A/N: The plot thickens… ;) Enjoy this quick update, everyone. :D And HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY to the Visser Diaries Trilogy! Officially two years old today:D
Warning: Some scenes in this chapter may greatly disturb you. :P
Dedicated to MsTria for coming up with the best theory ever – and for greatly inspiring this chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Visser Three's Journal
Chapter 12
About the Leeran War…
May 30th
Dear Journal,
" You Vissers are far too social," the Taxxon snarled as the Blade ship sped into space. " Why, back in my day we didn't have these 'social acquaintances'. We just did our job, and we did our job WELL! Distraction-free! Good golly, I wish we still had nine Vissers. Far more professional."
Visser One frowned.
( You get used to it, ) I told her privately, sighing. ( Unfortunately, he's the only pilot I have. So put AWAY the Dracon beam for now. )
" Wow, YOU'RE cheap…" Visser One spat.
How did this come about, you ask? Well, see, our trip had already gone on for quite a while. We'd left the pool two hours ago and had decided to "sight-see" around the galaxy before going home. At first, Visser One wanted to go to the Anati system and contact Visser Seven for a progress report. THAT had taken a good twenty minutes all by itself. And now – who the hell knows how – our little ship trip had taken us all the way to the Leeran planet's solar system (stupid Zero-Space and its twisted exit points). And – you guessed it – now Visser One wanted to go visit Visser Four. Oh, lords, someone PLEASE just shoot me now.
( Visser One, NO! ) I shrieked. ( We are NOT going to visit Visser Four! Are you CRAZY? )
" Yes, we are!" Visser One protested. " We haven't seen him in ages. And besides, he wanted me to reassign him to a post on Ssstram. I plan on doing this, since Visser Two lately has been very intent on taking charge of Leera… and we need a Visser on Ssstram."
( Visser One, NO! ) I protested, completely ignoring her reasoning. But I knew, nonetheless, what was coming next…
Visser One's face contorted into an expression of annoyance. Oh no. Not the "I WIN" expression! No, please, I beg of you!
" Visser Three…" she said in her suspenceful tone. Then, to my great dissatisfaction, she continued as expected. " I am YOUR commanding officer. What I say goes. Now, YOU will fly ME to planet Leera. IMMEDIATELY!"
I rolled my eyes, once again stuck in her trap. Her tell-the-Council-if-I-refuse, god damn TRAP!
( You heard her, ) I said bitterly to the Taxxon.
How is it FAIR to have your worst enemy for a commanding officer? Huh? HOW?
---
Upon arrival on planet Leera, we were docked on a secluded part of the planet. A small island, actually. Our hangar, barely big enough to HOLD the Blade ship, was very heavily reinforced. It would have to be, with the current Andalite assault on this planet.
We disembarked – we being myself, Visser One, two of the smarter Hork-Bajir in the crew (who were about three degrees less intelligent than Iniss) for bodyguards, and the annoying Taxxon who just happened to have a Leeran fetish – and started walking toward the submarine the Yeerks on the planet had prepared for us. In case you are an idiot, planet Leera is heavily aquatic – only a small, SMALL part is land. As if you couldn't have figured that out with the island and submarine references… well, you never know. Iniss wouldn't have figured it out.
Am I the only one who's noticed that Iniss has been rather… absent… lately?
… Thought so.
But ANYWAY, speaking of Iniss, after boarding the submarine, we were immediately confronted with a very Iniss-like Leeran-Controller. Picture Iniss as a frog with huge, thick goggles (what could be going through a Leeran's mind to wear GOGGLES?) and with disconcerting psychic powers, and you've got this guy. He said his name was Alfredo… pretty sure I don't believe him.
Welcome to planet Leera! he said, greeting us joyfully. My coworkers and I will make sure you have an enjoyable trip today!
Alright, so he isn't quite as Stutter-Me-Deaf as Iniss. But he still has that, ah, feminine side to him.
Visser One nodded curtly to Alfredo, as if trying to get rid of him. Unless you're ME, when Visser One nods curtly at you, start running. As for me, I am a professional. Don't try this at home, kids.
