Episode 12: Welcome to Zec (Part 3)

Joseph's eyes tried to adjust to the darkness as he looked around the room. Only to find that he was no longer in the court room but trapped in the middle of a dark void.

"Human Joseph Campbell!"

Joseph flinched in spite of himself as the Computer Brain suddenly materialized before him.

"You know why you are here..." the Computer Brain continued. "Assaulting not one but two cadets! Do you deny this?!"

"They burn my home to the ground and nearly killed my brother in the process-" Joseph screamed. 'Just play the victim.' he told himself. 'Play the victim and the Brain will see things in your favor.'

"You act so innocent, but you brought this upon yourself." The Computer brain boomed as images of Joseph's memories flashed all around them. "If you had just left things well enough alone then you wouldn't be in this situation." The Computer Brain spoke as the Image of Joseph carrying Cadet Scamooch to safety showed

"And leave him there to die?" Joseph knew what the brain was trying to do. It was trying to make him doubt his actions, to blame himself for what happened to his brother.

It wasn't going to work!

"If I had walked away he would have died!" He shouted.

"Why do you care?!" The Computer Brain yelled. "He is an Irken, you are a human!"

"He was going to die, human or not no one deserves to die!" Joseph screamed.

"The Irken Race took away your home, your rights as a living being, they have enslaved your race, and yet you say they do not deserve to die!"

Those words tasted sour in his mouth, why? Because he no longer felt this way that's why! His people had cut into him too deeply, and too many times for him to just brush it off.

No, not this time!

Joseph watched as Images of everything he ever lost to the Great War flashed before him.

His parents!

His home!

His favorite sports!

His neighbors!

All the privileges and rights and people that were no longer apart of his life and all because of them!

Zim force the pain to show in his eyes as he tried his best to stay in the Joseph mind set. He knew that if he truly believed he was a human boy named Joseph Campbell then the Computer Brain would not detect any deception. But if he started feeling guilty for all the things his people had done to the human race or himself, his focus would be broken. And if that happened then it would no longer be the image of Joseph standing before the Computer Brain.

No Joseph would dematerialize showing the Computer his true self…

An undesirable Irken wanted for treason!

The Computer Brain would not hesitate to kill him on the spot!

"It's not my place to judge whether someone deserves to live or die. I saved him because he was the victim of the situation, and it was the right thing to do!" Joseph yelled!

"You are hiding something!" The Computer Brain floated closer as more memories flashed by.

"NO, I am not!" Joseph yelled. "You just don't want to admit that one of your precious Irken masters did something wrong!" he screamed the last word loudly. "Murder is wrong! Killing someone to gain their social status is sickening! You call yourselves superior, but in reality you're worse than we are!"

"How dare you!" The Computer Brain boomed. "You dare disgrace the Irken Race?!"

"I disgrace the Irken Race?!" Joseph screamed. "It is you who has disgraced it. You Irkens have disgraced your own race! Killing your own for something as self-serving as power! You have disgrace yourselves! All I am doing is speaking the truth! I am not in the wrong, I am the victim of the situation. I saved a life, and you treat me as if I took it!" he step forward as he continued to speak.

The Computer Brain drifted back, as if unsure of itself and rightfully so. Any other human it had gone up against would have already caved by now; guilty or otherwise!

But Zim knew better he had figured out the truth about these test a long time ago. And the truth was rather simple.

This was his mind; his brain and no computer brain could really tell him if he was right or wrong. Oh, sure they could give you the facts, but it didn't change the most obvious fact. And that was the fact that this was your mind which meant this was a playing field with your rules! And if you said you could fly the only way the Computer Brain could prove you wrong is if you really believed you couldn't!

It was a major flaw in the system's design that much was true, but it was this very flaw that was keeping him alive at this very moment. And it was the only reason why he was still alive today.

"I know what I did was against the law." Joseph continued to yell. "Yes, I punched a Cadet, but that cadet destroyed my home, turning everything, I own into ashes and nearly killed my brother! I was angry for my losses and in a fit of rage I lashed out. You cannot tell me that an Irken would not do the same thing!"

The Computer Brain had grown quiet, and Joseph knew why. It was searching his mind for something to use against him, and it found what it was looking for.

