Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned and copyrighted by Nickelodeon and Viacom. If I did own it, I wouldn't have let the Promise come into existence and I would've nixed the love triangle in LOK.
A/N: This is a sort of prequel to the Final Testament of Phoenix King Ozai that deals with the actual trial and the immediate post-war Avatar world.
Chapter One: The Prosecutor
The war was over. A hundred years of war and suffering had come to a halt with a victory for the Avatar, his friends, and the Earth Kingdom - Water Tribes Alliance. After the initial celebrations had died down, people all over the world, including the Fire Nation who had started the war came to realize that there was still a devastated world left behind; a world full of victims both living and dead who were crying out for justice to be served. Well, the world had heard the cries of the victims. Eight men had met in the chambers of the Supreme Court in Agnishima, the Fire Nation capital, to deliver justice on those responsible. These men were judges, two from each surviving nation, appointed by their respective governments to be the hands of justice against the fallen tyrants. After much debate, the world settled on the eighteen highest-ranking members of the deposed Fire Nation government. This included the deposed Firelord Ozai, his Ministers, and the top military leaders of the Royal Army and Navy; in short, all the men who had held absolute command over their respective function of the former government, especially Ozai who was the undisputed ruler of the Fire Nation.
The eight men took a seat at the round table in the chambers. Two men were selected for each nation, but as there was only one known Airbender left, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes were to be considered separate. The selected President of the Tribunal, a middle-aged Southern Water Tribe warrior named Amak began to address the others as soon as they were all seated.
"Welcome, gentlemen. Before we begin, let us take our oath."
The eight men stood up and raised their right hands. "Here do I solemnly swear," Amak began.
"Here do I solemnly swear," repeated the other judges.
"Before all the spirits."
"Before all the spirits."
"To duly administer justice without passion, fear, or prejudice."
"To duly administer justice without passion, fear, or prejudice."
"As members of the International Military Tribunal of Major War Criminals in Agnishima."
"As members of the International Military Tribunal of Major War Criminals in Agnishima."
"In accordance with international law."
"In accordance with international law."
The judges took their seats at the table. "Now," said Amak, folding his hands. "Since I'm from the Southern Water Tribe, I should tell you that we're not big on formalities where I come from, so you may just call me Amak. In the Southern Water Tribe, we don't exactly believe in titles." There were a few laughs in response. "Now let's get the seating arrangements out of the way before we get to business. It'll be done according to the Avatar cycle, but as there is only one Airbender left and it's vital that he stand as a witness, the Northern and Southern tribes will be seen as separate entities. Elder Kuruko of the Northern Water Tribe, Chief Oyaji of the Earth Republic*, General Kurosawa of the Fire Nation, yours truly Amak of the Southern Water Tribe, Elder Nanuk of the Northern Water Tribe, General Hao of the Earth Republic, Master Piandao of the Fire Nation, and Master Pakku of the Southern Water Tribe. Each nation has a bender and a nonbender representing them."
"Now that we've got that out of the way," said Pakku curtly, "let's get to business. The trial will be conducted according to Earth Kingdom common law and Water Tribe judicial law. All the defendants are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and will be entitled to the most aggressive defense, but it will be we - the judges - that decide who's guilty or not based on the evidence presented, not a jury. I don't trust common people to make the right decision on such a serious case as this."
"I agree, Master Pakku," Kuruko responded. "This can't be a show trial, no, we will give them the fair trial that they denied to their victims."
"Now for the charges," said Kurosawa, turning to Amak. "There are four indictments in these proceedings: General conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Each indictment carries several crimes."
"So let's discuss who these men are," suggested Oyaji. "We'll start with the obvious; Ex-Firelord Ozai. He's among the many charged under all four indictments." Ex-Firelord Ozai, the self-proclaimed Phoenix King was a subject of much debate since his defeat at the Avatar's hands. Avatar Aang chose to spare his life, to remove his Firebending instead of killing him, but now he was under international jurisdiction. One way or another, Ozai would have to face justice for his crimes against the world.
"I think it's important that we take all things into consideration regarding him," Amak replied. "Firelord Zuko has already chosen an attorney for the defense, a Professor Hideo Tanaka. He's head of the law department at Firelord Shinji University and he's been a lawyer for over twenty years."
