(2D's POV)
Time seemed to drag on forever, the loud sirens coursing through his head and throbbing his permanent headache. Stuart, with his head on the window and his large, gangly hands tugging at his blue hair stared into the gray, discolored water with eyes bugging out and mouth, a thin line sewed on his face.
Only a single minute had passed when he was gazing into the throat of the monstrous whale that attempted to consume him and his room, but as quickly as he saw the darkness engulf his window, the whale was whipped away by a massive hand and the gray, murky water was back in view.
2D had stopped counting how many times he felt his life flash before his eyes, for that was far from the first time that happened.
Rather than the dark hollowness in his head, his eyes were white and afraid, his body paralyzed in fear and his past memories flashing through his head at light-speed.
Falling out of the sycamore tree when he was a boy, losing his hair and having it grow back blue.
Having his lunch money stolen when he was in elementary school and being bullied for his oddly-colored hair.
Smoking a cigarette for the first time with his small group of friends in highschool.
Getting his first, legit girlfriend, Paula Cracker.
The car crash that gave him his first eight-ball fracture as well as the second after Murdoc tried to impress random girls on the sidewalk.
Meeting Murdoc in the hospital, only moments after he awoke from his coma and being introduced to band-life.
The whole sha-bang after Murdoc had an affair with his girlfriend, causing her to leave and find a new guitarist who'd been shipped to them in a Fed-Ex box all the way from Japan. Meeting Russel and Noodle and writing music with them and being invited to interviews, parties, concerts and earning awards for their music. He remembered watching from the sky-needle… the windmill falling…Noodle disappearing…Russel leaving… himself being kidnapped and taken to the claustrophobic prison that he was cooped up in this very second.
He remembered the dreams. The nightmares. The smacks on the head to "suck it up, Dullard and let her go". The loneliness on the island and the abuse from the bassist who lived in the modern-styled housing above him.
2D's life flashed in mere seconds and he couldn't help but stare, empty into the belly of the giant fish. Even when the monster disappeared from sight, he just sat there, stiff and rigid from fear, confusion and hollow sorrow from the footage that reeled through his mind.
And so, he stayed like that; the repetitive noise ringing and crimson haze flashing in his prison cell- consistent thuds that made his bed shudder and vibrate beneath him.
His mind didn't even flicker to the woman who entered his room about five minutes later, the elevator squeaking open and a silent Noodle standing beside the oblivious man.
"Toochie?"
The man flinched and looked over to the young adult who was soaked from head to toe, but her new signature feline mask hid her face. Her hair flopped over the tip, between the white ears of the mask and water streamed down the purplish locks.
Noodle flipped the visage up and revealed her face which exposed narrowed, swollen eyes and eyebrows that were pushed together as if she was worried about something. A light frown traced her mouth and another bruise had lined her knees, for she was wearing her white dress again instead of her normal, tom-boyish attire.
His mind did not process her presence, but he processed that someone was talking to him. So, rather than answering, he just stared, dumbfounded and at loss for words while his own eyes glazed over with thought.
He numbly shoved himself off the bed, coming to a wobbly standing position and walked over to Noodle and words began to jumble in his mouth, forming disfigured statements and questions, but all that came out was, "I missed havin' yew 'round, Love…"
In replacement for his jumbled thoughts, his heart took control and he found himself circling his arms around the woman, holding her to him despite her sopping wet clothes and icy chill of her skin.
He left no space between them, laying his cheek upon her wet hair and breathing in steadily, the gears in his mind slowly beginning to turn and warm thoughts prickle under his skin.
Noodle. Noodle. Noodle. I'm holding Noodle. I'm alive. We must be alive. We have to be. Sirens are still going off; I'm holding Noodle and she's shivering. Shit. Why did she come in my room? What's happening? Where did the whale go? Why is Noods wet? This headache…is so much more intense than it usually is and my stomach ain't feelin' well either.
"Wot…is happening to us," 2D finally managed to word his thoughts into a question. He refused to let go for several more moments, but she squeezed him tightly in significance that she wanted to be let go. He did so, after he gingerly kissed her forehead and turned around to gather a blanket off his bed and wrapped it around the woman.
Her face blushed a furious red and she blinked numerous times, but Stuart ignored her surprise and he sat on the edge of the mattress, glancing at the window behind him and shuddering before looking back at the woman who held the red fleece around her shoulders.
"The island has been discovered by the man who tried to kill me. Muds, Russ and I held him off for a few minutes but he and his men retreated. We don't know where he went, but Toochie… It's not safe here anymore," Noodle cried out softly. Her lip trembled but she huffed out an angry sigh before stalking to the walls of his room, examining the posters that decorated the trashy, painted walls of his holed-up room.
"I'm arranging a band meeting at the bonfire; this is no laughing matter and I want off of this pink bullshit that Murdoc found. This is his fault and I'll be damned if I'm put in Hell for another five years. I want off as late as TOMORROW and you are coming with me."
Her tone was clear and steady, but her voice was bitter. Noodle turned to face 2D and added, "Russel will join; Mud's too…if this band is to stay alive. He's our bassist and he's a part of this family whether he knows it or not. And I hate every part of his existence except for the fact that he treats the band as a whole, with some small part of respect. He doesn't treat us kindly as individuals, but for the sake of the band, he will sacrifice a lot… dedication."
