2D had been standing outside the ladies room, arms crossed and foot tapping nervously. When the two girls walked out he seized the younger one's shoulders, "Noodle, love, are you ok? I'm so sorry we never told you, we didn't mean you no harm, we just..."

Noodle shook him off, "It's ok D. Kate-san told me, it's all good."

She gave him a toothy grin before walking off to grab something to eat, leaving 2D and Kate at the door. The singer put his hand behind him head, glancing at her awkwardly, "So, um...still mad at me?"

Kate crossed her arms, "I never said I was ANGRY with you."

"Well you sure did SOUND like it," he replied with slight hurt in his voice, "I'm mean, I don't blame you. We shoulda told her 'bout, you know..."

Kate sighed, "I know. But, then again, you are a bunch of guys. I didn't really expect otherwise."

2D grinned slightly, shrugging, much like a puppy does when he's peed on the carpet, and you can't help it because you know he doesn't know better. Kate couldn't help but smile, "No, D, I'm not mad at you anymore."

"Oh goodie."

"Hey Kate-san!" she looked over and saw Noodle waving to her from behind an aisle. Both walked over to where she was standing and the younger girl grabbed her hand, "Muds says we got to go. You want something to eat?"

Kate smiled, "Don't worry, I'll get something. Let me go pay for the stuff we used,K?"

"K. Come on, let's go D."

Once back in the van, Noodle promptly switched seats with 2D so she was sitting right next to Kate and started up the movie from when they had first left off as the car peeled out of the station.

"About fackin' time-take yo' precious time pissin'-"

"Kiss my ass, Muds."

2D reached down to pull out his 32nd cigarette of the day when Kate leaned over and plucked it out of his hand. The man made a whimpering kind of sound, and his eyes filled with shock and horror as the sight of his cigarette left him, and looked at Kate like he was completely and utterly lost.She tossed it out the window and smirked at his incredulous face, "You smoke too much."

He whimpered.

"What? Come on D. Keep it down to a little less the FIVE packs a day, alright? You may be Animated but you can still get lung cancer."

Noodle snickered but didn't say anything. 2D looked like he'd been dealt a mortal wound, but settled back into his seat and began to watch and was soon smiling at the overt and gratuitous zombie funfair he loved so much. From behind her, Kate felt a tap on her shoulder and glanced over, suddenly finding herself staring at Russel's face. He was wearing a slight smile and whispered into her ear, "Where are you from?"
Kate cocked her head, "What?"
He grinned widely, "Cos that's the first time ANYBODY'S been able to toss out one of D's smokes."

"Thank Satan, we're finally here."

It was Audrey, not Murdoc, who proclaimed this as she jumped out of the van, followed by the others who seemed just as relieved to finally be at a mall. Kate had thought it odd that much of the time they had spent together was not spent at the subject of their strange journey they had started. She shrugged it off and joined the group that had congregated by the Van.

"Ok, so, what do we do now?" the girl asked.

"Do the mallrats thing, o' course," replied 2D, giving Kate a smile, who stifled a laugh. Murdoc, though, have shrug, "Whatever I guess. Go fuckin' crazy. It's about five, so meet back at the food court at eight. Come on Auds," He grabbed her arm and the and the two walked off toward the mall. The remaining four looked at each other, shrugged, and ambled off to the entrance.

Opry Mills was enormous and Kate was just starting to remember just how big the mall really was. As soon as Kate walked inside, she blinked and felt the breath slowly leave her like a deflating balloon. To her right was a giant RainForest Cafe, completely fixed in decadent plastic trees and leaves and animatronic rainforest animals, quite like someone would find in Disney World. Right next to them was a fountain, in which after just moments, a life-sized hippopotamus emerged from the waters depths. Kate heard squealing and saw two blurs- one that was particularly blue- dash over and hang over the edge of the fake rocks. Kate turned and couldn't help but smile as she found those two blurs happened to be the singer and guitarist of GorillaZ.

