Author : I feel so lost being back on fanfiction right now. So your going to have to bare with my sloppy explanations through author notes :/ lol.
So I'm figuring the characters are going to be really, weird sounding. But I promise I'm doing my best. Also.. I wrote the whole start of this story at like 2 in the morning while in a sucky hotel. So it's probably really weird since I was so tired. Oh well.. Deal! XD
Oh of course I don't own any of this. Disclaimer or whatever xD it's all Gorillaz.. yeah.. okay. well.. here we go
7pm. Plastic Beach sitting room.
I blinked a few times, disoriented. I wasn't sure where I was and I didn't remember falling asleep. Then a huge headache hit me and I sat up quickly. Only to bonk heads with somebody which made me shout in pain, shutting my eyes again.
"Ow! What fa… who is that?" I snapped, rubbing my head where I had collided with the other person. My headache worsening that fast.
"Oops, sorry 2D I was just checking on you." Laughed a somewhat familiar voice.
My eyes opened quickly, meeting… a white mask.
"Huh." I muttered, my brain still trying to catch up to my body, I still couldn't remember anything before waking up. Only that something exciting had happened.
"Noodle get back in here. I have more to go over with you!" I heard Murdoc snap from the studio, my eyes trained to the open doorway.
I stiffened and looked back at the mask I had smacked into, then realized there was a person behind it. That's when I finally remembered what had happened before I knocked out.
Noodle sighed, "Coming, Murdoc." She began to walk away.
I jumped up off the couch and threw myself at her in a hug. Practically falling against her since my legs hadn't been expecting the sudden jump. I was still so disoriented. All I was aware of was my old sister was back with us.
Noodle laughed, "Now your awake."
"Yeah! It's so great to see you again!" I said pulling out of the hug and smiling at her. She was still a head shorter then me but obviously a lot older now. I still couldn't see her face though since the mask was hiding her from me. "Well, sort of. What's wif fa mask?" I asked.
"Nothing. I just like wearing it." Her head dropped down, almost as if she was ashamed.
"No, why are ya wearing a mask Noodle." I pressed.
She held it to her face, predicting that I would try to take it off before I would have even thought about it. "It's nothing. I'll talk to you in a second. Murdoc needs me." She said, then ran off.
I stared after her for a second, she was hiding something. Great.
Either way I was still so happy to see her. Jubilant honestly. I had missed her so much, and no fake cyber noodle was going to make me feel any better.
This was the real one, maybe things would go back to normal with her around now.
I decided to join her and Murdoc in the studio, taking my time as to not be so prone to falling over. It took me a while but all the sense came back to my legs and I was fully operating again. Then I practically charged into the studio, skidding to a stop to see both Murdoc and Noodle holding rum. I opened my mouth to protest against Noodle having alcohol but then I realized she was probably old enough now.
Somehow they hadn't realized I was in the room. They were too busy talking away, getting along as if they hadn't ever been at the end of each others tormenting before. Glasses clinking and a happy atmosphere. All just because Noodle was back, that explains why everyone got so depressing when she left, she was just the happiness of our group.
"Hey guys can I join your wittle party?" I voiced, loudly.
Murdoc glanced back at me, there was a smile pasted on his face. My eyes widened in shock, it had been a long time since I'd seen that. "Pull up a chair face ache."
Of course the nickname wasn't going anywhere. But I was happy enough with the upbeat atmosphere of the room.
"How bout' we play some music too." I said with a smile as I sat in between Murdoc and Noodle in front of the window.
"Sure, put on some of our own. Something new. Show Noodle what we've been up too." Murdoc said.
I smirked, not a full blown smile because I didn't like the way he said we when I had been basically forced to work on the new CD. At least I had gotten most control over the newest one. The Fall, I was half tempted to put on one of the songs off that album but knew I would get a pounding from Murdoc if I did. So I turned on a random track from the Plastic Beach album.
"Ah, thank you 2D." Murdoc said contently, settling back into his seat and setting his feet up on top of my legs.
I was bewildered to see him so calm and care free.
"See, I told you your heart grew free times fa size today!" I said with a huge smile at Murdoc, hoping to get a laugh from him for once.
"Shut your trap face ache, I'm sure you don't want to go down that road again." He glared at me.
I shut my mouth and the smile faded from my face.
Then Noodle started to laugh, and I looked at her. My smile coming back slightly.
"2D you haven't changed at all." She said.
"Well you sure have." Both Murdoc and I said.
She sat there quietly, "Yeah I know." She laughed again, a more nervous tone though.
"So, um, Noodle, how bout' you take off that there mask now and let us see your real face." I said, giving her a perplexed look.
"Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing myself, Noodle." Murdoc agreed.
