Empire Ants Chapter 4: There was Nobody There, a gorillaz fanfic

A/N What if Noodle had really been trapped in Hell?

Well there is actually a very good possibility that that's where she has been, but based on Murdoc's ever changing decision on the wherabouts of the most adorable guitarist in the world, and his very unreliable information, I've decided to play it like Noodle was in Hell for this story… It will play into the plot well, though it may've severly messed with Noodle's mental state of being. She's a bit more cynical after a few years in the torture of Hell. I feel bad just writing about an experience she may or may not have had.

Oh, well. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways.

Two weeks earlier…

The slim figure of a young woman now stared at the image before her. Her eyes were lifeless and dull, as they have been for as long as she could remember. Her skin was much paler than it was four years ago and she was decorated in scars and bruising. She wore her hair tightly in a bun and tucked under her hat, with a heavy jacket on, though spring had begun. The oversized hood of the jacket would go completely over her face if she allowed it to, but for now, she wore it so it hung over the top of her head because the shadow it made on her face made her bruise less noticable.

She'd had this bruise for such a long time now. Close to a year, maybe a little longer, but the size had significantly decreased. It used to take up the whole half of her face, from her forehead, halfway down her neck, going a bit over the bridge of her nose. It was a horrid sight to look at, seeing the blood that had pooled there, and the death-like colors that it mixed with, but now, though it was still quite large, it only took up her right eye and part of her cheek. She still had a bit of bruising under her left eye as well, which was a particularly dark color –almost black. Of course, right now her bruises weren't very visible, being as she wore a large pair of sunglasses. She was wearing baggy trousers as well, and over-sized shoes. These clothes definitely made her feel uncomfortable, being as she still wasn't used to such oversized apparel, but she had to wear them, otherwise, she was much too recognizable. She couldn't allow anyone to find her. She wouldn't know what to do.

When she'd finally gotten back, someone had spotted her and ran up with the most ecstatic expression she'd seen in a long time. She'd been so overwhelmed by just that one person that she'd attacked them out of confusion and anxiety. She felt agitated, stressed, fearful –but she felt no remorse for attacking the fan whatsoever. Instead, once she came to her senses, she turned and left in an unusually paralytic state of mind, and nothing really affected her anymore.

She always wore the most vacant of expressions that never revealed the war raging inside her heart and mind. She was at a loss to everything around her. What the world had become. It was too much to bear, but so much more pleasant than where she used to be. She vowed to never go back. But now, she had nowhere to go. Her family was gone –they'd abandoned her. She had always been so sure of them. Always.

She was shocked to find that her father-figure had not been at least waiting for her, but what had really pulled at her heart with the most ferocity, so vigorously, was when she found that he had not been there. He'd always been there –from the very first day. But when she came back, he was gone. Moved on. She'd been left behind. Abandoned. Forsaken. Forgotten. Her life was now obsolete… So why was she still here?

With no apparent access to the internet, no clue as to how to find them, she'd been searching for the passed year in vain, though she hadn't exactly had the energy to try to find them in the first place. Just being anywhere in the open –anywhere any thing was alive around her -she'd not been around another living being in a frightfully long time. The thought of doing so put her in an overpowering state of anxiety and stress. She couldn't bear for others to come near her –and when they touched her, even slightly, she began to hyperventilate. She didn't know how much longer she could go on like this. She knew she needed company. She needed someone to talk to and comfort her. She was in desperate need of socialization, so why was she seeking it from the very family who had abandoned her?

This small town she found herself in was somewhat empty most of the time –that is, not a lot of people were walking around all the time, especially in the late evenings. Here she was now, just staring at a picture of her family through the window of a local music store, though it was miles from her home.

