Chapter 14: Taking Back the City, Part 2

Disclaimer: See Chapter1

2D's neck ached from staring at the sky, adding to his growing list of pains which included his most-likely-broken nose and his throat, which was getting quite sore after hacking out possessive demons. Above him, a pulsing mass of luminous mist shrouded the top of a tall tower and rose up into the atmosphere, hiding its contents from view. Various floating objects were being drawn into the cloud; cars, cardboard boxes, trashcans and more were disappearing behind the misty folds. Soon, 2D thought, we'll be in those clouds too.

The singer tightened his arm around the shoulders of Noodle, squeezing her closer to him as they sat on the stomach of an unconscious Russel. 2D could feel the drummer's stomach gently rising and falling beneath him, a comforting reminder that, despite all that had happened recently, he was still alive. The whole band had made it this far without serious injury… 2D gulped, his hand trembling slightly. What if our luck runs out?

When a head leaned onto his shoulder and an arm wrapped around his waist, 2D let out a long breath, trying to let the warmth of his friend reassure him. He tilted his head to listen as she soothed, "We're going to make it through this together, 2D. We're all here looking out for each other." He felt her lips land briefly on his cheek and couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face.

"I know I'll be safe with you, love." 2D replied, dropping a kiss into her hair. He closed his eyes, allowing his head to lean on top of hers, breathing in the familiar smell of her hair. The singer could feel Noodle stroking his back comfortingly, sending warmth up and down his spine. "Noodle… do you ever get- ah- nervous, or scared, when stuff like this happens? I mean, we always seem to get mixed up in these sorts of messes… zombies and monsters and demons… and you always seem so calm. Even when you were only ten, you looked like you could face anything."

"Of course I get scared sometimes, Toochie," Noodle murmured, her breath misting against his skin as she tucked her nose into his neck. "but I trust my own strength, and I trust the people who look out for me. You, Russel, and Murdoc have been watching out for me for a long time, and even though Russel looked big and scary when I first met him, even though Murdoc often acts before thinking about others, even though you can't think straight when you're taking pills, I know that I can count on you all when it matters."

"Even Murdoc?" 2D inquired softly.

Noodle twisted in his grip. 2D opened his eyes to see her analytic gaze meeting his own. "There's good inside of him, you just have to look very closely. Didn't you two make up? I thought you guys were okay now."

2D shrugged, casting his gaze to his knees. "We're okay. I just wouldn't trust him with my life."

Noodle shifted so that she could face him head on, gently lifting his chin to meet her gaze. "I understand, 2D. He's put you through a lot, and the scars he has given you will take a long time to heal. Some of them may never heal…" A soft fingertip traced the dark circles under 2D's eyes. The singer closed his eyes, allowing the light touch to sooth his damaged skin. "He cares more than he lets on. I think he even feels guilty sometimes. On his best days, I can see him trying to become a better friend to you, to all of us. Change is hard. He may not deserve your trust, but I hope that someday he'll have the chance to truly earn it."

2D sighed. "It would be nice if we could all be a real family that trusts each other."

"We'll get there someday, Toochie." 2D felt her breath against his face a moment before her lips were on his. Her head tilted to avoid touching his broken nose. He wrapped his arms around her, pushing his lips gently against hers as he sunk into her warm embrace. He felt her hand run through his hair as his fingers ran across the soft fabric of her shirt. His eyes were still closed when he felt the air thicken with humidity, a strange sort of electricity making his hairs stand on end. They were in the cloud.

The couple broke apart to see the glowing mist swirling around them. Silhouettes of other floating objects were interspersed through the fog, their forms blurred and distorted. 2D found himself wondering how the rest of his friends were doing. Is that shape the truck that Murdoc is in? It that glowing shape Little Simz? 2D gripped Noodle tighter. It was silly to think that he'd lose her in the fog considering that she was sitting right next to him, but it was a comfort to feel her in his arms.

"I think the mist is thinning out," Noodle said, squinting forward. "The air must be clear in the center of this cloud."

2D could see it too as the shapes around them became a little less blurry and the air he breathed became less humid. However, the glowing mist seemed to be getting brighter. 2D watched as the air in front of them stirred like a shimmery veil. He held his breath as they passed through this final layer of mist and into the center of the cloud.

2D gasped.

It was like being inside of a crystal ball. The luminous mist formed a huge sphere around them; the space was wide enough to hold a large sports arena. Pieces of junk whizzed through the air in broad circular orbits, like electrons around a nucleus or planets around a sun. At the center of their orbits was an immense golden statue resembling a seated man. Its mouth was open as if to laugh or to yell. Squinting up at the gigantic shape, 2D couldn't decide if it looked joyous or enraged. He looked into the statue's glowing eyes, felt a familiar chill run down his spine, and knew.

This was their demon.

2D felt Noodle stiffen beside him. Tearing his eyes away from the statuesque demon, he glanced towards the guitarist and, seeing her gaze flicker towards multiple nearby objects, took a moment to observe the debris.

The closest pieces of junk had paused in their orbits, hanging ominously still in the air. 2D noticed that Russel had also stopped moving towards the demon and was instead hovering just inside of the mist-bound enclosure. Many meters beyond him, 2D could see large masses of objects continuing their flurried orbits, but here, all movement was frozen.

