A mournful 2D opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by clouds and the rays of the sun pushing down below the horizon. His feet hung loosely off the side of a cliff's edge and the grass underneath him was like soft feathers, licking at his hands and tugging at his jeans. Hundreds of feet below the cliff was a city hidden from clouds, rain and polluted atmosphere. Up in the heavens, he soared through skies and watched pastel hues change from soft pinks to dull grays until his ears picked up the bone-chilling sound of sirens wailing behind him.

Dragging his face slowly to turn his attention to the sound, he saw a giant windmill tower over him and trees surrounding the red and white patterned structure. Father off were dark clouds with emerging black flecks and propellers whirling above them- the sound growing louder as they gained speed.

Sitting beside him was a young Noodle whose body was small and petite to his eyes.

Reaching his hand out to her, he recoiled immediately when his fingers slipped inside of her arm. His own body was transparent with dull shading and his fingertips shimmered when he touched her. Pulling his hand to his chest, he grabbed it and gawked at the girl who didn't seem to notice his presence at all. But when the sirens wailed louder and louder, she turned her head and gazed at the helicopters that surrounded the island before she immediately jumped up and turned to sprint to the turning windmill behind the couple.

2D followed in curiosity, but began to sprint for his life when he saw weapons protrude from the massive machines and aim at the girl. Fire rang out and echoed through the air, deafening Noodle's screams and his own, and before he knew it, he had run through the walls of the windmill to find the teenager slumped against the wall. Bullets crashed through the painted steel structure and she rolled to her right, grunting from surprise.

"NOODLE! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

2D pleaded to the young girl but her attention did not flicker to him; instead, she waited in silence for another minute until she opened the entrance to the building and looked about the floating island.

Following, Stuart ran to her and tried to touch her again but she continued to walk onto the empty stretch of burned grass on the cliff's edge, looking about her.

2D released his sight off of the girl and silently gasped at the burning trees and the destruction that riddled the remnants of the floating piece of earth. The windmills propellers had broken off and had stopped turning while the roof of the steel building had flames licking at the trees that surrounded the place. The air had become a smoky, ash-filled cloak that surrounded them and the island was rapidly plummeting to the earth. Frighteningly enough though, there was no Earth, but a mix of water and sharp stones coming closer and closer to the island from below.

The sirens had never ceased and the helicopters circled back around, firing away at Noodle who was running back to the burning windmill. Within several seconds, he saw the girl jump from the island which was about sixty stories from the impending welcome of death below.

2D, with no choice in his favor, jumped after her, a weightless vacuum of air cradling his body as he directed himself to the flailing ragdoll body of Noodle. Her arms welcomed the air, outstretched and her hair whipped behind her, revealing a face with tears pulling at the sides of her face and an unreadable expression.

When he was finally at her level, they were a mere second from the waves and he grasped her hand, able to find a hold on her body and they slammed into the churning water below.

Bubbles engulfed the couple and left them strangling for air, but this did not keep him from holding onto her small hand. He peeked his eyes open and looked at Noodle, who did not seemed surprised but showed a soft, apologetic face and she smiled, mouthing, "I love you, Toochie…"

Losing grip of the girl, he began to sink, never leaving his eyes off of the girl who swam to the surface and vanished.

"STUART! STU-!"

Jerking awake, 2D snapped his exhausted eyes open and he ground his teeth together, shuddering from a cold sweat that stretched from the nape of his neck to his lower back. He then noticed, however, that this was not sweat, because his whole body was drenched in water except for his hand, which was being tightly squeezed by a hand from someone else.

Flipping his stare to his hand, he followed the arm up to the face of the person who was only inches from his face, silently staring at him back. Her green eyes matched the ones he saw in his dream and he squinted in disbelief.

Why am I WET?! WHAT'S GOIN' ON?! AM I AWAKE?! NOODLE!

His instincts overpowered the screaming that sounded in the back of his head, pleading for him to notice he was in a dream. Ignoring the voice, he clung to the woman, daring not to let go. Burying his face into her shoulder, he pulled her onto the bed and he hummed to himself, getting a surprised gasp out of his savior, who woke him from his temporary dream.

