Noodle was lost.
She and the rest of the band had arrived in this city earlier in the day. As the stage crew prepared for a concert that night, the band had decided to take a look around.
She loved her boys, but they had really boring interests.
Murdoc had run off to hit the pub. She didn't know that that was, but Russel told her that it was not a place for little girls. So she was stuck with him and 2D.
2D had found a keyboard store, which was boring, and Russel had dragged her into a bookstore, which was even more boring!
While he was at the far end of the store, flicking through a hardcover book and shaking his head, Noodle snuck out to go explore. She wanted an adventure.
And an adventure it was! She loved skipping down the streets and side streets, gazing at her reflection in the storefront windows, saying hi to everyone she passed. Everyone said hi back. Everyone. Even a black and white dog that was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car had responded "hello there" when she came up to him shouting "hi dog!"
It became much less of an adventure when she realised she was lost.
It was no longer wonderful. The sidewalk seemed more grimy. The faces of the people walking past seemed more and more unfriendly. The tall retro-futuristic buildings she had admired when she first entered the city now seemed alien and imposing.
She was lost.
She'd been so lost in her own dreamland that she didn't know where she came from and which streets she took.
Noodle huddled against the side of a red-brick building, looked up tearfully and cried out "Lost! Help?" to anyone who walked passed. They only glanced at her, then continued on their merry way.
This was vastly different from the friendly demeanours of the people a few streets over.
Noodle closer to the side of the building and pulled her cardigan tightly around herself. She felt cold. The sun was no longer warm. She pressed her cheek against the brick, closed her eyes and held back a sob.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw several large masses of green heading towards her on the sidewalk.
She stood up straight and her jaw fell open in shock. The green masses were people! And Murdoc was among them!
Without a second thought, she launched herself at him and attached herself to his leg, happy to see someone she recognised, crying "Murdoc! Noodle lost!"
"Hey! What the-!" He said in a nasally Italian New Yorker accent that definitely did not belong to Murdoc.
"Got yourssself a girlfriend, Bosss?" Another voice asked.
The sound of a fist connecting with skin.
"Shut up, Snake." The first voice said.
Noodle felt the leg she was hugging lift itself, then start shaking violently.
"Get off my leg, kid!"
The leg lowered itself. Noodle looked up and stared hard at the stranger. His face (from what she could see, as his sunglasses obscured half of it) had much more pointed features and longer, greasiest hair than Murdoc. He also had this air of authority about him, like he was the leader.
Noodle let go, and she stumbled back pathetically, her eyes filling with tears as she realised she did not recognise any of these people.
"Lost! Help Noodle find Russel!" Russel was the one who was watching her last, after all. He must be worried sick by now.
"Eh?" The not-Murdoc stranger raised an eyebrow.
"Phhrrrbt!" Another of the green figures stated. He was by far the most grotesque-looking, with bulging eye sockets and tattered clothes. What was weird though, was how he just blew a raspberry, and everyone nodded like they understood him.
"So," the leader leaned down so his face was almost level with Noodle's. "Ya lost and lookin' for this Russel person, are ya?"
"Hai!"
The leader frowned. It felt kind of malicious. "What, hi? Do yas know what she means by that?"
Another raspberry.
"Oh, right. Ya Japanese, right kiddo?"
"Ha-yes!"
"Whatever. We ain't gonna help ya find ya mommy and daddy, kid. We're busy." And with that, the leader turned around and began walking away.
"No!" Noodle lunged at him and grasped at his leg. "Please? Help Noodle find Russel."
"I already said no, girlie. Now leave me alone!"
"Why won't we help her, Ace?" The fattest person said.
Ace rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Because we got stuff to do, you dope! We don't have time to babysit some random kid off the street." As he said this, he was shaking his leg until Noodle let go.
"Aww," the fat one said, leaning down to poke Noodle's helmet. "She's so little! She looks like the guitar player person from the Monkees!"
There was a brief, but noticeable, pause.
"You mean Gorillazsss, Billy?" The hiss voice asked.
"Uh, yeah!"
