Chapter Text
It’s been a week or so since the latest Gorillaz album, Cracker Island. The beloved G-fans have been waiting for it for months, in which they spent their time theorizing and listening to the released singles. Once the 24th hit, Gorillaz fans worldwide celebrated, jamming to their favorite tunes and cherishing their newly-arrived merchandise. What a good time to be a Gorillaz fan. And definitely, a great time to be a Gorillaz band member.
Now that the whole Forever Cult fiasco was dealt with – by stopping their sacrificial rituals, destroying an occult being, and saving 2D – it was time for the Gorillaz to take a well-earned break. A vacation? A hiatus? Or just a simple trip to an amusement park?
They wanted to go to Disneyland or Universal Studios but Murdoc? Murdoc argued that it would be better to find something underrated because, for one, it's cheaper, and second…
“I might've gotten into a bit of trouble in those theme parks a while back,” Murdoc rubbed the back of his head. “Vandalism, disturbing the peace.”
“Of course, you have,” Russel rubbed his temples. He started to regret being freed from the occult influence because somehow, dealing with Murdoc's shit is worse. “Well, maybe we just have to leave you out then.”
“Awh, c’mon, don't be like that,” Murdoc pouted.
“You’re gonna make his eyeballs sweat again, Russ” 2D chimed in.
“I'm counting on it,” Russel retorted. “I thought you wanted to go to Disneyland, D.”
“Who told you that?”
“Your hat?”
“Nice try, but hats don’t talk.”
“Ok, we're going off-topic,” Noodle groaned from the couch. “There are other amusement parks to check out in LA, anyways.”
“I guess you're right,” Russel said after a sigh. “Do you have any park suggestions?”
“Well,” Noodle clicked a bunch of stuff on her laptop before facing it toward the others. “There is one near the beach,” she says as she points at a red pin on Google Maps, located along the west coast.
Noodle reached her arms out, gesturing to Russel to have a look at the laptop. Russel followed along, carrying it in one hand and using the other to scroll. 2D peeked over Russel's shoulder, his eyes scanning the screen as Russ scrolled slowly. Murdoc leaned over to also look.
"Seems lovely," 2D commented. "Nice reviews. Good amount of visitors."
"Heh," Russel chuckled as he handed the laptop back to Noodle. "I've gotta feelin’ that you want to go to the beach more than the park, Noodle."
"So?" Noodle playfully scoffed. "You boys go ride a merry-go-round or whatever while I sunbathe and enjoy the sea breeze. Seems like a win-win situation."
"Not too sure about that," Murdoc interrupted. "You're better off coming with us."
Noodle looked at him confusedly. "I'm pretty sure I can handle being alone. You of all people should know that.”
"Right, right," Murdoc said as he hung his head low.
“Why don’t you bring Moonflower along?” 2D asked as he pointed to the urn on the nearby shelf.
“Agh, will you please shut up about,” Murdoc cut himself off to prevent escalating any tension.
Murdoc glared at 2D for a bit before landing his gaze on the urn to recall what happened. Last Saturday, he and Lady Hollodown were supposed to have a cute little movie date at the drive-in theater. The movie was a bit shit but it didn’t matter because hey, he finally got the girl. But, as his arm moved behind her shoulders, she just poof! Turned into dust. Murdoc looked at her falling ashes in disbelief. Then, he suddenly remembered that Russel would beat his ass if he left this mess on the floor of the car and so he got to work and vacuumed. He still got the girl in the end. In a more literal sense at least.
“Uhh, you see,” Murdoc looked at the urn and walked to it. “She told me that she just wants to have her beauty sleep. Besides, I plan on taking her on another date this weekend.”
“Really,” Russ grinned at his joke.
“Yes, really, isn’t that right, love?” Murdoc played along, talking to the inanimate object as he held it.
No response. Not that he was expecting one.
“You heard her.”
“Ok, get over it, Murdoc,” Noodle groaned. “While you were busy gazing into the…dust particles… of your sweetheart, I bought us tickets. You’re welcome.”
“Woah, hold on, we didn’t even discuss it thoroughly,” Murdoc flicked his head around. “Whose card did you use?”
“We’re going tomorrow morning,” Noodle closed her laptop and swiftly made her way out of the room. “You should get ready for the Youtube live stream.”
“Oh yeah, almost forgot.”
He’s barely ready for the camera and the live stream is in an hour and a half. The camera crew is gonna be here in a bit. They told him that he's going to do stuff on cam for an hour or so. Oh well. Anything for the fans.