"Oi wanna touch it!" exclaimed 2D, reaching over the edge to feel the animatronic hippos fake skin, with Noodle right along-side him. Kate laughed but looked around to find that her two friends were attracting some attention from the crowd all around them, both human and Animated. Some people simply gave them a passing glance, some looked irritated, others were pointing and contained amazed expressions. Right next to Kate, Russel immediately drew his hood and pulled the drawstrings tight around his face, even though some had already spotted him. He silently encircled Kate's upper arm, nodding in the direction leading further into the mall and away from the mass.

"Go ahead," she said, "We'll catch up."

His large form soon disappeared, making his way through the crowd. She ran over to the pair at the fountain, grabbing 2D and whispering to him, "D, we gotta go."

"Wwwwwhhhyyy?" He said, sticking his lower lip out as he pouted.

"Because I don't want to lose you-" He blinked, all poutiness gone from his face, "-to a mob of fans," She finished, knowingly. He looked at her for a moment more in confusion before the light turned on and he glanced around at the crowd.

"Oh shit."

He reached and grabbed his beanie from his back pocket, donning it quickly, "Sorry," he murmured, and put on a pair of sunglasses as Noodle did the same.
2D sighed, "Great, now I can't see a thing."

"Here," Kate said quickly, taking his hand, "Just wear them outside."

2D squeezed her hand, and Kate noticed how cool his skin felt and how well his hand fit in her own. She shrugged it off and grabbed Noodle's arm as they quickly made their way through the crowd, bypassing the people who had begun to recognize who the Animated pair was. Kate's grip on both of them never lessened once as they pushed their way through into an open area, running to catch up with Russel, whom they had just spotted. Kate let go of Noodle, who went promptly under Russ's arm, but Kate never loosened her grip on 2D, who held her hand just as tightly as ever. He bent down and whispered into her ear, "Seriously, I can't see. Don't let go,k? I don't care to get lost forever, feel me?"

She smiled, "I feel you D. Don't worry. When we get in some stores you can take off the glasses."

"Thank god. Let's hurry then, eh?"

They walked past a few windows until they dashed into a store called Earthbound. 2D promptly removed his sunglasses, slipping his hand from Kate's. The place was a tightly packed nature, incense and middle-eastern/far east store, and Russel found it a bit difficult maneuvering around the trinkets. Along the entire back wall were stringed- bamboo door fixtures with various portraits and colours painted on them. The store was filled with hemp, incense, beads, plants, statues and other various Zen or Asian paraphernalia. Noodle looked quite interested at a stone sculpted head of a Buddha.

"I saw one of these in real life," she proclaimed, pointing at the head. Kate smiled and proceeded along the narrow aisles, picking up various items and examining them. Noodle bounded over and looked up at her, "See anything you like?"

Kate was holding a necklace with a jade pendant, interest and desire written plainly on her face, but she reluctantly put the trinket back.

"No. I've only got enough money for the trip, really, so I guess I'm gonna have to be a genuine mall rat, huh?" She smiled and continued down the wall, running her hands along the multitude of objects. Noodle cocked her head as she watched the older woman walk away, noting the absence of the contagious happiness that often surrounded her wherever she went, like a haze or aura that spread to everyone even if they couldn't help it.

"Hey Kate-san!" Noodle suddenly called, going over to her friend's side. The Asian girl smiled widely up at her,"You were right."

"About what?"

"The medicine. I can't feel my legs," she gave her a toothy grin. The older woman sniggered, "Told ya."

"It feels great."

Kate laughed, but it contained less mirth than normal, and she disappeared around the corner. Noodle sighed, sticking her lower lip out in frustration and irritated confusion. When Kate rounded the bend, she nearly ran into 2D, who'd been looking at incense.

"Oops, sorry love," he said, grabbing her before they crashed. Kate blinked, "Sorry," she laughed, "Where you going in such a hurry?"

"Incense makin' my head hurt. Plus, the lady at the cash register recognized me. Caught me before I could bail, so I just, you know, signed whatever and slipped her a few pounds so she'd keep her mouth shut."

"Pounds?' Kate said in disbelief.

"Whatever."