Noodle murmured a phrase in Japanese under her breath. 2D turned to observe her as she took in their motionless surroundings with narrowed eyes. "This can't be good-"

Suddenly, a nearby parking meter darted towards them. It was on a direct collision course with Russel's head. Noodle was standing in an instant, tommy-gun in hand, the muzzle flashing as she fired waves of bullets at the object. As it was hit, the parking meter shuddered. Seeming to lose its enchantment, the object stopped shooting towards them and instead fell straight down, dropping lower and lower until it disappeared through the mist. 2D stared down after it, his heart racing and his breathing fast, until a shout made him look up. He saw that Noodle was now shooting at a large dumpster which had been flying straight towards her but was now beginning to fall like the parking meter. When a trash bin soared towards 2D, it received the same treatment, eating a round of Noodle's bullets before plummeting out of sight. Then came a hubcap, a doghouse, a refrigerator… 2D watched, his mouth hanging open, as Noodle expertly shot down the volleys of assaulting objects. It was like a classic space-invader arcade game turned into a live-action event! The singer stood up carefully, his feet sinking into Russel's ample stomach, and held his scythe at the ready in case anything should get past Noodle.

"2D!" the guitarist shouted, "can you see the others?"

2D looked beyond their immediate field of objects, scanning the chaotic sphere for human life. He spotted a familiar shape hovering near the statue-encased demon. "I can see Little Simz. It looks like she's facing the demon, trying to throw balls of energy at it. Umm... It doesn't look like any of her shots are getting through. It's like the statue has some sort of energy wave coming out of its mouth that's deflecting her attacks."

Noodle growled in frustration. "I'm not sure how we can help her from here! Whatever force lifted us up here has obviously realized that we're not here to protect the demon and isn't going to let us travel any closer!"

As Noodle continued to shoot at incoming objects, 2D took a close look at their surroundings. Some of the floating objects were orbiting very close together, so close that it might be possible to jump between them like stepping-stones in a stream. 2D could imagine a Frogger-like character hopping from object to object, progressing closer and closer to the golden statue.

"Noodle, I think we could get to the center of this place if we jumped between pieces of junk! If we could distract the demon, then either one of us or Little Simz could get close enough to throw our sleeping powder onto it!"

"We can't leave Russel unprotected!" Noodle cried, shooting down a van which had been careening towards the drummer's head.

2D's hands began to tremble again. Tightening his grip on his scythe, the singer took a deep, steadying breath, letting it out slowly and with an ounce of dread. "I'm not doing us any good here. I should go and try to help Simz."

He heard Noodle's breathing hitch. For a moment, her gaze flickered towards him, allowing 2D to see her wide - scared – eyes before they flew back to the incoming rubbish. "2D… We're supposed to be looking out for each other! What if you go out there, and you get hit by something or fall, and I'm not there to help you?"

"I know… It's scary – I'm scared…" 2D tried to fight the tremor out of his voice. "But we all need to be looking out for each other. For all of us. And I think – right now – that means I need to go look out for Little Simz. So that we can end this. So we can all be safe."

2D watched Noodle's face as it silently contorted. She blinked furiously, something wet falling from the corner of her eye as she shot down a flying motorcycle. "Toochie, I wasn't there to help you when the demon possessed you and made you play the spirit piano! I promised last night that I would always be there for you; I can't just break that promise when we're in our most dangerous situation yet!"

The singer carefully edged close to Noodle. He leaned in, brushing his lips along her ear before whispering, "It's okay. I know that you're right here, waiting for me. I know that you'll still be waiting for me when this is all over."

He hovered over her shoulder, watching emotions flit across her face as she kept her eyes trained on the flying debris. Finally, she opened her mouth and murmured in a shaky voice, "Take my bag of powder with you; it's in my back pocket. And be careful."

"I will, love." Pressing a final kiss into her hair, 2D slipped the powder out of her pocket and put it into his own back pocket. He ran to the edge of Russel's stomach. Holding his scythe in one hand, he looked down, saw a full dumpster a few meters below them, and jumped.

Squish!

"Ick!" 2D whined as his elbow punctured a garbage bag and emerged dripping in yellow goo. Looking up, 2D's gaze was caught by a gleaming magenta object perched atop a trash bag, a bright shell of hard plastic. It almost looked like…

"My helmet!" 2D murmured happily, raising the violently colored headwear from the trash. "How did you end up here?" He brushed a few flecks of dirt off the hard surface, thinking about where it had been. Did I accidentally leave it behind at the Library? They must have thrown it away… With a determined look in his eyes, 2D pulled the helmet over his head. The visor had come off, leaving his face exposed, but the singer felt secure with the helmet's strap tightened under his chin. I'll stay safe, Noodle…

Tearing his gaze away from the garbage, 2D scanned his surroundings. He saw what appeared to be a smell jet approaching, its orbit bringing it steadily closer to him. Placing his empty hand on the edge of the dumpster, 2D crouched tensely, waiting as the jet came closer… closer… closer…

2D sprang from his crouch, flinging himself over the back of the jet. The jet's velocity was fast, but slow enough that 2D could hold on. He felt the cool metal beneath his fingertips as he pressed his body against the deactivated machine, his scythe's blade scratching the glossy steel, watching as it continued to soar in a wide arc around the giant statue. Spotting a nearby wagon, 2D noticed that the trajectory of that object's orbit would take it over the statue. It would be much easier to jump down through the objects than to jump up through them to reach the demon… narrowing his eyes in focus, 2D raised his body above the jet, crouched, and jumped towards the wagon-

A metal trashcan slammed into his side.

