"Everybody is frightened." Iniss argued weakly. "The death of Sub-Visser 12 shook the whole empire. It is only natural for them to cling to remaining-er- loved ones."
I pushed open the door leading to the yeerk pool, despite Iniss' feeble protests. I goggled at the sight that met my four eyes.
(What the Seerow- They have all gone host happy!) I roared. Alloran laughed quietly at my rage.
The first thing my brain registered was pink. The color dominated the walls, the ceiling, the floor... The Sulp Niar pool was even pink! I wished death from poison absorbtion upon every dapsen in that pool.
(WHAT DOES EVERYONE THINK THAT THEY ARE DOING?) I screamed.
One of the hosts in the cages jovially tossed a fistful of flower petals at me. Wreaths of flowers hung from the cages, of all kinds and colors. The handful of petals hit my side, and a hidden thorn buried itself in my side.
(Why you little-) I poised my tail to remove this insolent fool's head, when something bowled me over.
(Ah!) I yelled, trying to catch myself with weak Andalite arms. I failed, and slammed into the dirt. Angrily, I swivieled my bruised stalk eye upwards.
I quivered with rage. A hunter robot with a pair of fluffy wings hovered next to Iniss, thrusting a card at him.
Iniss stopped his jammering and took the card. He read it, and slowly, his face regained color. In fact, it regained a rather awful lot of color. He shot a look at me, grinning like a fool.
I gave him the best commanding glare one can from an undignified position on the ground. Obviously, it wasn't a very good one, as he took it as a signal to race away in search of the dapsen who sent him the card.
I stood up, disgusted. Was there no more respect for Vissers? I headed towards the podium on the other side of the pool complex, intent on putting a stop to this foolishness.
"Your hosts eyes are like the moon." A familiar voice said. I whipped my stalk eyes around.
(Temrash!) I snapped. Temrash was sitting next to a human youth, smiling.
"Yes, Visser?" He said dreamily. He obviously did not realize who he was speaking to. I decided to remind him.
FWAPP! I swung my tail blade up to his throat. The dreamy expression immediately evaporated, replaced by a satisfying scared expression. The female youth sitting next to him looked up in shock.
(What is it that you think you are doing?) I sneered.
"Please, sir." He stammered. "I was just talking to Janet- I mean Esilan 294!"
But it was too late. Alloran collapsed into tears of laughter. It only made me angrier. (Janet! Janet.) I said calmly. That happens sometimes. When I'm extremely angry, My words come out very calm. (Pleased to meet you.)
I withdrew my tailblade from Temrash's throat and extended my slender hand towards her. Esilan slowly and carefully shook it, looking relieved. Temrash eyed me warily.
(Esilan, say farewell to Temrash.) I said pleasantly, arching my tail. (Or as you would say, Tom.)
"No sir, please!" Temrash yelped, scurrying backwards, and dropping a heart shaped box in his haste. It spilled chocolates onto the ground. I stared.
(Chocolates.) I said. Disappointment coursed through me. Anger was no longer necessary, or sufficient. My stalk eyes drooped, and my tail sank back to normal height.
I walked away, heading for the lift. I would have to appeal directly to the counsel of thirteen, if they had started on the chocolates.
Giggling echoed around the cavern around me. I cursed my 360 vision as I saw every nauseating couple, every disgusting kiss. I charged at a full gallop for the exit, and Alloran stopped laughing long enough to speak to me.
(You know, Visser.) He said thoughtfully. (The only reason you're overreacting is that you're upset.)
(Shut up.) I snapped distractedly. I was too focused on getting to the lift.
(If you had even a hint of compassion for your fellow yeerk in you, you wouldn't be the scourge that you are.) Alloran said.
I ducked under a cupid hunter robot and raced forward, failing to notice the man in front of me. I slammed into the ground for the second time today.
"Don't worry about all of that today, Aftran." The man muttered. "I love you, and that's all that matters right now."
I didn't hesitate this time. I swung my tail blade at lightning speed straight for the man's neck.
(Look! Visser one!) Alloran yelled.
I jerked, looking around wildly, missing the man by inches. It slowly dawned on me that Alloran couldn't have seen anything that I didn't see. By that time, the man had sped away, pulling a lady with him.
(What the ANDALITE was that for?) I bellowed. (I'd think that you would be the first person to see a yeerk decapitated!)
Alloran didn't answer, but a sense of smugness radiated from him. I called up his memories of the Hork-Bajir home world, and played them for him. He let out a satisfying moan.
I stood up. I would teach them, the insubordinate little human lovers.