She stifled a laugh, "Well, then, we better get outta here. Come on, I'll get Russ."

2D sighed and Kate made her way to the back of the store where Russ's large figure was looming. she slipped her arm into the crook of his own, "Psst, we gotta go. Can't stay anywhere too long, k?"

He nodded silently and led her out to the exit, guiding her with his hand on the small of her back. She grabbed 2D on the way out, and called to Noodle who looked like she had just paid for something at the register and they were off to join the main flow of traffic. Oftentimes the band member's would duck their heads as people, especially those Animated, would cast them a glance. Kate noticed, however, on their trek, that many individuals, this time human, would give them band members strange, if not malicious, looks. Kate felt a sting in her heart- she knew that the Animated Kind were not treated so well in the human world, and it had become such an issue of discrimination that it was considered just as bad of a problem as racial or sex prejudice. Kate hated it- some of her best friends in high school had been Animated; they had been the ones that got her into GorillaZ in the first place. Kate loved the Animated kind dearly, and any malice shown toward them tore at her heart. Involuntarily, her grip on 2D's hand tightened.

"Something wrong Kate?" The singer asked, noticing immediately. It was a good thing 2D was blind, because he couldn't have seen the blood that had rushed to her face.

"Sorry," she murmured.

For the next two hours the strange motley crew ambled around the gigantic mall, avoiding the larger crowds as much as they could and hiding in stores when things got dodgy or when 2D freaked out because of his lack of sight. Kate knew he had poor sight to begin with, given that Murdoc had gotten them into an accident. She remembered the day it happened- she'd been flipping through the TV when she passed the news channel and saw the report on CNN. Murdoc had been doing donuts in a parking lot and 2D had been thrown from the Geep. In the resulting accident, the singer sustained an eye injury- making him practically blind- and his infamous head injuries, the two dents in his cranium. That's why 2D's head hurt all the time, and why he looked so lost and confused most of the time. Wearing the sunglasses took away all of his remaining sight, leaving him in darkness; Kate couldn't blame him for losing his nerve quickly.

Although, without the glasses, 2D acted like he could see just fine- it was uncanny, too, how well he could read people, so it just seemed like he was extremely klutzy. Somehow, though, Kate knew 2D could see in a way that other's couldn't, and that's why she, or anyone else, didn't treat him like he had a handicap. But right now, Kate could feel that his hand was becoming increasingly clammy and sweaty, a clear sign to his guide that he was getting spastic. Kate swallowed- they had only just left a store less than five minutes ago, and that meant 2D's stamina was wearing thin. Without thinking, she seized him and ducked inside a back hallway that lead to the restrooms.

"Kate, where are-" but he was cut short when Kate pushed him up against the cement wall.

"D, you've got to get a hold of yourself," she said calmly and gently, her hands planted firmly on his shoulders as the singer began to breath heavily. Each passing second he became more and more frantic.

"D, listen to me," she said firmly, "You have got to calm down. I know it's freaky, but we can't duck every five seconds, and I can't hold your hand forever."

"Why not?"

Kate blinked as the question caught her off-guard. She stared at him, holding her breath as he broke our in a cold sweat. She slipped her hands down his arms and took his hands in her own, "Look at my face, Stu."

At the sound of his real name he gave a slight start and stared at her in her general direction.

"I know you're blind, but I also know you can see- I don't know how, but I'm sure of it. You see in a way that I can't. So just try. Use the eyes that we can't see, Stu."

They stood frozen for what seemed like hours; 2D staring blankly down through Kate, the girl firmly holding on to him. Then, the singer exhaled slowly and let go of her, feeling around on the wall, running his hand along the cement. Then he reached down slowly and touched Kate's face, tracing his fingers along her cheeks and eyebrows, then lips. She held her breath as he touched her, not really knowing the reasons behind his actions, but enjoying and relishing him anyway. His fingertips were exceptionally soft and his gentleness fascinated her. Her breath built up in her lungs, as she was afraid if she let any air go, something would happen, something might break. After a few seconds, he finally gazed down at her face fully.

"...Can you see?"