2D wheezed, the wind having been knocked out of him. Through his struggled breathing, the singer realized that he was falling. He flailed his arms, trying to grab onto something, anything. A vehicle slammed into his back and 2D cried out, hearing his helmet crack against metal and feeling himself roll over the roof of the vehicle, falling into what felt like the bed of a truck before continuing to roll. The back of the truck was apparently open; 2D felt the surface disappear beneath him as his body rolled back into the open air-

Something clamped around his wrist.

2D cried out as he was yanked out of free-fall, his shoulder pulling painfully as gravity and whatever was holding him fought for control. 2D raised his eyes fearfully, tilting his head to meet a gaze almost as wide and frantic as his own.

"Faceache! Let go of the bloody scythe!"

2D looked down. In his panic, he had held onto the scythe even as he was falling. The singer looked back up to where a clammy, green-tinted hand was wrapped around his wrist, and to where another hand was reaching out for him. "If you give me your other hand, I can pull you up! Drop the scythe!"

2D couldn't think straight. He was in pain, he was afraid, and adrenaline was coursing through him, spurring his pulse to a feverish pace. "I-I c-can't! I n-need it! It's my only protection; if I l-let go, I'll d-die!"

"You can have my scythe when you get up here, but you have to let go of that thing so I can pull you up!"

2D didn't like the way Murdoc's nails felt digging into his wrist, or the way his whole body hurt, or the way he was swinging through the empty air. His grip on the scythe was the only thing that felt right, the only thing he could control, and he was being asked to give that up. The singer shook his head jerkily, screaming, "I can't! I can't!"

"Dammit, 2D, trust me!"

Murdoc's voice cracked when he said 2D's name. This made the singer look up at Murdoc's face, taking in the panic that was almost as vivid as his own, realizing the emotions flickering over the bassist's face. Murdoc was genuinely concerned for him.

2D felt the scythe slip through his fingers. His hand was empty. Murdoc's gaze flickered down to 2D's hand, then up to 2D's eyes. He stretched his arm to its fullest extent, beckoning for 2D to grab on. Slowly, shakily, 2D raised his hand, his body twisting as he struggled to grasp the offered hand. With a slight swing, he managed to catch Murdoc's fingers.

Then he was being pulled back into the bed of the truck, his body dragged over the ridged metal floor. The hands were gone from his wrists; he heard the back of the truck bed close with a creak and a click. 2D laid still for a few moments, gasping for breath, allowing his aching body a moment's respite from the chaotic work he had set out to do.

"2D, what were you thinking?" Murdoc fumed. "Jumping across a minefield of speeding trash? You nearly got yourself killed just now-"

2D flung himself onto Murdoc, wrapping his hands around the bassist. "Th-thanks for s-saving me, Murdoc," 2D whimpered, his eyes squeezing closed. To his surprise, he felt the bassist return the gesture almost immediately.

"Whatever, 'D. Just stop flinging yourself in front of moving cars, would 'ya?"

2D chuckled slightly, ignoring the ache which crept across his ribs as he did so. The two friends broke apart, and Murdoc fixed 2D with a harsh stare. "What exactly were you trying to do just then?"

"I was trying to get to Little Simz," 2D replied, glancing back to where the rapper was still unsuccessfully throwing balls of energy at the statue. "She can't take that thing down on her own, since it deflects everything she throws at it. Someone needs to distract it so that one of us can hit it with our powder."

"And you intended to get there by jumping across garbage."

"Yeah," 2D replied sheepishly. "I guess I was lucky I fell into this truck."

"Lucky?" Murdoc replied, raising an eyebrow. "Dull- er- 2D, I maneuvered this truck to get beneath you when I saw you fall."

"You maneuvered it?" 2D said curiously.

Murdoc smirked. "Get in here and watch this."

Murdoc climbed through the back window (which was smashed wide open) and crawled into the driver's seat. 2D followed, settling comfortably into the passenger's seat. The singer watched, intrigued, as Murdoc turned the key in the ignition. The engine revved. 2D tilted his head to the side, frowning. "Murdoc, there's no road up here."

"Screw the road." Murdoc hit the gas. The car lurched forward, speeding through the air as if it were on an invisible highway. 2D's jaw dropped. "B-but… I thought car tires needed friction-"

"Screw friction. 'D, lean back in your seat so that the truck tilts up. I'm taking us to that statue."

2D leaned back. As the car zoomed forward, the singer felt the corners of his mouth turn up into a smile. I'm in a flying car! 2D popped his head out of the window, feeling the wind rush over his face. The car jerked and turned like a roller coaster as Murdoc swerved to avoid flying junk. 2D felt tempted to remove his helmet, stick his hands in the air and pretend he was on a theme park ride. Instead, he quickly pulled his head back into the car as they had a near miss with a flying hot tub.

"Muds, this is great!" 2D shouted.

"Yes. It's also safer and more comfortable than hopscotching across garbage." Murdoc said teasingly, one of his eyes rolling with amusement before fixing its gaze once more onto the statue which was now only meters away from them. "'D, I'm going to drive very close to the statue. I want you to grab the scythe on the floor and try to ding it up."

"Okay, Muds!" 2D seized the scythe and leaned out the window. Murdoc pulled in close to the statue, keeping the passenger-side mirror within a meter of the thing as he drove around it. 2D struck out with the scythe. The weapon made an ugly nails-on-a-chalkboard noise as it scraped the golden surface.

