A/N: Woot! 'Nother chapter up. Anyway, folks, as I said earlier some of this story was written a few years ago, but I stopped after ff dot net closed down the band section. Well, this is the chapter I was working on when I stopped, so if you notice a change in the style or whatever, this is the reason. Also, because I wrote this a few years ago Cortez wasn't in the picture, and because I really don't want to go back and try and write him in, just pretend that Murdoc's raven is migrating or something. -sheepish smile-

Thanks for all the reviews! And BoredCoed, I'll be expecting my cookies. -grins-

Be on the lookout for ninja abilities, singing and slightly burnt scrambled eggs.

You all know the drill. Gorillaz aren't mine, but little Styx is.

Chapter 3: Of Music And Breakfast

Noodle quietly pushed open the car park door, using all her 'ninja stealth' abilities to remain hidden. "Styx-chan?" She called softly. She quietly walked between the cars, sneaking up on the dark Winnebago shaped shadow that she knew harbored a very grumpy Murdoc, but hopefully did not harbor 2-D's new friend. As she sneaked along the wall of the Whinny, she heard a dejected sigh from inside and heard Murdoc muttering softy. She looked up and saw an open window that lead to the back end of the Whinny, Murdoc's bedroom.

Before he could tell she was there, she snuck around to the front and silently slid into the driver's seat. She peeked over the edge of the upholstery, trying to get a glimpse of the back room without getting caught, but she still couldn't see into Murdoc's ever-elusive bedroom. So she crept back out and went back to the window. From her previous trips to Murdoc's place, she knew that the window was directly above the bed, and that the brooding bassist couldn't see it as long as he wasn't facing the back wall.

So, she pushed over a large crate from the depths of the car park and she stood on her tiptoes, and she could finally see the Bass Demon. And what she saw surprised her.

Murdoc was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Well, through it actually. His body may have been in the Whinny, but his thoughts were far away, far far away, and probably long ago as well. Noodle could have walked right in and Murdoc wouldn't have noticed. And curled up next to the Satanist, Styx was asleep, or close enough to it. His head was lying on Murdoc's stomach, and Murdoc was lazily petting the sleepy dog.

Noodle couldn't believe that only a half an hour ago the bassist had been threatening to turn the dog into sausages. She smiled, and suppressed a giggle. She knew that Murdoc was mostly hot air, and didn't mean half of the things he spouted off. She was glad that Murdoc liked Styx, because that probably meant that the dog would be staying for a long time, maybe even the rest of its life. And maybe, did she dare to dream, the dog would help Murdoc in other ways. She had read many reports about dogs helping people and even changing someone's whole personality for the better.

She looked back down at the two, and noticed something else. Murdoc had tears in his eyes. The young guitarist wanted very much to drop on him right now, to give him a hug, to make those tears disappear, but she knew he would be furious is he found out she had been spying on him. So, she gave a little sigh, and prepared to leave and tell 2-D that everything was okay. She wouldn't go into detail, but she'd let the singer know that everything was going to be fine.

Before she hopped off her crate, she heard a small whine. Returning to the window, she saw that Styx had now climbed up on Murdoc's chest, and was licking the bassist's tears.

"Ey! Knock that off, mutt!" Murdoc sat up, sending the dog tumbling to the floor.

Murdoc leaped off the bed. "You okay?" He gently picked up Styx, though the fall did not seem to have affected the dog at all. He still struggled against Murdoc's grip, trying to lick the Satanist's face again.

With a sigh and a small smile, Murdoc sat back down on the bed and gave into the barrage of licks. He lit up another cigarette and watched the smoke circle up towards the ceiling, and he suddenly wanted out of the Whinny. He felt a sudden urge to go to the studio and to play his bass; play his bass long and hard until all feeling melted away, leaving only him, music and peace.

So, he stood and grinned a snaggle-toothed grin at Styx. "Let's get the fuck outta 'ere, mutt." The dog did what he always did. He cocked his head a bit, and his tail started to wag. With a chuckle, Murdoc set his half finished bottle of Stolie on the end table next to his bed and started for the door.

Meanwhile, outside the Whinny, Noodle hopped down off her crate and she raced to return it. As she stayed hidden in the shadows of the darkened car park, she watched Murdoc exit the Winnebago with Styx, and she heard the clicking of his boots as he walked up the stairs and re-entered the studios.

Only then did she remove herself from the shadows and return to the studio's lounge where she expected to find 2-D and Russel, but when she entered, the Butterscotch Angel was nowhere to be seen. "Russel-san, where's 2-D-san?"

"He went to the studio to practice some keys." Russel said without even looking up from his magazine.

Noodle nodded and started to wander towards the studio, debating about grabbing her Les Paul so that she'd have an actual reason to be in the studios, but she didn't feel like practicing. She felt like listening.

2-D was busy practicing some melodies on his keyboard when the door to the studio opened and a light brown blur leaped into his lap and began to cover his dark-eyed face with licks. "Styx! 'Ey dere, where ya been? Did Noodle find ya?"

