Chapter 14

They looked everywhere. The living room, the kitchen, her bedroom, the work out room, even the lab. Goku went and checked the gravity room, while Yamcha walked the grounds. Marie was nowhere to be seen.

"She's got to be here!" Bulma said, striding up to Goku as he entered the living room. "She was here when I left. I haven't been gone that long!" She scowled, surveying the living room. Yamcha walked in.

"Didn't find her?" he asked, settling an arm around Bulma's waist. Goku shook his head.

"Well, she didn't touch the food she had been warming up when I left. It's sitting in the fridge, untouched." Bulma's brows furrowed. "I hope nothing's wrong."

Goku folded his arms. "I guess I'll check the grounds again."

"She's gone."

Everyone turned around. Vegeta leaned against the door frame, watching them. Yamcha frowned.

"How would you know?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Because you nitwit," Vegeta stated, narrowing his gaze on the man, "I was here."

"Yamcha." Bulma grabbed his arm, preventing him from taking another step forward. Vegeta smirked. Bulma looked over at him. "Did you do something to make her leave?"

Silence.

Vegeta turned on his heel and went to walk away.

Yamcha and Bulma jumped in surprise when Goku powered up, disappearing and reappearing in front of the prince. He frowned at the saiyan.

"Answer the question," Goku demanded, his eyes boring into Vegeta's. Nobody moved as silence rendered the air.

"No," Vegeta said softly. He brushed passed, not looking back, as the other occupants in the room watched him disappear.

"Can you help me Dende?" Marie landed softly, slowly walking over to the guardian. He studied her.

"What is it you need?" He asked softly, watching as her eyes lowered to the ground, before resting on him again.

"I need to go someplace for a little while." She didn't explain further. Dende closed his eyes, thinking about what he was about to do. He slowly nodded, walking over to the woman who demanded so little, but wanted so much.

"Is this a vacation?" He asked, watching her expression. A frown marred her face.

"Yes" she said after a moment. "Of sorts?" he questioned. Her expression didn't change.

"Please." Dende closed his eyes, her soft plea washing over him as he sighed. Motioning Marie to follow him, he made his way to the stairs leading below the lookout, walking to a door at the end of the dark hall, before lifting his hand to it. Pausing, he looked back at the troubled woman.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly. She clenched her fists, her frown softening slightly as she gazed at him with certainty and trepidation clouding her eyes. An odd combination. "Yes," she whispered.

Dende nodded, looking back towards the door, waving his hand, curling his fingers underneath before yanking his hand up, palm facing forward. They heard something click. The door disappeared.

"Why is it locked?" Marie asked, following the guardian into the musky room. "This room is dangerous," he stated softly, not looking back. Shelves lined the walls, vials littering the surface, some giving off an eery glow. Dende walked over to the back wall, seeming lost in thought as he studied the glass containers in front of him. Marie read some of the labels, noticing that the larger ones were for everyday use, while the ones that were as small as her pinky had weird letters written on them. "Hey, what's this one?" she asked, reaching for the small pink vial, dark pink clouds seeming to swirl around in it.

"Don't touch that!"

Marie jerked her hand back, looking over at Dende. A small smile appeared on his face. "You don't want men flinging themselves at you, do you?"

She lifted a brow, her gaze going back to the pink vial, curiously studying it a moment. "No," she finally said, "I have enough man problems." Dende chuckled.

He walked towards her, a dark purple vial clutched in his hand. He hesitated. "Now," he started softly, "you need to think of somewhere you would like to go. Not a person! A place, or a picture in your mind of where you think the ideal place would look like, understand?" She nodded.

Dende let out a shaky breath. He opened his palm, revealing a skinny piece of glass, almost reed thin, more tiny than her smallest finger. She reached for it.

"You need to be absolutely sure, Marie." Dende's voice stopped her. She hesitated, her hand hovering over the vial for a moment, before taking it out of his hand.

"You need to clear your mind," he instructed, walking around her, his steps slow and methodical. "Okay," she said softly. "Now close your eyes." She let them slid shut, the guardian's face burned behind her eyes. She heard a slight pop as he removed the stopper. "Now picture in your mind a place, somewhere you would want to go. Don't make it complicated, just a simple image of land, or a city." Silence rendered the air.