At this, General Hao looked up."What's his defense?"
"I don't know, General, but the Firelord says he's all professional. He never lets his personal feelings get in the way of his work."
General Kurosawa's brow furrowed as he looked up. "He didn't exactly jump for joy when His Lordship hired him, but at least we don't have a radical loyalist as lead defense counsel. It could really get ugly if we'd have somebody too biased in either direction. Professor Tanaka's very devoted to his work, and that devotion will take precedence over any personal feelings he may have towards the defendants."
"Excellent," said Master Piandao. "Let's move on. Who's our next defendant?"
"War Minister Qin," said Pakku, spitting out the name like a vile swearword, "also charged under all four indictments. He's been behind every military campaign and every attack on Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe civilians for the last twenty years of the war."
"We also have Grand General Thanh An Nguyen," Oyaji said, looking at the man's long list of charges with deep loathing. "Now this one is a real bastard!"
"You're telling me!" said General Hao, white-hot anger burning in him. "He was placed as Governor of Ba Sing Se after Azula's coup. Had countless citizens enslaved and murdered. And that's nothing compared to what he did before! I fought that sick bastard myself!"
"Oh, you mean the Xu Qiang Massacre that he conducted with Ozai?" Oyaji shot back in equal anger. "The Fire Nation silenced all records of that raid. Nearly a million people were killed, the rest taken prisoner and enslaved, many starved and tortured to death.. countless girls brutally raped! Firelord Zuko's searching for witnesses in the Fire Nation, but once we find a prosecutor, things will move faster."
Amak cleared his throat loudly. "I would like to remind you gentlemen that we are judges, not prosecutors, and definitely not executioners. We are supposed to be impartial and we were chosen because our nations found us to be the most qualified for the job. We're not going to disgrace our countries or the integrity of the law by sinking to the levels of the defendants." Oyaji and Hao both glared in response, but said nothing further. However, Amak was not finished. "Look, I know as well as anybody how much all our nations have suffered at the hands of the Old Regime-"
"The Fire Nation's the pariah of the world because of these warmongers!" General Kurosawa cut in harshly. "Millions are dead or homeless because of this war! Our children were abused, tortured, corrupted, and morphed into killing machines to serve the ambitions of-"
Amak slammed his fist on the table silencing him. "Gentlemen!" He look a deep breath. "Gentlemen," he said again in a calm yet firm tone, "we are judges. Our job is to be impartial. As I was saying, all our countries have suffered because of this war. We all suffered personal losses too. My two sons were killed in battle against the Fire Nation forces. The supreme commander of the army they fought against was General Itagaki*." Amak closed his eyes tightly, fighting back tears. "He's also facing all four indictments. I'm going to have to face the man who took my boys away from me every day of the trial. My wife's too sick to travel, so my eleven-year-old daughter has to take care of her alone. No father should have to hold his children's funerals, the children are supposed to hold the funeral of their father.
"The Old Regime had my country reduced from a proud and strong civilization to a meager village living in tents. We have only one Southern-born Waterbender left in the whole South Pole, and my sister, Kya was brutally murdered trying to protect her."
"Wait," said Master Pakku. "Katara and Sokka are your-"
"Yes," Amak confirmed. "Katara and Sokka are my niece and nephew. However, as long as I'm a judge representing my people and the world in these proceedings, I will remain impartial and keep my personal feelings to myself. I'm running on a system of good faith with all of you, gentlemen. I expect you to leave your personal feelings and experiences at home and be completely impartial during our work hours and in everything this job entails. The world is trusting us to give Ozai and the men in his inner circle a fair trial, which will include judges from the Fire Nation. If any of you can't separate your personal feelings from your professions, I need to know now so I could ask for someone who can."
"Amak's right, gentlemen," said Hao quietly. "All in all, I'd say a total of two hundred million of my people were killed in the hundred years of this war. More than half were civilians. This was a quarter of the Earth Kingdom population, gentlemen. To this day, my nights are haunted by the charred bodies of the women, the children... the babies lying dead under the rubble in the ruins of Xu Qiang. I can still smell the stench of the death all around my soldiers and I!" He gave a short grunt. "You know, it would be so easy to just earthbend a boulder to crush these bastards en masse, but we've got to follow the Avatar's example."
"The Avatar's just a-" Elder Nanuk began, but was cut off by Pakku.