Ace lifted his sunglasses. "Hey, I think you're right, Billy! It is the guitarist from Gorillaz!"
Noddle was surprised to find out that they recognised her.
"Don't they have a concert tonight?" A fifth voice said in a thick Mexican accent.
"That's right, they do!" Ace said excitedly. An evil grin slowly made its way across his already devilish face. "Imagine the ransom the rest would pay to-"
He was cut off by a flurry of raspberries.
"Oh, right. We was gonna break in. But no point. They won't be able to play if they don't have their guitarist."
Noodle didn't like was she was hearing.
Ace got down on his knees and looked her in the eye. "Alright, kid, here's the deal. If we help you find the others, we get to watch you guys play for free." He held out his hand.
It took Noodle a minute to fully understand what he said. And she was fine with that deal. Getting to attend their concert for free in exchange for helping her get back to the others seemed perfectly reasonable. And so she shook his hand, and they had a deal.
Russel put down the heavy cookery book he had been browsing. The recipes featured glossy photos of the finished dishes and they all looked delicious. They seemed less delicious when he saw the price, and so he put the book back in its spot on the shelf. He turned around, expecting to see Noodle waiting patiently nearby, or perhaps browsing through some books as well.
He was not expecting to not see Noodle in the store at all.
His heart leapt into his throat at the jolting realisation. He dashed out the front door of the bookstore, looking left and right, but still couldn't see Noodle.
"Hey, Russ."
Russel turned to see 2D coming up beside him, with a brand-new keyboard strapped to his back.
"Dee, I-"
"Where's Noods?"
Russel grimaced. "Here's the thing…"
Meanwhile, Noodle was holding tightly onto Big Billy's hand as she and the Gangreen Gang walked down the street, listening to the chattering and the bickering.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! I can't believe it! You're older than her and yet she's twice ya size, Arturo!"
"¡Deja de burlarte de mi estatura, hombre!"
"Okay, Arturo, ya know I don't know Spanish, amigo."
"Maybe you ssshould have gone back to ssschool."
"Can it, Snake."
"Prrrrrrbtrpr!"
"What didja just say about me?!"
The conversation came to a sudden halt - as did the walking - when three shrill female voices called out "not so fast, Gangreen Gang!"
Noodle peeked out from behind everyone's legs to see three small girls in different coloured dresses standing on the sidewalk in front of them, arms folded, disappointed expressions on their faces.
Ace didn't seem bothered by them as he tried to manoeuvre around them, but was stopped when the girl in the pink dress suddenly lifted herself off the ground and hovered in front of his face.
"Don't try to sneak off, Ace! We know you're up to your old tricks again!"
Ace put his hands up. "Blossom, no, listen-"
"And who is that?" Blossom pointed at Noodle.
The girl in the blue dress floated over to Noodle. "Hi there, what's your name?" She asked softly.
"Noodle!"
The girl in the green dress began snickering loudly.
"Buttercup!" Blossom said, a little bit outraged. "Professor said it's rude to laugh at people's names!"
Now it was Bubbles' turn to do the interrogating. "What are you doing with this poor sweet little girl?" She said, angrily pointing at Ace's face.
"Jus' tryin' to help her get back to her band-uh, I mean her family!" Ace didn't want the Powerpuff Girls to know that Noodle was a member of the very same band that was performing tonight. He knew they would try to help, and they would take the credit if they found the others. Then the deal would be off and they'd have to resort to breaking into the stadium, and risk getting caught by the Girls.
Bubbles narrowed her eyes. "Oh, really?"
"Is this true? Are they helping you look for your family?" Blossom asked Noodle. She sounded incredulous.
"Hai!"
"Yeah. Is it really so hard to believe that the Gangreen Gang can be nice? Now, if you excuse us, we have a family to find." Ace said as he and the gang moved past a stunned Blossom and Buttercup, and Bubbles, who seemed to forgive them instantly and was now waving goodbye.
"She looks kind of familiar…" She thought to herself.
Murdoc was happily downing a glass of vodka, enjoying his day in the dingy pub that reeked of vomit and cigarette smoke, when Russel suddenly burst in through the front doors, shouting "Murdoc!"
