Loomian Legacy Veils of Shadow

Samarine Showdown!

"Hi!" Lucas greeted the bored-looking man at the docks. He was the man in charge of tickets to Atlanthian City. After buying them, the city would be just a submarine ride away. "We'd like four tickets to Atlanthian City please," Lucas asked. "Names on the reservations." The man asked as he turned to his computer. Lucas blinked. "What?" He asked, and Jake stepped forward. "Wait, we can't just buy the tickets here? We need to buy them beforehand?" He asked, genuinely confused. It wasn't like that back home with the airship and Anthian.

"Yes, only residents are allowed to come and go. Tourists and trainers have to buy tickets to get in, and tickets to get out." The man explained. As Jake and Lucas tried to negotiate something with the man, Thane took a step back out of earshot. The earbud was already in his ear, Via had heard everything.

"Via, you can connect to machines, right?" Thane whispered while looking around, glad for the tinted shades of the glasses that covered his noticeable optics. "Yes." Came the simple answer. Embit grinned mischievously as he realized that his trainer and virtual assistant were about to break into public infrastructure. "Do something!" Thane quietly hissed. "Bypass the system and get us tickets. I don't know how you do it, just do it." Thane ordered. "Using experimental technology to bypass public infrastructure is a crime punishable by-" Thane cut her off. "Via, you know we're after the stones here. It's not like you had a problem when you helped us break into POLUT. Corp."

After a moment of silence, the AI conceded. "Very well, Thane." A vibration spread out from Thane's optics and rattled his skull. After a few moments, she spoke again. "It's done. Speak up before the man sends you all away." Thane obliged and pushed past his friends and to the front. "Sorry sir, don't mind my friends. They're idiots. We actually do have tickets, they just forgot about that." As Thane told the suspicious man the names, Via spoke in his ear. "Your friends are staring at you in confusion, and the man in front of you is suspicious of your group." Thane ignored her and waited nervously. He could feel his heart beating and sweat trickling down the back of his neck. "I sense an elevated heart rate." Thane ignored her again.

After a few moments, the silver silhouette stuck out a silver arm and handed Thane five black strips of paper. "The tickets," Via explained as Thane couldn't read them. "Sub leaves in an hour." The man said, though suspicion still laced his voice. Thane thanked the man and walked away quickly, ignoring his friends until they had put some distance between them and the ticket booth.

"What was that?" Mabel demanded as they walked across the pier, following Thane. "I had Via bypass the system and get us tickets," Thane explained quietly. The twins blinked. "Is that legal?" They asked simultaneously. Thane shook his head. "Obviously not." He said as he crossed his arms and started to nervously jostle his leg. "The sooner we get to Atlanthain the better." Thane let out a heavy sigh as he stretched his arms. "I hope we don't get caught before then."

Lucas nodded and clicked his tongue. "Right." He checked his LoomiWatch. "Well, we have an hour to kill, so..." He turned around and walked away. Thane stared at his friend in confusion. The mesh of silver and black shapes made it impossible to tell where Lucas was going. "Where are you going?" Thane asked. "Dive N' Dine!" Lucas called back over his shoulder. "I'm hungry!" Thane cupped his hands together against his mouth. "We just ate!" He called out, but Lucas didn't respond.

Lucy leaned over and ruffled Thane's silver hair. "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." She reassured with a smile that went unnoticed by Thane's eyes. Then, she quickly whirled around and took off after her brother. Jake watched them go and threw his arms up with a scoff. Turning around, Thane leaned forward and rested his hands on the wooden railing of the pier. He felt Embit's weight lift as he jumped onto the railing. To his left, Jake and Mabel joined him.