The streets of Machina Prime bustled with life as the crew wandered deeper into the city. Neon signs blinked and buzzed overhead, robotic musicians played auto-tuned jazz on the corners, and floating drones zipped by, advertising everything from energy drinks to limb replacements.
For most of the crew, it was paradise.
For Levi?
A slow-burn nightmare.
“DON’T TOUCH THAT!” Levi shouted for the third time in five minutes as Glitch reached for a glowing panel on the side of a vending drone.
“But it’s all blinky!” Glitch whined, her robotic paw already halfway into the maintenance port.
The drone let out a shrill BEEP and jolted backward, releasing a shock that sent Glitch stumbling with a loud bzzt!
“Ow! R-rude!” she hissed, sparks briefly flickering from her shoulder.
Levi groaned and turned to the wide-eyed merchant nearby. “I’m so sorry. She’s, uh… defective.”
Glitch glitched. “Excuse you!”
Ten minutes later…
They passed a display booth showing off Machina Prime’s newest security droids.
“Ooooh!” Glitch leaned in. “Are those laser cannons or just fancy flashlights?!”
The droid immediately powered on, voice booming: “WARNING. DO NOT APPROACH THE EXHIBIT.”
Levi tackled her backward just in time, mumbling through gritted teeth, “WHY do you need to touch everything?!”
“I’m just curious!” Glitch squeaked. “They looked so friendly!”
Meanwhile, Luna found a floating orb that claimed to "read your soul."
She leaned in close with a grin. “Bet you can't handle mine.”
The orb shattered.
Levi slapped his forehead. “WHY?”
Luna shrugged, still smiling. “Weak system.”
Luna got stuck in a revolving door at a noodle shop.
'Twilight' tried not to laugh (and failed), while Levi was already talking to the shop owner for the third time that hour:8Please respect copyright.PENANASoQewUeoxL
8Please respect copyright.PENANAZqEvivACfh
"Yes, sir. I’m very sorry."
At a tech market, Glitch disappeared for exactly forty seconds.
That was all it took for a code-red alert to go off.
Levi spun around, wide-eyed. “Where’s Glitch?”
Glitch popped up from under a vendor’s table with a shiny microchip in her mouth. “Look! It’s really old but still f-functiona—”
A mechanical arm grabbed her by the scruff.
The vendor stared daggers. Levi bowed deeply. "She has no money. She also doesn’t have a concept of ownership. Please don’t call security."8Please respect copyright.PENANArMgWKkFnb1
By the time they stopped for a break, Levi had apologized no less than twelve times.
His fur was ruffled. His eye twitched. His coffee was cold.
He slumped on a bench while the rest of the crew munched on neon noodles and admired their “souvenirs.”
Twilight plopped down beside him, sipping a fizzy drink. “Having fun yet, Captain?”
Levi stared blankly ahead. “No.”
Glitch grinned, her fur slightly singed and robotic eye still twitching. “We should come back here someday!”
Levi just groaned into his hands. “Over my dead body.”
Glitch darted to another stall, her tail flicking and her robotic eye blinking rapidly. “Oooooh! What does this button do?” she chirped as she reached for a glowing control panel outside a vendor’s stand.
BZZT.
An alarm wailed.
“DON’T TOUCH THAT!” the vendor shouted, shooing her away with a data pad.
“Oops! M-my bad! I w-was just…curious!” Glitch stammered, phasing halfway through a kiosk before scrambling out again.
Levi groaned for what felt like the fiftieth time in the last hour. “Glitch, I swear, if you touch one more thing—”
“She’s like a walking chaos virus,” Luna muttered beside him, arms crossed and eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. “A cute chaos virus, but still.”
Just then, a protogen attendant with a silver and teal body walked up to them, visor showing a neutral expression. “Pardon me,” it said politely. “We have observed erratic behavior from your companion. May I suggest… this?”
The protogen held up a sleek black box, which popped open with a mechanical click to reveal a glowing, futuristic-looking magnetic collar.
