Loomian Legacy Veils of Shadow

Golden Girl

Despite Thane's confident declarations, it took a whole day for his team to pull themselves out of their funk. Now, a full twenty-four hours after their beatdown at the hands of Yuto, they were back to the grindstone. None worked as hard, though, as Slugling. It seemed like he was trying to make up for his perceived failure by training even harder.

It was evident as he sparred with Jake's Vari. "Body Slam!" Jake commanded. "Dodge!" Slugling shot his vines into the ground, propelling himself into the air and over Vari. Vari skidded to a stop, kicking up grass and dirt as it turned around to see Slugling behind it now. "Use Slime!" Thane ordered. Slugling formed a sphere of purple goo in front of him and shot it at Vari, catching it head-on. Vari cried out as it was thrown back into the grass. It tried to stand, but the poison inflicted by the move caused its legs to buckle.

"And that's time!" Lucas shouted from the sidelines. The two boys respectfully acknowledged each other with a nod as they went to tend to their respective Loomians. Thane gave his Slugling some medicine and watched as Lucy's silver form quickly tended to Vari's poison.

Without thinking, Thane opened his mouth and blurted out, "Why does she care so much?" Once the words came out, he realized how rude he had come across. Mabel, who was sitting and playing with Starla looked up to give him a look. "She's been like that for as long as I've known her." Thane turned to face a faceless Mabel curiously. "Really? Didn't get that impression when I first met you guys." Mabel rolled her eyes. "What did you expect from us then?" She shot back. "I thought you guys were hooligans." Thane shot back playfully.

Mabel snorted. "No, not Lucy. Not her, or her brother." Mabel stretched her legs and recounted Thane with the many stories of the cuts and bruises she and Lucas sustained during the years. Every time, Lucy was there to tend to them. It wasn't just them either. "Every time we ran into a sick or injured Loomian, we just had to help it out. It's a wonder Lucy only has three Loomians with how many she's helped and made friends with over the years. She got that from her aunt Luna." Thane hummed curiously.

"Her aunt is a vet, and she's Lucy's hero." Thane's head cocked his head to the side as he began to think. "Is Lucy's team made up of Loomians she's helped?" He asked. Mabel nodded. "Kleptyke was the first. Lucy found him begging for food and took him in. She found Phancub in an alley being ganged up on by some Umbrat, so she saved it and it started following her everywhere." Thane finished Mabel's train of thought. "And you guys saved Whimpor from the corrupt Umbrat." Mabel clicked her tongue. "Right."

"Stairs, up ahead," Lucy warned. Even though he had Via, Lucy felt the need to aid her friend. "Thanks," Thane said as he grabbed the railing and the two climbed up the steps. Thane had just gotten a lead from his parents. Something was going down in Atlanthian City. It could be a stone piece, but it was hard to track a signal from the underwater city. Spurred on by something that Lucas overheard while picking up ingredients, about a large Loomian acting strangely around the dome, this left the group with the task of finding out more. Jake and Mabel took the beach, and Lucy and Thane took the witness. Meanwhile, Lucas stayed behind to make dinner. Embit also stayed behind to help.

As Thane climbed the steps, he pushed his dark sunglasses up. The glasses were Lucy's idea. They didn't attract attention and provided Thane with some comfort.

"This the place?" Thane asked as they approached the front door. "Yeah, this is Kell's Shop. Lucas said this was the place." Thane nodded. "So, do we knock?" In response, Lucy opened the door. "It says open." She explained as she held the door open for Thane to step inside.

"Hi!" Came a voice from the silver form of a tall man behind the counter. "Welcome to my shop, where we meet all your Capture Disc needs!" He greeted cheerfully. "What can we do for you two today?" He asked. Thane and Lucy approached the counter, and Thane placed an elbow confidently on the top. "Hi, are you Kell?" He asked politely. "Sure am!" Kell responded. Thane smiled. "Great, listen, we're trainers, and our next stop is Atlanthian City." He bit the inside of his cheek. "We've been hearing these rumors though, of a strange Loomian. We just wanted to ask around, you know, just in case."