"Nope. I did." 2-D almost leaped to his feet in surprise as Murdoc entered, tuning his red-fade-to-black bass with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Oh…….. 'N where was 'e...?" The singer tentatively asked, trying to act indifferent by flipping through his sheet music with a forged, uninterested air about him.

Murdoc opened his mouth, then hesitated for a split second. " 'E was in the... kitchen. Yeah, the little mutt was in the fucking kitchen." The bassist hoped that the singer would accept the little white lie, and much to his hidden relief, 2-D did.

"Oh." Silence descended and 2-D flipped another sheet of music. "I was jus' practicin' a bit wif me keys."

"Mind if I join ya?" Murdoc asked as he took another drag on his cigarette.

2-D's jaw dropped a fraction of an inch, but he recovered quickly. "Yeah. Sure. I mean, no- I mean, I dun mind if ya practice wif me. I could use the company." He broke into one of his happiest grins yet. He was touched that the Bass Demon would ask to practice with him, because normally Murdoc liked to play and practice alone. Unless the whole band was doing some practice sessions together, Murdoc usually preferred to play by himself as much as possible in the seclusion of his Whinny.

"Great." Murdoc said as he idly plucked the first few notes to Slow Country, then turned to 2-D with his snaggle-toothed grin.

2-D returned the grin, and played the next few notes. As Murdoc joined in, the Butterscotch Angel began to sing.

"Can't stand yer loneliness... can't stand ye loneliness..."

The two were in perfect harmony, and together they had never sounded better. From her hiding place behind the amps, Noodle held her breath as their magic wafted through the room, enchanting all who were blessed enough to hear it that night. She wrapped her arms around Styx and snuggled him. She knew the dog was good luck, she had known it all along; this just proved it. "Arigatou, Styx-chan..."

/She was captivated by their magic, as I was, but for different reason I'm sure. She was captivated by their sound, they way they blended together; years of hopes and dreams flooding from the amps that she hid behind in a wave of emotion, and I was entranced by what it meant. As they played together, there was something else in the air around them. An unspoken sentiment that they both shared, the Bass Demon and the Butterscotch Angel, for their sound tonight carried with it the unspoken ambiance of a friendship forged of unlikely circumstances, a friendship that they never spoke of, but that they both knew was there./

The two played long into the night, so late that Noodle soon fell asleep from utter exhaustion. They finally stopped somewhere around 4 AM when 2-D had finally looked down at his watch.

"Muds, it's 4 inna mornin'." He said with a sleepy yawn.

"Shh! Listen fer a sec..." Murdoc held up a hand. "Ya 'ear that, Stu-pot?"

The soft sound of a sleeping child could be heard in the now quiet studio. 2-D and Murdoc headed over towards the amp, and there they saw Noodle curled up around Styx, who looked up at them with his same, lopsided grin, but didn't move for fear of waking the girl beside him.

2-D grinned and whispered, "How long do ya fink she's been there?"

"This whole fucking time, I'd wager. Little Miss Ninja over 'ere musta snuck in when I opened the bloody door." Murdoc hid his grin by shaking his head. He bent down and gently scooped her up. "Silly little Wasabi misfit, you'll get nightmares listenin' ta the likes a us."

"Will you take 'er upstairs, Murdoc? I'll clean up down 'ere." 2-D whispered as he started to put the equipment back where it had come from.

"Yeah, sure, Stu-pot." Easing the door open with his foot, being careful not to wake the Axe Princess in his arms, Murdoc left the studio. He carried Noodle to the lift, then up to her room, where he gently placed her on the bed.

He watched with a smile and a silent shake of his head as she rolled over, her small arms falling over, then grasping her assortment of Powerpuff Girl and Pokemon plushies. Her eyes fluttered behind closed eyelids, telling Murdoc that Noodle was dreaming. "Have fun, luv."

Murdoc watched for a moment more, making sure she was asleep and not just faking to stay up late, then turned and quietly closed her door behind him. He thought about just heading back to the Whinny, but instead he found himself back in the studio where 2-D was still cleaning. Wordlessly he helped the singer straighten up, and when the job was done, they both ventured to the car park for some much needed sleep.

"G'night, Tosser." Murdoc called, not unkindly, as he opened the door to his Winnebago.

2-D was in some kind of mental shock. Muds never said good night to anyone, let alone the blue haired singer. Not knowing how to react, 2-D said the first thing that came to his mind. "Night, Murdoc." And with that the Bass Demon retreated into his dark abode, leaving 2-D and Styx alone in the car park. 2-D looked down at the floppy eared dog at his feet uncertainly. Murdoc sure had been acting strange since Styx's arrival. "Did you...?" 2-D stopped, realizing the absurdity of the idea. "Never mind. Let's go ta bed."