Murdoc choked on a mouthful of his vodka. "Bloody hell, Russ! What is it?" He was grumpy.
"Noodle's missing! You haven't seen her, have you?" Russel asked, sounding out of breath.
"No."
"Well then, come help us find her!"
"Look, Russ! What does it matter if the kid's wandered off somewhere? She'll be fine. This city's so bloody safe it's boring. She'll come back eventually."
Russel exploded. "But what if she doesn't?! This city's up to its neck in crime and it has to resort to three kindergarteners to help protect it! And in case if you've forgotten, WE HAVE A FRIGGIN' CONCERT TONIGHT!"
"The kid can look after herself…" Murdoc didn't get to finish his sentence, as Russel picked up Murdoc's glass and threw it against the wall. Murdoc looked shocked for a second before sighing and standing up.
"Fine, lets go…"
Ace stood on the street corner, watching the cars drive by, scratching his chin. "Okay, what kinda stores are they in?"
"Um," Noodle said, having a long think, trying to remember. "Russel in bookstore, Toochi in keyboard store, Murdoc in pub...don't know what pub is. Russel said pub no place for little girls."
Ace stared down at her. "A pub? It's a place where ya go to have a good time." He pulled off his sunglasses and winked. Noodle still didn't understand.
Ace put his sunglasses back on and started walking down the street. "C'mon. There's heaps of pubs around here. We'll check 'em and see if we can find Murdoc."
The first pub they arrived at was named "The Bitter Pear". Ace stuck his head in and said that he couldn't see Murdoc.
The next one they went to was called "The Salty Salmon". This time, Noodle went in with Ace. She couldn't see Murdoc either. When she asked several of the people in there, she learned that they hadn't seen him either.
Finally, they came to one with "El Problemo" daubed on a sign by the door. But this time, when Noodle asked inside about Murdoc, the bartender perked up.
"Yeah, I saw him." He said. "Then some fat black guy came in, yelled at him, threw his drink at the wall and then they left together."
Noodle ran outside to where the others were waiting.
"Murdoc and Russel looking for Noodle!" She cried.
"Whoop-de-doo, kid." Ace said with a trace of sarcasm.
"Then where are they?" Snake asked.
Noodle stopped. "Um, pub-man not say."
The entire gang groaned.
"Now what?" Arturo moaned.
"Guess we'll just have to go looking in all the bookstores, then." Ace sighed, before making his way down the street.
"What the-" 2D said, pointing up at the sky.
Russel and Murdoc both turned their heads to see three colourful streaks make their way across the sky before curving downwards onto the pavement a little ways ahead of them.
"Ain't they the Powderpuff Girls or somethin'?" 2D asked.
"It's Powerpuff, and I think you're right, Dee! That is them. We can ask them to help!" Russel said. He started off towards them, shouting "Hey, girls!"
"What?" They said when he finally reached them.
"My band member, Noodle, she's lost-" Russel stopped as Bubbles suddenly shouted "Noodle? The little Asian girl?"
Russel was taken aback. "Yes! Have you seen her?"
Bubbles paled. "We saw her...with the Gangreen Gang!"
"The what gang?"
"The Gangreen Gang. They're always up to no good! Oh, why did we let them go?" Bubbles said, ready to burst into tears of guilt at any moment. "Why did we let them get away?"
Blossom patted her back. "Well, if it's any consolation, she didn't seem upset or sad. But we should still get to her as soon as we can! You guys, wait here! Girls, let's go!"
And with that, they flew back into the sky at a breakneck speed.
"Noodle? With a gang?" 2D asked in disbelief.
Russel nodded. "I just hope those creeps haven't done anything to baby-girl."
They'd been in five bookstores so far and were fed up with no sign of the rest of the band. Things took a turn for the worse when the Powerpuff Girls reappeared, scowling.
"Unhand her!" They shouted.
"Why? We're tryin' to help her!" Ace shouted back.
"Rubbish! You're trying to kidnap her!" Buttercup yelled.
"No, we ain't!" Ace said, rather offended. He didn't have enough time to react to Buttercup suddenly rushing up to him and socking him in the face, Blossom and Bubbles close behind.