"He's still an asshole…," Noodle finished and took off the blanket, airing it out on the bedside railing and walking around the room some more. The sirens had shut off finally, but the red haze from above the elevator still flashed periodically, the glow illuminating their faces from the darkness.
2D spoke up, considering Noodle's speech, "when will this meetin' be?"
"In approximately 5 minutes, Toochie," Noodle growled, stalking back to the elevator and punching the button beside Stuart's wooden dresser.
2D swiftly got up and accompanied the woman, standing behind her and flinching as she sniffed, wiping away an invisible tear that pushed down the side of her face. He silently wished that he could've brushed it away for her, letting his lips touch her forehead once again in hopes that she wouldn't be so fretful over the situation at hand.
But his own mind was racing with dangerous thoughts, images forming of the man with red eyes and the pointy nose. Images fading between the whale and the murderer, Murdoc and his frightening creation of the cyborg Noodle, of his love for the young woman and the chances of her death becoming more and more probable by the passing minute.
A harsh ding sounded, making him wince in pain as a sharp throb pulsed behind his eyes and in the back of his head; the aftermath of drinking.
2D's face turned a slight shade of green and his stomach churned, but he continued to breathe deeply, continuing into the elevator after Noodle and letting it take them both to sea-level.
Silence ensued and they both didn't seem to mind- the stillness that cloaked them was appreciated and welcoming to their ravaging minds.
(Noodle's POV)
Five minutes later…
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, LEAVE THE BLOODY ISLAND?!"
Murdoc hollered at the woman, his eyes bugging out of his head and his hands tugging at the roots of his greasy hair.
Noodle had managed to scramble the band onto the beach in order to discuss with them the issue at hand, but Murdoc didn't seem to fond of her idea of abandoning his precious hideout.
"I found this landmass, built on it and painted it! I made it my own as our home and a couple days after you return from where-ever the hell you've been, you tell me to abandon this place?!"
Russel groaned, several meters out in the water and he laid himself out on the surface, floating after huffing out an impatient growl. Noodle, too, had blown her fuse at the man and her hands tightened into fists.
"Well I certainly don't want to sit here and watch the band die under your watch because you're too selfish to give up this piece-of-shit landmass out in the middle of fucking NOWHERE YOU IDIOT!" Noodle raised her voice and grew a liking to profanity, at least just enough to get her point across to the hung-over man who was glaring angrily at her.
"IT WAS YOUR IDEA TO MAKE A DEAL WITH A DEMON AND IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT WE'RE OUT HERE! Murdoc-san, listen to me. If you want to keep Gorillaz intact, I suggest we get the hell off this death-trap and move back to the mainland so we can all have a chance at life again. Maybe you can seal off the deal by giving this psycho something else in return. You can give him money, let him do whatever except KILL US! I'm tired of running and it's all that I've been doing for the past few years now…"
Noodle paced the bumpy plastic, glancing at 2D's sneakers every now and then when she passed him and looking up to Murdoc who gazed off into the clouds above them, the rain having stopped and the storm passing by. The temperature was still cool and the breeze off the water made it chillier, trailing her exposed skin in tiny goosebumps.
Noodle added in hesitantly, "the cyborg can stay if that's what is needed; but I don't want it around me. It's useless unless you need it as weaponry against that demonic killer…"
She bit her tongue, angry at having to keep the robotic replacement of her, but she decided it was for the best if they were to have full-scale protection against any sudden inconveniences. If she was to get off this island, she needed protection, even if it consisted of the short-circuit clone.
Kuso! Watashi wa jibun jishin ga watashi ga shinu aisuru hitobito o mite motte inai koto ga dekimasu...( Dammit! I can't bring myself to watch the people I love, die...)
She stuck her eyes on the green-skinned man who stood in one spot, rubbing his temples and grumbling out random curses at the sunlight that pushed through the clouds and into his eyes. He shook his head angrily and turned away from the beam, looking downcast and shadowing his face. After a few moments, he trudged over to the cyborg that stood at the position of attention over by jut of the peninsula. He muttered something to her, waving an arm in a spastic gesture while keeping the other on his temple. He stopped moving about and stood straight, taking off his cap and smoothing back his hair that just fell back into place, a shiny bowl-cut that flopped over his wide forehead. He pinched the bridge of his nose and pointed toward the dock with his sailor's hat, grumbling out a few more words and the cyborg bowed and saluted, taking off to the entrance of the island at a sprint.
The man dragged his feet back to the group, picking his eyes up to Stuart who stood beside Noodle, and then looked to the woman, a scowl tugging at his stern face. His attention flickered to the large man who floated in the water, his brown head picked up and turned toward him in interest. Russel said nothing and the beach was hushed from the waves that lapped at the shore.
Murdoc crossed his arms and set his hat back atop his head, shadowing his eyes and darkening his face, speaking in a hurried voice.
"We leave at sunset. Pack your belongings 'cause we sure as Hell won't be coming back."
(AUTHOR'S NOTE)
Ahhhhhhh They're getting off the island now!
This was an incredibly slow chapter. I'm sorry.
And I'm not updating as often as I promised. I'm getting to be a little more social in life and it is summer after all… there's a lot to do with so many people in such little time. So, excuse the inconvenience guys. Thanks for tagging along. You all are AMAZING.
I don't own Gorillaz.