Luna glanced out the corner of her eye, noticing a shadow pass by. Luna smirked and silently whispered an incantation, creating chains and dragging the figure into the middle of the cockpit.
"Looks like we have another demon joining the party," said Luna.
Levi glanced back. "Who? What?"
On the floor was a shadowy figure struggling to escape the chains. "That's my shadow!" Twilight barked.
"You're a witch!" The shadow growled.
Luna smiled. "Glad you noticed."
"And Luna's a dark magic witch to be precise," Glitch chimed in.
"Great, just what I needed. Dark magic witch and a shadow... Who is apparently a demon," Levi muttered under his breath.
The shadow thrashed against the chains, its glowing red eyes glaring up at Luna. “Let me go, witch, or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll what?” Luna interrupted with a smirk.
The shadow snarled, struggling harder against the chains. “Or I’ll make sure you regret this, witch.”
Twilight groaned, running over to the shadow. “Can you not threaten the people we’re stuck with, please? We have enough problems already.”
Luna tilted her head, looking amused. “You didn’t tell me your shadow had such a temper, Twilight.”
Twilight sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, well... he’s not exactly easy to control. Trust me, this isn’t the first time he’s gotten us into trouble.”
Levi folded his arms, glancing between Twilight and the shadow. “So, let me get this straight—this thing is alive and you just... walk around with it like it’s no big deal?”
Twilight shifted awkwardly. “That's what I tried to tell you earlier!"
"So how do I get rid of him?" asked Levi.
"Well... He’s kinda... attached to me. Can’t get rid of him, even if I wanted to.”
Glitch hovered nearby, fascinated by the shadow’s form. “S-s-so cool! Can I poke him?”
The shadow hissed. “Don’t even think about it, glitchy!”
Luna chuckled, her dark magic still holding firm. “I like him. Full of fire, aren’t you?”
“More like full of hatred,” Twilight muttered under his breath.
Levi sighed. “Alright, enough. Luna, can you unchain the demon shadow thing? We’ve got bigger problems to worry about.”
Luna hesitated, but with a flick of her wrist, the chains vanished. The shadow slithered back toward Twilight, glaring at Luna before disappearing beneath Twilight’s feet.
“Thanks for that,” Twilight said sarcastically, though there was a hint of relief in his voice.
Luna shrugged. “Just making sure we weren’t being followed by something worse.”
Levi rolled his eyes and turned back to the controls. “Can we stop summoning demons and focus on not dying in space now?”
"Couldn't agree more," said Twilight, going back to his seat.
"Thi-thiss ship is-is-is b-b-b-big," Glitch purred.
"That's because there are personal rooms on the ship for the crew members," Levi explained. "You should all hope that there's enough for all of you. If not, you either share or I throw you in storage."
"What's his deal with throwing other furries in storage?" Twilight whispered to Glitch.
Glitch shrugged.
Luna chuckled at Twilight's whisper. "Storage seems to be Levi's go-to threat for everything. Must be cozy in there."
Levi shot them a glare. “It’s not a threat. It’s a solution.”
Twilight rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "I’m starting to think Levi’s bark is worse than his bite."
Levi didn’t respond, keeping his focus on flying, though his tail twitched in annoyance.
Glitch’s eyes blinked rapidly, her circuits buzzing with excitement. “W-w-we should check out the rooms! Ooooh, I b-b-bet there’s all kinds of cool tech on this ship!”
Luna stretched, standing up. "I wouldn’t mind getting a little tour before Levi gets us killed flying into another asteroid."
Levi grunted. “We’re in open space now. No asteroids in sight, so knock yourselves out.”
Twilight, still shaken from earlier, looked skeptical. “I’ll stay right here, thanks. No offense, but I don’t trust this ship or its pilot enough to leave my seat.”
Glitch giggled, poking Twilight’s arm. “C-come on, Twilight! You’ll m-m-miss all the fun! And your shadow can check out the c-c-corners of the rooms!”
Twilight shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. I’ll keep my shadow right where he is.”
Luna stood and stretched. "Suit yourself. But if Levi’s idea of 'storage' is anything like the rest of this ship, it might not be the worst option."
Levi’s ears flicked back in irritation. “If you don’t want to find out what storage is like, you’ll stop making fun of my ship.”
Luna just smirked as she and Glitch wandered off to check out the personal quarters, leaving Twilight grumbling in his seat.
"Hey, Le-Le-Levi! I found the s-s-storage r-room!" Glitch shouted.
"Well good for you!" Levi shouted back in a sarcastic tone.
“It’s b-b-bigger than I expected!" Glitch shouted, "And there’s s-s-some weird stuff in here! L-l-like… I think a broken robot or s-s-something?”
Levi groaned, rubbing his temples. “Of course Glitch would find the weirdest shit in the storage room.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at Levi. “What kind of broken robot are we talking about? Like, actual danger, or more of a glitchy doorstop?"
Levi sighed. “It’s probably just old scrap. I’ve been meaning to clear out storage for a while, but I never got around to it.”
Luna’s voice chimed in from the hallway. “Broken robot, huh? Could be interesting. Maybe it’s haunted.”
Levi gave her a deadpan look. “It’s not haunted. Just busted tech from old missions.”
Glitch’s voice echoed back. “Th-th-this thing l-l-looks like it’s staring at me... oh w-wait! Its eyes j-just flickered!”
