Carved In Rock || ATLA

Zombie

Avatar Day Fin

"Another head hangs lowly, child is slowly taken. And the violence caused such silence, who are we mistaken?" - The Cranberries

🌊 ⛰ 🔥 🌪

It was now or never. Every soul who lived in the Chin Village was packed in the open-air amphitheater that faced the cliff, the temple, and the statue of their late founder in the middle of it. They had been eagerly waiting for the trial to start all day. Aang was back in his pillory, his neck growing stiff, and Aelita was on the verge of snapping at the next person who looked at her wrong. While her twice-a-day healing sessions had left her arm no longer needing a splint it was still weak and being in the heavy shackles she wore felt like a ton of bricks. Bloody hell, if the Mayor didn't get this over with she'd shove her and Aang over the cliff's edge herself and hope for the best just to get it over with. Finally, Tong stepped forward away from the prisoners to address his people.

"Everyone loved Chin the Great because he was so great. Then the Avatar showed up and killed him, and that's how it happened." He smiled as he walked away, happy with his statement.

"Now the first of the accused will present their argument." The deep-voiced bailiff instructed, pushing the Avatar forward. Aelita flinched. This was gonna be bad.

"You can do it." She lied through a fake grin. Aang could barely remember what day his own birthday was, let alone everything Sokka and Katara had found. Why couldn't she have gone first? "Just remember the evidence." When she looked at the crowd she saw her friends looking just as unsure as her.

"Right...evidence." Aang's gaze shifted around as he tried to remember what to say. "Ladies and gentlemen...I'm about to tell you what really happened. And I will prove it with facts. Fact number one." He lifted one finger for the people to see. "Uhh..."

"The footprint!" Sokka half-whispered, half-yelled.

"Oh, yeah. You see...I have very large feet." Aang lifted a small foot for the confused villagers to see.

"We're doomed," Aelita muttered under her breath.

"Furthermore...your temple matches your statue." Aang continued pitifully. "But...I was in a painting at sunset." He smiled happily as if he had done a good job. "So there you have it, not guilty."

Katara and Sokka held onto one another and held up a thump for their friend to see. "They're dead," Sokka said through his false optimism.

"Now the second of the accused will plead their case." The bailiff droned on.

"Oh thank spirits, can someone please take these cuffs off me so I can talk." Aelita pleaded though her voice came off more threatening than anything.

"Very well." Tong agreed and the bailiff removed the Akira's bindings.

"Thank you." Aelita sighed and shook out her wrists lightly. She was trying to kill time while she thought of some way to get them the hell out of this mess. She had one idea, it was a long shot, but it was all she had. "Mayor Tong, I'd like for the court to hear one final set of testimonies, but not from myself or Aang."

The Mayor scoffed. "I've already told you, it's just me and the accused. You can't call any witnesses!"

"This isn't just any witness, this will be the real accused. I'm going to call Avatar Kyoshi and Akira Ragnar themselves."

"What are you doing?" Sokka asked Aelita when he and Katara were asked to come forward.

"You said you brought some of Kyoshi's relics, right?" Aelita questioned as pulled the pillory off of Aang's shoulders.