The Sparkle in his Eye

by Tatsurou

Nexus: Justice

Vendra and Neftin stood within the Court of Azimuth on Fastoon, where President of the Universe Qwark decreed their trial would be overseen to take into account everything that had come of their lives, crimes, and good deeds. Both knew their fates were about to be decided, and could only hope that things would go well.

When they'd arrived on the planet, they had been told to wait in the court as the judge - who they had not yet seen - heard all the facts as presented by Arbiter and Advocate. When all facts had been presented, the judge would meet with them and hear their last pleas, and then weigh his judgement, which would be final and irrevocable. What had shocked both had been the identities of these figures.

The Arbiter, the one called on to present the harm that had been caused, was Orvus Zoni the Timekeeper. The Advocate, the one called on to present the justification for their actions and their defense, was Dr. Nefarious. Needless to say, Vendra and Neftin were more than a little overwhelmed by the sort of figures Twilight could apparently call in on a moment's notice.

Just as both had finally begun to calm down and shift uncomfortably, the innermost chamber door opened. Orvus and Nefarious each exited, followed by a Lombax they recognized only by reputation. Orvus introduced him. "General Alister Azimuth, Four-Bolt Magistrate of the Lombax Praetorian Guard, Elder Councilman for the Center for Advanced Lombax Research, Honorable Supreme Justice of the War Court...will now hear the final pleas."

Alister swept up onto the podium before the Prog twins, cameras broadcasting the proceedings to the entire galaxy. "Neftin Prog, many charges are pending against you, enough that you may find yourself facing - in total - a life sentence in maximum security. Do you have anything to say in your own defense?"

"No," Neftin responded simply. "I did no more and no less than what I needed to do to protect my sister. Even knowing what I do now, I would have done no different. My sister and I had to look out for each other, when there was no one else who would help us."

Alister nodded. "Your words have been noted," he stated simply. He then turned. "Vendra Prog, both your crimes and your situation have been noted by this court, and deliberation has concluded. Before judgement is served, have you anything to say for yourself?"

Vendra lowered her eyes. "I...I just wanted us to go home..."

Alister crossed his arms as he gazed down at them. "Vendra Prog, this court has come to the conclusion that your criminal actions were not truly of your own volition. You were held under the sway of the entity known by this court as Mr. Eye, who manipulated your development from a young age to turn you into his tool to try and conquer our dimension. However, despite this you did not cause needless suffering as you acted to make his goals - those you perceived as your own - happen. Despite all the harm brought to you by those you knew, you chose to drive people out of the Sector for your experiments rather than kill them, expending more effort in the process. You also gave them enough time to take a good deal of their belongings with them. While they were displaced, they were able to rebuild their lives elsewhere with little difficulty. From all this, the court has come to the conclusion that despite Mr. Eye's manipulations and your own belief to be 'evil', you are not an inherent threat to the safety of the galaxy, and your own actions in assisting with both the destruction of Mr. Eye and the banishing of the Nethers back to their own dimension speak in your favor.

"It is thus the decision of this court that you are to be hereby cleared of all charges."

Vendra stared in disbelief, but Neftin sagged in relief. Plainly, all he was concerned with was her well being. "I..." Vendra began.

"However, the damage done to you did not simply cease to exist just because you were able to defy and destroy the one who so manipulated you," Alister continued. "As such, you are to undergo court mandated psychiatric evaluation and treatment, until such time as the damage has been repaired and you are able to live your life beyond it. It will be up to your counselor and your parole officer to determine when you have completed this recovery, and until then you will reside with your parole officer, who will be legally responsible for your behavior until your treatment is complete."

Vendra frowned, crossing her arms. "Great, just great. So who am I going to be stuck taking orders from for who knows how long?"

Alister smiled softly. "Ratchet Gyro has volunteered to act as your parole officer. If this is not acceptable, another can be found-"

"No, that's fine," Vendra stated quickly, lowering her gaze.

Alister then turned to Neftin. "By the view of this court, your loyalty to your sister is unquestioned and unshakable, and you thus prove no threat to the galaxy so long as she is under control. However, your decisions were entirely your own throughout your criminal activities...so while this court will show leniency, you will still be sentenced. It is the decision of this court that you are to serve no less than 4 hours of community service per day until such time as Vendra's recovery is judged complete, to total no less than 2000 hours of service. In the meantime, as the bond between the two of you is central to your emotional well being, you are also to reside with her."

Neftin nodded. "I understand."

"Judgement is done," Alister stated finally.

Comments

[treegrowth]

Like... no wait, already did that.

[Frostgear]

2000 hours community service is definitely better than life in prison.

[Fish0029]

[shinigamisparda]

Alister smiled softly. "Ratchet Gyro has volunteered to act as your parole officer. If this is not acceptable, another can be found-"

"No, that's fine," Vendra stated quickly, lowering her gaze.

Inside Vendra's mind: YES, YES, YES, DEAR FUCKING GOD YES!

[SvenFoxx]

2000 hours community service, if Neftin served it for 24 hours a day, would add up to 83 days rounded down.

