A taxi could come later. Right now, Noodle needed a walk.

The rain had succeeded in clearing much of the streets, giving her vital alone time to sober up and contemplate. She was aware of the very vague direction of Kong, though many of the pubs and businesses had changed in name, or in building entirely. It was a dangerous game using remembered landmarks in a city that was desperately and frantically changing, trying to cure its own self-inflicted diseases with new buildings and layouts. Noodle was fairly sure she knew where she was, though.

Just a couple of hours prior, she would've dropped everything to hear what Deborah's diagnosis was. Now it was all starting to make sense, why it took her so long to determine the causes of any strange brain activity. Noodle cringed, she simply couldn't believe that drug-induced hallucinations were behind all this. She'd almost take good-old-fashioned psychosis over all that. The strings holding together her psyche were getting thinner by the day, and she knew it, but there was no other option but to hold on tighter. Or fall.

Two men across the street whispered something and laughed as she passed. They were talking about her, she thought. Or they recognised her. She hadn't been confronted in-person by any vengeful fans, or at least for former fans, since 2D died. She hadn't been outside enough for that. She couldn't recall if the world, the environment, always felt quite so judgemental. Whispers and jeers floated by without sources, with her own footsteps drawing unseen eyes from the windows overhead. Noodle cursed herself for drinking so much with Murdoc, clearing her head via a drive would have felt far more secure. Maybe she should've taken her chances.

Passing an alleyway, she sensed a set of eyes on her. Head down and arms folded, she kicked up the walk to a brisk one, confident that if the individual wanted to to anything more than look, it'd end up worse for them than for her.

As it happened, they did.

"Noodle?"

It took Noodle a couple of steps to un-ignore the call. She spun round to see 2D emerging from the alleyway. He'd apparently lost his jacket somewhere, as he stood shivering in just a T-Shirt and jeans, skin even paler than normal. He looked terrible.

"Are you alright?" He croaked, as if he was in any position or ability to help in any way if she wasn't.

Noodle stared at his sad, soggy face, one eye slightly squinted shut from the wet lock of blue hair plastered in front of it. It was a face she'd drawn less and less comfort from as the days and weeks passed. His more infrequent and shorter visits, in conjunction with her own investigations into what he was, felt telling in a bad way. It was the face of someone who was hiding something, and was feeling guilty about it.

"I'm just trying to get home, D."

"Cool, I'm just gonna be with you while you do that, ok?"

"If you want." She turned and resumed walking. She tried to up the pace even quicker as a form of put-off, but his alarmingly long legs meant a brief jog was all he needed to catch up to her, with a normal walk by his standards to match her.

They walked in silence, 2D spending much of the walk staring at the rain hands in his pockets. Occasionally he hopped over puddles and pointed ones out near to her, lagging behind only when she took a direction he didn't expect, only for some exaggerated strides to catch him up once again.

"I'm sorry I haven't been about much." He said with an exhale. It seemed as if he'd been hoping for a smooth segue into the topic, but silence was hard to build on. "I didn't know what to do, so I was visiting mum and dad."

Noodle stopped and turned to him, dumbfounded. "You can visit them? And they can see you?"

He nodded in a way that could be confused as a jaunty head bob. "I hadn't really wanted to before. Wanted to be here for you. But I was getting really stressed out and it just felt like I wasn't helping at all, so I got away for a bit."

Noodle shook her head and resumed walking. "Well, maybe you should float around to some other people."

2D's eyes narrowed in confusion before jogging to catch up. "But I don't want to be with them."

"Why not? Why me?" Noodle sighed, looking up to the sky.

"Because…because this is my fault. If I hadn't been hit with the car you wouldn't be going through all this."

"Oh my god, ok." She stopped and grabbed him by the sides of the arms, shaking them slightly in an attempt to transmit sense. "Listen to me right now. The very worst thing you could be doing for me is feeling guilty. That does absolutely nothing. You want to be helpful? Conjure up an umbrella."

He let out a small chuckle, but his face under the street light still conveyed one of anguish. He gave a wet, rather gross sniff. "I can't do that."

She returned with a laugh of her own. "Well I have to ask, apparently. You can visit other people, who knows what else you can do."

Their walk began once more, leisurely now Noodle was a bit calmer. "I don't think I ever properly said thanks, by the way."

"What for?"

"For the bracelet. Been wearing it since I found it."

"Oh love, that'd been under the floorboards for years, it's probably covered in woodworm."

"They're stones."

"Yeah, what about the worms that fell?"

She laughed, "I'll survive."

"I hope so."

"It was very sweet. I wish you'd given it before."

"Me too. Can I see?"

Noodle stopped again and hoiked her jacket sleeve up to present the bracelet to him. Most of the stones had spun round so that they weren't displaying letters or, in one stone's case, a number. Taking her wrist in one hand and leaning down to get a better look, 2D began carefully adjusting them to spell her name once more.

She watched his intense concentration as he did so, the small and insignificant act filling her heart with joy. It was as close as she had come in a month to seeing his creating face, a small stupid tongue poking out at the side of his mouth.

