Ok, this fic will not be as long as the ToaW but it’s not a one-shot.
The Beginning of the End chronicles the end of Visser Three’s rein on Earth from #45 onward. I hope you guys enjoy.
Chapter One
(So,) Visser Three drawled, (How does it feel to know death is so near?)
The former Visser One turned her bloodied head to look her nemesis straight in the eye. It seemed as if there was not one inch of her body that was not hurt or damaged. Most had not been accidental.
The visser laughed, (Ignoring me are you? Oh no! I am thoroughly hurt.) He lashed out with his tail and delivered a smack with the blunt side of the stolen blade.
Still she said nothing. Slowly she used the one arm that at least was not showing the white of the bone to help her rise. “You’ll die!” she cried, “I know they’ll kill you!”
Both vissers, both warlords, understood who they were. The Andalite Bandits, the one and only thing stopping the visser from capturing his latest prize; Earth.
Once he had Earth his place in the Empire would be secured. Once Earth was his he could leave. He could do what he was born to do, what he needed to do…
Even the visser, who was not exactly an evil genius, understood that the slow, steady infiltration of planets was not something he did well. He very easily could win the small sledge-hammer, open assault, wars but oh-no these little secret battles drove him mad. Literally.
Now after so many years he could see the end, Earth could be his to take however he wanted. All he had to do was get rid of the one and only thing standing, or rather lying, in his way. One Edriss Five-Six-Two of the Sulp Niar pool.
The all-mighty Visser One, originator of the siege on Earth, founder of the Sharing, tool of the Council…
…soon to be dead.
The words to some up how much the two vissers loathed each other could never exist. He hated her for simply being allowed to break the rules. No matter what she did the Council of Thirteen, what fools they were, would allow the matter to fall away. She had stolen a ship as a sub-visser; she had just a few years ago released the Andalite Bandits causing Visser Three to be made a fool.
The Council did not favour fools.
And even more recently Visser Three had asked for a trial of his adversary. As was to be expected the Council had been forced to accept as if they had not the other vissers would not look upon Visser One kindly.
Naturally when Visser Three wanted someone gone they usually did go. He, himself, had researched every little bit of information he could find on the defendant, ever possible witness had been found, every piece of evidence laid bare.
He did however berate himself for the pathetic show of releasing starved wild animals and tricking the Council. That had not been one of his best ideas; in fact it had done well in earning him a death sentence. For now suspended.
Though the trial had not gone by completely unsuccessful, the seed of doubt was laid upon Visser One, her full past revealed. She, too, now had a death sentence above her head and now Visser Three was ordered to carry it out.
After so many years he had finally won over the thorn in his side. He should be happy…she would be gone…never to ruin his carrier again, his very life. But he was not.
(Why!) The urge to scream finally broke out of his self control, (Why can’t you just die! Why can’t I be happy about you dieing! Just DIE!)
The bloody heap that was the symbol of everything that mattered to the visser looked up at him through dark eyes, “They’ll kill you,” she repeated as if it was the only thing that kept her tied to reality.
He glared at the prisoner for a hair raising few seconds then broke eye contact, his stalk eyes searched the cramped holding cell and found two Hork-Bajir guards standing in the door way.
(You two,) he barked. (Take our guest to the pool. Keep her there. I hope you have a good imagination, Edriss.)
Said Edriss narrowed her eyes, “Why?”
Visser Three turned to look at her with something that, had it been any other person but him, might be described as admiration – even love – in is eyes, (Because following the Council’s orders you will be tied to a post in the centre of our very life force, the pool. That my dear is the closet you will ever get to Kandrona again. I do hope you can imagine Kandrona, it might keep you alive all the longer.)
The Hork-Bajir moved forwards careful not to touch their visser. Each grabbed one of the captive’s arms as pulled her to her feet. As much as she tried even she could not hide the gasp of pain that escaped her lips.
(You fought well, Edriss. I expect you to die just as bravely.)
---
“Sir?” a timid voice echoed through the silent domain of Visser Three’s office. “We have reports that our security forces are having some trouble.”
A thoroughly disgruntled visser looked up from a buzzing computer readout to look at the shaking human controller.
Visser Three was sick and tired of the filthy Andalites blocking his operations at every turn. He was bored with the war, bored with the continuous failure of trying to ratify his plans for an all-out invasion of this pathetic little planet and its moronic natives to the Council of Thirteen.
Though in less than five hours the seemingly unmoveable obstacle would be gone. The object of so many sleepless nights, dead. Why was he not happy?
(What kind of trouble?) Visser Three snapped, (The Andalite Bandits?)
The controller shuffled awkwardly, “Well, we don’t really know though I would presume that – “
Tseeeeww!
