Visser Three's Journal
T
Chapter 17
Into the Shadows Again
Visser One found alive… by Visser Three's Personal Assistant
At four-thirty this morning, the Council received an urgent phone call from a man saying he had found Visser One. Medics immediately rushed to the scene, and sure enough, the Visser was alive.
"I don't know how I survived," she says, sitting in a hospital room in the Empire Building's medical wing. " I escaped, and I managed to drag myself to the Empire Building, where I collapsed. That's where Iniss found me. He ultimately saved my life," she says of the caller, who was later identified as Iniss Two-Two-Six, personal assistant of rival Visser Three.
Visser One went missing roughly two weeks ago, captured by the Andalites. According to her, no military information has reached Andalite ears. She is currently healing and resting in the hospital. Her personal assistant, T.E., was not available for comment.
Iniss Two-Two-Six, on the other hand, was awarded the 50,000 YC reward for saving the Visser. When asked what he will do with this small fortune, he replies. " I don't care. I'm just glad she's safe."
This is Kildar 675 for the New Yeerk Times, reporting.
---
July 3rd
Dear Journal,
Yeeeeah… Lie in the newspaper much? Hehe, well, we had no choice, okay? Not like I would EVER, in my right mind, save Visser One from certain death. Alright, so I did. But does the whole Empire need to instantly know that? Nooo, they don't.
It was pretty easy to pull off. VERY early yesterday morning, not so long after I left you last entry, I morphed to human and carried Visser One halfway down the hall. All she needed to do was crawl the rest of the way to Iniss's room, then let out a high-pitched scream. If we were lucky, no one else would hear her. And if we were REALLY lucky, Iniss hadn't died of blowing his nose and could still "rescue" her.
It worked. At least it worked. Iniss heard her, and came rushing outside his room, while I crept into the shadows and waited. He called the Council. Councilor Four, to be exact. Apparently, Councilor Four had been reading WAY too many human novels, because it seems that when he answered the phone, he yelled, "Mommy, five more minutes!"
Okay, so it didn't go EXACTLY as planned. We had planned for it to end up with Visser One safe in the hospital, and for there to be NO SUSPICION of ME. Instead, it ended up with INISS becoming a local hero and instantly earning fifty-thousand Yeerk coins. But hey… it was a sacrifice I had to make… If I just keep telling myself that, maybe I'll somehow forget that Iniss is suddenly almost forty thousand Yeerk coins richer than me.
I can always just… take… the money from him. I keep overlooking that little detail.
But still. Why me? Why always ME? …
To worsen things, at the moment (which now happens to be yesterday), I was sitting in a hospital room. With Visser One.
Most of her injuries were in the healing process. They were letting her rest for a half-hour before proceeding. Her eyes were closed when I'd walked in – and still were.
I gathered up my courage, reached over and poked her. She jerked awake.
" Mmmmmmrrrrrr…" she groaned sleepily, rubbing her eyes. " Damn you, taking away my flakies…"
( No one's taking away your flakies, Visser One, ) I said. ( It's just me. )
Her eyes opened, then. " Visser Three?"
( Yes. … How are you feeling? Horrible, I hope. )
" Not so bad, actually," she stuck out her tongue at me. " It's going to take a couple more hours to fix all the damage, but they said I'll be okay."
She sat back on her bed and stared into space. Didn't look all that happy, really. I guess the Andalites hardcore "peed in her cornflakes", as the humans say.
( What are you having for lunch? ) I asked lamely, trying to hold up the actually CIVIL conversation we had going…
" What, are you stalking me or something?" … Never mind.
( You sub-moron, WHY would I do that? )
Visser One suddenly grinned wildly. She took a deep breath.
" Because you LOOOOOOOOOOOVE me!"
( Yeah RIGHT! ) I jumped back, repelled. ( That is NASTY! )
Wow… Very mature conversation you've got going here, Visser Three.
" Na na na na NA na!" Visser One sang, looking at me like she had a gopher stuck up her throat.
That's when I realized she was on heavy medication.