Then the situation descended into a brawl on the street.
Noodle cowered in shock behind a fire hydrant as she watched the Powerpuff Girls pound the Gangreen Gang into the pavement.
She looked on in horror as Blossom picked Big Billy up by the shirt and swung him into a building. Billy collapsed with a groan. It sounded heartbreakingly pitiful.
Noodle darted out from behind the fire hydrant and over to Billy. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.
"Billy? Can get up?"
Blossom noticed her then. "Ah, Noodle! Thank goodness you're okay! Come with us!"
Noodle responded with a resounding "NO!"
"W-what?"
Noodle stood up and glared accusingly at them. "You hurt gang! They help Noodle! You not good guys!"
"But…"
Noodle turned and ran out of sight.
Bubbles stared down sorrowfully at the gang as they picked themselves up off the ground. "They WERE just trying to help!" She said through her tears of guilt. She helped Ace to his feet. "I'm so sorry!"
Ace jerked his hand away. "Yeah, and now look what you've done! She'll probably get lost again. Come on, boys. Let's go find her."
"Come on, girls. Let's help them." Blossom said with an air of defeat before flying up into the sky.
It didn't take long for the Gangreen Gang to find her.
She was evidently scared of getting lost again, as she hadn't gotten very far. The Gang spotted her in an alleyway, curled up in a little ball beside a cardboard box.
Ace kicked the box out of the way. "Hey, kid."
Noodle looked up, then smiled a big, happy smile. "Ace okay? Gang okay?"
Ace shrugged. "Whatever, it happens all the time. Now, let's go."
As Noodle got to her feet, she saw the Powerpuff Girls standing behind the Gang. "Girls!" She cried, pointing.
Ace turned. "Not yous again!"
Blossom stepped forward. "No, we came to help you…"
"And to apologise!" Bubbles said. "We're sorry!"
"Yeah...sorry," Buttercup said, averting her gaze.
"Help Noodle find band?" Noodle asked.
"Band?" Blossom looked up at Ace. "I thought you said you were looking for her family?"
Oh no, Ace thought. I'm in for it now…
But luckily Noodle saved his skin, perhaps unintentionally.
"Band is family!" She shouted gleefully.
"Oh!" Blossom laughed. "That clears that up. Anyway, we found them. They're looking for you."
Two minutes later, Gorillaz was finally reunited.
Russel swept Noodle into his arms. "Oh baby-girl, please don't ever disappear on me like that again! I was so worried about you!"
"Noodle sorry." The guitarist replied.
"Glad yuh back, Noods!" 2D said.
"Yeah, good to see you, kid." Murdoc added.
"Yuh like my new keyboard, Noodle?" 2D asked, unstrapping it from his back and holding it out for Noodle to see.
"Ooh!" She said as she wriggled free from Russel's hug to get a better look at it. "Shiny!"
Russel laughed. So did 2D.
"I'm glad everything turned out okay." Blossom said. Bubbles nodded in agreement. But she was smacked in the face by a sudden realisation.
Band...keyboard...Noodle...blue-haired keyboard enthusiast…
"Are you Gorillaz?!" She practically screamed.
"Yeah." Murdoc said. "Who's asking?"
Russel elbowed him to be quiet. "Yes. We've playing tonight at seven."
"Speakin' of which," Ace began, "you remember our deal, don't ya?"
"Hai!" Noodle turned to Russel. "Deal say if Gang help Noodle, Gang come to concert free!"
Russel stared at Noodle, then at Ace, then back to Noodle. There was a moment of silence until Big Billy randomly stated "Big Billy like Gorillaz! Gorillaz' Billy's favourite band!"
Russel sighed. "Oh, fine. I guess they did help. And the Girls can come for free too."
The Gangreen Gang and the Powerpuff Girls all started cheering at the same time.
The Girls were glad that the little guitarist had been reunited with her band/family.
The Gang were glad that they got to go to a concert for free. And, alright, maybe Ace was secretly happy that Noodle finally found her band/family. But he was mostly happy about the concert, y'hear?