66The gentle blue light from the pond is relaxing in many ways. Its soft sparkles has the soft splotches around it radiate with power only the founding Thirteen members have the privilege of knowing.
"Lord Xipil," Elda's voice is strong but polished as always, "I come to give my report on Project Overload."
Despite the darkness, Elda has grown used to it to be able to see her Lord's eager smile, "Proceed."
"As we all know, when we use the power of your Relic to infuse nature energy into an individual's anima, it causes an imbalance in their psyche. Forcing them to lose sight of reality and allowing their primal instincts to reign over their bodies. As a consequence, they can act unpredictable, reckless, and possess no qualms if they're attacking a fighter or an bystander."
The next voice to talk is considered average among the males in the group, yet, this makes Cort stand out more, "I remember that being an issue when I first joined. I had to personally hunt down the ones nearing villages."
"Yes. That was a problem, and it's all thanks to Dragonite."
Yuki's silken voice interjects, "You mean the pokemon that kept screaming so defiantly during the conversion? The same one that colorful vocabulary that threatened you in every way imaginable? The dragon that resisted for an entire week? The Dragonite that you found training on the coldest mountain in this island?"
Elda can only sigh, If she already knew, why did she feel the need to ask? "The very same. It was out of fortune that he possessed a strong will. I used various degrees of nature energy to measure his reactions. When I used the regular dosage, he began exhibiting the common symptoms: rage, dilated pupils and finally the growls of a beast." Her chuckle reflects the grin she's wearing, "So I was quite surprised that decreasing the amount, despite being a slower process, has more than enough benefits to make it the best option."
A deep, but toneless voice joins in, "Is this how you reinforced your command over them?"
"It's more than that," she says with amusement in her tone. "I established a mental connection. Not a strong one mind you, but one that allowed my own thoughts to influence theirs. It was quite the groundbreaking discovery."
The voice of an energetic female jumps in, "Ooooh, so that means Leron gets left out while the rest of us get to enjoy this."
A deep gruffly voice snaps back, "Shut your mouth."
"A mediocre comeback by a mediocre mind."
Before Leron could pull a comeback, a deep voice states his opinion, "Peace you two. You can fight each other after the meeting is over. So hey, Elda, how did Project Overload fare in combat?"
Without looking at her, everyone in the room knows she lost her smile from the drop in her tone, "That brings me to the next piece of my report. I would like to confirm the original purpose of the project is a success…and a failure."
A voice similar to the one before Elda, but slightly higher pitch, voices his opinion, "Huh? What are you saying? I was with you to see him fight. There was nothing those explorers could do to stop him!"
"And there lies the problem. My initial hypothesis was for Dragonite to burn himself out. This was to see how well someone of his aptitude – who endured training on a Blizzard Peak – would endure when filled to the brim with the Relic's power. His attacks, both physical and special were above his natural limits, as expected. What I didn't foresee was his lack of self-preservation."
The member with the position sixth joins in with her feminine, yet strangely cheerful voice, "But isn't that the whole point? We first started with Wild Pokemon because we knew we could build a nice little army with no repercussions."
"An army of savages aren't going to serve us well when we ultimately challenge the Legendaries. What we truly need are allies with the capability to think for themselves, and once this experiment is over, I should be able to grant us the same level of power without notable effects to our psyche."
A deep voice with no hint of emotion speaks, "So this was your goal when you appointed yourself this task. I could have helped had you asked."
"Forgive me for neglecting everyone about this, but I didn't wish to give hopes on something that could or not be accomplished. Which reminds me, what's your progress on the stone avatars?"
"I have discovered how to mold nature's energy into any elemental type of my choosing, but I have yet to determine the right method in containing vast amount of power in one of the vessels."
"Are you now? If I see my research can aid you in any way, I will inform you immediately."
Seconds tick by in silence, but it's cut off by Lord Xipil, "If that's all, then I call this meeting adjourned, and Elda, thanks again for all your effort. Making you the second in command was the wisest decision so far."
And with that, many of the members dispersed by their own means, except for two.
"Hey, Leron." He hears the other one brooding about something, "Leron!"
"What?! I'm thinking!"
"Ha! You! Thinking?! Good one." A snarl comes as a response. "Want to spar?"
"Nah. I'm busy."
"Great. Let's head down to my aren-Huh?" Is his only reply when his brain caught up.
"I said I'm busy. Go bother your brother," he starts walking away, soon followed by the other.
"But I already fought him yesterday! And the day before that! And the day before that! One battle isn't going to kill you!"
If only the same could be said for any enemy that faces them.
A/N: I'm a little disappointed in myself. More so because of the lackluster end. Will make it up next chapter, and please leave a review. Short or long they always motivate me.