(THIS IS YOUR VISSER SPEAKING!) I roared at maximum thought speak volume. (YOU WILL ALL DESIST FROM ALL FURTHER 'VALENTINE DAY' ACTIVITIES, OR YOU WILL ALL HAVE YOUR HEADS REMOVED!)
Everybody quieted, looking at me. Then they started slowly picking up all of the roses and chocolate wrappers on the floor and shuffling towards exits. My stalk eyes formed into an andalite smile.
(Remember who is in charge, next time.) I gloated.
Then a Hork-Bajir stepped forward, a murderous look upon his face. I recognized this particular Hork-Bajir, and my hearts beat rapidly.
"Visser Three, I think that you would do well to remember who is in charge." Garoff said, glaring at me. He held a disturbingly familiar feline in his hands.
(Councilor!) I cried. I would save Garoff and be a hero! (That is an andalite bandit you hold in your hands! They have previously used this morph to infiltrate Iniss' home. Let me-)
FWAPP! I swung my tail towards the feline, visions of promotions flashing through my brain.
"NOO!" Garoff cried, spinning himself around and shielding the cat with his body.
His body? Uh-Oh.
My tail blade dug a deep gash down his back. Blue and black blood gushed out.
(No!) I cried. (Councilor! I never- I wouldn't-)
CLCIK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Two dozen Hork-Bajir guards trained their Dracon beams on me, thumbing the power settings to ten. Garoff straightened, growling. The cat in his hand meowed softly.
"Visser, be glad I do not demote you." He snapped, heading for the same lift that I was. Then, in a nicer tone, he yelled to the crowd. "Ignore this fool of a Visser! Continue with your festivities!"
A cheer came from the crowd, and I decided that I didn't feel the least bit sorry for that slash on Garoff's back. They continued with their disgusting human romance routines.
(Argh!) I yelled, changing directions and racing for the stairs. I did not know why I was so angry. It would all be over in one day, and I would still be Visser three. In the large scheme of things, it didn't matter. The thought failed to calm me down.
(I told you already.) Alloran said smugly. The little Son of a Seerow must have been having the best time of his life. (You are really angry because you have nobody. I've been your host for over a decade, Visser. For all that time, I've fel the empty place in your heart, waiting to be filled-)
He didn't really mean it, he was just taunting me. Had to be. Yet now I could feel that empty place, too. The place that I had attempted to fill with the glory of being Visser three, yet didn't quite fit. I had masked it over with rage and the hunger for power, but it was still there, and-
(And that special somebody is out there, waiting-) He said. He had been talking while I had been thinking. I didn't appreciate it.
(SHUT UP!) I yelled angrily, trying to crush him with every horrible memory I could pull up. But still he kept talking. Angrily, I grabbed the memory of his entire life and dumped it into his conciousness. We have been trained to never, ever do this. It tends to cause host insanity, yet I didn't care at the moment. I didn't care about anything except getting out of this Emporer-forsaken place.
I raced up the stairs, ignoring Alloran's incoherent commentary of his own life. I reached the top of the stairs and wrenched open the door. I didn't have to morph human, as this exit led directly to the Visser office. I leapt out, and collided with somebody trying to come down the stairs. I fell for the third time that day.
WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!
Oh, the agony! We tumbled down the stairs, all seven hundred and twelve of them, hitting every sharp, rocky step. We fell for about two minutes, though it felt like an hour.
"ARGH!" A familiar voice cried as we missed the last twenty steps, flipped over the edge, and plumeted to the ground below.
CRACK! I hit the ground, pain shooting like fire through my whole body. The person landed on top of me, crushing my ribs.
"Visser one! Visser Three!" Voices cried out. Wait- Visser one?
(YOU!) I roared, as hands groped for me, pulling me onto a stretcher. Though not nearly as many hands as Visser one, I noted. And they weren't trying nearly as hard to fend off the Taxxons.
She twisted her bruised and bloody face towards me. Shame that I had landed underneath her; An unbroken fall would have finished her off.
"Visser three." She said conversationally as we were wheeled off towards the facility hospital. "I should have known. Battered and beaten to within an inch of my life, knocked down the entire flight of stairs, with a bonus thirty foot drop at the end. I hate you."
Just as I was about to retort back with a scathingly witty response, something strange happened. The hole in my heart filled with hatred. To my surprise, the hatred fit the hole just as well as love would have. Better, even.
The humans wheeling the cart looked at each other, and seperated at the end of the hallway. Even a yeerk grub would know better than to put us in the same room.
I smiled an andalite smile, and called out in private thought speak to Visser one as she dissapeared from my view.
(I hate you too.)