I decided to do first person with 2D in this chapter –get you inside his head. It might be hard to read, cuz I wrote it in consideration of how he talks with his accent. Tell me if it's too difficult to understand, and I'll make it more legible XD

ANYWAYS, enjoy =)

I don't know whot ta fink anymore. The world's awl topsy-turvy and nuffink makes much sense. 'S bad enuff Murdoc went an' 'ad me gassed then stuffed me, a 6-foot-2 man, inside a briefcase, and t'en 'e kidnapped me. Nex' fink I know, I'm in tha middle o' te ocean, on some beach made o' plastic. Plastic Beach, Murdoc calls it… yeah, tha's original. I mean te idea of a plastic beach is original, but even someone like… well, even somebody like me knows ya haff ta be darn well lazy ta jus' call a place whot ih is. Sometimes I wonder if he's te dullard. Bes' not tell 'im tha' ou' loud though. Wiff bein' trapped in t'is damn underwater room, wiff a psychotic cyborg replica of me bes' friend and a damn whale watchin' me at awl times, t'as not a very good idea. Damn those whales. They're a horrah too big!

Maybe I could get Russel to do sumfin wiff it –to it? But if Noodle found ou' she'd be bloody upset… But… Noodle isn' 'ere…

Guddammit. I hate finkin abou' her. Every time! Every time she comes sneekin inta me thoughts I… I-I feel awful. My chest feels so hollow… like when I feel really 'ungry, but I don' wanta eat because ih hurts so much, but I know if I do, I'll feel loads betta. Yeah, kinda like tha'. Only, I guess my 'ungry is my missin' her, an' if I get 'er back, I'll feel betta. I miss li'l Noodle. Only, s'not so easy ta jus' call 'er up an' go oh, 'ey Noods, I was wondern, being awl messed up an awl, if yew could maybe, I dunno, come back an' make me feel betta. An' I'm pretty damn well confident tha' I can't just go ta the cupboard ta find 'er, like I can wiff me food.

But I feel so bad when I don' wanna fink abou' her. S'like she nevah even existed. S'like I… like I haff ta fink about 'er, cuz, ih feels like if I don', t'en maybe no one'll rememba her… And… wull I know I should move on, try ta let ih go… finkin like tis ponderin is… unhelfy, I fink. But… I dun want ta let ih go… I want me Noodle-girl back 'ere in me arms…

Murdoc says she's fine, but… but whot if she's not? What if sumfin really bad 'appened to 'er? Muds said after he'd had his drunken delusion, 'e went ta look fo' Noodle in Hell fo' reals. But… 'e came up empty 'anded. Tha' was just a bit before he'd kidnapped me.

GUDDAMMIT!

I hate t'is… t'is world. Everyfin in it. Ih took my Noodle-girl away, an' it lef' me fo dead in ta hands of Murdoc. I feel so lonely in t'is great wide world full o' people jus' waitin' ta tear yew down -first moment they get ta. S' cruel an' enigmatic.

Noodle would be bloody upset at me if she saw te way I wos sulkin aroun' hatin' on te world an' jus finkin o' te good ol' days, 'afore I had ta worry abou' bein' "the greatest band in history." Oi, I do bloody hell believe tha, but… sometimes I feel like itta been betta if I'da just called in sick tha' day Murdoc 'ad crashed through te wall o' me boss's record shack. I wos goin' ta, bu'… summfin, I don' kno whot it was, but… s'like me very bones want'd me ta be there ta get me face smashed in, put in a coma an' paralyzed. An' later 'ave Murdoc stuff me in 'is smelly car, stop short to flirt, jerkin fast cuz 'e don' pay attention long, an' 'ave me fly out tha' fockin window an' 'ave the good side o' me face smashed afta bein' slammed against tha street fo' 'alf a mile. An' it ended up ta match te otha' side o' me face. Least I wasn' paralyzed no more, but he sure made a'show o' puttin me in 'is stupid band…

Tha's right… s'all Murdoc's fault… 'ell… s'even 'is fault Noodle was shipped to us… I wanda if 'e knows that? Least 'e wos nicer to 'er afta she kicked 'is arse tha first time she'd seen 'im beat me ta almos' death. His beatins didn' get so bad no more afta tha', but there were more of 'em. I dunno, but afta that, an even before, afta gettin' used ta Muds, ih seems like Noodle kinda took a likin ta him. Laughed at awl 'is antics, an' put up wit 'is crap an' drinking, an' such. She always seemed to bring ou' the best in 'im… The best in awl of us.