"Do you have it?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she whispered, a moment later feeling a cold piece of glass be pressed into her hand. Her stomach muscles trembled for a moment, a sliver of fear rushing through her at what she was about to do. She ignored it.

"Now drink," Dende's voice seemed far away, the last bit echoing in her mind.

She tipped the vial.

"What did you do!?" Piccolo whispered harshly.

Dende gazed back at him, unblinking. "It was her choice," he stated softly.

The namek warriors gaze slid to the right, where Marie had been standing, moments before. His gaze went back to the guardian.

"Please don't judge Piccolo. It was her choice. If she hadn't wanted to go, the potion wouldn't have worked."

Piccolo's green skin seemed to whiten in the dark room, his pupil's wide. "Just pray," he stated.

"What?" Dende gazed at him in confusion.

"Just pray," he said again, "Pray Vegeta doesn't kill you!"

Where the hell did I go!? Marie slowly looked around, her eyes wide at the buildings that seemed to leap up from the ground, stopping far above her, to where she had to strain her neck just to see the tops. They were everywhere. A man on a bicycle flew past, almost grazing her before shooting out into the street, barely missing a parked car. The car's are weird! She watched one as it passed, smoke coming out of the back, the rubber wheels it was sitting on turning madly. They don't float! She watched another, this one yellow, stop across the street, letting a man in a suit open the door, cutting off the woman reaching for the handle, her arms laden with bags. He hopped in, ignoring the woman's protest. The yellow car pulled away. "Are you lost?" She turned around. A thin man in a black uniform stood behind her, his eyes narrowed on her face, the hat on top of his head pushed low. He had an emblem of a star on his chest. "Well, I..."

"Are you lost or not?" the man asked, getting impatient. She slowly nodded, listening as a box at his waist started squawking numbers and directions in one breath. "Breaker 224, we have a possible break in on 2nd and 3rd, all units please..." The man turned it down.

"What are you looking for? I might be able to point you in the right direction."

She hesitated, "Do you know where I could procure food?" He studied her for a moment, before shrugging. "You could go here, to the Subway on the corner, if you want something fast," he said, pointing to his right. "Or you could go to Alleva Dairy, which is on Grand street. Do you know how to get there?"

Her eyes wide, she shook her head.

"Well, you get on Laight Street, that becomes Canal street, before turning onto Centre Street. Now you go a little ways, and you'll turn onto Grand Street. You shouldn't have no problems finding it, you got it?" She stared at him. He shrugged again, turning the volume back up on the box, before strolling away. "It takes all kinds," she heard him say before he disappeared around the corner.

She slowly backed up, feeling her foot step down behind her before evening out again. Tires squealed. She looked up. "What the hell is wrong with you woman! You wanna get killed!? Of all the stupidest things! First a cabby who didn't pay, now this!" He kept yelling as she moved, stepping back up onto the sidewalk, before speeding away, tires squealing against the asphalt as he screamed another obscenity at her before turning the corner.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE!?"

Dende took a step back, watching as Vegeta's eyes changed from black to ice blue. "Calm down, Vegeta," he said softly.

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN," Vegeta screamed, "until you TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

Dende studied him silently. "I don't know," he finally said. The saiyan grabbed the front of his shirt, twisting it in his fist. "You'd better find out real quick," Vegeta stated, his breathing irregular, "before we have to find another guardian for earth." The saiyan shook him, his staff clattering to the ground.

"Vegeta!" Piccolo landed a few feet away. "Let him go," he said quietly.

"NO! Not until he tells me where Marie is!"

Piccolo grabbed his wrist, but Vegeta shook him off, "Don't touch me!" he growled. He glared at Dende a moment later, a sound of disgust passing his lips as he dropped him. The guardian got to his feet, reaching down and grabbing his staff, before turning and facing the enraged saiyan again.

"I told you Vegeta," he explained, watching the warriors face darken, "she chose the place. Marie is the one that made the final decision. I tried to convince her otherwise, but..."

Vegeta frowned at him. "Well, you didn't do a very good job of it, did you?" he snapped, balling his hands into fists, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

"I'll give you three days," Vegeta said softly. He froze the guardian with his eyes. "Three days to find her, before..." He let the sentence trail off, watching the fear creep into the soft-hearted nameks' eyes. He shot off into the sky, leaving a cold whirlwind behind.