Levi groaned. “Great. Just don’t touch anything in there, Glitch. I don’t need some half-broken robot suddenly sparking to life and blowing a hole in my ship.”
Luna chuckled, leaning back into the cockpit. “With how this trip is going, that might actually be the least of our problems.”
"L-levi... It-it-it-it c-c-c-ame to l-l-life!" Glitch shouted.
Levi growled. "I told you not to touch it!"
"I di-didn't!"
Levi shot out of his seat, storming toward the storage room. “Then how the hell did it come to life on its own?!”
As he entered the room, the sight of a broken, sparking robot standing unsteadily greeted him. Its eyes flickered with an eerie blue glow, and its movements were jerky and mechanical.
Twilight peered in from behind Levi, his ears twitching nervously. “Uh, that doesn’t look friendly.”
The robot’s head snapped toward them with a loud creak, its glowing eyes locking onto the group. It let out a garbled, metallic growl as if trying to speak but couldn’t quite manage.
Luna, now standing at the doorway, smirked. “Looks like your old scrap’s a bit more alive than you thought.”
Levi growled, stepping forward cautiously. “Stay back. I’ll handle this.”
The robot twitched, its arm sparking as it raised one of its clawed hands toward Levi. “In..tru…dersss…eliminate…” it rasped in a distorted voice.
“Great. Just what I needed,” Levi muttered, reaching for his blaster.
"Wai-wait! I ca-can hack-him and re-re-restart his pr-pro-programming!" Glitch said.
"Why didn't you do that before, when it tried to attack you?" Twilight barked.
"I-I-I panicked!" Glitch stammered, eyes wide as she hurried toward the sparking robot. “But I c-c-can fix it! Just g-g-give me a second!”
Levi kept his blaster trained on the robot, eyes narrowed. “You’ve got one chance, Glitch. If this thing even twitches wrong, I’m blasting it to pieces.”
Twilight crossed his arms, still standing a safe distance away. “This is a terrible idea.”
Ignoring him, Glitch carefully approached the robot, her fingers moving quickly as her glitched paws warped through the panel. Sparks flew from its chest as it let out another garbled sound.
The robot’s glowing eyes flickered again, and it jerked violently, causing Levi to tense up.
After a few more tense seconds, the robot stopped moving altogether. Its eyes dimmed, and the sparks ceased. Glitch sighed with relief. “Got it! I’ve sh-sh-shut it down. Now I can re-reset the programming.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. “Well, color me impressed. I thought we were done for.”
Levi lowered his blaster but kept a wary eye on the robot. “Let’s hope your fix works. If it goes rogue again, it’s on you, Glitch.”
Glitch smiled nervously, already diving back into the robot’s circuits. "I-I'll make sure it-it doesn't!"
The robot powered back up, twitching as it lifted its head. Levi immediately lifted his blaster.
"Hello. My name is B-7T3," the robot said in a calm, mechanical voice, its glowing eyes scanning the room. “How may I assist you?”
Levi kept his blaster trained on it, his ears flat against his head. "What—"
The droid twitched slightly. "Scanning crew for severe medical injuries. No severe injuries found."
"Who—"
"Scanning for threats," said B-7T3, interrupting Levi. "Systems are damaged. Running self diagnosis."
Levi sighed with aggravation. Levi kept his blaster pointed at the robot, his patience already wearing thin. "Glitch, what exactly did you do to this thing?"
Glitch looked up from the wires, her eyes wide with excitement. "I just re-re-reset its program! It’s just running standard checks! Should be safe now."
Twilight, still standing cautiously behind the others, frowned. “You sure about that? Because last time it wasn’t exactly friendly.”
B-7T3 twitched again, its voice now a little clearer. "Hello. My name is B-7T3. I am here to assist my Captain and my crew in any way possible. How may I assist you?"
Twilight raised a finger to speak. B-7T3 scanned the crew again, then looked at Levi. "You are the only one with a license. I must assume you are the captain. However I should advise that we return to Furtopia to renew your license."
"That is not the best option right now," said Levi.
B-7T3's sensors flickered as it processed Levi's response. "Understood. I will assist with your current operations. How may I be of service?"
Levi glanced at Glitch, who had just finished reattaching the last wire. “See? It's not trying to kill us anymore. It’s just confused.”
Twilight let out a small sigh of relief. “Well, at least it’s not attacking us. For now.”
Luna, observing from the side, raised an eyebrow. “So, what’s the plan now, Captain?”
Levi rubbed his temples, clearly stressed. “The plan is simple: avoid any more surprises, figure out where to go next, and—if possible—fix that damn license issue without blowing up.”
B-7T3’s eyes glowed softly as it continued its self-diagnosis. “If you require assistance with navigation or any other tasks, please let me know. My systems are operational, though some functionalities may be limited.”
Glitch finally stood up, wiping grease from her hands. “S-so, it looks like we’re all good now. For now. What do we do next?”
Levi gave a reluctant nod. “Alright, let’s get this ship back on course. And B-7T3, you keep an eye out for anything unusual. We can’t afford any more surprises.”
The robot’s eyes brightened in acknowledgment. “Affirmative. I will monitor for any anomalies and assist the crew as needed.”
With a newfound, albeit uneasy, sense of cooperation, the crew turned their focus back to navigating the vast expanse of space.
ns 15.158.61.46da2
