Loomian Legacy Veils of Shadow

Operation Infiltration

Jake didn't know what to expect when Vanta took them into the operating room. Now, he, along with his new friends, Mabel, Lucas, and Lucy were standing next to Dr. Vanta, the face of the enemy, as they watched their other friend being operated on. Thane's Loomians were also there. Slugling had been freed from his disc, and now, he and Paratweet listened in horror as Embit and Geklow told them the terrifying account of their fight. Still, Slugling couldn't help but feel a sense of warrior pride for Thane, no matter how awful the situation was. Whispup was also there, silent and worried.

As for Thane's human companions, they were equally worried and terrified. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. No one thought they would be this concerned about each other. They all thought, especially Jake, that this temporary travel would be temporary. No one thought that this would happen, but it did. Now, they were all terrified for Thane.

They had walked in when the head surgeon, Landon, had finished inserting the first silver eye into Thane's left eye socket. Now, he had moved on to the right.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the operation continued. Lucy felt like she was going to pass out, and her twin felt like he was going to throw up all of the food he had eaten that week. It looked like the Loomians were barely restraining themselves from hopping over the railing to be with Thane. Jake had taken to pacing the observation deck, and Mabel gripped the railing so hard that her knuckles had turned white. Whispup, still hidden in the shadows, turned away and shut his eyes as tightly as he could. He couldn't bear to look. Vanta just suppressed a sigh.

Everyone lost track of time after that. Despite building cries of worry building up in everyone's throats, the room remained silent. Landon was grateful for that. But he felt the immense pressure starting to weigh down on him as the new sets of eyes, both human and Loomian bore down on him as he worked. He ignored the sweat running down his face as he kept on working.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally finished. The final cybernetic silver eye had been inserted into Thane's empty eye socket. Once inserted, the eye hummed for a few seconds as the silver metal extended and clasped itself over Thane's eye region, permanently fusing into his skin and melding into his skull.

Landon breathed out a long sigh and turned to look up at the observation deck. "It's done!" He said with a giant grin and a thumbs up. The room erupted into cheers. From the other medical staff to Cruz's friends and Loomians. Vanta just grinned as he clapped slowly. All that was left now was for Thane to wake from his anesthetic-induced coma. And his friends were willing to wait as long as it took.

It turns out, that it was a long time before Thane would wake. After the first few hours of waiting in the lobby and as night began to fall, Dr. Vanta offered them empty barracks that his security team employed. Luckily, some barracks were currently empty, so the good doctor offered them to the teens so they could be on standby for when Thane awoke. They quickly took him up on his offer. Lucy offered Thane's Loomians a spot with her, but they refused. Instead, Embit, Paratweet, Geklow, Slugling, and a hidden Whispup opted to stay in the room where Thane was recovering.

Eventually, time marched on. Time didn't care about Thane's newly acquired blindness and operation. Day quickly turned into night and the group retreated to their barracks with the hope of sleep. It had been a long and stressful day, and it all started with the desire for some noodles and ended with their friend having his eyes gouged out. Now all everyone wanted was sleep, well, everyone but Jake. He had a different plan for how he was going to spend his night.

When everyone went to sleep, he crawled into a bottom bunk directly under Lucas. This plan would have more risks, as everyone else would be in the same room as him. Still, he had to get answers, he had to know if this Dr. Vanta was in any way similar to the one in his native universe. He just had to. And tonight offered him the perfect chance, a chance that he couldn't just pass up.