Loomian Legacy Veils of Shadow

The Vantalogs

Thane could see his friend's heat signatures through the wall. They weren't allowed in the trainer waiting area, so they were forced to wait for Thane while he spoke with Faust. "Great work out there, Thane. You are growing accustomed to your new circumstances." Thane glowed at the praise. Faust reached for something behind her back. "You have earned yourself your third Battle Theatre Medal, the Cyber Medal." She said as she handed Thane a small box, opened to reveal the medal. To Thane, it was a plain silver circle, but he was sure it looked beautiful.

Thane took the medal and put it away, not commenting on his sight. "As you know," Faust continued. "Battle Stars award a signature LoomiWatch application to aid trainers in their journey." Thane nodded as he took off his watch and handed it to Faust, who began to install her app.

After a few moments, she was done. "There, I just installed the SOS app. When activated, it sends a distress beacon to any nearby communication device." Thane nodded. "Better safe than sorry, especially when wandering the wilderness," Faust added.

For a moment, Thane wanted to ask if she knew anything about POLUT Corp. or Dr. Vanta. He almost did, but he held his tongue at the last second. Faust owed a great deal to POLUT Corp and its leader. She could actively be involved with them. The last thing Thane wanted was to give himself away accidentally.

He smiled a tight smile. "Thank you, this will certainly come in handy." At the rate his journey was going, the SOS App would eventually become useful.

The two clanks said their goodbyes, and Thane walked out of the trainer lobby where he was immediately swarmed by his friends. "That was awesome!" Lucas and Lucy exclaimed at the same time. "That was really great," Mabel admitted. Thane could feel Jake's smile as the older boy slapped him on the shoulder. "You and your Loomians did great out there. Now, come on, we got to get them to the Trainer Station to heal them, and we can figure out what to do next from there."

With Jake motioning for Thane to take the lead, the group walked out of the Battle Theatre. As they walked out of the underground tunnel, Jake hung back a little. He fell behind the group by a few paces and watched them. Mabel and the twins were still congratulating Thane and Embit on their victory. Embit rode on Lucy's shoulder while her brother pestered Thane to let him hold the Cyber Metal. Meanwhile, Mabel was chastising Lucas for this.

For a few moments, Jake was reminded of his old life. His old friends. It was easy to see the similarities, especially with Thane. He reminded Jake so much of his old friend, Aiden. His team even seemed to mirror Aiden's somewhat. Embit and Minccino, Paratweet and Talonflame, Geklow and Talonflame, Slugling and Greninja. Lucas resembled Kat with his excessive energy. Lucy kind of reminded him of Tess, only more reserved. And Mabel, well, Mabel was just there. A newcomer. Jake guessed she reminded him of Kat.

Jake smiled fondly at the memories. He would help these greenhorn trainers, and then he would return home. He would go back to his friends, to Tess, his parents, and his Pokémon. Right now, though, he needed to help a boy that reminded him so much of an old friend.

Jake blinked, and when he noticed that the group had put some distance between him, he shook his head. He let out a small chuckle as the memories were safely stored back in his head before running to catch up with his traveling companions.

When the group made it to the Trainer Station, Thane handed his three Loomians that battled to the kind nurse behind the counter. Then, the group retreated to a sofa at the far end of the room, away from prying ears. Luckily, the station was big enough to blend in, and people were too busy with their own lives to pay attention to a group of teenagers, even when one had metal eyes.

"Okay, what now?" Mabel asked as she quickly snatched a spot on the sofa. The twins sat together beside Mabel, while Thane sat on the wooden table facing them. Jake and Thane looked at each other and both shrugged simultaneously.