It wasn't the morning light that woke the thin-framed Japanese girl afloat on helicopter wreckage in the middle of the ocean. Her feline, porcelain mask was impenetrable to sunlight as well as the staring she so desperately sought to avoid. Under the mask, she hid one swollen, bruised eye, both of which were filled with even more pain than the corporeal wound she bore. But even though she was bruised by the past 5 years, she was not broken. She just wanted to see her family again.
The slumbering youth was rocked to sleep by the waves in a cradle of debris. She didn't notice, also due to her limited perception by the mask, the massive shadow that engulfed her that morning. What woke her up was a familiar voice.
"Baby girl, is that you? Is that you Noodle?" The voice was so huge it sent tiny ripples through the water's surface, but it was kind and gentle, almost tearful. Noodle, previously curled up, bolted upright, almost loosing her balance on the wobbly wreckage as she followed the familiar voice. She let out a muffled cry behind her mask: "Russel?" She had gotten up so fast she forgot that her mask was askew, and hurriedly adjusted it so she could see out of it.
"RUSSEL?"
Towering over her was, indeed, the drum master of Gorillaz, but in a form that dwarfed even his previous size. His head and torso above the water's surface were about the size of a cruise ship. Noodle yelped in surprise, lost her balance again, and toppled into the briny sea. "NOODLE!" Russel plunged his hand into the ocean and gently collected the guitarist in his hand. "It's not a good idea to stay long in that water…or eat anything in it," said Russel seriously. "W-why?" stammered Noodle, still shaken up by the encounter. "It's polluted." There was a pause as Noodle observed his large frame. "I see."
She looked up at Russel's massive face and smiled. She had seen enough in the past 5 years to not be scared for too long of this friendly giant. She wrapped her thin arms around one of Russel's fingers. "Russel! I've missed you so much, and whenever I thought I couldn't go on anymore, I just thought of you and 2D and…well. I'd rather not think of…Murdoc at the moment, he didn't even-" Noodle paused. She realized Russel hadn't said anything yet, and she looked up again at his face. His eyes were filled with tears and worry. Staring.
Noodle gasped and looked down at the ocean. Her cat mask lay afloat on the dirty water. She covered her face immediately with her hands. "Baby…" Russel's voice cracked, "Baby what happened?" Noodle removed her shaking hands from her face, revealing her damaged eye as dark and purple as her hair. The white of her eye was no longer white, but scarlet red from broken blood vessels. Her shoulders began to shake, and Russel brought her up to his face, cradling her in his palm and let Noodle just cry. "It's ok angel…let it out…everything's OK now. Russel's here." Noodle's tears fell from the sky like rhinestones.
"You alright up there on my noggin?" "Hai."
After Noodle was spent from crying, it was decided that Noodle and Russel would travel together to Plastic Beach. Noodle salvaged her mask and other belongings, or what remained of them, ,perched herself on Russel's massive head, and they began to make their way to their destination. Russel had previously insisted that Noodle seek refuge elsewhere. Plastic Beach, he explained to her, was not exactly a great place for physical and emotional recovery. The green-skinned bassist that failed to help her in her turmoil was running the place, with kidnapped musical artists turning up against their will. The first of these artists was Gorillaz's own 2D. "IMMOT GONNA WRECKORD ANOVVA ALB…" shouted 2D through a mouthful of chloroform-soaked cloth before he fell unconscious to Murdoc's feet. He was promptly transported to the deep sea landfill of Plastic Beach via suitcase. "He didn't even have the luxury of sitting in the passenger's seat of that crappy plane," sighed Russel.
"Russel-san…how do you know all this?" Noodle asked, steadying herself atop the giant's head. "Message in a bottle," said Russel, "Got it from D. He said he got the idea when he was listening to this song by The Police. He says Murdoc's locked him up and tipped off a whale to watch him so he can't escape." Not even stopping to ponder how a whale could be tipped off, Noodle became frantic. "A WHALE? 2D's terrified of whales…ever since he saw Pinocchio! The real thing must be making him mental…" She flushed red with anger. "When I get there--" "It's my job to put Murdoc in his place," Russel cut her off and stopped moving, "Aint yours. You shouldn't be anywhere near that plastic island." "I'm going. The band, my family, it's kept me going all through El Manana…through…," she lifted a finger to her eye, "I think I deserve to see what's preserved my will to live for these 5 years." There a long pause, and slowly Russel began to wade again toward the pink spec in the distance.