A low roar reverberated through the air. A wave of energy rolled off the statue, causing the car to shudder and shake as it was pushed back by the spiritual pulse. Murdoc quickly regained control of the car, driving it in a broad arc around the statue's stomach. The two men glanced up at the statue's face to see Little Simz still struggling to hit the statue with her energy balls.

"New idea, 'D!" Murdoc announced. "While it's distracted with Little Simz, we'll cover it in powder. Do you still have yours?"

2D reached into his front pocket, pulling out a baggie of powder. "Yeah!"

"I'm going to drive in close again. Throw the powder on the statue!"

Once again, Murdoc steered the truck alongside the statue. 2D opened his baggie, reached in, and threw a handful of powder at the statue. He watched it coat the golden metal, giving it a lightly-floured appearance before being blown away by a passing breeze. 2D felt a cold sensation in his stomach. "Murdoc, it didn't do anything!"

Murdoc cursed. "That golden shell must be protecting it. The powder won't do us any good unless we can find a crack in the shell."

"How about the eyes?" 2D suggested. "The eyes were glowing, so they probably lead straight to the spirit."

"It's protecting its eyes very thoroughly," Murdoc responded, glancing up to where Little Simz was still trying to attack the Statue's face. Murdoc growled. "I don't know how else we can-"

"RAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A huge bellow sounded through the air. Both occupants of the car glanced outward, away from the statue, to where the noise has come from. 2D smiled at what he saw. Russel is awake!

Indeed, the angry drummer could be seen in the distance, Noodle still perched atop his stomach, holding on tightly as the man seized a nearby dump truck and chucked it at the statue. The vehicle traveled quickly through the air like a baseball pitch.

CLANG!

The dump truck hit the statue with a gong-like sound. As the dump truck proceeded to plummet to the ground, 2D felt his smile widen. It had left a crack in the statue. "Muds, quick! Drive us up to that crack!"

Murdoc stomped on the gas and the car shot up, rising over the statue's stomach towards the crack in its chest-

CRUNCH!

Their truck halted suddenly to the sound of crushing metal. 2D felt his body jerk with whiplash, his helmeted head banging off his seat. Looking through the front window, 2D saw a giant, golden hand secured around the front of the truck, crushing it in its grip. Murdoc cursed, stamping on the gas and trying to coax the truck out of the statue's grasp.

2D allowed his gaze to travel up the statue's arm, following it to where it met the shoulder and fused with the damaged chest. The singer looked down at his empty baggie. "Murdoc, do you still have your powder?"

"Yeah, it's in the center cupholder," Murdoc replied, glancing towards 2D. "You have a plan?"

"I'm going to climb up the arm and get to the crack in the chest," 2D said, grabbing Murdoc's powder baggie from the cupholder.

Murdoc hissed, sending a glare towards 2D. "You'd better not fall again. I can't escape this guy's grip, so I won't be there to catch you this time."

Despite his fear, 2D smiled. "I'll be careful," he said.

"Yeah, and I bet that's what you told Noodle before you went trash-jumping."

2D winced. "Well… This time I'll be extra careful."

Murdoc groaned, raising one hand to rub his temples. "If you get killed, I'm going to drag you back to the land of the living just so that I can kill you again. Go on, do the job quickly."

2D took a deep breath. Tucking the full powder baggie into his front pocket, 2D began to climb out of the car window. This wasn't an easy task, but for someone as thin as 2D, it was possible. Soon, he was crawling across the hood of the car and onto the statue's hand.

2D began to scoot up the golden arm, lying flat across the metal as he inched forward. The incline wasn't so steep that he was in any great risk of falling off, but he didn't want to take any chances. The singer grunted with effort as he shimmied over the elbow, across the bicep, and onto the shoulder.

He could feel the metal heating beneath his fingertips; the demon was not happy. However, it appeared to be too busy facing Little Simz's assault to give him much notice. Glancing down at the statue's chest, 2D realized that he would have to fall a few meters to get to the crack. He tilted his head to the side. If I slide down from the shoulder, I'll only have to fall for a few moments, and then I can grab on to the edge of the crack. Turning his body, 2D slid feet-first on his belly past the statue's shoulder, allowing his hands to run over the heated metal surface as he did so. He felt his shoes pass over an opening, then his knees, then his hips, then his chest. Soon, his face was passing over the opening. He winced at the angry, demonic, red light which poured out from the crack. Feeling his hands catch the edge of the crack, the singer pulled himself up so that his elbows rested on the edge. He grimaced as heat burst forth along with the light from the crack; it felt as if he were sticking his head into a furnace. Carefully maneuvering one of his arms, 2D pulled Murdoc's powder baggie out of his pocket. Raising it to his mouth, he hummed with triumph as he tore the baggie open with his teeth and dumped the powder into the crack.

Immediately, the metal became hotter.

The statue began to vibrate.

A noise pierced the air. It started out as the low hum of vibrating metal. It rose in pitch and volume steadily, building into a moan, a whine, a scream. 2D grinned with satisfaction as he felt the sound vibrate through his chest. He knew what this meant; he could practically feel the Demon's pain through the noise it was making. In fact, the noise was so terrible that it was causing 2D's ears a lot of pain, but 2D couldn't cover his ears since he was holding on to the statue to keep from falling.

2D whimpered, feeling the hot metal burn his hands, hearing the dying demon's screech pierce his ears. When a cracking sound joined the screech, the singer looked up to see cracks spiderwebbing across the body of the statue, covering the figure in glowing red lines. 2D felt panic grip his heart. It's going to explode…

"2D! Grab my hand!"