( Oooooookay, Visser One… ) I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. ( You know what? I've got something for you. )
" For me?" she giggled. Yes, GIGGLED. " Why, you SHOULDN'T have!"
" I'm beginning to think the same thing…" I muttered.
Off the shelf I took a box I had carefully hidden while Visser One was sleeping, and handed it to her. I think she opened it quickly enough…
" Oh, VISSER THREE!" she said disdainfully. I wonder why? Hehe.
See, the present just happened to be… a red and black sweater which wrote "Esplin 9466 for Visser One" on it, along with a huge picture of MY FACE. I figured if anything would piss her off, besides my face (which I'd at first considered making the whole sweater), it would be the illusion that I would be stealing her rank. Which was no lie.
The sweater was also very soft.
( Have the most horrible birthday yet, you dapsen! ) I said merrily, gloating at the look on her face.
" I can't believe you actually remembered," she said a little woozily, but angrily all the same.
( Of COURSE I remembered your birthday, ) I said. ( How could I not? It's THREE FRICKING DAYS after mine. )
" Ohh, riiiiight!" Yeah. Click, Visser One.
And then, as I went back to where I had been standing, Visser One started humming an INFERNAL TUNE. I massaged my temples.
Why me? I whimpered interiorly, rolling my eyes.
Then, just when I thought things couldn't get ANY worse, INISS walked in. More like LEAPED in, with shoes like nothing I'd ever seen.
( Iniss? What the -- )
" VISSER, guess whath?" he yelped excitedly, jumping in front of me. " I've been readingth Shakespeareth!"
Oh, lord.
" Oh brotherth, whereth forth arth thouth?" Iniss said dramatically, leaping around the room like the ballerina from hell.
( Iniss, where where WHERE did you learn to talk like that? ) I exclaimed, cursing myself for coming here in the first place.
It was either this or having a "cooking date" with Ellie, I reminded myself.
" The TAXXONTH!" Iniss squeaked happily. " I was cleaningth the Bladeth Shipeth with the Taxxonth, and he toldeth me thath he wasth a FANTH of SHAKESPEARETH!"
I just kind of stood there.
( Iniss, what the HELL. ) I said. ( Please tell me Shapesdeer or whatever his name is does not REALLY talk like that. )
Iniss nodded frantically. " Yes, yes he doeseth!"
Without replying, I grabbed Iniss by the arm and dragged him out of the room.
( WE are going to see that stupid Taxxon. ) I said murderously as I walked down the hallway. ( BYE, VISSER ONE! )
" But Visserth!" Iniss yelled as we disappeared around the corner. " Skakespeareth is my LIFETH! You cannoth taketh him awayth! Visserth, NOTH! NOTH! …"
---
A short while after that… that episode, Visser One came to see me. She was completely healed now, for it had only taken our scientists a few hours to repair the damage. The physical damage, that is… it would take a very long time to repair the emotional scars of torture. Visser One was already very emotional to begin with (that's what happens when a female tries to be a Visser), so it would be even harder. I could see that in her eyes when she walked in and sat down next to me. Of course, she didn't want me to see it… So she turned away. But I knew her all too well.
" Don't hide from me," I said bitterly. " I know what you're feeling."
Visser One didn't budge. " You don't know a thing." she responded icily.
" Then why are you here?"
I guess she had no answer to that. She turned around, and I was mildly surprised to see her large black eyes filled with tears, her face contorted into an expression of anguish. My own eyes saddened… how I hated to see her cry. I turned away, pained, afraid of my own deeper emotions for this creature I so despise.
Visser One crawled closer to me on the sofa, resting her head softly on my shoulder. She needed warmth, and comfort… bitterly I added to myself, all because Councilor Eight isn't here to give it to her…
Where WAS Councilor Eight, anyway? Not that I minded Visser One's head on my shoulder – just, honestly, how much of a bad person could he be? How low can you get to abandon your own MATE in such a time of need? It angered me, how much of a bad mate he was. Did he not realize Visser One needed him now, more than ever?