She looked away, "Are you guys going to keep at this?"
"Until you take of that mask, sure are!" I said, giving her a goofy smile, worried I was treading to deep into personal stuff.
Noodle sighed and reached up to the back of her head, untying the string that held the mask firmly in place on her head. Then she took it off, her head low and hair blocking view of her face.
"Noodle." I said, "What have you got to hide from us?"
She looked up, her long hair falling out of her eyes enough to see a long scar running down the side of her face.
My jaw dropped, her brows furrowed and Murdoc's eyes widened.
Silence filled the room, the album turned to another track and nothing but awkward shock was sitting in the room before the beginning of On Melancholy Hill started to play. Then finally Noodle spoke up.
"I really hate when your eyes turn white, 2D. It makes me think something seriously bad is going on."
I shook my head, but I knew my eyes would stay that color until I wasn't worried anymore. So I placed my hand over my eyes. I heard her laugh a little at this. "What happened?" I asked.
"It's from when the windmill crashed isn't it." Murdoc guessed.
From the silence I figured Noodle was shaking her head either yes or no, so I peeked through my fingers to see her nodding.
"Ah I see." Murdoc said.
I frowned.
Silence filled the room, I continued to sit there awkwardly with my hand over my eyes. Focusing on trying to not be so concerned over this. I was about to change the subject when Murdoc broke the silence.
"So how exactly did you escape that Noodle?" His voice wasn't worried, only curious. I glowered at my fingers, I wanted to change the topic to something more happy and get rid of the heavy atmosphere in the room. I liked having the happiness back and now this story was ruining it.
"I don't know really, I just managed to make it out alive. I left too, that would be why I wasn't there when you, Murdoc, came looking for me at the crash sight. Although I have to say the cyborg me is pretty impressive." Noodle said, I had a feeling the change of topic to cyborg noodle was an offer to me to change the topic. Yet I refused to remove my hands from my face.
"That robot scares me half to death!" I said rather loudly, back straightening to show I was serious.
"Well it's still pretty cool that you were able to do that Murdoc, but yeah, a little creepy." Noodle's voice was slowly quieting.
"Well I belI-"
"Hey Noodle, are you gettin' tired yet?" I asked, cutting Murdoc's defensive comment off.
I felt a slap in the back of my head and I 'oofed' but still listening for Noodle's response. Ignoring Murdoc. I could hear him growling at my evasiveness, he was so used to controlling me like a puppet.
"Well it's only 7:30. But yeah I am kind of tired since I've been going non stop since the boat got bombed." Noodle said.
"What boat got bombed?"
"Nevermind 2D." Noodle said, I could hear Murdoc snickering behind me, he obviously knew something.
"Alrighty," even to my own ears I sounded deflated.
"Well then Noodle why don't you come with me and we'll set up a place for you to sleep tonight. Tomorrow I'll get Dave to build you a nice room wherever you want." Murdoc said. My hands were still covering my eyes but I heard his chair squeak and the clink of his empty glass hitting the table as he stood up.
"Okay, sounds good. But who's Dave?" Noodle asked, I could tell she was still sitting and was facing me just by the way her voice was directed.
"He's supposed to be fixing some stuff in the engine room but I think he's doing more harm then good. Gotta make em' do something worth paying em' for while on this island." Murdoc said, I heard his footsteps recede out the door.
It went silent, or at least somewhat as music was still playing. Then it stopped and I realized Noodle must have stopped it.
Then she grabbed my hand and pulled it away from my eyes. I opened them as I had had them closed behind it and she was smiling slightly at me, a laugh only an inch away from her mouth. I smiled again. Not knowing what to say.
She laughed, "Still love that gap in your teeth 2D." She said.
I realized she was still holding my hand as she stood up and pulled me up with her. Forcing me to follow her after Murdoc by dragging me behind her by my arm. Just like old times. I couldn't have been happier at that moment. But at the same time, something felt slightly… different.
10pm Murdoc's room.
After Murdoc and I had made a makeshift bed for Noodle we said our goodnights and both went upstairs to his room for a while. Though Noodle only gave Murdoc a pat on the back when going to bed I was happy to get a huge hug that reminded me of the first few weeks after she had burst out of that 10 foot wooden crate she had been in.
But still at the same time it felt slightly… off. Something was different about Noodle and more then just the fact that she was older now. We all realized she was growing up right under our noses before we all split up after Demon Days so it wasn't that a big of a shocker to see her like this. There was something else that was different but I just couldn't put my tongue on it.
It was probably going to keep me up all night though.
