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-Flashback-
Noodle's bottom lip trembled as she stared at Russel in horror, her Japanese eyes threatening tears. Russel only shook his head dismissively and walked back inside his room to collect up his things. The young Asian girl ran after him screaming in her mother tongue. She grabbed his thick chubby hand and shook it up and down wildly trying to get an answer. He turned to her annoyingly.
"Baby girl! I'm busy! I'm sorry but I have to go girl and you're getting in the way"
Noodle didn't understand him at all. Russel turned her around to face his door leaving her alone and confused. She needed to find out what he was doing. What was happening? Why was he packing?
"Where you… go?"
She managed to remember in English. She turned around to face her unrelated father who watched her sadly.
"… Away"
"Away? …Where away?"
Her thick Japanese accent covered her barely understandable words. Russel shrugged and turned to shove a black t-shirt into a large backpack. It wasn't much point talking to someone who didn't understand you.
"… G-Gorillaz!"
Noodle cried out tearfully not knowing what else to say. Russel sighed and lowered his head depressingly.
"Gorillaz is no more baby girl. It's over. We're not a band anymore. We're splitting up"
"Split… up?"
Russel turned to her again and held up a hand with 4 fingers close together. He took the other hand and pointed to the 4 fingers individually and named them.
"2-D… Murdoc… Russel… Noodle"
Noodle nodded understandingly. Russel circled his index finger around the 4 fingers indicating a group.
"Gorillaz"
He then split the fingers so there was a gap in between them all and made them each go their separate ways far, far away from each other.
"Split up"
Noodle understood completely now. They were breaking up. Noodle sobbed loudly as the tears left her eyes and fell down her face. She groaned and shook her head viciously.
"No! No! No! No! No split up! No split up Gorillaz!"
She yelled at him. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to.
"… I'm sorry Noodle… I'm so sorry baby girl"
"Noodle! Noodle!"
She ran up towards him saying her name anxiously and pointing to herself continuously. She wanted to know what would happen to her.
"I don't know… You could go back to Japan I guess… You can't stay in Kong by yourself baby girl, it's too dangerous"
Noodle cringed in frustration and groaned loudly causing a tantrum. She didn't want to leave. She was happy where she was. She didn't want to go away. But she had no choice. She was on her own. Noodle suddenly changed her sad expression to an enraged one and wiped her tears away staring coldly at Russel. She yelled at him in Japanese before running out of his room and down the corridor to her own.
She burst through her door and started to pack herself. She wanted to be the first to leave. She grabbed a hello kitty large backpack and threw anything around her in it that would fit. She was so angry that she couldn't think straight anymore.
"No! No! No! No!"
She screamed repeatedly to herself. Noodle ran to her closet and grabbed an armful of clothing and stuffed them menacingly into the tiny bag. She suddenly calmed down and walked to her beside table slowly, tears beginning to fall again. She stared at a photo of them all together. Happy and living the life as Gorillaz. Murdoc and Russel were lurking in the backround of a deserted room in Kong while Noodle was on 2-D's back laughing hysterically at him showing off a humorous facial expression. What had happened to make them split up? She loved those times.
"… Gorillaz…"
Noodle gingerly picked up the pink frame holding the photo and slid it gently into her bag and zipped it closed trying not to damage it. She would treasure those memories from that photo forever. The 10-year-old Jap walked out of her room finally after studying it well. She quietly made her way back down to Russel's room hoping to say goodbye. But alas, he was already gone.
The room was practically empty leaving only rubbish and old things he didn't need to take with him. Noodle gasped and bit her lip trying not to cry again. She shut his white door and looked out of the window into the scorching desert. There she saw Russel's hardly ever used car driving off into the distance.
"RUSSEL-SAN!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs out of pure hatred and sadness. Noodle turned around and without thinking did a jumping kick to Russel's door which immediately burst down to the ground from impact. Noodle didn't bother for a reaction and ran down the corridor, into the lobby to the lift. She jabbed the button and waited impatiently for it to descend.
"Hurry up!"
She yelled at the elevator in Japanese and kicked it's metal surface hard. The doors opened and she ran in and pushed the button for level 1. While the lift went down, Noodle threw her bag over her shoulders and strapped it on to her back so she didn't have to hold it. The doors soon opened and Noodle ran out still not quite sure where she was going.
Noodle reached the carpark and flew the door open and ran out to the centre of it. She looked around quickly studying the cars surrounding her. She thought that Murdoc and 2-D would be packing too. Noodle walked to 2-D's white door in the corner with green spray paint upon it from Murdoc reading 'Sod off 2-D'.