Marie felt her shoulder's bunch, her arms wrapping around her middle as she slowly walked down the sidewalk. She skirted around a scaffold, listening as the workers banged, the whirring of machines loud as she quickly passed, her gaze falling to the ground again. The building ended and she looked up, a green sign standing firmly in the cement, inches from the road. East 10th Street. Marie had no clue where she was. She turned the corner, walking down the sidewalk the sign deemed Fourth Bowery. Her gaze focused on a park across the street, watching as a boy ran across the green grass, looking back at some flimsy fabric he had attached to a string. Running, the boy jerked the string up, seeming to try to lift the little object. People milled about, some sitting on blankets while other ran down a cement sidewalk curving through the park. She was studying a woman rolling towards the street, a weird pair of shoes on her feet, the four lined wheels making a crunch sound as she sped down the sidewalk, turning sharply before disappearing over the hill, when she slammed into something.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Marie looked down. A woman squatted down in front of her, her bent head full of rioting curls, the gold and brown ringlets bouncing as she shook her head, muttering to herself. She was picking stuff up off the ground, supposedly having fallen from the bag hanging around her middle. Marie bent down to help. She watched as a small, pink plastic tube rolled away, falling into a grate next to the sidewalk. She heard the woman sigh.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, picking up a small round mirror, a tiny crack running along the edge of it. The woman took it from her hand, gazing at her for a moment before smiling. "It's okay! It's not like I need any lipstick. I don't really wear in anyway. I didn't even know it was in my bag-" she paused, studying the woman before her. Marie looked up. "Are you okay?" The woman stepped closer, her brows gently furrowing. Marie shook her head, "I have no clue where I'm at," she stated quietly, looking around, not really seeing anything. The woman smiled a little. "First day in the big city, huh? Yeah, it can be a little intimidating," Marie nodded, "everything seems like it kinda runs together before you get the hang of it."

"I don't even know how I got here," Marie stated softly, watching as the woman's brows shot up for a moment, before seeming to roll the comment off her shoulder's. "I'm Zoey," she said, thrusting her hand out. "Marie." She grabbed the woman's hand. She let go a moment later. "Nice to meet you, and OW!" Zoey said, shaking her hand a little. "You work out a lot!?" the woman asked, her gaze running over Marie's body.

"I train."

"Yeah, you look like you do," Zoey stated. Marie looked at her. "Oh, don't get me wrong. Your not bulky like a bodybuilder, just...toned," she paused, "very toned." An awkward silence fell between them. "So," Zoey said abruptly, "have you eaten yet?"

Marie shook her head. "Come on!" Zoey walked around her, not looking back to see if she followed. She did.

They stopped a few blocks away, Marie easily keeping up with the other woman's quick stride, seeming to vibrate with energy all her own. The skirt she was wearing swished at her ankles, the soft pink fabric seemed to jump at every step. The white blouse she had on was tucked at the waist, the sleeves puffing out slightly halfway down her arms. The bracelets she had on jingled, shining when the sun caught the metal. Marie looked down at her own outfit, noticing a slight tear at the top of her orange training pants, her top slightly wrinkled. She suddenly felt frumpy.

"Here we are," the woman, Zoey, stated before walking quickly into the building. Marie noticed the sign, Ed's Easy Diner, before following her, stopping just inside the door. Smells assaulted her, meat and grease seeming to seep into her nose. "Over here," Zoey shouted, sitting in a booth near the back, a window reflecting the light off the lamp hanging over the table. Zoey waved her arm, before pulling out a menu and studying it. Marie slowly walked over, sitting down and gazing out the window.

"Hey Zoey!" A man behind the counter boomed, his belly straining against the spandex of his pants, a once white apron wrapped around his waist, now covered with grease stains. He had a wide grin on his face.

"Hey Jerry! How's business?" she asked, sitting down the menu, sliding another across the table at Marie, quickly glancing over before settling her gaze back on the man.

"Good! Good!" he boomed, before turning his attention to a group of woman just entering the diner.

"Order what you want!" Marie looked up, noticing the woman across from the table studying her. "Okay," she said softly, looking back down at the white folded paper in front of her. "Um..."

A waitress hurried over, her blond hair seemed plastered to her head, not a strand moving as she stopped in front of their table. "Watcha havin'?" the woman asked, a name tag reading "Darla" pinned to her shirt. She didn't look up as she flipped the pad in her hand, clicking a pen in the other, chomping on a piece of gum the whole time. "Your usual?" she asked, finally looking up at Zoey.

