One-Shot #3

(Phase 2)

Hey Guys! I hope you enjoyed my last chapter. It was a lot of fun making it. Also, HAPPY 2018! Hopefully we have a better year, full of new Gorillaz music and crap like that. Anyway, here's my new chapter! This one's set in the beginning of phase 2, and Noodle is about 14 years old. Keep in mind that she basically missed some of her own childhood, so she acts more like a 9 or 10 year old. Also, there is some grossness in this chapter if you're squeamish, just as a disclaimer. Let's go!

Noodle awoke abruptly from her bed, the ribbon of light shining in her eyes through the windows. She groggily sat up from her resting spot, the cold morning air seeping through the open window. Dammit, she thought. Why didn't I close the window last night? She reluctantly stepped out of bed, sliding her feet into her Japanese sandal slippers, and walked slowly towards the window.

With great effort, she was able to close the window, blocking the cold air from returning to the room. She shivered, it was certainly not much better even with the window closed. She buried herself under her comforter, trying to warm herself and stop the shaking. Her head was pounding now, and she wished that 2D was around so she could take some of his painkillers. Her throat was dry, and she let out a few heavy coughs. She decided to go back to sleep, and she closed her eyes.

2 HOURS LATER…

Noodle's eyes opened for the second time, and she peered over her pillow to check the clock. It read: 12:43. She groaned and slipped into her slippers again, and decided to head downstairs for breakfast. Her head still hurt, and her throat was still sore. She went into another coughing fit, but it ceased very quickly.

She reached the kitchen, only to be confronted by a shirtless Murdoc burning some eggs. She wondered if he would be in a good mood today. "Good morning, Noods," he said with a smile as he dropped an egg on her plate. It appeared that he was in a good mood. She smiled back. But his face fell into a confused frown as he looked at her. "Are you okay, dove? You look really pale, and you have bags under your eyes."

She waved him off. "I'm fine," she replied. "Just have a case of the mornings." She stared down at her over-crispy egg. She really wanted Russell's cooking, but he was going to New York to visit his friends for a few days. And 2D was visiting his mom for the weekend, so she didn't have his companionship. It was just her and Murdoc for a few days. It wasn't too bad, but most of the time he wasn't there, probably at a bar hitting on girls. And when he was, he barely said anything. Plus, he was an awful cook.

All of a sudden, she went even paler than she was before. She felt something rising in her throat, and she scrambled to a restroom. Murdoc noticed this, and quickly followed her in close pursuit. When he got there, she was leaning over a toilet and vomiting. Murdoc placed a hand on her back while she made terrible noises, being interrupted by moans of pain. When she finished up, Murdoc went up with her to her room, and told her to get some rest. He needed some time to discuss with Russell what to do. He called him up, and explained the situation.

"Yeah, she threw up all morning," he said. "I'm not really sure what to do. I've never taken care of a sick kid before, what the fuckin' hell do I do with her?"

"Just give her some medicine," Russell replied. "Also make sure that she only eats plain food. I'm sure you don't want to deal with her throwing up again."

Murdoc nodded and hung up after saying goodbye. He then started making his way down to face-ache's room. When he went in, he groaned in annoyance. The room was messy beyond belief, with clothes strewn out all over the floor, with a bunch of vinyls and records just waiting to be stepped on. After tripping over several piles of shirts and shoes, he finally reached the medicine cabinet. He rolled his eyes as he saw only a few pills left in the prescription bottle, even though they had just refilled his prescription a week ago. He pulled out the bottle along with some stomach flu medicine, and retreated back upstairs to Noodle's room.

As he walked in, he was greeted to the sight of Noodle leaning over a bucket vomiting until he was convinced that she had vomited up her organs. He walked awkwardly towards her and held out the bottles. "Hey, Nood, I brough' you some medicine. Here's something for ya' headaches, and you should take some of this too. It's gonna help a lot," he said. She nodded and shakily grabbed the bottle with a fragile hand. She brushed some hairs stuck to her forehead with sweat away from her face. She grabbed a glass of water and took the pills and the stomach flu medicine. Murdoc watched her intently, with a concerned look. She then crawled into her bed, head still pounding. Murdoc closed the windows and turned off the lights, taking one last look and then closing the door.

3 HOURS LATER…

"Hey, luv," she heard a soft but gruff voice say. She opened her eyes too see Murdoc leaning over her, shirtless and with a cigarette in his mouth. She dipped her head back under her pillow, not wanting to ever leave. But Murdoc was persistent. Even she knew that. He shook her lightly and said, "Hey, you need to get up. I made some soup, and you need to eat something." She groaned in exhaustion but complied, putting her bare feet on the cold floor. She followed him down the steps, hair frazzled and still wrapped in a blanket. They reached the kitchen, and he told her that she could take the soup and eat it on the couch while watching TV. She nodded happily, as she was usually not allowed to do this because Russell wouldn't let her. She drowsily grabbed the soup with shaking hands and glided across the room, her blanket messily draped across her shoulders.

