Disclaimer: all characters belong to tecmo, except for a few supporting ones.

*note: I got the idea for this fic on the "doatec hk" stage on dead or alive 3.

At an abandoned laboratory in Hong Kong, that is where she could recall her first vivid memory. There had been a battle there before. The cramped room was a mess. When she opened here eyes, she could see other girls there. Other girls that looked like her, only they were not breathing. She was wet, cold, and naked. Her instincts immediately told her to get out of that awful place. Carefully, watching her steps for the broken shards of glass on the floor, she walked past a small closet which housed a long white coat. She guessed it belonged to a scientist that had worked there. But he didn't need it now, and she did.

She walked the Hong Kong streets in her bare feet all that night. Running into ever sort of questionable character the shade of night seems to draw. A few of them tried to attack her, but to her surprise, she possessed fighting skills she didn't know she had. After walking around aimlessly all night, she began to grow tired and hungry. She sat down on the steps of a small building and clutched at her coat tightly for warmth. She noticed a man walk towards and start bothering her, but she was too tired to put up very much of a protest against his advances. Suddenly, a woman had grabbed him and slammed him against the wall of the building. This was the first time she saw Marie.

"Quit it Li, can't you see she's not interested?"

"Sorry, I was just trying to be nice."

"Well you have a very ANNOYING way of showing it."

The woman let him go and the man ran away from them, shouting behind him "CRAZY BITCH!!!"

Turning towards her, the woman smiled. "Sorry about him, he's just a local punk that hangs around this block. He can be bothersome at times, but he's really harmless."

"That's okay, I'm just really tired. I could have handled him, but thanks for the rescue anyway."

"Do you live in this building? Cause if you do, I've never seen you around before."

"No, I just decided to rest here awhile, if that's okay?"

"Umm sure, why not, no law against it I guess." The woman looked her over, probably noticing her questionable attire. "Kind of underdressed to be out jogging this early aren't you?"

"I guess..."

The woman had a worried look at her face and then asked, "Do you have a place to stay at?"

She looked down at the steps beneath her and shook her head.

Sighing, "Well, you can come upstairs to my apartment. We can at least get you some decent clothes and a pair of shoes."

As the young girl had come to know, Marie wasn't usually the type to invite total strangers to her home, but she could see that the young girl she had just rescued really needed help. And Marie could see it in her eyes that she was a very nice and sweet girl; traits that won't get you far if you're alone in the streets with no place to stay.

*note: reading and reviewing this would be nice. Flames are welcomed, as I feed on hatred.