Would you like any refreshments? Alfredo asked. Ohh, shoot me shoot me SHOOT ME!
" Sure!" Visser One said brightly. Then her expression darkened. Instant PMS. " Bring me a redin. NOW."
" Yes, Visser!" Alfredo said, rushing off.
( A redin, Visser One? ) I asked, raising an eyebrow at her once Alfredo was gone. ( Don't drink and drive! )
Visser One frowned. " Do I LOOK like I'm driving, you dimwit?"
( You're always driving, Visser One, ) I taunted. ( Driving ME up the WALL! And you get so… nasty… when you're drunk. )
" HEY!" Visser One yelped, offended. " I am never nasty! How am I nasty?"
( You just… BLURT and GIGGLE things, ) I said with disgust. ( I'll never forget the time Councilor Four was with us and you proposed to -- )
" … AHEM," a new voice said.
Visser One and I both spun around, embarrassed, to find the Taxxon and Alfredo standing in front of us. The Taxxon looked murderous, and Alfredo… well, Alfredo just looked like he'd inhaled a cow.
" Back in my day," the Taxxon snarled as Alfredo handed Visser One her liquor, " there wasn't any of this 'liquor' nonsense. Why, when I was a grub we had to bend down shamelessly and drink the sludge right out of the --"
" News flash," Visser One quipped, taking a sip from her drink. " We are in my day."
The Taxxon was smart enough to realize he should shut the hell up now. He didn't say anything else.
( Are we there yet? ) I asked.
Are we where? Alfredo inquired, as if he was expecting us to just hang around on the submarine for the rest of all eternity.
" VISSER FOUR'S BASE," Visser One said for perhaps the hundredth time.
Are you authorized to –
" I'm VISSER ONE," Visser One exclaimed, as if that just explained everything.
Oh, right! Alfredo exclaimed, shocked. For some reason, when you said 'Visser One' a while back, I understood 'Visser Twenty-Six'.
I raised an eyebrow. ( How can you get TWENTY-SIX out of ONE? Please tell me Leeran hearing isn't THAT bad! )
Alfredo nodded regretfully. Sadly, it is.
We both rolled our eyes as the submarine turned left. Before we knew it, we were rising above the surface. Intrigued, I asked Alfredo if he really knew the way to Visser Four's on-planet base… he said yes, indeed he did.
At first I thought that maybe he'd snorted too much seawater, but it turns out he was actually RIGHT and that Visser Four's base was ACTUALLY up on land. Now, the curious thing about that was that it left Visser Four out in the open for Andalite attacks. I glanced at Visser One to see her reaction. She frowned pensively. Visser One was obviously thinking the same thing I was, and she doesn't like her Vissers being foolish. Which is why she hates me so much.
… Wait. Did I just –
Oh, never mind!
We docked, and all of a sudden Alfredo jumped out of fricking NOWHERE and was very suddenly smiling himself silly in my face.
We have arrived! he shouted joyfully. Good lords, are ALL Leeran-Controllers this HOMO? Iniss, we have FOUND YOUR PEOPLE!
( I noticed… ) I said to Alfredo. ( You know… WHEN WE DOCKED? )
Ahh, okay! Alfredo said. Have a nice day, Vissers!
He opened the submarine hatch and let us out. THANK. Fricking. GOD.
---
Visser Four's private land base was a nice one. It was on a tiny island which had a small amount of colorful trees. The base itself consisted of three heavily armed, heavily guarded buildings in which Visser Four could come and go as he chose. There was surveillance everywhere. I was beginning to think that maybe Visser Four knew what he was doing, despite our initial doubts about his location…
" Visser Three?" Visser One called.
( What? ) I replied.
" Can we stop looking at scenery now and go in already?"
( Eh, sure. )
And with that, we walked toward the entrance to what appeared to be the main building, the Taxxon and two random Hork-Bajir bodyguards trailing behind us. Glimpsing us, the huge, buff Hork-Bajir guards at the building's main entrance went stiff and stared at us in wonder. As we approached them, they bowed low.
