"The Gelfling we were all searching for escaped us. It was all the Chamberlain's fault." the Scientist exclaimed.

"Why am I not surprised." the Collector remarked.

"We must make an example of the bloody example of these treacherous Gelfling." the Ritual Master stated.

"And of the Chamberlain." the General added.

The Illustrator had been listening. She didn't want to think that her mate was responsible for what happened.

Chamberlain was catching up to the chaos erupting in the throne room now. He was panting as he limped into the room. La noticed him walking different and his breathing heavier. Was something wrong, other than what Tek had described happened?

"Welcome, SkekSil. Calamity has fallen. Rian has escaped, with proof of our dark deeds. The Scientist has blamed the situation on your head." the Emperor explained.

Sil knew he was on the spot in trouble. He had to think of something quick. He was already injured.

"Mm. Scientist speaks true. Chamberlain is to blame." he replied.

The others erupted in snarls and growls. "I knew it! I knew it!" the Gourmand exclaimed.

"He must be punished!" the Ritual Master exclaimed.

"I deserve to be punished. Flog me. Scold me. I am riddled with shame. Such shame." Sil proclaimed.

La hated to see what the punishment would come to be for him.

"If only I had gotten in lab sooner." Sil added on to his story, which was a lie. Tek quickly turned to him. "Filthy Gelfling stole vial."

"Liar!" Tek exclaimed angrily at him. "It was you who took the vial from my cabinet!"

"I tried to protect vial, but Scientist attacked me… knocked it from my grasp. Then Gelfling snatched it up and took off with it." Sil's lie went on further.

"Is this true, Scientist?" the Emperor asked.

Tek muttered for a moment. "Technically."

"I tried to stop them. Caught the slimy Drenchen Gelfling. He stabbed me. Oh! The pain! But I held on, put him in chains. Unlike Scientist..." Sil finished. "Who let Rian escape with the essence."

"Huh?" Tek scoffed. He knew Sil's story was not entirely true at all, but he knew the Emperor believed a lot of Sil's lie stories.

La knew why Sil was limping now. He had obviously been stabbed in the leg. She would plan to take a look at it later.

"The vial was clearly the Scientist's responsibility." the Emperor declared.

Others gaped and gasped.

"But, Emperor..." Tek tried to clear up the explanation, but his leader cut him off.

"He must be punished!"

"Oh, dangle the tail!" Gourmand stated.

"Strap him to the needler!" General suggested. Others suggested things too.

"Enough! His errors need a more permanent discipline." the Emperor proclaimed.

"You speak truth, Emperor, but Scientist is still Skeksis, yes?" Sil spoke again. The others turned to him to see what he had to say or offer. "Perhaps Scientist would benefit seeing… Peeper Beetle." Sil suggested.

Tek gasped, along with the others, but the others laughed.

"An excellent suggestion." SkekSo declared.

"My most adored of the Five Ocular Castigation." Zok said.

"It has been many a trine since any saw the Peeper Beetle!" Lach declared.

La knew what the Peeper Beetle did, and it was scary to think about. Others laughed at what was about to happen.

"Please, Emperor, not that! I beseech you!" Tek screamed in terror. He began to whimper for what was to happen to him soon.

The Emperor stomped his scepter, making it clear the punishment stood. "Prepare the Scientist." he ordered.

Zok came over to him and backed Tek off. "Please, no!" Tek cried out.

The others would have to prepare themselves as well. They all had to witness and be part of the ritual.

….

Later, Tek's hands were put in cuffs to keep him from being able to defend himself. His punishment would about to begin. A head cage was being put over his head. It would be where the beetle would be released.

The cage tightened over his head, but didn't squash his head or anything.

"Please, have mercy!" Tek whined. He hoped they would reconsider this.

Sil and So aligned behind him and the others lined up too. They all had a scepter staff in their hands. Zok went to fetch the beetle. He began to walk slowly down the line with the jar in his hands with the squirming bug inside.

"When we fail ourselves..." Zok said.

"We must be punished." The others replied and stomped their staffs.

"When we fail each other..."