There was Little Simz, hovering beside him, offering an outstretched hand. Quickly, 2D removed one of his own hands from the burning metal and took the offered lifeline. In moments, he was clinging to Little Simz in a sort of desperate hug as she lowered them both into the bed of the truck.

"It's not letting go!" Murdoc shouted, glaring angrily at the golden hand still fixed over the front of the truck. 2D looked up at the statue which, despite its numerous cracks, was not falling apart. He narrowed his eyes in thought as the demon's screeching gradually lowered into a moan.

An angry moan.

2D's stomach lurched as the car moved. He heard Murdoc cursing. The statue was moving, using its arm to lift the truck up before its angry gaze.

"Why hasn't it died yet?" Little Simz cried in frustration, summoning a ball of energy and throwing it into the statue's face.

The statue opened its mouth and swallowed the energy. Little Simz's eyes widened.

The statue's mouth remained open, and a stream of light began to flow into its mouth. Looking around, 2D could see the various floating objects in the statue's orbit connecting to the statue with beams of light. "Guys, I think it's sucking the energy out of this stuff!"

As the statue inhaled the luminous energy, the objects were pulled closer to the demon, their orbits becoming smaller, tighter. 2D saw Russel coming towards them quickly; he was swimming through the air with Noodle now clinging to his back, trying to reach them. 2D waved them over, watching as they arrived beside them.

When Russel arrived, he seized the back end of the car and tried pulling it out of the statue's grip. The large man struggled, bracing one foot against the statue's belly as he tugged at the truck. 2D could see the metal crumpling like aluminum foil in his grip.

Struck by an idea, 2D called through the back window, "Murdoc! Give me your scythe!"

The bassist tossed the requested object to 2D, who caught the handle in his hand. The singer crawled over the top of the truck, slid down the front window and landed on the hood, his feet braced against the statue's hand. He climbed onto the hand, gritting his teeth against the sting of the hot metal, then hooked his legs around the statue's wrist. Squinting at the glowing red cracks in the statue's hand, 2D raised his scythe. He swung, digging the blade into a crack in the statue's knuckles.

The statue howled.

2D grinned when he saw the statue let go of the truck. However, his grin turned into an expression of horror as he saw energy building in the statue's hand. 2D looked up at the truck. Murdoc had been joined inside the truck by Little Simz, who looked exhausted. They were both watching as energy flared in the statue's hand. Russel, with Noodle on his shoulder, was pulling the car away from the statue's hand. Noodle shouted something into the drummer's ear, and Russel reached out to 2D with his empty hand. "'D, grab on-"

BANG!

A beam of light shot from the statue's hand, hitting Russel in the stomach. The drummer flew backwards, soaring with the truck in hand towards the edge of the misty sphere.

"RUSSEL!" 2D cried as his friends became more distant. Far off, he could see Russel struggling, trying to swim back towards him, but the drummer was barely keeping himself from disappearing behind the mist.

2D was alone.

The singer tensed as he felt the statue move beneath him. The metal wrist moved up until 2D was staring into the demon's glowing eyes. The huge metal mouth leered at him as it opened. 2D could feel that furnace-like heat again. An invisible breeze was pulling at his clothes, tugging him towards the spirits mouth as the wrist he was sitting on carried him nearer.

The singer whimpered, wincing as the heat stung his watery eyes. He wanted to scoot away from the demon's face, but he knew that if he loosened his grip, the pull he felt would suck him into that hot, red mouth. He would burn in the spirit's belly. 2D desperately leaned away, rocking backwards without loosening his legs to pull his face away from the terrible heat. As he sat back, he felt something in his back pocket.

What's that? 2D thought, feeling the contents of his pocket form an uncomfortable lump under his seat. It feels almost like the sleeping powder, but I used up all of my powder… Wait a minute! 2D's eyes widened. Noodle! She gave me her powder!

2D grinned, raising his eyes to meet the statue's angry gaze. "You want to eat something? Well, EAT THIS!"

2D reached into his pocket, tore the baggie open, and threw it into the demon's mouth.

2D cried out as the metal beneath him became searingly hot, but he couldn't hear his own scream over the awful noise coming out of the statue's mouth. Desperate to get away from the heat, 2D unwrapped his legs from the statue's wrist.

Then everything exploded.

Once again, 2D was flying through the air. He flailed through the heat, feeling shards of hot metal fly around him and scratch his skin. A particularly large piece of metal hit his leg with a crunch. 2D cried out at the new, intense pain in his limb. Opening his teary eyes wide, 2D glanced around frantically as he was flung through the air, searching for his friends, for anyone who might be able to help him. Instead, 2D's eyes found a large chunk of the statue's metallic chest flying towards his head. He watched the hunk of metal as it raced towards him, raising his arms and releasing one final scream before a brief pain made everything go black.

. . .

Noodle gasped.

The statue exploded, bursting like a case of red and gold fireworks. For a long moment, the sky was filled with flashing lights and a bone-rattling demonic scream.

Then, it was gone.

A cloud of smoke rose into the air. Chunks of gold plummeted to the earth. The mist that had surrounded them no longer glowed and was rapidly dispersing. And the floating objects…

Noodle's stomach lurched as she felt Russel began to fall. Fisting her hands into his shirt, Noodle looked down to see that Russel was shrinking back to his normal size. His hand on the back of the truck became smaller and smaller until it was dwarfed by the size of the indentation it had previously made. Noodle hugged Russel's back tightly as he pulled them into the bed of the truck. Unfortunately, the truck wasn't flying anymore.

