Gorillaz – An Alternative Beginning

I know it's been a long time; I've just been doing other stuff. So when we last met, Russel had escaped from the laboratory and Noodle had been shipped over from Japan to safety. This, I won't lie, will mean that they will both have nowhere to go and will be on the streets. Will they cope with it though? Let's see. Tell you what; try playing Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles while reading the first bit. It works quite well I think. Noodle is called 23 just in case anyone had forgotten.

What Lies In a Name

It was hard from the start, for both of them. They both came from two different areas of the world so being alone in an English town was hard for them to get used to. It was harder for 23 because, as she feared, no one understood Japanese and she - in turn - didn't understand English. Both had nowhere to go and both felt very alone. Russel's only friend that he could remember was Abby (other than the mysterious person called Del who he had vague memories of) and he left her for his own safety. 23 had never had friends, heck she didn't even have a family, her parents were killed. This upset her now more than ever before because now there were no other options … if she returned to Japan she would be used for evil purposes.

One night, lying in a cold dark alleyway, she decided to pray for help. She had never been religious but she felt like she had nothing else to try. 23 rested her elbows on her suitcase (which was the only thing she had and which doubled-up as a pillow) clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

She whispered her prayer in Japanese for a few peaceful moments and then closed her eyes and went to sleep. This was her prayer.

"Please God; I want to escape this nightmare. I would like a family again. I don't care who they are or what they're like but as long as they are nice I'm happy. I don't want to be alone."

Little did she know that her prayer would soon be answered.

One cloudy day, Russel woke up in the doorway of some building and trudged off to find something to eat. People obviously stared at him but he wasn't given any help. Russel was - for some reason - more depressed than usual. Maybe it was hunger, or loneliness, or both. Then, from the corner of a building he heard something strange. It sounded like someone talking ….. but not talking. A different language maybe? It seemed likely. He turned to see.

On the floor, sitting on a suitcase, was a small girl. She was calling to people passing by in the different language but they never even looked at her. Then he recognized the language, it was Japanese. He seemed to remember he knew it, but only a little bit. The girl looked even sadder than he did. She was wearing a red Japanese style button-up top with red shorts and sandals. She also had a small radio helmet on. She looked cold and tired. The girl hung her head and sighed. This girl was 23.

Russel had seen many homeless people and they did a lot to make people give them sympathy. Some people had dogs with them and some women he'd seen had small children. Some were just kids who had ran away from home. With this Japanese girl however, he felt sorry for her the most. She was like him in a way, alone on a different side of the world. He thought it might make her day if someone took the time to talk to her.

"You ok?"

23 looked up and stared at the big man in front of her. As strange as he looked he seemed very kind.

"Ko…Kon'nichiwa." she said quietly.

"You homeless too?"

23 looked confused. Russel pointed at the building she was sitting behind.

"Home? You live somewhere?"

She finally understood. "Oh… nai." She shook her head and looked down again. By listening in to some conversations, 23 had a small knowledge of the English language. The problem was she didn't speak it very well.

"Naze anata wa hōmuresudesu ka?" asked 23.

He didn't quite understand her but he thought she said something about being on the streets.

"Can you keep a secret? You know a… errr…"

What was the right word?

"…Himitsu?" Maybe that was it.

23 nodded her head and smiled. He knew Japanese! Russel wondered how he could explain his super strength to her. He then spotted a large stone by his feet and picked it up.

"Watch" he said.

He held it in the palm of his hand and closed his fist quickly. There was a crunching sound and bits of dust escaped his fist. When he opened it again it was nothing more than dust and tiny pieces of rock.

"I have super strength. People are after me."

23 watched amazed. Then she realised, this man could be able to understand her problem.

"Watashi wa amarini mo himitsu o motte iru!" she said.

23 rolled up her sleeve and showed him the hole that was left in her arm so he could see the wires and circuits.

"Watashi wa, ichibu no baionikkudesu. Watashi wa Nippon o hanarenakereba naranakattanode, watashi wa buki toshite shiyō suru koto wa dekimasendeshita."

It was Russel's turn to look amazed. Again, he didn't understand everything she said but he roughly got what he was saying.

"Wow, you're part robot?"

"Urrr…Hai?"

"Looks like you and I have the same problem, kid. I'm Russel."

"Nani?"

The big man placed his hand on his chest. "Russel."

23 pointed at him. "R…Russ-ell?"

"Yeah, you got it."

The Japanese girl smiled until he said "What's your name?"

"Uuurrr…." She thought he was asking her name but what could she say? She couldn't be called 23 anymore. What if someone found out about her and sent her back to Japan? She needed a new name.

She looked up and looked at the building in front of her. It was a Chinese restaurant. Part of the large sign in front of her caught her eye. It read:

"Freshly Made Noodles!"

That's what it would say if the "S" in Noodles hadn't of fallen off. The word was interesting to her.

"N…. NNNNN…No….Nooo…d….dle" she said quietly to herself.

She tried again. "N…Noo…dle."

It was getting better. She said one more time.

"Noodle."

She had done it. She said a word in English. She started to laugh loudly. She was so happy. 23 repeated the word over and over again and laughed every time she said it.

Then she had a great idea. That could be her name, couldn't it?

"R…Russ-ell!" He had been distracted by something else that was happening and missed the fact she had learnt a new word.

"Yeah?"

She placed her hand on her chest. "I ... Noodle!"

"Your name's Noodle?"

She nodded frantically. 23, now Noodle, hadn't been this happy since she entered the country. She looked up at Russel and gained another thought. What if this was the person she prayed for the other night?

"Well, great to meet you Noodle. I guess I'll see you round."

Russel turned and started to walk away. As he walked, he heard a trundle of wheels behind him. He turned to see Noodle standing behind him pulling her suitcase along. She looked up at him with big eyes.

"N…Noodle…come?" she asked.

Russel couldn't help but smile. She looked so cute and, in all fairness, she would be good company. He turned completely to face her with his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"OK Noodle, you can come with me." He nodded to confirm 'yes'.

She squealed and ran to give him a hug. She was so small and he was so big that Noodle's arms didn't even reach a quarter of the way around Russel's stomach. He gently wrapped his arms around her.

"Arigatō Russel-Sama! Arigatō!"

"At least we aren't alone now. Come on, let's find something to eat."

He let go of Noodle and carried on walking down the road. Noodle skipped alongside him pulling her suitcase happily talking in her native language. Although Russel didn't really understand most of it he was glad that he was able to make her feel wanted.

A bit cutesy at the end but oh well. At least Russel and Noodle are together (the start of Noodle's wished for family). I thought that Eleanor Rigby would work well for the first bit. I just imagined them sitting in different areas while people walked past them in fast-motion while stayed at normal speed. So now we know that they are happy, let's check in to see how Murdoc and 2D are. Did 2D manage to find him again? Let's find out next time.