" Welcome, Vissers," they said humbly.
They opened the thick, grey double doors and granted us passage. We graciously accepted it – being the Vissers we are – and ventured into the building.
One of the Hork-Bajir discretely pressed a button on the wall, twice.
" Visser Four will be with you in just a moment," he said, and then walked outside with his fellow guard.
As the door closed, it felt… I don't know, QUIET all of a sudden. And quiet is BAD for me because it allows me to concentrate on stupid Alloran's intestine malfunctions.
Oh, lords, PLEASE don't let me shit myself in the middle of the floor… I pleaded, raising all four eyes to the sky.
To take my mind off this… this embarrassment… I looked around at the room. It LOOKED like something I'd pick off my hoof – gross and grey-green all over. SOMEONE has a sense of style… However, to compensate, Visser Four had placed… flowers? On the reception table?
( What the hell? )
And the waiting room (which is pretty much what this was) chairs were purple… Thought Visser Four HATED purple. Oh my lords, wouldn't it be GREAT if Visser Four was stuck with an ELLIE for a receptionist? Haha!
Then, suddenly, as if on cue, a brunette female human stepped out of a side door. She was holding what appeared to be a TELECOM to her ear and rushed to the reception table as if there was no tomorrow.
" Yes, defense should be all ready…" she said into the phone. " … Yes alright…"
She fumbled through the hurricane of papers on the desk. I presumed she was speaking to Visser Four – why else would she be in such a rush to find what she was looking for? She looked up at us with big blue eyes, smiled and waved slightly, then lifted her index finger and indicated us to wait. But Visser One, apparently, would not WAIT. She started to get up.
" Listen --"
I pulled her roughly back down onto the chair.
( SIT DOWN, you crazy madwoman. )
She glared daggers at me. I watched the girl, whom I assumed was Visser Four's receptionist, find the paper she was looking for and scribble some stuff down.
" … Alright, do that then," she said dully into the telecom. Nice, a REBEL receptionist… Heh, I could just picture Visser Four's pitiful face…
She hung up and scribbled a few more notes onto the page before turning to us.
" Hello, all," she said.
" Hello," Visser One replied, unimpressed.
" So… what brings you here?" the receptionist asked.
( Uh, I think you were TOLD what brings us here, ) I said, not very happy that the receptionist was speaking to me as a freaking EQUAL!
" Now now, Visser Three… let's not be overly dramatic."
( I can be dramatic if I choose to be, low-rank! ) I WAS NOT DRAMATIC. WHAT COULD BE GOING THROUGH HER MIND TO CALL ME DRAMATIC! … I'm okay.
She laughed a… strangely familiar laugh and stepped up to us. " Who are you calling low-rank?"
( YOU, ) I said. ( The lowly receptionist. )
She smirked. " I'm not the receptionist, dopehead. And I don't recommend calling me one again!"
My nonexistant jaw dropped. My eyes went wide. My ears went wide. Hell, even my FINGERS went wide as I clutched at thin air, praying to the lords that I hadn't just heard what I THOUGHT I'd heard…
Visser One looked at me, her mouth wide open. Then, our heads spun around to face the brunette.
(" VISSER FOUR?") we yelled simultaneously.
" Duh, dapsen…" Visser Four rolled his… HER… eyes at me.
Oh. My. Lords. Visser Four was a fricking FEMALE! What is the world coming to?
" Quit looking like you just got hit by a Dome ship!" Visser Four exclaimed. " I changed hosts. NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL."
( But… you're… FEMALE… ) I said, eyes wide, having completely LOST the ability to express myself and not look like a complete mental retard.
" I still rule even if I'm female," Visser Four replied to my expressive disbelief.
( You are not FEMALE! ) I insisted. ( For the Emperor's sake, Esaren, you've been male your entire life! This is absurd! )
Visser Four frowned. " I can be female if I choose to be. Visser Fourteen has proven that, if you fail to remember."
" But why the sudden change?" Visser One asked skeptically. " I thought you were happy as a male."
