Killer King, Beauty Queen

42

~*****~

"Hey now, you think you'll be done this year, Mister and Missus Fix it?" I hear Roshi ask. I grip on my tools tighten irritably.

"IF YOU WANNA GET DOWN HERE AND DO IT YOURSELF, I SUGGEST YOU KEEP QUIET!" I shriek at Roshi.

Yamcha groans. "Hey, I'm right here, you know--" He grimaces.

"Shut up and hold this." I snap at him. "We're all lucky to be alive with these kind of damages."

"Yeah, you saved our lives, Eighteen!" Chi-Chi hums. "Thank you!"

"Can I help?" I hear Marble ask.

I give her a warm smile. "Can you get some water for us? Don't worry too much, baby. If you wanna train, go right ahead."

Marble smiles after what feels like an eternity of her frowns, and leaps away from the ship. "It's good she's finally smiling." Yamcha mentions. "This must've been hard for her."

I hum in response, but that's the most of what I can say. "Oh, here, right there--" I snap at him. "Hold this wrench--" I grasp at the exposed wires and start reattaching them to where they need to be. "Make sure you don't let the wrench go, otherwise, it'll shock us both."

After what feels like an eternity with my fingers getting stabbed by every exposed piece of copper, I finally have them reattached and the hatch back in place. "Awesome, I'll go try the engine," Yamcha says, and slips out from underneath. I crawl out the other side and pat my hands against my jeans. The jet roars to life.

"Wow! Great work, guys!" Chi-Chi exclaimed as we piled on.

"You should thank her-- I think I got demoted to flash light duty." Yamcha laughs. "Now let's find those dragon balls!"

~*****~

Marble held up one of the dragon balls with a curious glint in her eye. "Six down, one to go." Yamcha hummed. "At least the dragon ball hunting is going well."

"That's right. And uh, you think we could pull over? I need a break." Roshi murmured.

I grimaced at him before plucking a ball from the bag and gazing at it. "Are you sure these are going to work?" Videl asks.

"Oh, they work. You don't have to worry about that, Videl." Chi-Chi reassures her.

"That's good, but hey-- shouldn't we be looking for Mars and Goten, you guys? Isn't that a little more important than finding the Dragon Balls?" Videl asks.

Chi-Chi hummed and glanced back at me. "What do you think, Mara?"

I purse my lips as Marble gazes up. "We have no clue where they are, Chi-Chi, at least with the Dragon Balls, we know we're accomplishing something." I explain. "B-Besides, I have something I need to wish for..." I murmur delicately.

"Well, we're getting pretty close, at least," Bulma mentioned as she held up the radar. "If we keep heading in this direction, we should be there in another fifteen minutes, or so."

"Be honest, Mara, can you at least tell me if the boys are okay? You're the only one here who can feel them." Chi-Chi asks desperately.

I gaze at her and offer her a smile. "I couldn't tell you, honestly, but I'd know if they'd left... you know." I trail off. "No, the boys are okay, at least. Mars and Goten are rambunctious, sure, but they're smart enough not to get into serious trouble. Besides, I'd get a sick feeling if that happened, and you'd all know, I promise. I've never had the greatest stomach, you know."