Keri: WOO! Third update today! Me and Techno are on a roll/jigs/
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Dib groaned as he lay in his bed. His shirt and coat were in a pile on the floor; his back was facing the ceiling. He hissed as Iggins dabbed some peroxide on the wounds.
"Sorry Dib, but it's the only way they won't get infected." Iggins winced.
"But it huuuurts!" he clutched the bed sheets, fighting back tears as white foam bubbled from a rather large wound.
"Well obviously it's gonna hurt, but it'll hurt more if it isn't cleaned." Dib made a noise that sounded like a mix between a sob and a groan.
"So...What did Zim do to you?" Iggins asked curiously.
"He just whipped me and yelled some."
"I don't want to tell you I told you so, but that's what you get for not listening."
"Listening! What, you mean doing the bidding for a megalomaniac alien who killed off my entire species. Well, almost all..."
"Yeah! Look what happened...I hope that never happens to me!" Iggins said as an afterthought. Dib sighed harshly, which he immediately regretted as pain shot through his ribs and back. At the same time the door burst open reveling a very pissed looking Zim. Iggins jumped as he heard the door open. Zim glared,
"Dib-slave what are you doing?" "Um, n-nothing." he said, sitting up with some difficulty, "Sir." he added. Zim stopped glaring to smirk slightly before returning to his icy stare,
"Good go make me breakfast!" he then looked over at Iggins, "And YOU," he looked at him up and down, "tell Skoodge he better follow my orders or I'LL do it for him." Iggins trembled,
"Y-yes...sir"
Skoodge sat in the library, reading a rather thick book when Iggins walked in. Iggins looked over at Skoodge,
"Um...knock, knock." Skoodge closed his book,
"Hello, sit down." he said motioning to a chair, but then changed his mind and motions to the floor by his feet. Iggins sat down,
"Um...Zim said you had better follow his orders or um he'll do it for you…" Iggins said looking at the floor. Skoodge sighed,
"Damn that Zim. You're not disobedient like Dib, though. I don't know why I must," I shuddered, "beat you." Iggins wrung his fingers nervously still not looking up, remembering how easily Dib had been beat into submission, and Dib was stronger than he could ever hope to be, and Iggins knew that so he was scared. Skoodge thought for a moment,
"There's a way to beat someone and make it look like they're being hurt badly while only hurting them a little." he sighed, "But Zim will no doubt check to make sure I did a good job."
"I wonder why Zim's so...like that" Iggins thought out loud.
"He was beaten very horrible as a smeet. He's incredibly insane. Not to mention traumatized; he didn't get a happy life, why should anyone else."
"I guess it makes sense. But he can't make everyone in the universe miserable."
"He's hell-bent on trying though. And doing a damn good job." Iggins shrugged,
"I don't think it's really right though...and no ones ever tried to stop him?" Skoodge chuckled slightly,
"Are you kidding me? Someone tries to assassinate him every-other week!" Iggins eyes widened in surprise,
"Wow it must be tough."
"Not really, half the time he doesn't even notice. He just seems to repel death."
"Wow..." Iggins said speechless. Skoodge smiled meekly. His antenna quirked as he heard foot-falls in the hall. Iggins not having as good hearing as Irkens didn't hear the footfalls.
"Turn around." Skoodge said hurriedly. Iggins quickly turned around, scared now that he also started to ear the footfalls. A tentacle protruded from Skoodge's PAK and hit Iggins; lightly, but still hard enough to break skin. Iggins cringed as he felt his skin break, and the blood flow, but he was thankful Skoodge didn't do it harder because he could have. Skoodge also cringed as the tentacle struck again, a little harder than the first time. Iggins let out a pained grunt as he felt it happen a second time, and bit his lip hard, drawing blood, to keep from screaming. Skoodge whipped him a few more times; once Iggins' back was covered in large, bleeding cuts and red welts, he withdrew the attack, the tentacle returning to it's original spot. Iggins was now sobbing as he felt his back literally being torn to pieces. Skoodge sighed shakily, expecting any minute now Zim would burst in and tell him he'd done a horrible job and whip Iggins properly.