" I was," Visser Four said pensively. Then, he… she… added guardedly, " Things have changed, that's all."
Visser Four looked out the window then. He/she spotted an Andalite fighter flying into the planet's atmosphere and frowned.
" Stupid Andalites…" he/she picked up a telecom and furiously punched in some numbers. " This is Visser Four. We have three Andalite ships coming in for an attack. Enhance defensive forces."
… She… hung up.
" Defensive?" Visser One asked. " Why not attack them? That's obviously the better choice in this situation, would you not say? We outnumber their forces two to one. CURRENTLY, anyway. That won't last long if you keep using simple defence methods without putting up a fight. They will think they have you beaten."
Visser Four smiled a knowing smile. " Oh, but my dear Visser One, that is exactly the point! If the Andalites are confident they will be victorious, they will be less careful. And that is when we will attack."
Her argument made a lot of sense. I stopped to think about it, and frowned… it did make sense, except…
( Except the situation at hand does not support this argument, ) I said aloud.
Visser One sent me a smouldering glance. " You, shut up and let me talk! Now, Visser Four, you --"
( You weren't even talking, ) I interrupted.
" I said shut up!" Visser One spat.
And before either Visser Four or I could say something in reply, the double doors swung open once again, and in walked… Councilor Two?
Yes, Councilor Two, with a red baseball cap that marked "All Hail the Slugs" in Galard, and about five huge plastic bags containing who-knows-what. He set the bags down in the entryway, and the star-struck Hork-Bajir guards closed the doors on us. Poor dumb Horkies, I swear, by the looks of it, that if ONE MORE high-rank walked up to their doors today, they'd most probably have a fricking heart attack!
Councilor Two looked at Visser Four. " Hey bud, I brought the equipment."
" Thanks, man."
Councilor Two and Visser Four were actually good friends? Wow. Who would have thought that?
The Councilor then set his sights on Visser One. " Hello, Edriss," he said in a soft tone.
Visser One blushed and smiled. " Hello, Fen."
My head spun around to look at the unlikely pair. What was this? … I hadn't seen them together since the pool party, but it certainly seemed that THEY had seen EACH OTHER… It was clear that they were much more than friendly with each other. I mean HELLO, Visser One never blushes for anyone! Except Councilor Eight! Oh, lords, was Visser One INFATUATED with Councilor Two? Holy shit…!
I think Visser Four noticed as well. Our eyes met and she looked at me with an "ooookay…" expression, her eyebrows raised.
As for me, I was just angry. I mean, Visser One and Councilor Two? WHAT. THE. HELL.
" So, what brings you here?" Visser One asked sweetly.
" Well, Visser Four wanted some help with transporting the equipment for a new piece of technology we're developing for use on this planet," Councilor Two said. " Sure is a nice planet."
Visser Four looked dreamy, suddenly. " Yes, that it certainly is…"
" That reminds me…" Visser One said, turning her attention to Visser Four. " Visser Four, didn't you want a transfer to Ssstram? I am prepared to issue it and replace you here with Visser Two."
Visser Four's head immediately snapped out of whatever frilly cloud it was stuck in. She looked at Visser One, pleading.
" If you don't mind, Visser One," she said carefully. " I've actually changed my mind. During the past couple of weeks, I've grown accustomed and even attached to my mission here. I'd rather just stay here, if that's okay."
I looked at her, trying to decipher this sudden change of plans. There were too many abrupt changes in one day. There was something wrong with this whole thing, and I wondered if Visser One would notice it… but she just smiled.
" Sure, I'm glad you've changed your mind," she said. " I'd rather have you here than Visser Two."
She looked at Councilor Two, and they seemed to be exchanging a meaningful glance.
" Edriss, would you like to accompany me on a walk around the island?" Councilor Two asked. " I'd like you to see our plans for the planet so far."
Visser One was quick to accept. " Yes, of course."
She got up and followed Councilor Two outside. Once the doors closed, only Visser Four and I remained.
But Visser One's face when she looked at Councilor Two was fresh in my mind…
" So I guess Edriss and Fen have something going, huh?" Visser Four asked.