His easy to read emotions - helped by most of those emotions being positive - were a big factor in what quickly made him her favourite when she'd been unboxed by the trio over twenty years prior. He was also the easiest to understand as a non-English speaker. They were having entire conversations long before they could understand two words of each other, likely about different topics entirely, but both getting by through sheer tone. Russel always sounded wise and Murdoc always sounded angry, regardless of how they were actually feeling, and it took a long time to unlearn that that wasn't their permanent, default states. Noodle wasn't certain she had even fully unlearned it now.

2D didn't have a default state. He was sad, and joyous, and irritable, and forgiving, and excitable, and cocky, and he wore it all with an earnestness that only someone completely unaware could pull off. It was all him and it was all normal. Russel taught her book smarts. Murdoc taught her street smarts. 2D taught her what a human being should be.

Something had changed after Plastic Beach, and on one hand it should be no surprise, they all had. Russel had to finally accept that they were never going to be a normal band. Murdoc had learned that creating a big enough monster meant that you were in that monsters sights should he go on a rampage. She had come to terms with Gorillaz being bonded to her for life, not just a chapter of it. And 2D? His change was the one she liked least of all. He was less assured. He'd been wrong more often than not before, but after Point Nemo he was afraid to be wrong, tried actively to avoid being wrong. A cockiness for his own ability was replaced with an insecure overcompensation. He second-guessed what the right thing to do was. And he became harder to read, perhaps on purpose.

"There, all better!"

She looked down at the bracelet. NOODI3 stared back at her.

The old 2D would have given this to her as soon as he saw her again.

Noodle looked at him, his toothy grin showing a warm pride that contradicted his shivers.

She gave him a tight hug, choosing to care later about the effect his soaking wet shirt would have on her body temperature.

"I think you're very dumb." She mumbled into him affectionately.

"Maybe." He stated as he hugged back, giving a tight squeeze. "Still love ya, though."

She squeezed tighter in return and began walking as she released. "Right, I need to call a taxi, this rain is atrocious."

"What's wrong?" There was a tremble in his voice all of a sudden. Noodle took out her phone and attempted to wipe the screen dry on any part of her that wasn't just as wet.

"Hmm? Nothing, just had enough of the walk."

"Hang on, what's going on?" It had grown to panic. Noodle turned and faced him. He was rooted in the same spot, breathing hard and staring at her as if she were about to disappear.

She approached him and held a hand out reassuringly. "I need to go home and talk to Russel. The woman he sees for Del got back to him about me, she knows why I keep seeing you in my…"

She trailed off. Her stomach dropped and her legs lost almost all feeling.

"…dreams…"

He'd caught her off guard by being into an unfamiliar place. An unsafe place.

"I'm asleep. You're here, I'm sleeping. But I'm not at Kong, where am I?! D, Where am I?!"

He was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"I don't know, I only just got here…" He squeaked "…I only just got back."

Noodle ran out onto the quiet street, checking in vain to see if she could spot her own prone body. She must've been walking an hour at least. She could've passed out anywhere, could be anywhere right now.

She went to 2D, using her hands to paste the wet hair out of her face. "I have to wake up, I have to—"

"STOP!"

Noodle jumped as 2D lunged in her direction, grabbing her arms and holding on for dear life. "Stop, please!" He repeated, looking more through her than at her, "What are you doing?!"

She stared at him in terror. "What are seeing? Toochi, what are you seeing?"

He focused on her and let out a half gasp, half sob. "Noodle, you have to wake up."

It was the first time he had told her to do that in all the dreams they'd had together. The first real time he'd acknowledged this not being real. That meant something much more real was happening.

"Please Noods, please please wake up."

"What's going on, what are you seeing?"

"They're taking you."

The last bit of strength in Noodle's legs gave out, and 2D squeezed her arms tighter to keep her upright. He shifted off the pavement and onto the road to assist himself.

"Who is?" She whimpered, hope draining quickly.

"I don't know, I don't know! I can't stop them, Noods, please, you gotta wake up."

"I don't know how!"

"I'm sorry I was gone, ok? I won't go away anymore." He was pleading. Tears occupied more of his face than rain did at this point. "I promise, I won't leave again. You just have to wake up now."

"I can't!"

"You CAN!" He gave her a single desperate shake. For the first time in a while, Noodle noticed headlights emerging in her peripheral vision. The engine was nearly silent, however.

"The only thing I know for sure that does it is when you…"

She turned her head to look at the car. A black saloon with a round, dented front.

"I don't want you to die." 2D whispered.

Noodle wiped her eyes and turned to him, defiant. "I'm not going to, ok? I'm going to wake up."

"Please…."

"I need you to trust me, ok?"

He nodded, eyes screwed shut. She shook free of his grip and held his face in her hands.

"Look at me."

He obeyed, opening his eyes to reveal a faint red around the edges. The car was picking up speed quickly, and was just a few seconds from passing them.