Zim walked through the halls, and went up to Skoodge's door to make sure he was doing a good job hurting the human. Skoodge looked up as he heard Zim walk in. He returned to his book as if hurting Iggins caused him no internal pain. Zim barged in through the door glaring. He looked around the room, and grinned sadistically when he saw the blood on the floor.
"Now let's make sure you did this properly soldier." he addressed Skoodge. Skoodge's Irken-heart skipped a beat as Zim walked over to inspect Iggins; he knew he'd have to do it again if the injuries weren't to Zim's liking.
"Hm..." Zim muttered as he inspected the wounds. After he was done he looked over at Skoodge, "They're not DEEP enough."
"Wh-what...?" he stuttered, putting his book down.
"You heard me they're not deep enough." Zim brought out a tentacle "Like this, watch." Zim rose a tentacle slashing it over an already open would, splattering blood everywhere. Iggins scam in agony, he could almost feel it hitting a bone or muscle. Skoodge muffled a gasp; he stood up and looked at the wound,
"B-but Zim, Sir, that's almost half an inch deep! Enough of those will kill him!" While Skoodge was yelling, Dib peeked his head in nervously. His shirt and coat were still in his room and he could feel the wounds sting against the fresh air. Zim rolled his eyes still grinning,
"NONSENSE! and if the human does die, he can be brought back you know that! now watch as i demonstrate!" Again Zim did the same to the others only much faster, swifter. Iggins was huddled in a ball no longer kneeling, sobbing and screaming, trying to get away. Skoodge flinched, after the third hit, he tackled Zim, though not strong enough to bring the now taller Irken to the ground,
"STOP IT! PLEASE STOP IT!" Zim immediately stopped, his eyes narrowed down to slits,
"What did you say to me?" he asked in a deadly voice. Skoodge sniffed looking up at Zim with large pleading eyes,
"P-please stop, Zim please! I'm begging you!" Zim contemplated hitting Skoodge, but didn't, he instead gave him a chilly glare,
"Never do it again, or you will suffer." He then looked over at Iggins, "Why you do care so much for that human! He's a slave nothing more!" The only reason Zim didn't hit Skoodge was because he couldn't, he would never admit it though. After all Skoodge was the only Irken...or for that matter being that was always with Zim since they were smeets, and had always been there for him. Skoodge fell to his knees, head bowed at Zim's feet, pink-tinted tears rolling down his cheeks,
"I-I don't know. Just please, stop Zim. Please." Zim's eyes remained hard, but inside he had already stopped being mad at what was the closest thing he had to a friend. Zim didn't say anything as he walked toward the door leaving Skoodge. Dib ducked out of the door quickly, praying to God that Zim hadn't seen him. Skoodge smiled at Zim's back,
"Th-thank you." he said weakly, not really caring whether of not Zim heard. He turned to Iggins, petting the boy's olive-green hair, inspecting the wounds carefully. Zim ignored Skoodge as he walked out of the room heading toward the opposite side where Dib had run off too.
Meanwhile Iggins was still sobbing quietly, his vision becoming blurry. He couldn't even feel his back anymore that was how bad it was.
"Shh, shh, it's okay." Skoodge sniffed. He pulled a first-aid kit out of his PAK, "Here, lay down." he helped Iggins get comfortable before disinfecting the wounds. Iggins had stopped sobbing, but the tears still fell form his eyes and he sniffled every now and then whimpering. "It's okay," Skoodge repeated as he sat Iggins up so he could wrap an ace-bandage over the wounds but not before covering them with gauze. Iggins was thankful that Skoodge was his master and not Zim, but his body still shook involuntary. Once the bandages were in place, Skoodge pulled Iggins into his arms; still trying to quiet him but mostly he was trying to reassure himself that the boy wasn't dead. He was still thinking over what Zim had said. Why did he care so much? Iggins had stopped crying all together, and was now trying to stay conscious. his vision was slowly fading, as he felt Skoodge holding him. The last thing Iggins thought before he passed out was,
'I wonder why he cares...'