( Apparently, ) I grumbled.
" What, are you jealous?" Visser Four sneered with a smirk.
( No, ) I replied, annoyed. ( It's just, WHY Councilor Two of all people? )
Visser Four laughed. " Why not? You can't choose who you fall in love with, Esplin… It just happens."
I glared, very pissed. Visser One had just chosen Councilor Two to make me angry with her! Of course you had a choice when it came to love! What the hell did VISSER FOUR know about that, anyway? NOTHING, that's what.
I almost voiced this harsh opinion, but ultimately decided it was better not to. Instead, I walked toward the double doors. ( I'm going outside. I'll be back in a few minutes. )
She didn't ask any questions, and I didn't explain any further. I simply stepped outside, into the trees, and morphed into the ultimate stalker: the Earth housefly.
Once my morph was completed, I found I had a sudden urge to go back. To go back and see exactly what Visser Four would do when alone… I don't know why, but I was suspicious of Visser Four. Very suspicious…
But in the end, I figured I'd have time for that later.
I lifted myself off the ground and flew high, high up into the foggy Leeran air. I circled the small island and looked around… It didn't take me long to spot Visser One and Councilor Two. They were standing in front of a huge drawing board in a much farther section of the small island. As I looked on, I saw Visser One listen intently as Councilor Two apparently told her something. I saw her face stretch into a large smile… she screamed loudly in happiness as she jumped into his arms. He kissed her cheek, then her lips, while I looked on all the while.
That idiotic perv,I thought to myself angrily, for it wasn't hard to guess what he'd asked her.
I found I couldn't watch any longer as they continued kissing. I spun around, back toward the building. My vision was dim, but it hadn't fooled me – Councilor Two and Visser One were most likely, annoyingly, mates.
I decided NOT to demorph before entering the building. I'd surprise Visser Four, scare her to the pant-wetting point. Heh. I slipped through the crack, waiting for her to be sitting at her desk silently, then suddenly I'd SPRING onto her desk and demorph! HAHAHA! That'll show HER! Payback for the time she dared Visser One and me to kiss in front of people!
But in my rage against Visser One for the Councilor Two issue, I'd completely forgotten my suspicions against Visser Four… And when I entered, she was on the telecom, all smiles, talking sweetly to someone… I listened for just a little while before bolting right out of that building like my life depended on it!
I hadn't heard much of the conversation. But I'd heard enough.
Heard enough to convince me that I had been right. Something was wrong. Terribly, TERRIBLY wrong…
I'd find Visser One, we'd go home, and I wouldn't even mention it… I wouldn't mention what I'd heard, and perhaps it would all turn out for the best. And if it turned out for the worse, Visser One would be blamed for it.
I hope. I hope.
Until my return,
Esplin 9466.
---
Woot! The plot thickens!
You may have noticed that the story is becoming more serious, despite still having humor in it. This is because, as I said, we are getting closer to the main events of the story, and the plot will become more and more in play as it progresses. This particular Visser Four subplot (the basic idea behind it created by MsTria) is a way for me to advance the plot and make some important twists happen (the Councilor Two/Visser One thing in this chapter being one of many). Anyway, I hope you guys still like the story, I'm just attempting to explain that the lessening of humor lately is indeed INTENTIONAL.
Also, I'd thought of C2/V1 a LONG time before Darth Vader es cool 5 had them making out. Darth, for some reason, simply has an innate ability to figure out most of my future plot twists before they happen… :P Visser One has to have two mates for some future events to have the effect I'm planning them to have.
Anyway, hope you liked it, and PLEASE REVIEW, because it's the Trilogy's SECOND BIRTHDAY today:D:D
Next chapter: Two weeks later, Visser Three's decision comes back to haunt him… Why is Visser Four a girl, and why did she decide to stay on Leera? What did Visser Three hear while in fly morph? And what will happen, ultimately, that will make Visser Three realize some of his deeper feelings? STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 13 OF VISSER THREE'S JOURNAL -- VISSER THREE'S VERSION OF ANIMORPHS #18: THE DECISION!