Loomian Legacy Veils of Shadow

A Heart to Heart! Journey Set in Stone!

"Embit!" Thane's voice rang out through the field as he "saw" Wresolen standing over his small Loomian. "Embit is unable to battle! Lauren and Wresolen win!" Noah declared.

Thane and Lauren raced to the center of the field. Lauren congratulated her Loomian before quickly producing some medicine from her bag. She knelt next to her son and defeated his partner. "Here." She said as Thane carefully sat Embit up while Lauren held the bottle to his mouth. "This should hold him over until we can get him to a Trainer Station for proper care." Thane nodded. "Thank you."

Thane scooped Embit into his arms and Lauren offered Thane a hand to stand up, which he accepted. "You two are strong, but fighting is not all about strength." Thane pursed his lips. "But..." He started before trailing off completely and scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Why was he suddenly intimidated by his mother?

Before the two could speak anymore, Noah and the rest of Thane's friends approached. Each of Thane's friends wore some expression of discontent. Mabel and Lucas looked visibly worried. Lucy had a deep frown on her face. Jake's face was nearly unreadable. His lips formed into a thin line and his eyes were more piercing than usual.

Lauren turned to the kids. "Why don't you kids go and explore the city for a bit? Meet us at the museum in an hour. Noah and I are going to take Thane to the Trainer Station to get Embit and Geklow checked out." She turned to her son. "We also have some things to discuss privately."

The kids all looked at each other with apprehension, but none of them had much choice. They each shot Thane a look of worry followed by small smiles even though they knew he couldn't see them and without Via, didn't know about it. Thane shot a small nod at them, and with that confirmation from their leader, they all nodded obediently. Thane and his parents watched them go before turning to each other. "Trainer Station, right?" Thane asked.

The walk to the nearest station was silent. Thane thought that his parents were silently pondering what to say to him without his friends there. Embit silently rode on his shoulder. Despite the Loomian being tense with worry just like his trainer, the weight and dull sensation of passive warmth helped calm Thane down. At least a bit.

When the trio got to the Trainer Station, they did what they said they were going to do. Embit, Geklow, and the Loomians his parents used, Imperior and Wresolen were handed over to the nurse to treat their battle injuries. Meanwhile, while they waited, Thane and his parents sat on some sofas in the corner.

"So," Lauren started. "When were you planning on telling us about..." She trailed off but Thane could see her silver hand waving around in front of her face. Thane cleared his throat and looked down guiltily. "I wasn't." Thane could feel the shock that suddenly painted the faces of his parents even without proper sight of Via. He held up his hands. "Wait! Wait! I know that sounds bad, but I had my reasons. I didn't want to stop my journey, not when I made friends, my Loomians and Jake, Mabel, the twins. And, and, and... I got my third medal and stopped Vanta just fine without eyes."

Thane coughed once. "I think I'm better equipped to deal with the stones and people like Vanta than I was before." His voice cracked as he continued. "I know how it sounds, but I think I'm better equipped than you, or anyone else to find the stones. I have backup, our Loomians are getting stronger every day, and I have these abilities that no one else has." Thane paused for a short breath. "Vanta may be the enemy now, but he gave me tech that no one but him has. There are other cybers with their own enhancements and abilities, but I'm the only one with these types of abilities."

Thane puffed out his chest and with full confidence said, "If you're going to try and stop me-" Lauren and Noah cut him off simultaneously. "We never planned on stopping you." They said together. Thane's mouth fell slightly open. "What?" He asked in genuine confusion. "We are angry and hurt and betrayed that you didn't tell us sooner, don't get us wrong." Noah began. "But we can't be the ones throwing stones. We'd be hypocrites. Our parents allowed us to spread our wings by letting us go on our adventures. We were much younger than you. We accomplished many great things." Noah smiled at an old memory. "I met Derrick and your mother on my journey. I beat Derrick in the quarterfinals of the Roria League, then your mother beat me in the semifinals." Noah laughed. "Then she lost in the finals."