I had to give Councilor Two some credit though, if not Councilor Eight. He spent the entire morning with Visser One in her room. That, people, is a SACRIFICE. Now there's a caring mate.
My fingers tentatively touched Visser One's trembling arm before my own arm wrapped around her body. I held her softly, stroking her back, and saw her silently close her eyes, letting two tears slide slowly down her cheeks.
I nuzzled my face into her silky black hair, making her laugh softly. I smelled her soft fragrance and closed my eyes in the peace of it all.
She lifted up her face to look at me, gazing up with those amazing black eyes of hers. I lifted my hand and softly touched her face, tracing its shape with my fingertips. She was beautiful. Oh, how she was beautiful…
Suddenly, before I could do anything to help myself, I was kissing her! Her lips locked with mine and kissed me back. Soon, I had my arms wrapped around her waist, hers around my neck, and before I knew it, we were laying on the couch and –
Visser One pushed me back. " Esplin, no!"
I let go of the sweater button I was undoing. I sighed. " … You're right. Okay. Okay."
We pulled ourselves up and just kind of… sat on the couch. No, I mean it was very awkward. Sort of mortifying, even. The she sat THERE, I sat HERE kind of awkward.
I had a sudden urge to start whistling. I resisted.
" What do you think you're doing, kissing me?" Visser One raged.
I looked at her as if an Andalite bandit had just announced he was pregnant with my child (and yes, I did say HE). " How DARE you accuse ME of all this? Can't you at least be a BIT less of an UNCARING ELFANGOR and take on SOME of the responsibility?"
" I have two mates!" she shouted. " And you LEAPED onto me!"
" Oh, because I so leaped," I said, rolling my eyes at Visser One's exhuberant exaggerration. " You dapsen, if you weren't cuddling me and touching my chest like some slut, I may have been less inclined to --"
" How dare you!" Visser One yelled at the insult.
" I don't know WHY I even kissed the likes of YOU." I said, moderately disgusted. " That's gross."
Visser One scowled at me. " Visser Three, get out."
" This is MY ROOM!" I shrieked. " I LIVE HERE!"
" Fine," she spat. She stood up, straightened her clothes with whatever dignity she still possessed, and started to walk away. But before she could even take two steps, I reached out and pulled her back.
" LET GO, YOU CREEP!" she exclaimed.
I let her go. " Okay, dapsen, BE LIKE THAT."
She walked out of the room. But just before she left, I saw the strangest look in her eyes…
I smirked. " One… Two…"
Visser One opened the door and came running back inside.
" Three," I said, satisfied.
She ran back to me and grasped my hands. " You want to go somewhere?"
" Excuse me?" I asked, very surprised.
" Come on," Visser One said.
Too surprised to protest, I followed her out into the hall and down the shaft to the first floor. Then, we walked outside. Outside, into the rain.
I had saved Visser One's life. Me, not Iniss. But to protect our hateful relationship, I had stepped back into the shadows. Being the worst enemy I was. So why was she bringing me outside, plain as day, where anyone could see us? Was she throwing out all our efforts to pretend nothing had changed?
" Visser One, why are we here?" I asked.
She just kept walking. And soon, we were far enough away from the Empire Building that no one would have even a chance of spotting us. It was storming, and I was starting to get cold. So as we walked, I demorphed into my Andalite form.
" Ever since I was young, I've loved running in the rain," Visser One said simply, after a long silence. " I find it helps me forget my problems."
We stopped, and looked at each other for a long time. I still didn't know why she'd brought me with her. I guess I never would know. All I knew is that right now, she wasn't the only one who had problems she wanted to forget… Things she wanted to throw into the back of her mind…
I smiled like only an Andalite could.
( So, let's run in the rain, ) I said, defeated.
She smiled back. " Yeah. Let's run in the rain."
And so we ran in the rain. And I don't know about Visser One… but I know she was right. I certainly managed to forget my problems… and my confusion. At least for a while.
Until my return,
Esplin 9466.
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Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to review!!!
Stay tuned… for chapter 18:D At last! It's a chapter you simply CAN'T afford to miss. I mean it.