Bitter Work was always one of my favorite episodes. It's one of the few times where you actually see Aang struggling to learn any of the four elements. Air was already taken care of when the show started. They didn't even bother showing him really learning water. And fire was completely ignored and just assumed he was training in it while Zuko went on his field trips.

Not earth. At least with earth, they showed him have to put some effort into it.

Toph: Yup. I do's my job and I do's it well. In fact, this is my favorite episode too; for a different reason, though.

Oh? Why do you like it? Is it the jokes and banter from you and Sokka? Zuko discovering how to redirect lightening? The origin of the face-rock meme?

Toph: Nope. Uh uh. And no.

Ok… Then why do you like it so much?

Toph: There's a scene where I take Aang's nuts and crush 'em with his own staff!

[Wide grin]

I'm gonna start the chapter now.

What SHOULD have Happened in Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 2: Chapter 9

As dawn gently lit a small canyon, Aang leapt of his bison and pumped his fist into the air. "Today's the day!" He landed beside Sokka's sleeping bag. "Can you believe it? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earth bending!" The boy clutched his head as he smiled and his lemur ran up Appa's head. "And this place, it's perfect! Don't cha think?"

The nomad then glanced down at his friend, who remained in his sleeping bag, and dropped his smile. "Sokka?"

The Water Tribe boy glanced back at his friend and glared as he groaned.

"Oh. You're still sleeping, huh?"

Sokka groaned again. "No, that's not why I'm glaring at you. I'm glaring at you because we've been traveling with Toph for weeks now. I mean, she told us that, according to Angry Jerk's uncle, we picked her up at about the same time Zuko and the old guy split up. The fights with blue-fire girl and her friends didn't happen until two weeks after that. Now, just now, you are starting your earth bending training? How irresponsible are you?"

The Avatar crossed his arms and glared back at his friend. "No need to get so fussy. Geez, you act like the world's gonna end if I don't do this A.S.A.P."

Katara's brother narrowed his eyes even further.

Aang blinked twice and then cringed. "Oh… yeah… That's right…"


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0


Within a run-down shack, Zuko saw Iroh stir in his sleep and hurried beside him. "Uncle!" The old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at him. "You were unconscious. Azula did this to you." The prince watched the former general cringe as he sat up. "It was a surprise attack."

Iroh held his wound. "Somehow, that's not so surprising."

As Ozai's son watched his uncle push himself up and sit against the wall of the small house, he picked up a cup of tea and passed it to the older bender. "I hope I made it the way you like it."

The Dragon of the West smiled as he took the cup and sipped it. In the next second, he cringed and his eyes shot open. "Mmmm..." He forced himself to swallow and then take another gulp. "Urk… That was very… ummm… bracing!"

Zuko took the cup and refilled it. "So, I've been thinking," he lowered his head to fill his own cup and vaguely heard a small splash. "it's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced fire bending if I want to stand a chance against her.

"I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."

The former general put his cup on the floor. "No…" He stared his nephew right in the eyes. "She's crazy and she needs to go down."

Zuko nodded as his uncle grunted and slowly rose to his feet.

"It's time to resume your training."

"Before we do, Uncle, there's one thing I want to make sure I have clear."

"Oh? What is that, my nephew?"

"Are you saying that, if one sibling is crazy, psychotic, and a danger to countless people, then it is ok for another sibling to fight against the first sibling?"

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes."

"And, just so I'm certain, this is irregardless of rank and social standing, correct?"

"Yes! Zuko, why are you asking me this?"

"I just want to make sure I know where you stand on the issue." The teen then stood. "Let's get started."


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0


Katara stood beside Aang's newest teacher as the boy approached the two girls and the boulder he failed to move. "I don't understand what went wrong." She pointed at Aang. "He did it exactly the way you did."

The Avatar beamed a smile. "Maybe there's another way." He made a few movements with his arms and walked around the rock. "What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?"

Toph grabbed the bald boy's collar. "No. That's the problem." She donked him on the head. "You've got to stop thinking like an air bender." She waved her arms about. "There's no different angle. No clever solution. No trickety-trick that's gonna move that rock!"

The blind girl shoved Aang to the ground. "You've gotta face it head on!"

Toph closed her hands into fists. "And when I say 'head on,' I mean like-!"