Noodle, still holding onto Russel, watched as Murdoc frantically pressed buttons in the front seat, as if he could convince the car to fly again. Little Simz was slumped over with exhaustion in the passenger's seat. Noodle could tell by the reflection in the rearview mirror that her eyes were no longer glowing. Glancing up at Russel's face, Noodle saw his shining eyes stretched wide. None of them had a plan. They were in free-fall, and there was no way to stop it.

Noodle hugged Russel tighter as tears formed in her eyes. She could feel him hugging her back with one arm while he used his other arm to hold onto the truck. Wind was whistling past her ears so loudly that it sounded like a scream; she could be screaming herself without being able to hear her own voice over the wind. As they dropped lower and lower, they passed the tops of the tallest skyscrapers, windows flashing past them to quickly to make out the individual panes.

Noodle estimated that they had about fifteen seconds before they hit the ground. The guitarist took a deep breath, buried her face into her father-figure's shoulder, and closed her eyes.

They were falling…

CLANG!

Noodle looked up. Some sort of harpoon had launched itself through the bed of the truck. They were still falling, but as the bungee-like cord attached to the harpoon stretched tight, their descent slowed. For a moment, the truck paused in midair, about three stories away from the ground.

Then the truck was bouncing back up, flying along the path of the harpoon's cord. Noodle felt slightly sick as the contents of her stomach bounced up and down. Judging by the retching noises coming from the driver's window, she wasn't the only one.

The cord bounced up and down a few times before the truck finally became still. They found themselves suspended next to the ninth floor of a tall hotel. The hook began to be reeled back from whence it came, pulling itself and the truck slowly towards the roof of the building. Noodle watched the cord as it became shorter, disappearing over the edge of the roof. They were only four floors away now… three floors… two floors…. one floor…

The back of the truck cleared the roof.

The vehicle shuddered and bounced as it was dragged over the short wall surrounding the rooftop. As the truck went still, Noodle cautiously let go of Russel, looking around him to find the source of the harpoon. Her eyes followed the cord into the shadows near the upper entrance of the building, where a short figure could dimly be made out standing, the chord attached to their hand. Noodle tensed as the figure stepped out from the shadows, into the pale light descending through the cloudy sky.

Noodle had never seen this woman before. In fact, she had never seen anyone like this woman before. She had pale lavender skin which, although odd, looked rather nice with her deep amethyst eyes. Her petite figure looked almost childlike, but her face held a definite no-nonsense expression. She was dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Some of the height she lacked was made up for by an elegant black afro which circled her head like a halo.

She looks like an alien from the age of disco, Noodle thought.

Realizing that her mouth was hanging open, Noodle quickly pulled her jaw shut. Allowing her gaze to sweep once more over their rescuer, Noodle was startled to realize that, rather than holding the harpoon chord, the mysterious woman had the chord attached to a motor built into her left arm.

Make that a cyborg disco alien, Noodle thought. Then it hit her. Wait… She's not just 'a' cyborg… She's…

"Long time, no see," droned a familiar robotic voice eerily similar to her own.

"Cyborg Noodle?" Russel said, his eyebrows shooting up.

The cyborg looked irritated at this statement. "I'm not called 'Cyborg Noodle' anymore. It's just-"

"CYBORG!" Murdoc stomped angrily out of the truck, marching straight up to his former servant. "What the devil are you doing here? For years you've been gone, and you didn't try to contact me once! Not once! Your own creator!"

"I just saved your life," Cyborg hissed, leaning forward to give Murdoc a death stare. "if I were you, I'd quit complaining and be grateful."

"Thank you for saving us," Russel said. "What brought you here?"

"I was staying at this hotel with my friend, Henry. He wanted to meet my old friends. We were going to visit you tomorrow. When the zombie invasion began, I put him in a closet with a few pocket-watches to fix. He probably doesn't even know what's happening. I was watching from the window and I thought I saw you guys moving across town. I ran to the roof to watch, and I was here to catch you when you fell."

"Did you catch anyone else?"

It was the first time Noodle had spoken since they had stopped falling. She didn't like how small and raspy her voice sounded, or the way her bandmates' eyes widened in realization, somber looks crossing their faces.

"Anyone else?" Cyborg responded, turning towards her former model.

"2D… he got separated from us," Noodle murmured, trying to keep her voice steady. "He was closer to the center of the explosion. Did you see him?"

Cyborg stared at Noodle, her face expressionless. Noodle thought she saw her purple eyes twitch. "I didn't see anything else… I thought you were all in the truck."

Noodle's eyes were burning. She closed them only to envision 2D falling, spiraling through the air before hitting the solid pavement, bits of debris falling on top of him…

Noodle opened her eyes wide. "We have to find him," She said. "He'll be around this city somewhere, close to the area beneath the explosion."

"Noodle," Russel started in a soft voice, "2D had a long way to fall, and he probably got hit hard by that explosion… The helmet he was wearing wouldn't have done him much good-"

"Cyborg!" Murdoc said in a commanding voice. "Do you still have the tracker?"

Seeming to forget her animosity towards the bassist, the cyborg replied, "Yes. If the chip you put in his foot is still there, I can find him."

"Let's get on with it then," Murdoc ordered.