Everyone stared.
Glitch gasped. “Ooooh! Sp-arkly!”
Levi raised a brow. “...Is that a leash?”
The protogen’s visor blinked to a calm smiling expression. “Technically, yes. Designed for children. Functions include safe magnetic recall, low-energy tracker, and behavioral alert tones. It does not choke or constrict the wearer.”
Luna burst out laughing. “I mean, I have joked about putting her on a leash before, but I didn’t think anyone would take it seriously.”
“Why would you even make something like that?” Levi asked, staring at the device like it had insulted him personally.
“Observation: Small children are often unpredictable,” the protogen answered. “This is a non-harmful solution. And adjustable. I can recalibrate it to fit your hyperactive feline.”
Glitch poked at the device eagerly. “Can I try it? It looks fun! Can it beep when I go too far?”
“Yes,” the protogen replied.
'Twilight' cackled. “You’re really considering this.”
Levi looked at his dwindling credit balance, then at Glitch, who was now reaching toward a streetlamp just to “see if it buzzes,” then at the collar again.
A long, long sigh. “...How much?”
“Only 45 credits,” the protogen replied.
Luna leaned closer, whispering with a smirk, “C’mon, Levi. For 45 credits, you can buy peace.”
“I’m not putting a leash on my crew,” Levi muttered.
The moment he turned around, Glitch phased halfway through a fountain and set off another alarm.
“Okay. You know what? Fine.” Levi growled, grabbing the collar.
As the protogen cheerfully recalibrated it for Glitch’s size, 'Twilight' leaned over to Luna and whispered, “This is gonna be so weird to explain to anyone who sees us.”
Luna grinned. “Oh, I’m not explaining a thing. Let them guess.”
Glitch bounced on her toes, eyes sparkling. “Yay! I have my own high-tech accessory now!”
Levi slapped a paw to his face. “I’ve officially lost control of my life.”
beep beep beep beep beep
Something was vibrating in Levi's pocket.
He searched around in his pocket and pulled out a small device. He forgot that thing existed.
A tiny light blinked green.
"Uhh...what was this thing for again?"
He looks at his crew. Apparently they forgot as well.
The beeping continued until Levi finally smacked the side of the device, and the screen flashed: “Dock 47-B: Repairs Complete.”
“…Oh,” Levi muttered. “Right. That thing.”
Everyone stared at it for a second longer like it was an alien egg about to hatch.
Just then, a civilian primagen—sleek white plating, rose fur, visor shaped like a heart—paused as she passed by, holding a smoothie and a shopping bag full of microchips. She spun on her heel with a cheerful tone.
“Congratulations!” she chirped. “Your ship at Dock 47-B is now fully repaired and optimized!”
Levi blinked. “Wait... that’s it? We’re good to go?”
“Your fuel efficiency has increased by 12.4%!” she beamed, little sparkles appearing on her visor display. “Your ship's weapons system has also been increased by 54.6%! All standard, of course.”
Levi looked back at his crew, a thousand emotions flooding his mind.
'Twilight' shrugged. “We didn't do it.” 😐
Levi looked back at the protegen. “They said it would take them about five hours. It's only been about one and a half.”
The primagen’s heart-shaped visor beamed brighter. “We are Machina Prime, sir! Our mechanics work in synchronized rotations across time-pockets with neural-linked tools and hyper-accelerated workflow cycles!”
Levi stared blankly. “…You speak English, right?”
She giggled. “Basically, we work really fast when we’re excited. Your ship was… how do I say this…” Her visor shimmered into a pixelated flame emoji. “Hot.”
'Twilight' raised an eyebrow. “Hot?”
“Yes!” the protogen chirped. “That baby has chaos coding, unusual reactor cores, and some very weird internal software. The techs were so hyped they finished repairs early just so they could run simulations on it.”
Levi's ears tilted. “So I can definitely know that it works right?”
“Absolutely!”
“Good.” Levi turned to his crew.
“Where the fuk is Glitch?”
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