"We must be punished." Staffs stomped.

"When we fail our Emperor..."

"We must be punished." Staffs stomped.

The Scientist was crying out for mercy several times. He was terrified of what the beetle would do.

The jar was opened as the jar was pushed into the cage top. The bug was released. The others looked on. Some laughed, including the Emperor. Sil and La were silent. Sil watched with interest though.

Tek saw the bug nearing his right eye. That's what the beetle liked: eyes.

"It will all be over soon." Zok declared.

La decided to look away. The others had to watch to see the final result.

Tek was whimpering in fear. He tried to protect his eye by closing it, but the bug pried his lids open and ate it. He would now be blind on that side. Some blood pelted his face.

The cage was finally removed after and the bug was taken off before it could take the other eye. Zok took the Scientist away for the treatment.

"It is done." the Emperor declared.

La finally turned around again. She saw where Sil was. She went up next to him. "He will probably be more than mad at you for suggesting that punishment." she said.

"Know he will, but he needed to be punished." Sil told her. "Think I got enough punishment from being stabbed as it was."

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"It was deep. Scientist did sew it up before he told what happened with Gelflings." Sil replied.

"Can I take a look at it?" she asked.

They went to a private room where La did take a look at the stitched wound. The stitches were good. Anything they would be doing together would mean not pulling at those stitches.

….

Zok treated Tek in a special room. Tek would later replace his eye with something else.

After treatment and recovery, Tek began to assemble a substitute eye. It would be like a microscope. He would study his own innard eye with it. But, he was really mad at the others for doing that to him in the first place. It should have been the Chamberlain getting that punishment instead of him!

The Scientist didn't want anymore help from the Chamberlain in his scheme of things. He had thought they were allies, and Sil had betrayed his trust; what trust they did have.

A couple days later, Chamberlain had wanted to make it up to the Scientist about his eye punishment. He went and talked to some Sifan Gelflings about getting a gift, and he talked them into giving him a pair of Gruenacks. Sil did the unthinkable and sewed their mouths shut to keep them from revealing their secrets.

Tek was back in the lab, and he had finished making himself a new false and telescopic eye that also glowed a bright white. It was wired into his eye socket and head. He was still very ticked at his clan mates, but most of all, the Chamberlain for framing him.

He was back to making upgrades on his machine that extracted Gelfling essence. "Treacherous, perfidious Skeksis!" he snarled angrily. "Soon… soon they will all see."

Sil had the Gruenacks following him into the lab. He was going to see how Tek was first before providing him the Gruenacks. He had heard what Tek had said.

"How is friend SkekTek? Good? Mm?" Sil asked.

The Scientist stopped what he was doing.

"The Emperor is displeased that machine is not yet fixed. I urge patience. Explain loss of eye slows you." Sil stated.

The Scientist snarled as he turned around. Sil gasped. "My eye is better than ever! And I require no further assistance from you, SkekSil!"

Chamberlain was surprised for a moment and studied the new eye closer, clearly fascinated. "But, if it wasn't for me, Emperor would have taken more than eye. I want your machine to succeed. I want what is best for all Skeksis. You must see that, yes?" he explained.

"I don't have time for your gormless distractions, you slippery-" Tek started to say, but then he noticed something behind Sil. "Huh? What are those?" he asked.

"Gruenacks. These are gifts." Sil stated.

"I thought we had eradicated them." Tek said.

"These are survivors found by Sifan mariners. They are mechanically minded and surprisingly strong." Sil explained.

The two Grunacks whimpered from the stitches across their mouths. Tek noticed. "You've sewn their mouths shut?" he asked.

"Mmm. Perfect for keeping secrets, yes." Sil replied. Tek stood back up. "So, we are friends? All is forgiven?" he asked.

"It's a start." Tek replied.

"Mm. I must be on my way out." Sil said and left the lab.

The Scientist looked down at his 'gifts.' "You two had better follow my orders if you want to live." he warned them.

The Gruenacks had also been promised freedom from the Chamberlain soon if they did service for the Skeksis well.

I know I don't own rights of anything to do with the Netflix series.