The picture confused her. The dark-skinned man- he seemed in such a weary and angry state. The olive-skinned man seemed more evil than ever, but he also seemed a bit off. What had initially caught her attention, however, was the most deject of them all. He'd lost his muchness. The man she'd known –he was gone. She could tell just by looking at him. His face was almost as reserved as her own, his dark voids more lifeless than usual. She couldn't even see the spark of life they'd once held. She could tell, even with that fake smile plastered on his face. She knew their façade was a phony one.

She froze when she saw one person in particular. This girl. She looked so familiar. Yet, at the same time, she seemed nothing like her at all. She was her, yet not her. It was like looking slightly into the past, if in that past she was so menacing and ever in any point in her life used any gun of any kind like that. So why was she seen holding one in the picture she examined now? This wasn't her… But… she was so sure it was. No… it's wasn't possible… They haven't seen her in years… and she neither remembered this picture, nor recalled ever having worn such a malevolent expression on her face. She was quite sure she wasn't capable of doing so.

With a resigned sigh, she decided not to bother with trying to decipher any relevance behind the picture and went inside the store to buy new guitar strings to replace a couple she'd broken. She picked out the correct package and brought them to the cashier, and began to dig through her wallet she'd been lucky enough to find. She couldn't believe she'd been irresponsible enough to carry around two-thousand pounds … but she was a young teen at the time…

Anyhow, she took out the money to pay for her purchase, but sucked in a painful breath and froze when she looked on the counter. Sitting there, beckoning to her was an album she'd never seen before –never even heard of. But why – "Gorillaz, huh? Yeah, they're new album's a goodun," the cashier broke her apparent trance, but she just looked back at the case. "Are ya gonna stare at it awl day, or do ya wannit? If not, then pay up an' git outta here."

With a shallow nod of her head, she reached forward and tentatively grabbed the one labeled Gorillaz - Plastic Beach. She placed her items on the counter and handed over the money, becoming more nervous with each second that had passed so agonizingly slow. Finally, he handed her a small bag and her receipt, and before he even had a chance to say thank you, she was already out the door and walking away. She went to a nearby bench at a bus-stop and tore open the package, looking through everything…

Something was definitely off. She knew she had to find out what, but she knew it wouldn't be easy… She secretly hoped it would be though. Once the bus pulled up, she hopped in and paid her way. Her destination was a bit of a ways off, but it shouldn't take too long.

As the bus pulled as close to the Essex landfill as it dared, she stood and made her way to the front of the vehicle quickly. She jumped out and sighed in relief. She felt the safest here… yet, at the same time, this was the most dangerous place she knew. A landfill brimming with the undead, and haunted by demons –not to mention the Hellhole located in the lowest, deepest part of the building. The thought made her shudder violently. She wasn't quite sure of what had happened in her absence, but the building –she was surprised that it was barely standing. There were a couple of rooms that were still viable, but even the zombies refused to take refuge in Kong anymore. She was satisfied for that, though –and that the demons had left.

She ran to the door as fast as she could while pulling out her keys. She opened the door quickly, and locked it tight as soon as she was on the inside. She hadn't been home since that morning. She turned and took a good long look around, as if she'd never been there before.

Noodle was home… The door was locked tight... but there was nobody there.

She doesn't look, she doesn't see
Opens up for nobody
Figures out, she figures out
Narrow line, she can't decide
Everything short of suicide
Never hurts, nearly works

Something is scratching its way out
Something you want to forget about

A part of you that'll never show
You're the only one that'll ever know
Take it back where it all began
Take your time, would you understand
What it's all about?
What it's all about

Something is scratching it's way out
Something you want to forget about
No one expects you to get out
All on your own with no one around

The Fray – Little House

R&R for mistakes that need fixing or grammar that needs correcting, please.

For now, here's a couple of classic moments of randomness...

*Murdoc:"I'm going to say the word… 'Noir'"

2D:"What?"

Murdoc: "'Noir'. There, done it."*

*2D: "Oh. Noodle, your Tamagotchi pet's died again. It's turned into an angel."

She grabs it off him. Noodle looks at 2D in silent rage.*