Aang held out an arm. "Hold on a sec."

The earth bender turned her blind eyes towards her student. "What is it? I'm about to show you an important lesson!"

"Well,… it's just that…."

"Spit it out, Twinkletoes!"

"Clever solutions is the lesson Bumi taught me."

"'Bumi?'" Toph blinked twice. "King Bumi?"

"Yeah. 'Trickety-tricks' and 'different angles' was what he was all about. Gyatso, my air bending teacher, never taught like that and it certainly isn't a dominant trait of mine to solve my problems with 'clever solutions.'"

"Hmmm…" Toph rubbed her chin. "I see what you mean. Yeah, I don't know why I thought air benders thought like that. I mean, obviously, if they did think like that, they would've known to get on their flying bisons and leave as armored soldiers are committing genocide of their people."

"Ex-actly!"


[[Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! It's time, once again, for: How else this scene should have gone.]]


Katara stood beside Aang's newest teacher as the boy approached the two girls and the boulder he failed to move. "I don't understand what went wrong." She pointed at Aang. "He did it exactly the way you did."

The Avatar beamed a smile. "Maybe there's another way." He made a few movements with his arms and walked around the rock. "What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?"

Toph grabbed the bald boy's collar. "No. That's the problem." She donked him on the head. "You've got to stop thinking like an air bender." She waved her arms about. "There's no different angle. No clever solution. No trickety-trick that's gonna move that rock!"

The blind girl shoved Aang to the ground. "You've gotta face it head on!"

Toph closed her hands into fists. "And when I say 'head on,' I mean like-!"

Aang held out an arm. "Hold on a sec."

The earth bender turned her blind eyes towards her student. "What is it? I'm about to show you an important lesson!"

"Well,… it's just that…."

"Spit it out, Twinkletoes!"

"Why don't I try a smaller rock?"

Toph blinked twice. "What?"

"Yeah. A smaller rock. I mean, it's clear that bending isn't all-or-nothing and that the amount of an element a bender can use is dependent on their skill. So why not start me off with a smaller rock and see if I can move that?"

The earth bender rubbed her chin. "Well, I guess there is a trickety-trick that could work."

"An obvious one, too."


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0


As the sun set Iroh and his nephew stood in front of each other with extended arms and moved back and forth in the way that mimicked a basic water bending exercise. "Water benders deal with the flow of energy. A water bender lets their defense become their offense. Turning their opponent's energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightening."

Zuko dropped his arms and stared at the old general. "You can teach me how to redirect lightening?"

Iroh nodded. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightening will-."

"You mother $%^-er!"

The Dragon of the West shot his eyes open. "Wh… what?"

"You knew how to redirect lightening this whole time, but didn't tell me?"

"Well… uh…"

The scarred teen tore at his hair. "By the spirits! Ok, I can understand when we still had the ship and the crew and there was no reason for me to know how to do that when I still needed to work on basics! But, for the love of Agni, the instant we escaped from Azula back at that resort spa, the first words out of your mouth should've been: 'Zuko, your crazy sister can shoot lightening so I'm gonna teach you how to redirect it!'"

Ozai's son threw his hands into the air. "I mean, it's like you were holding back on what you could teach me so that I would remain dependent on you and whatever you were trying to teach me about who I should side with!"

Iroh cringed and gritted his teeth as he glanced left and right. #`*&! He's on to me.


A/N: Well, this chapter went a lot smoother than the last one did. And, no, it wasn't because I didn't waste time playing video games. I really did like this chapter and that joke about redirecting lightening has been building up in me for the longest time. I think it was the… third joke I came up with for this satire.

Toph: That's a sweet story and all, but this chapter was missing something very important: More lines for me! I need to dish out some insults, pronto! Every fic across the internet has me laying the verbal smack-down on the group! How 'bout gettin' with the program?

I need to make sure you can handle taking a harsh blow or two before I let you dish 'em out.

Toph: Oh? So what's the wait? Think I can't take it? Think that just 'cause I'm blind and little means I can't take a few lickin's?

Just trust me on this. You're going to be retracting everything you just said by the time I get done with this story.

Toph: Tsk! Whatever.

That's all for today, folks. Hope you enjoyed it and be sure to tune in next week for Book 2: Chapter 10 & 11

The Library and The Desert