Into the Void

Snatch

"It's called a Sandevistan," David explained as he pulled the back of his shirt down. "It slows down time for me, but to everyone else, I just run fast with it."

"That's amazing!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Did you get that thing yourself?" SMG4 asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, my mom got it," David took it. "A while ago, this lieutenant colonel called Norris went cyberpsycho and the authorities had to put him down. My mom was an EMT. She and other EMTs were there to take the body away and she managed to sneak the Sandy into her jacket."

"Did your mom work with Maine, too?" GingerBrave asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that until she died." David put on a frown, as did everyone else.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Jesse asked.

"There was a shootout on the road," he answered as he looked down. "Mom and I were bystanders of an assault on a corporate vehicle that belonged to a company called Arasaka. That gang blew up the vehicle and Mom and I crashed into it. I blacked out for a little bit and when I woke up, Mom was there lying motionless on the road."

"Did anyone help you and your mom?" SMG4 asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"No one, not even Trauma Team, all because we didn't have insurance." David's voice grew dark.

"You guys weren't insured?" Jesse's eyes grew wide.

Shaking his head, David looked up and said, "Couldn't afford it at the time. Mom and I weren't well off."

Before Jesse could ask what he meant, he suddenly heard a voice call, "Yo, there you guys are!" In response, everyone turned around to find Rebecca approaching the group with her hands behind her head. With her was Jay, who she was dragging by the wrist. The blue ninja's hair was also messed up and his face was covered in scratches and a bruise over his right eyebrow.

"Hey, what happened to you? You look like you got out of a bar fight," SMG4 said as soon as he noticed Jay's appearance.

"I challenged him to a wrestling match and won!" Rebecca answered with a cheeky smile, jabbing Jay's right side with her elbow.

"No, you beat me up over Zane's funny switch!" Jay retorted.

"Oh, hush! It was super hilarious!"

"Just because he's a nindroid doesn't mean he can't get tired! He has feelings too, you know!"

Meanwhile, Lucy rolled her eyes and muttered, "And we're off..."

As Jay and Rebecca bickered once more, Jesse, GingerBrave, and David wore stoic faces as SMG4 was confused.

"Do they argue like this a lot?" the blue-clad man asked.

"Unfortunately," Jesse answered with a sigh.

SMG4 chuckled and said, "Reminds me of Mario and me when we're making a big deal out of simple stuff." Then, he looked up and frowned at the sight of a yellow light in the night sky. "Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?" GingerBrave replied before he looked up to find what he was looking at. "Uh, guys?" Once he got everyone's attention, he pointed at the sky and asked, "Do any of you guys know what that is?"

"Not a clue," Lucy replied.

With a raised eyebrow, Rebecca reached into her jacket to pull out a pink and green pistol.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Jay asked as soon as he noticed the pigtail-haired woman's action.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm shootin' it down!"

"But we don't even know what it is!"

As Rebecca aimed her pistol at the light, it grew bigger as its source drew nearer. Jesse squinted as he noticed a black silhouette of where the light was coming from. But before Rebecca could shoot, the light's source became close enough to snatch her off the ground as if she was prey. As this happened, everyone else flinched as SMG4 yelped and fell off the bench he was sitting on. Jesse and David looked up to find the light carrying Rebecca over the city, watching as she kicked her legs and most likely shouted to be let go.

"REBECCA!" David shouted as he felt his Sandevistan turn on. Then, he sprinted away to chase after the light, leaving the others behind.

"David, wait!" Jesse called as he ran after him. "I'm coming with you!"

"We have to help them!" GingerBrave yelled, pointing in the direction Jesse and David went.

"Good idea! Let's go!" Lucy scooped the cookie from the ground and ran, leaving Jay with SMG4.

With Jesse, GingerBrave, David, and Lucy gone, Jay put a hand on his chest and sighed, "Good riddance with her. She was a menace..."

"What do you mean 'good riddance'?!" SMG4 retorted. "Rebecca's been helping you with whatever you've been doing in this city, and this is how you repay her?!"

"Hey! My cube got destroyed because of her, alright? Now, I can't contact Planet Specter without one!"

With furrowed eyebrows, SMG4 sighed and said, "Whatever. I'm telling the others what's going on." With that, he turned around and walked to the bar.

Rolling his eyes, Jay ran in the direction Jesse, GingerBrave, Lucy, and David went. He then spun himself as a tornado of blue lightning surrounded him before he reappeared in a large black and blue car with golden highlights. In that large vehicle, he drove down the road until he saw Jesse, GingerBrave, and Lucy from far away. Stepping on the gas, Jay's car drove faster until he was next to the three, immediately getting their attention.

Opening his windshield, the blue ninja yelled, "You three get in!"

In response, Lucy tossed GingerBrave into the car as she and Jesse followed. Now inside, Jay closed his windshield and drove down the road, passing by other moving cars on the way. As they drove, Jesse had his eyes on the yellow light that held Rebecca.

"Hold on, Becca. We're coming," Jesse muttered.

~~~~~

Putting his shot glass down, Falco let out a sigh as the bartender proceeded to serve him another one. Beside him was Zane, who was giving him a look of concern.

"You should lay off the drinks for tonight," Zane said, getting the mustache man's attention. "It's not good for your health."

"If ya say so," Falco replied with a shrug, taking the new shot glass from the counter. "This'll be my last one. Promise."

Suddenly, the doors were slammed open as everyone turned to the entrance and the music stopped. They all watched as SMG4 ran to the center of the bar and shouted, "REBECCA'S BEEN TAKEN!"

"What?! Again?!" Pilar exclaimed.

"What happened?" Maine asked.

"Some flying yellow light came out of nowhere and snatched Rebecca off the ground!" SMG4 answered. "Jesse, David, GingerBrave, and Lucy are chasing after it!"

With a glare and a frown, Maine stood up from his seat and walked up to the blue-clad man, picking him up from the floor like a toy.

"Hey, where are you taking me?!"

"I'm goin' after this light you speak of, and you're comin' with me." Maine turned to the rest of his crew. "The rest of you go home or watch over the refugees. We'll take care of it."

As Maine made his way out of the bar, SMG4 and flailing and screaming out of protest. When they reached the exit, the short man clung onto the doorway yelling in panic, but he let go as the man holding him yanked at him. Once the two were gone, the bar was left in silence.