She sat down on the plump, soft couch pillows and reached a hand over to the side of the couch to turn the TV on, but she again felt something in her throat. She rolled her eyes at herself and made her way to the bathroom. However, this time she didn't make it in time. She violently threw up in the middle of the hallway, directly on the hardwood floor. She felt tears coming from her eyes, and she ran to get a mop. However, at the end of the hallway, a gentle but firm hand stopped her. She looked up to see that Murdoc had gotten a hold on her. She looked at him and felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"You go eat your food and get some rest, I'll clean this up," he said. She opened her mouth to protest but he shushed her and sent her on her way. She smiled thankfully and resumed her position on the couch. The soup was warm and delicious, despite who it was cooked by. She snuggled on the couch while watching her favorite movie. Eventually, she fell asleep.

She woke up later, and looked around. She was no longer in her room, but on a familiar patch of grass. It was lush and comfortable beneath her, as looked around at her setting. She was on the windmill tower. She was very excited, she loved this island, but Murdoc didn't like her being on it and ruining the set and Russell though that it was dangerous. She looked around at the setting sun, and a warm light shone on her. She looked down at her clothing, which was some black high-waisted shorts and her favorite striped shirt.

But then, the clouds began to form. Black clouds. They swallowed the mellow sky and made way for chaos. She saw two shapes among them, slowly moving closer and closer to her. She made out the shapes to be helicopters, and it looked like they wanted to hit her! She got up and sprinted towards the windmill tower, but it was too late. The helicopters had already gotten to it, and it was engulfed in flames before she could reach it. She looked around frantically, but there was nowhere to hide. She looked back towards the helicopters, which were getting closer. Then, everything went black.

Flashes. Flashes of light, death, fire, and a strange figure dressed in all black who had a gas mask on. She tried to shut her eyes but the figure kept appearing. Soon, the flashes were gone, and she found herself somewhere new.

A black room, with hundreds of thousands of seats facing her. They were all occupied by many different men, all dressed in striped clothing. They looked like pirates, she decided. In the front, she noticed, was him. The strange figure she had seen flashing before her. Her attention was then captured by a bright light shining above her.

Oh no. She thought. I'm onstage. The hundreds of thousands of people there were all watching her. They had come to see her. She turned around, hoping to find another clue on the bottom of the stage. What she saw terrified her. All four of her friends, 2D, Murdoc, and Russell were all trapped in glass cylinders, with 2D's being taller and skinnier, Murdoc's being rather short, and Russell's being wide. These chamber's had all been for her friends. They were made for them.

They were banging on the windows, clearly trying to escape, but the ringleader, the strange man, gave them no mercy. She heard his sharp, twisting voice play over loudspeakers in her ears. "These chambers will fill with poisonous gas that people can live only 1 minute in. You will have precisely that long to decide this." A smoke key suddenly appeared in her hand. "This will unlock and save only one of your friends, before it disappears. Your time starts… NOW!" She had tears in her eyes as she stared at the glass cases. She would have to choose one of them.

All of their eyes looked desperately at her as the chambers started to fill with glass. This has to be a dream. It has to. BUT WHY DOES IT FEEL SO REAL?! She looked to 2D first. His 8-Ball eyes stared back at her, tears glistening as an outer layer. She thought of everything he'd done with her. When she first came here he was her best friend. Clumsy, yes, but kind and funny and just the best person. He was her best friend, and she did not want to give that up. She looked over to Murdoc. Yes, he was a douche, but he helped her when she needed it the most. When her first guitar was broken, he bought her a new one. He comforted her when she was having a hard time, and he taught her how to play so many new instruments to get her mind off of her demons. She looked finally to Russell. Her father figure. He was her everything. Literally, he taught her everything. Her mind wandered to when he taught her how to ride a bike, and healed the cut she received when she fell off of it. Her eyes were watering like they never had before.

They all started to choke on the gas, still banging on the cases, trying to escape. Noodle felt so powerless. She couldn't choose between them! 5…. 4…. 3…. 2…. 1…..

She was swallowed by darkness again.

She bolted up in a cold sweat, tears still streaming from her eyes. Murdoc sat closely next to her, in a chair next to the couch. He had an expression of permanent fear on his face, watching her toss and turn and scream and cry like that. He put a cooling hand on to her sweaty forehead, her hair matted to her head. She turned to face him, her emerald eyes clouded. She tried to speak, but she couldn't say anything. She fell back onto the couch, her face frozen in shock. Murdoc was the first to talk.

"I-I-I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't," he said apologetically. She didn't even notice this. She jumped forward and hugged him like she would never see him again. She didn't want to let go. She couldn't see, but he smiled. She finally detached, and tried to talk.

"You…. and Toochee… and Russ… I couldn't decide who could live…" She was confused over her words, but Murdoc got it instantly. He had been having the same dreams for the past months. He held her hand and pulled her up into his arms as she got over the shock. He then put her down and picked up the bowl that once held the soup, and brought it back into the kitchen. He then returned to the Living Room. Noodle seemed to have gathered herself, as she was now sitting up taller, and no longer had that face of shock on her face.

She wanted to tell him the story, but he pressed a finger to his lips. "I already know," he whispered. She looked at him with confusion, as she didn't understand, but she didn't ask any questions. Instead, she smiled.

"You know Murdoc," she said. " I do feel a lot better than I did this morning. How about we go get rid of some zombies?" She smiled cheekily and he returned it.

They knew the day would end well.

That was IT! I completely lost motivation at the end, so that's why it got all choppy, but I was eager to keep posting. I hope you enjoyed! PLEASE REVIEW I NEED FEEDBACK! Thanks guys!