——
The stream really tired Murdoc out. Maybe cracked a few joints here and there. And so, that night, he had a good night’s rest. Unfortunately, it got interrupted by a megaphone blasting in his ears.
“Agh! Satan!” Murdoc jolted up. “I will smash that thing to bits!”
“Not my fault you’re a heavy sleeper,” 2D spoke through the megaphone, further annoying Murdoc. “Noodle told me to wake you up. We’re leaving in an hour.”
“That young lady,” Murdoc rubbed his temples and sat at the edge of the bed. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get ready. Now get out of my room or you’re down two cult levels.”
2D hastily walked out of the room at the mention of that, much to Murdoc’s delight. Murdoc averted his gaze to the shelf. Moonflower’s urn.
It’s strange because he was very attracted to Lady Hollodown, he’ll admit that. But, when faced with proof of her demise, he doesn’t give a shit anymore. He does wish her a safe journey to the afterlife or whatever promised land she was worshiping. However, maybe she just wasn’t the right one. Maybe he could not relate to her in any way. Having her ashes in the urn does give Murdoc a wicked kind of ego boost but deep down, he wonders just how his life would be from here on out.
Murdoc chuckled to himself and shook his head lightly. Back then, he wouldn’t ever think of putting much effort into making people swoon over him because he just seems to do it automatically. At least in his eyes. But now, look at him. He did all this to impress the lady next door. Was it for love or was it because he just wanted to mess around with the ladies again?
“Mudz, you better be up and running cuz I don’t wanna wait for your ass,” Russel called out from down the hallway.
Murdoc slowly stood up lest he hurt more of his joints. Maybe he should actually try and follow the Pamela Reif workout videos. After a quick shower (first one he did in the current week) and a change of clothes, he was ready to go with only 15 minutes to spare. He put his personal belongings in his pockets then rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“I left out a sandwich for ya,” Russel said from behind the counter, sliding the plate towards Murdoc.
“Why, you’re the best,” Murdoc grabbed the sandwich and started munching on it. “Y’know. It was hard to eat some good food round here while you were busy getting hypnotized by the telly.”
“Shit was wild.”
Russel was packing a backpack filled with stuff like water bottles, towels, that kind of stuff. Murdoc looked around while chewing on his sandwich.
“Where’s the other two?”
“Noodle’s in the car waiting. I think 2D just went out to go in the car too.”
“Already?”
“You know how she is. Do me a favor and try not to piss her off too much.”
“Why? What happened?”
Russel zipped up his backpack and wore it. “I dunno. I wasn’t able to notice until recently but it seems like she’s been bottling some stuff up.”
Russel walked to the door and flicked the lights off in the mansion, Murdoc following suit. “She seemed pretty fine yesterday. She even asked something in my QnA.”
“Like I said. I dunno,” Russel replied as he opened the door to 2D waving from the gate. “I know you’ve been trying. We all do. It’s just that…”
“I haven’t changed as much as she wanted?”
“I think that doesn’t just apply to you,” Russ said as he waved over to 2D. “She kept to herself for the past months. Probably felt alone in the mess we got ourselves into. For now, let’s just have fun at the amusement park.”
Russel gave Murdoc a pat on the back. “Good talk. Also check if the gas is off then lock the door on your way out,” he said as he walked towards the car.
“Damn,” Murdoc groaned in annoyance.
——
Like what Russel said, they did in fact have fun at the amusement park. Noodle mostly spent her time at the beach while the boys were doing all kinds of stuff at the theme park. Although, they did mostly steer clear of the rollercoasters since 2 out of 3 of them couldn’t handle the loops and the rapid turns. Noodle would occasionally meet up with them to buy and eat some snacks. Now, the whole group was sitting in a cabin on a ferris wheel at Noodle’s insistence. Afterall, the view of the sunset was amazing from up there.
“So, what places did you guys go to?” Noodle asked the three of them.
“Ooh, first, we went to one o’ those roller coasters that weren’t too loopy or fast,” 2D spoke up, smiling gleefully. “And then we went to that ride with the swinging flying chairs. And then we went to the teacup. Then the drop tower.”
“That one’s my favorite,” said Murdoc.
“We also did the pirate ship ride, but we stayed in the middle of it,” Russel. “Then we did a water log ride.”
“Sounds like you guys had fun,” Noodle chuckled. “Disappointed you didn’t get to try the rocketship.”
“I don’t think we’d be able to handle it,” 2D mentioned.
“I would,” Murdoc said.
“You would not,” Russel poked fun at him. “ Your bones cracking was the second loudest thing during the drop tower.”