Up in Murdoc's room I had been exploring through the large pile of boxes in the corner. I had never been in his room despite how long we had been on the beach now. I had always been secluded to my little underwater room infested with whales. I shivered at the memory of the whale and glanced over at Murdoc, laying on his bed and looking at a Jazz magazine.
How weird that the man read Jazz magazines when he listened to anything but Jazz. It was normal to hear metal blasting around the island if it wasn't our own records. I guess it was just another weird thing about the man, like his absolute repulsion towards the movie or anything to do with Pinocchio.
I could remember sitting and watching the Disney movie Pinocchio with Russel and Noodle back at Kong Studios one night. One of the few movies I wasn't drunk or completely out of my mind on pain killers while watching. When Murdoc walked in to see what we were up too. No one had ever questioned what he did down in his Winnebago while we were sitting around upstairs, yet he always wanted to know what we were doing.
But once Murdoc's eyes hit the TV and saw the little wooden puppet boy he screamed specifically at me and threw whatever he was holding in his hand at my head. I fell forward as I was already suffering from a severe migraine that night, although I couldn't remember if it was a hangover or not. Either way after he chucked what he was holding at my head he decided to walk up to the DVD player, rip the Pinocchio disc out by hand and smash it to pieces with his boot in hand to the point where it was just dust on the carpet. Then walked out.
Nobody questioned it. Russel Noodle and I just silently looked for another movie to watch and hoped that Murdoc wasn't going to come into the room again.
"Hey Murdoc?" I called from the banana box I was sitting on.
"Yes face ache." He said nonchalantly, eyes still glued to the magazine.
"Do you suppose that we'll ever find Russel again?"
Murdoc set the magazine down on top of his bare stomach. I had obviously caught his attention.
"Well I'd like to." He said, eyes staring up at the ceiling distractedly, "Remind me to ask Noodle if she's seen him recently tomorrow."
I just looked at him, my gaze blank.
He sat up with a groan and reached over to his side table, pulling open the drawer with some difficulty and taking out a pad of paper and a pen like you would find in a hotel. "Why in hell am I asking you to remember something. Your probably going to end up either drunk, stoned or blacking out by the end of the night." He muttered to himself.
"That's what I was finking." I said and looked down at my hands, holding a book that I had found in the pile of boxes. "Murdoc? I found fis book in your boxes over ere'. Do ya want me to go put it on the shelf down stairs?"
"Huh?" He looked over at what I was holding, "Oh sure sure sure. Go ahead." He looked back down at the paper, "Now what was I going to write again." He muttered under his breath.
"To ask if Noodle has seen Russel lately." I helped.
"Oh yes." He scribbled down words on the paper then tore off the sheet he had wrote on and stuck it to the lamp shade on the side table facing his bed.
"How'd ya get it to stick like that?" I asked, confused at how it didn't fall right away without tape.
"It's called a post it note you dumb. Now go back to your own room and go to bed." Murdoc snapped. His old self starting to slip back now that Noodle wasn't around and sleeping.
"Okay." I said quietly, then stood up and walked over to the lift, getting on and heading down one level to the study. I jumped off quickly and stuck the book on the only gap in the shelf, pushing it in. Then the book case opened up. I jumped and stared at the shadowed stairwell that had appeared in front of me. I scratched my head, but didn't have the energy to go explore what lay beyond the staircase. So I just walked back over to the lift and rode it down to my underwater room.
Back down there my eyes immediately trained to the port hole. The curtains had blown open a smidgen to show a small sliver of the window. I noticed there was something tapped to it and I crawled on my bed to the port hole and hesitantly opened the curtains. There was a note tapped to it, blocking out any view of the ocean beyond. The note read:
Don't worry, I'll take care of the whale soon. He'll either be dead or to scared to swim anywhere near here ever again once I'm done with him. : )
~Noodle
"When did she get down to my room?" I asked myself, scratching my head again. I sat down, turning away from the note and glancing around my room. Wondering if she was still down here.
Then I noticed her white mask was laying on top of my cupboard. It looked as if she had just forgotten it there. I guess I wasn't going to bed yet.
I grabbed the mask and boarded the lift once again. Riding it back up to the study where Noodle was sleeping on the couch.
She was wrapped in about five blankets, two of which were mine and my favorite ones but I let her borrow them, knowing she would need them more then me. She was asleep, the outline of her body under the blankets rising up and down softly. Just the sight of her sleeping made me more tired myself. And more relaxed.
I set the mask down on the side of the couch near her head so she would see it when she woke up in the morning. I was half tempted to go write a note to set on top of the mask for her but I had a good feeling the ink was empty again and I didn't want to risk waking her by refilling it now. So instead I just ruffled her dark hair lightly, whispering "Good night Noodle." Then went back to the lift to head down to my room and go to sleep.