckles. This one was gonna be bloody.

AN: Okay, next chapter will be happier, hopefully! I was just tired of writing in phase 1, so I change it up a bit. Maybe some phase 2 or 4 stuff up next. Please review! Constructive criticism is wanted as well as opinions. Thanks!