Kell looked at them for a few seconds, his expression unreadable to Thane. "Well, I don't live there, but I do visit a lot because I have family there." He paused for a moment, as if considering his next words. "In my past few visits, there has been a really big Loomian circling the dome at all hours of the day. Moldecca. It's a huge Loomian, and might be able to cause some serious damage if it tried hard enough." He leaned back in his stool, but held onto the counter so he wouldn't fall. "That's all I know."

The pair thanked him and walked out. The two walked in silence through the resort and towards the rental. In Thane's ear, Via spoke. "Thane, your friend appears slightly distressed." Thane turned his head. Lucy's shoulders were slumped down, but aside from that, he couldn't tell any other difference. "You alright Lucy?"

Lucy didn't look at him. "I'm worried. My Aunt Luna lives in Atlanthian. After what Kell said..." She trailed off for a second. "What if Moldecca is corrupt and we can't stop it? None of us have aquatic Loomians." Thane tried to reassure her. "If it was corrupt, we would have found out by now. Once we have all the details, we'll stop whatever it is."

Another silence fell over the pair. "I just hope Jake and Mabel found more than we did," Thane said finally. "I hope Lucas finished making dinner." She shot back quickly, a grin spreading across her face. Thane turned to her, and he unknowingly returned the smile.

It turned out that Jake and Mabel didn't find out more than they did. It was just similar information about Moldecca. Nothing new. Not a single hint of corruption within the city. At least the food was good. Actually, it was beyond good. It was delicious. It was a pasta with crispy bacon. The pasta was rich and creamy, and the bacon was perfect. The Loomians also ate a Lucas-cooked meal. Thane didn't understand why Lucas didn't cook more often.

After dinner, everyone but Lucas helped to pitch in cleaning before heading to bed. Jake wanted to schedule another training session in the morning. However, while the others went to sleep, the twins stayed up. They had to make sure Aunt Luna was okay.

"I'm fine guys," Luna said on the other end of the call. "You sure?" Lucy pressed. "I am, Lucy. Moldecca has never been aggressive, it'll get bored eventually and swim off." Before the twins could press any further, Aunt Luna spoke. "Lisen guys, it's late and you should be asleep. A trainer has to get their rest." Lucy wanted to argue that they weren't real trainers, not like Thane or even Jake, but she decided against it. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Stop worrying about nothing and get some rest. I love you." The twins repeated the sentiment and hung up the call.

"You going to bed?" Lucas asked as he turned to leave, but his sister didn't. "In a minute." She replied. Lucas shrugged and walked off.

Once Lucy was alone, she pulled the dark-type essence from her pocket. Her essence. Her battle item. Dark was her's. Lucas had plant, and Jake had fire. As for the other two, spirit and mind, they didn't have an owner yet. Thane and Mabel didn't have any Loomians that were compatible. But if Lucy had to guess, mind would go to Mabel and Starla, leaving Thane with spirit, though he didn't have a spirit-type Loomian.

She rubbed the stone as her mind flashed to her earliest memory. She was suddenly transported to Atlanthian City, years ago. It was only her. Lucas hadn't come on this visit. It was so long ago that all that was left were flashes, but those flashes were clear as day.

She and her aunt were walking through the park, a longstanding activity for them. She was seven, and she still held onto her aunt's hand and stuck close to her as they walked. She didn't hear it at first, but as a veterinarian, Aunt Luna's ears were tuned to certain sounds.

Diverting from their path, Lucy's ears quickly picked up on the small and pathetic cries of an injured Loomian. They found the Kittone with the broken leg soon after hidden in a bush.

The pair quickly rushed home, and Lucy watched in awe as Aunt Luna seemed to work magic with the injured creature. She handled it so gently, and for the next few days until she had to return to the surface, Lucy sat and watched with fascination as Luna cared for the injured Kittone.

By the time Lucy resurfaced from the Underwater City, she knew what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to be just like her Aunt Luna. She wanted to care for and help Loomians. That's how she met her team. He hungry Kleptyke, the bullied Phancub, and the injured Whimpor. She tossed the dark essence into the air and caught it. With those memories swimming in her head, Lucy yawned. It was time for her to head to bed.

2nd part of these mini focused chapters. i actually had a smoother time writing this than thanes chapter, felt like it came out better too. next week it's lucas' turn with his chapter "Golden Opportunity" that's all from me, have a great day everyone!