The gang laughed with each other. It was nice spending time together like this every once in a while. They were the closest thing to family Murdoc could ever have.
“Oh wait, I’m guessing you guys haven’t checked the haunted house attraction,” Noodle said as she grabbed a map from her pocket.
“There’s a haunted house?” Russel asked. “I thought we moved on from that kind of thing.”
“Awh, don’t be so worried, Russ,” Murdoc jabbed at him. “It’s a fake haunted house. Filled with actors.”
“I kinda want to check it out,” Noodle says as she looks over the whole of the amusement park from the top of the ferris wheel. “There could be zombies.”
“Where?!” 2D’s eyes, though blank, lit up with excitement.
After getting off the ferris wheel, they made their way around the theme park to go to the supposed haunted house destination. However, when they looked up from their map, they only found an off-limits gate. They sighed disappointedly in unison.
“Awh, no zombies?” 2D scratched his head.
“Huh, that’s weird, the building’s name is different from the one on the map,” Noodle pointed out.
“What’s the one on the map?” Murdoc asked.
“Nightmare Asylum,” Noodle read it, gliding her finger over the map. “The one in front of us is…”
“Fazbear’s Fright,” Russel continued, gazing at the building with an unknown emotion.
Fazbear. Now why is that a familiar name to Murdoc?
“You know what it is?” Noodle inquired.
“Fazbear was the name of a restaurant chain back in the 80’s to 90’s,” Russel answered. “Actually, I think it’s full name was Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza or something like that. Had a handful of locations spread throughout the country. It shut down during the 90’s though.”
Murdoc looked up at where Russel was looking. There was a sign at the top of the building which said the supposed title of the attraction. The logo looked very familiar. He scanned the metal gate which surrounded the place. A few meters away was a poster of some sorts. Its ends were flowing against the wind which concealed the contents of the poster. He walked to it to investigate.
“Why’d it shut down?” 2D asked.
“For a number of reasons. Bad management. Bankruptcy. Hygiene issues. But the main reason was the missing children.”
“Missing what?” Noodle looked at Russel, shocked at that information.
“That's right. The children have been murdered by some staff employee. They weren’t able to uncover who it was nor were they able to find the bodies. Tragic.”
Murdoc grabbed the poster and straightened it against the fence. He was faced with drawings of some kind of animal robots ranging from bears to chickens. The text on the poster read “Fazbear’s Fright: The Horror Attraction! Based on the unsolved mysteries of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.”
“What did you say, Murdoc?” 2D asked from behind him
He didn't realize he was reading the poster out loud. “This poster.”
“Can’t believe it. I didn't think the company was still up and running,” Russel shook his head in disapproval. “And the fact that they're making a whole ghost attraction based on the missing children’s incident. That's messed up.”
“The audacity,” Noodle tutted.
The gang started to walk away, agreeing to go to some carnival games or food stalls. However, Murdoc didn't follow. He felt this strange feeling. This urge to just break in and investigate. Something about the place was drawing him in. It’s as if someone was telling him to just go in. It’s as if the writer just wants him to go in without any reason just for the sake of continuing the plot.
“Mudz!”
Murdoc turned his head around. “Coming!”
He gave one last look at the attraction and left to go with the rest of the band. Once he reached them, he saw them with two teenagers.
“Oh my god, are you 2D? From Gorillaz?” One of them asked.
“Why, yes I am!” 2D smiled at them.
“Wait, he’s with the others too!” the other teen said as they spotted the rest of the band. “Yo, this is so cool. All hail the Last Cult.”
“Heh,” Murdoc chuckled as he walked up to them. “You're gonna move up a bunch of cult rankings cuz of that.”
One of them squealed a bit. “I’m sorry, I’m like. Very excited right now.”
“You wanna take a pic? It’ll last longer,” Noodle spoke up.
“Yes! Yes, thank you!” The two teens said in unison, one of them hastily pulling out their phone.
The group huddled up to take a group selfie as one of the teens held up their phone high. It was nice meeting fans like this. Murdoc couldn't help but feel all giddy about it. He gave a thumbs up above the teen’s head in front of him, not knowing what other hip and cool and wicked pose he should do.
Right after the young lad pressed the camera button, he felt a force move swiftly along his back. And so did the others. Murdoc looked behind and found two strangers running away from the group.
“Shit, where’s my wallet?” 2D said as he patted his butt pockets.
“What the hell? Those damn,” Noodle cursed as she started running towards the suspects.
The teens looked at the situation with worry and guilt. “What happened? We’ll go help,” one of them said. Russel reassured them that it was ok.