Course, Russel. Now tha's a completely differ'nt story here. On the one 'and, Russel intimidated Noods at firs, but on ta otha, she always went ta 'im abou' everyfin a gurl would go ta her father for. 'E's really protective of 'er, an' almost 'ad a heart-attack when 'e saw 'er DARE video playin live fer awl the boyz in tha worl' ta see. 'Course I wasn' too 'appy bout it neither… but I guess she was goin ta git noticed by tha vultures soona or lateh.

Russel taught her most everyfin, 'cept when we split afta our firs' album an' she went ta Japan an' found tha' Mr. Kyuzo. S'nice fellow an awl –bit weird though. S'funny ta think tha' afta her memory had been erased by 'im, she went through awl tha' trouble an' searchin' just ta end up at a steamed fish shop, in downtown Tokyo, to run inta her old mentor an' caregiver, Kyuzo, afta hearin the words 'Ocean Bacon', cuz it was an unlikely combination of words or summfink. Sounds like summfink merpeople would eat… I wonda if whales eat merpeople? … or regulah people!

Gah! I hate tis. Every time I git awl confused, me 'ead 'urts like hell. S'bin like this since… well, it's been worse since El Mañana… Since Noodle disappeared.

Anyways, ta try an' clear me mind, I decided ta take a walk. Might be nice out t'day. Firs, I pulled me pill bottle ou' ta swallow a couple, t'en I went out an' to te lift. I pressed te button, kind missin' te days when I would 'ear 'It's coming up, It's coming up, It's coming up, It's there!' T'at was one o'the bes' mistakes fo' a song we'd evah done, an Noodle an' the studio worked wiff it pretty well. One o'th bes' songs we've made, I fink.

I walked inta the cold metal lift, an' pressed te button up ta te entrance. I don' wanna hang ou' on the roof t'day. I jus' 'ope Murdoc don' fink I'm gonna try an make a swim fo it. What does 'e fink I am? Mental? Whales live in that ocean there.

I walked along te shore for maybe a ten-minutes at te mos, goin as far from te entrance, on te opposite side, as slow as I could. I sat down on te fake beach. It wos about twilight, or was it dawn? I don' know… I kinda los' track o' te days afta awl these years. Afta about five minutes, I judged it was te sunset, on accoun o' the sun wos sinkin. I looked around an' saw me telescope from that photo shoot a while back. S' me favorite telescope. Course, s'tha only one I 'ave I fink.

N'yways, I decided, maybe there might be dolphins round 'ere. Neveh know. I guess, couldn' urt te look. I looked through it for maybe six minutes and saw wha' looked like a gyser, but I new ih was a whale –tha whale, tauntin me, he wos. I looked away –wiff shivers causin an earfquake down me back – an' I looked about two miles I judged, in anotha direction, still sittin in me same spot. S'quite comfortable, jus looking a'ev'ryfin aroun mehself.

I fink tha' maybe I should be goin back up. S'been a while now, an' Muds may come look fo' me. I wos abou ta git up, but nex' I heard someone jump down from ta small ledge righ nex t'me an I knew I wos in fer it. I figured Murdoc woulda thrown more of a fit though. Prolly yelled te whole way down ta this lot o'te beach.

I took a deep breath an' let it out a bit too loud, kind of sighing, like I was bored. I fact, I was kind o' worried. Wiffout my Noodle, I couldn' do much if Muds really thought I wos tryin ta escape, an' decided I needed ta be taught a lesson.

So when someone sat right on down nex' t'me, about a foot or so away, I nearly 'ad a heart-attack when I looked to te corneh o'me eye an saw tha' cyborg o' me Noodle. She scared me she did. Course, it wosn't just cuz she nearly killed jus abou' anybody she didn' like, bu' because I wos scared tha she may be awl tha's left o'Noodle; scared that tis phony replaced 'er, not much carin about 'er own original.

But, what scared me mos' –bloody mos –is 'at she… she wos, in essence, my little Noodle. Right down t'th'colour of 'er eyes. O'course, they don' 'ave the sparkle Noods 'ad. An' what I don' like mos, is'at, if eveh t'ere wos a day Noodle did return –if I could ever find her –I don't like to fink abou' whot I might find. T'is android is a constant reminder o'how young Noodle wos when I lost 'er. Fifteen she was. Stopped growin' when she wos about fourteen, buh I'm sho' she's still aged. Sometimes, I can' 'elp but fink if I see 'er again, I would want 'er ta be te way she wos when I lost 'er. Jus' tha' fifteen-year-ol' girl I adored, bein m'best friend an awl. I was afraid tha whot may come back to me, whot I may fin', will scare me. She'd be awl grown up, an' I dun know f'I could 'andle tha. I'm so very scared of what she'll fink o me, too. What if she don' want to be part o' me life no more? What m'I goin ta do if t'at 'appens?