"I'm sorry." She said, and coughed out a small cry of her own. "But trust me. I'm really sorry for this."

As hard as she could, she shoved him out onto the street. He took long, off-balance strides as Noodle, now without him for structural support, wobbled back until she hit the wall.

2D's eyes stayed locked with hers as the car collided with him. Without a wall to stop its progress, the car sent him somersaulting over the car entirely, ankles snapping as they hit the ground, the rest of him following quickly in a heap.

Noodle covered her mouth, unable to look away from him. His breaths were short and sharp, unaware of the stream of blood that was emerging from his mouth.

The ambience around them fell silent. The rain stopped. Their matching gaze remained.

"GET OFF!"

Noodle yelled before she even knew she was awake, all other senses playing catchup.

Lights were dim and the smell was familiar. She kicked at anyone that might have been in her vicinity, most meeting air except for one swinging down foot that connected against something soft and springy.

She pushed herself up and looked around.

It was her room.

In the corner on a chair, rubbing his face with two large hands, was Russel.

"Thank god." She heard him say behind the hands.

Noodle took a few more looks around for certainty. Whiskey was under her bed. A melodica was in her nightstand. Her phone had a crack down the middle. Little things that kidnappers wouldn't think to fake.

"What's going on?" She asked Russel.

"I was planning on asking you the same thing." He replied quietly.

His deep breathing indicated relief, but his face wasn't one of happiness.

"How am I here?"

"Depends what you remember."

She closed her eyes. 2D's prone, gasping face stared back at her. She opened them again.

"You were out with Muds, because-" he noticed her puzzled expression and mouth curling into a 'how' position, "you'd only drink rum when you're with him and you reek of it. I didn't get no word from you when I texted, 3 hours later the door goes, and when I switch the hallway light on I hear a car speedin' off. You're there unconscious on the doorstep. That all sound right?"

Noodle strained to remember, but it was like being asked to remember her third arm.

"I don't remember the car. The lift." She said weakly.

"You know who gave you the lift?"

She shook her head.

"Murdoc thought I was Uber-ing it."

"Wouldn't expect you to say yes if he offered to drive, anyway. Did he check on you?" He kept his voice quiet and calm, but with a firmness that told her that every question needed an answer.

"I don't know." She opened her phone.

Murdoc had texted her, but not to check she made it home safe. It was an address. And she was quite sure she remembered what it was for.

"No. He didn't message." She locked her phone and put it away quickly.

Russel huffed. "Typical." He stood to his feet with effort. Seemed like he'd been sitting there a while. "I'll let you rest. I'm real glad you're safe. We'll talk about what happened tonight and Deb's news tomorrow." He shrugged hopelessly. "Or whenever. Whenever you want."

He looked utterly defeated. He showed no sign of expecting to be stopped as he headed to the bedroom door.

"I want to hear it." Noodle said quickly. "What she thinks is going on with me."

"Do you think now's the…" He stopped himself from going further. Instincts were hard to kick. "Ok. I asked her to send it in a voicemail so you could hear it in her words."

He took out his phone and tapped around until he got to the voicemail section. Noodle sat up, her knees hugged against her chest. He pressed and a small, tinny version of Deborah's voice rang out.

"Hi Noodle, this is Deborah from Westover Alternative Surgery. Thank you for being patient while I looked over your results. I did notice you appear to be under the influence of some sort of psychedelic, which made things a little trickier, but nothing I haven't managed before. First off, I can confirm there is a degree of abnormality in your brainwaves when unconscious. Traditionally our dreams occur in the REM stage, but it appears that yours are primarily happening during what's known as Delta Sleep, the stage where our sleep is at its deepest. It's the Mariana Trench of sleep, where our bodies are the most shut down, so normally there shouldn't be dreams at all, let alone the ability to remember them so vividly. This did lead me to believe some outside interference could be taking place to allow Stuart to project to you, so what I always do at that point is check the vicinity for any spiritual residue. I know that makes it sound like I'm merely visiting bathrooms with a UV light, fortunately we're far more advanced these days. So I'm aware Stuart died in your home, but just to be safe I checked a 5 mile radius. After that I checked a 15 mile radius. And to be extra certain, I pulled a few favours and executed a 50 miles radius search, as Russel informed me Stuart's parents live in Crawley. I'd love to explain further, but I'm afraid that was where my research ended. The only supernatural entity currently present in a 50 mile radius is in Gravesend, which is a client I've been seeing for a number of years. Other than that, you are completely clear, and I can confirm no supernatural entities are communicating with you. Some find this a relief, others a disappointment, so I will remain neutral on the matter. As I mentioned, you do possess some unusual brain activity when sleeping, which is why I will be in contact with Russel with the numbers of several sleep, grief and psychosis therapists that I recommend wholeheartedly. I do hope this news doesn't cause any doubt within yourself, miss. You seemed a strong and smart girl in our brief time together, and I have no doubt that with the right people by your side, you will come out of this even stronger. Take care now. Bye bye."