In the morning 2-D was woken in the usual method; his digital 80's alarm clock blaring the morning weather in his ear, and as he hastened to turn the bugger off, he whacked his head on the bedside lamp, got tangled in his sheets, and kissed his floor with an undignified thump! Untangling himself from the sheets and shutting up the blasted alarm, 2-D scratched his head and rubbed the sleep from his onyx eyes, wondering what the day would bring. Perhaps he could get started on the lyrics for the new single that Muds wanted by- A little red flag suddenly popped into 2-D's brain. There was something, something important, that had to do with Murdoc and... and what? His brain couldn't quite remember.

With a yawn 2-D changed and began the process of climbing up the concrete steps to the car park, still wondering what the little red flag wanted. He paused outside Murdoc's Whinny and noted that it was silent, which usually meant (considering the time of day) that Murdoc was still passed out and snoozing. It was then that he smelt breakfast, or what he assumed to be breakfast, and it smelled good.

He was going to rap on Murdoc's door and inform the Satanist that breakfast was ready, when he stopped, another red flag joining the first. The Whinny. There was something about the Whinny. As hard as 2-D tried, he couldn't get his brain to connect the dots, so he figured he'd just bag it. Muds probably didn't want sausage anyway. Sausage. A third red flag joined its buddies and the dots connected in the span of a second.

Styx was gone.

2-D pounded on Murdoc's Whinny. "Muds! Muds, ya in 'ere?" There were no cruses, threats or even groans; the Whinny was silent. Murdoc wasn't in there.

The Butterscotch Angel flew to the kitchen, bursting through the door only to find the Bass Demon at the stove, completely clothed (which was a miracle in itself) sporting a fresh white bandage around his temple, and cooking something by the smell of it. "Muds!" Murdoc jumped at the sudden noise. "Wot 'r you doin'? Where's Styx? Wot's dat yer cookin'? Shit, Muds, whaddid ya do?"

Murdoc silenced the singer by smacking him with a slightly goopy spatula. "Calm down, face ache, yer dog's right 'ere." Styx leaped into 2-D's relieved arms and the dog proceeded to cover him with licks and bacon breath, effectively cleaning the singer's face of half cooked pancake.

2-D breathed a sigh of relief as he buried his face in the dog's fur. "Fank 'eaven yer all right, Styx, I was worried sick abou' you." The dog licked the singer's face in response.

The Bass Demon hid small smile as he flipped a flapjack. There was something about 2-D's smiles, something that made him feel... happy, in a way. /Good to know there's still innocence in the world.../ "Get the orange juice, Dullard."

Setting Styx down, 2-D opened the fridge and jumbled around for the jug. "So, wot's the occasion, Murdoc?"

Forgetting himself momentarily, the Satanist looked over his shoulder with a confused expression. "Huh?" Then, quickly composing himself, his brain scrambled for an acceptable reason. "Oh, err, it's... uh... the anniversary of... the, uh... day I thought abou' startin' a band!" He smirked. "Yeah, that's it."

The singer grinned, completely oblivious to the little white lie. "Oh, okay. Dat's cool."

A plate of pancakes, slightly burnt scrambled eggs, and dry toast introduced itself to the section of table right in front of 2-D. "Eat."

The singer happily obliged as Noodle entered the kitchen, stretching. She went straight for the cabinet where the cereal was kept, but Murdoc plucked her up and plopped her into a chair. "Not today, ya little Wasabi misfit. Yer havin' some real breakfast, not those sugar coated sugar balls or whatever the fuck it is you 'n Dullard eat."

"Lucky Charms." The Japanese girl protested. The plate of 'real breakfast' was dropped in front of her and this presented a problem for her. She knew that 2-D wouldn't make something like this; he would have much preferred to join her in a bow of cereal or some cookies, and Russel wasn't up yet, so the only other person there that could have made this was... She looked over at the Bass Demon who had already turned around and began making a plate for either himself or the drummer. "Arigatou, Murdoc-san." A grunt was her only reply.

It was then that Russel emerged from the hall, still in his fuzzy slippers. Yawning, the drummer noticed the fresh bandage around Murdoc's head. "You okay?" Murdoc merely grunted at Russel. Before he could even cross the room a heaping plate was thrust at him. Dumbfounded, the big American took the food and sat, his brain working to connect the dots. Finally, when he reached the conclusion that Murdoc had actually made the breakfast he looked at the food suspiciously. "S'it poisoned?"

"No." Murdoc dropped into his regular seat, took a swig of beer, and bit into a strip of bacon.

Russel still couldn't believe it. "Muds, you feelin' alright?"

Another grunt.

"It's the band's anniversary... wait, no... it's the day the band dat 'e wanted ta be in... the band 'e wanted to 'ave an anniversary for... uh... somefin'." The Butterscotch Angel gave a grin and passed a pancake down to the dog, who inhaled it.

The drummer decided to drop the subject, as well as a piece of toast, which Styx made short work of. 2-D, Russel and Noodle made small talk as they discussed the day's plan, and while Murdoc only grunted when anyone asked his opinion, it meant a lot to the group. Normally the bassist skipped breakfast all together, or ate it in the seclusion of his Whinny. The fact that he was out here, with them, eating breakfast that he made, was still strange and shocking to them.