"A bit. It's just like seeing in the dark. Your eyes just-"

"-have to adjust," Kate said, finishing his sentence. They smiled at each other, before the girl suddenly gasped and clapped her hands to her face.

"Wot happened?"

But she couldn't speak. She was too shocked and scared at what she saw. Running down the singer's face, sickeningly bright against his pallor, was blood falling from underneath his sunglasses.

"2D, your eyes!" she managed to gasp.

He gave her a questioned stare before touching his face and pulling off his glasses. There was blood like tears pouring from his eyes and crusting around his bottom lids. He signed and put the glasses back on, "Sorry," he croaked, "Happens sometimes."

This, however, did little to ease Kate's nerves, "There's a bathroom down the hall, D, gogogo, now!"

He laughed, though it was quite mirthless, and hurried down the hall as she shoved him towards the bathrooms. Kate covered her face and slid down the wall to the floor, taking deep breaths to calm and steady herself. After ten minutes she heard the sound of an approaching body and turned to see that 2D had joined her on the ground. He had his sunglasses back on, but he was smiling at her kindly, his head cocked toward her. Kate felt like crying- she didn't know why, but she fought back her tears fiercely and wondered vaguely whether or not 2D could see this detail.

"Wot's wrong, Kate?" he asked gently.

"Nothing," she sniffed, turning away while wiping her eyes and face.

"Sorry love, but I'm not too sure I believe you."

She glanced at him and smiled slightly, "Sorry. Just don't see...that everyday. Guess it kinda shook me up."

2D laughed, "Yeah. I remember the first time it happened to ME; it was about a week after I fractured 'em and got my two dents, so my head was still all wrapped up. I was sleeping and it happened- this pain just ripped across me face and I saw up yelling. Murdoc came in, shouted something about blood on my bandages and changed them. But that was NOTHING compared to the second time. I was actually out for lunch about two weeks after the first time, and it was the same as before. Searing pain, and I felt it running down my face. Good times, good times..."

Kate looked at him, "Does it hurt anymore?"

The singer shrugged, "You get used to it. Now it's more or less annoying than painful..."

He grew quiet, glazing off and staring into a world Kate couldn't see ,"I guess I never really got over losing my eyes. It happened so fast..I don't remember that accident- just before, when Muds was dickin' around in the Geep, and then waking up in the hospital a few days later. I woke up to darkness..."

Kate held up her breath as she stared at him. She couldn't fathom the expression on his face.

"I guess I never really forgave Muds for it..."

2D was silent for a long time. Kate watched him with soft eyes, trying to read his face and actions. She realized how much she didn't understand him, how much he masked from the world. He glossed over everything with a careless, ditzy, sleepy facade, when really he was deep- deeper than his eyes, staring at the world and the sun in the dark, in the abyss. She didn't understand him. And she didn't know if she ever would.

"I hated Murdoc for it. I hated what he did to me. But despite all that, I don't know what I'd do without him. Guess I'm just used to him, that's all..."

Kate's eyes never left him as she tried to comprehend this being sitting next to her. Even though she knew she wouldn't be able to, even though she couldn't understand him, she was going to try. Kate didn't know why she felt like her life depended on it, why everything in her being wanted to comprehend this man. Without thinking (which she was doing quite often now, for some reason) she silently cleared her throat and whispered before she could stop herself,

"I'm sorry," she said, closing her eyes.

2D's head turned toward her and he smiled softly. He hadn't felt such a swell of emotion for anyone in a long time, and he wondered vaguely where it came from, and why. He wondered why she was still here with him, why she helped him see, why she had held his hand for so long when she didn't have to. He knew, though, that the girl sitting next to him, with the hands he was growing to know so well, seemed to understand, just a little, how he and his mind worked. Even though she didn't think it, she knew more than she let on to. And for this, he was glad to have her here, with him, to have her on this fateful trip. He leaned his head back against the wall, still staring at her behind dark glasses.

"How'd you know my name?"

"Because," she said gently, opening her eyes to meet his gaze and smiling, "I'm your biggest fan."