"An unauthorized training exercise. The unauthorized use of Ferals. Improper security protocols. Reckless endangerment of our students. Should I go on with your list of offenses, Mason?"
Mason stands at attention with his hands crossed in front of him, looking down. "No, Sir," he responds in a timid tone, uncharacteristic of his usual arrogance. "I apologize, Academy President."
"Oh? Aren't we very compliant today? What's with the formality?" Academy President Hiro Mitoki looks at the usually hot-headed General bowing before him and finds himself strangely disturbed, unsure of how to respond to this level of respect from him. "Actually, you don't have to answer that. I would like to know, however, just what reason you had to place those kids at such risk?"
"Well, Sir, to be honest, I felt that they were getting too lax with their exercises. The last few haven't really benefited them, in my opinion, as they take down a single Feral easily and don't learn any new skills. More importantly, they have terrible teamwork skills, which ultimately led to today's conflict and was the point I was trying to make with this training. If they had been working effectively as a team, they would've never found themselves in that situation. Teamwork is the only way to have a successful unit and is definitely vital to the Battle of the Elementals, which will be here in no time."
"Well, what have you been doing all this time? I thought that the entire reason you requested those Sunday training sessions was for the sake of giving them advanced battle skills and team building. If they are still lacking in teamwork, then perhaps these exercises are a waste of time and should end."
"With all due respect, Sir, the training exercises are not the problem—they are. They work well together when I give them everything on a silver platter, but it's when they are tested in real-time, unpredictable situations that they suffer. This shows me that they've gotten spoiled by the easy, predictable task of slaying one Feral and have become cocky to the point that they think they can take on anything just because they've never failed an exercise I'd given them before now. The fact that they fell apart as soon as things changed shows that they've never truly been a team, just cooperative, which is different."
"Well, regardless if that's the case or not, it's still your fault because you failed to notice this sooner and put them into a situation they were not ready for, endangering their lives. When we entrusted you with our children's lives, we had faith that you'd be able to adequately protect them, but clearly our trust was misplaced. Don't even get me started on that little monster of yours—he should've been put down years ago, just as the dog he is. Keeping beasts like that away from our children was the whole purpose of this Academy," Vera Nickels, Chief Fire Elemental, speaks with a snobbish tone as she glares at Mason.
Mason has kept his temper in check for as long as he can, but he finds himself unable to ignore her harsh words. "That beast, Vera, is probably going to save your life one day, so you had better not put him down so easily. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, you voted yes to having him stay and head their unit along with everyone else, so you have no right to complain now."
"That was simply a lapse in judgment, nothing more. I thought it would be a good idea at the time, but I soon regretted it afterward. It's just that by that point, I was outnumbered, so even if I had tried to change my mind, nothing would've come from it. This incident, however, proves my point that there is no place for those beasts at this Academy, domesticated or not. He still craves human flesh."
"I'll have you know that he's never once shown an interest in human flesh or otherwise. He's been just fine with his tomato juice substitutes and is in complete control of himself on a normal basis. This was an unusual incident that was triggered as a defense mechanism his body activated to save his life from a wound that would have ultimately killed him if it hadn't. I never expected that to happen, but naturally, I had a fail-safe planned just in case. It was that fail-safe that knocked him out and removed the very brief danger your kids were in. Their lives were never at risk. So don't you dare blame him, you old crone!"
"There you go, always defending him every time he becomes a risk. You defended him back then too, with that girl from your lab. He transformed into that thing that time as well, but even with your fail-safe, that didn't stop him from killing her in his rage. That was an innocent young girl who had so much promise ahead of her, yet that beast took away her life without a second thought. How sickening."
"Hey now! That wasn't his fault. He didn't know what he was doing, and he didn't even remember what he had done afterward. When I did finally tell him the truth a couple of years later, he was absolutely distraught after learning what he'd done. He's just an innocent kid who happened to be born into a world that he didn't ask to be a part of. No one hates his demon side more than he does, so he tries his best every day to keep it under control and suppress it. He just wants to be normal like anyone else, but unfortunately, he can't because of his cursed existence. I can assure you, though, that he'd never hurt anyone intentionally. That's what separates him from the true monsters of his bloodline."
"Say what you will, a monster is always going to be a monster no matter how well you train it. It'll only be a matter of time before he loses total control and slaughters the entire Academy. Will you still defend him then, as he takes a deep chomp into your neck and drains you dry like a leech?"
"Listen, Vera, I'm getting really tired of your shit! How many times do I have to tell you—?"
"Enough, you two, enough!" Hiro interjects between them. "You two always go at it like cats and dogs."
As they are silenced, Viktor Mainer, Chief Water Elemental, adds his opinion. "With the way you two argue, it's not hard to see why Noah and Nikoli are always getting into their squabbles. They definitely take after their guardians. I know Noah isn't actually your blood, Mason, but as his guardian for the last six years of his life, he's definitely taken up some of your traits. In your case, Vera… well, I think we can all agree that Nikoli's temperament stems directly from your bloodline. You could be twins."
Vera says nothing, just scoffs. However, Liam Guthrie, Chief Earth Elemental, does. "I'm not so sure about that, Viktor. When it comes to butting heads, I think Noah and Mai are more representative. Most of the 'arguments' between Noah and Nikoli are in good fun, and I'd even say that they are probably good friends. However, Noah and Mai seem to actually fight over what seem like such trivial reasons. I can see some serious tension between them, and Mai can be quite cold toward him while remaining respectful as she accepts him as her leader. She definitely gets that trait from you, Viktor."
Viktor seems to be at a loss for words, so he too goes silent. Kira Leanna, Chief Air Elemental, takes the opportunity to add her two cents as well. "I can see what you mean, Liam. They do seem to have a strained relationship, and it appears that it's making things difficult for Lili. She and Mai are very close, and Mai is protective of her, but for whatever reason, when Noah interacts with Lili, Mai seems even more agitated. I'm not sure what Lili's relationship with Noah is exactly, but it seems that Mai isn't a fan of their closeness, and I can see Lili tries her best to alleviate that tension between them and bring them together. I know she gets that from me, but your Gunther, like you, is also very outgoing and great at compromising, so he's much better at easing the tension in the group than Lili, who's very introverted. Though given her past, no one can really blame her for being so."
Everyone is silent for a moment, but then Hiro finally speaks. "Okay, I think we've gotten heated enough for one day, so now it's time to decide what needs to happen going forward. First, your training must—"
"Sir, I'm sure you're about to say 'removed,' but I really don't think that'd be a good idea. They need to learn to fight properly as a team so that things like this won't happen again, and they're prepared."
"I wasn't going to say 'removed,' stop jumping the gun. However, they need to be restructured in a way that's safer and more productive. That means using our training machines and resources, not Ferals. Until you can give me solid proof that they can handle them, you will not deploy Ferals, understood?"
Tahno grits his teeth and wants to protest, but he knows it wouldn't be wise to test him, so he simply says, "Yes, Sir, understood. I will take my leave then. Good day to you, Sir, Council." He salutes them all and walks out, the large door slamming shut behind him. He clenches his fists and curses the air.