"Take me away from here…Take me somewhere safe… Don't let me wake up… Don't leave me…," his voice dribbled out into her ear. Shaking from fear, he tugged at the back of her t-shirt and hid himself, confused as to what to do with himself or how to respond to his awakening.

(Noodle's POV)

Noodle cringed at the sweat and the water that began to soak into her clothes, but she ignored it when she realized that 2D began to cling tightly enough to crush her torso and bring pain back into her weak, bruised body.

She groaned and was surprised to find that he loosened up his grip, but still remained in physical contact with her body. Slowly, she pushed her body until she was hunched over 2D, who now began to tremble and cry when she moved away.

Scooping up the damp, pitiful mess into her arms, she took him in an embrace and set him in her lap, where she smoothed out his sweaty hair and laid her cheek upon the top of his head. 2D grasped her free hand, fingering it and examining it until he brought it to his heart and held it there, letting her feel his racing heartbeat that was beginning to slow.

"I'm not going anywhere Toochie… I'm here… I won't leave you…," she whispered repeatedly.

(2D's POV)

Time passed like that and what seemed to be minutes passed by in hours.

"2D…?"

This is real…Blimey she's real… It's REAL!

Stuart removed his face from her shoulder and blinked tiredly, removing himself from the warmth of her body and spoke groggily to himself, "I cun' believe yew are really here… I'm my room, wif me this very second…I cun' believe yew aren't dead… I cun'…"

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes which were swollen from all the crying that took place in that day. His nerves had brought tension into his neck and spine, making it uncomfortable for him to sit, hunched over on the edge of the bed.

He turned his body so it completely faced the bruised woman who sat at the head of his bed, looking at 2D with full attention. She did not respond, so he continued in a bashful voice, "I cun' believe after all this time… yew've been alive… After all those nightmares…those dreams and visuals of yew dying over and over again… I cun' comprehend… I just- I-I mean I don't…"

Noodle only smiled at him, "I've missed you too, Stuart…and someone else has too," she added.

Furrowing his eyebrows together, 2D popped his neck and looked back at the purple-haired girl and he was interrupted, "Russ has been waiting outside to meet you… Um… he couldn't come inside because of some obvious reasons, and you'll figure them when you see for yourself…"

She giggled lightly and hopped off the bed, and 2D sprang up and followed closely behind her, tripping over his feet and ignoring the pulsing that raided his empty head from the sudden movement. He didn't want to lose sight of her in case it was some sort of dream again- but he highly doubted it now that hours had passed with him in her tiny, fragile arms. He didn't want any chances to be taken. Not now, and not ever.

"Russel?! When did 'e get here," 2D swayed on his feet, taking it all in. With Noodle back from the dead, the years of isolation on the beach away from all live besides a grumpy Murdoc, and now Russel who hasn't been seen ever since he went to go to a psychologist for his own problems, it was all overwhelming.

Noodle flashed him a look and realized how lightheaded her friend had gotten. She darted under him and hugged his body, pushing him back up and against a wall to keep him steady.

"Hey, watch it Toochie. Don't want you passing out after I just got you up… Hey, focus," she lightly tapped the side of his cheek, knocking the fuzziness out of his eyes and kick-starting his attention again.

When he straightened his body again, she pulled away and looked him up and down before glancing at the elevator and at the cups on his bedside table.

When did I bring plastic cups of water into my room?

Shrugging to himself, he saw her pace over to the table and retrieved the only cup that was filled, taking it back and passing it to him.

"Drink. You're probably dehydrated and that's what's making you all woozy. Now c'mon," she kissed his jaw, as that was as far as she could get, since her height hadn't gotten that much taller.

Stuart blushed and looked into his cup, chewing the inside of his cheek and trying to prevent a small smile from growing on his lips. But his bashful thoughts were immediately pushed away when Noodle piped up excitedly.

"Let's go see Russ!"

Author's Note:

Hmm…I like this one better than the previous chapter. What do you think?

I have 2 or 3 more chappies to go, so enjoy it while you still can. And I may just write a sequel… I don't know what about, but it might be like… a prequel to this. I don't know. But I'll let you know on the last chapter for this story.

Gorillaz doesn't belong to me.

Reviews! I'm lovin' them.