Noodle was feeling enough emotions of her own at that moment, but if she wasn't mistaken, she thought she heard a tremor in the bassist's voice.

. . .

There was a small park in the center of town. A border of tall cedar trees usually enclosed a pristine grassy field. Today, however, it was filled with a staggering pile of rubble no smaller than a large building, including vehicles, trash, and fragments of a large, gold statue.

The group (minus Little Simz, who was resting in Cyborg and Henry's hotel room) was gathered at the base of the heap of debris when a light on Cyborg's shoulder began to flash, accompanied by a shrill beeping noise. "He's in here," she said, her gaze sweeping over the pile.

"Where in here?" Noodle asked. "Is he at the edge? In the center? How do we find him?"

Cyborg detached the tracker from her shoulder and handed it to Noodle. "If someone is going to pinpoint his exact location, it should probably be the lightest one of us, so the trash doesn't shift too much."

Noodle accepted the device, looking down at the screen where a small arrow was pointing her forward. She began to climb up the rubbish heap, holding the tracker in one hand as she used the other to lift herself over the steep obstacle course. She rose up and up, the arrow resolutely sending her forth, moving carefully as rubbish shifted and sunk beneath her.

"Target reached. Target reached."

She looked down at the blinking machine, then looked around. She was at the far side of the park, where trash had piled high against the rim of overhanging trees, hiding in their dark shade. The rubble was several meters deep here.

Noodle felt her eyes water. Excavating this area would take days. Perhaps even weeks. And even if they lifted all this trash, even if they found 2D quickly…

2D had a long way to fall, Russel's words echoed in her head. Hit hard by that explosion… Not much good…

Something wet fell onto Noodle's hand. She hadn't realized she'd been crying. She could feel it now though, the burning in her eyes, the wetness streaking down her face, her breath hitching as drop after drop fell onto her arm.

Noodle closed her eyes and cried.

Her bandmates could probably see her hunched over, her back facing towards them. She didn't care if they could see her shaking, or if they could hear her sobbing. She could feel the teardrops falling quickly onto her skin as she wrapped her hands around her knees, curling into a tight ball.

After all they'd been through… Why him? Why now? They were finally free from the spirit-demon, they had only just begun to enjoy the newest level of their relationship, he'd finally found confidence in himself, and made up with Murdoc, and begun to feel like he had a chance at a real family, and now he was gone!

Noodle dug her nails into her legs. She wondered if things had been quick for him… Maybe he'd been hit in the head and knocked out cold immediately after the explosion, and he never had to know the fear and isolation of falling to his death alone.

She hoped he hadn't suffered.

She wished she could hug him one last time.

Noodle sniffled, wiping her arm over her face. She needed to go back to the others. They could excavate his body together.

Something smelled weird…

Noodle sniffed. When she had wiped her arm across her face, it had left a strange, rusty scent near her nose. Noodle cracked her eyes open and looked down at her arm.

It was covered in streaks of fresh blood.

Noodle stared at the red smears, her mind numb.

Drip.

A fresh drop of blood fell onto her arm.

Slowly, Noodle craned her neck up, observing the trees which hung over the pile of trash. It was hard to make anything out in the deep, thick shade cast by the bushy evergreens, but a few meters above her head, Noodle thought she could make out a bright color… magenta… something caught on one of the tree branches.

Noodle inched forward, looking up as her eyes adjusted to the shade. A drop of blood fell on her nose.

The magenta object was a helmet, caught in a tree branch. The helmet was attached to a person with long limbs and closed eyes.

"Toochie… TOOCHIE! GUYS, HE'S HERE! HE'S IN THE TREE!"

Noodle stood up on shaky legs. Distantly, she could hear her companions stomping through the rubble, making their way towards her. Seeing where the tree trunk poked out of the trash, Noodle stumbled towards it. She jumped onto the trunk and tried to climb, but there were no low branches to hold onto, the bark was peeling beneath her nails, and she felt herself sliding down, losing her grip and falling on her back onto the trash with a soft crunch.

"Where is he?"

Noodle looked up. Cyborg had been the first to arrive, probably aided by her strong mechanical legs. Noodle raised a trembling hand to point up into the tree branches.

Cyborg scanned the branches, following Noodle's finger to where 2D's dark form blended with the shadows, barely visible save for his bright magenta helmet. Noodle watched as the cyborg raised her own arm, aiming it at the base of 2D's branch. A grappling hook shot out of her arm and stuck to the tree, wrapping around the branch and pulling Cyborg into the shadows. The cyborg worked around 2D, untangling branches from his clothing and removing his helmet. Then, slowly and carefully, Cyborg picked up the man in both of her arms. She extended her arms, lowering 2D gradually out of the shadows, exposing his injuries in the pale light of the overcast day before placing him gently on an old mattress lying a few feet away.

By now, Russel and Murdoc had caught up. As cyborg lowered herself from the tree, the three bandmates approached 2D's still form. Climbing onto the edge of the mattress, Noodle observed the singer's injuries.

The worst wound appeared to be in his left leg. It was bent slightly halfway between the knee and the foot, and his jeans were soaked in dark red blood. Also concerning was the trickle of blood smeared below his ear. He was covered in various scratches and bruises, an unpleasant pattern of red lines and purple shades marring his pale skin. Fortunately, his head appeared to have been kept relatively safe by the helmet, although there were numerous scratches on his face.