These days... These years, it seems like these guddamn seas are suckin t'em away from me. Suckin um up an'ou'. I don't like bein stuck in this cloud. T'is cloud of unknowing. I scoffed at me own stoopid pun.

The android cleared 'er throat t'git me attention, an' it worked. "2D," she said, 'er voice awl 'ollow an' monotonous.

"Yeah," wos awl I said, letting 'er know I wos listenin.

"What are you doing out on the shore line?" She asked in an unusually curious voice.

"Um… I-I wos jus looking ou' at te sunset… s'pretty," I rambled. She wos looking at me, an' she nodded in understandin. It wos nice tha she kinda had opinions, an' sort o' liked fings, but she did not, in any way shape o'form, share te same likes an feelins as Noodle –cept for maybe one –

"I understand," she interrupted my train o'thought.

"Righ'," I nodded slightly.

"You come out here a lot when you think about her," she stated matter-of-fac'ly.

"Wha…," I cocked my head in confusion. "Fink abou 'oo?" I looked at 'er straight in'er almos' empty eyes.

"Her. Noodle. The one before me," she said in a low voice, putting her gun from the Stylo video down to 'er side. Tha 'elped me relax a bit.

"Why d'yew say tha," I wondered, slightly nervous as t'how she seemed to know I thought about 'er often. Course, I didn' even realize I seemed to wander ou' here when I thought o' her.

"Sometimes you mumble her name," she answered.

"Would… If Muds told yew to, would yew hurt her," I asked, suddenly worried.

She shrugged indifferently, "I don't know. I tried to hurt you before, when Murdoc commanded I do so, but… I…" She stopped fo' a second. I've never 'eard 'er struggle fo' words before. "I don't know why… but… it's like, when I tried, every circuit in my body screamed NO and I was frozen." She looked forward wiff a blank stare. "I believe that maybe, even though my original and I are two very different… things… I guess there were just some parts about her that flowed through every part of her… even her DNA. I believe that her strong distaste and absolute refusal to ever place any harm upon you was something buried so very deep into her being, that even I myself would not be able to hurt you… even if I'm just a copy." That left me dumbfounded. I neveh knew such a thing wos possible… even in death, Noodle protected me…

I lit'rally slapped meself afta tha sentence, and te android looked over at me in abs'lute confusion. Noodle wos still protectin me, but she wos not dead. I can' believe I even thought abou' considrin it.

When I realized our chit-chat wos ova, I took anotha deep breath, figurin she wos told te keep an eye on me, an' picked me telescope up again an looked aroun' te empty ocean. S'like a landfill, cept wiff seawater n'plastic. Afta abou' anotha ten minutes, I started t'get annoyed, an wos abou' te go an get summfink ta eat 'fore I hit te sack, but I sawr summfink ou' on te orizon, maybe a few dozen miles away, bu' as soon as I tried ta get a betteh look at ih, ih's like it disappeared. Looked like a boat. Prolly a ferry. Sometimes t'ey come to te 'orizon, but Murdoc made it clear 'e don't want nobody anywhere near 'ere, and made a threat t'keep 'em away.

I looked again, an thought I sawr it, but t'en ih looked like summfink 'ad blown, cuz ih looked like water shot up really 'igh. T'en it disappeared again. Maybe t'as wot 'appens t'boats 'oo get too close –t'ey get attacked by a whale, or two…

Figurin t'at wos te las' excitemen' I'd be getting fer a while, I got up, closed me telescope up, an' dropped it on te ground. I walked back in silence, with Cyborg Noodle stalking behind me, silent as a ghost.

I 'eard Russ sleepin on te couch in' te lounge when I got up t'ere. His room started ta leak again. Murdoc got a new, better repairman –reliable one 'e is, but I fink 'e'll be gone soon aftah 'e fixes Russ's room tamorrow. E's much bettah t'en te one 'oo wos fishin ou' our money. I slipped passed Russel an' got ta te kitchen fer a samwich. S'goodun too. I sighed in satisfaction. Mos' people would smile ta let people –or th'msleves –know they wos satisfied, but I 'aven't smiled in… God, I don' even remembah.