Murdoc started running after the two strangers too, following Noodle. Despite Russel’s screams for him to come back, Murdoc just kept running. He loses sight of the ones in front of him as they turn a corner. And then he turned another corner and another. He was a bit lost until he heard a distant yell of a curse. He eventually caught up to Noodle who was standing outside a metal fence.
“Fuck,” Noodle palmed her forehead in disappointment. “They climbed over and went in there.”
“Let’s do that too then,” Murdoc panted slightly, resting his hands on his knees.
“Oh, I am not getting in trouble again,” Noodle says as she lightly shakes her head.
“Fine, then just,” Murdoc sighed. “Lift me up.”
Noodle raised an eyebrow at him before positioning her hands for him to step on. “You better come back in 10 minutes,” she warned.
“Yeah yeah, don't worry, Noodz,” Murdoc grins as he grabs the fence and steps on Noodle’s hands. “I’m basically a pro at- WOAAH!”
Murdoc screamed as he was basically thrown over the fence. He landed on the upper part of his back, his legs in the air as cartoony as it seems. Murdoc groaned in pain as he rolled over.
“What the hell was that for?!” Murdoc exclaimed.
“You were taking too long,” Noodle gave a smug look as she crossed her arms. “Also that's payback for ditching us.”
“I didn't want to get in trouble with the police, now, did I?!” Murdoc stood up slowly with a hand on his back.
“Well, now you know how I feel,” Noodle says as she puts her hands on her hips. “Just. Get moving or we’ll lose em. I’ll be keeping a lookout.”
Murdoc nodded and proceeded to walk through an open door. He scrunched his nose up as it met the smells of decay and burning metal. Somehow smelling stronger than his own Essence of Murdoc (available to pre-order now for $66.66 at gorillaz.com). He clasped a hand over his mouth and nose. The hallways were filled with this ugly green lighting. For once, his skin fits the color palette of the surrounding environment. To his right was a room of sorts. It had a big window at the front with a wide desk sitting under it. At the corner near him was an assorted box of animal masks and props.
“Find anything?” Noodle yelled from outside.
“Just some weird decor,” Murdoc looked around. “I’ll go ahe- AHH! JESUS!”
Murdoc came face to face with a bear as he bumped into it. He stumbled against the wall and hastily pulled out his phone flashlight. He realized that it was just a bear mask and torso plopped on a metal stand. Metal rods stuck out the sides, making it look like a scarecrow. And Murdoc was certainly the crow in this situation. The realization that he was in Fazbear’s Fright soon came to him.
“What happened?!”
“Nothing! Just tripped. I’ll get going now.”
He walked down the hallways, scanning the walls filled with children’s drawings and animal posters. The ceilings will be decorated with wires, pipes, and those paper hand-holding men. The floor was this dirty, stained black and white floor tile design. If Freddy’s had bad management, they certainly reflected and amplified that in the horror attraction. To be honest, Murdoc’s encountered stuff way worse. Even though he gets startled every time he sees a robot animal prop.
A scream then erupted in a distant hallway followed by frantic shushing.
Murdoc rushed over to the direction of the noise and found two silhouettes in a room filled with arcade machines.
“Hey!” Murdoc yelled. “You can't run forever!”
The two people sprinted into the next hallway as Murdoc ran after them. They turned a corner right as he entered the hallway.
“Come on, come on!” He heard one of them say.
Murdoc reached the doorway which they went through only to be met by a young man falling back on his arse. The guy was whimpering on the floor as he scrambled to get up. A second one, her face covered by a hood ran to her pal and pulled him up. Then, they both quickly ran past Murdoc and back the way they came.
“Just where do you think you’re,” Murdoc yelled but was stopped by a flying wallet to the face.
“Keep your fucking wallet!” One of them exclaimed as they disappeared from view.
Murdoc grumbled as he tucked 2D’s wallet in his jacket.
Wait. What were they running away from?
Murdoc grabbed the doorframe and peeked around the corner. And there stood…just another animal robot prop. This time with all the limbs attached. A full robot rabbit body. Rabbit because of the one and a half ears sticking out on the top of its head. It was standing still at the end of the hallway. Lifeless.
“Guess they got spooked by some prop,” Murdoc mumbled to himself.
At the end of the hallway beside the robot was the exit door. How convenient! He can just go through there and be done with this mission. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked to the door. However, as he was about to push a door, he had a cranking noise behind him followed by a cold breath on his shoulder. Before he could turn around, however, he got forcefully pulled up by his arm.
He was now staring into the cold eyes of his perpetrator.