Suddenly images of all the horrible things Cadet Scamooch had ever done to him and his brother. "Cadet Scamooch isn't innocent he has hurt your brother more than once." The Brain reminded him.

Joseph swallowed down his anger as he watched an image of his brother soggy and wet after receiving a swirly from the cadet in question was shown. He remembered how angry he had felt that day and how angry he was when he saw his house in flames. His brother could be dying right now, and it was all their fault!

"NO" Zim yelled he saw the trap forming. He forced himself to push his hatred for his race aside…

It wasn't easy!

Since the night of the fire he had been having mixed emotions about his race. He hated what they had become, but he knew that once the Tallest were overthrown they would need new leaders and according to Tak there were no Worthy Smeets left.

Which meant Zim was the only one who was qualified to lead his race out of the darkness they had crawled their way into. But if he did that he'd be forced to leave Earth with his race and turn his back on Gaz and their love forever!

For the past two days these thoughts had raged war against each other in his mind as he paced his cell. And keeping this war hidden from the Computer Brain was beginning to become a challenge!

"No!" He screamed again, "It is not my place to judge his actions!" He tried to appear unmoved as he buried his conflicting thoughts deep within the farther regions of his mind. But the Brain could sense something was a mist. It moved forward confident in its position once more.

"Admit it you think he's a monster, you think all of the Irken race are monsters, a disease that has infested this planet and everything on it!"

Of course, the Computer Brain was right after all he had said those very words.

"You know nothing about pain and hurt and suffering I lost everything to your kind" Joseph watched as the computer played the words back for him to hear.

"Josh was all I had left and. your kind took him away from me!"

"They were right about you! Your all monsters I hate you! I hate you all!"

"No, I was angry for what they did to me!" Joseph shouted. "I didn't mean anything I said!"

"You say cadet Scamooch was the victim of the situation, yet you assaulted him as well." The computer brain's voice boomed around him.

"I was angry, hurt, confused, I shouldn't have taken it out on him I know that now!"

"So, you admit you are guilty, and you deserve to be punished for said crimes." The Computer Brain was screaming now but Joseph refused to give in.

"Go ahead and convict me, but you cannot say that my actions were not justified: any being, Human, Irken or otherwise would have done the same thing! So, go ahead and say I'm guilty, go ahead and prove to me just how corrupted your race is!"

"Enough!" The Computer Brain screamed "You want to prove your innocence then answer this final question. And if I get the slightest since you are lying I will find you guilty!" it warned.

Joseph took a deep breath trying to calm down. He was losing his temper and if he wasn't careful he could slip!

"Here is my question," The Computer Brain spoke more softly. "Why Give an Irken the same respect that your fellow humans deserve. Why show mercy when we have shone you none? Why treat him as an equal when he treats you like garbage?"

"Because I believe all beings deserve respect. How can you demand respect but not give it!" Joseph answered. "And how can I ask for mercy and not return the favor to another? It works both ways, no being is above another! Human, Irken, or whatever! Every living thing lives for a reason, they all have their place in the universe. And to say that one is above the other it to say that one has more reason to exist then the other. And that is wrong!" Joseph took a deep breath before continuing.

"It is not my place to judge any of Cadet Scamooch's actions or the other cadets for that matter. I can only rightfully judge my own. And I know that what I did was react in a way that any being would react in that situation."

"I have made my decision!" The Computer Brain spoke as the darkness and the memories vanished.

Joseph blinked and found himself sitting in front of the court room.

The Computer Brain had unattached itself from him and was now turning to address the court. "I have found the crimes of the Human Joseph Campbell justified!"

The Audience and the Top 12 gasped.

"I hear by pardon all charges against him and motion for his immediate release." The Computer Brain continued.

"immediate release!" Purple exclaimed. "What for!"

"My Tallest if I may!" The guard who had lead Joseph into the room spoke up. "The boy's brother is still in the hospital he has yet to see him."

"Please My Grace I will do anything to pay for my actions, but I need to see him!" Joseph was practically begging and rightfully, so he needed to know that Josh was okay.