2-D was the person that Noodle always looked up to, the first person she saw when she came to Kong, her best friend. She would miss him the most. Noodle knocked on his door loudly 3 times and then waited for him to come out.
"… 2D-san?"
Nothing. No sounds from his room whatsoever. Maybe he was avoiding her? Noodle feared the worst but opened his door. Everything was gone. They keyboards from the walls, the Budda valuables, they were all gone. Just a blank blue room with a bed and tables lying there. Noodle was horror-stricken. He was already gone. The Jap sobbed quietly trying to be in control. Her big brother and best friend was gone. Forever. She would never see him ever again. And he didn't even say goodbye.
"… What are you still doin' 'ere?"
Noodle jumped from the deep British male voice behind her. She quietly turned around and stared deep into Murdoc's mismatched eyes, the ones that brought the real world straight to her own. He growled slightly and walked out of his Winnebago to Noodle, with his never-ending bottle of liquor and upsided cross dangling about his chest.
"… Murdoc-san"
"Noodle"
"… Where 2D-san?"
"Dullard's probably already gone I guess, it was his idea in the first place… he wouldn't go without saying goodbye to ya though would he? Maybe he's still packing…"
Murdoc trailed off as Noodle pushed open 2-D's door to reveal his empty room. Murdoc glanced around it and realised he was gone. Murdoc would never admit but there was obviously a look of disappointment upon his face.
"He's gone"
Murdoc stated coolly. Noodle sighed depressingly and lowered her head to the ground.
"You go?"
Murdoc stared at her with sympathy. She was only a little girl, she couldn't handle her family breaking up and her being on her own again. But it was a tough world and Murdoc thought he had shown her that.
"… Yeah… I'm going"
"Bye"
And with that Noodle, still keeping her gaze down, started to walk away. Murdoc watched her walk past him and deeper into the carpark towards the exit. Murdoc would miss that little Japanese guitarist. She was such a nice girl and everyone just left her. Including him.
Murdoc shook his head and walked back into his Winnebago to sort out his things. Noodle looked back and saw nothing. She clenched her eyes shut as her slow walk transformed into a fast run. Like she was running for her life. Noodle ran all the way out of the carpark and out into the hot morning sun, the bright light hitting her face and blinding her. She ran past the graveyard full of the currently sleeping living dead. Away from the landfill and through the open creaking gates of Kong Studios. Her home. Well was her home anyway. She would have to find a new home. And she was thinking back to Japan to discover her past. Meet her real family. Hopefully they would love her more than her band ever did.
Noodle soon slowed her pace to a gentle walk and stopped and looked out over the horizon to the rising sun. She saw nothing. Russel's car was long gone. Noodle sniffed and rubbed her red stinging eyes and turned around to get a clear view of Kong for the final time. Everything was in visual range. Just as everything was left.
Then, in a corridor through the window of level 2, Noodle saw something… Someone. 2-D. The blue-haired not-so-bright vocalist that she grew to love, staring back at her clearly. Noodle's eyes let tears fall constantly to ground. The hot sun absorbing the liquid within seconds. She didn't care. She only cared about 2-D. He had come to say goodbye but she wasn't even there. She had missed it.
"… 2D-san?"
Noodle whispered. He couldn't hear her but he knew what she was saying. The singer stood motionless in the corridor outside her room. His black eyes also threatening tears and his face was the most depressed she had ever seen. So sad that it scared her slightly. It was distinct that he didn't want the Gorillaz to split up as much as she did. 2-D spoke quietly to himself.
"Noodle…"
The Axe Princess saw his mouth move to say the name he had given her himself. He lifted his hand and placed it outstretched onto the glass window infront of him. They both stared at each other, both analysing their best friend so they would never forget. Then 2-D leaned closer to the window and put his mouth to the glass, his breath fogging up the small space on the window.
"I love ya Noodle… I'll come for ya one day… I promise"
"… Sayonara 2D-san… Sayonara"
Despite having no idea what each other both said, they smiled for the last time it felt like in their lives. The toothless grin, the cheeky tongue, memories spilled out into both minds drowning them in happiness. Remembering would keep them going. They could never forget. Never. Till the end of time… they could never forget.
Noodle turned around still smiling and set her gaze steadily ahead of her to the sun and started her slow amber again. Out of this Godforsaken Paradise… and back home.
-End Flashback-
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