"Just a boy? Yes, he's just a boy who saved the world! We're going to follow his example and do what is right in the name justice!"
"I for one won't be able to rest in peace unless the crimes of these men are proven in a court of law," Hao amended.
Nobody else spoke, and Amak knew that despite the justifiable anger and resentment every man in the chambers was feeling, they would all do their jobs in a professional manner.
Elder Nanuk announced, "You mentioned enslavement and rape? Well, that brings us to Justice Minister Takahashi, another one of our all-fours. He's been behind the prisons, the thought police*, the mass executions, and the slave labor."
"What about Princess Azula?" inquired General Kurosawa. "She's been at the Royal Psychiatric Center for months now and is showing no signs of improvement. We must consider that she was, in fact, in her right mind when she committed those atrocities. I know she's a minor, but we can't be lenient under the circumstances."
Piandao looked at Kurosawa like he was as insane as Azula. "How can you tell us that Azula was in her right mind?" the swordsman responded, his eyebrows arching. "That child was raised to be a weapon from a very young age and if it were up to me, I would press charges against Ozai for the way he treated his children. We had three healers and the Avatar see to her mental condition. Azula is insane. She's not fit to stand trial. It doesn't matter whether she was in her right mind or not at the time. She's insane now… I don't want her brought up again."
Nobody spoke for a few moments after the swordsman's short speech. It was Oyaji to break the silence. "Now, what about Heritage and Culture Minister Han Jian? He's not charged under all four indictments, but he did take over Omashu and was responsible for its liquidation. This man is the father of Firelord Zuko's fiancée. Maybe she can tell us exactly what-"
"No," Hao interrupted. "We're not forcing family members to testify against the defendants. We won't even so much as allow the prosecutor to question them. However, the stand is open to anyone who wishes to voluntarily present evidence on behalf of the defense or prosecution. Any objections?" Nobody spoke.
Amak cleared his throat and folded his hands. "Uh, before we continue, I first wanted us to select a prosecution team. Are we all agreed that the lead counsel should be from the Earth Republic?" The other men murmured in agreement. "Very well, he'll form a prosecution team and get the evidence we need."
"I think I know just the man for the job," said Oyaji. The other judges looked at him.
Chief Magistrate of Qing County, Zheng Yi signed the last bill on his desk before locking up his office for the day. His attendant greeted him, "Good evening, Mr. Yi."
"Hello, Xiao." The two men walked across the gardens from the work area of the prosecutor's compound to the residential area. "Been a long week, and now I'm looking to spend the weekend with my wife and daughter." Zheng was a burly thirty-eight-year-old man with a bald head, green eyes, and a full black beard. He became the Chief Magistrate of Qing upon the death of his father. The Yi family had a very long history of practicing law and believed firmly in the Earth Kingdom common law system and progression. If the Republic idea would truly come to pass, Zheng would be proud to continue serving the new free government.
Entering the dining room, he was immediately greeted by the delighted squeal of, "Daddy!" A small girl sprinted towards him. Grinning, the Chief Magistrate scooped his daughter in his arms and kissed her forehead. He placed her on his shoulder as she chattered away about her day with the governess.
Dinner was highly welcomed after Zheng's long day. Despite his position of power, he was a modest man so he and his family generally ate in the kitchen. As he made to drink his tea, a servant entered the kitchen. "Begging your pardon, Mr. Yi," she said, "but you have visitors."
"Who are they?" he replied, putting down the cup.
"They say they're representatives of the International Military Tribunal, sir."
"Escort them to the living room and bring a bottle of rice wine; I'll be with them shortly." The servant bowed and proceeded to carry out her orders.
"What's the International Miritelly Tribunal?" Zheng's daughter asked. His wife was the one to answer.
"Military," she corrected, smiling. "They are a court of Army and Navy judges from all the nations. They're going to put the leaders of the old Fire Nation on trial."
"But why do they want to talk to daddy?"
"I don't know, honey, let's go to the living room."
There were two men sitting on the chairs across from the sofa where the Yi family sat. One was a Fire Nation man in formal robes and the other was an Earth Republic soldier in dress uniform. "So what brings you here?" the Chief Magistrate inquired, pouring rice wine for the two men.