Noodle lifted a trembling hand, sliding it beneath the motionless man's jawbone. She shuddered at the feeling of his cool, clammy skin. Gently applying pressure with her fingers, Noodle searched for a pulse.

For a long moment, there was complete silence.

Noodle's breath hitched when she felt his blood pump.

"He's alive," she whispered. She could sense her bandmates edging closer as she kept her hand pressed below his neck, needing to feel the soothing beat of his pulse. "His pulse is faint, but it's there. He's alive."

A round of relieved sighs swept through the group.

"We'd better try to patch him up, before he gets any worse," Cyborg said. "I doubt that this city's hospital is fully functional right now, so let's see what we can do on our own."

Noodle nodded in agreement. She began gingerly removing 2D's shirt to check for chest injuries while Cyborg cut away the left leg of 2D's jeans. Noodle was dismayed to see the huge bruise covering the singer's ribs; he had obviously been hit by something hard. Glancing down at 2D's now-exposed leg, Noodle felt her stomach twist at the sight of the awful bloody gash marking where the singer had probably broken his leg. Noodle watched as Cyborg began to set the bone, shifting his leg gently but nevertheless causing the flesh to twist and a small spurt of blood to gush over the wound. Noodle winced, looking away. She knew that it was necessary, but it was painful to watch.

"Oh… Owww… Ahhh!" A shrill moan caused every head to turn towards the singer's face.

Noodle quickly crawled to 2D's head. Roused from unconsciousness, his face was now contorted in pain, his eyes scrunched shut as hisses and whines passed through his gritted teeth. Noodle placed a hand on his cheek, brought her lips to his ear, and whispered soothing words to him.

"Toochie, it's okay, it's okay… I know it hurts; we're going to make it better, I promise."

"N-n-nood-d-dle… i-ih- hurts-s… m-my l-l-leg… Aoowwww!"

"Shhhh… I know, Toochie, I know… We're fixing it, it'll be better soon," Noodle cooed, petting his hair as the man continued to moan.

"I'm going to inject some local anesthetic into his leg," Cyborg intoned. "See if you can get him to relax; it'll go in smoother if he's not so tense."

"Did you hear that, Toochie?" Noodle whispered. "Cyborg is here, she's fixing your leg. You need to relax so that she can make it stop hurting. Can you relax for me, Toochie? Please?"

2D's eyes opened. They flickered towards Noodle, to the cyborg, to his other two bandmates who were now crouching on his other side.

"Listen to Noodle, 'D," Russel said, placing a large hand on the singer's shoulder. "We're trying to help you. Just relax."

"Yeah, 2D," Murdoc added, hesitantly placing his own hand over 2D's arm. "We're going to make the hurting stop. Trust us."

2D still looked scared, but Noodle could see him visibly trying to relax, taking in deep, shaky breaths as he listened to his bandmates. "That's it, Toochie," she whispered, kissing his cheekbone tenderly. "Breathe deeply. Relax."

Noodle glanced down to see a needle emerge out of one of Cyborg's fingers. She turned back to 2D's face, stroking his hair with one hand and taking his hand with the other. 2D whimpered as the needle pierced his leg, Noodle could feel his hand shake. Soon, however, the singer's whimpers quieted, and his face began to relax.

"Are you feeling better now, Toochie?" Noodle murmured.

"Yeahhh…" 2D sighed, his breathing evening out substantially. "Still sore… but not so bad now."

"Can you tell me where you're still hurting?"

"Chest hurts… and my head is throbbing a bit. My skin feels all stingy."

Noodle sighed. The chest and skin pains could be explained by the cuts and bruises all over 2D, and the throbbing head was only natural since the man had been knocked unconscious. He might have a few broken ribs and a concussion, but hopefully, he had avoided severe internal injury.

"Love… there's blood on your face…"

Noodle watched as her bandmate raised his hand weakly, skimming his fingers against her cheek to rub off some of the dried blood crusted onto her skin. Noodle caught his hand, holding it in both of her own as she gave him a faint smile. She could feel fresh tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Don't worry about me, Toochie. It's your blood, but we're patching you up. We're all okay."

2D smiled back at her, the scratches on his face stretching as he returned her grin. "All okay- that's good. And the spirit?"

"It's gone, Toochie. You finished it off."

2D's grin stretched wider. "I used the powder you gave me. It saved me."

A happy tear fell from Noodle's eye. She laid carefully next to 2D, placing one arm lightly over his chest in a gentle hug. "This mess is over. We're together, and we're safe."

She felt 2D's head turn to Nuzzle her hair. "Together. I like that."

Next thing she knew, her bandmates were joining in on the hug, gently climbing onto the mattress to give 2D and her a light squeeze around the shoulders. Even Cyborg joined in, finishing tying 2D's leg to a brace and extending an arm to rest over them. Murdoc didn't even grimace.

Noodle smiled, lifting her head to meet 2D's eyes. It was really over.

They had won.

. . .

Yaaay, nobody died! (but if you were really hoping for a character death, I suppose I could give someone a heart attack in the epilogue.)

Fun fact: when I was writing this chapter, I did a bit of research (I glanced at a Wikipedia page) on a man named Nicholas Alkemade. He jumped out of a burning plane 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) in the air, fell on a pine tree, and survived with only a sprained leg!

The moral of this story is: If you're falling, land in a pine tree.

Also, sorry if Murdoc got a bit OOC actually caring about his bandmates. I was trying to give him a character arc.

Thank you all for reading and stay tuned for the epilogue!