Chapter Three

"Trapped with Insanity"

((Ahhh, this is the perfect opportunity to end your life here,)) purred Visser Three, as he hovered over her, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

Visser One stood with her back facing him, trying to find some sort of way out. But she knew very well that there wasn't-- not even a shaft, ventilator, or pipeline. Her small body wouldn't be able to get out and leave him in the room to suffer alone without her.

When she didn't react fast enough, Esplin tried switching his tactics. ((You know, we could create an empire of our own…))

"You tried that tactic the first time, and it didn't work then-- what makes you think it'll work this time? You're not going to frame me for being a traitor." She rolled her eyes and looked at him. He looked like he was getting irritated, on the verge of losing his temper perhaps. His tail was in the air, itching to take that one fatal strike. Edriss raised an eyebrow. "It'll be too easy if you stoop to killing me now-- and you wouldn't want that, would you?"

The Andalite controller's non-existent eyebrows raised. He didn't want to admit, though, that it was a good point. He wanted it to be a long, slow way down for his arch-nemesis.

Idiot, she thought. She would have be the first to try to kill him, if it weren't for the fact that he had the upper hand.

((Now how are you going to get out of this one, Edriss?)) asked Eva, cooing from her head.

((Shut it!)) Edriss snarled, wanting to kill that voice of hers.

Edriss sighed, and sat against the wall, watching the Andalite walk around in circles on his four dainty little hooves, trying to find a way out. It was dim in the room, just like the rest of the ship-- made it look dark, ominous, and evil looking. Luckily she had fed just that morning, and secretly she hoped that the Visser didn't have long. Slowly, she watched Three's temper rise. It had to have been a record-- three minutes--

SLAM!

The sound resonated through the room, making the human host jump. Esplin's tail slammed into the wall in anger and frustration. The tail didn't even leave a dint in the wall. But he didn't give up. Over and over again, he tried to hack a hole with the sharp blade of his tail, but to no avail. It was beginning to get amusing for Visser One, despite the loud clanking noises.

((GUARDS!)) he shouted at the top of his mind. (It would have been lungs had it not been thought-speech.)

Visser One rolled her eyes and stood up. "They're not going to hear you-- and even if they did, they were all probably ordered, directly by the council, not to listen to us. Stop being an idiot and calm down-- you're giving me a headache!"

Esplin, for once listened to her, but she noticed that one of his green eyes was twitching. They both stood in the room in silence, and just when she thought she was home free.

They continued to stare at each other, time frozen. It might as well have been because they had no clue to what was happening outside of the room. Just when Edriss thought that Visser Three was going to blink, he decided to say something.

((Why in the Dark Sun should I get along with you? As soon as you make a mistake, I will take your place as Visser One.)) Edriss couldn't figure out if he meant to start something, or if he was thinking of his 'glorious' future out loud.

"When hell freezes over," Edriss snapped without thinking. She didn't like the idea of a buffoon taking over after her. "The Empire would lose more hosts than gaining any."

He laughed arrogantly. ((Don't worry, they'll relent, give up hope.)) He was so sure that they would give up fighting just like his own host did. He kept up hope-- but that was all, and that was something completely useless. ((It has happened before, and I've seen it.)) The Hork-Bajir home world for example, Edriss thought.

It was Visser One's turn to laugh, though hers was much different. Harsh and bitter. He of course didn't know that the Guerilla force that had given him so much trouble was human. "You are a fool. An idiot. These are a different species, maybe even like us."

The Visser blinked, and for a second, she thought that he was speechless. But she was wrong about that factor as usual. He crossed his arms over his chest, the rest of his body in the ultimate gesture of arrogance. ((HAHA! Now really?))

Visser One raised an eyebrow. "Well for one, they have a better sense of humor than our enemies, and they hope for things they can't have and try to obtain it no matter what."

((Admitting to your addictions to humans?)) He grinned in the Andalite way.

"No, just that I know my enemy!" she said through gritted teeth. Damn him. "And I happen to know things that you should have known! Fool!" With each word, her voice began to raise, and she was slowly losing her grip on her own temper.

The Andalite's temper was also catching on too. ((I am not as foolish as you take me for, Visser One! I am not the one who is under the sight of the council.)) He said the name of her position with a sneer.

"Do you happen to know of the Andalite bandits? Who they really are?" She laughed mirthlessly. Three's eyes widened, knowing what the answer was, the answer that he had ignored for so long because it didn't make any since to him. "They're human!" she screamed, throwing up her hands. "Humans! Those people you deem weak and fearful are the very bandits that continue to anger and frustrate you!"

The Three's nostrils flared at the insult, his tail twitching. He wanted to kill her then and there. This game wasn't fun anymore, and since it was serious, then there was no problem in killing her-

"If you do kill me, they probably will kill you, the Council of Thirteen. The council member said that 'we had to get along, or face the consequences'. And if I'm dead, then you're very obviously not getting along with me." Edriss's temper had gone like smoke, knowing that she had hit him hard.

AN: Another chapter of my new longish fic. I'm not getting that many reviews!! TT Anyways... I hate the fact that doesn't take the thought-speak brackets anymore-- I keep having to go back to replace them with something that they will take. To those who are reading-- enjoy!