Let's see... 2000 hours community service, 4 hours a day, would take... 500 days I believe. I'm no math expert, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Neftin will be rather busy for the next year and a half, maybe a year only if he pitches in 8 hours a day instead of the minimum 4 a day.

[Kenshinryuu]

Is there a Galactic version of the Boy Scouts??? Because I can see Neftin putting the discipline he gave the Thugs to good use in teaching Boy Scouts as a Scout Master.

Also, I can just see Neftin walking little old ladies across the street, getting cats out of trees for little girls, and rescuing pets/children from burning buildings over the course of his daily life to eventually become a hero.

[ArchAngelGundam]

That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.

[Ladrian]

The conversation between Nefarious, Orvus, and Alister:

"So we know Twi wants them punished, but not for them to be locked away forever. So how do we play this?"

"Mind control! I love mind control! ...Er... I mean... It would make for a compelling argument for clearing their guilt. Yeah, that's what I meant."

"...Uh-huh. Whatever. He makes a good point, though. What do you think, Orvus?"

"I think that whatever happens, my granddaughter would be very put-out if we in any way disrupted her plans for Ratchet's... ahem... harem, which now includes Vendra. We will have to find some way of allowing them to talk. Possibly even place them together. Towards that purpose, Ratchet is an intergalactic hero. He could easily be used as a parole officer for Vendra..."

"Orvus, you're a genius! I'm sure Twilight will love me even more for helping force them--I mean, that sounds like a completely objective analysis of the situation, coupled with an equally wise plan of action, a decision befitting the one commonly referred to as Father Time." *Holographic halo appears above head*

Orvus sighs. "Outside, and, specifically, inside this courtroom, we are not supposed to agree on anything, Dr. The fact that we agree on anything is moderately upsetting."

Alister smirks. "Twilight does tend to have that effect on people... Anyway, the way I see it, we can dump all the real punishment on Neftin. Or at least the part of the sentence that will fool the rest of the galaxies into thinking we are actually punishing them... 2000 hours of community service, to be served by accompanying Twilight and her immediate family on whatever universe-threatening adventures they go on in the future."

"Alright. Lets go. And Nefarious, stop smiling! They are going to be broadcasting this! Every good citizen of the universe is going to feel shafted if they see you walk out with a smug grin!"

"Well when you put it like that, how can I not? Maybe I should add a little evil cackle in just for goo--"

"Dammit, Nefarious!"

[Tatsurou]

7766731
Oh god, that was hilarious!

[Wolfsea]

7766672

Add in teaching them how to speak squirrel or something and I can get behind it.

[The Writer of Fate]

7766741 You should totally put that in a chapter as form of flashback or something like that when they are asked what they were really talking about when they were debating the 'punishment'.

[rikusorasephiroth]

Now to combine Nether energy with magic through a prototype of a new device similar to a dimensionator, end up back in Twilight's universe just before a certain wedding, and arrange for her brother to look out for a certain Lombax, his robotic companion and... others.

[the other sans]

So who am i going to be stuck

1. Forgot to capitalise.

[PrismStrike]

Vendra and neftin definitely deserved this break after the backstory they got dealt great work Tats, keep it up

[Dirty Bit]

So, about 3 months of community service? Yeah, that is definitely a fair sentence, especially if one sticks to their guns. Beats getting fined...or jailed...or getting fined while in jail...

7766731 That was hilarious, namely the last part.

[Kenshinryuu]

7766850 You mean:

[Zane Wolfe]

7766731
7766741
I second 7766856 's suggestion.

[Luminous Shine]

7766644. The math is correct. So one year and one hundred thirty five days of community service at four hours per day, and two hundred fifty days at eight hours.

[SvenFoxx]

7768987 Thanks. Nice to know I got that right.

[Fareseed]

And now, to the home stretch.
It has been quite a story, now let's see how these final chapters will pan out.

[Tatsurou]

7770930

final chapters

[Fareseed]

7770964
I shuld have known.

[Totally_Original]

7770964 I am looking forward to this.

[Totally_Original]

7760025 Oh that would be absolutely hilarious

Chrysalis:[youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AXzEcwYs8Eo]

[Zamorakas Devilhorn]

Well, the "Parole" should be interesting

[Jake Witt]

I don't know why but Alister's voice (to me) switched from his usual self to having an accent of a "Monty Python Holy Grail" character before ending with the "Princess Bride" priest.

[djthomp]

The Arbiter, the one called on to present the harm that had been caused, was Orvus Zoni the Timekeeper. The Advocate, the one called on to present the justification for their actions and their defense, was Dr. Nefarious. Needless to say, Vendra and Neftin were more than a little overwhelmed by the sort of figures Twilight could apparently call in on a moment's notice.

Wait until you find out who her boyfriend is.

[TheArcticWolf]

7773554
That is glorious!

[Animatorsnake]

I wonder how the public eye reacted finding Nefarious in the proceedings

[Fresnor]

9392869
Probably with a shrug. People expect lawyers to be evil.