"Mr. Yi, I'm the bailiff for the court," the Earth Republic soldier replied. "My name's Staff Sergeant Hong Lee. This is the lead court scribe, Hiro Masaharu."
Smiling politely, Zheng responded, "I'm Zheng Yi, the Chief Magistrate of Qing. My wife, Ling and my daughter, Lan. What brings you to Qing?"
"The Council of Judges has asked me to request that you lead the prosecution of the major Fire Nation war criminals." Zheng heard, but did not quite believe.
"Me?"
"Yes, Mr. Yi," said Lee. "Judge Oyaji personally recommended you for the job." Qing did a lot of trade with Kyoshi Island, so his and Oyaji's diplomatic relationship went back many years. As for taking the case, Zheng had prosecuted many criminal cases before, but it was always civilian cases. During the war, he left it up to the military to try captured Fire Nation troops who'd attack civilians.
Zheng asked them, "Why me and not a military prosecutor? I know some very honorable Earth Republic officers who could do the job."
"We need someone who believes in what this trial is really going to be about; justice for the victims of this war, but a civilian whose opinion will not be biased based on personal experiences." He did believe in justice for the victims, but was not entirely sure that he could handle such a responsibility. It would also mean that he would need to leave Qing for a very long time and would have to find someone to fill in for him yet there was nobody available.
"I… really need to think about this."
The men looked as though they were expecting him to answer like that. "The court will find someone to fill in for you while you're gone. We'll provide a house in Agnishima for you and your family during your time there."
Zheng turned his gaze to his wife who gave her approving nod and then to his daughter who looked excited.
"We get to go to the Fire Nation?" Lan asked, jumping from her seat. "Can we meet Zuko and Aang?"
Her mother shushed her gently. "Sweetheart, calm down. First of all, it's Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko. And I wouldn't count on meeting them. The Avatar and his friends are going to be very busy now."
"But you'll probably make friends with Fire Nation children," said Zheng. "While I'm in court, you'll get to make new friends and show them all you learned in Earthbending. They'll be so impressed and might even show you some Firebending. With Firelord Zuko running the Fire Nation and with the terrible war over, our two countries are friends now and the kids can play together." Turning back to his visitors, he answered, "All right, I'll do it."
"You will?"
"Yes, Lee. We all have to do our part now that the war is over." He turned to his daughter again, "Isn't that right, Lan? We all have our own big jobs to do, right? This is obviously my responsibility"
"Uh, I guess," she said with a frown. "But what's my responsor-ability? The war's over, I want to help too!"
"Your job," said Zheng, ruffling her long black hair, "and the job of all the kids in the world is to show the idiots who still think in the old way that everybody in the world could be friends with each other and that no people from one country are better than those from other countries."
"Excellent!" said Lee with a single clap. "A ship will leave Qing Port a week from now." After exchanging farewells, the bailiff and scribe left the Chief Magistrate's compound.
A week later, the Yis were on their way to the Fire Nation. Zheng and Lan stood on the deck gazing at the azure water. "Why do we have to go to the Fire Nation again?" the little girl asked, looking up at her father.
"The war started in the Fire Nation," he explained, wrapping an arm around her. "It was from there that all the orders for all the horrible things these men did came from. No, I'm not going to say what, but it's my job to make sure the world knows what ex-Firelord Ozai and his henchmen did and they get the proper punishment for it. It's only right that the war ends there." He cradled her head to his side and slowly stroked her soft hair. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."
In ten days' time, the ship docked at the port of Agnishima. Tomorrow, Zheng's job would begin. Little did he know what would await him the coming trials.
A/N: The trial has a panel of judges instead of a jury for one reason. Judges are only interested in hearing facts. A jury's opinion can be swayed by how a case is presented or by the emotional aspect, etc. This way, a person can get wrongfully convicted or acquitted. Oh, by the way, an interesting note on Zheng's name. Zhengyi means "justice" in Chinese. I assure you it is a coincidence, I just chose a common Chinese given name and surname.
* I had the idea to make the Earth Kingdom a democracy after the war since 2009.
* Itagaki is a canon character, but his name is my own creation. This was the General that Zuko spoke out against before Ozai scarred him.
* The thought police are based on the former Japanese Tokko. They were basically the enforcers of the imperial propaganda whose job was to silence opposition to the militarists.