"Yeah, get me a sprite, and an extra stack."

"Hungry today?" Darla asked, smiling as she scribbled on the little paper.

"You bet."

They both looked at Marie. She looked back down at the menu, feeling out of place as she tried to make sense of some of the food items. "Why don't you try the All Star meal?" Zoey suggested quietly. Marie looked up, gazing at the woman before nodding her head. "What 'er drinking?" the waitress asked, clicking her pen in rapid succession.

"She'll have a coke," Zoey stated, glancing back at her before shoving the menu behind a napkin container on the table. Darla didn't say anything else, just popped her gum as she wrote the request down and quickly walked away.

"Thank you," Marie said softly, studying the table before glancing out the window. Zoey shrugged, "Don't mention it. It's hard the first couple weeks being in the big city, trying to learn your way around, meeting new people. Just watch out for the weird ones, though." Marie looked over at her. "Weird ones?"

The woman nodded, "Yeah, the ones who talk to themselves, or practice odd cult rituals, the ones who try to move in on the second date. You know, the weird ones." Marie stared at her for a moment, jumping slightly as the waitress set their drinks on the table, raising an eyebrow at Zoey, before moving to take the order of the group sitting down a few tables away.

"So!" Zoey asked, taking a sip of her drink, "what brings you to New York?"

Marie ran a thumb down the drink, watching condensation pool beneath it before meeting the woman's gaze, then turning and watching the people quickly walk past the restaurant. "I just wanted to escape for a while," she said softly, wiping her wet fingers on her pant leg.

"Well!" Zoey stated loudly, "You couldn't have picked a better place. New York is the place to go if you want to lose yourself." She set her cup down. "Where-" She stopped when their food appeared in front of them, Darla popping her gum around her mouth. "Ya'll let me know if you need anything, 'kay!" She walked away. Marie dug in, not pausing as she shoveled hash browns and eggs into her mouth. Zoey watched her, noticing the way the woman seemed not to be eating fast enough. "Hey," she said softly, tapping her fork on the woman's plate. Marie growled. Zoey yanked her fork back, tapping her finger on the table. The woman looked up.

"You need to slow down before you choke!" she said softly. Zoey watched the girl swallow, heat crawling up her neck. Marie grabbed her coke, taking a sip, not meeting Zoey's eyes. She resumed eating, at a slower pace this time.

Zoey picked up her fork, taking a small bite of her pancakes before a voice spoke above them. "Hey Zoey." She paused, looking up, and sighed. The woman across from her continued eating.

"What do you want?" she asked, a frown appearing on her face. The man smirked, sneering a little as his gaze fell on the other woman in the booth. "And who is this?" he asked, an oily smile appearing on his face.

"Leave her alone, Zeck." She demanded, noticing the woman didn't even bother looking at him. She choked down a chuckled, grabbing her drink and taking a sip. Zeck ignored her.

"What's your name honey?" he asked, moving a little closer to Marie's side. Zoey watched her pause, setting her fork down and finally looking up.

"It sure as hell isn't honey!" she stated, shooting a glare at the man before dismissing him with her eyes. Zoey choked on her coke, a laugh escaping among the cough. "Still have a way with the ladies, I see!" she chuckled, enjoying the way his face turned red, before he turned his glare on her. "Nice friends," he said sarcastically. Zoey snorted. "She's just treating you the way you deserve. Now would you leave!" She watched a muscle tick in his jaw, before he walked away, muttering to himself.

"Who was that?" Marie asked, forking the remaining hash browns in her mouth. Zoey studied her for a moment, her cup dangling from her hand. "He's my ex," she said a moment later, watching the woman glance at her, not stopping as she ate the rest of her eggs. "He's also one of the weird ones," she stated. A brow rose on Marie's face, before she grabbed her drink and sipped the rest of the coke down.

They left the diner a while later. "You got somewhere to go?" Zoey asked, studying her as she gazed around the street. "No." Marie finally said, staring at the ground. She lifted her head a moment later when no one spoke. The other woman was watching her. "I know a place," Zoey said, motioning for her to follow as a yellow car was flagged down. "You ever ride in a taxi?" she asked, grinning over at Marie. She shook her head. "Here's your first taste!" Zoey exclaimed, throwing the door open and waving Marie in after her. She gulped, following.