Te android shorted out when we got in th' lift. She's bin doin tha a lot' since Stylo. 'Er energy jus' couldn' keep, no matteh 'ow long she charged. Doin' betteh now though. N'yways, I picked 'er up ovah me shouldah an' put 'er in 'er closet to be charged again, then I left t'me own room.

When I got there, I did whot I spent mos' o'me time doin. I laid down in me bed an' looked towards te ceilin'. Course I wosn' looking at it, but I wos ponderin. I remembah 'ow scared I wos when I thought Noods 'ad been killed in El Mañana. I nearly tore Murdoc's 'ead off when 'e wosn' even concerned. Russ wos throwin a fit. Afta we got back to te studio, though, Muds esplained tha Noods jus' needed a break, an went ta te Maldives. I figured t'en I should let 'er be, but I kinda goh a bit mad like, why didn' she tell me? It wos like afta our firs album: afta we wen' on tour fer a while, an it wos a bit of a disaster. Like tha, bout a year after tha' El Mañana shoot, I decided it wos time fo' anatha break, an' I went travelin sorta. Mos'ly I jus 'ung out in me apartment where Muds gassed me. I had written bits an' pieces o'melancholy songs. T'as me fav'rite word –melancholy. Murdoc 'ad use t'em in 'is album.

Whot really scared me though, a bit before tha' –when I knew summfink wos up, wos when before I left. Te place wos fallin apart, an' t'at demon boy was relentlessly annoyin, course 'e mysteriously dis'peared right around te end o' Septembah o' 2006. I wanted ta bash 'im good –jus' once.

N'yways, Murdoc said he'd 'eard a voice comin' from the room o' Brian, and I 'ad t'check ih ou'. I still remembah whot she said. How scared she sounded. An only abou' 'alf o'year afta Noods ad lef' I knew sumfink bad 'ad happened…

*"'Murdoc! Russel … Is there anybody there? It's me, Noodle … Is there anybody there! You need to reply … Helllloooo! Come In ….. It's Noodle … I've found the missing … they're coming! ….. (quieter) the reception here is really terrible … (Back to normal volume) MURDOC! … Murdoc! Come in! They know where you … … Mur ….. It's coming from ….Murdoc MAYDAY … MAYDAY … Murdoc! COME IN GORILLAZZZZ!'"*

I had ran ta the radio, as though I could get 'er ta come ou' of ih, but now te message wos jus' repeatin'. Tha's when Muds started to suspect tha she wos in 'Ell.

The thought made me sick. I 'ad gone all dizzy and frantic, an' I don' remebah much afta tha', cept feelin awl hollow, like I do now, cept ih wos worse at first, cos I didn' feel anyfin a'all. I don' much still, but more t'an then. After I 'eard that broadcast, I figured it wos 'opeless. Russel caught me tryin to kill meself an' sent me ta the 'ospital afta an' ovadose o'me pills. They tried ta make me stay for getting bettah, but I got ou' as soon s'I could walk again. T'as when I left Kong fo' good. T'ese last two an' a half years were a blur, 'til Murdoc took me to Plastic Beach against me will, an t'en, ih's still sort'o nonrelevent. I don' really care. I pretty much decided tryin' ta kill meself won't worth ih aftah a while. I jus' sat in me room, slowly wastin' away…

I took anuthah deep breath an' decided to sing a few verses o'me fav'rite songs. I started wiff Feel Good Inc, but ih jus' didn' make me feel it. I sung Plastic Beach. S'decent one. No love or depression n'that. T'en I got up, 'avin an urge to look a'me fav'rite picture.

I walked ovah to te dresser an picked up te frame carefully, as if ih would shatteh any othah way. I felt like ih would. Ih wos one o'all of us. Not anyone cou' find on te internet, an tha' made me 'appy, tha I wos te only one 'oo could lay eyes on ih. Russ an Muds looked… 'appy, and normal almost. Noodle wos smiling awl big, wiff 'er eyes showing, te green shinin, an she wos huggin' me from te side, wiff me arm around 'er back. We were like one big, 'appy, friggin weird-ass fam'ly, but, I loved ih.

Lookin' at te picture, I found meself singin' one o'me favourite songs. I stopped fo' a secon', sniffin' an such. I could 'ear te lift, an' thought ih might be Murdoc, makin' sure I didn' leave or summfink. So I jus' continued ta sing afta I heard ih stop on me level, figurin' I wos right. "I'm caught again in the mystery… You're by my side, but are you still with me? …The answer's somewhere deep in it. I'm sorry that you're feelin' it, but I just have to tell you that I - love you so much these days –"

"Have to tell you that I - love you so much these days... it's true…"