Red stood nodding "Very well, the Brain has found the human's actions Justified!" He spoke loudly for all to hear. "Because of this he cannot be imprisoned, but the human must still be taught a lesson for his actions. For if he does not learn he is bound to repeat them. Human Joseph you are here by sentenced to one month of Community service! You will contribute to the reconstruction of the main bridge with the rest of the humans that are serving time!"

"But My grace with all due respect I have two jobs and school-" Joseph tried to reason with him.

Big mistake!

"The law is the law!" Purple screamed. "Do you think you are above the law?!"

"No, My Grace." Joseph bowed his head.

"Then until this sentence is over your only job will be working on that bridge." Red continued with the sentencing. "You will receive enough rations to get you and your brother by for the month. You may still attend school and we will provide you a new place of residence, but until the sentence is lifted you will be watched like a hawk. And if we suspect any kind of treachery you will be thrown behind bars for the rest of your days. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my Grace..." Joseph answered humbly.

"Then you are free to go!" Purple cut in. "We will give you time to settle into your new home and to be with your brother in his time of need, but once he is better your sentence will begin."

"Thank you my Grace..." Joseph bowed, respectively. "You will not regret this decision."

"See that we don't!" Red warned. Then he turned to the guard. "Guard escort him to the hospital so he may see his sibling."

"Yes, my Tallest!" The guard gestured for Joseph to follow him, and he did so without hesitation.

The Tallest watched him go both of them were obviously deep in thought. They couldn't quite place it, but they were both thinking the same thing! And that was that something about this human was very familiar to them. Something about him raised a red flag but they couldn't place their finger on it.

And they weren't the only ones that thought so…

General Kazar's eyes narrowed as he watched the boy walk out of the court room and out of sight. Yes, something about the boy was definitely familiar to him and the fact that the Computer Brain could find no fault in him was peculiar to say the least.

'I have a feeling this is not the last time we will see each other young Joseph.' he whispered.

Yes, somehow he knew that someday soon this boy would resurface, but how or why still remained to be seen!

(At the hospital moments later...)

"Mr. Campbell you have a visitor!" A nurse spoke as she entered the room.

Josh's world stopped turning as Joseph walked into the room.

Joseph wasted no time as he ran up to his brother's bedside and wrapped his arms around him. "You're okay!" He breathed an obvious sigh of relief.

"Joey You're out!" James exclaimed.

"You have to tell us everything!" Rachel explained.

"Yeah so start spilling!" Mark said obviously far less happy to see him.

Joseph smiled as he realized he actually missed his bias feelings towards him. In fact, he was surprised to realize that he had missed all of them!

'Have I really grown so attached to these humans that I miss them when they're not around?'

"Well Spill!" Rachel exclaimed.

Joseph laughed and then told them everything.

"So, you got Community service? That doesn't sound so bad." Rachel said once he was finished. "Not to mention their providing you with a new home."

"I wouldn't look forward to that." Mark said rather coldly. "It will probably be some rundown apartment."

"At least it's something?" James said trying to keep Joseph's and Josh's spirts high; it seemed to work.

"So, we're okay?" Josh rasped his voice was barely a whisper.

"We're going to be just fine I promise!" Joseph answered as he hugged his brother once more. "But I'm going to be watched like a hawk for at least a month." He whispered for only Josh, and his friends to hear. "So, I'm going to have to stay away from the dome and everything for a while."

The others nodded their agreement, after all they had already had too many close calls this week alone to last a lifetime.

"Yeah I think that its best that we all wait until the heat on you dies down." Rachel advised. "I mean they're not just looking at you, they're looking at the people around you too!"

Everyone nodded their agreement; they'd all wait until the heat died down a little. Unfortunately for them however their situation was only bound to get hotter.

Much hotter indeed...

Welcome to Zec (Part 3) END

Author's Notes:

Oh no it would appear more than one member of the top twelve has their sights set on Joseph! Will they find out his secrets and reveal the truth? And what will Zim do about the War that is raging inside of him? Will he continue to disown his race, or will he choose to forgive them and lead them out of the darkness, thus turning his back on Gaz and their love forever?

Tune in next time to find out!

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine ;)

Shout-out(s): Again, I give this shout out to my awesome fans!

As always I thank you for reading and please review. The next episode…