Tseeeeww!
The earth beneath the two Yeerks shook.
(What!) The visser cried losing his balance and falling to the floor.
Tseeeeww!
(Anda -) the mad visser was halted in mid thought as a clump of earth big and hard enough to be considered dangerous fell and connected squarely with his temple.
He was only out for a few minutes but by the time he awoke screams were finding their way from the main pool. He looked around dazed and found that the quaking controller had gone, probably hiding.
Now in a very bad mood indeed he pushed himself up from the rubble. Alarms were blaring and Dracons were firing. He searched quickly and found a fallen Dracon nearby. Felling an all too familiar rage he headed towards what he knew must have been the cause of this attack, his prize; Visser One.
The main pool loomed ahead of him and there, on the platform, were two enemies that he loathed even more then Edriss herself. One was a furry black humanoid Edriss had called a gorilla and beside it a Hork-Bajir that was clearly not a Hork-Bajir.
Blue bands surrounded the two icons of all that Visser Three hated. Again and again they rushed at them, again and again more and more loyal Yeerks lost their lives.
Dozens of other controllers, Hork-Bajir, human and Taxxon stood watching the scene as though spectators at a human game.
Up ahead a Bug fighter exploded to shower the Bandits with the debris of their fellows. Visser Three began to laugh, how long had he waited for this day? Visser One and the Bandits, his! A manic joy filled him up as he continued to laugh.
He eyed the two remaining fools and summoned up the perfect morph for the task. Even as he morphed he continued to laugh because he knew that if he stopped then he would start panicking if he did he wouldn’t stop.
His blue Andalite fur turned black. Two huge black wings began to grow from his neck and back. A monstrous delta wing was formed just as a mouth was grew wide and long and lined with a darting silver tongue that licked rows of shimmering teeth.
His four Andalite eyes were replaced with orange-golden globes that flanked the mouth.
(Haa, haa, haa,) he jeered. Rising with only one sweep of his massive wings. With another he rose to the very top of the dome itself. Shrouding all those below in shadow.
(Poor little Andalites. Abandoned on the pier. Abandoned to die…)
He felt the mind of the terrible creature rise up beneath his own. For a lees experienced morpher its heartless vileness would have caused trouble but not for him, how could it? He had become more monsters than any other creature in history.
He was in control as far as actions were concerned but after becoming so many mindless killers sometimes the instincts would follow him through the morph. He had allowed too much of his mind, his soul to be devoured by those creatures to ever just be Eslpin the Yeerk, he was becoming more and more Visser Three the Abomination.
(Meet the Bievilerd!) He raged, (A little something I picked upon the planet Ondar. Its teeth will shred your flesh like paper.)
Silence was all that came from the cowering bandits.
(You will die! And everyone here will see me kill you!)
With that he allowed the instincts of this latest monster to do what they had evolved to do. He dived at the pier homing in on the Hork-Bajir with a severed arm. If it was a Yeerk or an Andalite he know longer knew. No longer cared.
Suddenly…
Tseeew! A red hot Dracon burned into the visser’s belly.
“Rooooaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” the Bievilerd cried.
Tseeew! A second hole sizzled the visser’s folded wing. It furrowed, sagged, crashed….
(Andalite filth!) The visser screamed. (You will pay! I will make you pay! Kill them!)
Now the frozen Yeerks rushed to join in the fight. The stolen Bug fighter hovered just above the Andalites. Evidently it had not been the bandits that had been destroyed.
Burning with rage and pain the visser demorphed. As he did his mind became clearer, more focused.
As he finished his morph he opened his eyes to look across to the pier. He saw, almost in slow motion, the black one – the gorilla, stamp his foot down on the pier. Even though he could see what he had stepped on Visser Three knew…
They had killed Edriss! They had killed HIS Edriss!
Filled with a blinding sadness that he had never felt before he rushed forwards. Grabbing a nearby subordinate’s Dracon he aimed for the Bug fighter itself. He shot…
The fighter dropped. The engines died, just as they must of one has a hole in it.
Ka-PLASSSSH!
The visser sneered. The Bug had fallen directly into the Pool itself. The more they pushed to get out the quicker they would fall in.
All his mind would focus on was the dead Visser One he knew must be lying on the pier. He had not realised how much pain he would feel on Edriss’s death. How could it be? After so much yearning for her death it would be so hollow?
He sunk to floor in despair. From far off he realised that the Bug had risen from the pool, vaguely aware that hundreds of brother and sister Yeerks were being boiled alive. He screamed something this empty state though what it was he did not know.
He had lost her…his enemy…his rival…his sole personal obsession, almost love.
He had lost. Edriss had been right. It was the beginning of the end.